DEC 17/DOW AND NASDAQ DOWN BADLY AND TAKE WITH THEM GOLD/SILVER EQUITY SHARES: GOLD CLOSED UP $39.45 TO $4341.25 BUT THE REAL STAR OF THE SHOW WAS SILVER CLOSING UP $2.93 TO $66.39//PLATINUM WAS UP ANOTHER $53.20 TO $1896.60 WHILE PALLADIUM WAS UP $34.50 TO $1639.90//GOLD COMMENTARY TONIGHT COURTESY OF JOHN RUBINO AND A TERRIFIC LENGTHY COMMENTARY ON PRECIOUS METALS/EARTHS EARTHS COURTESY OF LUKE GROMEN//ALSO CHRIS POWELL WITH SOME IMPORTANT GATA DISPATCHES//KOLBE COMMENTS ON THE HUGE FINANCIAL PROBLEMS FACING THE EU AND EUROCLEAR: A MUST READ//ISRAEL VS HAMAS: ISRAEL TBN LAST 24 HRS//OTHER ISRAEL VS HAMAS UPDATES/RUSSIA VS UKRAINE UPDATES/MICHAEL EVERY OF RABOBANK WITH HIS IMPORTANT TOPICS OF THE DAY//OIL UPDATES//VENEZULA VS USA UPDATES//USA PASSES NEW HEALTH CARE BILL BYPASSING THE OBAMA SUBSIDIES//JEFFERY TUCKER PROVIDES A GREAT COMMENTARY ON THE TRAVESTY OF INFLATION//USA: THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHO WALKED INTO BROWN UNIVERSITY AND KILLED TWO STUDENTS// ALSO JEWISH MIT PROFESSOR SHOT AND KILLED IN HIS HOME IN BOSTON//SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT///
072 C GOLDMAN 26 092 C DEUTSCHE BANK 7 099 H DEUTSCHE BANK AG 2 104 C MIZUHO SECURITIES US 1 118 C MACQUARIE FUTURES US 100 118 H MACQUARIE FUTURES US 463 323 C HSBC 290 332 H STANDARD CHARTERED B 332 363 C WELLS FARGO SECURITI 1 363 H WELLS FARGO SECURITI 418 365 C MAREX CAPITAL MARKET 43 435 H SCOTIA CAPITAL (USA) 80 657 H MORGAN STANLEY 7 661 C JP MORGAN SECURITIES 1334 677 685 C RJ OBRIEN 1 686 C STONEX FINANCIAL INC 1 690 C ABN AMRO CLR USA LLC 4 9 709 C BARCLAYS 616 730 C PTG DIVISION OF SGAS 1 732 H RBC CAP MARKETS 1 880 C CITIGROUP 30 880 H CITIGROUP 812 905 C ADM 38
TOTAL: 2,647 2,647 MONTH TO DATE: 31,756
JPMORGAN STOPPED 677/2647
DECEMBER
GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR DEC/2025: 2647 CONTRACTs NOTICES FOR 264,700 OZ or 8.233 TONNES
total notices so far: 31,756 contracts for 3,175,600 OR 98.774 tonnes)
FOR DEC
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
SILVER NOTICES:458 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 2.290 MILLION OZ/
total number of notices filed so far this month : 12,120 CONTRACTS (NOTICES) for 60.650 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 UP $39.45 INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD
NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:
INVENTORY RESTS AT 1051.69 TONNES
SLV/
WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER UP $2.93 AT THE SLV:
HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:/ // A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.36 MILLION OZ
OUT OF THE SLV//
CLOSING INVENTORY RESTS AT:
CLOSING INVENTORY: 515.000. MILLION OZ
Let us have a look at the data for today
SILVER//OUTLINE
SILVER COMEX OI FELL BY A HUMONGOUS SIZED 1564 CONTRACTS TO 152,921 AND STALLING ON ITS MARCH TO THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020, AND THIS STRONG SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED DESPITE OUR SMALL $0.07 LOSS IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX WITH RESPECT TO TUESDAY’S // TRADING. THE LONG SPECULATORS ARE STILL QUITE RELENTLESS AS THEY POUR INTO THE OPEN INTEREST AT THE COMEX AS YOU WILL WITNESS WITH TODAY’S TRADING. THE FRBNY CONTINUES TO SUPPLY THE NECESSARY PAPER AS THEY TRY TO DRIVE THE PRICE SOUTHBOUND WITH THE HELP OF HIGH FREQUENCY TRADERS AND T.A.S. SPREADERS BUT WITH A NO SUCCESS ON TUESDAY. THEN EARLY MONDAY MORNING WE RECEIVED NOTICE OF OUR FIRST HUGE 170 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR RISK AND THEN TO TOP OFF TODAY’S DATA WE RECEIVED NOTICE OF A SECOND EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 97 CONTRACTS FOR .485 MILLION OZ AND NOW I HAVE A LITTLE DOUBT OF THE RECIPIENT OF THIS ISSUANCE. THE CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA IS THE LOGICAL CHOICE BUT COULD IT BE THE CENTRAL BANK OF CHINA? THE TOTAL IN OZ FOR THIS EXCHANGE FOR RISK ON TWO OCCASIONS IS 1.335 MILLION OZ AND THIS WILL BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY SCHEDULE TO GIVE US THE EXACT AMOUNT OF SILVER STANDING FOR DECEMBER.
WE HAVE REVERTED BACK TO NORMAL WITH THE SPECS NOW GOING ON THE LONG SIDE AND THE BANKER (FRBNY) ON THE SHORT SIDE AND PROVIDING THE NECESSARY SHORT PAPER. IT IS OUR SILVER SPECULATORS THAT WERE PILING INTO THE SILVER COMEX. WE FINALLY ARE MOVING TO A MUCH HIGHER BASE SURPASSING THE $34.40 SILVER PRICE BARRIER TO A HIGH DEGREE, AND NOW SURPASSING SURPASS OUR LAST MAJOR HURDLE OF $50.00 SILVER AGAIN. WE HAD A HUMONGOUS SIZED LOSS OF 1134 TOTAL CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES AS THE CME NOTIFIED US OF A STRONG SIZED 430 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE.. WE HAD LITTLE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS IN COMEX TRADING WITH RESPECT TO TUESDAY TRADING WITH OUR SMALL LOSS IN PRICE /// THEY DESPERATELY AGAIN TODAY 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 $50.00 AND TO QUELL ADDITIONAL DERIVATIVE LOSSES TO OUR BANKERS’ MASSIVE TOTALS). THEY SUCCEEDED ON TUESDAY WITH SILVER’S LOSS IN PRICE EVEN AS THE SPECS PILED INTO THE SILVER ARENA. . THE PRICE FINISHED HUGELY ABOVE THE MAGIC NUMBER OF $50.00 SILVER SPOT PRICE CLOSING AT $63.37 DOWN $0.07 . WE ARE NOW WITNESSING HAVING MANY HUGE T.A.S ISSUANCES // TODAY’S WAS AT A STRONG SIZED 384 T.A.S. CONTRACTS (BUT STILL DOWN FROM THE MEGA MEGA HUGE SIZED 5,000 PLUS CONTRACT ISSUANCE DURING NOVEMBER)!!. THE CROOKS ARE BECOMING MORE DESPERATE TO STOP SILVER BREAKING AGAIN THE 50.00 DOLLAR MARK!!. THERE IS NO NEXT LINE IN THE SAND ONCE THE 50.00 DOLLAR SILVER IS PIERCED AGAIN. WE HAD A STRONG SIZED 430 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE ACCOMPANIED BY OUR STRONG SIZED 384 CONTRACT T.A.S ISSUANCE WHICH WILL BE USED IN FUTURE TRADING//RAID AS THEY PLAY AN INTEGRAL PART IN OUR COMEX TRADING TRYING TO CONTAIN ANY SILVER PRICE RISE. IN ESSENCE WE HAD A HUMONGOUS SIZED LOSS OF 1134 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES WITH OUR TINY LOSS IN PRICE OF $0.07. WE HAD HUGE GOVERNMENT (FRBY) COMEX CONTRACTS TRADING ALL WEEK AND A MAJOR PORTION AND NO DOUBT REMOVED BY DAYS END. (I RECORD THIS FOR YOU ON A DAILY BASIS). THE SPECULATOR LONGS REMAIN STOIC EVEN ON PRICE FALLS. EASTERN CENTRAL BANKER WENT TO THE LONG SIDE. THEY WILL TENDER FOR THE BADLY NEEDED PHYSICAL SILVER. THUS ON A NET BASIS WE LOST NO SPECULATORS
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 TUESDAY NIGHT//WEDNESDAY MORNING: A STRONG SIZED 384 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 FRBNY 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 NOW ORDERED THE BANKS TO REDUCE ITS NEW LEVEL OF 1.1 TRILLION DOLLARS IN GOLD/SILVER DERIVATIVES.
THUS:
INITIAL STANDING FOR DEC: 49.33 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 90,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP _ PLUS ..850 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK YESTERDAY AND TODAY’S .485 MILLION OZ/ (TOTAL EX. FOR RISK = 1.335 MILLION OZ)///STANDING ADVANCES TO 62.995 MILLION OZ//
WE HAD:
/ HUMONGOUS SIZED COMEX OI LOSS+// A STRONG 430 EFP ISSUANCE CONTRACTS (/ VI) A STRONG NUMBER OF T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE 384 CONTRACTS)/VII: DECEMBER ISSUED ITS FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 0.850 MILLION OZ YESTERDAY AND TODAY ANOTHER ONE WAS ISSUED FOR 97 CONTRACTS OR .485 MILLION OZ!!
I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL: REMOVED 804 CONTRACTS!!!!! T
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS DEC.. ACCUMULATION FOR EFP’S SILVER/JPMORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES/STARTING FROM FIRST DAY/MONTH OF DEC.
TOTAL CONTRACTS for 14 DAY(S), total 6304 contracts: OR 31.520 MILLION OZ (450 CONTRACTS PER DAY)
TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR: 31.520 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: 81.065 MILLION OZ
JULY: 50.925 MILLION OZ (QUITE SMALL)
AUGUST: 59.455 MILLION OZ (QUITE SMALL)
SEPT. 50.510 MILLION OZ.(QUITE SMALL)
OCT; 82.020 MILLION OZ (WILL BE STRONG THIS MONTH)/ OCC WANTS TO REIN IN THESE ISSUANCES!
NOVEMBER: 36.425 MILLION OZ
DEC: 31.52 MILLION OZ
RESULT: WE HAD A HUMONGOUS SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 1564 CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR TINY LOSS IN PRICE OF $0.07 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX// MONDAY.,. . THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A STRONG SIZED CONTRACT EFP ISSUANCE : 430 ISSUED FOR MARCH, AND 0 CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS) WHICH EXITED OUT OF THE SILVER COMEX TO LONDON AS FORWARDS.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
LAST 9 MONTHS OF SILVER DELIVERIES:
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 JUNE: FINAL 16.995 MILLION OZ
AND JULY: 46.720 MILLION OZ//
AUGUST: 4.70 MILLION OZ INITIAL STANDING PLUS TODAY;S 5,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP //NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 10.960 MILLION OZ
SEPTEMBER: 68.040 MILLION OZ NORMAL DELIVERY(INCLUDES ALL QUEUE JUMPING AND EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFERS) PLUS 3.0 MILLION OZ EX FOR RISK = 71.040 MILLION OZ. (THIS IS THE FIRST AND ONLY ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR SILVER SINCE MAY.)
OCTOBER: 39.565 MILLION OZ OF NORMAL DELIVERY INCLUDES ALL QUEUE JUMPING
PLUS
2.110 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK//TOTAL OZ STANDING IN OCT ADVANCES TO 41.675 MILLION OZ
NOVEMBER: INITIAL STANDING AT 11.575 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 195,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPS OF 9.155 MILLION OZ//STANDING ADVANCES TO 19.670 MILLION OZ/
DECEMBER: INITIAL AMOUNT STANDING FOR DELIVERY: 49.33 MILLION OZ// FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER HUGE 90,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP+ DEC. FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK 0F .850 MILLION OZ + TODAY’S 495,000 OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK // STANDING ADVANCES TO 62.995 MILLION OZ//
THE NEW TAS ISSUANCE TUESDAY NIGHT (384) WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED NO DOUBT WITH FUTURE TRADING!!
WE HAD 458 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 2.290 MILLION 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. THE SILVER COMEX IS NOW ON A MASSIVE SIEGE LOOKING FOR PHYSICAL SILVER!!
GOLD//OUTLINE
IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST ROSE BY A STRONG SIZED 5020 OI CONTRACTS UP TO 471,093 OI 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 STILL A RELATIVELY LOWISH 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 HUGE AND CRIMINAL 875 CONTRACTS // MEGA HUGE GOVERNMENT REMOVALS//
WE HAD A STRONG GAIN IN COMEX OI (5020 CONTRACTS) . THIS OCCURRED DESPITE OUR LOSS OF $3.95 IN PRICE// MONDAY///.
LAST 8 MONTHS OF GOLD DELIVERIES: (MAY THROUGH TO NOVEMBER/DECEMBER)
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
2 JUNE CONTRACT MONTH: 93.085 TONNES OF GOLD (WHICH INCLUDES ALL QUEUE JUMPING AND 0 EX FOR RISK)
3.JULY INITIIAL STANDING FIRST DAY NOTICE: 17.847 TONNES. PLUS TODAY’S 0 TONNES QUEUE JUMP + 1.555 TONNES EX FOR RISK + 2.195 TONNES EX FOR RISK TODAY = 41.106 TONNES STANDING
4. AUGUST: 60.547 TONNES OF INITIAL GOLD FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY THE NET MONTH’S QUEUE JUMP OF 47.2312 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD THE FOLLOWING EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE RECEIVED FOR THE MONTH: 5.4432 TONNES EX FOR RISK/AUG 7 , AUG 11: 2.413 TONNES EX FOR RISK AND AUG. 12 OF 2.637 TONNES EX FOR RISK//AUG 25: 9.107 TONNES , AUGUST 26: 9.1010 TONNES AND NOW AUGUST 27: 9.0699 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 107.5117 TONNES OF GOLD NORMAL STANDING (INCLUDES ALL MONTHLY QUEUE JUMPS/EX FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFERS//) +44.696 TONNES EX.FOR RISK = 152.208 TONNES
5.SEPT: INITIAL 8.093 TONNES OF GOLD PLUS TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 0.4883 TONNES PLUS 2.2827 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK TODAY//NEW TOTAL EX. FOR RISK/MONTH = 22.923//NEW TOTAL STANDING FOR GOLD SEPT ADVANCES TO = 48.801 TONNES!!
6.OCTOBER: 90.012 TONNES OF INITIAL GOLD STANDING WITH TODAY’S TINY 0.00311 TONNES QUEUE JUMP WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPS DURING OCT OF 76.1656 TONNES
THEN WE MUST ADD OUR 14.553 TONNES OF OUR ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK/6 OCCASIONS//NEW TOTAL OF GOLD STANDING ADVANCES TO 197.5141 TONNES OF GOLD.
7.NOVEMBER BEGINS WITH 15.651 TONNES INITIALLY STANDING FOR DELIVERY FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 2.323 TONNES FOLLOWED BY ALL PREVIOUS QUEUE JUMPS IN OF OF 21.3775 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR TWO EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE OF 4.5596 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 43.9716 TONNES OF GOLD.
8. DECEMBER BEGINS WITH INITIAL STANDING OF 83.813 TONNES OF GOLD FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 3.636 TONNE QUEUE JUMP WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPS OF: 19.689 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 100.719 TONNES/
E.F.P. ISSUANCE/FOR OPENING DECEMBER GOLD CONTRACT
THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A HUGE SIZED 4300 CONTRACTS:
The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 471,093 AND WE NOW WITNESSING A NOW BIGGER COMEX OI BUT WITH AN EXTREMELY HIGH PRICE OF GOLD.//NOW EASIER TO FLEECE SPECS.
SILVER ALSO HAS A SMALL SIZED COMEX OI OF 152,921 CONTRACTS//BUT STILL DIFFICULT TO FLEECE SPEC LONGS. AND YET THIS SMALLISH OI IN COMEX IS ACCOMPANIED BY A HUGE GAIN IN PRICE IN SILVER!!
IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A STRONG SIZED GAIN IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 9320 CONTRACTS WITH 5020 CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A STRONG SIZED 4300 EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL OI CONTRACT ISSUANCE WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 9,320 CONTRACTS.. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A FAIR SIZED AND CRIMINAL 725 CONTRACTS AND THESE ISSUANCES ARE GENERALLY USED TO INITIATE A RAID WHEN CALLED UPON.
GOLD PRICE ON TUESDAY FELL BY $3.95
CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES
WE HAD A STRONG SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS CONTRACT(4300) ACCOMPANYING THE STRONG GAIN IN COMEX OI OF 5020 CONTRACTS/TOTAL GAIN FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES: 10,195 CONTRACTS..WE HAVE 1) NOW RETURNED TO OUR NORMAL FORMAT OF BANKER (FRBNY) GOING ON THE SHORT SIDE AND NEWBIE SPECULATORS GOING TO THE LONG SIDE AND POURING IT ON WITH RECKLASS ABANDON!! . ,2.) STRONG INITIAL STANDING FOR GOLD FOR DEC AT 83.813 TONNES OF NORMAL DELIVERY FOLLOWED BY OUR 3.636 TONNES OF QUEUE JUMP WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPING OF 19.689 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 100.719 TONNES
NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 100.719 TONNES.
NEW STANDING FOR GOLD, DEC CONTRACT AT 100.719 TONNES OF GOLD
3) ZERO T.A.S. LIQUIDATION (BUT CONSIDERABLE GOVT LIQUIDATION // AND STRONG LOSS OF EQUITY SHARES/DEC 16) AS WE HAD 1)A $3.95 COMEX PRICE FALL AND WE HAD 2) NEWBIE SPEC SHORTS GETTING LIQUIFIED AND ON A NET BASIS, THE SPECS GAINED HUGELY IN NUMBERS + EASTERN CENTRAL BANKERS WERE PILING INTO THE LONG SIDE AS WE HAD A HUGE SIZED GAIN OF 9,320 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES AND AS WELL A HUGE AMOUNT OF GOLD WILL STAND FOR DELIVERY IN DECEMBER (100.719 TONNES). //, CENTRAL BANKERS TENDERED FOR PHYSICAL WITH THEIR PURCHASES OF CONTRACTS../ ALSO, 3)STICKY GOLD’S LONGS WERE REWARDED TUESDAY EVENING AS THEY EXERCISED EFP’S FROM LONDON TO TAKE DELIVERY OF BADLY NEEDED PHYSICAL WITH THE RISE IN PRICE YESTERDAY
4) STRONG SIZED COMEX OI GAIN/ 5) V) STRONG SIZED ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL GOLD (4300) AND A SMALL T.A.S. ISSUANCE 725 FOR RAID PURPOSES
ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S GOLD AT J.P. MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES: (EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF DEC :
TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED: 37,950 CONTRACTS OR 3,795,000 OZ OR 118.040 TONNES IN 14 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 2710 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN14 TRADING DAY(S) IN TONNES: 118.040 TONNES
TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2024, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES
THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 118.040 TONNES DIVIDED BY 3550 x 100% TONNES = 3.32% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION
SEPT 142.12 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE ( LOW ISSUANCE)_
OCT: 141.13 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE (LOW ISSUANCE)
NOV: 312.46 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE//NEW RECORD!! (INCREASING DRAMATICALLY)//SIGN OF REAL STRESS//SURPASSING THE MARCH 2021 RECORD OF 276.50 TONNES OF EFP
DEC. 175.62 TONNES//FINAL ISSUANCE//
TOTALS: 2,578.08 TONNES/2021
JAN:2022 247.25 TONNES //FINAL
FEB: 196.04 TONNES//FINAL
MARCH/2022: 409.30 TONNES //FINAL( THIS IS NOW A RECORD EFP ISSUANCE FOR MARCH AND FOR ANY MONTH.
APRIL: 169.55 TONNES (FINAL VERY LOW ISSUANCE MONTH)
MAY: 247.44 TONNES FINAL//
JUNE: 238.13 TONNES FINAL
JULY: 378.43 TONNES FINAL/SECOND HIGHEST ON RECORD
AUGUST: 180.81 TONNES FINAL
SEPT. 193.16 TONNES FINAL
OCT: 177.57 TONNES FINAL ( MUCH SMALLER THAN LAST MONTH)
NOV. 223.98 TONNES//FINAL ( MUCH LARGER THAN PREVIOUS MONTHS//comex running out of physical)
DEC: 185.59 tonnes // FINAL
TOTAL: 2,847,25 TONNES/2022
JAN 2023: 228.49 TONNES FINAL//HUGE AMOUNT OF EFP’S ISSUED THIS MONTH!!
FEB: 151.61 TONNES/FINAL
MARCH: 280.09 TONNES/INITIAL (ANOTHER STRONG MONTH FOR EFP ISSUANCE)
APRIL: 197.42 TONNES
MAY: 236.67 TONNES (A VERY STRONG ISSUANCE FOR THIS MONTH)
JUNE: 172.667 TONNES (WEAKER ISSUANCE THIS MONTH)
JULY: 151.69 TONNES (WEAKER THAN LAST MONTH)
AUGUST: 195.28 TONNES (A STRONGER MONTH)//FINAL
SEPT: 254.709 TONNES (WILL BE LARGER THAN LAST MONTH AND A STRONG MONTH)
OCT. 248.09 TONNES. LIKE SILVER, THIS MONTH IS GOING TO BE A STRONG E.F.P. ISSUANCE.
NOV. 239.16 TONNES//WILL BE STRONG THIS MONTH,
DEC. 213.704 TONNES. A STRONG MONTH//
TOTAL FOR YEAR 2023: 2,569.57 TONNES VS 2578 TONNES LAST YEAR
2024 AND 2025:
JAN. 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. STRONG THIS MONTH
MAY: 113.499 TONNES OF GOLD EFP ISSUANCE//QUITE SMALL THIS MONTH
JUNE: 97.79 TONNES OF GOLD EFP ISSUANCE/EXTREMELY SMALL
JULY : 150.877 TONNES// QUITE SMALL
AUGUST: 175.86 TONNES A LOT LARGER THIS MONTH.
SEPT. 116.13 TONNES VERY SMALL
OCT. 252.72 TONNES//CERTAINLY MUCH LARGER THIS MONTH/VERY STRONG
NOV: 124.74 TONNES
DEC: 118.040 TONNES//VERY SMALL THIS MONTH.
SPREADING OPERATION
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 OCT. WE ARE NOW INTO THE SPREADING OPERATION OF GOLD
HERE IS A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF HOW THE CROOKS FLEECE UNSUSPECTING LONGS IN THE SPREADING ENDEAVOUR ;MODUS OPERANDI OF THE CORRUPT BANKERS AS TO HOW THEY HANDLE THEIR SPREAD OPEN INTERESTS:HERE IS HOW THE CROOKS USED SPREADING AS WE ARE NOW INTO THE NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF NOV HEADING TOWARDS THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF FEB., FOR GOLD: AND MARCH FOR SILVER
YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE THAT THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST STARTS TO RISE BUT SO IS THE OPEN INTEREST OF SPREADERS. THE OPEN INTEREST IN WILL CONTINUE TO RISE UNTIL ONE WEEK BEFORE FIRST DAY NOTICE OF AN UPCOMING ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH (OCT), AND THAT IS WHEN THE CROOKS SELL THEIR SPREAD POSITIONS BUT NOT AT THE SAME TIME OF THE DAY. THEY WILL USE THE SELL SIDE OF THE EQUATION TO CREATE THE CASCADE (ALONG WITH THEIR COLLUSIVE FRIENDS) AND THEN COVER ON THE BUY SIDE OF THE SPREAD SITUATION AT THE END OF THE DAY. THEY DO THIS TO AVOID POSITION LIMIT DETECTION. THE LIQUIDATION OF THE SPREADING FORMATION CONTINUES FOR EXACTLY ONE WEEK AND ENDS ON FIRST DAY NOTICE.”
WHAT IS ALARMING TO ME, ACCORDING TO OUR LONDON EXPERT ANDREW MAGUIRE IS THAT THESE EFP’S ARE BEING TRANSFERRED TO WHAT ARE CALLED SERIAL FORWARD CONTRACT OBLIGATIONS AND THESE CONTRACTS ARE LESS THAN 14 DAYS. ANYTHING GREATER THAN 14 DAYS, THESE MUST BE RECORDED AND SENT TO THE COMPTROLLER, GREAT BRITAIN TO MONITOR RISK TO THE BANKING SYSTEM. IF THIS IS INDEED TRUE, THEN THIS IS A MASSIVE CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD AS WE NOW WITNESS A MONSTROUS TOTAL EFP’S ISSUANCE AS IT HEADS INTO THE STRATOSPHERE.
The crooks also use the spread in the TAS account (trade at settlement). They buy the spot TAS (e.g. June) and sell the future TAS two months out (e.g. August). Then they unload the front month (i.e. unload the buy side first so the price of gold/silver falls. This occurs in the middle of the front delivery month cycle. They unload the sell side of the equation, two months down the road. The crooks violate position limits as the OCC refuse to hear our complaints.
First, here is an outline of what will be discussed tonight:
1.TODAY WE HAD THE OPEN INTEREST AT THE COMEX IN SILVER FELL BY A HUMONGOUS SIZED 1564 CONTRACTS OI TO 152,921 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 430 CONTRACTS
OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS CONTINUE TO MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS AS OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE:
MAR 430 CONTRACTS and 0 ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 0 CONTRACTS. EFP’S GIVE OUR COMEX LONGS A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON. IF WE TAKE THE COMEX OI LOSS OF 1564 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 430 E.FP. ISSUED
WE OBTAIN A HUMONGOUS SIZED LOSS OF 1134 OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES DESPITE OUR TINY LOSS OF $0.07 THE RATS ARE FLEEING THE ARENA.
THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES TOTALS 5.67 MILLION PAPER OZ
c) Commentaries from: Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com, Pam and Russ Martens
ii a) Chris Powell of GATA provides to us very important physical commentaries
b. Other gold/silver commentaries
c. Commodity commentaries//
d)/CRYPTOCURRENCIES/BITCOIN ETC
2.ASIAN AFFAIRS
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY VALUES/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS WEDNESDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
ASIA RESULTS; WEDNESDAY DEC 17
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 45.47 POINTS OR 1.19%
//Hang Seng CLOSED UP 233.37 PTS OR 0.92%
// Nikkei CLOSED UP 213.21 PTS OR 0.43% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.08%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED DOWN TO 7.0446
/ OFFSHORE CLOSED DOWN AT 7.0419/ Oil UP TO 55.99 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP TO 60.06 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN
ONSHORE USA/ YUAN TRADING DOWN TO 7.0446 OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING DOWN TO 7.0418:/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING BELOW OFF SHORE AND UP ON THE DOLLAR// / AND THUS WEAKER//OFF SHORE YUAN TRADING DOWN AGAINST US DOLLAR/ AND THUS WEAKER
1. COMEX DATA//AMOUNTS STANDING//VOLUME OF TRADING/INVENTORY MOVEMENTS
GOLD
LET US BEGIN:
THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST ROSE BY A STRONG SIZED 5020 CONTRACTS TO 471,093 OI DESPITE OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF $3.95 WITH RESPECT TO TUESDAY’S // TRADING/ //COMEX CLOSING TIME:… WE LOST ZERO NET LONGS, WITH THAT PRICE LOSS FOR GOLD. AND AS YOU WILL SEE BELOW, OUR LOSS IN PRICE ALSO HAD A HUGE NUMBER OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUED (4300). WE HAD LITTLE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION TUESDAY (WITH MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATIONS FINISHED ON NOV 30). . IT SEEMS THAT THE SPECULATORS WENT MASSIVELY HUGE TO THE LONG SIDE WITH OUR FRBNY PROVIDING STILL THE NECESSARY PAPER AND OTHER CENTRAL BANKERS CONTINUING ON THE LONG SIDE .
YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE COMEX OI IS NOW GAINING FROM ITS LOW OI TO NOW 471,968 AND NOW SOME OF THESE GUYS ARE NOT VERY STICKY AND THUS VULNERABLE TO A RAID.
WE THUS HAD A TOTAL GAIN IN OI ON BOTH OF OUR EXCHANGES, THE COMEX AND LONDON’S EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL EQUATING TO 9,320 CONTRACTS (OR 28.985 TONNES). THEN WE WERE NOTIFIED OF A 0 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE IN GOLD CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR 0 OZ OR NIL TONNES OF GOLD. IF YOU NEED A HISTORY OF ALL EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR GOLD, I HAVE ARCHIVED ALL MY COMMENTARIES AND YOU CAN VIEW IT AT ANY TIME.
DETAILS ON OUR NEW DECEMBER COMEX CONTRACT MONTH//
IN TOTAL WE HAD A STRONG SIZED GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 9320 CONTRACTS WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE. HOWEVER, OUR FRIENDLY PHYSICAL LONDON BOYS HAD ANOTHER FIELD DAY AGAIN THROUGHOUT OF THE WEEK AS THEY WERE READY FOR THE FRBNY.S CONTINUED ORCHESTRATED ATTACKS VERY EARLY IN THE COMEX SESSIONS AS THEY TRIED TO ABSORB EVERYTHING IN SIGHT FROM THEIR DAILY ATTACKS. LONDONERS EXERCISED THEIR BOUGHT CONTRACTS FOR PHYSICAL GOLD VIA THE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ROUTE AND THANKED THE FRBNY AND OUR SHORT SPECULATORS FOR THE THOUGHTFULNESS. LONDON ANNOUNCED EARLY IN THE YEAR (AND SCARCITY CONTINUES TO THIS DAY) 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 OTHER CENTRAL BANKS, AND COMEX BANKS HAVE BEEN PAPERING THEIR LOSSES (DERIVATIVE) WITH KILOBAR ENTRIES.
THE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS THROUGHOUT THE MONTHS OF JUNE THROUGH DECEMBER/ 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 A SMALL T.A.S ISSUANCE CONTRACTS. THE CME NOTIFIES US THAT THEY HAVE ISSUED 725 T.A.S CONTRACTS AND WILL BE USED FOR RAID PURPOSES TO STOP GOLD’S RISE AND TO TEMPER HUGE LOSSES IN OTC DERIVATIVE BETS AND IT WAS IN FULL FORCE DURING LAST WEEK AND CONTINUING ON THIS WEEK. IT SURE LOOKS LIKE THE BIS HAS GIVEN THE FRBNY ITS MARCHING ORDERS TO COVER AND THAT MAY EXPLAIN THE HUGE NUMBER OF T.A.S. ISSUANCE AND THUS A FORTHCOMING RAIDS THIS WEEK.
HERE IS A SUMMARY OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY ON OUR LAST 9 MONTHS:
FOR APRIL AT 209 TONNES
2. AND THIS CONTINUED INTO MAY WITH FINAL STANDING AT 90.23 TONNES.
3. JUNE WHICH IS A HUGE DELIVERY MONTH , FINAL STANDING WAS RECORDED AT A STRONG 93.085 TONNES. //(TOTAL NET QUEUE JUMPING FOR THE JUNE MONTH: 31.027 TONNES.)
4. IN JULY WE HAD HUGE DELIVERY NOTICES ESPECIALLY FOR A NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH WITH INITIAL STANDING AT 17.947 TONNES PLUS MANY QUEUE JUMPS + 3.75 TONNES EX FOR RISK = 41.106 TONNES OF GOLD // FINAL TOTAL TONNES STANDING JULY: 41.106 TONNES
5. FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST:
INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR AUGUST: 60.547 TONNES PLUS THE MONTHS HUGE QUEUE JUMPS OF 47.2312 TONNES +44.696 TONNES EX FOR RISK (7 ISSUANCES) //NEW STANDING 152.208 TONNES WHICH IS MONSTROUS!!!
6. FINAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR SEPT; INITIAL STANDING; 2,602 CONTRACTS OR 260,200 OZ FOR 8.093 TONNES OF GOLD FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 0.4883 TONNES QUEUE JUMP TO GO ALONG WITH TODAY’S 0.0 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE TODAY AND // TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE SEPT: 22.923 TONNES//NEW TOTALS STANDING ADVANCES TO 48.801 TONNES OF GOLD!!!
7. OCTOBER:
OCTOBER: INITIAL STANDING FOR GOLD: 90.164 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR LATEST OCT 30 QUEUE JUMP OF 0.00311 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS OCT 29 QUEUE JUMP OF .4096 WHICH FOLLOWS; OCT 28 QUEUE JUMP OF .5069 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS OCT 27 OF 0.3048 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS: OCT 24 OF 0.8615 TONNES, FOLLOWING OCT 23 QUEUE JUMP OF 1.695 TONNES OCT 22 JUMP OF 8.622 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS OCT 21: 3.8600 TONNES TO OCT 20 QUEUE JUMP OF 7.695 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWED OCT 17 RECORD SETTING: 12.031 TONNE QUEUE JUMP WHICH FOLLOWED THURSDAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 8.326 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWED WEDNESDAY;S 6.469 WHICH FOLLOWED ALL PREVIOUS QUEUE JUMPS OF 42.549 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR TOTAL 4679 EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACTS ON 6 OCCASIONS FOR 467,900 OZ OR 14.553 TONNES.! TOTAL STANDING ADVANCES TO 197.511 TONNES OF GOLD
SUMMARY FOR OCTOBER STANDING:
THAT IS;
a) INITIAL STANDING 90.164 TONNES
b) INITIAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE OF 500 CONTRACTS FOR 50,000 OZ OR 1.555 TONNES
c) ANOTHER 3 CONSECUTIVE EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCES OF 2150 CONTRACTS FOR 215000 OZ OR 6.687 TONNES
D) AFTER A ONE DAY HIATUS, A 5TH ISSUANCE FOR 1000 CONTRACTS //100,000 OZ OR 3.1104 TONNES
E) AFTER A TWO WEEK HIATUS: ITS 6TH ISSUANCE FOR 1029 CONTRACTS/102,900 OZ OR 3.200 TONNES
TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK OCT 6 OCCASIONS: 14.553 TONNES
TO WHICH WE ADD ALL OUR QUEUE JUMPING IN OCT: TOTAL MONTH;: 92.7648 TONNES
(ALL OF THESE QUEUE JUMPS ARE REPRESENTED BY CENTRAL BANKS DESPERATELY ADDING TO THEIR OFFICIAL RESERVES)
EQUALS
197.5141 TONNES OF GOLD!!
END
8. NOVEMBER:TOTAL TONNES STANDING INCLUDING ALL QUEUE JUMPS AND EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE:
INITIAL GOLD STANDING AT THE COMEX IS 5032 CONTRACTS OR 503,200 OZ (15.651 TONNES) FOLLOWED BY ITS TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 2.323 TONNES/ FOLLOWED BY ALL NOVEMBER QUEUE JUMPS OF 21.3775 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR SECOND EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 1016 CONTRACTS FOR 101600 OZ OR 3.165 TONNES TO OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE OF 1.3966 TONNES/// NEW EXCHANGE FOR RISK: 4.5595 TONNES//NEW TOTAL GOLD STANDING IN NOVEMBER ADVANCES TO 43.9716 TONNES
9. DECEMBER: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY: 83.813 TONNES OF GOLD FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 3.636 TONNES OF QUEUE JUMP WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER NET QUEUE JUMPING OF 19.689 TONNES//STANDING ADVANCES TO 100.719 TONNES.
THE FED IS THE OTHER MAJOR SHORT OF AROUND 39+ TONNES OF GOLD OWING TO THE B.I.S. THE OCC ORDERED THE BANKS TO COVER THEIR GOLD LOSSES FROM OCC BETS. THIS IS SUCH A SMALL FRACTION OF WHAT IS OWED!!! THE FRBNY BORROWED GOLD FROM THE BIS TO COVER THOSE HUGE LOSSES OF AROUND 39 TONNES OF GOLD.. THE FED IS VERY WORRIED ABOUT WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO GOLD PRICES IF THEY DO NOT BORROW THIS GOLD.
THE MAJOR FOUR OR FIVE BANKS ARE ALSO WORRIED ABOUT THEIR HUGE PRECIOUS METAL DERIVATIVE SHORT EXPOSURE (NORTH OF ONE TRILLION DOLLARS) AND THIS IS PROBABLY THE MAJOR REASON FOR GOLD/SILVER’S RISE THESE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS. THEY ARE TOTALLY TRAPPED., AND THEIR FAILURE TO STOP OTHER CENTRAL BANK PURCHASES OF PHYSICAL GOLD IS THE MAJOR ISSUE OF THE DAY. IT SURE DOES LOOK LIKE THE BIS HAS NOW GIVEN THE FED ITS MARCHING ORDERS TO COVER ITS PHYSICAL GOLD SHORT AS THEIR OUTSTANDING LOAN OF 39 TONNES REMAIN ON THE BOOKS OF THE BIS AND THE END OF THE YEAR IS APPROACHING.
THE FRBNY IS STILL NON COMPLIANT WITH RESPECT TO BASEL III BUT IT IS NOT NECESSARY FOR THEM TO BE COMPLIANT ONLY COMMERCIAL BANKERS MUST BE.
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 ( COMEX) IS NOW COMPLIANT EFFECTIVE 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/DEC.//BORROWINGS FROM THE FRBNY:
THE CME REPORTS THAT THE BANKERS ISSUED A HUGE SIZED EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL OF 4300 CONTRACTS.
THAT IS A HUGE SIZED 4300 EFP CONTRACT WAS ISSUED: : /FEB 4300 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:
TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 4300 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. THE REGULATORY BODY THAT IS SUPPOSE TO CONTROL THESE EFP’S IS THE O.C.C. HEADQUARTERED IN BOTH LONDON AND WASHINGTON. SEEMS NOW THAT THE OCC IS CLAMPING DOWN ON THIS EFP’S CIRCLING AROUND IN LONDON AS THEY ORDERED THE BULLION BANKS TO COVER MUCH OF THEIR DERIVATIVE BETS ON THESE CONTRACTS!! THUS THE FRBNY SAVED OUR BULLION BANKS FROM EXTINCTION WITH THIS BORROWED GOLD FROM THE BIS OF 39 TONNES
WE HAD :
LITTLE LIQUIDATION OF OUR T.A.S. SPREADERS DURING THE COMEX SESSION + BUT DID HAVE CONSIDERABLE GOVERNMENT LIQUIDATION
MONTH END SPREADERS HAVE NOW FINISHED
T.A.S.SPREADER ISSUANCE//DECEMBER
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 NIGHT//WEDNESDAY MORNING WAS A SMALL SIZED 725 CONTRACTS
THE RAIDS WHETHER ON OPTIONS EXPIRY MONTH OR T.A.S. DRIVEN, ACCOMPLISHES TWO IMPORTANT ASPECTS FOR OUR CROOKS:
STALLS THE ADVANCE IN PRICE
LOWERS THEIR ADVANCING DERIVATIVE LOSSES.
THAT SET UP TUESDAY’S LOSS IN PRICE IN GOLD WITH A CORRESPONDING GAIN OF COMEX OI AND A HUGE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE..ENOUGH FODDER FOR THE COMMENCEMENT OF A RAID WHICH WILL NOT HAPPEN TODAY AS SILVER ROSE HUGELY PULLING UP GOLD.
THE COMEX IS IN TOTAL TURMOIL ESPECIALLY THESE PAST 6 MONTHS WITH THE FOLLOWING;
WITH JULY’S RARE TWO ISSUANCES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK (LATE IN JULY)
AND THIS WAS FOLLOWED WITH AUGUST’S 7 ISSUANCES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR 44.696 TONNES
TO BE FOLLOWED BY SEPTEMBER’S 7 ISSUANCES FOR EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR 22.923 TONNES.
TO BE FOLLOWED BY OCTOBER’S 6 ISSUANCES FOR 14.553 TONNES
TO BE FOLLOWED BY NOVEMBER’S TWO ISSUANCES FOR 4.5575 TONNES
THE LONDON BANKING AUDITORS HAVE SO FAR REFUSED TO GIVE CERTIFICATION ON THE BANK OF ENGLAND’S SISTER HOLDING OPERATION, THE E.E.A. ON ITS GOLD AND OTHER ASSETS HELD UNDER THE E.E.A.(SEE ROBERT LAMBOURNE’S LETTER OCT 8/
FRBNY BORROWS ANOTHER 24 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE BIS IN OCT TO SAVE THE BULLION BANKS FROM EXTINCTION AFTER THE O.C.C ORDERED THE BULLION BANKS TO BE ONSIDE WITH THEIR DERIVATIVES. THE FRBNY IS NOW SHORT 54+ TONNES OF GOLD.
MASSIVE REMOVAL OF COMEX CONTRACTS FROM PRELIMINARY OI TO FINAL OI//RECORD 33,000 CONTRACTS REMOVED FRIDAY NOV 21//
MASSIVE T.A.S. CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR 5 CONSECUTIVE DAYS/SIGNALLING A MASSIVE RAID TO BE!
MASSIVE RAIDS AT THE COMEX CALLED UPON EVERY OTHER DAY LAST WEEK
GOLD STANDING AT THE COMEX FOR GOLD LAST 12 MONTHS OF 2025
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: FINAL STANDING 62.534 TONNES PLUS 0.1493TONNES OF QUEUE JUMP EQUALS 93.085 TONNES
JULY: 17.947 TONNES INITIAL STANDING FIRST DAY NOTICE PLUS TODAY’S 0 TONNES QUEUE JUMP + 1.555 TONNES EX FOR RISK/PRIOR + 2.195 EX FOR RISK TODAY = = 41.106 TONNES
AUGUST:INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING: 60.547 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR 7 MONTHLY ISSUANCES OF: EXCHANGE FOR RISK TOTALLING 44.696 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES AS FOLLOWS:
107.5117 TONNES NORMAL DELIVERIES (INCLUDES ALL QUEUE JUMPS /EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFERS) +
5.4432 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK/PRIOR/AUGUST 7
2.413 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK AUGUST 11
PLUS 2.637 TONNES EX FOR RISK AUGUST 12
PLUS: 9.107 TONNES EX FOR RISK AUGUST 25
PLUS 9.1010 TONNES EX FOR RISK AUGUST 26!!
PLUS 9.0699 TONNES EX FOR RISK AUGUST 27
PLUS 6.923 TONNES EX. FOR RISK/AUGUST 28
MONTHLY TOTAL 44.696 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK!MONTH OF AUGUST.
EQUALS
152.208 TONNES TONNES OF GOLD.
SEPT:
SEPT: 25.878 TONNES OF GOLD INITIAL GOLD STANDING TO WHICH WE ADD OUR 22.923 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUED 7 TIMES DURING THE MONTH:
TOTAL EX FOR RISK// FOR MONTH = 22.923//NEW TOTALS FOR GOLD STANDING SEPT ADVANCES TO 48.801 TONNES
THIS IS HUGE FOR A GENERALLY WEAK SEPTEMBER DELIVERY MONTH.
OCTOBER: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING: 90.164 TONNES OF GOLD FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S TINY 0.00311 TONNES QUEUE JUMP WHICH FOLLOWS ALL PREVIOUS QUEUE JUMPS OF 76.1656 TONNES WHICH MUST BE ADDED TO OUR 6 ISSUANCES OF 14.553 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK//TOTAL NEW STANDING FOR GOLD IN THIS ACTIVE OCTOBER DELIVERY MONTH ADVANCES TO 197.5141 TONNNES.
NOVEMBER WHERE INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING IS REGISTERED AT 15.651 TONNES OF GOLD FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 2 TONNES AND FOLLOWED BY ALL OTHER NOV QUEUE JUMPS OF 21.3775 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR TWO EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE FOR 4.5596 TONNES.
DECEMBER: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY IN THIS ACTIVE MONTH IS 83.813 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 3.636 TONNES QUEUE JUMP. THIS FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPING: 19.689 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 100.719 TONNES
HERE ARE THE AMOUNTS THAT STOOD FOR DELIVERY IN THE PRECEDING 48 MONTHS 2021-2024
DEC 2021: 112.217 TONNES
NOV. 8.074 TONNES
OCT. 57.707 TONNES
SEPT: 11.9160 TONNES
AUGUST: 80.489 TONNES
JULY 7.2814 TONNES
JUNE: 72.289 TONNES
MAY 5.77 TONNES
APRIL 95.331 TONNES
MARCH 30.205 TONNES
FEB ’21. 113.424 TONNES
JAN ’21: 6.500 TONNES.
TOTAL YEAR 2021 (JAN- DEC): 601.213 TONNES
YEAR 2022: 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
AN/2023: 20.559 tonnes
FEB 2023: 47.744 tonnes
MAR: 19.0637 TONNES
APRIL: 75.676 tonnes
MAY: 19.094 TONNES + 1.244 tonnes of exchange for risk = 20.338
JUNE: 64.354 TONNES
JULY: 10.2861 TONNES
AUGUST: 38.855 TONNES(INCLUDING .6842 EXCHANGE FOR RISK)
SEPT: 15.281 TONNES FINAL
OCT. 35.869 TONNES + 1.665 EXCHANGE FOR RISK =37.0355 tonnes
DEC. 47.073 + 4.634 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK = 51.707 TONNES
TOTAL 2023 YEAR : 436.546 TONNES
2024/STANDING FOR GOLD/COMEX
JAN ’24. 22.706 TONNES
FEB. ’24: 66.276TONNES (INCLUDES 1.723 TONNES EX. FOR RISK)
MARCH: 18.8398 TONNES + 1.1695 EX FOR RISK = 20.093 TONNES
APRIL: 2024: 53.673TONNES FINAL
MAY/ 2024 8.5536 TONNES + 3.3716 TONNES EX FOR RISK/= 11.9325
JUNE; 95.578 TONNES. + 1.045 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK =96.623 THIS IS THE HIGHEST RECORDED GOLD STANDING SINCE AUGUST 2022
JULY: 11.692 TONNES
AUGUST 69.602 TONNES//FINAL STANDING
SEPT. 13.164 TONNES.
OCT 39.474 TONNES + + 20.917 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK =60.391 TONNES
NOV . 11.265 TONNES +4.665 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK/TUESDAY + 3.11 TONNES OF EX. FOR RISK/PRIOR = 19.0425 TONNES
DEC: 80.4230 TONNES PLUS DEC MONTH EXCHANGE FOR RISK TOTAL 14.6836 TONNES EQUALS 95.1066 TONNES
total year 2024: 540.30 tonnes
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
COMEX GOLD TRADING BEGINNING DECEMBER,. CONTRACT;
THE SPECS/HFT WERE SUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT FELL BY $3.95/ /)
WE HAD LITTLE T.A.S. SPREADER LIQUIDATION TUESDAY // COMEX SESSION WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE ////.. BUT OUR SPECULATORS REMAIN RELENTLESS POURING INTO THE COMEX// WITH OTHER EASTERN CENTRAL BANKS TENDERING FOR PHYSICAL TUESDAY NIGHT WHICH ALSO EXPLAINS THE HUGE NUMBER OF TONNES OF GOLD STANDING FOR DECEMBER. THE COMEX IS ONE BIG MESS!! THIS WEEK,
TUESDAY NIGHT//WEDNESDAY MORNING
THE CROOKS HOWEVER COULD NOT STOP OTHER CENTRAL BANK LONGS, SEIZING THE MOMENT, THEY EXERCISED AGAIN FOR PHYSICAL IN A BIG WAY TENDERING FOR PHYSICAL TUESDAY EVENING/ WEDNESDAY MORNING AND THUS OUR HUGE NUMBER OF GOLD CONTRACTS STANDING FOR DELIVERY AT THE COMEX. CENTRAL BANKERS WAIT PATIENTLY FOR THE GOLD
A LITTLE REVIEW OF GOLD STANDING THESE PAST 3 MONTHS:
STANDING FOR GOLD OCT THROUGH TO DECEMBER:
ANALYSIS// OCT DELIVERY MONTH GOING FROM FIRST DAY NOTICE// OCT COMEX CONTRACT TO FINALIZATION OCT 31:
OCT AT 90.164 TONNES TO BE FOLLOWED BY ALL PREVIOUS QUEUE JUMPS OF 75.696 TONNES WHICH WE ADD OUR 14.553 TONNES EX FOR RISK/6 OCCASIONS:
/ TOTAL STANDING 197.551 TONNE/OCTOBER FINAL//ABSOLUTELY A MONSTER DELIVERY FOR A NORMALLY QUIET OCT MONTH
2. AND NOW NOVEMBER:
NOVEMBER BEGINS WITH A HUGE 15.651 TONNES INITIALLY STANDING FOR DELIVERY FOLLOWED BY OUR TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 2.323 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWED ALL OTHER NOVEMBER QUEUE JUMPS OF 21.3775 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR TWO ISSUANCES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 4.5596 TONNES..
NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 43.9716 ONNES OF GOLD.
3. AND NOW DECEMBER:
3. DECEMBER: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY: 83.813 TONNES FOLLOWED BY A 1169 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP FOR 116,900 OZ OR 3.636 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS OTHER DEC QUEUE JUMPS OF: 19.689 TONNES///STANDING ADVANCES TO 100.719 TONNES.
ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $3.95
WE HAD A RTHER TAME 875 CONTRACTS REMOVED TO THE COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)//PRELIMINARY TO FINAL. AND THIS IS TOTALLY INSANE .
NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES : 9320 CONTRACTS OR 932,000 OZ OR 28.985 TONNES
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month
31,756 notices 3,175,600 0z 98.774TONNES
Total accumulative withdrawals of gold from the Dealers inventory this month
NIL oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of gold from the Customer inventory this month
dealer deposits: 0
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
DEPOSITS/CUSTOMER
DEPOSITS/CUSTOMER
zero entries
customer withdrawals:
0 ENTRIES
they are draining the comex of gold
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ADJUSTMENTs 2// CUSTOMER ACCOUNT TO DEALER
a) Brinks 675.171 (21 kilobars)
b)Manfra: 32,118.849 (999 kilobars)
chaos inside the comex
AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DECEMBER
THE FRONT MONTH OF DECEMBER STANDS AT 3272 CONTRACTS FOR A GAIN OF 497 CONTRACTS. WE HAD 672 CONTRACTS FILED ON TUESDAY SO WE GAINED A WHOPPING 1169 CONTRACTS FOR A QUEUE JUMP OF 116,900 OZ OR 3.636 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD TO OUR PREVIOUS QUEUE JUMPS .THUS STANDING FOR GOLD IN DECEMBER INCREASES HUGELY TO 100.719 TONNES
JANUARY GAINED 526 CONTRACTS UP TO 3576
FEB GAINED 1332 CONTRACTS UP TO 340,569 CONTRACTS
We had 2647 contracts filed for today representing 264,700 oz
Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from J.P.Morgan dealer and 1324 notices issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equate to 2647 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 677 notice(s) was (were) stopped (received) by J.P.Morgan//customer account
To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for DEC /2025. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (31,756 ) to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of DEC ( 3272 CONTRACTS) minus the number of notices served upon today (2647 x 100 oz per contract) equals 3,238,100 OZ OR 100.719 Tonnes of gold
thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the DEC contract month: No of notices filed so far (31,756 x 100 oz +we add the difference for front month of DEC (3272 OI} minus the number of notices served upon today (2647)x 100 oz) which equals 3,238,100 OR 100.719 TONNES
new total of gold standing in DECEMBER is 100.719 tonnes
TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR DEC ..: 100.719 TONNES TONNES WHICH IS STRONG FOR THIS NORMALLY VERY ACTIVE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF DECEMBER.
volume TUESDAY confirmed 232,091 fair
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
COMEX GOLD INVENTORIES/CLASSIFICATION
NEW PLEDGED GOLD:
241,794.285 oz NOW PLEDGED /HSBC 5.94 TONNES
204,937.290 OZ PLEDGED MANFRA 3.08 TONNES
83,657.582 PLEDGED JPMorgan no 1 1.690 tonnes
265,999.054, oz JPM No 2
1,152,376.639 oz pledged Brinks/
Manfra: 33,758.550 oz
Delaware: 193.721 oz
International Delaware:: 11,188.542 oz
total pledged gold: 1,980,642.438 oz 61.60 tonnes pledged gold lowers
TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED GOLD 35,991,344.896 oz
TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD 19,224,678.933 or 597.968 Tonnes
TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD 16,766,665.763 OZ
REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON 17,264,036oz ((REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD)=
536.98 Tonnes // (declining rapidly)
total inventories in gold declining rapidly
SILVER/COMEX
THE DEC. 2025 SILVER CONTRACTS
DEC 17 2025
INITIAL/
Silver
Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory
NIL oz
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory
1 entries
i) Out of JPMorgan: 1955,429.800 oz totally removed from customer acct.
total withdrawal: 1,955,429.800 oz
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory
1 ENTRY
i) Into Stonex; 459.092.000 oz
total deposit 459,092.000 oz
Deposits to the Customer Inventory
1 entries
i) Into Loomis: 600,993.270 oz
total deposit; 600,993.270 oz
No of oz served today (contracts)
458 CONTRACT(S) ( 2.290 million OZ
No of oz to be served (notices)
442 contracts (2.210 MILLION oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts)
12,120 Contracts (60.650 MILLION oz)
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Dealers inventory this month
NIL oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Customer inventory this month
DEPOSITS INTO DEALER ACCOUNTS
1 ENTRY
1 ENTRY
I) Inro Stonex: 459,092.000 oz
total dealer deposit 459,092.000 oz
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
DEPOSIT ENTRIES/CUSTOMER ACCOUNT
i) Into Loomis: 600,993.270 oz
total deposit; 600,993.270 oz
total deposit; 818,903.240 oz
withdrawals: customer side/eligible
1 entries
i) Out of JPMorgan: 1955,429.800 oz totally removed from customer acct.
total withdrawal: 1,955,429.800 oz
adjustments:
0
TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 130.606MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 452.950Million oz
registered silver dropping in numbers
CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR DEC.
silver open interest data:
FRONT MONTH OF DECEMBER /2025 OI: 670 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FOR A LOSS OF 66 CONTRACTS. WE HAD 84 CONTRACTS FILED ON TUESDAY SO WE ACTUALLY HAD ANOTHER QUEUE JUMP OF 18 CONTRACTS OR 90,000 OZ
JANUARY LOST 174 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 4026 CONTRACTS
FEB LOST 61 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 1372 CONTRACTS
TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 458 or 2.290 MILLION oz
CONFIRMED volume; ON TUESDAY 104,390 huge//
AND NOW DECEMBER. DELIVERIES:
To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in DEC. we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 12,120 X5,000 oz = 60.650 MILLION oz
to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of DEC (670) AND the number of notices served upon today (458 )x (5000 oz)
Thus the standings for silver for the DECEMBER 2025 contract month: (12,120) Notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of DEC(670) minus number of notices served upon today (458)x 5000 oz equals silver standing for the DEC.contract month equating to 61.575 MILLION OZ + 850 MILLION OZ FOR DEC ‘S FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK AND THEN TODAY’S SECOND EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF .485 MILLION OZ//NEW TOTALL EXCHANGE FOR RISK; 1.335 MILLION OZ: THUS WE HAVE THE FOLLOWING:
NORMAL STANDING: 61.660 MILLION OZ
PLUS 1.335 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK/2 OCCASIONS
New total standing: 62.995 million oz. THE SILVER COMEX IS NOW UNDER MASSIVE SIEGE!! AND THIS IS HAPPENING WITH THE MASSIVE SIEGE ON GOLD AS WELL.
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 130.606. million oz of registered silver
JPMorgan as a percentage of total silver: 191,767/452.950million. 42.46%
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
DEC 17/WITH GOLD UP $39.45 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1051.69 TONNES
DEC 16/WITH GOLD DOWN $3.95 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.43 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1051.69 TONNES
DEC 15/WITH GOLD UP $10.15 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.29 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 105.12 TONNES
DEC 12/WITH GOLD UP $14.20 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 4.01 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1050.83 TONNES
DEC 11/WITH GOLD UP $85.00 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.15 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1046.82 TONNES
DEC 10/WITH GOLD UP $85.00 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.15 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1046.82 TONNES
DEC 9/WITH GOLD UP $18.50 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.14 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1049.11 TONNES
DEC 8/WITH GOLD DOWN $23.40 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.33 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1050.25 TONNES
DEC 5/WITH GOLD UP $9.30 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A FRAUDULENT DEPOSIT OF 4.00 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1050.58 TONNES
DEC 4/WITH GOLD UP $9.95 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.72 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1046.58 TONNES
DEC 3/WITH GOLD UP $14.25 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.71 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1048.30 TONNES
DEC 2/WITH GOLD DOWN $53.35 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 4.58 TONNES OF GOLD VAPOUR INTO THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1050.01TONNES
DEC 1/WITH GOLD UP $22.75 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.14 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1045.43TONNES
NOV 28/WITH GOLD UP $51.85 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.14 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1045.43 TONNES
NOV 26/WITH GOLD UP $25.40 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A FRAUDULENT PAPER DEPOSIT OF 4.57 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1040.57 TONNES
NOV 25/WITH GOLD UP $46.60 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.14 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1040.57 TONNES
NOV 24/WITH GOLD UP $16.95 TODAY/SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 0.29 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1040.86 TONNES
NOV 21/WITH GOLD UP $18.55 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.00 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1039.43 TONNES
NOV 20/WITH GOLD DOWN $20.45 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1041.43 TONNES
NOV 19/WITH GOLD UP $14.55 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1041.43 TONNES
NOV 18/WITH GOLD DOWN $6.30 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.57 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1041.43 TONNES
NOV 17/WITH GOLD DOWN $20.40 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.93 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1044.000 TONNES
NOV 14/WITH GOLD DOWN $97.55TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.29 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1048.93 TONNES
NOV 13/WITH GOLD DOWN $17.80.TODAY/SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 0.28 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1064.64 TONNES
NOV 12/WITH GOLD UP $97.70.TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 4.30 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT XXX TONNES
NOV 11/WITH GOLD DOWN $3.80TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: . /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1042.06 TONNES
NOV 10/WITH GOLD UP $114.40TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT 0F 3.43 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD . /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1042.06 TONNES
NOV 7/WITH GOLD UP $18.55 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 3.43 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD . /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT1042.06TONNES
NOV 6//WITH GOLD UP $0.30TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL 0F 3.15 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD . /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT1038,63TONNES
NOV 5//WITH GOLD UP $32.50TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL 0F 3.15 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD . /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT1038,63TONNES
NOV 4 WITH GOLD DOWN $50.00 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT 0F 2.58 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD . /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1041.78TONNES
GLD INVENTORY: 1051.69 TONNES, TONIGHTS TOTAL
SILVER
DEC 17/WITH SILVER UP $2.93/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A HUGE WITHDRAWAL OF 1.36 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV. ./ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 515.000 MILLION OZ //
DEC 16/WITH SILVER DOWN $.07/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A HUGE WITHDRAWAL OF 1.36 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV. ./ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 56.360 MILLION OZ //
DEC 15/WITH SILVER UP $1.62/SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A SMALL DEPOSIT OF 635,000 INTO THE SLV. ./ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 517.720 MILLION OZ //
DEC 12/WITH SILVER DOWN $2.30/NO CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: ./ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 517.085 MILLION OZ //
DEC 11/WITH SILVER UP $3.52/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A HUGE DEPOSIT OF 3.537 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV./ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 517.085 MILLION OZ //
DEC 9/WITH SILVER UP $2.41/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A HUGE WITHDRAWAL OF 1.179 MILLION OZ OUT THE SLV./ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 510.828 MILLION OZ //
DEC 8/WITH SILVER DOWN $0.48/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A HUGE WITHDRAWAL OF 5.497 MILLION OZ OUT THE SLV./ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 512.007 MILLION OZ //
DEC 5/WITH SILVER UP 0.39/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A HUGE DEPOSIT OF 3.083 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV./ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 517.448 MILLION OZ //
DEC 4/WITH SILVER DOWN $1.12/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A HUGE DEPOSIT OF 4383 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV./ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 514.365 MILLION OZ //
DEC 3/WITH SILVER UP $0.23/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A HUGE DEPOSIT OF 1.956 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV./ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 510.012 MILLION OZ //
DEC 2/WITH SILVER DOWN $0.65 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A MASSIVE AND FRAUDLUENT PAPER DEPOSIT OF 6.167 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV./ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 508.057 MILLION OZ //
DEC 1/WITH SILVER UP $2.21 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 907,000 OZ INTO THE SLV./ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 501.890 MILLION OZ //
NOV28/WITH SILVER UP $3.28 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV:/ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 500.983 MILLION OZ //
NOV26/WITH SILVER UP $1.86 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A MAMMOTH DEPOSIT OF 2.267 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 500.983 MILLION OZ //
NOV25/WITH SILVER UP $0.69 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A MAMMOTH DEPOSIT OF 8.163 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 498.716 MILLION OZ //THIS IS A FRAUDULENT TRANSACTION
NOV24/WITH SILVER UP $0.43 TODAY/SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 277,000, OZ OUT OF THE SLV/ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 490.553 MILLION OZ MILLION OZ
NOV21/WITH SILVER DOWN $0.53 TODAY/SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 635,000 OZ INTO THE SLV/ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 490.190 MILLION OZ MILLION OZ
NOV20/WITH SILVER DOWN $0.53 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: :INVENTORY RESTS AT 489.555 MILLION OZ MILLION OZ
NOV 19/WITH SILVER UP $0.36 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: :INVENTORY RESTS AT 489.283 MILLION OZ MILLION OZ
NOV 18/WITH SILVER DOWN $0.13 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: :INVENTORY RESTS AT 489..283 MILLION OZ MILLION OZ
NOV 17/WITH SILVER DOWN $0.07 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.451 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV:INVENTORY RESTS AT 489.283 MILLION OZ MILLION OZ
NOV 14/WITH SILVER DOWN $2.08 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 2.722 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV:
INVENTORY RESTS AT 487.832 MILLION OZ MILLION OZ
NOV 13/WITH SILVER DOWN $0.58 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: . /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 485.110 MILLION OZ
NOV 12/WITH SILVER UP $2.59 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: . /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 485.110 MILLION OZ
NOV 11/WITH SILVER UP $0.63 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: . /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 485.110 TONNES
NOV 10/WITH SILVER UP $2.05 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE SLV: . /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 485.110 TONNES
NOV 7 WITH SILVER UP $0.22 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.54 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV / ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 485.110 MILLION OZ
NOV 6 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.12 TODAY/SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 713,000 OZ FROM THE SLV / ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 487,650 MILLION OZ
NOV 5 WITH SILVER UP $0.67TODAY/SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 713,000 OZ FROM THE SLV / ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 487,650 MILLION OZ
Here’s another apparently AI-created (performed, assisted, whatever) video that offers an interesting answer to a big question. I have no idea whether any of this is true, but it’s definitely compelling.
Let’s start with an excerpt:
There’s a saying in the intelligence community: the loudest threats are rarely the most dangerous. It is the quiet ones you need to fear. In financial markets, we are conditioned to look for noise. We look for the massive green candle that shoots to the moon. We look for the violent red crash that signals panic. We look for volatility. But right now, if you look at the silver chart in the low 60s range, you see something strange. You see nothing. The price is stuck. It churns. It dips a few cents and then it bounces back. It rises a few cents and then it stops.
To the average retail trader, this looks like boredom. It looks like the rally has stalled. It looks like the market is confused. But if you look deeper, if you peel back the layer of price and look at the volume, you see a completely different story. You see a war zone. Over the last few trading sessions, billions of dollars of paper have been thrown at this market. Banks have shorted. Algorithms have dumped. And yet, the price refuses to break. Why? Because someone is standing there.
Someone massive, someone with pockets deeper than the bullion banks, someone who has placed a limit buy order so large that it is absorbing the entire global supply of silver without flinching. We are witnessing the arrival of a mega whale. This isn’t a Reddit squeeze. This isn’t a hedge fund trying to make a quick buck. This is a strategic buyer accumulating a position that will change the balance of power forever.
In this four-part investigation, we are going to hunt this whale. We are going to use forensic market data to prove that a massive transfer of wealth is happening. We are going to connect the dots between the AI energy crisis and the sudden disappearance of physical silver. And we are going to show you why a flat price with high volume is the single most bullish signal on planet Earth. The market isn’t boring. It is loading. And you need to be on the same side as the whale.
To understand what is happening in the $60 range, you have to understand how smart money buys. If you or I want to buy silver, we log into our brokerage account and hit market buy. The price ticks up a little bit. We get our shares. But if you want to buy $650 million worth of silver, which is roughly 10 million ounces, you cannot just hit market buy. If you did, the price would spike to $100 instantly. You would slipage yourself to death. You would ruin your own entry price. So, what do you do? You use an iceberg order. An iceberg order is a special algorithmic trade used by institutions. It places a small visible order on the books, say five contracts, but hidden underneath in the dark pool is a massive order for 50,000 contracts. Every time a seller hits the five contracts, the algorithm instantly reloads them. Sell five, reload five, sell five, reload five, the price doesn’t move. It stays pinned at your limit price. But the volume meter spins like a turbine. The sellers think there is infinite demand at that level. Eventually, the sellers run out of ammo. And once the sellers are exhausted, the whale removes the wall and the price gaps up violently.
As I said, this is an unsubstantiated but plausible-sounding explanation for silver’s spectacular recent run. Here’s hoping the rest of the scenario plays out in 2026.
END
jAMES RICKARDS
2. MATHEW PIEPENBURG/VON GREYERZ
TO ALL
this is a very lengthy but worthwhile read. Take your time on this:
author LUKE GROMEN:
2b.Craig Tindale on X: “Critical Materials: A Strategic Analysis ” / X
Inbox
Robert Lambourne
4:44 AM (5 hours ago)
to me, Chris
Harvey,
This is the brilliant article that Luke Gromen has highlighted. I’ve copied Chris in, but there is nothing about gold so I doubt GATA will publish it. Section 3.2 on silver is definitely worth reading, if nothing else.
So much of what is in here expresses far better, and to a far better depth than I could have, my thoughts on how China has managed to dominate the industrial landscape in terms of smelting and refining capacity.
My friends here from an industrial background are, like me, impressed with this analysis and, sadly, its conclusions about how well positioned China has become are impossible to argue over.
If you locate section 2.1 there is a list of the dominant positions they hold in the processing of many metals and, moreover, this excludes their large shares of processing in lead, zinc and tin – a minimum of c50% in each one. These metals ores are important (tin less so) as sources of silver byproducts.
As already noted, the section on silver is worth reading on its own. I had not realised that so much silver was used in missiles. The last paragraph in particular is important about how their copper, lead and zinc smelting capacity allows them to obtain silver byproduct relatively easily.
China has finished a large jigsaw whilst the West hasn’t worked out yet which pieces are required. It is going to take a massive effort and mind change to claw back from where the western countries are now, but it can be done if the right mindset is used.
Submitted by admin on Mon, 2025-12-15 09:03 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Alasdair Macleod GoldMoney, Toronto Monday, December 15, 2025
Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee statement confirmed that money printing resumes and is set to undermine the dollar in 2026.
Estimates of future inflation will increase and gold and silver rise further.
The star of the show this week was silver, as the chart below illustrates. The message being sent to derivative markets should alarm them: There just isn’t any physical liquidity to support the mountain of silver delivery obligations. …
Submitted by admin on Tue, 2025-12-16 17:08 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila Reuters Tuesday, December 16, 2025
Gold mining companies in Ivory Coast have begun paying a new 8% royalty on revenue, backdated to January, after months of disputing the legality of the levy, three industry sources told Reuters.
Reuters previously reported that the top cocoa producer, which is seeking to diversify its economy, replaced the previous 3% to 6% range linked to contract terms with the flat 8% rate.
Miners initially refused to pay, arguing that the move was unlawful because their contracts shielded them from fiscal changes and entered negotiations with the government to have the new royalty scrapped.
However, companies have since started paying after the government refused to change its position, said the three people familiar with the matter, who declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the media. …
China is quietly destroying the dollar … and that’ll cost you
Submitted by admin on Tue, 2025-12-16 16:45 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Charlie Garcia MarketWatch, New York Tuesday, December 16, 2025
China controls the rare earths. China controls the cobalt. China, through its Belt and Road spending spree, now controls most of the mines in Africa that produce the stuff inside your phone, your car, and your refrigerator.
And now China has figured out how to price and settle all of it without using a single U.S. dollar.
South African banking giant Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest lender, has quietly integrated with China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS). In June, Standard Bank secured its CIPS license; in September the new rail went live, and by November Africa’s first direct yuan, or renminbi, channel was open, a seemingly dry banking milestone that in reality shifted a crucial line on the hidden map of global power.
The financial press buried it under Federal Reserve noise and earnings reports. Everyone kept scrolling. But the dollar’s monopoly is cracking.
It matters to you. Not because you trade cobalt futures, but because when the U.S. dollar loses its monopoly on pricing critical resources, your purchasing power shrinks. That shows up at the grocery store, at the gas pump, and in every aisle of every store. You just won’t know why.
Here’s what happened: A payment that used to take three to five days now takes seven seconds. Costs dropped 98%. A cobalt shipment from Congo to Shanghai now settles in Chinese yuan, without touching New York and without anyone in Washington getting a vote.
The dollar just got cut out of the transaction entirely.
This isn’t about banking plumbing. It’s about power. Who sets commodity prices. Who controls sanctions. Who gets to define the term “risk-free.” For 50 years, that’s been the U.S. Not anymore. …
4. ANDREW MAGUIRE/LIVE FROM THE VAULT KINESIS / AND TODAY;S 253
5. COMMODITY REPORT//
ASIA RESULTS; WEDNESDAY DEC 17
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 45.47 POINTS OR 1.19%
//Hang Seng CLOSED UP 233.37 PTS OR 0.92%
// Nikkei CLOSED UP 213.21 PTS OR 0.43% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.08%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED DOWN TO 7.0446
/ OFFSHORE CLOSED DOWN AT 7.0419/ Oil UP TO 55.99 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP TO 60.06 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN
ONSHORE USA/ YUAN TRADING DOWN TO 7.0446 OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING DOWN TO 7.0418:/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING BELOW OFF SHORE AND UP ON THE DOLLAR// / AND THUS WEAKER//OFF SHORE YUAN TRADING DOWN AGAINST US DOLLAR/ AND THUS WEAKER
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY VALUES/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS WEDNESDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
ONSHORE YUAN: CLOSED DOWN AT 7.0446
OFFSHORE YUAN: DOWN TO 7.0419
HANG SENG CLOSED UP 233.37 PTS OR 0.92%
2. Nikkei closed UP 213.21 PTS OR 0.43%
3. Europe stocks SO FAR: ALL GREEN
USA dollar INDEX UP TO 98.19 /// EURO FALLS TO 1.1717 DOWN 32 BASIS PTS
3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: RISES TO. +1.982 // UP 4 FULL BASIS PTS/ VERY TROUBLESOME//Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 155.50…… JAPANESE YEN NOW FALLING AS WE HAVE NOW REACHED THE ENDING OF THE YEN CARRY TRADE AGAIN AND THE REPATRIATION OF YEN DENOMINATED BONDS TRADING IN THE USA/EUROPE. JAPAN 30 YR BOND YIELD: 3.351 UP 2 FULL BASIS PTS. AND STILL VERY TROUBLESOME
3c Nikkei now ABOVE 17,000
3d USA/Yen rate now well ABOVE the important 120 barrier this morning
3e Gold UP/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 this morning
3h European bond buying continues to push yields LOWER on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund YIELD DOWN TO +2.8436/ Italian 10 Yr bond yield DOWN to 3.504 SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD DOWN TO 3.281
3i Greek 10 year bond yield DOWN TO 3.447
3j Gold at $4319.50 Silver at: 65.74 1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $54.00//AFTER 50.00
3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble DOWN 1 AND 33/100 roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 80.38
3m oil (WTI) into the 55 dollar handle for WTI and 59 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 155.50 10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 1.982% STILL ON CENTRAL BANK (JAPAN) INTERVENTION//YEN CARRY TRADE IS NOW UNWINDING//YEN BOND TRADING OVERSEAS REPATRIATED.//JAPAN 30 YR: 3.351 UP 2 BASIS PTS.
30 SNB (Swiss National Bank) still intervening again in the markets driving down the FRANC. It is not working: USA/SF this 0.7983 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF: 0.9354 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: 4.167 UP 2 BASIS PTS…
USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.832 UP 1 BASIS PTS/
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 3.504 UP 3 BASIS PTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 42.72 UP 2 BASIS PTS/LIRA GETTING KILLED
10 YR UK BOND YIELD: 4.465 DOWN 6 PTS
30 YR UK BOND YIELD: 5.208 DOWN 5 BASIS PTS
10 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.406DOWN 2 BASIS PTS
5 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 2,958 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS.
1a New York OPENING REPORT
Futures Rise For First Time In 4 Days As Oil Rebounds From 4 Year Low
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025 – 08:11 AM
Stock futures are higher but with less than 10 full trading days left in the year, the Santa rally seems increasingly elusive, with traders struggling to find catalysts. The S&P 500 tested a key technical level on Tuesday, coming close to breaking below its 50-DMA. As of 7:15am ET, S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%, pointing to the first increase in four days for the S&P 500 as investor appetite returned after last week’s tech retreat; Nasdaq contracts +0.4%: Netflix rose 1.7% in premarket trading on bets it will prevail in its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.Amazon rose 2% on report OpenAI is in initial discussions to raise at least $10 billion from Amazon and use its chips. Trading volumes are still relatively high, though will inevitably start to tail off as Christmas approaches. The main action today is in oil, with Brent prices bouncing 2.2% from a four year low back over $60, after Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned tankers going into and leaving Venezuela, while the US is once again considering sanctions on Russia if Putin rejects the proposed Ukraine peace deal. Gold also jumped. 10Y treasury yields rose 3bps to 4.18% and the dollar index was at session highs. US economic calendar blank for the session. Fed speaker slate includes Waller (8:15am), Williams (9:05am) and Bostic (12:30pm)
In premarket trading, Mag 7 stocks are mostly higher: Amazon +1.9% as OpenAI is in initial discussions to raise at least $10 billion from Amazon and use its chips (Tesla +0.3%, Meta +0.3%, Alphabet +0.3%, Microsoft +0.2%, Apple +0.2%, Nvidia +0.1%)
Avantor (AVTR) slips 3% after Jefferies cut the life-sciences firm to underperform — a sell equivalent — from hold, citing structural headwinds with “no easy fix.”
Children’s Place (PLCE) slides 32% after the kids apparel retailer posted third quarter sales that fell 13% from the year-earlier period.
Frontier Group Holdings (ULCC) climbs 7% as the company is in merger discussions with Bankrupt Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.
Hut 8 (HUT) surges 21% after the Bitcoin miner and data center operator signed a 15-year, $7 billion lease with Fluidstack for 245 megawatts of IT capacity at its River Bend data center campus in Louisiana with Google backstopping.
Lennar (LEN) falls 4% after the homebuilder forecast first quarter orders, deliveries and margins all below expectations, signaling strains on the housing market despite a lower interest rate.
Netflix (NFLX) rises 1.3% as Warner Bros. Discovery plans to reject Paramount Skydance’s takeover bid due to concerns about financing and other terms. Warner Bros. (WBD) shares are down 1.4%, while Paramount (PSKY) drops 1.8%.
Worthington Enterprises (WOR) falls 8% after the maker of aluminum propane cylinders posted fiscal second-quarter profit that disappointed.
Tuesday’s payrolls signaled a cooling jobs market, but not weak enough to prompt major changes to rate-cut bets in the near term. Hiring was concentrated in education and health care, as well as AI-related construction, but not much else, wrote Bloomberg Economics’ Anna Wong. The CPI data due Thursday will be the last major steer of the year. Still, investors are awaiting that report mostly with a sense of apathy, with options traders betting the S&P 500 will swing just 0.7% in either direction, according to data compiled by Barclays. That’s sharply lower than the 1% average realized move spurred by 12 reports through September. There are also signs that the recent rotation trade is fading, with the Russell 2000 index of small caps down 2.8% over three sessions.
“Yesterday’s November US jobs data is more of a confirmation of the prior expected rate path rather than a new catalyst,” said Andrea Gabellone, head of global equities at KBC Global Services.
Investors are increasingly looking for opportunities beyond the US tech giants that have underpinned the S&P 500’s 16% rally so far this year. A growing chorus of Wall Street analysts are making bullish predictions for 2026 after three straight interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and as nations from the US to Germany boost spending.
“I would expect more volatility because investors are differentiating more and they are not just playing one sector,” said Guy Miller, chief strategist at Zurich Insurance. “But the combination of trend-like growth, slightly lower interest rates, fiscal impulse coming through and importantly, a significant capital spending cycle kicking in, will work its way through the economy.”
Trump’s ban on sanctioned oil tankers going into and leaving Venezuela marked a major escalation and follows the seizure of an oil tanker last week by US forces off the country’s coast. Brent crude jumped 2% to $60.11 a barrel, advancing from the lowest level since 2021.
The US is also preparing for a fresh round of sanctions on Russia’s energy sector should President Vladimir Putin reject a peace agreement with Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter, potentially adding to the uptick in geopolitical tensions.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index gained 0.4%, led by the energy sector with BP and Shell rallying more than 2%, tracking gains in oil prices after Bloomberg reported the US is preparing a fresh round of sanctions on Russia’s energy sector. The UK’s FTSE 100 outperforms after inflation fell more than expected, cementing expectations for an interest-rate cut at the Bank of England on Thursday. Here are some of the biggest movers on Wednesday:
DBV shares soar as much as 47% in Paris, to the highest level since September 2022, after the company’s experimental skin patch met its primary endpoint in a late-stage trial for peanut-allergic children.
HSBC shares advance as much as 3.6% to a fresh high after KBW upgraded the lender’s shares to outperform from market perform on the strength of its Hong Kong business.
Serco shares jump as much as 5.6%, touching their highest level in more than 11 years, after the outsourcing services provider boosted its earnings guidance and introduced targets for 2026 that also exceeded expectations.
IPF shares rise as much as 8.7%, trading at their highest level since 2019, after the company extended the deadline for BasePoint to make a firm takeover offer.
Ariston shares gain as much as 6% after the Italian white goods and heating firm agreed to buy energy business Riello.
EnQuest shares rise as much as 6.1% after the oil and gas company said annual production should hit or exceed the top-end of its guidance range.
Hansa Biopharma shares plummet as much as 28% in Stockholm, the most since 2023, after disappointing results from a trial aimed at improving kidney function in patients with anti-glomerular basement membrane disease.
Suedzucker shares fall as much as 4.4% to the lowest level since 2008 after the German sugar producer said it expects a slight decrease in FY26/27 revenues as “highly challenging” conditions in the market persist.
Bunzl shares drop as much as 7.7%, the most since April, after the value-added distributor gave guidance for 2026 including moderate revenue growth and operating margin slightly down year-on-year.
Asian stocks edged higher, buoyed by a rebound in technology shares. Benchmarks rose in South Korea and Hong Kong. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.3%, snapping a two-day decline. Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Tencent Holdings were among the biggest boosts to the gauge’s climb. Shares also rebounded in mainland China. Sentiment around AI valuations appears to have steadied following a two-day slide that dragged the regional tech gauge down by more than 4% through Tuesday. Investors are once again focused on earnings that may provide further catalyst for shares. Asia is seeing a busy day for stock market listings on Wednesday. Among the debuts, Chinese chipmaker MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai Co. soared 693%, while Japan’s SBI Shinsei Bank Ltd. and Indonesia’s digital banking firm PT Super Bank Indonesia also surged. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s largest licensed cryptocurrency exchange HashKey Holdings Ltd. fell on its first day of trading
In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot index climbs 0.3%. Cable drops 0.7% to $1.3330 with sterling at the bottom of the G-10 FX leaderboard after inflation data came in below expectations. The yen also underperforms, falling 0.5% against the greenback. The Indian rupee jumped 1% after the central bank stepped in to support it after it hit a record low amid the country’s aggressive easing policies.
In rates, UK government bonds gapped higher at the open after headline, core and service CPI readings were lower-than-expected in November. Gains have pared but UK 10-year yields are still down 4 bps at 4.48%.
In commodities, WTI crude futures rise 2.4% to $56.60 a barrel while Brent crude jumped 2.2% to $60.24 a barrel, advancing from the lowest level since 2021. Trump’s Venezuela move helped send gold above $4,330 an ounce, pushing it close to the record $4,381 set in October. Other precious metals were also gaining, with silver climbing to a record above $66 an ounce and platinum hitting the highest since 2008.
Bitcoin slid 1% to trade around $86,868 as the token headed for the fourth annual decline in its history.
US economic calendar blank for the session. Fed speaker slate includes Waller (8:15am), Williams (9:05am) and Bostic (12:30pm)
Market Snapshot
S&P 500 mini +0.3%
Nasdaq 100 mini +0.4%
Russell 2000 mini +0.3%
Stoxx Europe 600 +0.4%
DAX +0.1%
CAC 40 little changed
10-year Treasury yield +2 basis points at 4.17%
VIX -0.3 points at 16.18
Bloomberg Dollar Index +0.3% at 1208.16
euro -0.2% at $1.1718
WTI crude +2.5% at $56.66/barrel
Top Overnight News
Trump on Tues ordered a “complete blockage” of sanctioned oil tankers from accessing Venezuela and labeled the Maduro gov’t a “terrorist regime.” Brent jumped and rose further on the news of potentially more Russia sanctions. RTRS
The US is preparing a fresh round of sanctions on Russia’s energy sector should Vladimir Putin reject a peace agreement with Ukraine, according to people familiar. The new measures may be unveiled as soon as this week. BBG
Trump is expected to sign an executive order as soon as this week that would fast-track reclassification of cannabis, according to NBC News.
US told China it’s ready to defend interests in Indo-Pacific: BBG
Trump officials privately raise doubts about Hassett for Fed chair, with his critics saying he has not been effective as head of the National Economic Council, playing little part in driving policies: Politico
Amazon (AMZN +166bps premkt) is in talks to invest more then $10bn in OpenAI and sell it more chips and computing power, in the latest investment deal tying the AI start up to its infrastructure providers. FT
Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners is withdrawing from the takeover battle for Warner Bros. Discovery. The studio plans to reject Paramount’s hostile bid, people familiar said, as its board sees the Netflix deal providing greater value. BBG
Japan’s exports gained 6.1% last month, topping estimates, with shipments to the US rising for the first time since Trump announced baseline tariffs in April. BBG
India’s central bank stepped in to support the rupee, propelling it to its biggest gain in seven months. BBG
India’s central bank governor expects the country’s interest rates to remain low for a “long period” as it enjoys robust economic growth that could soon be boosted by trade pacts being thrashed out with the US and Europe. FT
UK inflation slipped to the lowest level in eight months, with CPI rising 3.2% in November, less than expected. The pound weakened, and traders saw the data as all but sealing a BOE rate cut Thursday. BBG
European leaders rallying support for Kyiv say they are working to defend a democratic country, safeguard international law and counter Russian aggression. But there is another motivation rooted in self-interest: Europe believes a deal that favors Moscow risks a wider war that could engulf the whole continent. Cash-drained European capitals fear they would have no other choice but to massively increase military spending and defensive preparations, in the hope of preserving their deterrence. WSJ
Fed’s Goolsbee (2025 voter, hawkish dissenter) said job market is cooling at a modest pace. Said: As we go into 2026, optimistic economy will sustain at stabilised rate.
Trade/Tariffs
The UK Government announces that they are to re-join the EU’s Erasmus+ programme in 2027, with the deal including a 30% discount compared to the default terms. The UK and EU set a deadline to agree a food and drink trade deal and carbon markets linkage in 2026. Negotiations on electricity market integration has also been agreed. UK contribution will be about GBP 570mln for 2027.
UK’s EU Relations Minister Thomas-Symonds is expected to announce the UK will rejoin the Erasmus student exchange program at 12:30 GMT, according to POLITICO. The Times said UK was not able to negotiate as large a discount as it wanted from the GBP 120mln/yr that was announced.
EU diplomats told POLITICO, regarding the Mercosur trade deal, “If a compromise emerges on safeguards, EU ambassadors are expected to vote on the overall deal (Mercosur) on Friday”.
South Korea is to push for service sector FTA with China and CPTPP affiliation for export momentum, according to Yonhap.
China commerce ministry said the UN convention on cargo documents fully demonstrates China’s determination and actions to uphold true multilateralism, and strive to provide public goods globally.
US and Japan are to consider projects that may tap the USD 550bln fund, according to Bloomberg.
US President Trump posted “Numbers recently released show that TARIFFS have reduced the Trade Deficit of the United States by more than half. This is larger than anyone, except ME, projected, and will only get stronger in the near future”. Full post: “Numbers recently released show that TARIFFS have reduced the Trade Deficit of the United States by more than half. This is larger than anyone, except ME, projected, and will only get stronger in the near future. Everybody should pray that the United States Supreme Court has the Wisdom and Genius to allow Tariffs to GUARD our National Security, and our Financial Freedom! There are Evil, America hating Forces against us. We can not let them prevail. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”.
A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk
APAC stocks were indecisive with the region lacking conviction following the uninspiring lead from Wall Street where price action was choppy as participants digested a deluge of mixed data releases. ASX 200 was subdued in the absence of bullish drivers and as gains in the mining, materials and resources sectors were offset by weakness in energy, defensives and financials. Nikkei 225 swung between gains and losses amid a choppy currency and as participants digested the better-than-expected Japanese machinery orders and exports data, but with upside limited as an anticipated BoJ rate hike looms. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp initially traded indecisively in a narrow range with little fresh macro catalysts from China, and after the PBoC drained liquidity in its open market operations. The bourses later climbed to session highs.
Top Asian News
India’s Finance Minister said bringing down India’s debt to GDP ratio will be a core priority for the government for the next fiscal year, adds high debt to GDP ratio in some Indian states is a cause of worry.
Japanese PM Takaichi said Japan needs to strengthen its capacity through proactive fiscal policy rather than excessive fiscal tightening. said:. Sustainable fiscal policy and the social welfare system will be achieved by reflating the economy, improving corporate profits and raising household income through wage gains that boost tax revenues. Fiscal spending will be strategic rather than a reckless expansion.
Australia Treasurer Chalmers said FY27/28 budget deficit seen rising to AUD 32.6bln.
Former BoJ Deputy Governor Wakatabe said BoJ must raise the neutral interest rate through fiscal policy and growth strategies, adds the neutral interest rate would rise if demand for funds increases. said:. If the neutral rate rises due to fiscal policy and growth strategies, it would be natural for the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates. The Bank of Japan should avoid premature rate hikes and excessive adjustment of monetary support given the level of the neutral rate. Sanaenomics carries over elements of Abenomics, but focuses more on strengthening the supply side of the economy.
BoK Governor Rhee said will make sure outbound investment to US from a trade deal doesn’t hurt Forex stability. said:Need to make MPS hedging strategies more flexible and less transparent to curb herd-like behaviour.
Bank of Korea said 2026 inflation could exceed forecasts if KRW remains weak against USD.
Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers’ Union president Kaneko said he’s concerned that a BoJ rate hike on Friday could weigh on companies’ ability to raise wages next fiscal year. said:“If the yen sharply strengthened after Friday’s decision, it could affect corporate sentiment”.
South Korea forex authority said it resumes currency swap with the Bank of Korea.
European equities are trading mostly firmer. The FTSE 100 (+1.4%) is the outperformer following cooler-than-expected CPI, which increased the odds of a December cut to near 100%. European sectors are mixed. Leading sectors are Basic Resources (+1.1%), Banks (+1.1%) and Energy (+1.1%). Sentiment for Basic Resources has been underpinned by an uptick in metal prices. Energy has been lifted by crude prices nursing the prior day’s losses, fuelled by geopolitical tension between the US and Venezuela after US President Trump’s announcement of a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. Furthermore, a Bloomberg report on potential Russian energy sanctions lifted crude to highs.
Top European News
EU Climate Commissioner said they are not exempting any countries from the Carbon levy, though the UK could be exempt but only after UK carbon market linked to EU’s.
EU Commission proposes extending carbon border levy to downstream steel and aluminium-heavy products. Would also apply it to imported washing machines and machinery. Carbon borders levy revenues from 2026-27 for fund to support EU industries. Proposes system to prevent circumvention of carbon border levy, including by applying default country emissions values if companies provide unreliable data.
French Socialists (PS) have reportedly outlined conditions that would enable them to abstain instead of voting against the Finance Bill, via Politico citing various press; specific demands incl. EUR 10bln in additional spending via new financing streams.
UK PM Starmer pushes back on delayed defence spending plan and has asked military chiefs to rework aspects of the defence investment plan, according to FT.
Germany is set to approve EUR 50bln in military purchases, according to FT.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said to recall state parliament to discuss legislation on firearms which will cap number of firearms that can be owned and will reclassify other types of guns, as well as reduce magazine capacity for shotgun.
FX
The USD is stronger against all G10FX peers following Tuesday’s US data deluge, along with broad weakness across other majors, especially GBP and JPY. The session ahead sees comments from Fed second-in-command Williams, Fed Chair candidate Waller, and 2027 voter Bostic. There are no notable data releases until Thursday, November US CPI. DXY trades within a 98.17-98.64 range, with further gains in the greenback capped by its 100DMA at 98.62.
EUR is a little lower vs the broadly stronger USD. The single currency was little moved following the German Ifo metrics (slightly shy of exp.) and EZ HICP Finals which remained unrevised. Currently within a 1.1704 to 1.1752 range.
GBP underperforms vs G10 peers. Policymakers on Threadneedle Street this morning will welcome the cooler-than-expected UK inflation print for November, aligning with the BoE’s view that inflation had peaked and coming in at 3.2% against the expected 3.5%, lower than October’s 3.6% print. GBP, against the EUR and USD has been weakening since the 07:00 data, with further moves likely to encounter resistance at the 0.8795 and 1.33 levels respectively. Following the data, markets have moved to price an additional 10bps of easing in 2026, moving from 58bps (Tuesday) to 66bps. For the BoE confab on Thursday, expectations rose from c. 91% to a fully priced 25bps cut.
USD/JPY is lower today. Despite better-than-expected Japanese exports and machinery orders, the stronger USD, firmer energy benchmarks (on the day), and technicals have weighed on the haven in light newsflow. Remarks from Japanese Government panel member Nagahama did little to move the JPY, he said the BoJ’s monetary policy appears to be heavily influenced by FX moves. Since the beginning of the European session, and partially coinciding with the aforementioned comments, the pair breached the psychological 155 level, last crossed on Monday. As such, USD/JPY trades within 154.52-155.59 parameters. Levels to be aware of include 21 and 50DMAs, at 155.95 and 154.25, respectively.
Fixed Income
Gilts are the clear outperformer this morning. Gapped higher by 73 ticks, boosted by a cooler-than-expected November CPI series. A release that cements a December cut with markets now assigning a 99% chance of such a move (vs 91% pre-release). Ahead of the data, sell-side analysts generally viewed a 5-4 vote split as the consensus; the release today could now see the split shift a bit more dovishly. The current hawks are Mann, Pill, Greene and Lombardelli; the latter has been viewed as the most likely candidate to join Bailey in cutting rates in December, with Chief Economist Pill perhaps the other member to watch. Back to price action, Gilts are currently higher by 50 ticks and at the lower end of a 91.38 to 91.78 range.
USTs are a touch lower this morning, pulling back after ultimately settling in the green on Tuesday. Currently trading towards the lower end of a narrow 112-11 to 112-17+ range. Ahead, US data is lacking (CPI tomorrow); before that, the POTUS will deliver remarks where he could potentially outline new policies for the new year.
Bunds were essentially unchanged throughout overnight trade, but then caught a bid following the release of the UK’s inflation report (see below). The German benchmark swung from troughs to peaks following the release, but have since scaled back towards the midpoint of a 127.53 to 127.79 range. No real move on the German Ifo data, which was broadly slightly shy of expectations, another disappointing release from the region. From an inflationary standpoint, a recent Bloomberg article suggested that the US is planning new energy sanctions on Russia, if they reject a peace deal with Ukraine. This sparked upside in the crude complex, putting the German benchmark under very slight pressure – albeit within ranges.
Commodities
Crude benchmarks have completely reversed the losses seen throughout Tuesday’s as the US blocks sanctioned oil tankers going in and out of Venezuela and recent reports, from Bloomberg sources, that the US are preparing new Russian energy sanctions if Russia rejects a Ukraine peace deal. Kremlin recently said that it had not yet seen the report, but highlighted that any sanctions will harm attempts to mend relations. As soon as the Bloomberg reports came out regarding new Russian energy sanctions, WTI lifted from USD 55.95 to a 56.74/bbl session high while Brent rose from USD 59.60 to a 60.40/bbl session high.
Spot XAU continued to grind higher throughout the APAC session but remains well-contained within Friday’s range of USD 4257-5354/oz. After opening just above USD 4300/oz, XAU gradually traded higher and briefly extended beyond Tuesday’s high of USD 4335/oz, peaking at USD 4342/oz, before falling back into Tuesday’s range. XAG has, in recent sessions, dragged the yellow metal higher as investors look for cheaper alternatives to gold. XAG extended to a new ATH of USD 66.52/oz in the APAC session.
3M LME Copper bid higher throughout the Asia-Pac session, trending from USD 11.62k/t to a peak of USD 11.79k/t, in-line with the rest of the metals space. The red metal has slightly pulled back as the European session gets underway, dipping to a trough of USD 11.7k/t, but gains remain mostly in-tact as trade continues.
Kazakhstan Deputy Energy Minister said Kazakhstan oil production in the first 11 months of 2025 totalled 91.9mln tons and exports were 73.4mln tons.
Chevron Corp (CVX) spokesperson said operations in Venezuela continue without disruption following Trump’s blockade order.
US Private Inventory Data (bbls): Crude -9.3mln (exp. -1.1mln), Distillate +2.5mln (exp. +1.2mln), Gasoline -4.8mln (exp. +2.1mln), Cushing -0.5mln.
Geopolitics
Russia’s Kremlin said it is not expecting US envoy Witkoff to come to Moscow this week. As soon as the US are ready, they will inform Moscow about their talks with Ukraine.
US readies new Russian energy sanctions in the scenario that Russia rejects a Ukraine peace deal, according to Bloomberg sources; could potentially be announced as early as this week. Considering options such as targeting vessels in Russia’s “shadow fleet” of tankers used to transport Moscow’s oil. Crude benchmarks saw immediate upside. WTI lifted from USD 55.95 to a 56.68/bbl session high. Brent rose from USD 59.60 to a 60.33/bbl session high.
Ukraine’s military strikes Russian oil refinery in Krasnodar region.
EU ambassadors convene at 08:00 GMT, to talk on frozen Russian assets; a diplomat told POLITICO it was “still quite early”. Belgian Prime Minister De Wever is expected to float a legal workaround at Thursday’s summit that would allow joint EU borrowing for Ukraine, according to four diplomats. POLITICO writes that EU joint borrowing was first aired by ECB’s Lagarde, and since received support from Italy, though the idea has since been disregarded with officials dismissing it as legally unviable.
Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Krasnodar region injures two people and cuts power to parts of the region, according to regional authorities.
Israeli forces conduct raids in Al Tuffah and Al Zaytoun neighbourhoods east of Gaza City, according to Al Jazeera.
US Event Calendar
4:00 am: Sep New Home Sales MoM, est. -10.82%, prior 20.5%
4:00 am: Sep New Home Sales, est. 713.5k, prior 800k
4:00 am: Sep Housing Starts MoM, est. 1.61%
4:00 am: Sep P Building Permits, est. 1350k, prior 1330k
4:00 am: Sep Housing Starts, est. 1328k, prior 1307k
4:00 am: Sep Construction Spending MoM, est. 0%, prior 0.2%
7:00 am: Dec 12 MBA Mortgage Applications, prior 4.8%
Central Banks (All Times ET):
8:15 am: Fed’s Waller Speaks on Economic Outlook
9:05 am: Fed’s Williams Delivers Opening Remarks
12:30 pm: Fed’s Bostic Participates in Moderated Discussion
DB’ Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
The mood in markets hasn’t been very “Christmassy” this week with yesterday seeing the S&P 500 (-0.24%) post a third consecutive decline thanks to a US jobs report that could be interpreted in whichever way your biases were. The report was always expected to be choppy given the DOGE cuts and the government shutdown, but the rise in unemployment was even bigger than expected, reaching a four-year high of 4.6%. So on balance, investors interpreted the report in a dovish light, and Treasuries rallied in a choppy post payroll session, as investors priced in more cuts for 2026. Moreover, that risk-off mood was clear across the board, with US HY spreads (+5bps) reaching their highest in three weeks. And we saw Brent crude oil prices (-2.71%) close beneath $60/bbl for the first time since February 2021, at just $58.92/bbl, though they are +1.21% higher overnight after Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers in Venezuela. The move has taken Treasuries yields back higher too.
In terms of more detail on that jobs report, the main headline was that payrolls were down by -105k in October, before rebounding by +64k in November (vs. +50k expected). That October decline was driven by a collapse in government payrolls of -157k, marking their biggest monthly slump since the pandemic-driven losses in May 2020. But it was hard for markets to take too much optimism from the November recovery, as the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.6% (vs. 4.5% expected), and the broader U6 measure (which adds in the underemployed and those marginally attached to the labour force) hit 8.7%, the highest since August 2021. Diluting some of the concern over higher unemployment was that this was driven by re-entrants to the labour market rather than permanent job losses. Another consolation was the resilience of private payrolls, up by +52k in October and +69k in November, suggesting that things were a bit stronger away from the DOGE cuts and the shutdown. The 3-month moving average for private payrolls is in fact now at a 6-month high.
Ultimately however, the higher unemployment rate confirmed existing fears about a softer labour market, and investors priced in more Fed rate cuts for 2026. Indeed, the number of cuts priced by the December 2026 meeting was up +2.4bps on the day to 59bps. And in turn, Treasuries rallied across the curve, with the 2yr yield (-1.5bps) down to 3.49%, whilst the 10yr yield (-2.8bps) fell to 4.15%. Those moves came amid ongoing headlines surrounding the Fed Chair nomination, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that Trump was going to interview Fed Governor Chris Waller today. The latest standings on Polymarket put NEC Chair Kevin Hasset at around 53%, and comfortably back in the lead, ahead of former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh at 26% and with Waller up to 16% from 7% the previous day.
Nevertheless, equities struggled against this backdrop, with the S&P 500 (-0.24%) having now posted 3 declines since its record high last Thursday. Those moves were broad-based, with around three-quarters of the index losing ground yesterday. Indeed, the losses would’ve been larger were it not for outperformance by the Mag-7 (+0.82%), which were led by Tesla (+3.07%) reaching a new record high for first time since last December. By contrast, the equal-weighted S&P 500 was down -0.71%, with energy stocks (-2.98%) leading the decline given the latest slump in oil prices. Brent crude fell -2.71% to $58.92/bbl, its lowest since February 2021, though it is +1.21% higher overnight after President Trump posted last night that he was ordering a “BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela”. This marks the latest move by the US to raise pressure on the Maduro regime. The overnight oil rise is also helping 10yr Treasury yields (+2.5bps) reverse some of yesterday’s decline.
In Europe, markets had followed a very similar pattern yesterday, with a risk-off move that pushed equities and bond yields lower. In part, that was driven by an underwhelming set of flash PMIs for December, with the Euro Area composite reading falling back from its two-year high in November to 51.9 (vs. 52.6 expected). So that added to fears that the economy had lost some momentum into year-end, and the STOXX 600 (-0.47%) fell back, along with yields on 10yr bunds (-0.8bps), OATs (-1.7bps) and BTPs (-2.7bps).
Admittedly, European assets were supported by signs of progress on the Ukraine negotiations, and the impact was clear in assets sensitive to the conflict. In addition to the decline in oil, the 10yr yield on Ukraine’s dollar bond (-28.4bps) fell back to 13.77%, its lowest level since March, whilst the STOXX Aerospace & Defense index (-1.79%) underperformed. Yet despite hopes for a ceasefire in the coming months, that still wasn’t enough to outweigh the broader negativity for European equities from the US jobs report and the weaker PMIs.
One exception to that pattern came in the UK, where gilts struggled after yesterday’s data leant in a hawkish direction. For instance, wage growth was up by +4.7% in the three months to October (vs. +4.4% expected), and the flash composite PMI also moved up to 52.1 in December (vs. 51.5 expected). So collectively, that suggested inflationary pressures might be stronger than thought, and 10yr gilt yields (+2.3bps) moved back up to 4.52%. Remember as well that we’ll get the UK CPI print for November shortly after this goes to press, so the focus will be on whether that continues its downward trajectory. Then the BoE meeting tomorrow.
This morning, Asian equity markets are stabilising, led by the KOSPI, which is up +0.95%. The Hang Seng (+0.22%) and the Nikkei (+0.15%) are also higher. In mainland China, both the CSI (+0.58%) and the Shanghai Composite (+0.18%) are also trading in positive territory, fueled by expectations of additional fiscal stimulus from Beijing, especially in the wake of several weaker-than-expected economic indicators for November. In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia is bucking this regional trend, currently down -0.16%. US equity futures are down a tenth.
In Japan, exports in November recorded their fastest growth in nine months this year, increasing by an impressive 6.1% y/y. This significantly surpassed market expectations of a +5.0% rise and was also a marked improvement from the 3.6% increase observed in the preceding month. This strong export performance was underpinned by a +3.6% increase in goods shipped to Western Europe and an +8.8% surge in exports to the United States, Japan’s second-largest trading partner. Notably, this marks the first time that exports from Japan to the US have increased since March. Concurrently, imports into Japan rose by +1.3% in November, which was below the anticipated +2.5% increase. As a result, Japan’s trade balance for November amounted to a surplus of 322.3 billion yen, far exceeding the projected 72.6 billion yen surplus and representing a significant turnaround from the 226.1 billion yen deficit recorded in the prior month.
Elsewhere yesterday, we had a few other data releases, including the delayed US retail sales for October. They were unchanged (vs. +0.1% expected), but the measure excluding autos and gas stations was up +0.5% (vs. +0.4% expected), and retail control, which feeds into GDP, was up +0.8%, much higher than the +0.4% expected. Meanwhile in Germany, the expectations component of the ZEW survey moved up to a 5-month high of 45.8 (vs. 38.4 expected), although the current situation fell back to a 7-month low of -81.0 (vs. -80.0 expected).
1b) European opening report
1c) Asian opening report
European equity futures point to a slightly firmer open; US threatens to retaliate against EU companies over digital tax – Newsquawk EU Market Open
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025 – 12:56 AM
US President Trump is to give an address to the nation on Wednesday night, live from the White House at 21:00EST (02:00GMT Thursday). White House Press Secretary said that Trump’s address will be about accomplishments, while he will talk about what’s to come and maybe tease new year policies.
US threatened to retaliate against EU companies over digital tax, while it will use ‘every tool’ to counter the EU digital tax and may consider fees and foreign services restrictions.
US House China Panel wrote a letter to US Commerce Secretary Lutnick, stating that NVIDIA (NVDA) H200 chip sales to China risk US’ advantage.
US President Trump announced a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.
APAC stocks were indecisive for most of the session; European equity futures indicate a slightly softer cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.1% after the cash market closed with losses of 0.6% on Tuesday.
Looking ahead, highlights include UK Inflation (Nov), German Ifo Survey (Dec), EZ CPI Final (Nov), NZD GDP (Q3), Speakers including Fed’s Waller, Williams & Bostic, Supply from US, Earnings from Micron.
2. Listen to this report in the market open podcast (available on Apple and Spotify)
3. Trial Newsquawk’s premium real-time audio news squawk box for 7 days
US TRADE
EQUITIES
US stocks closed the day in the red, in a choppy session, beginning in the US morning in futures after delayed US data. Recapping, the US November payrolls report headline came in at above expected, with the unemployment rate jumping to 4.6% from 4.4%, with some of the move explained by the participation rate rising, but the household survey is also subject to a larger standard error than usual, and it may be this way for a few months. The Oct. headline fell 105k (exp. -25k), retail sales were soft but driven by a fall in auto sales, while S&P Global Flash PMIs disappointed.
Akin to US indices, Treasuries saw two-way action, as they initially spiked higher amid a jump in the November unemployment rate, but quickly faded the move given the overall mixed bag of data.
SPX -0.24% at 6,800, NDX +0.26% at 25,133, DJI -0.62% at 48,114, RUT -0.45% at 2,519.
US President Trump posted that “Numbers recently released show that TARIFFS have reduced the Trade Deficit of the United States by more than half. This is larger than anyone, except ME, projected, and will only get stronger in the near future. Everybody should pray that the United States Supreme Court has the Wisdom and Genius to allow Tariffs to GUARD our National Security, and our Financial Freedom!
US House China Panel wrote a letter to US Commerce Secretary Lutnick, stating that NVIDIA (NVDA) H200 chip sales to China risk US’ advantage.
US threatened to retaliate against EU companies over digital tax, while it will use ‘every tool’ to counter the EU digital tax and may consider fees and foreign services restrictions.
US and Japan are to consider projects that may tap the USD 550bln fund, according to Bloomberg.
South Korea is to push for service sector FTA with China and CPTPP affiliation for export momentum, according to Yonhap.
French President Macron called for an urgent rebalancing of EU-China relations in an FT op-ed, and said in order to finance the investment we need, Europe must leverage its pool of around EUR 30tln in savings. Macro also commented that the EU must stay open for China to invest in sectors where it is a leader and that China must address its internal imbalances.
NOTABLE HEADLINES
US President Trump is to give an address to the nation on Wednesday night, live from the White House at 21:00EST (02:00GMT). White House Press Secretary said that Trump’s address will be about accomplishments, while he will talk about what’s to come and maybe tease new year policies.
US President Trump is set to interview Fed Governor Waller for the Chair role on Wednesday, while officials have cautioned that the process is fast-moving and that meetings can always be postponed or cancelled as the president continues to deliberate, according to WSJ.
Trump officials privately raised doubts about Hassett for Fed chair, with his critics saying he has not been effective as head of the National Economic Council and is playing little part in driving policies, according to POLITICO.
Fed’s Goolsbee (2025 voter, hawkish dissenter) said the job market is cooling at a modest pace and as we go into 2026, he is optimistic the economy will sustain at a stabilised rate.
Fed’s Bostic (2027 voter) said price pressures are not just coming from tariffs and the Fed should not be hasty to declare victory. Bostic said he would have preferred to leave monetary policy where it was at the last Fed meeting and noted that further interest rate cuts would place monetary policy near or into accommodative territory, putting inflation and inflation expectations at risk. Furthermore, he said Tuesday’s jobs report was a mixed picture and did not change the outlook much.
White House is preparing an executive order that could limit stock buybacks, dividends and executive compensation for military contractors, according to Punchbowl. It was separately reported that the Trump administration is weighing an executive order to pressure defence contractors to spend less on stock buybacks and dividends and more on infrastructure and weapons production, according to Bloomberg.
US President Trump is expected to sign an executive order as soon as this week that would fast-track reclassification of cannabis, according to NBC News.
APAC TRADE
EQUITIES
APAC stocks were indecisive with the region lacking conviction following the uninspiring lead from Wall Street where price action was choppy as participants digested a deluge of mixed data releases.
ASX 200 was subdued in the absence of bullish drivers and as gains in the mining, materials and resources sectors were offset by weakness in energy, defensives and financials.
Nikkei 225 swung between gains and losses amid a choppy currency and as participants digested the better-than-expected Japanese machinery orders and exports data, but with upside limited as an anticipated BoJ rate hike looms.
Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp initially traded indecisively in a narrow range with little fresh macro catalysts from China, and after the PBoC drained liquidity in its open market operations. The bourses later climbed to session highs.
US equity futures were little changed following the choppy post-NFP performance.
European equity futures indicate a slightly softer cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.1% after the cash market closed with losses of 0.6% on Tuesday.
FX
DXY mildly gained in an attempt to shrug off the prior day’s choppy mood as participants had digested a slew of data releases, including mixed jobs data in which October jobs fell by 105k, although it was seemingly driven by a decline in the Federal government due to the shutdown. Conversely, the November NFP report showed a modest rebound in the headline of 64k, but the Unemployment Rate moved higher to 4.6% from 4.4%, while the BLS had issued a notice beforehand that it would contain a larger standard error.
EUR/USD was rangebound following yesterday’s two-way price action in which early momentum was thwarted by resistance at the 1.1800 level.
GBP/USD faded some of its gains after recently outperforming on better-than-expected jobs and earnings data, while participants now await UK inflation figures.
USD/JPY price action was choppy with initial downside following the recent narrowing of US-Japan yield differentials and after better-than-expected Japanese exports and machinery orders, although the pair then bounced back as sentiment in Japan gradually improved.
Antipodeans lacked demand in the absence of any relevant tier-1 data and amid the overall mixed risk appetite.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.0573 vs exp. 7.0386 (Prev. 7.0602).
FIXED INCOME
10yr UST futures marginally declined following yesterday’s choppy price action amid the deluge of US data, including the jobs report, which was ultimately a mixed bag.
Bund futures lacked direction following the prior day’s indecisive performance and mixed German ZEW data.
10yr JGB futures remained subdued as the BoJ meeting approaches and following the mostly better-than-expected machinery orders and trade data from Japan.
COMMODITIES
Crude futures gradually clawed back some of the prior day’s losses with the rebound facilitated by the much larger-than-expected drawdown in weekly private sector headline crude stockpiles and US President Trump’s announcement of a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.
US Private Inventory Data (bbls): Crude -9.3mln (exp. -1.1mln), Distillate +2.5mln (exp. +1.2mln), Gasoline -4.8mln (exp. +2.1mln), Cushing -0.5mln.
Spot gold edged higher after its recent return above the USD 4,300/oz level and as silver prices continued to rally to a fresh record high around USD 66/oz.
Copper futures kept afloat but with further upside limited amid the mixed risk appetite in Asia and indecisiveness in its largest buyer, China.
CRYPTO
Bitcoin trickled lower overnight and eventually dipped beneath the USD 87,000 level.
NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES
PBoC injected CNY 46.8bln via 7-day reverse repos with the rate at 1.40% for a net drain of CNY 143bln.
Japanese PM Takaichi said Japan needs to strengthen its capacity through proactive fiscal policy rather than excessive fiscal tightening, while she added that a sustainable fiscal policy and the social welfare system will be achieved by reflating the economy, improving corporate profits and raising household income through wage gains that boost tax revenues. Furthermore, she said fiscal spending will be strategic rather than a reckless expansion.
DATA RECAP
Japanese Trade Balance Total Yen (Nov) 322.2B vs. Exp. 71.2B (Prev. -231.8B, Rev. -226.1B)
Japanese Exports YY (Nov) 6.1% vs. Exp. 4.8% (Prev. 3.6%)
Japanese Imports YY (Nov) 1.3% vs. Exp. 2.5% (Prev. 0.7%)
Japanese Machinery Orders MM (Oct) 7.0% vs. Exp. -2.3% (Prev. 4.2%)
Japanese Machinery Orders YY (Oct) 12.5% vs. Exp. 3.6% (Prev. 11.6%)
Israeli forces conducted raids in Al Tuffah and Al Zaytoun neighbourhoods east of Gaza City, according to Al Jazeera.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Krasnodar region injured two people and cut power to parts of the region, according to regional authorities.
OTHER NEWS
US President Trump posted that “Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America. It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before… the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.”
Venezuela said it rejects the grotesque threat from US President Trump, while it added that the Trump blockade is absolutely irrational and violates free commerce and navigability, according to a government statement.
US told China it is ready to defend interests in Indo-Pacific, according to Bloomberg.
Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said a Chinese aircraft carrier sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday.
EU/UK
NOTABLE HEADLINES
UK PM Starmer pushed back on the delayed defence spending plan and asked military chiefs to rework aspects of the defence investment plan, according to FT.
Germany is set to approve EUR 50bln in military purchases, according to FT.
2.a NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA
b. JAPAN
3. CHINA/
4 EUROPEAN/NATO AFFAIRS/SCANDINAVIA
AUSTRIA
This is what happens when you bring in migrants that cannot assimilate
(zerohedge)
Austria’s Demographic Divide: For First Time, Over Half Of First-Graders In Vienna Don’t Speak German
In a sign of just how fast the demographic situation is developing in Austria, Vienna has hit a major new milestone, marking the first time that more than half the first-grade population do not understand German.
The news highlights just how dramatic the demographic crisis facing Europe is, which has seen falling educational standards across the continent, in large part due to mass immigration.
“For the first time, more than half of the first-graders in Vienna’s public elementary schools do not understand German,” the Vienna People’s Party reported on Friday.
The data shows that 50.9 percent of first-graders, or 10,931 students, must be classified as special needs students in the current school year.
This already comes after reports from last year that over 75 percent of students in Vienna’s middle school system do not speak German at home, choosing another foreign language instead.
However, it was already clear that it would pass the 50 percent mark last year, when it was listed at the 49.7 percent mark.
Education spokesperson and parliamentary group leader Harald Zierfuß blames the ruling left-liberal government, saying, “Because the SPÖ and NEOS are failing in Vienna, more children than ever before are unable to speak German.”
“Time is running out for our city. The children without German language skills are the welfare recipients of tomorrow in this city,” said Zierfuß, according to Austrian newspaper Heute.
Islam is now the dominant religion for school children in Vienna. Of those enrolled at elementary, middle, and special schools for the 2024/25 academic year, 41.2% of the 112,600 students were of the Islamic faith, according to new figures from the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF). Christian: 34.5% Non-denominational: 23% Buddhist: 0.2% Jewish: 0.1%
However, his ÖVP party does not propose emigration or any immigration restriction policies. Instead, they propose more language proficiency courses, mandatory kindergarten for all 3-year-olds, and hiring more staff for kindergartens.
“This means they grow up in families and closed parallel societies that simply refuse integration. Integration into our social system and our cultural fabric depends primarily on language acquisition,” he writes.
Furthermore, he points out the obvious outcome of this development for the future.
“And all those children with a migration background who only learn German with difficulty and often only at a rudimentary level in school are at risk of entering life without a qualification and with limited career prospects,” writes Mölzer.
Beyond the struggles of these students, they make up such an incredibly large share of students in Vienna that they are sure to drag down the rest of the students in their classes. The obvious outcome is that more and more White Austrians are sending their children to private schools and even protesting against schools with a high proportion of foreigners — all while continuing to vote left.
Many of these native-born ethnic Austrians either already live in wealthier neighborhoods, vote left, and live in districts where the migration percentage of children in the local schools is extremely low, or they send their children to private schools — while creating ample excuses as to why they are taking that route.
Meanwhile, poorer ethnic Austrians are stuck with the problems in the increasingly foreign neighborhoods that make up Vienna. For the wealthier, left-wing Austrians, these people not only do not overly matter, but if they complain, they are smeared as racist and bigoted.
Mölzer is open about this trend.
“Moreover, (students who cannot comprehend German) logically hinder the learning process and instruction for native-born children. No wonder, then, that in Vienna, if you can afford it, you only send your children to private schools,” he wrote.
The education situation in Austria, overall, is extremely poor. In 2025, there are 46,385 students nationwide who are unable to follow lessons, which was a slight reduction from the previous school year, when 48,450 students could not follow lessons because they lacked sufficient German. However, the overall trend line has been disastrous over the last 10 years, dating back to when Austria truly opened itself up to mass immigration.
It is not just language issues. As Remix News has long documented, teachers are dropping out of the Austrian school system in droves due to violence, disrespect, and even serious cases of rape. In one case this year, seven foreign students were found guilty of gang raping, blackmailing, and setting their teacher’s apartment on fire.
Euroclear: The Line Europe Can’t Cross Without Breaking Global Trust
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025 – 07:20 AM
Submitted by Thomas Kolbe
Euroclear and the Looming Breach of Trust
The alliance financing the war in Ukraine is facing a new problem. Seven members of the European Union want to block the expropriation of the Russian central bank assets held at Euroclear. This puts the continuation of war financing at risk. At the same time, the specter of a financial crisis looms—one that would once again leave taxpayers footing the bill.
The negotiation marathon between representatives of Ukraine, the EU and the United Kingdom, with a US delegation acting as mediator, continues in Berlin. As usual, it is accompanied by familiar phrases about “progress” on the road to peace and assurances that roughly 90 percent of the target has already been reached
How much weight this interim result actually deserves will become clear in the coming days. Expect a frantic ramp-up of the propaganda machine, drones over airports (and over Wolfram Weimer’s residence), and growing pressure on US President Donald Trump. The militarily precarious situation of Ukraine’s armed forces is now colliding with an almost equally dramatic financial situation among Kyiv’s creditors.
Everything points to mounting pressure to cut the Gordian knot—sooner rather than later—as war costs on both sides threaten to spiral out of control.
This brings the latest developments in the debate over the expropriation of the Russian central bank and its assets parked at Euroclear back into sharp focus.
A Critical Demarcation Line
Euroclear could turn into a personal Waterloo for EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She is working at full throttle to convert the current crisis into a massive expansion of power for Brussels—and thus for her Commission.
Hungary, Slovakia and Belgium—already outspoken critics of expropriating Russian assets—are now joined by Italy, Bulgaria, Malta and Cyprus. Resistance to Brussels’ escalation push is growing by the day.
Notably, this resistance coincides with a clear shift in timing. Since the United States effectively withdrew from financing Ukraine, Europe’s financial reality has come into view without cosmetic filters. Without access to roughly €210 billion in Russian assets—about €25 billion of which are spread across various EU states—continued financing of this war of attrition appears barely feasible.
All major creditors—Germany, France and the United Kingdom—have long overstretched their budgets and are running new debt levels between four and six percent. The Ukraine project is on the brink of fiscal collapse.
The Illusion of Expropriation as a Lifeline
What is being attempted is as simple as it is dangerous. These assets—partly government bonds, partly matured bond holdings in foreign currencies—are to be used as collateral for further loans. Europe is already trapped in a debt spiral and is tapping every remaining source of funding. Even the enemy is no longer off-limits for the London-Brussels tandem.
Observers with a sensitivity for political phraseology and grandiosity understood as early as April 2022 what was unfolding: in a state of euphoric overconfidence, decision-makers catastrophically miscalculated and constructed a scenario in which a defeated Russia would be forced to pay for the entire war. This would have allowed Europe to neatly extract its own banks—deeply entangled in Ukraine’s financing—from the equation.
History offers a familiar pattern: bankers and politicians working hand in hand, this time in Kyiv. Many were already anticipating the day of Putin’s submission, followed by regime change in Moscow and the launch of large-scale extraction of Russia’s immense raw-material wealth. Europe’s banking system would have been recapitalized to the rooftops, and the energy problem solved once and for all.
That calculation has clearly failed. Instead, the taxpayer will bear the losses.
Ukraine as a Systemic Risk
Without credit guarantees, Ukraine would already be insolvent. A disorderly collapse of the state would hit the European banking system like a nuclear detonation. There is no realistic way around the public sector eventually absorbing these massive loan liabilities.
This inevitably brings the debate over expanding Eurobonds—formally prohibited under EU law—back to center stage, potentially reintroduced outright as European war bonds.
With the “NextGenerationEU” program, this supposedly forbidden practice has already become de facto reality. Brussels has raised €800 billion on capital markets through this mechanism. These funds fuel the EU’s bloated subsidy machine and are now structurally embedded in its power architecture, always backstopped by the ECB.
Brussels is already acting as a sovereign bond issuer in its own right, further increasing member states’ liability exposure and debt levels. Europe has maneuvered itself into both a geopolitical and financial dead end—an outcome that has been foreseeable for years.
Euroclear and the Looming Breach of Trust
The chronic reality denial and embedded incompetence of EU and UK political leadership defy rational explanation. All the more notable is the emerging resistance around Euroclear—even as Brussels searches for ways to force the decision through by simple majority if necessary.
There is reason for cautious optimism that countries like Italy understand what expropriating Russian central bank assets at Euroclear would mean for the eurozone’s financial stability. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s initiative to discreetly safeguard Italy’s central-bank gold against potential ECB access underscores that Rome knows exactly what is at stake. Italy would be well positioned for a potential reboot of a sovereign currency.
The damage caused by expropriating Russian assets would be maximal: a financial super-GAU, a total loss of credibility and of the merchant-law principles indispensable to banking and international transactions. The entire global financial system—transaction settlement and custodial asset holding—rests on trust: on the absolute stability of its core pillars.
Institutions like Euroclear are among those pillars. They do not merely safeguard international transaction flows—they make them possible in the first place. Once this foundation is damaged, far more than a political signal is at risk. The stability of the entire system is on the line.
END
5. RUSSIA AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
ISRAEL VS HAMAS
TBN ISRAEL/LAST 24 HR
end
ISRAEL VS HAMAS
ISRAEL VS HEZBOLLAH
Nahariya is a border city in Northern Israel close to the border of Lebanon:
(JerusalemPost)
‘Nahariya get ready’: Banner displaying Hezbollah threat mounted in Tehran’s Palestine Square
The banner, which reads “For the next war, Nahariya be prepared,” features images of Hezbollah.
The Iranian regime placed a new banner in Tehran’s Palestine Square threatening Israel’s northern city of Nahariya, according to photos shared online.
The banner, which reads “For the next war, Nahariya be prepared,” features images of Hezbollah.
The banner has been named, “Another defeat awaits you in Lebanon,” according to Iranian media.
end
ISRAEL/HAMAS WEST BANK CANADA
They were rightly denied entry: they were up to no good
They should try and fix the problem Canada has with its huge Muslim influx
(JerusalemPost)
Canadian MPs, Muslim delegates, denied entry to West Bank by Israel
The delegation was set to meet with Palestinian Authority officials and Palestinian refugees, as well as Jewish, Muslim, and Christian advocates.
A man walks at a barrier, at the Allenby Bridge Crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, September 8, 2024.(photo credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)ByMATHILDA HELLERDECEMBER 16, 2025 17:58Updated: DECEMBER 16, 2025 20:25
A delegation of 30 Canadians, including six MPs, was denied entrance to the West Bank on Tuesday despite having travel authorization, according to members of the group.
The six MPs were Fares Al Soud (Liberal), Iqra Khalid (Liberal), Jenny Kwan (New Democratic Party), Sameer Zuberi (Liberal), Aslam Rana (Liberal), and Gurbux Saini (Liberal).
The delegation was organized by The Canadian-Muslim Vote, a Canadian registered nonprofit charity organization. They attempted to enter via the Allenby crossing with Jordan. The delegation was set to meet with Palestinian Authority officials and Palestinian refugees, as well as Jewish, Muslim, and Christian advocates.
Some members of the delegation are part of the National Council of Canadian Muslims. The NCCM members reported having to each sign a form declaring they acknowledge they are a threat to public safety, which they declined to do. The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories agency claimed that the group arrived “without prior coordination.”
Protesters place Palestinian flags atop the gate of the Canadian representative office during a demonstration in the West Bank city of Ramallah November 28, 2012. (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMAD TOROKMAN)
Barred despite Israeli authorization
The NCCM released a statement saying that the members of the delegation have now all returned to Jordan and will return to Canada from there.
“This development is deeply troubling and extremely disappointing,” said Stephen Brown, CEO of NCCM. “Israeli authorities had issued electronic travel authorizations to all members of the delegation, yet lawful observers, including elected Canadian officials, were ultimately barred from entry as ‘public safety threats.’”
Brown said the refusal represented a broader pattern by the Israeli government of restricting access to those seeking to independently witness the realities of “the occupied territories.”
Several of the MPs have taken strong anti-Israel stances. In October 2025, Zuberi said those who have served in the IDF should be screened to ensure they have not been involved in any breaches of international law before entering Canada. Rana joined a bill pushing for the end of Canadian weapons to Israel.
All six MPs are also part of the group Vote Palestine, which is focused on putting Palestine on the ballot and organizing people across Canada to “speak up to pressure MPs, political parties, and candidates to endorse the Palestine Platform.”
END
GAZA/PAKISTAN/HAMAS/USA
US presses Pakistan to join Gaza force, testing powerful military chief’s authority at home
Field Marshal Munir is expected to discuss stabilization force with Trump in coming weeks, with Pakistani participation likely to trigger domestic backlash among Islamists
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s most powerful military chief in decades faces the toughest test of his newly amassed powers as Washington pushes Islamabad to contribute troops to the Gaza stabilization force, a move analysts say could spark domestic backlash.
Field Marshal Asim Munir is expected to fly to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump in the coming weeks for a third meeting in six months that will likely focus on the Gaza force, two sources told Reuters, one of them a key player in the general’s economic diplomacy.
Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan calls for an international force to oversee a transition period for reconstruction and economic recovery in the war-torn Palestinian territory, decimated by over two years of war.
Deployment of the force is a key part of the next phase of Trump’s Gaza peace plan. Under the first phase, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year war began on October 10, with Hamas releasing hostages and Israel freeing detained Palestinians.
Israel fears Washington may push to advance to the next phase of the ceasefire even if the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last deceased hostage held in Gaza, is not returned, and before a clear operational plan is established for Hamas’s disarmament, the Ynet news site reported last week.
Many countries are wary of the mission to demilitarize Gaza’s Hamas terror group, which could drag them into the conflict and enrage their pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli populations.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (L), Chief of the Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir (R) posing with US President Donald Trump (C) at the White House in Washington, DC, in an image published on September 26, 2025. (Handout / Pakistan’s Prime Minister Office / AFP)
But Munir has built a close relationship with the mercurial Trump to repair years of mistrust between Washington and Islamabad. In June, he was rewarded with a White House lunch — the first time a US president hosted Pakistan’s army chief alone, without civilian officials.
“Not contributing (to the Gaza stabilization force) could annoy Trump, which is no small matter for a Pakistani state that appears quite keen to remain in his good graces — in great part to secure US investment and security aid,” said Michael Kugelman, Senior Fellow, South Asia at Washington-based Atlantic Council.
Advertisement
‘Pressure to deliver’
Pakistan, the world’s only Muslim country with nuclear weapons, has a battle-hardened military having gone to war with arch-rival India three times, as well as a brief conflict this summer.
It has also tackled insurgencies in its far-flung regions and is currently embroiled in a bruising war with Islamist militants who it says are operating from Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s military strength means “there is a greater pressure on Munir to deliver his capacity,” said author and defense analyst Ayesha Siddiqa.
Pakistan’s military, foreign office, and information ministry did not respond to questions from Reuters. The White House also did not respond to a request for a comment.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said last month that Islamabad could consider contributing troops for peacekeeping, but disarming Hamas “is not our job.”
Hamas gunmen accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) head to the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City to search for the remains of deceased hostages, December 8, 2025. (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)
Unprecedented power
Earlier this month, Munir was anointed chief of the defense forces to head the air force and navy as well, with a job extension until 2030.
Advertisement
He will retain his field marshal title forever, as well as enjoy lifetime immunity from any criminal prosecution under the constitutional amendments that Pakistan’s civilian government pushed through parliament late last month.
“Few people in Pakistan enjoy the luxury of being able to take risks more than Munir. He has unbridled power, now constitutionally protected,” Kugelman added.
“Ultimately, it will be Munir’s rules, and his rules only.”
The home front risk
Over the past few weeks, Munir has met military and civilian leaders from countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, and Qatar, according to the military’s statements, which Siddiqa said appeared to be consultations on the Gaza force.
But the big concern at home is that the involvement of Pakistani troops in Gaza under a US-backed plan could re-ignite protests from Pakistan’s Islamist parties that are deeply opposed to the US and Israel.
The Islamists have street power to mobilize thousands.
A powerful and violent anti-Israel Islamist party that fights for upholding Pakistan’s ultra-strict blasphemy laws was banned in October. Authorities arrested its leaders and over 1,500 supporters and seized its assets and bank accounts in an ongoing crackdown, officials said.
Pakistani Islamists burn an effigy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a protest to condemn the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, in Peshawar, Pakistan, August 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
While Islamabad has outlawed the group, its ideology is still alive.
The party of former jailed premier Imran Khan, whose supporters won the most seats in the 2024 national elections and which has wide public support, also has an axe to grind against Munir.
Abdul Basit, Senior Associate Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said if things escalated once the Gaza force was on the ground, it would cause problems quickly.
“People will say ‘Asim Munir is doing Israel’s bidding’ — it will be foolhardy of anyone not to see it coming.”
IRAN/ITS ECONOMIC SCENE:
Iranian rial is now 1.31 million rials to the dollar
10 yrs ago it 3 rials to the dollar
Iran’s Economy Struggles Amid High Inflation
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025 – 04:15 AM
Since early December 2025, a wave of protests has swept across Iran, ranging from human rights campaigns in major urban areas to labor strikes in industrial hubs.
Iran is currently facing one of its most severe economic and social crises of the decade, as the country grapples with near-zero GDP growth, soaring inflation and escalating social and geopolitical tensions.
According to the IMF‘s latest projection (October 2025), Iran’s real GDP is expected to grow by just 0.6 percent in 2025, a sharp decline from previous years (+3.7 percent in 2024, +5.3 percent in 2023).
Inflation, meanwhile, is forecast to surge to 43.3 percent, one of the highest rates in the world, as the national currency (rial) continues its dramatic depreciation.
This grim outlook underscores the depth of Iran’s economic issues, driven by a combination of chronic mismanagement, systemic corruption and the impact of international sanctions.
The escalation of the conflict with Israel and the United States this year has further deteriorated the situation.
After a brief but intense war in June 2025, causing billions of dollars in damage in Iran, the United States imposed additional sanctions, targeting Iran’s oil, banking and shipping sectors.
The reimposition of the United Nations’ “snapback” sanctions in late 2025 has also added to the pressure.
“Iran believes it can deceive the world again and realize another bad nuclear agreement,” Barnea warned in a Mossad awards ceremony on Tuesday.
People attend a protest against the US attack on nuclear sites, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Tehran, Iran, June 22, 2025.(photo credit: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA/REUTERS)ByAMIR BOHBOTDECEMBER 17, 2025 12:23Updated: DECEMBER 17, 2025 13:57
Mossad Director David Barnea said on Tuesday that Iran “has not abandoned its aspiration to destroy the State of Israel,” speaking at a Mossad excellence awards ceremony at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday night.
He warned that Tehran would “surge forward” the moment circumstances allow and cautioned against attempts to advance another “bad” nuclear agreement.
“The ayatollahs’ regime woke up in a moment to discover that Iran is exposed and thoroughly penetrated, yet Iran has not given up its aspiration to destroy the State of Israel,” Barnea said. He spoke during a ceremony honoring Mossad employees for their unique contributions and exceptional work for Israel’s security.
“Iran believes it can deceive the world again and realize another bad nuclear agreement,” he continued.
Head of Mossad David Barnea attends a ceremony held at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem, as Israel marks the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day. April 23, 2025. (credit: Chaim Goldberg FLASH90)
Barnea warns that Iran is pushing to destroy Israel
“We did not, and will not, allow a bad agreement to materialize. A state that has emblazoned Israel’s destruction on its flag, deceived the world while developing nuclear weapons, and enriched uranium to levels with no explanation other than its desire for a military nuclear capability, is a state that will break out the moment it is able. The idea of continuing to develop a nuclear bomb still beats in their hearts. We bear responsibility to ensure that the nuclear project, which has been severely damaged, in close cooperation with the Americans, will never be operated.”
Barnea offered condolences to the families of the victims of the massacre in Australia and addressed efforts by Iran and terrorist organizations to target Jewish and Israeli sites. “The criminal terrorist idea of harming innocent civilians was and remains at the core of the current Iranian regime’s security strategy,” he said.
“Jihadist elements, ISIS, and others have also said they intend to harm every Jew in the world. Our hearts are with the families of the Australian victims. The goal of these terrorist attacks is to break our spirit. Our spirit will not be broken.
“We will continue to celebrate our holidays and live our lives in Israel and around the world. We will find the perpetrators and their Iranian dispatchers, and also the jihadists, wherever they flee, and we will hold them to account. Justice will be done and seen to be done. They know this well. Light will overcome darkness,” Barnea said.
The excellence ceremony was held at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, in the presence of the president, the prime minister, and the Mossad director, with former Mossad chiefs, employees, commanders, and the families of the honorees attending.
This year, distinctions were awarded to four women and eight men, including operatives active in enemy countries, recruitment and agent-handling officers, partner-liaison operators, operations personnel, cyber warriors, and leading knowledge hubs in headquarters, technology, and intelligence.
Barnea expressed deep appreciation for the Mossad’s honorees. “You, the magnificent twelve who were chosen, are among the very best and represent the full spectrum of our work. You are the ones who in the past two years have known neither day nor night, who have not seen your families, and were wholly immersed in our success on the Mossad battlefield.”
“You are our spearhead, from the operational divisions that risk their lives day by day, hour by hour. I am proud of you. All Mossad employees are proud of you. The citizens of Israel are proud of you, even without knowing who you are and why you were chosen.”
“Justice will be done and seen to be done. They know this well. Light will overcome darkness,” Barnea concluded.
SYRIA/DAMASCUS USA
should let Israel control things in Syria
(zerohedge)
The Folly Of Establishing A US Military Base In Damascus
Recent reports indicate the United States is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus, allegedly to facilitate a security agreement between Syria and Israel. This development represents yet another misguided expansion of American military overreach in a region where Washington has already caused tremendous damage through decades of failed interventionist policies.
The United States currently operates approximately 750 to 877 military installations across roughly eighty countries worldwide. This staggering number represents about 70 to 85% of all foreign military bases globally. To put this in perspective, the next eighteen countries with foreign bases combined maintain only 370 installations total. Russia has just twenty-nine foreign bases, and China operates merely six. The American empire of bases already dwarfs every other nation combined, and the financial burden is crushing. Washington spends approximately $65 billion annually just to build and maintain these overseas installations, with total spending on foreign bases and personnel reaching over $94 billion per year.
These figures are not abstract accounting entries. They translate directly into American lives placed in volatile environments, as demonstrated by the recent insider attack in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, where a purported “ISIS infiltrator” embedded in local government security forces turned his weapon on a joint U.S. Syrian patrol, killing two U.S. soldiers and one U.S. civilian during what was described as a routine field tour. The incident underscores how the sprawling U.S. basing network increasingly exposes American personnel to unpredictable and lethal blowback in unstable theaters far from home.
end
RUSSIA VS UKRAINE/
White House Prepping New Sanctions If Russia Rejects Latest Ukraine Ceasefire Offer
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025 – 10:20 AM
The White House is preparing a fresh round of sanctions on Russia’s energy sector which would be implemented if Moscow rejects the Trump-proposed peace deal with Ukraine.
According to Bloomberg, this time around it is set to be even more muscular: “The US is considering options, such as targeting vessels in Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of tankers used to transport Moscow’s oil, as well as traders who facilitate the transactions, said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.”
Ukraine’s President Zelensky has called the current draft a “very workable version” – after he met in Berlin for two days with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to work on it. Next it is expected to be presented to the Kremlin in the coming days.
The Ukrainian leader appears somewhat satisfied as it’s said to include robust security guarantees, but which stop short of plans for NATO membership. Russia on the other hand has gone so far as to demand that rejection of NATO membership be enshrined in Ukraine’s national constitution.
Zelensky said Tuesday that he worked with the American delegation “in great detail on documents that could stop the war and guarantee security” during the deliberations. “Every single detail matters because not a single detail must become a reward for Russia’s aggression,” he had said while visiting The Hague afterward.
President Trump has meanwhile claimed that “we’re closer now than we have been.”
But will President Putin go for it? Here’s how CNN presents one key aspect which is not likely to sit well with the Kremlin:
There are now five separate documents under discussion within the proposed peace deal – they include “legally binding” security guarantees that would be voted on by the US Congress, as well as plans for funding Ukraine’s post-war recovery.
These are the so-called Article 5-style guarantees which Russia will view as setting in place a recipe for future potential war, and a bigger one at that, between NATO and Moscow.
The negotiations over the weekend between the U.S., Ukraine and Europe about the parameters of a ceasefire or peace agreement with Russia were surreal. The three sides are fighting each other over detailed points that Russia is sure to reject. They also left out important points which Russia had named as its priority items.
There is no way that any of this will lead to peace. Which may well be the point of the whole theater.
Commenting on German Chancellor’s Friedrich Merz’s claim of a ceasefire finally being “conceivable” – Moon of Alabama comments further:
No, Mr. Merz, there is no conceivable ceasefire. Russia does not want one. A ceasefire would allow Ukraine to recover and get ready for the next round of war. Russia wants a peace agreement that not only covers Ukraine but defines a new security architecture for the whole of Europe. Russia also wants physical control over the four oblast, plus Crimea, that voted to become members of the Russian Federation. It wants a Ukraine that is disarmed and denazified.
Neither seems to be on offer.
And here’s the key line from the astute analysis: “Instead we get some spectacle over US ‘security guarantees’ conditioned on Ukrainian concessions of land. Zelenski is trying to cash in the first while not conceding the second.”
Meanwhile, Washington meagerly warning of some energy sanctions just looks more symbolic than anything, given Russia has proven it has weathered robust and ratcheting efforts to isolate it economically so far.
END
RUSSIA UKRAINE/USA
Putin Dismisses EU Leaders As ‘European Swine’ Who’ve Failed To Collapse Russia
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025 – 12:00 PM
President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that European leaders have continued stoking and hyping fears that Russia seeks expansion and that it is prepared even to go to war with EU and NATO countries. He went so far as to call EU officials “European swine” for their role in fueling the proxy war.
He again emphasized that Moscow is in no way seeking war with Europe. “I have repeatedly stated: this is a lie, nonsense, pure nonsense about some imaginary Russian threat to European countries. But this is being done quite deliberately,” he said.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused EU leaders of seeking to thwart peace, while praising that Washington’s efforts to forge a deal under Trump appear genuine and are in good faith.
However, the Trump admin is currently said to be preparing more sanctions on Russia’s energy sector if Moscow persists in rejecting a peace deal. All the while, Zelensky is trying to “have is cake and eat it too” by on the one hand embracing the West’s offer of ‘Article 5-style’ security guarantees and on the other refusing to make territorial concessions.
Putin in his Wednesday remarks remained undeterred, vowing that Russia will accomplish its goals in Ukraine by diplomatic or military means. Currently, Moscow forces are expanding a “security buffer zone” there.
“First, the goals of the special military operation will undoubtedly be achieved. We would prefer to do this and address the root causes of the conflict through diplomacy,” Putin said.
“If the opposing side and their foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive discussions, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means. The task of creating and expanding a security buffer zone will also be consistently addressed.”
Among the more interesting parts of the speech came as follows:
“And the European piglets immediately joined in this work of the former American [Biden] administration, hoping to profit from the collapse of our country. To regain something that had been lost in previous historical periods and try to take revenge.
As is now obvious to everyone, all these attempts and all these destructive plans against Russia have completely failed.”
The aforementioned ‘historical lands’ at the very least is a reference to the Donbas, and Putin could have in mind up to one-third of all of Ukraine. Already, Russian forces are said to control some 20% of Ukraine.
Presumably Russia could seek more expansion in Ukraine in the scenario that peace talks completely breakdown. The Kremlin wants a comprehensive settlement which rearranges the whole security architecture of the region, while Kiev seems content with a more temporary truce.
But Kremlin leadership fears that anything temporary in nature will simply be used by the Zelensky government and its supporters to regroup and rearm, in preparation for future fighting.
END
Foolhardy!!
Europe Establishes Hague-Based Reparations Commission For Ukraine
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025 – 02:45 AM
Top European officials met on Tuesday in The Hague in order to establish an international commission to oversee eventual reparations to compensate Ukraine for Russia’s military invasion. President Volodymyr Zelensky and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas were present for the high level talks in The Netherlands.
The International Claims Commission for Ukraine will assess and decide on claims for reparations, and will determine and discharge any amount to be paid out. This is likely to see hundreds of billions of dollars eventually flow to Ukraine for the sake of rebuilding and keeping the civic services sector afloat after nearly four years of war.
The treaty to establish the commission has been signed by 35 countries at Tuesday’s conference. It also has the involvement of Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, which is a 46-nation group protecting human rights on the continent. The new commission is going to be based in The Hague.
Zelensky welcomed the newly established mechanism, declaring that Russia “paying for its crimes” was “exactly where the real path to peace begins.” He added: “This war and Russia’s responsibility for it must become a clear example so that others learn not to choose aggression,” and followed with, “We must make Russia accept that there are rules in the world.”
Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel agreed, explaining that “Without accountability, a conflict cannot be fully resolved. And part of that accountability is also paying damages that have been done.”
All this comes as EU leadership is trying to push through a scheme not just to permanently freeze Russian assets held chiefly in Belgium, but to use the funds for Ukraine’s long-term defense and reconstruction.
But Russia’s Central Bank has this week filed a lawsuit seeking 18.2 trillion rubles ($229 billion) in damages from Belgium-based Euroclear, which is meant as a loud shot across Brussels’ bow.
The EU’s Kallas has lately admitted that the issue of using Russian frozen assets had become “increasingly difficult” ahead of a summit of European leaders which is set for Thursday. The EU is seeking to bypass obvious objectors such as Hungary, and is seeking legal loopholes which would allow a plan to pass based on simple majority vote among EU members.
NOW – Secretary General of the Council of Europe announces the establishment of the "International Claims Commission" and says that work is underway for a "special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine." pic.twitter.com/XlVYKUPtzb
BR: actress Dani Gondim, who played cancer patient, diagnosed with cancer; DE: singer/songwriter Oh Land’s newborn daughter diagnosed with “rare and fast-growing cancer”
The Rolling Stones Scrap Planned 2026 Tour as Keith Richards Unable to Commit to Rigorous Schedule
December 16, 2025
The Rolling Stones have called off plans for a 2026 stadium tour in the UK and Europe after Keith Richards was unwilling to “commit” to the rigorous schedule. Richards, who turns 82 this Thursday, spoke to BBC in 2023 about dealing with arthritis and how it “no doubt” has forced a change in his playing style. “I don’t have any pain, it’s a sort of benign version,” he said at the time. “And also, I found that interesting, when I’m like, ‘I can’t quite do that any more,’ the guitar will show me there’s another way of doing it. Some finger will go one space different and a whole new door opens.” Despite these challenges, the Stones embarked on a 20-date stadium tour in 2024 behind their Grammy-winning comeback album, Hackney Diamonds. In its report, The Sun said Richards was unwilling to commit to another major stadium tour in 2026. Though the tour has been scrapped, it appears the Stones’ second album with producer Andrew Watt is still on track for 2026. In an interview with Rolling Stone published this past September, Watt confirmed he was overseeing the project.
News from Underground by Mark Crispin Miller is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Donald Trump ‘freezes’ on Fox News as health fears mount
December 11, 2025
Fox News was broadcasting a Donald Trump press conference live when the US president [79] seemed to “freeze“ and appeared to lose his train of thought mid-sentence. Trump was addressing the interest rate reduction, which has decreased borrowing costs in the United States for the third time in 2025, but took aim at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in the process. Powell, commonly referred to as the “Fed Chair”, dismissed the necessity for immediate tax increases, but this still failed to satisfy Trump, who declared: “We’re scheduled to be at 4%, which is pretty amazing because we have a, er, you know, a dead head- fed… fed hair… I mean, this guy… the head of the Federal Reserve is a stiff.” It comes after a psychologist reveals two factors fuelling Trump’s ‘mental collapse’. Rather than saying “Fed Chair”, he kept repeating “Fed Hair”, and labeled him a “dead head.” This incident follows Trump’s apparent confirmation that he has completed additional cognitive testing through a Truth Social post.
Lady Gaga interrupts “Die With a Smile” in Brisbane due to a sneezing fit
December 13, 2025
Lady Gaga [39] experienced an unexpected yet very human moment during her concert at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. While performing “Die With a Smile,” the singer bent over, hand covering her mouth, overwhelmed by a series of sneezes that echoed through the packed stadium. An assistant rushed over with water, allowing her to catch her breath and continue her performance at the piano.
Former Atlanta Hawks player Jason Collins diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma
December 12, 2025
ATLANTA, GA — Former NBA player Jason Collins [47] revealed on Thursday that he has Stage 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Collins, who played for the Atlanta Hawks from 2009-2012, spoke to ESPN about his diagnosis. “A few months ago, my family released a short statement saying I had a brain tumor. It was simple, but intentionally vague. They did that to protect my privacy while I was mentally unable to speak for myself and my loved ones were trying to understand what we were dealing with. But now it’s time for people to hear directly from me,” he told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. Collins, who was the first openly gay active player in the NBA, said he and his husband were going to the US Open in August but missed their flight. Collins said he couldn’t stay focused enough to pack and that is why they were late to the airport. It was the first sign of what was to come. Collins later went to UCLA hospital for a CT scan. It only took a few minutes before the tech sent him to a specialist. “According to my family, in hours, my mental clarity, short-term memory and comprehension disappeared — turning into an NBA player’s version of ‘Dory’ from ‘Finding Nemo.’ Over the next few weeks we would find out just how bad it was,” Collins told ESPN. After a series of tests and a biopsy, doctors confirmed the worst for Collins and his family: the brain tumor he had was glioblastoma. Collins said his grandmother had Stage 4 stomach cancer and doctors gave her only six months to live, but she lived longer than that. He said he will fight just like she did. “We aren’t going to sit back and let this cancer kill me without giving it a hell of a fight,” he said.
EPA administrator Lee Zeldin reveals he underwent surgery to remove skin cancer from his face
December 15, 2025
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin [45] disclosed that he had skin cancer removed from his face, using his personal experience as an opportunity to urge people to wear sunscreen and regularly visit a dermatologist. He noted that he is “relieved to be cancer-free,” and explained that his “dermatologist removed it using Mohs surgery, a precise technique that ensures all cancerous tissue is eliminated.”
Actress who played a journalist with cancer in a film is diagnosed with the disease: ‘a battle I portrayed in art’
November 29, 2025
Actress Dani Gondim [33] revealed this Saturday (29), in a social media post, that she was diagnosed with cancer a few months after starring in a film in which she played a character who was fighting the disease. In the film Miracle of Destiny, released in February of this year, Dani played journalist Marina Alves, who faced lymphoma. She made the revelation in a statement accompanied by a video in which she shaves her own hair. “Art imitates life, I never doubted that, but what about when life imitates art? What is there to learn?” she commented. She said that, a year ago, she was called to work on the film, based on the true story of reporter Marina Alves, “her fight against cancer and the miracles that happened during the treatment”. After the film’s premiere in February, Dani participated in a national campaign in March, encouraging blood and bone marrow donation. “A few months later, the battle that I portrayed in art began to be part of my life. Today I have a cancer to call my own,” she wrote.
Oh Land with heartbreaking message: Newborn daughter has battled rare cancer
December 9, 2025
In a social media post, [singer/songwriter] Oh Land, whose real name is Nanna Øland Fabricius, announced that her newborn daughter was diagnosed with cancer after birth. Fortunately, the little girl is healthy today. The newborn little girl had been struck by a rare and fast-growing cancer.
British singer Cliff Richard talks about prostate cancer diagnosis
December 15, 2025
Singer Cliff Richard [85] has been treated for prostate cancer in the past year. He said this in a TV interview. “The cancer is gone at the moment, there are no metastases,” he said. Richard complains that there is no national screening program for prostate cancer in the United Kingdom. “That’s absolutely ridiculous,” he said.
News from Underground by Mark Crispin Miller is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Chloe Kelly reveals heart attack fears as England icon discusses alopecia, sickness and anxiety battles
December 15, 2025
Chloe Kelly has revealed that she was diagnosed with alopecia last year after a period of severe anxiety that left the England forward fearing she was suffering heart attacks and unable to leave her home. The 27-year-old Lionesses star, whose dramatic winning goal at last summer’s European Championship made her a national figure, has spoken candidly about the toll the final months of her time at Manchester City took on her mental and physical health. Kelly returned to Arsenal in January, initially on loan, after stating that what she described as “negative behaviour” at City had had a “huge impact” on her wellbeing. Now, speaking nearly a year on, Kelly has described how her anxiety spiralled to a point where everyday life became overwhelming. She also described panic attacks so intense that she feared she was experiencing heart attacks. “I had panic attacks and thought I was having a heart attack at times,” Kelly said.
Heart attack drama before ‘terrible’ Maxi Hughes defeat
December 15, 2025
Sean O’Hagan, trainer and father of fighter Josh Warrington, suffered a cardiac arrest in Dubai on Friday and missed the contest. Thankfully, he was treated swiftly, discharged from the hospital, and allowed to make his way home. Maxi, from Haxey near Doncaster, was clearly upset by events and put in a below-par performance against Tajik opponent Bakhodur Usmonov in the IBA Pro Boxing promotion at the Duty Free Tennis Stadium.
Riccardo Chailly has to interrupt concert in the Scala due to sudden illness
December 11, 2025
A sudden illness forced Maestro Riccardo Chailly to interrupt the second performance of “A Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District” at La Scala [Milan]. On the evening of Wednesday, December 10, the Italian conductor fell ill while conducting the opera and was forced to go to the hospital. The audience had no choice but to return home, bidding the 72-year-old farewell with over ten minutes of applause.
Sungje Kim, Mayor of Uiwang, Recovering Consciousness … “Able to Communicate with Family”
December 15, 2025
Sungje Kim, the 65-year-old Mayor of Uiwang in Gyeonggi Province, who was hospitalized in a state of cardiac arrest after suddenly losing consciousness and collapsing, regained consciousness after one day. According to the Uiwang city government on December 15, Mayor Kim regained consciousness on the morning of the same day and is currently recovering. No abnormalities have been found in his brain, but tests are still underway to check for any other issues, including those related to his cardiovascular system.
highly conserved, virulence-modulating domain within the S-NTD (N-terminal domain of S protein) would ultimately trigger hyperacute systemic viremia, causing substantial mortality in these populations
“The manuscript posted below is one I wrote roughly three and a half years ago! At that time, I outlined how and why glycosylation of the spike (S) protein would be expected to evolve under conditions of partial, i.e., insufficient population immunity-that is, in the absence of true herd immunity. I sounded the alarm far too early, as I did not yet anticipate that non-neutralizing S-binding antibodies, as well as cellular immune responses, would contribute to keeping the virus partially in check (albeit without preventing transmission and at the cost of an unprecedentedly prolonged course of the infection in a substantial number of COVID-19 [C-19]-vaccinees!).
Alexander News Network (ANN): Trump’s War 2.0 for America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Three and a half years later, however, we are effectively on the brink of the tsunami I predicted-one driven by a dramatic phenotypic transformation of SARS-CoV-2. Already then, I described how sustained population-level immune pressure in highly C-19–vaccinated populations on a highly conserved, virulence-modulating domain within the S-NTD (N-terminal domain of S protein) would ultimately trigger hyperacute systemic viremia, causing substantial mortality in these populations. I am now posting the article on my Substack because I discontinued my website for budgetary reasons, whereas in a forthcoming Substack piece I intend to refer back to the immune selection of glycosite mutations at predictive O-glycosylation sites, a mechanism which I previously described in detail in the manuscript appended below (see under section: ‘Poor neutralization capacity results in diminished susceptibility to severe C-19 disease because diminished trans infection capacity results in diminished trans fusion until section: ‘How long will it take for more pathogenic SC-2 variants to become dominant?’). In my upcoming Substack, I will explain why the terminal, hyperacute stage of the immune-escape pandemic is imminent, and how a dramatic shift in the glycosylation pattern of the S protein will ultimately trigger a sudden and extraordinarily large wave of mortality-restoring the balance disrupted by the C-19 mass vaccination program and enabling the remaining population to terminate the pandemic through genuine herd immunity.
Voice for Science and Solidarity by Geert Vanden Bossche is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
NEWSWIZE
MICHAEL EVERY/OR OR PICTON/GIFFIN OR RABOBANK EXECUTIVE/COMMENTARY ON WORLDLY AFFAIRS
EU Will Be AIsimilated
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025 – 08:25 AM
By Bas van Geffen, Senior Macro Strategist at Rabobank
Resistance is futile. You will be AIsimmilated. The Trump administration really wants the rest of the (Western?) world to embrace American-made artificial intelligence and technology. Last week, the US suspended the US-UK Technology Prosperity deal, reportedly because the Trump administration was frustrated about the lack of progress on trade talks.
But the Telegraph reported that this may be due to concerns that the UK’s Online Safety Act could slow development of US artificial intelligence – as the US races to stay ahead of China. That makes sense: the US government has been unhappy with European regulation in many fields, including digital services providers.
The US Trade Representative argues that this creates an unequal playing field for US companies, whereas European companies are allowed to operate freely in the US. Yesterday, Greer warned the European Union that the US could use every tool at its disposal to counter “unreasonable” regulations, naming about a dozen of European companies that might be affected.
The EU may be looking at cutting red tape in several areas, but it has so far shown little appetite for hollowing out privacy laws, for example. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has shown its willingness to coerce governments by other means. Could Brussels’ insistence on these rules lead to a new trade dispute with the US?
These threats cast new doubt over EU-US relations, after the US have also called into question the country’s commitment to Article 5 of the NATO treaty. The trade agreement reached earlier this year has clearly failed to pacify the US government, despite Brussels’ pledges to invest more in the US, and buy more American energy and defense equipment.
In the latest iteration in the Ukraine-Russia peace talks, the US is now offering Ukraine “guarantees similar to those under Article 5 of the NATO treaty.” It’s an attempt to bridge the Ukrainian demand for strong security guarantees with Russia’s demand that Ukraine does not become a NATO member.
It’s a take-it-or-leave-it offer, and one can certainly wonder whether “similar guarantees” are sufficient for Ukraine to sign up to any deal – especially after Treasury Secretary Bessent undermined Article 5 when he stated that the US would not send troops to Europe, but only sell weapons, if Russia were to attack.
Nonetheless, oil markets have been drifting lower as peace talks continue and a global glut hangs over the market. WTI fell almost 6% in the past four sessions, hitting $55 per barrel for the first time since February 2021. However, oil prices came off their fresh lows after President Trump ramped up pressure on Venezuela with a blockade of tankers.
Yesterday also saw a busy data calendar as US statistics offices are still working through their backlog of data, after the shutdown disrupted many official data releases.
This made for a very unusual Employment Report, and not only because it was released on a Tuesday. The BLS made up for missing the October report. So, we learned that non-farm payrolls declined 105,000 in October and that payrolls recovered by 64,000 in November. This means that the labor market has shown little net change since April.
Average hourly earnings for November were softer than expected, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% from 4.4% in September. So the overall picture remains one of a weaker labor market. That supports further monetary easing, but probably not in January. These two months of data were not so weak to instill more urgency in the FOMC.
Moreover, some of the data come with slightly bigger margins of error, as a result of the shutdown. Lack of an October report may have left traders without their entertainment on the first Friday of November. But it left statisticians with bigger problems, such as missing the usual statistical weights for the current report – which are based on prior months. So, they had to adjust their methodology for weighing individual responses into the aggregate employment statistics. Add to that a lower response rate than usual.
By contrast, the response rates for the establishment survey were higher than usual. The collection periods for the October and November surveys were extended due to the shutdown, giving employers more time to respond. This could lead to somewhat smaller revisions to yesterday’s non-farm payroll estimates in the coming months.
Meanwhile, European PMIs were a little weaker than expected. Eurozone activity has been more resilient than expected, and these data suggest that some of this resilience may now be fading. We’ve been expecting a soft patch before Eurozone growth regains momentum in the course of 2026. Nonetheless, the PMI report took some of the sting out of the market’s recent expectations of a potential rate hike by end-2026. That decline in short-term rates caused a modest steepening of the European yield curve.
Rate cut expectations are building in more earnest in sterling money markets. UK inflation undershot expectations again in November. Headline CPI slowed to 3.2% y/y. That’s below the Bank of England’s projection of 3.4% and the weakest print in eight months. Underlying inflation eased too. Core inflation fell to 3.2% y/y, the slowest in nearly two years, while services inflation declined to 4.4% y/y. The Bank also watches food price inflation closely, given its influence on household inflation expectations, and this slowed from 4.9% to 4.2% y/y.
Combined with weak activity data since the summer, rising unemployment, and a slowdown in private sector wage growth, the disinflationary narrative appears to dominate MPC discussions. And risks of persistence are easing. Overall, the data suggest the BoE has been behind the curve.
Tomorrow’s 25bp cut looks to be locked in, and further easing as early as February is starting to look very plausible. We had already penciled in a subsequent cut in February, and we see some downside risks to our forecast of a 3.25% terminal rate for next year, especially if the UK economy fails to recover from the weakness seen in the second half of this year.
7. OIL ISSUES/NATURAL GAS/ENERGY ISSUES/GLOBAL\
WTI Holds ‘Venezuela Blockade’ Gains After Small Crude Draw, Record US Production
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025 – 10:36 AM
Oil prices surged overnight, jumping off multi-year lows after President Trump ordered a “total and complete blockade” of oil tankers into and out of Venezuela.
That was amid hopes of a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, among other factors including record domestic production and weakening demand in China.
But as one geopolitical risk looks set to ease, another one is ramping up. Trump said Venezuela was “completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” in a post on Truth Social late Tuesday.
However, the rally in oil prices may end up being short-lived unless other catalysts start to emerge.
“Ultimately, the trend is lower for oil, with it likely to persist unless there’s a pick-up in global industrial activity, a bigger supply shock, or — most likely — intervention from OPEC to support prices,” Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda said in a note Wednesday.
But if the official data confirms API’s big crude draw, we could see prices extend gains given how increasingly short crude positioning has become.
API
Crude -9.3mm
Cushing -510k
Gasoline +4.8mm
Distillates +2.5mm
DOE
Crude -1.27mm (-3.1mm exp)
Cushing -742k
Gasoline +4.81mm
Distillates +1.71mm
US crude inventories drew down modestly last week (dramatically less than API reported) while products saw stocks build for the fifth straight week…
Source: Bloomberg
US Crude production remains near record highs as rig counts continue to trend lower…
Source: Bloomberg
WTI is holding gains for now after the data…
Source: Bloomberg
Over the past few weeks, Brent crude positioning grew increasingly short. The last Commitment of Traders report, covering through December 9th, exhibited Managed Money shorts at a 98% 2-year rank.
However for the moment, Goldman Sachs traders say that a larger recovery appears warranted to cause a significant short unwind.
After incorporating the drop on December 16th, price needs to recoup ~6% before momentum signals become positive, per GS Futures Strategists’ framework.
Moreover, curve tightening is modest thus far, posing a limited threat to term structure shorts.
8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUES
VENEZUELA
This is interesting!! a full blockade of sanctioned oil tankers off Venezuela
(zerohedge)
Trump Orders Full Blockade Of Sanctioned Oil Tankers Off ‘Terrorist’ Venezuela
by Tyler Durden
Tuesday, Dec 16, 2025 – 08:35 PM
Update (2035ET): On Tuesday evening Trump revealed he has ordered a “total and complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela. This, he said on Truth Social, is based on Venezuela’s leadership having been declared a “foreign terrorist organization”.
He further boasted of the country having been “completely surrounded” with the “largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America.”
“For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela,” Trump said.
He then warned, “It [the blockade] will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.” Minutes after the announcement:
WTI OIL UP AS MUCH AS 1.6% AS TRUMP RAISES VENEZUELA PRESSURE
This is expected to impact some 800,000-9000,0000 barrels of oil per day, which is forecast to increase prices by some $2-$3 in the short term.
Some initial Congressional reaction and fierce pushback as Washington is on a war-footing:
The House is set to finally vote on a proposed War Powers resolution related to Venezuela on Thursday.
* * *
Update (1314ET):
By now, readers are well familiar with the Trump administration’s use of gunboat diplomacy in the Caribbean off Venezuela’s coast. That has ranged from blowing up suspected drug-running boats to seizing one massive shadow fleet tanker tied to sanctioned oil flows.
The strategy is very simple: follow the money. By targeting the maritime arteries that finance the Maduro regime, Trump’s Pentagon is applying direct pressure aimed at regime change in Caracas.
Another artery being clogged is inbound supertankers to Venezuela, with a new Bloomberg report on Tuesday morning specifying that four tankers reversed course following the seizure of the Skipper last week by U.S. special forces.
Here’s more from the media outlet:
The vessels are the Panama-flagged Bella 1, which was sanctioned by the U.S. for its involvement in the illicit transport of Iranian oil, and the tankers Seeker 8, Karina, and Eurovictory, according to data from maritime intelligence firm Kpler.
Ship movements show that the Seeker 8, the Karina, and the Eurovictory all turned around on Dec. 11 — a day after U.S. forces seized a vessel off Venezuela’s coast. The Bella 1 reversed course on Tuesday near the Caribbean island of Antigua and Barbuda, the data tracked by Bloomberg show.
If the Trump administration wanted to broaden the foreign policy strategy, the playbook would likely include a mix of maritime, financial, legal, and continued military posturing short of a hot war while steadily ratcheting up pressure on the Maduro regime.
. . .
President Trump’s gunboat diplomacy in the Caribbean, off Venezuela’s coast, has the effect of a maritime blockade, disrupting oil flows to Cuba and to global markets via shadow-fleet tankers. The Trump administration calculates that choking off this oil trade could trigger cascading economic stress, first in Cuba and then in Venezuela, ultimately accelerating the end goal of regime change in Caracas.
The latest report from Axios shows that the Trump administration’s seizure of a shadow-fleet tanker in the Caribbean is only in the early innings, with 18 sanctioned oil-laden ships currently in Venezuelan waters.
Last week, a US Special Forces unit seized the tanker Skipper, which was carrying crude contracted by Cubametales, Cuba’s state-run oil trading firm.
The tanker was part of a dark fleet that shipped crude from Venezuela to Cuba and onward to Asia.
Samir Madani, co-founder of the firm Tanker Trackers, told Axios that of the 18 sanctioned oil-laden ships off the country’s coast, eight are classified as “Very Large Crude Carriers” (VLCCs), such as Skipper, which can carry nearly 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude. “It’s quite a buffet for the U.S. to choose from,” he said.
Given the unprecedented US naval presence in the Caribbean, mainly offshore of Venezuela in international waters, the Trump administration’s theory of gunboat diplomacy centers on cutting off all support to Cuba. To do that, it follows the money, starting with oil flows via dark tanker fleets. Once those oil flows are disrupted, Venezuela falls, and then Cuba follows.
Axios quoted one Trump adviser as saying, “We have to wait for them to move. They’re sitting at the dock. Once they move, we’ll go to court, get a warrant, and then get them,” adding, “But if they make us wait too long, we might get a warrant to get them there,” in Venezuelan waters.
And gunboat diplomacy it is.
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN CLOSING MARKETS AND EUROPEAN BOURSE OPENING AND CLOSING/ INTEREST RATE SETTINGS WEDNESDAY MORNING 6;30AM//OPENING AND CLOSING
EURO/USA: 1.1717 DOWN 0.0032 PTS OR 32 BASIS POINTS/WITH STOCKS IN EUROPE ALL MIXED
USA/ YEN 155.50 UP 0.731 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..TAKAICHI NEW PM AS YIELDS RISE//JAPAN DEEPLY IN TROUBLE WITH RISING RATES
GBP/USA 1.3320 DOWN .0096 OR 96 BASIS PTS
USA/CAN DOLLAR: 1.3774 UP 0.0019 CDN DOLLAR DOWN 19 BASIS PTS//CDN DOLLAR STILL GETTING KILLED)
Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED UP 45.47 PTS OR 1.19%
Hang Seng CLOSED UP 233.37 PTS OR 0.92%
AUSTRALIA CLOSED UP 0.08%
// EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL GREEN
Trading from Europe and ASIA
I) EUROPEAN BOURSES: ALL GREEN
2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED UP 233.37 PTS OR 0.92%
/SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 45.47 POINTS OR 1.19%
AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED UP 0.08 %
(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED UP 213.21 PTS OR 0.43%
INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE GREEN
Gold very early morning trading: 4321.95
silver:$65.82
USA dollar index early WEDNESDAY morning: 98.19 UP 39 BASIS POINTS FROM TUESDAY’s CLOSE
WEDNESDAY MORNING NUMBERS ENDS
And now your closing WEDNESDAY NUMBERS 11: 30 AM
Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 3.170 % UP 1 in basis point(s) yield
JAPANESE BOND 10 yr YIELD: +1.980% UP 3 1/2 FULL POINTS AND 25/100 BASIS POINTS /JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/
JAPAN 30 YR: 3.351 UP 1 BASIS PTS//DEADLY
SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.304 UP 1 in basis points yield
ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD 3.536 UP 1 points in basis points yield ./ THE ECB IS QE’ ING ITALIAN BONDS (BUYING ITALIAN BONDS/SELLING GERMAN BUNDS)
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 2.863 UP 1/4 BASIS PTS
IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES : MID DAY WEDNESDAY
Closing currency crosses for day /USA DOLLAR INDEX/USA 10 YR BOND YIELD/1:00 PM
Euro/USA 1.1733 DOWN 0.0016 OR 16 basis points
USA/Japan: 155.57 UP 0.799 OR YEN IS DOWN 80 BASIS PTS// HIGHLY INFLATIONARY TO JAPAN
Great Britain 10 YR RATE 4.4740 DOWN 5 BASIS POINTS //
GREAT BRITAIN 30 YR BOND; 5.219 DOWN 5 BASIS POINTS.
Canadian dollar DOWN 0.0018 OR 18 BASIS pts to 1.3774
Data-Center Drama Wrecks Tech; Silver Soars Amid Crypto Chaos
WRAP UP;
Ongoing tech woes hit stocks – Newsquawk US Market Wrap
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025 – 03:57 PM
SNAPSHOT: Equities down, Treasuries flat, Crude up, Dollar up, Gold up
REAR VIEW: Fed’s Waller continues to argue for moderate rate cuts amid job environment; Trump designates Venezuela as terrorist organisation, ordering a total and complete blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering & leaving Venezuela; US reportedly readies Russian energy sanctions if it rejects Ukraine peace deal; Soft UK CPI; ORCL $10B Michigan data centre funding talks stall; Chinese researchers said to have complete a working EUV prototype; EIA crude stocks draw more than expected; STLD & NUE cut next Q EPS outlook.
COMING UP: Data: US CPI (Nov), Jobless Claims (w/e 13 Dec), Philly Fed (Dec), Japanese CPI (Nov), NZ Trade Balance (Nov). Events: ECB Announcement, BoE Announcement, Norges Bank Announcement, Riksbank Announcement, CNB Announcement, Banxico Announcement. Speakers: US President Trump; Norges Bank’s Bache; Riksbank’s Thedeen; ECB’s Lagarde; BoE’s Bailey. Supply: US. Earnings: Carnival, Nike, FedEx.
2. Trial Newsquawk’s premium real-time audio news squawk box for 7 days
MARKET WRAP
Stocks were hit on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq underperforming as the tech sector was sold. The sector was hit by reports by the FT that Oracle’s (ORCL) USD 190bln Michigan data centre deal is in limbo after funding talks with Blue Owl (OWL) stalled. Oracle said the equity deal is still on schedule; however, ORCL shares still slid c. 5%. Meanwhile, chip names were weighed on (NVDA -3.9%, AMD -5.3%) on Reuters reports that Chinese researchers completed a working EUV prototype in early 2025 and are targeting 2028 for working chips, adding more competition in the tech space and reducing the need for chips from US companies in China. Meanwhile, Google (GOOGL) is reportedly set to collaborate with Meta (META) to expand software support for AI chips, according to Reuters; the project aims to make TPU run well on PyTorch as an alternative to NVIDIA (NVDA). In FX, the Dollar saw mild gains, but the Yen was the clear laggard, giving up some of its recent gains ahead of the BoJ on Friday. Gold and silver added to recent gains, with silver hitting a fresh record high. T-notes ultimately settled flat, but commentary from Fed Governor Waller took T-notes off low, before paring ahead of the 20-year bond auction, which was ultimately in line with recent averages. Energy prices were bid, driven by worsening US-Venezuela relations and potential new energy sanctions on Russia from the US. Looking ahead, the focus on Thursday is the CPI and Jobless Claims data, while the BoE and ECB rate decisions are due – BoE widely expected to cut by 25bps, with the ECB widely expected to keep rates on hold1 of 86,967 Stocks hit on fresh tech concerns
FED
WALLER (voter): The influential Governor spoke extensively on a wide range of topics. On monpol, he noted that the Fed is 50-100bps over neutral, and there is no rush to cut rates given the outlook, he further added that the Fed can continue to bring the rate down, but it is unclear how much support there is for that on the Fed. As a reminder, in the post-FOMC press conference, Powell said the Fed rate is in a “plausible range of neutral”, but it is “at the upper end.” Re. the labour market, Waller noted it is “very soft” and current payrolls are weak, which are 50-60k overstated, close to zero growth, once again echoing Powell, who said jobs are 60k overstated. The Governor added that the job market says the Fed should continue to cut rates, and is not seeing the job market go off a cliff. On the other side of the mandate, inflation, Waller said, expectations are anchored, and it is above target but should come down over the next few months. Ahead, Waller expects 1.6% GDP growth this year, vs. the Fed SEP median 2025 GDP growth of 1.7%. In addition, he reiterated familiar rhetoric that he does not expect to see more big increases in tariffs. Lastly, the balance sheet says new Fed asset buying is not stimulus, and reserves are “pretty” close to ample. Waller noted that the balance sheet is at the level the Fed wants.
FIXED INCOME
T-NOTE FUTURES (H6) SETTLED HALF A TICK LOWER AT 112-16
T-notes settle little changed amid commentary from Fed’s Waller and the 20-year bond auction. At settlement, 2-year +0.6bps at 3.485%, 3-year +0.8bps at 3.529%, 5-year +0.3bps at 3.697%, 7-year +0.6bps at 3.908%, 10-year +0.4bps at 4.153%, 20-year +0.8bps at 4.785%, 30-year +0.7bps at 4.830%.
INFLATION BREAKEVENS: 1-year BEI +6.0bps at 2.456%, 3-year BEI +1.0bps at 2.315%, 5-year BEI +0.8bps at 2.178%, 10-year BEI +0.5bps at 2.216%, 30-year BEI -0.4bps at 2.218%.
THE DAY: T-notes ultimately settled flat on Wednesday with attention turning to US CPI on Thursday, albeit just the Y/Y figures as the M/M numbers will not be released due to the missing October data from the government shutdown. T-notes saw two-way trade with pressure seen overnight and in the morning before paring somewhat in US trade. Upside coincided around the time of commentary from Fed’s Waller, who suggested that rates are currently 50-100bps above neutral right now, indicating a need for at least two more rate cuts. However, he is in no rush to lower rates again, given the outlook, he also called for a moderate pace of easing. T-notes had then sold off ahead of the 20-year bond auction, which was ultimately in line with recent averages but better than the prior (see more below). Once the auction was out the way, T-notes resumed gradually higher to ultimately settle little changed with yields across the curve firmer by no more than 1bps at settlement. Other updates included reporting from Politico suggesting Trump officials have privately raised doubts over Hassett being the next Fed Chair, criticising his current effectiveness as NEC Director. Focus on Thursday is the CPI and Jobless Claims data, while next week’s 2-, 5- and 7-year note announcements are due – expected at USD 69, 70 and 44bln, respectively. The 2-year FRN is expected at USD 28bln. Elsewhere, the BoE and ECB rate decisions are due – BoE widely expected to cut by 25bps, with the ECB widely expected to keep rates on hold.
SUPPLY:
Notes
Overall, an average 20-year bond auction. The US Treasury sold USD 13bln of 20-year bonds at a high yield of 4.798%, stopping through the when issued by 0.1bps. The 0.1bps stop through is an improvement from the prior 0.2bps tail, but not as strong as the 0.5bps stop through average. The bid-to-cover jumped to 2.67x from 2.41x, a touch above the 2.65x six auction average. Meanwhile, Direct demand fell to 22.2% from 29.1%, below the 25.3% average, but Indirect demand rose to 65.2% from 59.5%, above the 63.7% average. This left Dealers with 12.6% of the auction, above the prior 11.4% and the average 11.0%.
US Treasury to sell USD 24bln of 5-year TIPS on 18th Dec; to settle on 31st Dec.
Bills
US sold 17-week bills at a high rate of 3.540%, B/C 3.27x
US Treasury to sell USD 80bln (prev. 80bln) of 8-week bills and USD 80bln (prev. 85bln) of 4-week bills on December 18th; all to settle Dec 23rd
STIRS/OPERATIONS
Market Implied Fed Rate Cut Pricing: January 6bps (prev. 6bps), March 14.4bps (prev. 14.4bps), April 21.8bps (prev. 21.6bps), December 59.8bps (prev. 59.8bps).
NY Fed RRP Op demand at USD 10.4bln (prev 1.55bln) across 17 counterparties (prev. 2)
NY Fed Repo Op demand at USD 0.001bln (prev. 4bln) across two operations.
EFFR at 3.64% (prev. 3.64%), volumes at USD 95bln (prev. 97bln) on December 16th.
SOFR at 3.69% (prev. 3.75%), volumes at USD 3.319tln (prev. 3.270tln) on December 16th.
Treasury Buyback (3- to 5-year, Liquidity Support; Max purchase amount USD 4bln): Buys 3.7bln of 11.94bln offered, accepts 16 of 48 eligible issues. Offer to cover: 3.23x
NY Fed Reserve Management Bill Purchases: Buys USD 8.17bln of the USD 58.21bln submitted. Offer to cover: 7.12x
CRUDE
WTI (F6) SETTLED USD 0.67 HIGHER AT 55.94/BBL; BRENT (G6) SETTLED USD 0.76 HIGHER AT 59.68/BBL
WTI and Brent were firmer on Wednesday, driven by worsening US-Venezuela relations and potential new energy sanctions on Russia from the US. Trump kick-started the upside with a Truth Social post, designating Venezuela as a terrorist organisation and ordering a total and “complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela; Venezuela later rejected Trump’s “grotesque threat”. Thereafter, a Bloomberg report via sources noted that the US is readying new Russian energy sanctions in the scenario that Russia rejects a Ukraine peace deal; they could potentially be announced this week. Options include targeting vessels in Russia’s “shadow fleet” of tankers used to transport Moscow’s oil. That said, the White House said that Trump has made no decisions at this time on the matter. Existing gains held despite the WH push back, with prices trading sideways into settlement after the EIA weekly inventory data. Crude stocks showed a bigger draw than expected, -1.724mln (exp. -1.066mln) with Production falling by 10k. WTI and Brent hit their highs in the EU morning of USD 56.74/bbl and 60.40/bbl, respectively.
EQUITIES
CLOSES: SPX -1.16% at 6,721, NDX -1.93% at 24,648, DJI -0.47% at 47,886, RUT -1.07% at 2,492
SECTORS: Technology -2.19%, Communication Services -1.90%, Industrials -1.64%, Consumer Discretionary -1.22%, Utilities -0.79%, Health -0.22%, Financials -0.03%, Real Estate +0.28%, Materials +0.43%, Consumer Staples +0.45%, Energy +2.21%.
EUROPEAN CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.58% at 5,685, Dax 40 -0.50% at 23,956, FTSE 100 +0.92% at 9,774, CAC 40 -0.25% at 8,086, FTSE MIB +0.25% at 44,099, IBEX 35 +0.10% at 16,938, PSI +0.10% at 8,070, SMI -0.25% at 13,024, AEX -0.59% at 930
STOCK SPECIFICS:
Oracle’s (ORCL): Blue Owl Capital will not proceed with backing a planned USD 10bln, 1-GW Oracle data centre in Michigan, FT reports. Oracle responded to the report, saying the equity deal on the Michigan data centre is still on schedule, via Bloomberg, adding Related Digital chose ‘the best equity partner’ on the deal.
Google (GOOGL) – To collaborate with Meta (META) to expand software support for AI chips, via Reuters sources; the project aims to make TPU run well on PyTorch as an alternative to NVIDIA (NVDA).
Nucor (NUE): Q4 EPS guidance missed expectations.
Steel Dynamics (STLD): Q4 EPS view disappointed.
General Mills (GIS): Profit & revenue beat.
Lennar (LEN): EPS fell short.
Warner Bros Discovery (WBD): Unanimously recommended to stockholders to reject Paramount Skydance (PSKY); Paramount later affirmed its commitment to a USD 30/shr offer for Warner Bros.
Jabil (JBL): EPS & revenue beat with guidance strong.
Hut 8 (HUT): Announced an AI infrastructure partnership with Anthropic & Fluidstack.
Gap (GAP): Upgraded at Baird to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Neutral’.
Fortinet (FTNT): Downgraded at JPMorgan to ‘Underweight’ from ‘Neutral’.
FX
DXY is now trading firmer than it was before the Oct/Nov jobs reports on Tuesday, as small upticks in US yields likely added support. The usual significance of the releases was likely dampened by a few factors, US government shutdown, a higher BLS standard of error, and the delayed resignations arising from the DOGE layoffs earlier in the year. As such, the path of the dollar is likely to remain more uncertain than usual, with upcoming unemployment rates likely to be somewhat distorted. Key updates included those on the Fed, with reporting from Politico suggesting Trump officials have privately raised doubts over Hassett being the next Fed Chair, criticising his current effectiveness as NEC Director. Meanwhile, Fed’s Waller continued to call for cuts as the job market says so, arguing rates are 50-100bps over neutral, meaning Waller’s neutral rate view is more or less around the Fed median view of 3.0%. DXY hit highs of 98.641 before retracing to ~98.38.
GBP was weighted by soft CPI data. Headline Y/Y eased more than anticipated to 3.2% (exp. 3.5%, prev. 3.6%), mainly driven by a drop in food prices. Core CPI M/M -0.2% (exp. 0.1%, prev. 0.3%). The report solidified bets for a 25bps BoE rate cut, with markets now assigning ~99.7% chance of an outcome from the 91% seen before the release. Click here for the Newsquawk BoE Preview.
JPY was the worst G10 performer against the buck, paring its WTD strength. Events throughout the day did little to change the dynamics in Japan. Imports fell shy of expectations in November, while Exports and Machinery Orders beat. Japanese Government member Nagahama said the BoJ’s monetary policy appears to be heavily influenced by FX moves. “If the BoJ were to raise rates this week, it might be to combat the weak Yen that reduces the positive effect of government measures to cushion the blow from the rising cost of living.” USD/JPY hit highs of 155.70 from earlier 154.52 lows.
EUR finished the day unchanged vs USD, unreactive to data points in the morning, which did little to change the expected unchanged outcome from the ECB meeting on Thursday. Nonetheless, the German Ifo hit its lowest level since May, weighed by deteriorations in current conditions and expectations. Click here for the ECB Newsquawk Preview.
DATA RELEASES
That will hurt the economy;
(zerohedge)
Ford To Lay Off 1,600 Workers As Kentucky EV Battery Plant Pivots To Data Center Storage
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025 – 02:40 PM
Ford will lay off all 1,600 workers at its newly built electric-vehicle battery plant in Glendale, Kentucky, as it pivots away from EV production and converts the facility to make battery-storage systems for data centers, utilities, and renewable-energy developers, according to WDRB.
The company said Monday it plans to begin shipping battery energy-storage systems from plants in Kentucky and Michigan in late 2027, calling the move a shift toward “higher-return opportunities,” according to the Wall Street Journal. Ford estimates the transition away from its EV strategy will cost $19.5 billion and disclosed that it has lost about $13 billion on EVs since 2023.
“Instead of plowing billions into the future knowing these large EVs will never make money, we are pivoting,” CEO Jim Farley told the Journal.
In a video message to employees, Michael Adams, CEO of BlueOval SK—the former Ford–SK On joint venture—said the move would mark “the end of all BlueOval SK positions in Kentucky.” Workers will continue to receive pay and benefits for 60 days, though no firm layoff date was given. Ford said it plans to hire about 2,100 workers for the revamped facility and that displaced employees will be eligible to apply.
WDRB writes that the Hardin County project was originally pitched as a $5.8 billion investment to supply batteries for Ford’s EVs, including the F-150 Lightning. But slowing EV demand, excess capacity, and changes in emissions policy forced a rethink. Ford recently canceled production of the electric pickup and paused work on a second battery plant next door, which remains unfinished.
Industry analysts say the problem goes deeper than demand. “They built the wrong kind of battery and the wrong chemistry for that here in Kentucky,” said WSJ automotive reporter Chris Otts, adding that retooling the plant requires a full overhaul and years of lead time.
Ford and SK On formally ended their partnership last week. Ford will take full ownership of the Kentucky plants, while SK On will run a nearly completed Tennessee facility focused on similar energy-storage products. Under Ford’s revised plan, the Glendale site is expected to operate at just 23% of its original planned capacity when production begins in 2027.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the state is renegotiating its incentive agreement with Ford and prioritizing support for displaced workers through job fairs and other resources. Republican state lawmakers representing the area said they would closely monitor Ford’s commitments as the project shifts toward grid-scale energy storage.
USA ECONOMIC COMMENTARIES
Hope this works for the Republicans and USA ciitizens
(zerohedge)
House Advances GOP Healthcare Bill With No Enhanced ACA Extension
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025 – 11:40 AM
(Updated 1153ET): The House has advanced the GOP healthcare bill in a 213-209 vote, which does not include Obamacare extensions. The move came despite moderate Republicans signing a Democratic discharge petition to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies in an act of defiance against leadership.
Moderate Republicans had been sounding the alarm for weeks that failing to extend the subsidies would drive up American health care premiums and cost the party its majority in the 2026 midterms. The subsidies will expire at the end of this month, and lawmakers will be leaving for a winter recess later this week. –The Hill
The GOP package allocates funds towards cost-sharing reductions in Obamacare, which would lower premiums for some people but decrease the overall amount of subsidies.
🚨 JUST IN: US House ADVANCES GOP healthcare bill that lets people buy insurance in groups to save money on premiums, WITHOUT Democrats' ACA subsidies extension for Big, Rich Insurance.
The House will vote on a Republican health care plan that does not include an extension of the expiring enhanced tax credits for Obamacare, a decision by GOP leaders that produced some dissension within the party.
The Dec. 17 vote is the latest development in the battle over the Affordable Care Act Marketplace, popularly known as Obamacare, and certain COVID-19-era subsidies that are set to expire this month.
Republicans are pitching their bill, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, as a set of reforms that will lower the cost of health insurance across the board.
The GOP plan would leave the original Obamacare subsidies in place while allowing the temporary enhanced subsidies, instituted in 2021 as a response to the COVID-19 health emergency, to expire.
Democrats, fearing that many Americans will be unable to afford health insurance without the enhanced subsidies, are pushing for a three-year extension.
Some Republicans argued for a vote on a one- or two-year extension of the enhanced subsidies paired with some reforms, but GOP leaders opted against it.
“We looked for a way to try to allow for that pressure release valve, and it just was not to be,” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters on Dec. 16.
Undaunted by the rejection, some House Republicans continued to push for a House vote on extending the enhanced subsidies.
“I don’t think we’re done yet with it,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told reporters on Dec. 16. “I like the measures that we put on the floor, but I also think we need an extension [of the enhanced subsidies].”
“This is not about politics or party. This is about actually delivering on an issue that impacts 24 million Americans,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) wrote on social media on Dec. 15.
Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) each proposed amendments to the GOP plan that mirror bipartisan bills they’d separately introduced in the House.
Fitzpatrick proposed an amendment to the GOP bill that would extend the enhanced subsidies for two years, lower the income eligibility limit for the subsidies, crack down on fraud, and create an option for part of the subsidy to be placed in a Health Savings Account.
The Fitzpatrick amendment was ruled out of order by the House Rules Committee on Dec. 16 because it did not include provisions to pay for the proposed actions.
Kiggans proposed a similar amendment calling for a one-year extension of the enhanced subsidies with a lower income eligibility threshold and anti-fraud measures. Kiggans’s amendment included provisions to pay for the measures.
The Kiggans amendment failed in the House Rules Committee, meaning that it cannot be introduced in the House for a vote by the whole body.
As it stands, the House will vote on a GOP bill built on five major provisions to reduce the cost of and broadening access to health insurance.
They include requiring greater transparency in prescription drug pricing, providing federal funding to reduce the co-payments and deductibles paid by some Obamacare customers, and making it easier for businesses that self-insure their employees to buy stop-loss insurance.
The bill would also make it easier for small employers and self-employed people to leverage the buying power of a larger organization by joining association health plans, and improve the ability of employers to contribute pre-tax funds for employees to purchase their own coverage.
Republicans said the changes would dramatically reduce the cost of health insurance.
“We’re putting forth the cost-sharing reductions, … and it’s estimated that these plans will go down 11 percent,” Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) said, adding that other provisions could reduce the premiums an additional 5 percent.
“What you put in this bill is junk insurance,” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), said in a Dec. 16 Rules Committee Hearing, adding that the changes could drive people to purchase low-cost health insurance that does not provide adequate coverage.
Democrats have based their insistence on extending the enhanced subsidies on the idea that millions of Americans will be deprived of health coverage without them.
“Republicans are doing absolutely nothing to avert a health care catastrophe that is going to devastate millions of people across America,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Pa.), ranking member of the Rules Committee. “People’s premiums are about to double, triple, quadruple.”
Johnson said that an extension of the enhanced subsidies “only affects 7 percent of Americans, and it only reduces their cost by less than 6 percent.”
House Democrats have introduced a measure known as a discharge petition that, if successful, would force the speaker to bring their subsidy extension bill to the floor for a vote. Democrats have proposed a three-year extension of the enhanced credits with no changes.
Their petition has gained 214 of the required 218 member signatures.
“All we need is four Republicans willing to stand up for their constituents, and we can pass a clean extension that already has bipartisan support in the Senate,” McGovern said.
The measure failed a procedural vote in the Senate on Dec. 11, though four Republicans supported it.
Discharge petitions have also been initiated for the Fitzpatrick and Kiggans legislation, garnering 25 and 42 signatures respectively.
Inflation is the most insidious tax because it is the least visible. If the taxman took 30 percent more of your income this year than six years ago, you would be in a state of fury. Inflation does the same thing but only leaves confusion and disorientation in its way, a sense that something is deeply wrong but with an explanation that is opaque and a bit abstract.
We blame high taxes on politicians. We are never entirely certain who precisely to blame for inflation. Part of the reason is that it is generated by a system with many moving parts. The core explanation is simple—paper money expansion—but the players involve central bankers, commercial bankers, bond dealers, legislatures, and the way that it plays out depends on contingent factors involving reserves and financial velocity.
We are left with a sense of rage against everything.
But this doesn’t happen immediately.
Recall that in 2021, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen assured the country that the inflation was transitory. That sounded a bit like temporary, even if she did not say that. Many people heard that, and assumed that prices would go down in a matter of months.
That did not happen. Instead it got worse, reaching even double digits. Making matters worse, each inflation report was rendered by media as relatively good news. Inflation is “cooling,” they said, and is limited only to this sector or that, without which there would be no problem at all. This messaging continued for three years.
During that very time, there were moments in which we felt oddly prosperous because the Treasury Department was injecting newly created Fed money directly into our bank accounts. Many were staying home at that time, not really working. It seemed like magic: making money without working. It is always this way in the early parts of inflation. Life seems relatively good, at least not tremendously bad.
But then strange things started happening. Not all at once. Inflation hits random sectors and then disappears again, like a mold in the house that is there and then not. You keep wondering if it is in your imagination, not really a threat, just a one-time thing, and so on. Plus money is otherwise washing around everywhere, generating frenzied buying.
This sloshing effect of new inflations keeps going, hitting in unexpected ways. It’s plywood. Then it goes away. It’s gas. Then it’s gone. Then it’s eggs but that comes and goes. Then it hits services, which you only notice because you happen to need your car repaired. It is hidden until accidentally revealed in an unexpected health-care purchase and so on. At every stage, it is getting better in one sector and worse in another.
The point at which it becomes obvious that a massive devaluation is taking place is uncertain. Eventually, however, the reality dawns on everyone. We’ve all been robbed even though we never saw the thief or even noticed that the property was missing. Every inflation in history has worked this way, which is why governments have long resorted to money printing when taxes are too dangerous for political stability.
The inflation of 2021–2024 has its origin in the year before it showed up in prices. The pandemic response was the reason for the sudden shift from monetary tightening to monetary loosening. Such a wild printing mania has not been experienced in our lifetimes in the United States. It was also repeated in most parts of the world, causing essentially a global inflation.
No need to wonder why everyone is so upset these days about affordability and why it has become the central issue. It’s mostly because of the devaluation that took place during the pandemic. Yes, tariffs have contributed to the problem mostly by adding a pricing floor that includes compliance costs. That said, tariffs are not driving the problem even if they are not helping it.
The lingering effects are everywhere in 2025. Even as headline inflation hovers around 3 percent—higher than the Federal Reserve’s target but spun as “moderating”—the cumulative damage from those pandemic-era money floods is baked in. Prices aren’t falling back; they’re just rising more slowly. Your grocery bill is still 20–25 percent higher than in 2019, housing costs have ballooned, and everyday services feel like luxuries.
Affordability is the central grievance, not some transient blip. This has uncertain political impacts, but it certainly does not help that Donald Trump declared his Golden Age prematurely, just about the time that the trauma of the previous four years was just settling in.
Shelter costs, the biggest chunk of most budgets, have been stubbornly high and continue to rise by 3–4 percent in many reports. The pandemic lockdowns crushed new construction, supply chains lingered in disarray, and then the money printing bid up asset prices. The result is that a median home now requires an income far beyond what most young families earn. First-time buyers are sidelined, renting forever, or moving to less desirable areas.
It’s not just numbers; it’s delayed marriages, fewer children, shattered dreams of independence.
Food tells a similar story. Eggs, meat, dairy—the basics—spiked erratically, then settled at elevated plateaus. Energy prices fluctuated with global events and policy shifts, but gasoline and utilities never returned to pre-2021 levels. Add in tariffs and you get upward pressure on goods from apparel to electronics.
Today’s officials can call this all a hoax or transitory but families live in the real world. One month it’s heating bills, the next childcare or car insurance.
Inflation doesn’t just erode wealth. It erodes trust. People sense they’re working harder for less, savings vanishing into thin air, rewards from labor diluted by invisible forces. And what is the Fed doing about the problem? The answer is not good: it is lowering rates. Let there be no mystery. This is quantitative easing by another name. It risks another full wave, which is a terrifying prospect. Congress isn’t helping by its continued spending frenzies. And now we are seeing a virtual merging of the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve. This can only end in making the problem worse, unless we get very lucky.
The problem comes down to this. Sound money is great and even essential for the people. But it is never good for government or debt-addicted financial markets. Governments and borrowers generally love inflation for the same reason they once loved debasing coins: it funds spending without overt taxes, and pays down debt in cheaper dollars. But the bill arrives eventually for everyone else. The results are social unrest, lost productivity, and misallocated capital.
In 2025, the trauma of inflation manifests in quiet desperation: skipped doctor visits, cheaper (less healthy) food, delayed retirements. It’s not hyperinflation but a slow grind that normalizes hardship. The thief got away, leaving us poorer, more divided, less hopeful. Until we confront the root, the hits will keep coming, random and relentless, until the system itself cries uncle.
Meanwhile, for most people, the golden age feels more like the coins in our pocket: scrap metal refashioned to look like something they are not.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.
end
Jewish Professor MIT murdered in his home in Boston
MIT professor shot, killed at his home in Boston suburbs: Officials
Nuno F.G. Loureiro, 47, was found at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.
ABC News LiveNuno F.G. Loureiro, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been identified as the man fatally shot at a home in Brookline on Dec. 15, 2025.
MIT
A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been shot and killed at his home, authorities said.
Nuno F.G. Loureiro, 47, was found Monday night at his house in the upscale Boston suburb of Brookline. He was taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead on Tuesday, the Norfolk District Attorney’s office said.
The DA’s office said the homicide investigation is ongoing.
Nuno F.G. Loureiro, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been identified as the man fatally shot at a home in Brookline on Dec. 15, 2025.MIT
Authorities have investigated whether his death could be connected to this weekend’s Brown University shooting and, at this point, a senior law enforcement official briefed on both cases told ABC News there is nothing to suggest they’re connected.
The university said Loureiro was a “faculty member in the departments of Nuclear Science & Engineering and Physics, as well as the Director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center.”
An MIT professor was fatally shot at his home on Gibbs Street in Brookline, Mass., on Dec. 15, 2025.WCVB
Loureiro, a native of Portugal, wanted to be a scientist since childhood, according to MIT.
The accomplished scientist joined the MIT faculty in 2016 and “quickly became known as an imaginative scholar, gifted administrator and enthusiastic mentor,” MIT President Sally Kornbluth said in a statement.
“In the face of this shocking loss, our hearts go out to his wife and their family and to his many devoted students, friends and colleagues,” she said.
“This shocking loss for our community comes in a period of disturbing violence in many other places. It’s entirely natural to feel the need for comfort and support,” Kornbluth continued. “… In time, the many communities Nuno belonged to will create opportunities to mourn his loss and celebrate his life.”
U.S. Ambassador to Portugal John J. Arrigo said in a statement, “I extend my deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Nuno Loureiro, who led MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. We honor his life, his leadership in science, and his enduring contributions.”
end
this is good!!
New Czech foreign minister announces intention to move embassy to Jerusalem
Petr Macinka expressed solidarity with Israel and the Jewish community, and noted that one way of acting on that solidarity would be to move the embassy to Jerusalem.
PETR MACINKA receives a certificate of appointment as Czech Foreign Minister from President Petr Pavel during the cabinet’s inauguration ceremony at Prague Castle in Prague, December 15, 2025.(photo credit: REUTERS/EVA KORINKOVA)ByMATHILDA HELLERDECEMBER 16, 2025 17:10
The Czech Republic’s new foreign minister, Petr Macinka, announced on Monday his intention to relocate the country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The comments were made during a Hanukkah lighting in Prague.
“It should have been done a long time ago,” said Macinka, who entered office on Monday.
During his speech, Macinka also addressed the antisemitic terror attack in Sydney the day before, which led to the murder of 15 people.
Macinka expressed solidarity with Israel and the Jewish community, and noted that one way of acting on that solidarity would be to move the embassy to Jerusalem, which Israel recognizes as its capital.
Israel’s ambassador to the Czech Republic, Amir Weissbrod, praised Macinka for attending.
Israeli culture in the Czech Republic (credit: Embassy of Israel in Prague)
A new populist government
“In Prague, many people gathered to celebrate the holiday together and express solidarity in the fight against antisemitism,” wrote Weissbrod on X. “My sincere thanks go to all the distinguished guests who attended this evening. This evening there was an exceptional atmosphere.”
The Czech Republic‘s new populist government was sworn in on Monday. It is led by Andrej Babiš, who has served as prime minister twice before. He is expected to follow in the footsteps of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Slovakia’s Robert Fico, whose countries have refused to provide military aid to Ukraine and oppose EU sanctions on Russia.
A senior official also told JNS that Babiš intends to visit Israel early next year and could announce the embassy move during the trip.
This would not be the first time that the Czech Republic has expressed its intention to relocate the embassy. In 2020, then President Miloš Zeman said his government was committed to “further strengthening our representation in Jerusalem.”
Prague already opened a “Czech House” in Jerusalem in November 2018, marking its first step towards establishing an embassy in the capital.
END
Goldman’s Case For Falling Tariffs As Midterms Loom
AI
Goldman Sachs’ recent analysis, as reported on December 17, 2025, argues that U.S. tariffs are likely to fall (or see reduced effective rates) in the lead-up to the 2026 midterm elections.The key reasoning includes:
Legal uncertainty surrounding some tariff authorities (e.g., ongoing Supreme Court challenges and prior court rulings limiting certain implementations).
Ongoing trade negotiations with major partners, which could lead to deals reducing rates.
Increased sector-specific exemptions to mitigate economic pain in sensitive industries.
These factors are expected to outweigh any new aggressive tariff actions before the midterms.The backdrop is political sensitivity: with the cost of living and inflation remaining top voter concerns (partly fueled by earlier tariff pass-through to consumers), the Trump administration is incentivized to ease trade pressures via executive actions to boost economic sentiment ahead of the 2026 elections, rather than escalate further.This contrasts with some earlier Goldman views (e.g., from November 2025) suggesting tariffs might become more permanent post-midterms, but the latest note highlights pre-election dynamics favoring de-escalation.The primary source for this is a ZeroHedge summary of the Goldman client note, emphasizing that exemptions, negotiations, and legal hurdles will dominate over new hikes in the near term.
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON
KING NEWS
The King Report December 17, 2025 Issue 7641 (With Table)
Independent View of the News
The November Employment Report was mixed; NFP of 64k with 50k expected; but the Unemployment Rate rose to 4.6% with 4.5% expected. October NFP -105k, -25k expected. Nov Mfg. -5k as expected; Wages only 0.1% m/m & 3.5%, 0.3% & 3.6% expected; Workweek 34.3, 34.2 consensus; Labor Force Participation Rate 62.5%, 62.4% expected August NFP revised to -26k from -4k; September revised +108k from 119k -33k two-month revision
Team Trump fudged the November NFP by reducing the seasonal adjustment from -1.263m for November 2024 to -1.1m for November 2025. This is +163k phantom jobs!
The Trump BLS changed the BLS Birth/Death Model factor from +12k jobs in November 2024 to -5k jobs for November 2025. This is a 17k reduction for a net +146k phantom NFPs for November 2025. https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesbd.htm
Nov NFP Breakdown: Mining & Logging -4k, Construction +28k, Retail +6.2k, Trade & Trans -17.7k, Information -4k, Professional & Biz Services +12k, Education & Heath Services +65k, Leisure & Hospitality -12k, Other Services +3k, Government -5k https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.b.htm
@zerohedge: Full-time workers plunged by 983K in the 2 months since Sept, to 134.17 million, the lowest of 2025. Part-time workers soared by 1.025 million in the 2 months since Sept, to 29.486 million, a new all-time high.https://x.com/zerohedge/status/2000933205185331207
@charliebilello: The total # of jobs in the US increased by 0.6% over the past year, the slowest growth rate since March 2021. In the past 50 years, this type of weakness in the labor market has preceded a Recession & a spike in the Unemployment Rate 100% of the time. Is this time different? https://x.com/charliebilello/status/2000933454226309259
Oct Retail Sales 0.0% m/m, 0.1% expected, prior revised to 0.1% from 0.2% ex-Autos Sales 0.4%, 0.2% expected, prior revised to 0.1% from 0.3% ex-Autos & Gas 0.5%, 0.4% expected, prior revised to 0.0% from 0.1%
Dec S&P Global US Mfg. PMI 51.8, 52.1 exp, prior 52; Services PMI 52.9, 54 exp, prior 52.2 Composite PMI 53, 53.9 exp, prio4 54.2
Revelio Labs: Two Retail Economies are Emerging This Holiday Season As consumer spending diverges, so does retail hiring… Affluent households are driving strong holiday spending, while overall consumer sentiment plummets under higher costs. This divide is reflected in retail hiring… In-store retail hiring has fallen most sharply at budget retailers, even as all retailers expand digital roles to support automation and growing online demand. Luxury retailers are leading this shift, reflecting confidence in continued spending from wealthier consumers… https://www.reveliolabs.com/news/macro/two-retail-economies-are-emerging-this-holiday-season/
The much weaker than headline November NFP number, due to beneficial seasonal adjusting, did NOT fool the entire Street. Defensive asset allocators appeared; stocks sank, bonds rallied; and Fangs were mixed on safe haven buying. Tesla hit an all-time high, probably on manic short covering.
ESZs opened modestly higher on Monday night but quickly commenced a sharp decline that took them to a daily low of 6832.75 (-48.25) at 2:41 ET. Aggressive buying then drove ESZs to a daily high of 6892.00 (+11.00) at 8:28 ET. ESZs sank after the 8:30 ET official release of the jobs reports.
After double bottom at 10:27 ET, traders aggressively bought ESZs for the 2nd-Hour Reversal. ESZs jumped to 686.00 at 10:55 ET. Alas, sellers returned; ESZs intractably sank to a new daily low of 6817.50 at 13:03 ET. The afternoon rally took ESZs to 6854.50 at 13:50 ET. The sudden dip to 6925.75 at 14:18 ET was related to the 14:15 ET VIX Fix. Tuesday was the last trading day for Dec VIX options.
After the downward manipulation for the 14:15 ET VIX Fix, ESZs rebounded to 6873.25 at 15:7 ET. Sellers reappeared; ESZs sank to 6853.75 at 16:00 ET.
Positive aspects of previous session ESZs rallied robustly during early European trading. Fangs turned positive in the afternoon on safe haven buying and Expiry Week bias.
Negative aspects of previous session Stocks declined sharply early; bonds rallied on economic ebbing angst.
Ambiguous aspects of previous session What is spooking stocks? Is there a problem in the system? Is it economic ebbing?
First Hour/Last Hour Action [S&P 500 Index]: 1st Hour from NYSE Open: Down; Last Hour: Up
Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to traders]: 6793.09 Previous session S&P 500 Index High/Low: 6819.27; 6759.74
@seanmdav: The feckless Senate GOP called Trump’s bluff on recess appointments in January, Trump backed down, and the Senate GOP took this as a sign Trump was weak and could be bullied and lied to by Senate GOP leaders, which is why their shameful behavior continues to this day. Trump needed to shove their obstruction down their throats to send the right message about the rest of this term. He didn’t, so now we’re left with massive DOJ vacancies, blue slips, and lawless judges who believe a GOP Congress is more scared of mean NYT headlines than anything else in earth. Thune deliberately slow-walked Trump’s appointments and then refused to go into recess so he could block Trump from doing recess appointments. Thune is not on Trump’s side. He is doing everything he can to give the false appearance of being helpful while doing everything possible to procedurally gum up the works behind the scenes.
Fox’s @PhilipWegmann: After inviting Vanity Fair into the West Wing for the better part of a year, the Trump administration throws a kitchen sink of disavowals at the Susie Wiles profile. https://x.com/PhilipWegmann/status/2000973603496714477
Trump Chief Calls Musk Drug User, VP ‘Conspiracy Theorist’ – BBG Conceded that cases by the DOJ against two prominent Trump critics, New York Attorney General Letitia Joanes and former FBI Director Jame Comey, were political retribution, casting it as “score settling”… “We have a loose agreement that the score settling will end before the first 90 days are over,” she said in a March interview… In August would tell the magazine that “I don’t think he’s on a retribution tour.”… there was “huge disagreement” among Trump’s advisers over (tariffs)…
@DailySignal: JD Vance Responds to Susie Wiles’ ‘Conspiracy Theorist’ Remark in Vanity Fair Profile – A Vanity Fair article on Tuesday quoted White House Chief of Staff Suzie Wiles calling @VP JD Vance a “conspiracy theorist” and a political opportunist. Vance laughs off these remarks while addressing a crowd in Albertis, Pennsylvania: “ Sometimes I am a conspiracy theorist, but I only believe in the conspiracy theories that are true. And by the way, Susie and I have joked in private and in public about that for a long time. … Susie Wiles? We have our disagreements. We agree on much more than we disagree, but I’ve never seen her be disloyal to the president of the United States, and that makes her the best White House chief of staff that I think the president could ask for.” https://x.com/DailySignal/status/2000986033970716873
WH CoS @SusieWiles: The article published early this morning is a disingenuously framed hit piece on me and the finest President, White House staff, and Cabinet in history. Significant context was disregarded and much of what I, and others, said about the team and the President was left out of the story. I assume, after reading it, that this was done to paint an overwhelmingly chaotic and negative narrative about the President and our team… @redsteeze: You don’t get to scream about fake news media, while also welcoming in them in to sit for glamour shots.
@barnes_law: In her own words @SusieWiles confirmed long-held suspicions of her hostility to MAGA principles, including her opposition to pardoning all J6ers, her opposition to taking apart USAID, her belief EpsteinFiles are no big deal & her dislike of deportation raids. Susie is the swamp.
Ex-CBS top reporter @laralogan: It is too late in the game for this to be a defense. Anyone close to the President should know that Vanity Fair leads the way in the information war for Trump’s most powerful & despicable enemies. Their job is to set the false narrative for others to folo. There is no walking this back because all his enemies in the media & outside will run with it relentlessly regardless of the truth. Vanity Fair has political operatives – not journalists. If you do not know this, you are not qualified to be in a junior role let alone a senior one…
We opined a few weeks ago, the DJT has a need to schmooze people that detest him in the arrogant hope to convert them. Does his team have this malady too? Anyone that would ‘sit’ with Vanity Fair 11 times and provide bad stuff about Team Trump is too dumb or self-serving to be WH CoS!
It was rumored a few months ago that Susie Wiles was hindering Trump’s MAGA agenda and could be replaced. DJT will NOT remove her now because he would believe it shows weakness. However, don’t be surprised if pressure from others inducing Wiles to resign at some point in early 2026.
PS – Wiles goes, her BFF AG Bondi could exit because of her many missteps. Bondi should have NEVER been made AG. Like his 1st term, DJT has made beaucoup hiring blunders.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said he won’t call a vote to extend enhanced subsidies for Obamacare that expire at the end of December. GOP Reps are divided on plans to reform Obamacare.
Trump: “Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America. It will only get bigger… until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us… I am ordering a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going in or out of Venezuela…” https://x.com/marcorubio/status/2001084013050548470/photo/1
Tesla faces a “30-day sales suspension in California as a penalty for allegedly misleading consumers about its driver-assistance technology…” – BBG
Today – After a very disappointing start to Expiry Week, the usual suspects will play for the Weird Wednesday manipulation to the upside. Today is settlement for VIX December options. Be alert for manipulation into the 14:15 ET VIX Fix and a counter move thereafter.
The S&P 500 low for Friday (6801.79) and Monday (6801.49) indicate that 6800 is important support. Though the S&P 500 had a low of 6759.74, the late manipulation closed the index at 6800.26.
Trump will give a primetime address to the nation at 9 PM ET. (Venezuela?)
ESZs are -16.25; NQZs are -62.75; Dec AU is +13.00; and USZs are flat at 20:16 ET.
S&P Index 50-day MA: 6765; 100-day MA: 6635; 150-day MA: 6453; 200-day MA: 6227 DJIA 50-day MA: 47,134; 100-day MA: 46,254; 150-day MA: 45,254; 200-day MA: 44,193 (Green is positive slope; Red is negative slope)
@amuse: Foreign-born Judge Mustafa Kasubhai, appointed by Biden, is blocking the Trump administration from requiring Democrat-run states to remove non-citizens from SNAP, even though those same Democrats previously argued it was illegal to include non-citizens in the program. Mustafa is a radical Marxist who sought to end private property rights.
@shaunmmaguire: An MIT Professor of Physics and Nuclear Engineering was fatally shot in his home. Nuno was Jewish and outspoken in his criticism of Hamas. Is this what students meant when they asked to “globalize the intifada?”…https://x.com/shaunmmaguire/status/2001024865000939585
@davenewworld_2: The director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center was shot to death last night in his home. When one of the greatest minds on the planet specializing in nuclear fusion is assassinated, it seems like a bad omen… (Retribution from Iran?)
@libsoftiktok: Police are refusing to say what the Brown University shooter yelled before opening fire and killing 2 people. Witnesses say he shouted “Allahu Akbar.” Why are the police covering this up?
@megbasham: Mark Halperin (ex-Clinton advisor) has heard that the family of Ella Cook, the Christian conservative student who lost her life at Brown university, has been told she was the shooter’s target. https://x.com/megbasham/status/2000774629737058693
@greg_price11: Brown University just released a statement condemning the “doxxing” of Mustapha Kharbouch, saying “it is not unusual to take steps to protect an individual’s safety in regards to their online presence.” Except, the entire reason this person is going viral in the first place is because THEY scrubbed him from their website sometime after the shooting and people noticed. https://x.com/greg_price11/status/2001094974499107305/photo/1
Daily Signal’s @TheTonus: Brown University should not be issuing this. ProvidenceRIPD needs to state explicitly that Mustapha Kharbouch is not a person of interest. Quiet deleting in an active investigation should be met with extreme suspicion. See something, say something is not “irrevocable harm.”
@Dapper_Det: Bellevue Police Officer lured by a false 911 call and then ambushed stabbed by a Muslim man, Mohamed Morray Bangura (38). There’s no mugshot because WA state protects the identities of their criminals and illegal aliens… https://x.com/Dapper_Det/status/2000899428962775488
@greg_price11: The President of Brown just denied that any webpages of students or faculty had been scrubbed from the internet. “First I’ve heard of it.” @EndWokeness: So bizarre. This is a provable lie.
@townhallcom: Reporter: Why didn’t the siren emergency system go off? Brown University President: “That’s not a system we would ever use in the case of an active shooter.” Reporter: “It does say on the website…that it is for an active shooter.” Brown University President: “It depends on the circumstances...” https://x.com/townhallcom/status/2001060483118625209
@storm_paglia: These people are total amateurs. The moron university president, the foreigner police chief, the treasonous state AG. All of them. That’s not even to account for the very nefarious suspect and motive I think they’re covering up.
@Dapper_Det: The Brown University mass shooting investigation is NOT “going really well” & will go down as the worst in the history of LE—Video from the campus withheld, description of the shooter withheld, the motive withheld. The Providence Police should be disbanded. The AG impeached. https://x.com/Dapper_Det/status/2001096247441031190
5th person arrested in NYE bombing plot is a ‘trantifa’ Marine vet out to ‘recreate Waco’ on ICE: complainthttps://trib.al/uWKTdBv
DC police chief accused of fudging crime data in blistering report days after resignation announcedhttps://trib.al/01BtfVa
US crime, corruption, and the looting of the treasury are at Fall of Rome levels and are escalating.
@EYakoby: Hamas supporters disrupt the vigil for the Bondi Beach Massacre. They are protesting a vigil for a 10 year old girl and 15 others. Evil. https://x.com/EYakoby/status/2000567139342942675
@DailyMail: How did this happen? Bondi gunman was approved for a firearms license in 2023 despite terror red flagshttps://t.co/T8sBmgBY5r
Australian PM Albanese gives muted response to antisemitism spike as predecessor slams him for gun control deflectionhttps://trib.al/nFBGUZ0
@RMXnews: German police have prevented yet another mass terror attack against a Christmas market, this time targeting “large crowds” in the city of Magdeburg. A 21-year-old from Central Asia has been arrested on suspicion of an Islamist-motivated terror attack… https://x.com/RMXnews/status/2000912646556598528
@InsiderGeo: Polish security services have arrested a 19-year-old university student suspected of planning a bomb attack on a Christmas market in support of Islamic State. Authorities say he was actively preparing explosives and sought help from a terrorist organization.
@TheBabylonBee: Groundbreaking New Study Finds Islamophobia May Be Partially Caused by Muslims Killing People All the Time
@ClassicLearner: Slavery ended in the:Ottoman Empire: 1909; Brazil: 1888; Chad: 1905; Ethiopia: 1942; Liberia: 1930; Morocco: 1905; Sierra Leone: 1928; Iraq: 1924; Saudi Arabia: 1962; China: 1910; United Kingdom: 1833; USA: 1865…
Bombshell report: Companies did everything they could to avoid hiring “white millennial men” over the last decade – @BlakeSNeff: One of the most interesting tidbits in the viral Compact story on DEI is how foreign whites are twice as likely to get tenure in academia, partly because they don’t count as “white” on the stats… DEI really is just a war to dispossess America’s historic majority population… @DougMackeyCase: “In 2011 […] white men were 48 percent of lower-level TV writers; by 2024, they accounted for just 11.9 percent.”… https://notthebee.com/article/report-companies-did-everything-they-could-do-avoid-hiring-white-millennial-men-over-the-last-decade
The Lost Generation – Compact magazine In 2011, the year I moved to Los Angeles, white men were 48 percent of lower-level TV writers; by 2024, they accounted for just 11.9 percent. The Atlantic’s editorial staff went from 53 percent male and 89 percent white in 2013 to 36 percent male and 66 percent white in 2024. White men fell from 39 percent of tenure-track positions in the humanities at Harvard in 2014 to 18 percent in 2023. In retrospect, 2014 was the hinge, the year DEI became institutionalized across American life… “Newsrooms were center-left places in 2005… Now they’re incredibly left places… I imagine one reason newsrooms have gotten more explicitly lefty is that you have white guys and white women adopting a kind of protective coloration, allyship mindset, to get through the door.”… For a decade, it kept going, faster and faster. Without any actual quotas to achieve—only the constant exhortation to “do better”—the diversity complex became self-radicalizing, a strange confluence of top-down and bottom-up pressure. No one ever said what the right number of white men would be, but it was always fewer than you currently had… Is the media more trusted now than a decade ago? Is Hollywood making better films and television? Is academia more respected? Have these institutions become stronger since they systematically excluded an entire cohort—or did abandoning meritocracy accelerate their decline?… What do I say when my boys ask about my old hopes and dreams? What do I tell them when they ask about theirs?https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-lost-generation/
@AnnCoulter: I hope Trump reads this article. Stunning. “Since 2022, Brown has hired forty-five tenure track professors in the humanities and social sciences. Just three were white American men (6.7 percent).” The Lost Generation | Compact
SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT
FBI Agents Thought Clinton’s Uranium One Deal Might Be Criminal – But McCabe, Yates Stonewalled Investigation: Report
Tuesday, Dec 16, 2025 – 05:20 PM
Remember Uranium One? The massive 2010 sale of US uranium deposits to Russia approved by Hillary Clinton and rubber-stamped by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) – after figures linked to the deal donated to the Clinton Foundation?
Turns out rank-and-file FBI investigators thought there was enough smoke to launch a criminal investigation, but internal delays and disagreements within the DOJ and FBI ultimately caused the inquiry to lapse, newly released records reveal.
The materials, made public by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and first reported by Just the News, reveal that investigators argued internally over the delays – which allowed the statute-of-limitations to expire and ultimately halt the case.
The Uranium One transaction – involving the sale of a Canadian mining company with substantial U.S. uranium assets to Russia’s state-owned nuclear firm Rosatom – became a flashpoint during Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Critics argued that then-Secretary of State Clinton, a member of CFIUS, helped approve the deal while donors connected to Uranium One made large contributions to the Clinton Foundation.
The New York Times reported in 2015 that “as the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013 … a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation. Uranium One’s chairman used his family foundation to make four donations totaling $2.35 million. Those contributions were not publicly disclosed by the Clintons, despite an agreement Mrs. Clinton had struck with the Obama White House to publicly identify all donors. Other people with ties to the company made donations as well.”
“And shortly after the Russians announced their intention to acquire a majority stake in Uranium One, Mr. [Bill] Clinton received $500,000 for a Moscow speech from a Russian investment bank with links to the Kremlin that was promoting Uranium One stock,” the Times reported. “At the time, both Rosatom and the United States government made promises intended to ease concerns about ceding control of the company’s assets to the Russians. Those promises have been repeatedly broken, records show.” -Just the News
Resistance from senior officials – including then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe – slowed the inquiry to the point where statute-of-limitations concerns were later cited to justify shutting it down.
Thanks to Grassley we now have a newly declassified FBI investigative timeline surround the deal, as agents in multiple field offices opened inquiries in early 2016 examining the Clinton Foundation’s intersection with the Uranium One deal. The Little Rock field office initiated a full field investigation, while New York and Washington opened preliminary investigations.
Internal records show that agents and prosecutors continued to debate whether the investigation was time-barred. Jonathan Ross, then First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, argued in a 2018 email that “there is no legal barrier in continuing the present investigation.” Ross has served as U.S. Attorney in Arkansas since 2022.
Then-U.S. Attorney Cody Hiland of Arkansas echoed that view in a separate email to then-U.S. Attorney John Huber of Utah, stating that the team did not believe the case was barred by statute of limitations because payments to the Clinton Foundation “were made continuously from 2007 through 2014.”
The FBI timeline also noted that statute-of-limitations arguments “failed to include whether Acts of Concealment such as deleting emails in 2015” could have extended the filing window. Investigators pointed to possible statutes including the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, major fraud against the United States, bank fraud, and the Wartime Suspension of Statute of Limitations Act.
Despite those arguments, senior DOJ officials expressed growing reluctance to proceed. In late 2016, then-U.S. Attorney Robert Capers and then-Criminal Chief James Gatta raised concerns about potential statute-of-limitations issues and urged moving on from the case.
Internal emails show morale collapse among agents
The records reveal frustration among investigators who believed conflicting legal guidance undermined their authority to continue the probe. Hiland wrote in June 2018 that an email circulated by then-First Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Harris, asserting that the statute of limitations expired on Feb. 1, 2018, “cast a permanent pall over the local agents’ attitude” toward the investigation.
Ross later disputed Harris’s conclusion, writing that Harris was unaware of 18 U.S.C. § 3287 when issuing his assessment. Ross warned that agents’ confidence had been damaged and urged additional resources or reassignment of the case to a new investigative team.
The timeline indicates that prosecutors believed additional interviews and investigative steps remained unfinished, including questioning Uranium One executives, foreign nationals, State Department officials involved in the CFIUS vote, and Department of Energy personnel who approved export authorizations after the deal closed.
Political scrutiny and congressional oversight
The Uranium One deal drew sustained attention from Congress. In 2010, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) warned that the transaction would give Russia control over a sizable share of U.S. uranium production capacity. Grassley repeatedly pressed DOJ officials to examine whether donations to the Clinton Foundation influenced the CFIUS process.
The Hillreported in 2017 that the FBI had gathered evidence as early as 2009 that Russian nuclear officials engaged in bribery, kickbacks, and money laundering connected to U.S. uranium interests. That reporting cited a confidential U.S. witness and financial records tied to the Russian nuclear industry.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions later tasked Huber with reviewing the Uranium One matter in 2017, but did not appoint a special counsel. By early 2020, reports indicated that Huber’s effort was winding down. Special Counsel John Durham later stated that his mandate did not include Uranium One.
Fallout continues amid uranium supply concerns
The release of the FBI records comes as U.S. reliance on Russian-sourced uranium remains a national security concern. Russia accounted for roughly 20% of U.S. enriched uranium supplies in 2024, according to the Energy Information Administration, down from prior years.
Congress banned Russian uranium imports following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but experts have warned that decades-old policy decisions left the United States vulnerable.
The newly released documents suggest that the circumstances surrounding Uranium One were never fully investigated, leaving unresolved questions about how a strategic U.S. asset came under Russian control – and whether potential criminal conduct went unexamined due to internal delays and legal disputes.
END
HUMOUR DAY OF THE DAY
“He’ll Be Lucky To Have A Bookmobile”: The Future Of Joe Biden’s Presidential Library In Doubt As Donations Fail To Come In
Tuesday, Dec 16, 2025 – 08:30 PM
Former President Joe Biden’s planned monument to his presidency is becoming a brutal reality check on his legacy.
In September, the Biden camp announced plans to build his presidential library in Delaware – assembling a team of former aides, friends, and political allies to oversee the project, which is supposed to include a museum and archive.
A senior member of the Biden Foundation described the project to CBS News as a “vibrant and lasting space where history, learning, and civic leadership come together, inspiring future generations to lead with purpose, serve their communities, and strengthen our nation.”
However, a recent New York Times report suggests Biden will likely have to scale back the project.
“Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has raised only a small fraction of the money needed to construct a presidential library,” the paper reported Saturday, “leaving uncertainty about when a library might be built and its viability as a stand-alone project, according to public filings and interviews with his donors.”
In filings with the Internal Revenue Service, Biden’s library foundation revealed that it had not received any new donations in 2024, the final year of his presidency. The foundation was instead seeded entirely with $4 million left over from his 2021 inauguration.
The library foundation declined to say what it had raised in 2025. It said that Mr. Biden was only now beginning to actively raise money. He is holding the first event for potential library donors on Monday in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood.
Still, Mr. Biden’s foundation told the I.R.S. this year that it expected to bring in just $11.3 million, total, by the end of 2027. That would be far below the pace set by other recent presidents, and far less than the $200 million that Mr. Biden’s aides say they want to raise eventually.
As a result, Biden insiders say there’s talk of folding the potential Biden library into existing Biden-related projects at the University of Delaware. According to four anonymous sources, this could let the library ride on the millions the university—Biden’s own alma mater—has already raised for a “Biden Hall” project.
It appears that no matter what happens with the project, donations will be hard to come by. The New York Times reports that even some of Joe Biden’s most reliable donors say nobody has reached out to them about contributing to his presidential library. Others in the Democratic donor class sound even less enthusiastic, and say they plan to pour their resources into battling President Trump. Others admit that bitterness over Biden’s time in office has closed their wallets entirely.
“The Biden staff, they ruined any type of good library for him,” explained John Morgan, a longtime Democratic donor. “He’ll be lucky to have a bookmobile.”
Morgan was previously one of Biden’s top bundlers.
Biden now plans to personally start raising money for his library, beginning with a Georgetown cocktail event billed as a casual meet-and-greet. But the Joe and Jill Biden Foundation doesn’t sound particularly confident in his ability to raise funds. According to IRS filings, the foundation expects to raise only about $11.3 million by the end of 2027. For comparison, George W. Bush raised $500 million before cutting the ribbon on his library. Obama’s center costs around $850 million. Trump’s team is projecting close to $900 million.
What’s happening to Biden is simple. The Democratic Party needed a placeholder to stop Trump in 2020, but there was never any genuine enthusiasm for him. When doubts about his cognitive decline became impossible to spin, his party kicked him to the curb. Now, to the Democratic donor class, Biden’s brand equity is virtually nonexistent, and the people who once filled his campaign war chest have moved on.
Joe Biden wanted a monument. What he’s getting is a mausoleum nobody wants to build.
END
ANOTHER MINNESOTA FRAUD…
Trump Admin Demands Tim Walz’s Resignation After Another Fraud Discovery
Education Secretary Linda McMahon demanded on Monday that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz step down over allegations that his administration allowed millions in taxpayer money to be stolen by “ghost students.”
McMahon’s scathing letter, published on X, came after the Education Department reportedly uncovered at least 1,834 fraudulent college applicants in Minnesota received $12.5 million in grants and loans.
Overall, the Trump administration reportedly found that $90 million had been disbursed to alleged scammers in 2024 alone, in addition to $30 million in loans to dead people and over $40 million to companies using AI bots.
These suspected fraudsters, also known as “ghost students,” use stolen identities to obtain the funds.
McMahon said a newly launched fraud control system had blocked “more than $1 billion in attempted financial aid theft by fraudsters,” including foreign rings and AI bots.
The letter comes as Walz faces scrutiny for failing to stop the theft of more than $1 billion in COVID-19-related relief funds since 2020.
One of the exploited programs, designed to provide meals for those in need during the pandemic, was reportedly targeted by a group of Somali Americans in Minnesota.
Whistleblowers said the Walz administration ignored red flags in some applications to avoid alienating the Somali community, a key Democratic voting bloc in the state.
“Shame on you, Governor Walz, for allowing this to happen—and for benefiting from it,” McMahon wrote, seemingly referring to the political advantages noted by whistleblowers.
“Stop defrauding American taxpayers,” she added. “No politician is above the law, and my department, alongside every other agency under the leadership of President Trump, will continue to ensure that you will not be able to dodge accountability for your actions.”
McMahon concluded with a scorching plea: resign.
“Given your dereliction of the office entrusted to you by Minnesotans, I implore you to resign and make way for more capable leadership,” she wrote.
Biblical cycle timing expert, geopolitical and financial analyst Bo Polny has been making one correct call after another on the rise of gold and silver prices for years. Now, he’s making one of his biggest calls yet that will start playing out before the end of 2025. Polny says, “It’s going to happen eventually, but the US dollar is going to have a really bad day. We could see this before the New Year. We could see this before Christmas. We could see it this week. (Silver just hit another all-time high on Tuesday night. Gold is also up at or near record highs too!!) So, the dollar is going to have a very bad day. When that happens, it is going to be the reverse for God’s money. . .. ‘The silver and the gold are mine says the Lord.’ We are about to witness a vertical price explosion on silver. A vertical price explosion on silver is going to be marked with a very bad day for the US dollar. . .. Please keep in mind, the Federal Reserve Note is not federal, there are no reserves, and, actually, they are private bankers that own it. . .. The big picture on this is we are about to witness the fall of the Federal Reserve system, which will spike silver and gold. Silver and gold are about to embark on the greatest bull market in human history.”
Polny says do not be deceived or afraid. Polny contends, “They want you to stay in a state of fear. When you read in the scriptures, John 10:10, it says, ‘The devil comes to kill, steal and destroy. But I, Christ, come to give you life more abundantly.’ The shooting in Australia is the first half of John 10:10. So, they are creating fear across the globe. . .. When they bring fear, they use that to push their agenda. That’s how the whole demonic system works because you give up your rights in fear. That’s what they want you to do.”
Polny also predicts, “Silver is about to explode, and it will be the bank killer. . .. Their kingdom has come to an end, and God is going to use silver to take down the Babylonian globalist agenda of a one world government. He’s going to stop them in their tracks. This is going to be like in Joel 2:31. It will be ‘The Great and Terrible Day.’ It’s great for the church, and terrible for the enemies of God.”
In closing, Polny says look out for the Deep State globalists to play the alien card as things fall apart for them. They will lie and tell you aliens made us and not God the Father. Polny also says look for price targets for silver to break “$140 per ounce, $600 per ounce, $1,200 per ounce and $2,000 per ounce.”
Polny says above all, “Pray and thank God, for he saved America and the world.”
Craig Tindale on X: “Critical Materials: A Strategic Analysis ” / X
harveyorganblog.com 
