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EXCHANGE: COMEX
EXCHANGE: COMEX
CONTRACT: DECEMBER 2025 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES
SETTLEMENT: 4,361.400000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 12/19/2025 DELIVERY DATE: 12/23/2025
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED
118 H MACQUARIE FUTURES US 2
363 H WELLS FARGO SECURITI 429
435 H SCOTIA CAPITAL (USA) 1
661 C JP MORGAN SECURITIES 726 116
690 C ABN AMRO CLR USA LLC 4
709 C BARCLAYS 170
905 C ADM 2 6
TOTAL: 728 728
MONTH TO DATE: 35,30
JPMORGAN STOPPED 116/728
GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR DEC/2025: 728 CONTRACTs NOTICES FOR 72,800 OZ or 2.264 TONNES
total notices so far: 35,300 contracts for 3,530,000 OR 109.797 tonnes)
SILVER NOTICES:54 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 0.270 MILLION OZ/
total number of notices filed so far this month : 12,548 CONTRACTS (NOTICES) for 62.740 million oz
INITIAL STANDING FOR DEC: 49.33 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 355,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP _ PLUS ..850 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK MONDAY AND TUESDAY’S .485 MILLION OZ/ (TOTAL EX. FOR RISK = 1.335 MILLION OZ)///STANDING ADVANCES TO 64.605 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: 34.190 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 375,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP+ DEC. FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK 0F .850 MILLION OZ + YESTERDAY’S 495,000 OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK // STANDING ADVANCES TO 64.605 MILLION OZ//
- MAY: SUMMARY FOR MAY TONNES WHICH STOOD FOR DELIVERY:
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 2.889 TONNE QUEUE JUMP WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPS OF: 31.6678 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 111.947 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR DECEMBER OF 1.244 TONNES/NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 113.191 TONNES
NEW STANDING FOR GOLD, DEC CONTRACT AT 113.191 TONNES OF GOLD
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: 149.219 TONNES//FAIR SIZED 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 ROSE BY A HUMONGOUS SIZED 2217 CONTRACTS OI TO 158,126 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 424 CONTRACTS
OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS CONTINUE TO MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS AS OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE:
MAR 424 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 GAIN OF 2217 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 424 E.FP. ISSUED
WE OBTAIN A HUMONGOUS SIZED GAIN OF 2641 OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES WITH OUR HUGE GAIN OF $2.06 THE RATS ARE FLEEING THE ARENA.
THUS IN OUNCES, THE GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES TOTALS 13.205 MILLION PAPER OZ
OCCURRED WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE.OF $2.06
OUTLINE FOR TODAY’S COMMENTARY
1a/COMEX GOLD AND SILVER REPORT
(report Harvey)
b, ) Gold/silver trading overnight Europe,//GOLD COMMENT
Peter Schiff)
c) Commentaries from: Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com, Pam and Russ Martens
ii a) Chris Powell of GATA provides to us very important physical commentaries
b. Other gold/silver commentaries
c. Commodity commentaries//
d)/CRYPTOCURRENCIES/BITCOIN ETC
2.ASIAN AFFAIRS
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY VALUES/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS MONDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
ASIA RESULTS; MONDAY DEC 22
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 26.92 POINTS OR 0.69%
//Hang Seng CLOSED UP 111.24 PTS OR 0.43%
// Nikkei CLOSED UP 895.18 PTS OR 1.81% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.02%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED UP TO 7.0328
/ OFFSHORE CLOSED UP AT 7.0318/ Oil UP TO 57.57 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP TO 61.58 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL RED
ONSHORE USA/ YUAN TRADING UP TO 7.0328 OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING UP TO 7.0318:/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING BELOW OFF SHORE AND UP ON THE DOLLAR// / AND THUS STRONGER//OFF SHORE YUAN TRADING DOWN AGAINST US DOLLAR/ AND THUS STRONGER
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A)NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA
outline
b) REPORT ON JAPAN/
OUTLINE
3 CHINA
OUTLINE
4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
OUTLINE
5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
OUTLINE
6.Global Issues//COVID ISSUES/VACCINE ISSUES
OUTLINE
7. OIL ISSUES
OUTLINE
8 EMERGING MARKET ISSUES
9. USA
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1. COMEX DATA//AMOUNTS STANDING//VOLUME OF TRADING/INVENTORY MOVEMENTS
GOLD
LET US BEGIN:
THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST ROSE BY A STRONG SIZED 6,450 CONTRACTS TO 491,060 OI WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF $22.20 WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S // TRADING/ //COMEX CLOSING TIME:… WE LOST ZERO NET LONGS, WITH THAT PRICE GAIN FOR GOLD. AND AS YOU WILL SEE BELOW, OUR GAIN IN PRICE ALSO HAD A FAIR NUMBER OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUED (1372). WE HAD ZERO T.A.S. LIQUIDATION FRIDAY (WITH MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATIONS COMMENCING FRIDAY WITH SMALL REMOVALS). 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 OF AROUND 418,000 TO NOW 491.060 AND NOW AMPLE ENOUGH FOR A RAID BY OUR BANKERS.
WE THUS HAD A TOTAL GAIN IN OI ON BOTH OF OUR EXCHANGES, THE COMEX AND LONDON’S EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL EQUATING TO 7822 CONTRACTS (OR 24.329 TONNES). THEN WE WERE NOTIFIED OF A 400 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE IN GOLD CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR 40,000 OZ OR 1.244 TONNES OF GOLD. THIS IS DECEMBER’S FIRST ISSUANCE AND IT CAME LATE IN THE MONTH. WE HAVE 3 CHOICES NOW FOR THE RECIPIENT OF THIS ISSUANCE AND IT MUST BE A CENTRAL BANK. YOU WILL RECALL THAT THE BUYER ASSUMES THE RISK OF THAT DELIVERY.
HERE ARE THE CHOICES:
1 THE CENTRAL BANK OF ENGLAND. BUT THEY RECEIVED CLEARANCE THAT THEIR GOLD IS BACK SO IT IS NOT LIKELY THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THEIR RESERVES.
2. THE CENTRAL BANK OF THE USA: THE FED. LOGICAL CHOICE AS THEY CLAMOUR TRYING TO REDUCE THEIR 39 TONNES OF SHORTAGE.
3. THE CENTRAL BANK OF CHINA AS THEY BATTLE WITS WITH THE USA.
TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR DECEMBER IS 1.249 TONNES AND THIS WILL BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY TOTALS..
DETAILS ON OUR NEW DECEMBER COMEX CONTRACT MONTH//
IN TOTAL WE HAD A STRONG SIZED GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 7,822 CONTRACTS WTH OUR GAIN 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 FAIR T.A.S ISSUANCE CONTRACTS. THE CME NOTIFIES US THAT THEY HAVE ISSUED 1118 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. ISSUANCES IN EARLY DECEMBER.
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 2.889 TONNES OF QUEUE JUMP WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER NET QUEUE JUMPING OF 31.6678 TONNES//STANDING ADVANCES TO 111.947 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FIRST ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 1.244 TONNES/NEW STANDING IS THUS: 113.191 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. SO IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE FED IS THE BUYER OF 1.244 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK/DECEMBER!!
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
EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE/DEC.//BORROWINGS FROM THE FRBNY:
THE CME REPORTS THAT THE BANKERS ISSUED A FAIR SIZED EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL OF 1372 CONTRACTS.
THAT IS A FAIR SIZED 1372 EFP CONTRACT WAS ISSUED: : /FEB 1372 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:
TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 1372 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 :
- ZERO LIQUIDATION OF OUR T.A.S. SPREADERS DURING THE COMEX SESSION + BUT DID HAVE CONSIDERABLE GOVERNMENT LIQUIDATION
- MONTH END SPREADERS HAVE NOW COMMENCED!…
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 THURSDAY NIGHT//FRIDAY MORNING WAS A FAIR SIZED 1118 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 FRIDAY’S GAIN IN PRICE IN GOLD WITH A CORRESPONDING STRONG GAIN OF COMEX OI AND A FAIR EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE..ENOUGH FODDER FOR THE COMMENCEMENT OF A RAID
.
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
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.
/STANDING ADVANCES TO 43.9716 TONNES OF GOLD.
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DECEMBER: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY IN THIS ACTIVE MONTH IS 83.813 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 2.889 TONNES QUEUE JUMP. THIS FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPING: 31.6678 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 111.947 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE OF 1.244 TONNES//NEW STANDING THUS INCREASES TO 113.191 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)
JAN/2023: 20.559 tonnes
FEB 2023: 47.744 tonnes
MAR: 19.0637 TONNES
APRIL: 75.676 tonnes
MAY: 19.094 TONNES + 1.244 tonnes of exchange for risk = 20.338
JUNE: 64.354 TONNES
JULY: 10.2861 TONNES
AUGUST: 38.855 TONNES(INCLUDING .6842 EXCHANGE FOR RISK)
SEPT: 15.281 TONNES FINAL
OCT. 35.869 TONNES + 1.665 EXCHANGE FOR RISK =37.0355 tonnes
NOV: 18.7122 TONNES + 16.2505 EX. FOR RISK = 34.9627 TONNES
DEC. 47.073 + 4.634 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK = 51.707 TONNES
TOTAL 2023 YEAR : 436.546 TONNES
2024/STANDING FOR GOLD/COMEX
JAN ’24. 22.706 TONNES
FEB. ’24: 66.276 TONNES (INCLUDES 1.723 TONNES EX. FOR RISK)
MARCH: 18.8398 TONNES + 1.1695 EX FOR RISK = 20.093 TONNES
APRIL: 2024: 53.673TONNES FINAL
MAY/ 2024 8.5536 TONNES + 3.3716 TONNES EX FOR RISK/= 11.9325
JUNE; 95.578 TONNES. + 1.045 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK =96.623 THIS IS THE HIGHEST RECORDED GOLD STANDING SINCE AUGUST 2022
JULY: 11.692 TONNES
AUGUST 69.602 TONNES//FINAL STANDING
SEPT. 13.164 TONNES.
OCT 39.474 TONNES + + 20.917 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK =60.391 TONNES
NOV . 11.265 TONNES +4.665 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK/TUESDAY + 3.11 TONNES OF EX. FOR RISK/PRIOR = 19.0425 TONNES
DEC: 80.4230 TONNES PLUS DEC MONTH EXCHANGE FOR RISK TOTAL 14.6836 TONNES EQUALS 95.1066 TONNES
total year 2024: 540.30 tonnes
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COMEX GOLD TRADING BEGINNING DECEMBER,. CONTRACT;
THE SPECS/HFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT ROSE BY $22.20/ /)
WE HAD ZERO T.A.S. SPREADER LIQUIDATION FRIDAY WITH MINOR MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION// COMEX SESSION// WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE ////.. BUT OUR SPECULATORS REMAIN RELENTLESS POURING INTO THE COMEX// WITH OTHER EASTERN CENTRAL BANKS TENDERING FOR PHYSICAL THURSDAY NIGHT WHICH ALSO EXPLAINS THE HUGE NUMBER OF TONNES OF GOLD STANDING FOR DECEMBER. THE COMEX IS ONE BIG MESS!!
FRIDAY NIGHT//SATURDAY 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 FRIDAY EVENING/ SATURDAY MORNING AND THUS OUR HUGE NUMBER OF GOLD CONTRACTS STANDING FOR DELIVERY AT THE COMEX. CENTRAL BANKERS WAIT PATIENTLY FOR THE GOLD
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 929 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP FOR 92,900 OZ OR 2.889 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS OTHER DEC QUEUE JUMPS OF: 31.6678 TONNES///STANDING ADVANCES TO 111.947 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE OF 1.244 TONNES/NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 113.191 TONNES
ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $22.20
WE HAD A HUGE XXXX CONTRACTS REMOVED TO THE COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)//PRELIMINARY TO FINAL. AND THIS IS TOTALLY INSANE .
INITIAL GOLD COMEX
DEC 22
DEC CONTRACT MONTH
| Gold | Ounces |
| Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory in oz | nil |
| Withdrawals from Customer Inventory in oz | 3 ENTRIES i) Out of HSBC 61,086.900oz (1900 kilobars) ii) Out of Loomis: 22,328.350 oz iii) Out of Manfra: 25,752.751 oz (801 kilobars) total withdrawal: 114,168.201 oz or 3.56 tonnes |
| Deposit to the Dealer Inventory in oz | 0- ENTRIES |
| Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz | DEPOSITS/CUSTOMER 0 ENTRIES xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxI |
| No of oz served (contracts) today | 728 notice(s) 72,800 OZ 2.264 TONNES OF GOLD |
| No of oz to be served (notices) | 691 contracts 69,100 OZ 2.1493 TONNES |
| Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month | 35,300 notices 3,530,000 0z 109.797TONNES |
| 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
0 ENTRIES
customer withdrawals:
3 ENTRIES
i) Out of HSBC 61,086.900oz
(1900 kilobars)
ii) Out of Loomis: 22,328.350 oz
iii) Out of Manfra: 25,752.751 oz
(801 kilobars)
total withdrawal: 114,168.201 oz or 3.56 tonnes
they are draining the comex of gold
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ADJUSTMENTs 2// dealer to customer
a) Brinks: 32,118.849 oz (999 KILOBARS)
b) HSBC 59,704.407 oz (1858 kilobars)
chaos inside the comex
AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DECEMBER
THE FRONT MONTH OF DECEMBER STANDS AT 1419 CONTRACTS FOR A GAIN OF 12 CONTRACTS. WE HAD 917 CONTRACTS FILED ON FRIDAY SO WE GAINED A WHOPPING 929 CONTRACTS FOR A QUEUE JUMP OF 92,900 OZ OR 2.889 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD TO OUR PREVIOUS QUEUE JUMPS AND THEN ADD OUR FIRST ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR 1.244 TONNES .THUS STANDING FOR GOLD IN DECEMBER INCREASES HUGELY TO 113.191 TONNES
JANUARY GAINED 146 CONTRACTS UP TO 3775 AS JANUARY BECOMES THE FRONT MONTH. WE WILL PROBABLY HAS A GOOD SIZED 8 TO 9 TONNES OF GOLD STANDING.
FEB GAINED 2643 CONTRACTS UP TO 353,735 CONTRACTS
We had 728 contracts filed for today representing 72,800 oz
Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from J.P.Morgan dealer and 726 notices issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equate to 728 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 116 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 (35,300 ) to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of DEC ( 1419 CONTRACTS) minus the number of notices served upon today (728 x 100 oz per contract) equals 3,599,100 OZ OR 111.947 Tonnes of gold + 1.244 TONNES of exchange for risk issuance: new total standing advances to 113.191 tonnes!!
thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the DEC contract month: No of notices filed so far (35,300 x 100 oz +we add the difference for front month of DEC (1419 OI} minus the number of notices served upon today (728)x 100 oz) which equals 3,599,100 OR 111.947 TONNES + 2.44 tonnes exchange for risk//new total standing advances to 113.947 tonnes
new total of gold standing in DECEMBER is 113.191 tonnes
TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR DEC ..: 113.191 TONNES TONNES WHICH IS STRONG FOR THIS NORMALLY VERY ACTIVE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF DECEMBER.
volume FRIDAY confirmed 181,095 fair
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COMEX GOLD INVENTORIES/CLASSIFICATION
NEW PLEDGED GOLD:
241,794.285 oz NOW PLEDGED /HSBC 5.94 TONNES
204,937.290 OZ PLEDGED MANFRA 3.08 TONNES
83,657.582 PLEDGED JPMorgan no 1 1.690 tonnes
265,999.054, oz JPM No 2
1,152,376.639 oz pledged Brinks/
Manfra: 33,758.550 oz
Delaware: 193.721 oz
International Delaware:: 11,188.542 oz
total pledged gold: 2,015,413.233 oz 62.687 tonnes pledged gold lowers
TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED GOLD 36,120,090.560 oz
TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD 19,206,738.675 or 597.410 Tonnes
TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD 16,913,351.885 OZ
REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON 17,191,325oz ((REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD)=
537.57 Tonnes // (declining rapidly)
total inventories in gold declining rapidly
DEC 22 2025
INITIAL/
| Silver | Ounces |
| Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory | NIL oz |
| Withdrawals from Customer Inventory | 0 entries total withdrawal: nil oz |
| Deposits to the Dealer Inventory | 0 ENTRY i total deposit nil |
| Deposits to the Customer Inventory | 5 ENTRIES i) Out of Asahi 589,064.400 oz ii) Out of CNT 600,000.250 oz iii) Out of Delaware 10,981.400 oz iv) Out of JPMorgan: 1,282,399.50 oz v) Out of Loomis: 600,963.200 oz total: 3083,409.750 oz |
| No of oz served today (contracts) | 54 CONTRACT(S) ( 0.270 million OZ |
| No of oz to be served (notices) | 106 contracts (0.530 MILLION oz) |
| Total monthly oz silver served (contracts) | 12,548 Contracts (62.740 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
0 ENTRY
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
DEPOSIT ENTRIES/CUSTOMER ACCOUNT
0 ENTRY
withdrawals: customer side/eligible
5 ENTRIES
i) Out of Asahi 589,064.400 oz
ii) Out of CNT 600,000.250 oz
iii) Out of Delaware 10,981.400 oz
iv) Out of JPMorgan: 1,282,399.50 oz
v) Out of Loomis: 600,963.200 oz
total: 3083,409.750 oz
adjustments: 0
TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 128,616 MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 450.643Million 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: 160 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FOR A LOSS OF 49 CONTRACTS. WE HAD 120 CONTRACTS FILED ON FRIDAY SO WE ACTUALLY HAD ANOTHER QUEUE JUMP OF 71 CONTRACTS OR 355,000 OZ
JANUARY GAINED 55 CONTRACTS UP TO 4304 CONTRACTS AS JANUARY NOW BECOMES THE FRONT MONTH. WE MAY HAVE A VERY STRONG JANUARY DELIVERY MONTH FOR 20 MILLION OZ
FEB GAINED 62 CONTRACTS UP TO 1461 CONTRACTS
TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 54 or 0.270 MILLION oz
CONFIRMED volume; ON FRIDAY 104,662 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 12,548 X5,000 oz = 62.740 MILLION oz
to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of DEC (160) AND the number of notices served upon today (54 )x (5000 oz)
Thus the standings for silver for the DECEMBER 2025 contract month: (12,548) Notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of DEC(160) minus number of notices served upon today (54)x 5000 oz equals silver standing for the DEC.contract month equating to 63.350 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 TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK; 1.335 MILLION OZ: THUS WE HAVE THE FOLLOWING:
NORMAL STANDING: 63.270 MILLION OZ
PLUS 1.335 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK/2 OCCASIONS
New total standing: 64.605 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 128.616. million oz of registered silver
JPMorgan as a percentage of total silver: 188,851/450.643million. 41.94%
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 22/WITH GOLD UP $80,25 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: // /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1052.54 TONNES
DEC 19/WITH GOLD UP $22.20 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: // /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1052.54 TONNES
DEC 18/WITH GOLD DOWN $9.05 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF .85 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1052.54 TONNES
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: 1052.54 TONNES, TONIGHTS TOTAL
SILVER
DEC 22/WITH SILVER UP $1.28 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.541 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/. ./ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 516.541 MILLION OZ //
DEC 19/WITH SILVER UP $2.06 /NO CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: . ./ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 515.000 MILLION OZ //
DEC 18/WITH SILVER DOWN $1.13/NO CHANGES IN SILVER AT THE SLV: . ./ :INVENTORY RESTS AT 515.000 MILLION OZ //
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
CLOSING INVENTORY 516.541 MILLION OZ OF SILVER
PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER
1/PETER SCHIFF
JOHN RUBINO
jAMES RICKARDS
2. MATHEW PIEPENBURG/VON GREYERZ
Silver Just Called The COMEX’s Bluff
Monday, Dec 22, 2025 – 12:45 PM
Authored by Matthew Piepenburg via VonGreyerz.gold,
December means many things: A year coming to an end, a time for reflection, a time for looking ahead. A time for family and friends, and of course, a time for holiday belly-expansion.
However, what many may have missed this December is that it was the month the paper markets in silver had yet another near-death experience.
Hiding in Plain Site
As usual, this critical turning point in metals, as well as its neon-flashing signal of a globally debt-sick financial and currency system, went largely unnoticed.
In financial markets, the daily buzz remained forever focused on the usual suspects, from BTC’s massive falls, MicroStrategy’s losing gambit (-59% YTD) and an over-stretched stock market to crude oil’s annual loss or the never-ending deflation/inflation or strong vs. weak DXY debates.
These are, of course, important debates and topics. Most investors understand them, and thus most investors, bull or bear, have an opinion about them. That is why they fill headlines.
Hiding in Intentional Complexity
But often, in fact nearly always, the real and more nuanced signals, as well as market warnings, are deliberately omitted from the Zeitgeist.
This is not only because such signals are a threat to the so-called “experts” behind these failing and corrupted systems, but because, as such, they are made deliberately too complex for Joe Sixpack to see and hence critique.
I’ve written about such intentional obfuscation through intentional complexity before.
And nowhere is this tactic put to better use than in trying to hide the legalized price-fixing masquerading as “hedging” at that oh-so complex beast otherwise known as the COMEX exchange.
For this reason, I’ve tried (as well as warned) for years to make simple sense out of the otherwise senseless COMEX mechanizations used to manipulate the paper price of gold and silver.
If needed, these “simplifications” of the “complex” can be chronologically revisited here, here and here for a re-fresher course.
Making the Complex Simple
For now, however, let’s continue to derive the simple from the complex.
Toward this end, the core theme is very simple and worth repeating: Sovereign nations guilty of unprecedented debt addiction—and hence the currency debasement needed to monetize that addiction—are absolutely terrified of rising gold and silver prices.
This is because rising precious metals are an open middle finger to governments who have grossly and negligently mismanaged the national currencies by which most citizens measure their wealth.
Precious metals naturally rise when paper money, inflated to reduce debt burdens, unnaturally falls in purchasing power.
And when a currency loses its purchasing power, the natives get restless, and the government, fully to blame for the same, gets both nervous and dishonest.
Making the COMEX Simple
That is why the COMEX, in 1974, added futures contracts to allow massive levels of leverage in the hands of a small cabal of bullion banks to conduct equally massive shorts on the gold and silver price each and every day since. This keeps the prices forced down.
The COMEX, in short, was designed for no other reason than to manipulate gold and silver, for gold and silver, promised by the U.S. Constitution as real money, had been taken away from the people in August of 1971.
The cabal responsible for this crime didn’t want this stolen “real money” to outshine the fake paper money that replaced it.
Since 1971, the fall of fiat money’s purchasing power when measured against gold has been greater than 99%.
That was embarrassing, of course, but it was a slow frog boil which the media and even most citizens ignored for decades.
By December of 2025, however, the narrative of a robust USD had lost its credibility for so many reasons detailed elsewhere, but made most obvious by an astronomical, 2025 gold and silver price appreciation driven by global demand which openly preferred real money over the USD and USTs as the new strategic reserve asset.
Today, global central banks hold more physical gold than USTs.
In short, the world has caught on that precious metals preserve their purchasing power infinitely better than credit-based and openly melting paper dollars.
The Greenback, since it was weaponized in 2022, has simply lost its prior hegemony.
Or stated even more simply: Uncle Sam was losing, and hence the COMEX was desperate to save face and buy time for his discredited dollar by attempting to kneecap the precious metals.
But as we’ve warned all year, the COMEX was running out of the needed gold and silver to continue its legalized charades.
A COMEX NDE
Which brings us, at last, to December 12, 2025 and the COMEX’ Near Death Experience (NDE)…
Unnoticed by nearly everyone, a desperate CME board raised the margin requirement (i.e., cost of leverage) for silver futures contracts by 10%, in what could be the first of more to come.
This may sound wonky, perhaps even boring, but its mechanizations and ramifications are very important.
What this crafty, 2:00 AM pre-weekend hike in margins by a so-called “neutral exchange” boiled down to was a deliberate and desperate attempt to force a massive liquidation (i.e., sell-off) in silver.
Thanks to an overnight hike in “buy-in” on that legalized and fixed casino otherwise known as the COMEX, the shadow-banking speculators going long silver at massive turns of leverage were immediately and electronically forced to cover the fee gap or have their positions sold automatically.
Needless to say, at 2:00 AM, covering was nearly impossible, so the sell-off was effectively forced.
Running Out of Control
If this seems crazy, it was. But sadly, the desperate tactic was nothing new. In 1980, a similar and overnight re-pricing of levered contracts took 50% off the silver price due to a massive sell-off in PAPER silver.
By May of 2011, the same tactic successfully crushed the metal when five consecutive margin hikes sent the silver price down in a matter of days from $49 to $33. Thereafter, PAPER silver stayed low for years to come. The COMEX had won.
Since then, similar margin hikes of 10% occurred in February of 2010, followed by an 11% hike in October. In both instances, silver dipped by 1.8% to 3.3% and then rose by 9% and 18% respectively, within 30 days. We saw similar patterns in August of 2020.
The COMEX had lost. Classic shakeouts were followed by major moves to the upside.
On December 12 of this year, unnoticed by most headlines and investors, the same trick failed yet again just as the metal closed at $62.50.
The 10% margin hike this month didn’t shake silver. 67 million ounces of paper silver sold off in minutes, only to be absorbed by purchasers of the physical metal. Less than a week later, silver was at new highs above $66.00.
The reasons why silver (which has seen a >100% upside for the year) prevailed speaks volumes not only about precious metals, but the state of the broken financial system in which we are all trying to navigate.
What Went Wrong in New York?
So why had the COMEX lost more steam in December of 2025?
Despite the exchange’s complex plumbing, the answer is simple, and boils down to this: The demand for physical silver is stronger than the COMEX’s once unstoppable paper market shorts.
In 1980 and 2011, for example, the COMEX vaults still had enough of the actual metals—i.e. a “silver float”—to lever the same.
But as we’ve argued since November of 2024, the metals have been exiting the COMEX at historical levels because, in a world of dying paper currencies, counterparties (i.e., sovereign nations) now want to own the physical metal.
In addition, the industrial bid for a tightly-supplied basket of genuine, physical silver at places as diverse as Samsung or Tesla is much stronger than the paper games played in New York.
These industrial buyers of silver need the metal for circuit boards, photovoltaic panels, e-vehicles and even nuclear reactors.
When they saw last weekend’s attempt by the COMEX to manipulate the price down, rather than get spooked out of the trade (like hedge funds and other speculators), they had standing orders to buy rather than sell the artificial dip.
Industrial bidders also knew that once this physical silver is bought, it is melted into use and never coming back, which means that the silver price (based on tight supply and rising demand) will move higher over time—and thus all the more reason to rejoice rather than panic whenever a CME dip is manufactured in New York.
Rock Now Beats Paper
Tying this altogether, the failed December attempt to create a massive silver sell-off was nothing more than a clearing of the PAPER speculators from the space and major buy signal for the physical metal buyers who now have more power, patience and leverage than an increasingly tapped-out COMEX exchange.
As warned for years, the COMEX is slowly dying because demand for physical metals is outpacing their empty vaults and increasingly impotent paper games.
Or as I stated months ago: “Rock now beats paper.”
The Long Game Wins
Of course, the foregoing but largely ignored trick in the COMEX has larger ramifications for investors playing the long game in physical rather than paper silver.
Those mocked for years as “stackers” will be getting the last laugh over time. Like industrial bidders or sovereign wealth funds who want real rather than paper silver for actual use as well as superior monetary value, physical silver owners don’t have to worry about the paper version of the metal.
They have always known that paper silver is not silver, it’s merely a levered and largely impotent “claim” on silver.
More importantly, the ability of exchanges like the COMEX to beat down physical silver via paper contracts is getting weaker and weaker, which means free price discovery is returning to the metals after decades of legalized COMEX fraud.
Or stated even more simply, COMEX was always about managing (manipulating) the paper price of silver, but the real-world demand for the physical metal represents a massive and now more powerful wall of money.
In a 2025 backdrop of culminating distrust for debt-soaked bonds, currencies and policies, global demand for physical silver—and, of course, physical gold—has outpaced the power and tricks of that COMEX paper tiger in New York.
This, of course, is yet another critical signal in the historically familiar cycles of dying fiat money and rising precious metals.
Keeping It Real
But this does not mean silver or gold will only go up in straight lines from here. Not at all.
Bull markets in metals have seen retracements, even large ones, in the middle of their rising cycles. A Tanking stock market, which is equally inevitable, can also cause temporary pullbacks in precious metals, which no one can time or predict. No one.
But owners of precious metals know this much: Gold and silver store their value better than paper currencies over time. And time is on their side.
A Couple Tricks Left
Nor is the increasingly desperate and openly gasping COMEX out of tricks. It still has a couple up its tattered sleeves.
For example, its next move could be position-limits whereby it will limit the number of silver contracts held by ETFs or family offices who still confuse paper metal with actual metal. Such position limits would induce sell-offs and southern price moves.
But as occurred this month, any such “discount” made in New York would later be bought rather than sold.
The final move we could expect from the COMEX is the most desperate. That is, it could go into liquidation mode, a “nuclear option” by which parties to the COMEX could only be sellers rather than buyers of silver.
In such an extreme scenario, the paper price of silver would, of course, sink.
Silver buyers in such a scenario would likely move to other metals desks in Shanghai or London for fairer pricing, a move which would only make the COMEX even less relevant.
Back to Simple
Ultimately, all these signals and sounds from the once all-powerful COMEX are the signals and sounds of a dying system in not only paper contracts, but so-called “paper money.”
The global financial system, after decades of buying time and unprecedented debt levels with mouse-clicked currencies, is finally hitting its inflection point (or Waterloo Moment) as physical silver and gold rise steadily above the rubble of a broken monetary system led by the home (and central bank) of the world’s weaponized reserve currency.
Silver was simply calling the bluff on a failed system in general and a discredited COMEX in particular.
ALASDAIR MACLEOD..
G7 bond yields are breaking higher into 2026
In this article we demonstrate the consequences of a bond bear market while equities are in in a bubble. Something will have to give and it will be equities.
| Alasdair MacleodDec 21∙Paid |
Introduction
Bond markets of three G7 nations are on the verge of crashing. The USA, UK, and Canada are not far behind, and the jury is out for Italy. But with Japan and two Eurozone nations facing a debt crisis, they are almost certain to take down the other G7s as well.
The most important of the crash candidates is Japan, because low yields for JGBs have encouraged Japanese pension funds and insurance companies to invest in US Treasuries instead. Furthermore, the Bank of Japan’s interest rate suppression has given Japanese institutions an additional benefit from a weakening yen to the dollar, moving from ¥103 in late-December 2020 to ¥158 currently, a profitable decline of 35%.
Japanese institutions now account for $1.2 trillion of US Treasuries. Mostly by way of a yen-based carry trade, US captive insurance companies and offshore hedge funds based in the Cayman Islands account for an additional $418.5 billion.
Additionally, special purpose vehicles operating out of Luxembourg account for most of an additional $419 billion, and London-based carry traders funding in cheap euros probably represent the bulk of an additional $878 billion. Belgium, where Euroclear is based accounts for an additional $468 billion of US Treasuries.
That is a total of $3,383.5 billion of US Treasuries mostly owned by speculative foreign-based “shadow banks” basing their ownership on yield differentials between the US and Japan and the Eurozone. It is locking in US Treasury yields to those of sovereign bonds in the euro and yen. Where they go, so will US Treasuries.
The charts below are of 10-year bond yields for Japan, Germany, and France. Japan’s yield is already in runaway mode, soaring over 2% — the highest level since 1997. German and French 10-year bond yields are just breaking into new high ground.
Canada and Italy have similar consolidation patterns but are not yet challenging breakout levels. The US 10-year Treasury note is crawling along the lower trend line of a similar pattern to that of the 10-year gilt (not shown):
While the US Treasury yield is not yet threatening to break out above an 18-month consolidation, the global trend is clear. And Canada’s is breaking above its flag, but has about 60 basis points to go before making new high ground:
Confirmation of these yield trends is likely to come very soon, though Japan is already leading the way. But it is worth noting that longer-dated bond yields in Japan, Germany, and France are already hitting new highs. And in all the G7 the longer the maturity, the greater the yield.
The reasons driving higher yields
An investor will want a return on his investment, comprised of his estimate of the following three considerations: the loss of use of capital which might be deployed elsewhere, counterparty risk, and the risk associated with the currency. When it comes to investing in readily marketable government bonds in its own currency, it is currency risk which predominates — the risk that at the end of a period, perhaps a year for reference, the currency’s purchasing power might decline.
Therefore, key G7 yields threatening to rise further tell us that the balance of probabilities is for an increasing risk of currencies facing a decline in purchasing power. This is confirmed by a rising gold price.
The relationship between bonds and equities
Experience guides us of the relationship between equities and bonds. In the first phase of a bull market after the preceding bear, bond yields will have stabilised. But the economy is depressed and the bankruptcy rate remains high. Seasoned entrepreneurs and company doctors will seek out opportunities to restructure businesses, perhaps merging them with others. They will work with banks to recover their loans. Gradually, investment and commercial banks will extend finance to facilitate mergers and takeovers. Share prices begin an initial recovery process on the back of this corporate activity, but the investing public remains sellers on balance while observing that the economy is still in recession.
Because the expansion of bank credit is limited to financing takeovers, mergers, and other restructuring activities, there is likely to be a pause in the bull market while uncertainty persists, before the second bull phase gets under way.
As increasing signs that the recession is getting no worse and some economic stability is returning, a second bull phase starts. Banks gradually become more confident in their lending, perhaps competing for low-risk loan quality by reducing their lending margins. Professional investors are early buyers of equities in this second phase, and economic recovery encourages both credit demand and investment. Towards the end of the second phase demand begins to drive bank credit expansion, wholesale and consumer prices begin to rise, and interest rates and bond yields begin to rise as well.
In the third and final bull market phase, the wider public reckons buying stocks is a good thing. They have forgotten their losses in the last bear market, are always late to the party, and chase fashionable sectors. Increasingly, value takes a back seat and momentum investing emerges. Greed for profit replaces fear of loss. Meanwhile, demand for credit increases, not only to finance unexpected rises in business input costs and excess consumption, but also stockmarket speculation. Consequently, interest rates and bond yields rise, due to excessive credit demand in conditions of economic overheating.
This description of the three phases of a bull market separated by two periods of consolidation is an idealised model, shorn of most government meddling. But it is important to appreciate that equities can tolerate an initial rise in bond yields — after all they are an alternative investment and their initial decline chases funds into equities. But it is the second rise in bond yields which marks the end of the entire bullish cycle.
That is why the charts of government bond yields in the first part of this article are so important. While global bond yields have been in a consolidation phase for the last eighteen months, equity markets in the G7 nations rose strongly, as the investing public have come to believe that equities will continue to rise and rise. Obviously, the surprise of higher bond yields will shatter that dream.
Equity valuations have become massively overstretched
Our last chart shows something else. While we can understand an idealised equity relationship to bonds over one whole cycle, there is a tendency for an even larger cycle to evolve, driven by governments and their central banks preventing the full malinvestment liquidation phase of bear markets. Instead of Schumpeter’s creative destruction when accumulated economic distortions are washed out of the system, it becomes only a partial flush, with industrial and financial businesses which should have ceased trading subsidised by governments to continue.
The chart above bears close examination. It is constructed by basing the S&P and the long bond yield at 100 in 1985, and plotting both to logarithmic scales. While the S&P’s y-axis on the left increases positively, the bond yield’s y-axis on the right is inverted. The chart therefore shows the close negative correlation between the two: in other words, a falling bond yield generally correlates with rising equities and vice-versa.
There have been instances when optimism in equities has driven them too high in relation to the bond yield. The buildup in the late 1990s to the dot-com bubble is clearly demonstrated. A secondary equity overvaluation ahead of the Lehman crisis, corrected by a bear market taking the S&P down to a low point in February 2009 is also visible.
Following that crisis, the Fed suppressed interest rates and therefore bond yields making equities appear cheap relative to bonds, evidenced by the blue line being consistently above the red line on the chart. This reached a maximum distortion during covid, when accelerated QE by the Fed drove down bond yields to their lowest level ever. That kick-started a new bull phase for the S&P which took it from under 2,500 to 6,834 currently, a rise of 173%.
At the same time bond yields began to recover sharply, reflecting the inflationary consequences of the Fed’s unprecedented QE. But so ingrained was end-of-cycle investor optimism that the equity bull has continued to the point where the valuation gap is the largest recorded in history, indicated by the double-headed arrow on the right of the chart.
It is evidence of the end of a super-cycle. Over repeated boom-and-bust cycles, government intervention has prevented bust phases from occurring. Unaddressed economic distortions have accumulated into a mountain of unproductive debt, as governments have bailed and subsidised economic activities since the 1980s. Otherwise, they would have gone to the wall. These distortions have fostered an assumption that if things go wrong, the government will always bail everyone out.
Confidence and wealth generation in the stock market are an essential component of economic policy. It leads to the conclusion that not just banks and industries will never be allowed to fail, but that the entire financial system including investors will be bailed out as well. After all, that was the clear message from the Fed’s handling of the 2007—2009 financial crisis.
Now that bond yields are beginning to rise again with signs of debt traps and doom loops being sprung on governments, the moment when the equity bubble bursts will shortly be upon us. Valuations are now so extreme that the collapse in equity values should be greater than anything seen since the 1929—1932 bear market on Wall Street, when 10,000 banks failed.
This time, the economic imperative is to prevent such an outcome. Ninety-five years ago, the dollar was on a gold standard: this time it is pure fiat and there is no such restraint. We can be certain that the US Treasury and the Fed will use that freedom to expand QE as much as required to secure the entire financial system and prevent a wealth-destroying 90% equity market crash.
They might succeed, but the cost will be the debasement of the dollar. It is an outcome already telegraphed by rising gold and metals prices. The surprise to all will be sharply rising prices for commodities, goods, and services perhaps from mid-2026 onwards. It won’t be prices rising, but the dollar’s purchasing power collapsing.
The signs are that the crisis is at hand. Multi-year suppression of commodity prices is backfiring, with silver and platinum threatening to destabilise derivative markets. And importantly, the rise in global bond yields is just beginning, threatening to burst the equity bubble. And the rise in the gold price is discounting the consequences for all the major currencies in 2026—2027.
3. CHRIS POWELL AND HIS GATA DISPATCHES:
Mining entrepreneur Eric Sprott reviews a great year for the monetary metals
Submitted by admin on Fri, 2025-12-19 21:11 Section: Daily Dispatches
9:11p ET Friday, December 19, 2025
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold (and Silver):
On behalf of Sprott Money, Craig Hemke today interviewed Canadian mining entrepreneur Eric Sprott for their 2025 yearly review and they celebrated what seems like the imminent triumph of the monetary metals.
Sprott notes that the usual price smashes in the New York futures market now are often reversed within an hour and that physical prices are now being set in Shanghai.
Even so, Sprott says, the prices of gold and silver mining company shares are not yet keeping up with metal prices as they should, though the industrial fundamentals in favor of silver particularly have become overwhelming, far beyond what current mining production can cover.
Sprott expects that 2026 will be another great year for the monetary metals and the companies that mine them.
Hemke also induces Sprott to discuss some mining companies he is most enthusiastic about.
The discussion is 47 minutes long and can be viewed at YouTube here:
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org
END
Ivory Coast miners start paying higher royalties after failed resistance, sources tell Reuters
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. …
… For the remainder of the report:
END
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. …
… For the remainder of the analysis:
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4. ANDREW MAGUIRE/LIVE FROM THE VAULT KINESIS / AND TODAY;S 253
OFF UNTIL JANUARY
5. COMMODITY REPORT//SILVER/SILVER LEASE RATES:/SILVER
Silver lease rates
Inbox
| Robert Lambourne | 1:28 PM (2 hours ago) | ||
to me | |||
Harvey,
I checked earlier and silver lease rates for one month leases in Shanghai are reported as c6% and c7.5%/8% for one month leases in London as of Friday.
By the way gold lease rates are also slightly higher than normal at c3%/3.5% for one month.
So in silver lease rates are still elevated and so far there is no real indication that they are about to fall as inventories are reported to be tight with industrial demand strong in Asia.
I shall forward a couple of video links to Chris and you shortly. One of them is highlighted by one of the Chinese AI programs and possibly throws some more light on the rumoured large JP Morgan lease of silver from China.
We are certainly living in interesting times.
Bob
…end
PLATINUM//
PRICE RISES ABOVE $2,000 WITH ITS LEASE RATE AT 14%
FROM ROBERT LAMBOURNE:
lPlatinum hits 17-year high as tight supply doubles price in 2025 – FashionNetwork United Kingdom
Harvey,
I was checking silver lease rates last night and got referred to this article about high platinum demand and the lease rate quoted for last Thursday of 14%.
Looks like silver lease rates are not that out of line with other in demand metals and possibly have room to rise further if demand remains firm.
Regards,
Bob
end
COCOA
Cocoa Prices Face Worst Annual Collapse In Six Decades As Goldman Sees “Tailwinds” For Hershey
Monday, Dec 22, 2025 – 05:45 AM
After nearly tripling last year and soaring to a record $13,000 a ton, cocoa futures are on track for their worst-ever annual decline, based on data going back more than six decades.
Cocoa futures in New York are set for a 50% decline if losses persist through the end of the year.
Prices are currently trading around $5,845 as of Friday’s close, a stark difference from the $12,000 to $13,000 range in late 2024 and early 2025.
END
SILVER
In USD on metals
ROBERT H
The Spot Price of Gold Bullion in Futures markets has just hit $4,441.10 per ounce and Silver has reached $69.05 per ounce. Will it stick?
While both can be Tier1 bank assets (silver carry’s a 15% discount to spot ) silver has huge impact in battery technology. While gold is a confidence game. And fiat currencies are losing this ingredient quickly. Looking at the pathetic leadership in the West there should be NO surprise. Especially since the Global South economies are growing outside the USD settlement grasp.
Samsung has found a viable way to use Silver as the anode inside rechargeable batterie; the kind of batteries used for Electric Vehicles (EV’s). Gold maybe better but too costly.
While present technology gives EV’s a range of about 300-400 miles, then needing HOURS to recharge, Samsung’s new batteries can provide 600 mile range, and fully recharge in NINE MINUTES! Likely similar idea in their upcoming phones since battery size is not increasing. There will be a business in recycling these batteries.
In order to achieve this, Samsung will need about 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of silver, per car battery. With all the silver mining around the world, the silver market is already SHORT about 200 million ounces a year. Samsung’s new technology will cause that shortage to rise by an estimate 800 million ounces per year. So where will supply come from to meet this demand????
The question is how the Comex crowd handles this issue. Paper games to fleece are normal but physical delivery is a bitch. Someone will be caught swimming naked.
Silver may well be a better deal in 2026 than gold. Time will tell.
END
ASIA RESULTS; MONDAY DEC 22
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 26.92 POINTS OR 0.69%
//Hang Seng CLOSED UP 111.24 PTS OR 0.43%
// Nikkei CLOSED UP 895.18 PTS OR 1.81% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.02%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED UP TO 7.0328
/ OFFSHORE CLOSED UP AT 7.0318/ Oil UP TO 57.57 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP TO 61.58 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL RED
ONSHORE USA/ YUAN TRADING UP TO 7.0328 OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING UP TO 7.0318:/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING BELOW OFF SHORE AND UP ON THE DOLLAR// / AND THUS STRONGER//OFF SHORE YUAN TRADING DOWN AGAINST US DOLLAR/ AND THUS STRONGER
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY VALUES/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS MONDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
ONSHORE YUAN: CLOSED UP AT 7.0328
OFFSHORE YUAN: UP TO 7.0318
HANG SENG CLOSED UP 111.24 PTS OR 0.43%
2. Nikkei closed UP 895.18 PTS OR 1.81%
3. Europe stocks SO FAR: ALL RED
USA dollar INDEX DOWN TO 98.15 /// EURO RISES TO 1.1732 UP 25 BASIS PTS
3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: RISES TO. +2.074 // UP 6 FULL BASIS PTS/ VERY TROUBLESOME//Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 157.26…… 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: 3.435 UP 1 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 DOWN/JAPANESE Yen DOWN CHINESE ONSHORE YUAN: UP OFFSHORE: UP
3f Japan is to buy INFINITE TRILLION YEN worth of BONDS. Japan’s GDP equals 5 trillion USA
Japan to buy 100% of all new Japanese debt and NOW they will have OVER 50% of all Japanese debt.
3g Oil UP for WTI and UP FOR UP this morning
3h European bond buying continues to push yields LOWER on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund YIELD UP TO +2.905/ Italian 10 Yr bond yield UP to 3.561 SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD UP TO 3.332
3i Greek 10 year bond yield UP TO 3.505
3j Gold at $4408.15 Silver at: 69..11 1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $54.00//AFTER 50.00
3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble UP 1 AND 22/100 roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 79.37
3m oil (WTI) into the 57 dollar handle for WTI and 61 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 157.39 10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 2.074% STILL ON CENTRAL BANK (JAPAN) INTERVENTION//YEN CARRY TRADE IS NOW UNWINDING//YEN BOND TRADING OVERSEAS REPATRIATED.//JAPAN 30 YR: 3.433 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 0.7933 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF: 0.9369 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: 4.169 UP 1 BASIS PTS…
USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.850 UP 2 BASIS PTS/
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 3.492 UP 1 BASIS PTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 42.81 UP 1 BASIS PTS/LIRA GETTING KILLED
10 YR UK BOND YIELD: 4.540 UP 1 PTS
30 YR UK BOND YIELD: 5.271 UP 1 BASIS PTS
10 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.488 UP 2 BASIS PTS
5 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.006 UP 2 BASIS PTS.
1a New York OPENING REPORT
Futures Rise, Japanese Yields Surge, Gold And Silver Soar
Monday, Dec 22, 2025 – 08:30 AM
As we previewed late last week, the Santa Rally is back all right, and US equity futures are trading near session highs with the Nasdaq 100 poised to wipe out December’s losses as revived appetite for technology stocks powered gains across equity markets. As of 8:15am ET, S&P futures are 0.4% higher after the benchmark climbed 0.9% on Friday, the most in close to a month; Nasdaq futures rise 0.6% set to build on Friday’s jump as NVDA jumped 2% on a Reuters report the company sees H200 shipments to China starting by mid-February; Oracle and Micron both climbed more than 2% in premarket trading while most members of the Magnificent Seven megacaps advanced.Tech and mining shares outperformed in Europe. In Asia, benchmarks most exposed to artificial-intelligence demand, including South Korea’s Kospi, also led gains. Global bond markets remained under pressure, led by a second day of losses in Japanese debt following an interest-rate hike by the Bank of Japan. The dollar fell. Gold ($4400) silver ($69) and copper all climbed to record highs.The US economic calendar includes the Chicago Fed national activity index (8:30am). No Fed members scheduled to speak for the session
In premarket trading, Nvidia and Tesla lead gains among the Mag 7 tech stocks as sentiment toward AI-exposed companies improves following Micron Technology’s results last week. Nvidia has told Chinese clients it aims to ship its second-most powerful AI chips to China by mid-February, Reuters reports, citing people familiar with the matter. (NVDA +1.7%, TSLA +1.2%, GOOGL +0.5%, AMZN +0.4%, META +0.4%, MSFT +0.3%, AAPL is little changed).
- Gold and silver miners advance after prices of both precious metals hit record highs. Newmont (NEM) climbs 2% and Coeur Mining (CDE) rises 4%.
- Clearwater Analytics Holdings Inc. (CWAN) is up 8% as a group of private equity firms led by Permira and Warburg Pincus has agreed to acquire the investment and accounting software maker in a deal valuing it at $8.4 billion including debt.
- Honeywell (HON) slips 1% after the industrial conglomerate adjusted its full-year and fourth quarter 2025 guidance to reflect the reclassification of its Advanced Materials business — now Solstice Advanced Materials Inc. — as it discontinued operations following its spinoff on October 30.
- Marvell Technology (MRVL) rises 2% after Citi opened a positive catalyst watch on the chipmaker ahead of next month’s CES conference.
- Rocket Lab (RKLB) gains 4% after saying late Friday that it won a contract to design and build 18 satellites, the company’s largest single contract to date.
- T1 Energy (TE) climbs 7% after it signed a three-year contract to supply Treaty Oak Clean Energy with a minimum of 900MW of solar modules built with domestic solar cells from T1’s planned G2_Austin solar cell fab.
A year-end rally in stocks is taking hold, with investors positive about further gains in 2026, although volumes are set to be thinner in this holiday-shortened trading week. Sentiment has been bullish for three weeks in a row, according to Deutsche Bank strategists. Meanwhile, in commodities, oil rose as Trump intensified a blockade on Venezuela. Gold and silver soared to all-time highs on the escalating geopolitical tensions and bets on Fed rate cuts.
“It has been very remarkable how precious metals’ prices have decorrelated from other assets in recent months,” said Roberto Scholtes, head of strategy at Singular Bank. “Earlier this year, gold prices were materially correlated to the dollar and to high-beta risk assets such as tech stocks and cryptos. But this has been waning gradually, and nowadays they’re running freely.”
The focus on price moves in commodities went beyond record-setting metals, with oil climbing amid heightened geopolitical tensions after the US stepped up a blockade on Venezuela.
Bullishness toward stocks has pushed positioning higher, while fund managers are maintaining record low levels of cash, according to the latest BofA Fund Manager Survey. They are betting on a further rally next year, despite concerns in some quarters over rich valuations, heavy artificial intelligence capex and potentially over-optimistic earnings expectations. Separately, Goldman strategists say the economic outlook is supportive for small-cap stocks, a factor that’s underpriced by the market. The Russell 2000 is likely to advance 10% in 2026, close to the 12% return expected in the S&P 500, they say.
Optimism for a year-end rally in equities are growing after dip buyers late last week supported a rebound in US stocks. While some doubts about the AI trade and elevated valuations persist, optimism over the economy and corporate earnings is helping lift sentiment.
“Markets are riding a risk-on liquidity wave into year-end as resilient US growth underpins earnings next year, while a lower Fed fund rate eases financial conditions,” said Desmond Tjiang, chief investment officer for equities and multi-asset investment at BEA Union Investment. “Fears of AI capex and returns also recede on improving compute economics.”
Unlike the US, enthusiasm for European equities is missing on Monday as the Stoxx 600 slips 0.2% with utilities as well as food and beverage shares among the biggest laggards. Meanwhile, miners outperform as traders monitor the geopolitical outlook in Venezuela. Here are some of the biggest movers on Monday:
- Saipem shares rise as much as 4.3%, the most since July, after the Italian energy services and drilling specialist wins an offshore EPCI Contract Worth $3.1 Billion by QatarEnergy LNG.
- Fresnillo shares climb as much as 3% to a record high, leading a rally in mining stocks as gold, silver and copper prices hit record highs.
- Gruvaktiebolaget Viscaria shares rise as much as 17%, the most in more than a year, after Handelsbanken initiated coverage of the Swedish mining company’s stock with a buy rating, calling its growth potential attractive.
- Rank Group shares decline as much as 9.1%, hitting the lowest level since mid-May, after the gambling firm said its Spanish businesses, Enracha and Yo, were targeted by payment fraud totaling about €7.1 million.
- ASP Isotopes shares plunge as much as 50% in Johannesburg after Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman said it is investigating potential claims on behalf of purchasers.
- Fenerbahce shares fall as much as 3.5% in Istanbul to the lowest level since May after state-run Anadolu Agency reported the sports club’s chairman was questioned as part of an investigation into illegal drug use.
- Pantheon Resources shares drop as much as 58%, the most since April 2018, after pausing testing of the Dubhe-1 well, citing cost profile of winter operations and focus on “disciplined” capital allocation.
In rates, Japanese yields remain center stage, with the 10-year segment hitting its highest level since 1999. The yield is 6bps higher today, amid speculation the Bank of Japan may need to raise interest rates more aggressively. This has spilled into other global benchmarks, lifting US, UK and German yields by 1-2bps. US yields cheaper by 1bp to 2bp across the curve with 2s10s, 5s30s spreads steeper by 1.2bp and 1bp on the day. US 10-year yields trade around 4.165%, cheaper by 1.5bp vs.
In Asia, stocks extended gains, as tech firms tracked their US peers higher in a holiday-shortened week. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed as much as 1.1%, with TSMC and Samsung Electronics supporting the gauge higher. Tech-heavy benchmarks in Taiwan and South Korea led gains in the region with a more than 1.5% increase each. Japan and Hong Kong shares also advanced. Here Are the Most Notable Asian Movers
- Kokusai Electric and Tokyo Electron shares climbed after Morgan Stanley MUFG analysts raised ratings and price targets for the stocks on signs of a recovery in demand for front-end semiconductor equipment. Meanwhile, Nidec shares rose after news the Japanese electronic component company’s founder Shigenobu Nagamori is stepping down from his position as chairman of the board.
- Shriram Finance shares surge to a record after analysts saw Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s $4.4 billion investment improving prospects of a credit rating upgrade.
- Mixue Group shares surge as much as 13% in Hong Kong, the most since March 7, after the Chinese fresh tea maker opened its first store in the US.
- Moore Threads shares rise as much as 4.2% after the company unveiled a new generation of chips aimed at reducing dependence on Nvidia Corp.’s hardware.
- WiseTech shares drop as much as 4.7%, the most since Nov. 18, after Executive Chair Richard White’s investment vehicle RealWise entered into a collar derivative transaction.
- Seatrium shares gain after the offshore engineering company reached an agreement with Maersk Offshore Wind’s affiliate Phoenix II A/S to deliver a wind turbine installation vessel by Feb. 28.
- Kokusai Electric and Tokyo Electron shares climbed Monday after Morgan Stanley MUFG analysts raised ratings and price targets for the stocks on signs of a recovery in demand for front-end semiconductor equipment.
- Daikin shares rose as much as 2.7%, the most since Nov. 20, after SMBC Nikko Securities raised the Japanese air conditioner maker to outperform from neutral on expectations for demand recovery and capital efficiency improvement.
- Nidec shares climb as much as 7.3%, the most since Nov. 11, after news the Japanese electronic component company’s founder Shigenobu Nagamori is stepping down from his position as chairman of the board.
This week’s Treasury auctions kick-off at 1pm New York with $69 billion 2-year notes, followed by $70 billion 5-year notes and $44 billion 7-year notes Tuesday and Wednesday. Before today’s auction, the WI 2-year currently trades around 3.482% which is ~0.7bp richer than November’s sale
In FX, the upside in Japanese yields and officials’ jawboning has supported the yen versus the dollar. Bloomberg’s Dollar Index is down 0.2%, pressured also by the outperformance in AUD, NZD and GBP.
In commodities, as noted above, gold and silver sit at record highs, up 1.6% and 2.8% respectively. WTI crude oil futures are up 1.9% as the US pursues a third tanker in Venezuela. Bitcoin continues to rise, up 1.8%.
The US economic calendar includes September Chicago Fed national activity index (8:30am). No Fed members scheduled to speak for the session
Market Snapshot
- S&P 500 mini +0.4%
- Nasdaq 100 mini +0.6%
- Russell 2000 mini +0.4%
- Stoxx Europe 600 -0.2%
- DAX little changed
- CAC 40 -0.4%
- 10-year Treasury yield +2 basis points at 4.16%
- VIX +0.1 points at 15.05
- Bloomberg Dollar Index -0.2% at 1207.51
- euro +0.2% at $1.1737
- WTI crude +1.2% at $57.17/barrel
Top Overnight News
- U.S. Coast Guard Chasing Another Tanker Involved in Shipping Venezuela Oil: WSJ
- Russian General Is Killed After Car Bomb Explodes in Moscow: BBG
- Paramount Amends Bid for Warner Discovery With New Ellison Guarantee: WSJ
- Trump on Friday said he would call a meeting of insurance companies in the coming weeks to push them to cut prices and stay in the system.
- Trump on Friday announced deals with nine pharmaceutical companies to cut prices on most drugs sold through Medicaid and lower cash-pay prices, while committing to most-favoured-nation pricing for future drugs, according to Reuters. The companies also pledged more than USD 150bln in US manufacturing and R&D investment, agreed to remit some foreign revenues to offset US costs, and received relief from US tariffs in return.
- Charlie Kirk’s Empire Is Lining Up Behind a JD Vance Presidential Bid: WSJ
- Vanke Averts Default as Bondholders Approve Longer Grace Period: BBG
- Japan prepares to restart world’s biggest nuclear plant, 15 years after Fukushima: RTRS
- CBS News Pulls ‘60 Minutes’ Segment; Correspondent Calls Decision Political: WSJ
- One of Elon Musk’s Old Enemies Joins the Race to Run GM: WSJ
- Syrians emptied Assad’s prisons. They’re filling up again, and abuse is rife: RTRS
- Toxic Fumes on Planes Blamed for Deaths of Pilots and Crew: WSJ
- The Warner Deal: Cinema owners fear that Netflix or Paramount acquiring Warner could reduce number of theatrical releases or speed time to streaming platforms: WSJ
- Trump names Louisiana governor as Greenland special envoy, prompting Danish alarm: RTRS
Central Banks
- ECB’s Kazmir said that the ECB remains flexible and will be ready to step in if needed. He is concerned about the long term growth prospect of the Eurozone.
- Fed’s Hammack (2026 voter) said rates should be held steady into the spring after recent cuts, warning she was inflation-wary, noting November’s 2.7% CPI likely understated 12-month price growth due to data distortions, and suggesting the neutral interest rate was higher than commonly believed, the WSJ reported.
- Former BoJ member Sakurai said the first hike to 1.0% could come around June or July and that the BoJ likely sees the neutral rate sitting somewhere around 1.75%.
- Chinese Loan Prime Rate 5Y (Dec) 3.50% vs. Exp. 3.50% (Prev. 3.50%).
- Chinese Loan Prime Rate 1Y (Dec) 3.00% vs. Exp. 3.00% (Prev. 3.00%).
Trade/Tariffs
- China’s Commerce Ministry is to impose levies of up to 42.2% on EU dairy products, effective 23rd December, following its anti-subsidy probe.
- New Zealand concludes free trade agreement with India; deal set to be signed in H1 2026. India and New Zealand are confident of doubling bilateral trade over the next five years.
A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk
APAC stocks kicked off the week with gains across the board as the region coat-tailed on the strength seen stateside. Tech outperformance continued across the region. ASX 200 edged higher as miners tracked gains in gold prices, with the yellow metal buoyed by a weekend packed with geopolitics Nikkei 225 was the clear outperformer as it topped 50.5k as the index cheered the post-BoJ JPY weakness on Friday alongside the global tech rally, whilst simultaneously overlooking the continuing rise in JGB yields. KOSPI was underpinned by its tech sector and following a month-to-date rise in exports. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the risk tone but with upside shallower than the above peers, with the PBoC LPR left unchanged as expected, whilst reports on Friday suggested US lawmakers urged the Pentagon to add DeepSeek and Xiaomi to the list of firms allegedly aiding the Chinese military.
Top Asian News
- Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara said will not comment on the forex market; recently seeing one-sided, rapid moves; important for currencies to move in a stable manner reflecting fundamentals; will take appropriate action against excessive moves. Closely watching the impact of higher interest rates while cooperating with the BoJ.
- Japanese Top Currency Diplomat Mimura said he is recently seeing one-sided, rapid moves; will take appropriate action against excessive moves; concerned about forex moves.
- China Vanke (2202 HK) bondholders approve the decision on a vote for 30-day extension of CNY 2bln bond, however rejecting one-year extension for 15th Dec CNY 2bln bond, via Reuters sources.
- Goldman Sachs expect Chinese stocks to continue advancing in 2026, citing easing geopolitical tensions and as investors household savings begin flowing to equities as interest rates fall. Analyst Kinger Lau writes that “we expect the bull run to continue, but at a slower pace”. Though the firm highlights some main risks to the upside, including; global recession, AI exuberance, US-China tensions and disinflation. Finally, analysts suggest that the macro / equity-market policies remain in effect which should shift the expected fair value of Chinese stocks upward.
European equities (STOXX 600 -0.2%) are trading lower/flat this morning, with price action fairly rangebound in light newsflow. European sectors are trading with a mostly negative bias. Basic Resources (+1.1%) leads on firmer metal prices, followed by Tech (+0.4%) on positive spillover from the strong Nasdaq close, and Energy (+0.3%) on higher crude amid ongoing geopolitical tensions between Russia-Ukraine and US-Venezuela. On the downside, Utilities (-0.9%), Optimised Personal Care (-0.9%) and Food Beverage and Tobacco (-0.9%) lag.
Top European News
- German Ifo survey finds that 26% of firms expect business to deteriorate in 2026, 59% expect no change, 15% forecast an improvement.
Geopolitics: Venezuela
- US Coast Guard officials over the weekend tracked two oil tankers in international waters close to Venezuela, marking three tankers within the past week. An official suggested that the tanker is subject to sanctions, according to several media reports.
- The Venezuelan government rejected the seizure of a new vessel transporting oil, it said in a statement.
Geopolitics: Ukraine
- US Special Envoy Witkoff said the Ukrainian delegation held productive meetings over three days in Florida with US and European partners, including a separate US–Ukraine meeting, with discussions focused on timelines and sequencing of next steps.
- Ukrainian President Zelensky said broader consultations with European partners should follow recent talks in the US.
- Ukrainian President Zelensky said allies had started to slow supplies of air defence missiles and said Kyiv should stand by the US as mediator on talks with Russia, commenting on French President Macron’s proposal.
- Ukrainian President Zelensky said the situation in the Odesa region was harsh after Russian strikes and said Russia was trying to restrict Ukraine’s access to the sea.
- The Kremlin said changes made by Ukrainians and Europeans to peace proposals did not bring agreements closer or add anything positive, IFAX reported. It said Dmitriev was still in Miami meeting with Americans and would report on the results upon his return to Moscow. Kremlin aide said a trilateral Russia–US–Ukraine meeting was not being discussed.
- Ukrainian President Zelensky said elections could not be held in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, could only take place once security was guaranteed, and said Kyiv was working with the US on a stable peace while preparing voting infrastructure for Ukrainians abroad, Reuters reported.
- Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said Russia attacked the Pivdennyi port and was deliberately targeting civilian logistics in the Odesa region.
- Russia’s Defence Ministry said Russian troops had captured Vysoke in Ukraine’s Sumy region and Svitlie in the Donetsk region, according to IFAX and TASS.
- Russia’s Kremlin said Envoy Dmitriev will report to President Putin on the US proposals for a possible Ukraine settlement. Adds the US intelligence perception of Putin’s aims are mistaken following the Reuters report.
- Russian General Sarvarov was injured in a car explosion in Moscow, via Unn; subsequently, the Russian Investigative Committee said the general was killed in the explosion.
- “TASS: [Russian President] Putin’s envoy is likely to hold the next meeting with the US delegation in Moscow”, via Al Arabiya.
- Two vessels and two piers were damaged in Russia’s Krasnodar after a Ukrainian drone attack, regional authorities said; damage to piers led to a large fire in the area.
- US Special Envoy Witkoff said weekend meetings between US and Russian delegation were productive and constructive; Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine.
Geopolitics: Middle East
- Israeli PM Netanyahu reportedly plans to brief US President Trump on possible new Iran strikes, according to NBC News. Israeli officials believe Iran is expanding its ballistic missile program. They are preparing to make the case during an upcoming meeting with Trump that it poses a new threat. Israeli officials have announced a Dec. 29 meeting.
- Sources said the biggest risk is a war between Israel and Iran will break as a result of a miscalculation with each side thinking the other plans to attack and try to preempt it, according to Axios.
- Israeli officials warned the Trump administration over the weekend that an Iranian IRGC missile exercise could be preparations for a strike on Israel, according to Axios sources.
US Event Calendar
- 8:30 a.m. ET: Chicago Fed Nat Activity Index
DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
For anyone still out there, we’re now entering a very quiet spell for markets before Christmas, with data releases and other headline announcements almost completely drying up. Indeed, there’s only two-and-a-half days left to go for many places, as the US and several European markets are closing early on Christmas Eve, and this week usually sees some of the lowest volumes of the year.
This morning, the main news has been further sharp losses for Japan’s government bonds, which follows the Bank of Japan’s Friday decision to hike rates by 25bps to 0.75%, the highest since 1995. The hike already meant that Japan’s 10yr yield was up +6.9bps last week to close above 2%, and this morning they’re up another +6.9bps to 2.08%, their highest since 1999. One factor behind that has been the weakness in the Japanese yen, which fell -1.40% against the US dollar on Friday, despite the hike. And this morning, the country’s chief currency official Atsushi Mimura said to reporters that “We’re seeing one-directional, sudden moves especially after last week’s monetary policy meeting, so I’m deeply concerned”. So in turn, that weakness for the yen is seen as raising the chance of another BoJ rate hike and has prompted the latest selloff for JGBs. We’ve seen that echoed across other countries too this morning, with 10yr Australian yields up +5.1bps this morning, whilst the 10yr Treasury yield is up +2.0bps to 4.17%.
For equities however, there’s been a much stronger picture across the board overnight, with gains for Japan’s Nikkei (+1.90%), along with the KOSPI (+1.82%), the CSI 300 (+0.79%), the Shanghai Comp (+0.64%) and the Hang Seng (+0.20%). Looking forward, US equity futures are also pointing higher, with those on the S&P 500 up +0.26%. Moreover, there’s been a fresh rally for precious metals this morning, with gold prices up +1.40% to $4400/oz, which would be an all-time closing high if sustained, and is the first time they’ve reached that level on an intraday basis as well. Similarly, silver prices (+3.25%) are up to a fresh record of $69.34/oz. So that now leaves their YTD gains at +68% for gold and +140% for silver, which would be the biggest for both since 1979, back when oil prices surged after the Iranian Revolution that year led to major supply disruption.
The latest rise in bond yields this morning follows several central bank decisions last week, where hawkish-leaning elements pushed yields higher around the world. So for example, the Bank of Japan did their 25bp rate hike as expected but also signalled more were still ahead and said real interest rates were “at significantly low levels”. Meanwhile in Europe, there was ongoing speculation about a potential ECB hike next year, particularly after they upgraded their forecasts for growth and core inflation. So that helped to push 10yr bund yields up +3.8bps last week to 2.89%, their highest level since the German fiscal stimulus announcements back in March.
However, the main exception to that pattern were US Treasuries, whose yields fell after the soft CPI print led investors to price in more rate cuts, with the 10yr yield down -3.7bps last week to 4.15%. That comes as speculation around the next Fed Chair has continued to swirl, and Trump said last week that it would be “someone who believes in lower interest rates”. We got some more headlines on the next Fed Chair last Friday as well, as CNBC reported that Fed Governor Waller had a “strong interview” with Trump, and that BlackRock’s Rick Rieder would be interviewed in the last week of the year. So as it stands the current odds on Polymarket are 56% for NEC Director Hassett, 22% for former Fed Governor Warsh, 12% for Governor Waller, and 6% for Rieder.
In terms of the week ahead, it’s a pretty quiet one on the events calendar. One thing to note will be a few US data releases, including the delayed Q3 GDP print today, but that’s very backward-looking and covers the period before the shutdown. Otherwise today, the more recent data will be the December consumer confidence reading from the Conference Board, which will be in the spotlight given the recent downtick in sentiment. In fact, the previous reading for November was the lowest since the Liberation Day turmoil in April. But apart from that, there really isn’t much scheduled.
With little on the calendar this week, this lack of events got us thinking about whether anything could disturb the pre-Christmas calm, as we have seen a few occasions when this week has brought heightened volatility. The best recent example is probably 2018, when you may remember a huge selloff saw the S&P 500 fall -7.7% in the four pre-Christmas sessions. A whole bunch of negative factors converged at once, including a hawkish Fed signalling more hikes to come, weak global data, US-China trade tensions, and the start of a US government shutdown on Dec 22. That selloff deepened further after the US Treasury Department said in a Dec 23 statement that Secretary Mnuchin had spoken with CEOs of the largest US banks, and that the President’s Working Group on financial markets would have a call. So that created huge concern that policymakers knew something that the rest of us didn’t, and the S&P hit its closing low on Christmas Eve.
Another good example, although not quite as fearful, happened in 2022. That was the year central banks hiked aggressively to combat inflation, with global bonds and equities entering a bear market that featured huge bouts of volatility as they kept sinking lower. And the Christmas run-up was no different, with the 10yr Treasury yield surging +26bps in the week before Christmas. That followed an adjustment to the Bank of Japan’s yield curve control policy on Dec 20, which was widely seen as the beginning of the end of Japan’s ultra-loose monetary policy. They permitted the 10yr JGB yield to rise to around 0.5%, up from 0.25% previously, but the effects cascaded globally given Japan’s role as one of the last anchors for low yields. So that led to some dramatic moves right before Christmas, and it was one of the biggest weekly jumps that year for the 10yr Treasury yield.
To be fair, this time last year saw a pre-Christmas Santa rally that took the S&P 500 up +2.9% in the final 3 days before Christmas. But either way, it shows that even if it’s a quiet week on the calendar, we can’t completely dismiss the prospect of a final year-end curveball, which would be in keeping with the constant surprises of 2025 so far. After all, this year has seen a huge regime shift in German fiscal policy in March, the Liberation Day tariffs in April, a direct military conflict between Israel and Iran in June, and the longest-ever US government shutdown over October-November. And that’s before we think about some other long-running themes, including periodic bond market flareups around fiscal policy, fears of a potential AI bubble, and ongoing concern around private credit.
Recapping last week’s moves now, global equities navigated several headwinds at the start of the week to recover into the weekend, with the S&P 500 ultimately closing up +0.10% for the week. Concerns over AI valuations had been an issue in the middle of the week, with Oracle struggling after the FT reported that Blue Owl Capital wouldn’t back a $10bn deal for Oracle’s data centre in Michigan. However, the soft US CPI report and a more positive earnings release from Micron helped things turn around into the weekend, and the Magnificent 7 ultimately posted a +1.48% gain for the week.
That US CPI report was critical because it kept open the prospect of further rate cuts from the Fed next year. Admittedly, there were questions about the data’s methodology given the government shutdown, but the print was still viewed as soft enough to make Fed rate cuts more likely. So the headline CPI rate was down to +2.7% year-on-year (vs. +3.1% expected), whilst core CPI hit its lowest since early 2021 at +2.6% (vs. +3.0% expected). Earlier in the week, we also had the delayed jobs report for November, which showed the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.6%, whilst it showed payrolls had fallen by -105k in October, before rebounding by +64k in November. So overall, that kept up the momentum behind further rate cuts, with 60bps of further cuts priced in by the December 2026 meeting at the close on Friday. In turn, US Treasuries rallied across the curve, with the 2yr yield (-3.9bps) down to 3.48%, whilst the 10yr yield (-3.7bps) fell to 4.15%. US credit spreads saw little movement however, with IG spreads widening +1bp last week, whilst HY spreads were unchanged.
In Europe, equities put in a stronger performance, with the STOXX 600 (+1.60%) closing at a new record. In part, they were supported by signs of progress on the Ukraine peace talks, and Brent crude (-1.06%) fell back to $60.47/bbl, whilst yields on Ukraine’s 10yr dollar bonds fell to their lowest since March. In the meantime, the ECB left their deposit rate at 2%, although some hawkish tones also saw yields on 10yr bunds (+3.8bps), OATs (+3.5bps) and BTPs (+3.7bps) move higher. Otherwise, the Bank of England delivered a 25bp cut, taking their policy rate down to 3.75%, albeit in a close 5-4 vote that saw the rest prefer to keep rates on hold. Meanwhile, Euro IG credit spreads were unchanged last week, whilst HY spreads were +1bp wider.
1b) European opening report
US equity futures point to a higher open going into the Christmas holiday; Global geopols in focus – Newsquawk US Market Open
Monday, Dec 22, 2025 – 05:57 AM
- US Coast Guard officials over the weekend tracked two oil tankers in international waters close to Venezuela, marking three tankers within the past week.
- Russia’s Kremlin said changes made by Ukrainians and Europeans to peace proposals did not bring agreements closer or add anything positive, IFAX reported.
- Israeli PM Netanyahu reportedly plans to brief US President Trump on possible new Iran strikes, according to NBC News.
- European bourses are broadly unchanged in quiet trade; US equity futures are firmer, with mild outperformance in the NQ.
- USD is slightly lower vs G10 peers; Antipodeans outperform on strength in metals prices.
- USTs are slightly lower but with price action contained, awaiting a 2yr auction.
- WTI and Brent are boosted by rising geopolitical tensions, spot gold surges to ATHs above USD 4.4k/oz.
- Looking ahead, highlights include Canadian Producer Prices (Nov), and supply from the US.
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EUROPEAN TRADE
EQUITIES
- European equities (STOXX 600 -0.2%) are trading lower/flat this morning, with price action fairly rangebound in light newsflow.
- European sectors are trading with a mostly negative bias. Basic Resources (+1.1%) leads on firmer metal prices, followed by Tech (+0.4%) on positive spillover from the strong Nasdaq close, and Energy (+0.3%) on higher crude amid ongoing geopolitical tensions between Russia-Ukraine and US-Venezuela. On the downside, Utilities (-0.9%), Optimised Personal Care (-0.9%) and Food Beverage and Tobacco (-0.9%) lag.
- US equity futures are firmer across the board. The NQ (+0.4%) continues to outperform from Friday’s session, helped by gains from tech Co’s like Oracle and CoreWeave. Not much to look ahead to in the equity space in the US, however, all eyes will be on the geopolitical development between the US and Venezuela following news over the weekend that US Coast Guard officials over the weekend tracked two oil tankers in international waters close to Venezuela, marking three tankers within the past week.
- Click for the sessions European pre-market equity newsflow
- Click for the additional news
FX
- DXY is a little lower and trades at the lower end of a 98.45 to 98.69 range. Price action this morning incredibly lacklustre, given holiday-thinned newsflow. In recent action the USD weakness has extended a little, to the benefit of the EUR, which currently resides towards highs of 1.1738.
- G10s are stronger against the USD to varying degrees; the Antipodeans lead, benefiting from strength in underlying metals prices, whilst the JPY is found at the bottom of the G10 pile.
- GBP is slightly firmer vs the USD, currently in a 1.3375 to 1.3435 range; UK GDP (Q3) remained unrevised, spurring little action in the GBP.
- Really not anything pertinent from an FX perspective scheduled for the remainder of the day; ECB’s Kazimir provided some comments, and overall highlighted that the Bank remains flexible. Elsewhere, in domestic politics, French President Macron will watch as PM Lecornu presents a bill that needs to pass before the Christmas break to ensure the continuity of basic public services.
- Click for NY OpEx Details
FIXED INCOME
- Fixed pressured overnight as JGBs continued to falter from the c. 50 ticks of downside seen on Friday amidst the BoJ. Overnight, JGBs continued to fall with downside of c. 60 ticks at most to a 132.21 low.
- USTs and Bunds followed suit, down to lows of 112-11+ and 126.75, respectively, posting losses of 6+ and 40 ticks. Thereafter, Bunds lifted off lows in an early doors volume spike, to a 127.16 peak and while they touched the unchanged mark, they failed to return to the green. Specifics for that move light, but the earlier news around a Russian General being killed in a Moscow explosion potentially factored.
- USTs are also off lows, but are still in the red. The docket ahead features Fed’s Miran at 13:30GMT on Bloomberg TV. Thereafter, a 2yr Note auction is due.
- Gilts softer in-fitting with peers this morning. UK specifics near non-existent, no follow-through from an unrevised read of Q3 GDP.
COMMODITIES
- WTI and Brent are in the green, with the complex boosted by ongoing geopolitical tensions, which have been rising on multiple fronts; 1) US-Venezuela, where most recently US Coast guard officials tracked two Venezuelan oil tankers, 2) Ukraine-Russia, Kremlin suggested that peace proposals did not bring the pair any closer to peace, 3) Israel-Iran, the former reportedly briefed the POTUS on potential strikes on Iran. Brent Feb’26 currently sits off peaks, with price action fairly rangebound since the European cash open; as it stands, within a USD 60.53-61.31/oz range.
- Spot gold opened flat, and then gradually firmed throughout the overnight session, taking the yellow-metal up to a record high beyond the USD 4.4k/oz mark. Spot gold has since scaled a touch off those highs, to a current USD 4,413/oz vs current ATH of USD 4,420/oz. Precious metals across the board are bid, with spot silver also printing a record high above the USD 69/oz mark. Upside potentially facilitated by the aforementioned rising geopolitical tensions.
- Base metals hold a positive bias, with upside facilitated by the positive risk tone seen in overnight trade. 3M LME copper currently higher by around 0.4% and towards the upper end of a USD 11,877-11,996.18/t range.
- Iraq’s state oil firm reaffirmed its commitment to the Kurdistan oil agreement, under which international oil companies in the region were required to hand over their output to the state. An official at Iraq’s state oil firm said the oil export deal between Baghdad and Erbil would continue without issues, Rudaw reported.
- Australia’s Energy Minister Bowen announces plans for Australian gas reservation policy.
TRADE/TARIFFS
- China’s Commerce Ministry is to impose levies of up to 42.2% on EU dairy products, effective 23rd December, following its anti-subsidy probe.
- New Zealand concludes free trade agreement with India; deal set to be signed in H1 2026. India and New Zealand are confident of doubling bilateral trade over the next five years.
NOTABLE EUROPEAN HEADLINES
- German Ifo survey finds that 26% of firms expect business to deteriorate in 2026, 59% expect no change, 15% forecast an improvement.
NOTABLE EUROPEAN DATA RECAP
- Italian Producer Prices YY (Nov) -0.2% (Prev. 0.1%).
- Italian Producer Prices MM (Nov) 1.0% (Prev. -0.2%).
- UK Business Invest QQ (Q3) 1.5% (Prev. -0.3%, Rev. -1.7%).
- UK Business invest YY (Q3) 2.7% (Prev. 0.7%, Rev. 3.2%).
- UK Current Acc GBP (Q3) -12.067B vs. Exp. -21.26B (Prev. -28.939B, Rev. -21.154B).
- UK GDP YY (Q3) 1.3% vs. Exp. 1.3% (Prev. 1.3%).
- UK GDP QQ (Q3) 0.1% vs. Exp. 0.1% (Prev. 0.1%).
CENTRAL BANKS
- ECB’s Kazmir said that the ECB remains flexible and will be ready to step in if needed. He is concerned about the long term growth prospect of the Eurozone.
- Fed’s Hammack (2026 voter) said rates should be held steady into the spring after recent cuts, warning she was inflation-wary, noting November’s 2.7% CPI likely understated 12-month price growth due to data distortions, and suggesting the neutral interest rate was higher than commonly believed, the WSJ reported.
- Former BoJ member Sakurai said the first hike to 1.0% could come around June or July and that the BoJ likely sees the neutral rate sitting somewhere around 1.75%.
- Chinese Loan Prime Rate 5Y (Dec) 3.50% vs. Exp. 3.50% (Prev. 3.50%).
- Chinese Loan Prime Rate 1Y (Dec) 3.00% vs. Exp. 3.00% (Prev. 3.00%).
NOTABLE US HEADLINES
- US President Trump on Friday said he would call a meeting of insurance companies in the coming weeks to push them to cut prices and stay in the system.
- US President Trump on Friday announced deals with nine pharmaceutical companies to cut prices on most drugs sold through Medicaid and lower cash-pay prices, while committing to most-favoured-nation pricing for future drugs, according to Reuters. The companies also pledged more than USD 150bln in US manufacturing and R&D investment, agreed to remit some foreign revenues to offset US costs, and received relief from US tariffs in return.
GEOPOLITICS
US-Venezuela
- US Coast Guard officials over the weekend tracked two oil tankers in international waters close to Venezuela, marking three tankers within the past week. An official suggested that the tanker is subject to sanctions, according to several media reports.
- The Venezuelan government rejected the seizure of a new vessel transporting oil, it said in a statement.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
- US Special Envoy Witkoff said the Ukrainian delegation held productive meetings over three days in Florida with US and European partners, including a separate US–Ukraine meeting, with discussions focused on timelines and sequencing of next steps.
- Ukrainian President Zelensky said broader consultations with European partners should follow recent talks in the US.
- Ukrainian President Zelensky said allies had started to slow supplies of air defence missiles and said Kyiv should stand by the US as mediator on talks with Russia, commenting on French President Macron’s proposal.
- Ukrainian President Zelensky said the situation in the Odesa region was harsh after Russian strikes and said Russia was trying to restrict Ukraine’s access to the sea.
- The Kremlin said changes made by Ukrainians and Europeans to peace proposals did not bring agreements closer or add anything positive, IFAX reported. It said Dmitriev was still in Miami meeting with Americans and would report on the results upon his return to Moscow. Kremlin aide said a trilateral Russia–US–Ukraine meeting was not being discussed.
- Ukrainian President Zelensky said elections could not be held in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, could only take place once security was guaranteed, and said Kyiv was working with the US on a stable peace while preparing voting infrastructure for Ukrainians abroad, Reuters reported.
- Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said Russia attacked the Pivdennyi port and was deliberately targeting civilian logistics in the Odesa region.
- Russia’s Defence Ministry said Russian troops had captured Vysoke in Ukraine’s Sumy region and Svitlie in the Donetsk region, according to IFAX and TASS.
- Russia’s Kremlin said Envoy Dmitriev will report to President Putin on the US proposals for a possible Ukraine settlement. Adds the US intelligence perception of Putin’s aims are mistaken following the Reuters report.
- Russian General Sarvarov was injured in a car explosion in Moscow, via Unn; subsequently, the Russian Investigative Committee said the general was killed in the explosion.
- “TASS: [Russian President] Putin’s envoy is likely to hold the next meeting with the US delegation in Moscow”, via Al Arabiya.
- Two vessels and two piers were damaged in Russia’s Krasnodar after a Ukrainian drone attack, regional authorities said; damage to piers led to a large fire in the area.
- US Special Envoy Witkoff said weekend meetings between US and Russian delegation were productive and constructive; Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine.
MIDDLE EAST
- Israeli PM Netanyahu reportedly plans to brief US President Trump on possible new Iran strikes, according to NBC News. Israeli officials believe Iran is expanding its ballistic missile program. They are preparing to make the case during an upcoming meeting with Trump that it poses a new threat. Israeli officials have announced a Dec. 29 meeting.
- Sources said the biggest risk is a war between Israel and Iran will break as a result of a miscalculation with each side thinking the other plans to attack and try to preempt it, according to Axios.
- Israeli officials warned the Trump administration over the weekend that an Iranian IRGC missile exercise could be preparations for a strike on Israel, according to Axios sources.
CRYPTO
- Bitcoin is a little firmer and trades just shy of the USD 90k mark; Ethereum returns back above USD 3k.
APAC TRADE
- APAC stocks kicked off the week with gains across the board as the region coat-tailed on the strength seen stateside. Tech outperformance continued across the region.
- ASX 200 edged higher as miners tracked gains in gold prices, with the yellow metal buoyed by a weekend packed with geopolitics
- Nikkei 225 was the clear outperformer as it topped 50.5k as the index cheered the post-BoJ JPY weakness on Friday alongside the global tech rally, whilst simultaneously overlooking the continuing rise in JGB yields.
- KOSPI was underpinned by its tech sector and following a month-to-date rise in exports.
- Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the risk tone but with upside shallower than the above peers, with the PBoC LPR left unchanged as expected, whilst reports on Friday suggested US lawmakers urged the Pentagon to add DeepSeek and Xiaomi to the list of firms allegedly aiding the Chinese military.
NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES
- Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara said will not comment on the forex market; recently seeing one-sided, rapid moves; important for currencies to move in a stable manner reflecting fundamentals; will take appropriate action against excessive moves. Closely watching the impact of higher interest rates while cooperating with the BoJ.
- Japanese Top Currency Diplomat Mimura said he is recently seeing one-sided, rapid moves; will take appropriate action against excessive moves; concerned about forex moves.
NOTABLE APAC DATA RECAP
- Hong Kong Consumer Price Index (Nov) 1.2% vs. Exp. 1.3% (Prev. 1.2%).
- South Korea Dec 1–20 trade balance at provisional USD +3.82bln, customs agency said; exports +6.8% Y/Y; imports +0.7% Y/Y.
NOTABLE APAC EQUITY HEADLINES
- China Vanke (2202 HK) bondholders approve the decision on a vote for 30-day extension of CNY 2bln bond, however rejecting one-year extension for 15th Dec CNY 2bln bond, via Reuters sources.
- Goldman Sachs expect Chinese stocks to continue advancing in 2026, citing easing geopolitical tensions and as investors household savings begin flowing to equities as interest rates fall. Analyst Kinger Lau writes that “we expect the bull run to continue, but at a slower pace”. Though the firm highlights some main risks to the upside, including; global recession, AI exuberance, US-China tensions and disinflation. Finally, analysts suggest that the macro / equity-market policies remain in effect which should shift the expected fair value of Chinese stocks upward.
1c) Asian opening report
European equity futures point to a red Christmas open; Metals at new ATHs – Newsquawk EU Market Open
Monday, Dec 22, 2025 – 01:06 AM
- APAC stocks kicked off the week with gains across the board as the region coat-tailed on the strength seen stateside. Tech outperformance continued across the region.
- US Coast Guard officials over the weekend tracked two oil tankers in international waters close to Venezuela, marking three tankers within the past week.
- Russia’s Kremlin said changes made by Ukrainians and Europeans to peace proposals did not bring agreements closer or add anything positive, IFAX reported.
- Israeli PM Netanyahu reportedly plans to brief US President Trump on possible new Iran strikes, according to NBC News.
- European equity futures are indicative of a slightly softer cash open, with the Euro Stoxx 50 future down 0.2% after cash closed +0.3% on Friday.
- Looking ahead, highlights include Italian Producer Prices (Nov), Canadian Producer Prices (Nov), and supply from the US.
- Click for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.
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US TRADE
EQUITIES
- US stocks were bid on Friday, led by Tech, which drove Nasdaq outperformance amid strength in Oracle (ORCL) following reports that TikTok will sell its US entity. Haven sectors lagged, with Consumer Staples, Discretionary, and Utilities all underperforming; Discretionary was weighed by Nike (NKE), which plunged on weak China sales.
- SPX +0.88% at 6,834.50, NDX +1.31% at 23,307.62, DJI +0.38% at 48,134.89, RUT +0.86% at 2,529.42
- Click here for a detailed summary.
NOTABLE US HEADLINES
- Fed’s Hammack (2026 voter) said rates should be held steady into the spring after recent cuts, warning she was inflation-wary, noting November’s 2.7% CPI likely understated 12-month price growth due to data distortions, and suggesting the neutral interest rate was higher than commonly believed, the WSJ reported over the weekend.
- US President Trump on Friday said the only reason unemployment ticked up to 4.5% because we are reducing the government workforce by numbers that have never been seen before.
NOTABLE US EQUITY HEADLINES
- Apple (AAPL) will reportedly launch two new AI wearable devices next year, including AI glasses and AI AirPods, according to MoneyUDN, citing supply chain sources.
- Bill Ackman proposes taking SpaceX public via a novel SPARC structure, granting Tesla (TSLA) shareholders tradable rights to invest directly in the SpaceX IPO, democratising access and avoiding traditional underwriting fees. The deal could raise up to ~USD 150bln at a fixed valuation, eliminate dilution and fees, and potentially pave the way for a future xAI IPO.
- Apple (AAPL) advised some visa-holding employees not to travel outside the US due to delays at embassies, Business Insider reported. Additionally, Google (GOOGL) warned some visa-holding employees not to leave the US due to significant return delays of up to a year, Business Insider reported.
- US President Trump on Friday said he would call a meeting of insurance companies in the coming weeks to push them to cut prices and stay in the system.
- US President Trump on Friday announced deals with nine pharmaceutical companies to cut prices on most drugs sold through Medicaid and lower cash-pay prices, while committing to most-favoured-nation pricing for future drugs, according to Reuters. The companies also pledged more than USD 150bln in US manufacturing and R&D investment, agreed to remit some foreign revenues to offset US costs, and received relief from US tariffs in return.
TRADE/TARIFFS
- US lawmakers reportedly urged the Pentagon to add DeepSeek and Xiaomi (1810 HK) to the list of firms allegedly aiding the Chinese military, according to Reuters, citing a letter.
APAC TRADE
EQUITIES
- APAC stocks kicked off the week with gains across the board as the region coat-tailed on the strength seen stateside. Tech outperformance continued across the region.
- ASX 200 edged higher as miners tracked gains in gold prices, with the yellow metal buoyed by a weekend packed with geopolitics
- Nikkei 225 was the clear outperformer as it topped 50.5k as the index cheered the post-BoJ JPY weakness on Friday alongside the global tech rally, whilst simultaneously overlooking the continuing rise in JGB yields.
- KOSPI was underpinned by its tech sector and following a month-to-date rise in exports.
- Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the risk tone but with upside shallower than the above peers, with the PBoC LPR left unchanged as expected, whilst reports on Friday suggested US lawmakers urged the Pentagon to add DeepSeek and Xiaomi to the list of firms allegedly aiding the Chinese military.
- US equity futures held a mild upward bias after opening with gains of a similar magnitude. NQ narrowly outperformed amid a continuation of the tech play from Friday.
- European equity futures are indicative of slightly softer cash open with the Euro Stoxx 50 future down 0.2% after cash closed +0.3% on Friday.
FX
- DXY traded in a narrow 98.583–98.699 band amid light newsflow as markets wind down for the holiday period.
- EUR/USD traded uneventfully and largely moved in tandem with the Dollar, holding above 1.1700 with limited Eurozone catalysts.
- GBP/USD also saw muted price action, repeatedly meeting resistance just under 1.3400, while EUR/GBP held flat around 0.8750.
- USD/JPY held within a tight 157.24–157.74 range, and reversed after hitting levels just shy of Friday’s 157.76 high. The pair waned off its best levels alongside the continuing rise in JGB yields. Verbal jawboning from officials did little to move the currency.
- Antipodeans held a mild upward bias, supported by broader risk appetite as APAC markets tracked Wall Street’s Friday gains, with tech names underpinning sentiment.
- CNH was steady after the PBoC maintained LPRs as expected.
- PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.0572 vs exp. 7.0407 (Prev. 7.0550).
FIXED INCOME
- 10yr UST futures traded slightly lower as broader risk appetite across the APAC region kept pressure on global fixed income, with activity subdued as markets began to wind down for the holidays.
- Bund futures remained under mild pressure following the global risk-on tone and in the wake of the JGB downside after Friday’s BoJ decision.
- 10yr JGB futures led losses as traders focused on growing fiscal risks in Japan now that the BoJ meeting has passed.
COMMODITIES
- Crude futures opened with modest gains and extended higher as markets digested several weekend geopolitical developments, with WTI attempting to mount USD 57/bbl after lifting from a USD 56.60/bbl low.
- Spot gold firmed after a flat open, grinding higher as traders assessed the weekend headlines, with the yellow metal printing above at USD 4,400/oz for the first time. Spot silver printed fresh record highs just under USD 68.50/oz, while platinum broke above USD 2,000/oz for the first time since 2008.
- Copper futures held an upward bias, supported by risk appetite, with 3M LME copper hovering just under USD 12k/t, though gains lagged the more pronounced strength in precious metals.
- Australia’s Energy Minister Bowen announces plans for Australian gas reservation policy.
- Barclays said even if Venezuelan oil exports decline by 200k BPD, and would be unlikely to significantly affect global oil prices; maintained USD 65/bbl Brent forecast for 2026.
- Iraq’s state oil firm reaffirmed its commitment to the Kurdistan oil agreement, under which international oil companies in the region were required to hand over their output to the state. An official at Iraq’s state oil firm said the oil export deal between Baghdad and Erbil would continue without issues, Rudaw reported.
CRYPTO
- Bitcoin traded flat overnight under the USD 89k level following a relatively uneventful weekend of price action.
CENTRAL BANKS
- Chinese Loan Prime Rate 1Y (Dec) 3.00% vs. Exp. 3.00% (Prev. 3.00%);5Y (Dec) 3.50% vs. Exp. 3.50% (Prev. 3.50%).
NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES
- China reportedly targets operating liabilities of local government financing vehicles to curb debt risks, according to Shanghai Securities News, citing analysts.
- PBoC injected CNY 67.3bln via 7-day reverse repos.
- Japanese Top Currency Diplomat Mimura said he is recently seeing one-sided, rapid moves; will take appropriate action against excessive moves; is concerned about forex moves.
- Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara said he will not comment on the forex market; recently seeing one-sided, rapid moves; important for currencies to move in a stable manner reflecting fundamentals; will take appropriate action against excessive moves. Closely watching the impact of higher interest rates while cooperating with the BoJ.
DATA RECAP
- South Korea Dec 1–20 trade balance at provisional USD +3.82bln, customs agency said; exports +6.8% Y/Y; imports +0.7% Y/Y.
NOTABLE APAC EQUITY HEADLINES
- China’s cyberspace authority said it would regulate pricing behaviour on internet platforms under new regulations set to take effect from April 10.
- SoftBank (9984 JT) could tap undrawn margin loans backed by Arm Holdings shares, is working to take payments app PayPay public after delays from the US government shutdown and is looking to sell part of its stake in China’s Didi Global ahead of a Hong Kong IPO, Reuters sources said.
GEOPOLITICS
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
- The Kremlin said changes made by Ukrainians and Europeans to peace proposals did not bring agreements closer or add anything positive, IFAX reported. It said Dmitriev was still in Miami meeting with Americans and would report on the results upon his return to Moscow. Kremlin aide said a trilateral Russia–US–Ukraine meeting was not being discussed.
- US Special Envoy Witkoff said weekend meetings between US and Russian delegations were productive and constructive; Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine.
- US Special Envoy Witkoff said the Ukrainian delegation held productive meetings over three days in Florida with US and European partners, including a separate US–Ukraine meeting, with discussions focused on timelines and sequencing of next steps.
- Ukrainian President Zelensky said broader consultations with European partners should follow recent talks in the US.
- Ukrainian President Zelensky said allies had started to slow supplies of air defence missiles and said Kyiv should stand by the US as mediator on talks with Russia, commenting on French President Macron’s proposal.
- Ukrainian President Zelensky said the situation in the Odesa region was harsh after Russian strikes and said Russia was trying to restrict Ukraine’s access to the sea.
- Ukrainian President Zelensky said elections could not be held in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, could only take place once security was guaranteed, and said Kyiv was working with the US on a stable peace while preparing voting infrastructure for Ukrainians abroad, Reuters reported.
- Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said Russia attacked the Pivdennyi port and was deliberately targeting civilian logistics in the Odesa region.
- Russia’s Defence Ministry said Russian troops had captured Vysoke in Ukraine’s Sumy region and Svitlie in the Donetsk region, according to IFAX and TASS.
- Two vessels and two piers were damaged in Russia’s Krasnodar after a Ukrainian drone attack, regional authorities said; damage to piers led to a large fire in the area.
MIDDLE EAST
- Israeli PM Netanyahu reportedly plans to brief US President Trump on possible new Iran strikes, according to NBC News. Israeli officials believe Iran is expanding its ballistic missile program. They are preparing to make the case during an upcoming meeting with Trump that it poses a new threat. Israeli officials have announced a Dec. 29 meeting.
- Israeli officials warned the Trump administration over the weekend that an Iranian IRGC missile exercise could be preparations for a strike on Israel, according to Axios sources.
- Sources said the biggest risk is that a war between Israel and Iran will break out as a result of a miscalculation with each side thinking the other plans to attack and try to pre-empt it, according to Axios.
US-VENEZUELA
- US Coast Guard officials over the weekend tracked two oil tankers in international waters close to Venezuela, marking three tankers within the past week. An official suggested that the tanker is subject to sanctions, according to several media reports.
- The Venezuelan government rejected the seizure of a new vessel transporting oil, it said in a statement.
OTHERS
- North Korea said Japan’s ambition to possess nuclear weapons should be curbed, accusing Tokyo of showing intent by reviewing its three non-nuclear principles, state media KCNA reported.
- US President Trump announced on Truth Social Sunday that he is appointing Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as the US Special Envoy to Greenland. The White House says President Trump will make an announcement with Secretary of War Hegseth and Navy Secretary Phelan at 16:30 EST on Monday after receiving his intelligence briefing.
- On Friday, Thailand bombed Cambodian casinos it claims are being used as military sites, according to reports.
SOUTH KOREA/USA
2b. JAPAN
3. CHINA/
CHINA/USA
Tensions will now escalate!!!
Beijing Condemns Trump’s Gunboat Diplomacy After China-Bound Tanker Seizure
Monday, Dec 22, 2025 – 06:55 AM
Beijing has condemned the U.S. interception of sanctioned crude tankers off the Venezuelan coast after a China-bound oil tanker was seized on Saturday. Beijing said Venezuela has the right to conduct trade with other countries.
Reuters cited China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian at a regular press briefing, who said the US seizure of another country’s tanker was a serious violation of international law. Jian added that China opposes all “unilateral and illegal” sanctions.
On Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard seized the Centuries, which was loaded with 1.8 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan crude and was flying under the false name “Crag.” The tanker was bound for China.
China is the largest buyer of Venezuelan crude, but Venezuelan oil accounts for only about 4% of China’s total crude imports.
Reuters reports that data this year show Venezuelan crude exports to China range from 400,000 to 580,000 barrels per day, depending on the period and shipping patterns.
A White House spokesperson told Reuters that the Centuries was a “falsely flagged vessel” and carried sanctioned oil that was part of Venezuela’s shadow fleet.
So far, the US has seized two sanctioned tankers. The first, VLCC Skipper, earlier this month. Skipper is set to be unloaded in the coming days at the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA). After Saturday’s seizure, news hit late afternoon Sunday of US forces in pursuit of yet another tanker.
All of this fits within the Trump administration’s gunboat diplomacy foreign policy strategy, which is designed to accelerate regime instability in Caracas while materially weakening Cuba; the core objective is to disrupt financial flows, sever funding channels, and allow second- and third-order effects to follow.
CHINA/USA/
China Says Region Closer To War Due To US Record Taiwan Arms Package
Friday, Dec 19, 2025 – 09:20 PM
China on Friday heaped more condemnation on Washington’s approving a record-setting $11.1 billion weapons package for Taiwan this week, warning that the deal risks turning the island into a “powder keg” and plunging the region into “military confrontation and war.”
A significant amount of medium to long-range missile systems are part of the planned transfer, including 82 HIMARS launchers with Army ATACMS missiles, allowing Taipei forces to hit targets across the Taiwan Strait. This aspect has further infuriated China.
Beijing in the fresh comments accused Taiwan’s leadership of “seeking independence through force” and charged that the United States is using the island to “contain China”.
“The ‘Taiwan independence’ forces on the island seek independence through force and resist reunification through force, squandering the hard-earned money of the people to purchase weapons at the cost of turning Taiwan into a powder keg,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.
“This cannot save the doomed fate of ‘Taiwan independence’ but will only accelerate the push of the Taiwan Strait toward a dangerous situation of military confrontation and war. The U.S. support for ‘Taiwan Independence’ through arms will only end up backfiring. Using Taiwan to contain China will not succeed.”
The prior largest US arms sale to Taiwan occurred in 2019, when the first Trump administration authorized an $8 billion deal for 66 F-16V fighter jets.
President Xi’s policy, at least in public, has been that reunification of Taiwan with the mainland will happen through peaceful, political means; however, hawks in Washington have never believed this.
From China’s point of view, the US continually arming Taiwan would be akin to China regularly pouring weapons in Cuba which could reach Florida.
Certainly US politicians would be outraged if Beijing or Moscow armed Cuba to the teeth and would likely act – and we even have precedents from Cold War history to demonstrate this.
The current Trump administration began its Taiwan arms sales last month, approving a $330 million package for aircraft components. All the while, Trump has softened his anti-China rhetoric and is seeking to improve bilateral relations, according to most media presentations. But this massive arms sign-off for Taiwan doesn’t point in the direction of ‘softening’ tensions with China.
END
4 EUROPEAN/NATO AFFAIRS/SCANDINAVIA
EU/BRUSSELS/HUNGARY
Barbed-Wire, Tear-Gas, & Water-Cannons: Brussels Battles Protesting Farmers Who Orbán Says Are ‘100% Right’
Saturday, Dec 20, 2025 – 08:10 AM
As the EU moves to crush protesting farmers demonstrating in Brussels, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán offered full backing to the farmers and their efforts to stop the EU’s Mercosur free trade deal, which threatens to destroy food security in Europe.
“Farmers are 100 percent right,” said Orbán, who is currently in Brussels attending the EU Summit.
He added that the farmers have obvious issues with the Mercosur package, a free trade agreement with Latin American countries, because it “kills the farmers.”
“Hungary is one of the countries that does not support the Mercosur agreement. There were serious professional debates about this in Hungary, and the Hungarian position was that we do not support this,” said the prime minister.
Viktor Orbán reminded that the agreement would require a qualified majority, and according to his expectations, there is not enough support.
“Mercosur opponents make it impossible for this agreement to be signed. The plan is that the President of the European Commission wants to sign this later this week. I think this needs to be stopped here now, and we can prevent it,” he said.
He also said that another problem for farmers is the Green Deal, which leads to expensive overregulation in agricultural work in such a way that it represents a serious cost and competitive disadvantage for European food producers.
“So I have to say that with the Mercosur agreement, they are shooting European farmers in the foot, but before that, they tie their legs together so that they have no chance in the global competition,” he stated.
“That is why the farmers are absolutely right, the Hungarian government is 100 percent with the farmers,” said the Hungarian leader.
Farmers met with force
The use of force against farmers in Brussels is drawing criticism from Hungarian journalists, including Dániel Deák, the senior analyst of the Század Institute.
He published a video report showing the European Commission building, or Ursula von der Leyen’s workplace, surrounded by barbed wire.
According to him, with these measures, they are trying to prevent farmer protesters from getting close to the president of the European Commission.
In the report, he also drew attention to the fact that if they tried to limit a demonstration in Hungary in a similar way, by placing barbed wire, it would provoke significant protests from the left, and the European Union would also talk about the use of “dictatorial means.”
In his opinion, all this once again points to the hypocrisy that is often used against Hungary. He also emphasized that demonstrations in Hungary can be held and that no attempt is made to make them impossible with barbed wire.
END
EU/RUSSIA
This will bankrupt the EU. Both the Russian confiscation and the Mercosur agreement with Latin America failed
(zerohedge)
EU “Russia Confiscation” Summit Ends In Failure As Brussels Quietly Paves Way For Eurobonds
Saturday, Dec 20, 2025 – 07:00 AM
Submitted By Thomas Kolbe
The EU summit held in Brussels on December 18–19 was supposed to deliver two fundamental decisions. First, it was meant to address the expropriation of frozen Russian assets held at Euroclear. Second, it was expected to ratify the Mercosur trade agreement. In both cases, the EU’s bureaucratic elite around Ursula von der Leyen failed—paralyzed by its own dysfunction and ultimately by a lack of real power.
What had been grandly announced as a “summit of decisions” ended in a fiasco for Brussels. Neither was the Mercosur agreement approved, nor did the EU manage to convert the Russian central bank assets held at Euroclear into a substantial loan to extend Ukraine financing.
Let us first examine the Euroclear affair. That the EU bowed to growing pressure from several member states such as Belgium, Hungary, and Slovakia—as well as from the U.S. government—is telling. Despite all its ambitions, the EU remains a paper tiger in the global power struggle.
A Typical EU Solution
The solution to Ukraine’s massive financing gap looks as follows: the European Union will provide Kyiv with an interest-free loan of €90 billion for the next two years. Repayment will only be required if Russia pays reparations—which it will not. In that case, the EU plans to fall back on frozen Russian assets to cover the deficit.
That immediate expropriation did not occur is largely due to Belgium’s insistence—given that Euroclear is legally domiciled there—on a collective assumption of liability risks. As so often when consequences might arise from its own actions, Brussels opted for a diluted compromise.
Through the back door, this effectively introduces Eurobonds—a joint debt issuance—without explicitly saying so.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hailed the construct as a major success. National budgets would not be burdened, he argued, since the financing would be handled entirely at the EU level. Moreover, the loan would be secured by Russian assets. What Merz conveniently omitted is that EU member states ultimately remain liable for Brussels’ maneuvers.
In reality, Brussels achieved one thing above all: the politically and legally explosive issue of expropriating the Russian central bank was postponed. At the same time, the EU once again used the opportunity to cleverly circumvent its own rules—specifically the prohibition of joint debt issuance.
Enormous Financial Needs
Ukraine’s financial requirements are immense. In view of the war of attrition in the Donbas, the European Commission expects roughly €81 billion to be needed next year alone to close Ukraine’s budget gap, which currently stands at 18.5 percent of GDP. The newly approved EU loan will be supplemented by national contributions.
Germany alone will finance €11.5 billion for Ukraine’s military equipment from its federal budget—funded through new debt and charged to the taxpayer, who, needless to say, has no say in the matter.
Within EU budget planning, grants of up to €50 billion are earmarked for next year. According to plans by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, this amount is to be expanded to €135.7 billion over the following two years. This bottomless pit threatens to plunge economically weakening EU states—with already ballooning deficits—into severe turbulence unless the course is changed swiftly.
Restoring Military Striking Power
So what is the concrete alternative now that the raid on Euroclear’s balance sheet is temporarily blocked? EU and UK officials have repeatedly made clear in recent months that they intend to restore their military capabilities by 2028.
The signal to Russia is unmistakable: this is neither about lasting peace nor a genuine resolution of the conflict. A ceasefire—something Russia learned during the Minsk Agreement episode—would merely serve military consolidation.
When Friedrich Merz claims that Ukraine financing over the next two years serves exclusively to equip the Ukrainian army and not to prolong the war, this statement reveals one thing above all: a deliberate semantic separation of what is politically and militarily inseparable. Anyone who rhetorically decouples arms deliveries from war prolongation is not informing the public—but pacifying it.
Eurobonds or War Bonds
Brussels will now seize the moment to push ahead with a rapid expansion of Eurobonds. During the COVID lockdowns, the European Commission already ventured into this forbidden territory by issuing several hundred billion euros under the “NextGenerationEU” bond program.
The procedure is now being repeated. The Commission will issue bonds officially secured by Russian assets, but for which all member states ultimately bear proportional liability. Put differently: the EU is concealing yet another gigantic debt program, for which taxpayers will be on the hook in the end.
A large portion of this money will flow back into the European and American military-industrial sectors.
We are witnessing a classic EU solution: the existing rulebook is systematically undermined, while the representatives of the so-called “rules-based order” continue their erosion campaign—until even the last residue of trust in the integrity of EU institutions is ground down.
From Ukraine Conflict to Credit Accelerator
Regardless of one’s view of the historical background of the Ukraine conflict—of the 2014 Maidan coup or the years-long Donbas conflict—the principle of neutrality beyond humanitarian aid has been systematically abandoned.
Once it became clear that the Ukraine conflict could be turned into a credit accelerator, state-backed banks such as the European Investment Bank were heavily integrated into the process.
What has long been evident about Brussels hardliners is now plain to see: megalomania combined with personal career ambition. In the cases of Ursula von der Leyen and Friedrich Merz, this toxic mix produces political strategies and outcomes that drag the EU and its member states ever deeper into a spiral of fiscal obligations and looming military escalation.
Mercosur Postponed
The European Union’s historic task was to create and legally safeguard a competitive internal market. This attempt at limited competence transfer has now definitively failed.
On Thursday, the EU summit also failed to ratify the Mercosur agreement with South America. At the insistence of France and Italy, the decision was postponed by one month.
Negotiations have stalled for a quarter century. A finalized draft is on the table, providing for a phased tariff reduction over 15 years and covering Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. With 780 million people, a significant integrated market could emerge.
The agreement aims to boost European exports in automobiles and mechanical engineering while reducing tariffs on agricultural imports from South America—blocked primarily by the French farm lobby. Once again, the EU refuses to ease regulatory burdens on domestic farmers in order to balance competing interests.
What Remains?
In sum, the European Union keeps its debt machinery alive for another two years—while remaining incapable of making substantive moves on the international stage. The politics of postponement, and the costs of delayed decision-making, will ultimately be passed on to European taxpayers.
end
UK/USA
Trump Suspends $40BN Tech Deal With UK Over Free Speech Crackdown
Saturday, Dec 20, 2025 – 09:20 AM
Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,
The Trump administration has delivered a major blow to UK-US relations by suspending a massive $40 billion Tech Prosperity Deal, citing Britain’s aggressive censorship regime as a direct threat to American tech giants and their ability to operate freely.
This move underscores Trump’s zero-tolerance stance on foreign policies that undermine US interests, especially when they involve stifling free speech and handing advantages to global competitors like China.
The White House paused the tech prosperity deal amid concerns the UK government’s draconian Online Safety Act, which regulates online speech, will stifle American artificial intelligence companies, the Telegraph reports.
The law allows the British government to levy large fines on tech giants it deems have facilitated ‘hate speech’.
After the rise of artificial intelligence, companies like OpenAI or xAI can face huge fines – harming their growth and giving China an edge in the AI race.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that the £31bn agreement has been suspended as the White House seeks to improve terms on a wider UK-US trade deal agreed in May.
On Dec 3, Liz Kendall, the Technology Secretary, said the government planned to impose new restrictions on chatbots to ensure AI companies do not benefit from loopholes in the law.
“The perception is that Britain is way out there on attempting to police what is said online, and it’s caused real concern”, a source with knowledge of the decision to suspend the deal stated.
“Americans went into this deal thinking Britain were going to back off regulating American tech firms but realised it was going to restrict the speech of American chatbots,” the source added.
The deal, announced in September during Trump’s state visit to the UK, included pledges of £22bn from Microsoft and £5bn from Google to create an AI growth zone in north-east England, potentially generating £30bn in economic value and 5,000 jobs.
Leftist UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed it as “a generational stepchange in our relationship with the US,” while Trump described it as a path to “dominate” in AI and lead the technological revolution “side by side.”
Beyond censorship, Washington has raised issues with the UK’s digital services tax on US tech firms and food safety rules blocking certain agricultural exports, framing the pause as part of hard-nosed negotiations to eliminate trade barriers.
A British government source downplayed the suspension as “the usual bit of hardball negotiations by the Americans,” adding that US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick “is a tough guy. We understand that the Americans negotiate incredibly hard but we’ll stand our ground. They want what’s best for their country, we want what’s best for ours.”
Another source labeled it “part of the shape of the negotiations” with Washington.
This latest escalation highlights the ongoing free speech crisis in the UK, where authorities have ramped up arrests for online expression. As we reported earlier, the latest insane case has seen a man jailed for 18 months over two anti-immigration tweets viewed just 33 times combined—a stark example of the regime’s overreach.https://modernity.news/2025/12/17/insanity-uk-man-jailed-for-18-months-for-two-tweets-viewed-just-33-times/embed/#?secret=qEWB89Q8Li
The broader pattern is alarming: nearly 10,000 arrests in 2024 alone for “grossly offensive” social media posts, equating to 30 per day, while violent crimes like knife attacks and burglaries are sidelined.https://modernity.news/2025/11/17/britains-speech-gulag-exposed-10000-arrested-last-year-for-social-media-posts/embed/#?secret=qF7prgpgnj
Trump has long been attuned to Britain’s erosion of rights, dispatching a “free speech squad” from the State Department in May to investigate cases of activists arrested for silent protests and online dissent.
He’s even offered political asylum to UK “thought criminals,” including those prosecuted for gender-critical views or immigration criticism, positioning America as a haven for those fleeing authoritarian overreach.https://modernity.news/2025/11/17/trump-offers-lifeline-to-uk-thought-criminals/embed/#?secret=ztqoFREybt
With the US now leveraging economic deals to push back against censorship, this suspension sends a clear message: alliances come with strings attached when basic freedoms are at stake. As Britain doubles down on policing speech, Trump is ensuring American innovation—and expression—won’t pay the price.
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.
END
GERMANY
COURTESY ROBERT h:
German business bankruptcies hit decade high amid downturn – DW – 12/19/2025
| Robert Hryniak | Sun, Dec 21, 7:57 PM (10 hours ago) | ||
| to me | |||
Cheers
Robert
END
GERMANY
German Govt Signals “Challenging Years” Of Austerity Ahead While Spending Billions On Ukraine & Immigration
Monday, Dec 22, 2025 – 02:00 AM
The German government is signaling times of austerity are ahead for Germans, with German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) even saying there could be years of belt-tightening.
Klingbeil, a member of the far left SPD, is preparing the German public for a period of financial hardship, even as the country spends at least €50 billion a year on migrants, including for their housing, education, security, and integration. In addition, tens of billions have already headed to Ukraine, with another €19 billion directly from Germany planned.
Speaking on the ZDF program “Das Jahr 2025,” the SPD chairman warned of “very challenging years” ahead, stating that citizens would “also have to be asked to do something.”
“Everyone will feel that we are saving,” Klingbeil explained, emphasizing the necessity of cuts.
However, he pushed back against the narrative that the nation is facing fiscal ruin.
“We are not broke. The country is not on the brink of collapse,” the finance minister stated, rejecting the impression of impending financial failure.
According to Klingbeil, while the nation’s problems are solvable, they will come with consequences. He highlighted a funding gap of €60 billion for 2028 alone, which cannot be closed without making serious cuts that people will notice.
Klingbeil’s announcement comes at a time when German municipalities across the country are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Many officials are also complaining that the historic debt package the government passed, which totals €1 trillion, will not fill the holes in the budget.
Last month, Essen’s Mayor Thomas Kufen (CDU), who is also a member of the CDU federal executive board, sounded the alarm, saying: “Almost every German city is now on the verge of bankruptcy.”
In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, only 10 out of 396 cities and municipalities can present a balanced budget, and these alarming figures from Germany’s largest federal state can be applied to the “entire country,” he said.
Mayor Kufen stressed that the crisis is universal, affecting municipalities regardless of their location:
“What’s new is that all cities have their backs against the wall,” he told Bild newspaper.
He warned that “budget freezes would now have to be imposed everywhere,” including in many cities previously considered wealthy.
Although Klingbeil did not provide specific details on the planned measures, he announced that a complete package would be presented at a later date by the party leaders of the CDU, CSU, and SPD. He stressed that these measures must be designed fairly: “The goal is that everyone contributes their part and not just one group.”
Not just the federal government, but also at the ground level in cities, budget cuts are being made, and they are expected to get worse, all while cities like Berlin are spending record amounts on migrant accommodations. A new report shows Berlin spent nearly €1 billion last year, all while making deep budget cuts in areas such as culture, education and transport.
However, Klingbeil is also calling on his own party to embrace change. He argued that the SPD must be prepared to overcome the status quo, noting that the perception of weakness had recently harmed the party.
“Social democracy is successful when it leads change and not just accompanies it,” he stated.
The announced austerity measures and the government’s fiscal management have drawn sharp rebuke from the opposition, particularly the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel strongly condemned the government’s course, characterizing the coalition’s fiscal policy as a “Black-Red debt orgy at the expense of Germany’s future.”
The AfD parliamentary group has further described Klingbeil’s budgetary drafts as “catastrophic for Germany,” arguing that the government’s approach places undue burdens on citizens while failing to address structural issues. Critics from the party have repeatedly emphasized that “the money is not reaching the people” and have warned against what they view as the mismanagement of public funds.
5. RUSSIA AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
TBN ISRAEL/LAST 24 HR
ISRAEL VS HAMAS
ISRAEL VS HEZBOLLAH
Major Israeli Strikes On Lebanon As Beirut ‘Days Away’ From Disarming Hezbollah
Monday, Dec 22, 2025 – 05:00 AM
The Israeli army carried out several attacks on south Lebanon on Sunday, hours after Beirut said that the disarmament of Hezbollah in the southern Litani River area is “days away” from completion. An Israeli drone struck a car in the southern town of Yater. Minutes later, Israel bombed a motorcycle around 300 meters away from the targeted car.
The Israeli army said it “recently attacked another terrorist from the Hezbollah organization in the Yater area in southern Lebanon,” in a second statement following up on its announcement of the first strike. There were preliminary reports of casualties after the two drone strikes.
Israeli machine gun fire and artillery shelling also struck Kfar Shuba and the nearby Bastra Farm earlier on Sunday.
A day earlier, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam claimed in a statement that the first phase of disarming Hezbollah is nearly complete.
“Prime Minister Salam affirmed that the first phase of the weapons consolidation plan related to the area south of the Litani River is only days away from completion,” Salam’s office said on Saturday.
“The state is ready to move on to the second phase – namely [confiscating weapons] north of the Litani River – based on the plan prepared by the Lebanese army pursuant to a mandate from the government,” it added.
The statement came after talks between Salam and Simon Karam, a former Lebanese ambassador to the US who Beirut recently appointed to hold direct talks with Israeli representatives – in violation of Lebanon’s laws and under heavy US pressure.
The Lebanese government has been vague about the direct talks, which have continued despite Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker and Amal Movement leader Nabih Berri saying recently that Beirut will not “negotiate under fire.”
So far, two direct meetings have been held as part of the ongoing discussions of the US-led ceasefire monitoring mechanism. Salam’s Saturday announcement about the weapons coincided with Israeli drone strikes on the towns of Blida and Taybeh.
In the past two months, Israel has significantly escalated deadly strikes and other violations of the Lebanon ceasefire, claiming that Hezbollah has rearmed itself.
Dozens of Lebanese have been killed since the start of last month alone. Since the ceasefire deal went into effect in November 2024, over 300 people have been killed – including scores of civilians and children.
The Lebanese army has been dismantling Hezbollah’s infrastructure south of the Litani River in line with the ceasefire deal reached last year, saying it has completed 90 percent of the disarmament process in the southern Litani area.
Under US pressure, the Lebanese government adopted a decision in August for the resistance movement’s full disarmament by the end of this year. The Lebanese army was ordered to draft a disarmament plan, which has been kept confidential.
According to reports in recent months, Lebanon has backtracked on its commitment to full disarmament by year’s end – in favor of a phased approach that would continue into 2026.
But Israel has threatened to launch a new campaign against the country unless the resistance surrenders all its arms by the end of 2025. Hezbollah has rejected disarmament, saying it will eventually respond if Israel continues to violate the truce.
ISRAEL/SYRIA
Regime Change Accomplished: Trump Officially Repeals ‘Caesar’ Sanctions On Syria
Friday, Dec 19, 2025 – 05:20 PM
Syria is celebrating after President Trump signed a law on Thursday officially repealing the brutal economic sanctions imposed on the country under legislation known as the Caesar Act, which was designed to topple the government of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
The sanctions have for many years effectively strangled millions of innocent people, and even impacted access to medicines, hospital equipment, fuel, and unleashed runaway inflation – sending prices for basic staples like eggs and meat soaring.
Sanctions have been on Syria going all the way back to the 1970s, with more piled on over the decades, especially after 2011, and then the most far-reaching, the Caesar sanctions, took effect in 2019 at a time that Assad was winning the war.
Coupled with the sanctions was a long-running CIA and Gulf-spearheaded proxy war, which flooded jihadist groups with weapons and cash – all for the sake of eventually installing a more pliant client ruler.
Now, one year after Washington accomplished its regime change, and with Bashar al-Assad in Moscow, has Washington chosen to remove the sanctions.
As Beirut-based The Cradle observes, “Trump removed the sanctions in an effort to help Syria’s new government, led by former Al-Qaeda commander Ahmad al-Sharaa, to attract foreign investment, foster economic growth, and rebuild infrastructure after 14 years of war.”
Some Congressional leaders are still calling for strict monitoring of the new Sharaa regime’s behavior, especially following prior months of massacres of Syrian Alawites, Christians, and Druze:
More than 100 House Republicans are demanding increased oversight of Syria as the U.S. prepares to repeal longstanding sanctions against the country.
Reps. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., and Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., are leading 134 fellow GOP lawmakers in calling for guarantees that the Syrian government will adhere to terms in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that set the stage for repealing those sanctions, while warning the U.S. needs to be prepared to reverse that if Syria falters on its progress.
“Many Members of Congress, committed to seeking peace, prosperity, and tolerance for religious minorities in the region, worked with the Trump Administration and House leadership to secure assurances that snapback conditions regarding the repeal of Syrian sanctions would be enforced if Syria does not comply with the terms highlighted in the repeal language,” their joint statement read.
Already, American and Gulf countries have signed deals with the new rulers in Damascus for oil and gas exploration, as well as rebuilding port infrastructure.
“Lifting the sanctions was the frontrunner in our mission to revive Syria’s economy,” Abdulkader Husrieh, Syria’s central bank governor, said Friday in reaction to the news. “What has happened is nothing short of a miracle.”
IRAN//ISRAEL
Netanyahu Wants To Attack Iran Again, Will Lobby Trump In Mar-a-Lago Visit
Saturday, Dec 20, 2025 – 01:25 PM
Many analysts agree that the last round of fighting between Israel and Iran last June was not the final conflict the two regional powers will face.
Despite President Trump having declared that the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program had been completely obliterated in the US knock-out strikes against three nuclear facilities which came at the end of the 12-day war, Israel suspects the Iranians are still conducting nuclear development activity in secret, and are busy reconstituting and expanding their ballistic missile arsenal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to visit the United States yet again, from December 28 to January 4, and will meet with President Trump at the Mar-a-Lago estate. Netanyahu will reportedly lobby the president to take more military action against Tehran.
NBC reports Saturday, “Israeli officials have grown increasingly concerned that Iran is expanding production of its ballistic missile program, which was damaged by Israeli military strikes earlier this year, and are preparing to brief President Donald Trump about options for attacking it again, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans and four former U.S. officials briefed on the plans.”
“Israeli officials also are concerned that Iran is reconstituting nuclear enrichment sites the U.S. bombed in June, the sources said,” the report continues. “But, they added, the officials view Iran’s efforts to rebuild facilities where they produce the ballistic missiles and to repair its crippled air defense systems as more immediate concerns.”
But the timing of potential new Pentagon action against Iran couldn’t be worse, given the concentration of American military assets currently in the southern Caribbean at a moment the US is threating regime change actions against Venezuela’s President Maduro and cartels in Latin America.
The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group was even recently moved from the Mediterranean, where it was closer to the Middle East and CENTCOM region, to join operations threatening Venezuela in the Caribbean.
However, the Pentagon has just this week engaged in new ‘counter ISIS’ strikes in Syria, and so presumably would have enough or limited support assets in the region if it chose to assist with some new Israeli anti-Iran operation.
Still, all of these unprovoked attacks on foreign powers and adventurism abroad could grow increasingly unpopular with the American people, and certainly there’s a large chunk of the MAGA base which is dead set against the US entering new wars and conflicts, also at a time the Ukraine proxy war shows no signs of slowing.
The Trump administration is still standing by its assessment that Iran’s nuclear capabilities have been destroyed. “The International Atomic Energy Agency and Iranian government corroborated the United States government’s assessment that Operation Midnight Hammer totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly has said in a statement.
There’s widespread acknowledgement that Iran’s ballistic missile capability is among the most advanced in the broader region, and that it did real damage against Israel in the June war:
She further warned: “As President Trump has said, if Iran pursued a nuclear weapon, that site would be attacked and would be wiped out before they even got close.” So while Trump might be open to mulling new action, the official US stance is that there’s no need to at this point.
RUSSIA/UKRAINE
Putin Identifies The Main Issue Which Will Settle Ukraine War In Year-End Q&A
Friday, Dec 19, 2025 – 02:00 PM
Russian President Vladimir Putin made clear during his annual end of year question-and-answer session in Moscow that the matter of Ukraine ceding land which Russia now controls is the heart of the issue when it comes to peace talks. The issue of territory gained, lost, to be ceded or not, remains the prime topic that must be considered, but it’s the very thing that Ukraine’s Zelensky refuses to talk about or compromise on, Putin explained.
“We know from statements from Zelenskyy that he’s not prepared to discuss territory issues,” Putin told Q&A attendees in the capital’s Gostiny Dvor exhibition hall.
The Kremlin has pressed for Ukrainian troops to exit the Donbass, reduce the size of Kiev’s military, and for their to be international legal recognition that annexed eastern territories are part of the Russian Federation.
What’s more is that after the capture of the strategic Donetsk city of Pokrovsk in early December, Putin expects his forces will soon gobble up more territory.
Putin declared he’s “certain that before the year’s end we will witness new successes of our armed forces, our fighters.”
He named specific places were Russian forces remain ascendent, according to state media translation:
There is also intensive fighting for Krasny Liman and Dmitrov, as well as Gulyay Pole in Zaporozhye Region, the president added.
In the south, Russian forces have captured the city of Kupyansk and are pressuring the Ukrainian battlegroup that dug in at a large railway juncture nearby. Putin said some 3,500 Ukrainian troops there “have virtually no chances” to survive after being denied a request to retreat.
“The time will come when our guys finish their work destroying the encircled Ukrainian forces on the northern bank of the river and turn to the west. That will happen pretty soon,” Putin said.
Putin went on to explain that Zelensky’s efforts to hold territory “at any cost” will only result in more devastating losses for Ukraine, and that sooner or later he’ll be forced to concede at the future negotiating table, accepting defeat.
Speaking of prior efforts to solve the conflict, Putin said further of the Ukrainian side: “After the talks in Istanbul, they initially agreed… and then backed out, throwing all of those agreements into the trash. And now, in effect, they are refusing to bring this conflict to an end through peaceful means.”
“Still, we see, feel and know that there are certain signals, including those coming from the Kyiv regime, indicating that they are prepared to engage in some form of dialogue,” he added, expressing apparent hope for the Trump peace proposal.
The annual Q&A event has stretched back to 2001, and draws literally millions of submitted questions from the Russian public via phone, text and online platforms. An artificial intelligence system from there analyzes the submitted questions to identify common themes, which are then asked of Putin in the televised event.
END
RUSSIA/USA KORYBKO
A Russian-US ‘New Détente’ Could Revolutionize The Global Economic Architecture
Friday, Dec 19, 2025 – 11:25 PM
Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,
It was explained in this analysis about “How A Rapprochement With Russia Helps The US Advance Its Goals Vis-à-vis China” that joint strategic resource investments after the end of the Ukrainian Conflict, particularly in energy and critical minerals, can assist the US in economically competing with China.
This vision aligns with the new National Security Strategy’s (NSS) focus on securing critical resource supply chains and can prospectively be expanded to aid the US’ allies with this for further advancing its goals.
After all, the bulk of the NSS’ Asian section isn’t about the US’ military competition with China (though a subsection details efforts to deter it in Taiwan and the South China Sea), but their economic competition and the ways in which the US’ allies can help the West keep pace with the People’s Republic. It even proposes joint cooperation “with regard to critical minerals in Africa” for gradually reducing and ultimately eliminating their collective dependence on China’s associated supply chains.
Given Russia’s richness in critical minerals deposits, the central role that their development is expected to play in the “New Détente”, and the importance of these investments for advancing the US’ NSS goals vis-à-vis China, it’s possible that associated projects could include the US’ Asian allies. This could take the form of the US providing sectoral secondary sanctions waivers to India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and others as rewards for Russia’s compliance with a Ukrainian peace deal to incentivize joint investments.
Not only would this help the US and its Asian allies reduce their collective dependence on China’s critical minerals supply chains, but it would also help avert the scenario of Russia becoming disproportionately dependent on China, thus serving both sides’ interests vis-à-vis China. Furthermore, the proposed sectoral secondary sanctions waivers could expand to include energy and tech, which would unlock their access to Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 megaproject while also reducing Russia’s dependence on Chinese chips.
The resultant complex strategic interdependence would be mutually beneficial.
US pressure along Russia’s western (European), northern (Arctic), eastern (East Asian), and potentially also southern (South Caucasus and Central Asia as proposed here) flanks would be greatly reduced due to Russia’s newfound national security significance brought about by its irreplaceable strategic resource and associated supply chain roles.
Russia has wanted this for decades, and it might finally be within reach.
Likewise, Russia would be incentivized to comply with whatever Ukrainian peace deal the US brokers in order to maintain this outcome, which also averts the scenario of it becoming disproportionately dependent on China all while bringing tangible economic benefits.
The US and its Asian allies would essentially be paying Russia to comply with that deal and turn its de facto entente with China, in which it might one day become the junior partner, into just one of several near-equal strategic partnerships.
Through these means, the renascent Russian-US “New Détente” could revolutionize the global economic architecture by removing China’s centricity therein, which would help the US and its Asian allies better compete with it per their shared goal through the help that Russia would be providing.
Significantly, Russia would also move from the periphery of the existing global economic architecture towards its core due to the importance of its strategic resources in this paradigm, thus fulfilling its grand economic goal.
END
RUSSIA//UKRAINE
IMPT.
DNI Tulsi Gabbard on X: “No, this is a lie and propaganda @Reuters is willingly pushing on behalf of warmongers who want to undermine President Trump’s tireless efforts to end this bloody war that has resulted in more than a million casualties on both sides. Dangerously, you are promoting this false” / X
The balderdash is end less any more, with truth being absent.
“A possible trilateral meeting between Russia, US, and Ukraine is not currently being discussed” according to an Aide to Russia’s President for Foreign Policy, Yuri Ushakov.
Ushakov went on to confirm “there are no documents on a peace settlement now. Europe and Ukraine are only sowing confusion.”
If anyone really listened to Putin’s end of year comments one would understand that one must separate a SMO from actual war. Yes, close to 2million Ukrainians are dead with another million+ injured and unlikely to return to the conflict lines. A tragic situation but let be limited to Ukraine.
If war comes to Ukraine or elsewhere it will be swift and far more deadly. Many millions will die on all sides and NO one is shielded from such events. As for the nonsense that Russia will never use nuclear weapons if threatened on the battlefield. These people are dead wrong! Besides China has served formal notice to Kalles that they will not let Russia lose to Europe as they would be next. China prefers to allow Russia to defend itself until its existence is in jeopardy. Does anyone really understand that Chinese hordes pouring into Europe will not overwhelm any army Europe can muster? Completely stupid behavior to dream of any kind of victory. The truth and reality is that Russia has already won. And as painful as this is no further support will change the outcome. Ukraine is finished as a nation state and will be reduced to a rump. Do people not see what is written? A return to 1918 status reduces the country to a shadow.
As for the nonsense of a Russian economy collapsing the phenomenon is that they have changed to a full war economy with a consumer economy rolled into one successfully. The West would do well to study and learn.
Like Trump or not the best thing is to move on and leave this mess behind. And it appears the US will do just that and leave Europe with the rest to figure out. How Europe now explains it is solely funding the proxy war against Russia to its’ citizens is beyond comprehension. https://x.com/DNIGabbard/status/2002484806978834862
6. GLOBAL ISSUES//COVID ISSUES/VACCINE ISSUES/HEALTH ISSUE
ROBERT H
extremely important
BREAKING: Our CENSORED Study Showing mRNA Injections Induce Severe Genetic Disruption Linked to Cancer and Chronic Disease Is Now Peer-Reviewed and Published
ROBERT H:
“If you suppress the AC2 receptors naturally people will get sick more often .”
https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/breaking-our-censored-study-showing
GLOBAL ISSUES
MARK CRISPIN MILLER
DR PAUL ALEXANDER
Cannabis (marijuana) has serious neurological & psychiatric harms, it is NOT safe to use recreationally & even quasi-medically, all studies to show it works fail! POTUS Trump is flat wrong, dismaying
to call for shift from schedule 1 to schedule 3…who is the egghead moron psycho to convince POTUS Trump that this is needed? at a time when we should be insisting young people DO NOT touch weed!
| Dr. Paul AlexanderDec 19 |
POTUS Trump, you know I support you man, I want you to win, and to be on Rushmore, but you are batshit wrong! I know no other way to say it! and this is a no cupping or lathering zone so I give you sugar when you do good but I will damn well give you bitter and sour when you deserve and you deserve NOW! this is problematic and makes no sense…once again, low hanging fruit like the deadly Malone Bourla Bancel Pfizer et al. mRNA vaccine you should be signing executive orders (EO) banning, you pretend it away, expand it, with silence by your posing steroid pumped HHS Secretary RFK Jr. and ding-a-ling ding-dong inept FDA Makary, doing NOTHING on mRNA, yet you make big fanfare to weaken control of weed, of THC? why? tell me one thing, riddle me, how does that EO benefit Americans? a simple test. How? Makes no sense and you did something that is troubling for makes no scientific, medical, clinical, data sense…NONE! the proper studies have not been done and those done have failed! So what did you base this on? As far as I can tell only the weed industry, those making it for commercial sale now are benefitting. Not the people. I do not buy the medicinal claims. I do not!
This deeply troubles me! You heightened risk to the American youth here! Love you as I do!
So very many innocent people in America, Canada, UK, Australia etc. died due to the fraud PCR-created COVID non-pandemic & it’s the lockdowns, the denial of medical care (beds locked off as COVID beds
only), the deadly Malone Bourla Bancel Moderna BioNTech Weissman Pfizer et al. mRNA vaccine, and mainly due to the deadly medical response (over-cycled PCR process beyond 24 amplifications that was
| Dr. Paul AlexanderDec 20 |
really detecting viral dust, old coronavirus, common cold, viral junk, fragments etc., isolation, abuse, dehydration, DNR orders, malnourishment, denial of antibiotics for bacterial pneumonia/sepsis), powerful breathing suppressing paralytic drugs like midazolam, lorazepam, propofol, fentanyl, dia-morphine, ketamine etc.), deadly kidney and liver toxic failed EBOLA drug Remdesivir, the deadly ventilator (VAP) etc.; our governments, the government of USA, Canada, UK etc., killed our precious elderly and vulnerable people with the fake fraud deadly specious non-scientific medical response, we killed our granny and grandpa, our parents and we could not even visit them or bury them, we had drive by viewings and funerals…our medical doctors and our health agencies and their leaderships at HHS, CDC, FDA, NIH, SAGE UK, Health Canada, PHAC Canada etc. killed our peoples in this fake fraud incompetent COVID response, led by academically sloppy, intellectually lazy, non-sensical morons, dimwit dolt egghead stupid people like Redfield, Hahn, Fauci, Birx, Jha, Walensky etc. the question is how many do we hang after courts, judges, juries get through with them under oath and find some guilty punishable by death…how many?
___
You must not wait for another catastrophic crisis (at times manufactured but we are prevented from making our own basic personal decisions or accessing needed drugs and response tools) to catch you off-guard. We must take charge and be prepared today so that we can enjoy peace of mind tomorrow.
NEWSWIZE
| LATEST REPORTS FOR NEWS JUNKIES |
| Latest Inflation Report Shatters Expectations, Falls To Lowest Level Since Early 2021The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday released the Consumer Price Index data for November 2025, which came in much lower than expected. The report indicated a year-over-year increase of 2.7 percent in the all-items CPI, which was lower than the 3.1 percent anticipated by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy components, …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| WATCH: Public Standoff Breaks Out Between Border Patrol Chief And Progressive MayorA tense street showdown broke out Wednesday in Evanston, Ill., after the city’s progressive mayor confronted a Border Patrol commander during a federal immigration enforcement operation, drawing protesters who attempted to disrupt agents carrying out their duties. The confrontation unfolded around 11:30 a.m. near Green Bay Road and Dodge Avenue as an 11-vehicle Border Patrol convoy arrived to conduct Title …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| NEW: Texas Lawmakers Launch New Caucus Targeting Cultural ThreatsA pair of Texas conservatives is launching a new House caucus aimed at pushing back against what they describe as the spread of Sharia law in the United States. Reps. Keith Self and Chip Roy, both Republicans from Texas, are forming the “Sharia Free America Caucus,” Fox News Digital reported. “Anytime you go to a fight, you bring as many …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| NEW: Tucker Carlson Under Fire After Spreading Blatant Lie About TrumpTucker Carlson’s prediction that President Donald Trump would announce a war with Venezuela during his Wednesday night address didn’t pan out. The former Fox News host said earlier that day he had been tipped off about a looming military move, citing what he described as a congressional briefing. But when Trump delivered his speech, there was no declaration of war …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| WATCH: Jack Smith Ambushed By Beloved Fox News Reporter On The HillFormer Special Counsel Jack Smith appeared on Capitol Hill on Wednesday for closed-door testimony before the House Judiciary Committee as Republicans press an investigation into what they argue were politically driven prosecutions of President Donald Trump. Smith declined to answer questions as he arrived for the deposition. Fox News congressional reporter Bill Melugin attempted to question him outside the Capitol. …READ THE FULL REPOR |
| LATEST REPORTS FOR NEWS JUNKIES |
| NEW: Trump Endorsement Pours Fuel On NC GOP Senate FightPresident Donald Trump heads to battleground North Carolina on Friday, working to keep a Republican-held Senate seat in GOP hands as the party gears up for next year’s midterm elections. Trump is set to headline an evening event focused on affordability alongside Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman and the clear frontrunner for the GOP nomination in the …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| Milwaukee Judge Convicted Of Felony For Shielding Illegal Alien From ICEA jury on Thursday found Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan — who was charged with one felony and one misdemeanor for helping an illegal alien avoid federal immigration agents — guilty on one of the two counts. Federal prosecutors had charged the Wisconsin judge back in April with obstruction, a felony, and concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| JUST IN: War With Venezuela Remains ‘Possible,’ Trump SaysPresident Donald Trump said he has not ruled out military action against Venezuela, even as polling shows most Americans oppose a war with the South American nation ruled by longtime strongman Nicolas Maduro. Trump made the remarks in a phone interview with NBC News on Thursday, declining to spell out specific objectives but signaling that Maduro is well aware of …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| REPORT: Final Text Sent By Greg Biffle’s Wife Raises New Questions In Plane CrashA frantic text message from Greg Biffle’s wife to her mother marked the final moments before the family’s private plane crashed at a North Carolina regional airport Thursday, killing everyone on board. Cristina Grossu Biffle texted her mother, Cathy Grossu, “We’re in trouble,” shortly before the jet went down, according to People. “She texted me from the plane and she …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| NEW: Illegal Alien Murder Suspect Was Released Day Prior After Dem Sheriff Ignored ICE DetainerA Salvadoran illegal alien and suspected MS-13 gang member was charged with second-degree murder after fatally shooting an unidentified man in Reston, Virginia on Wednesday, just one day after he was released from jail in deep blue Fairfax County. The case has sparked outrage since the killer was released onto the streets despite a prior first-degree murder charge, as well …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| LATEST REPORTS FOR NEWS JUNKIES |
| NEW: GOP Senator Announces RetirementSenator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) announced Friday that she will not be running for re-election in 2026, becoming the fourth Senate Republican to retire outright ahead of the midterm elections cycle. “It’s an incredible honor to represent Wyoming in the U.S. Senate, and throughout my time here, Wyoming has been my one-and-only priority,” Lummis posted to X. “Deciding not to run …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| Member Of Far-Left Extremist Group Arrested In Connection With Alleged Terror PlotFederal prosecutors in the Western District of Louisiana have announced the arrest of Micah James Legnon, 28, for allegedly threatening U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. Legnon, also known online as “Dark Witch” and “Kateri the Witch,” is associated with the Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF), a far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government, and anti-capitalist group. His involvement with TILF included participating …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| New York Times’ Sprawling Trump-Epstein Probe Finds ‘No Evidence’ Of WrongdoingThe New York Times — despite going to great lengths to burry the lede — conceded in a new report that there has never been any evidence linking President Donald Trump to notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. The article, written by Times reporters Nicholas Confessore and Julie Tate, was compiled through interviews with “more than 30 former employees of …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| NEW: U.S. Forces Launch Dozens Of Strikes Against ISIS Targets In SyriaU.S. forces and coalition partners launched an intense barrage of air and artillery strikes against Islamic State (ISIS) targets in the Syrian desert on Friday night. The strikes come roughly one week after two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed by an ISIS gunman who had infiltrated the Syrian government’s patchwork security forces, a force that is flush …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| Rubio Puts Europe On Notice Over Free Speech Crackdown, Warns Of Destroying ‘Shared Culture’During a press conference on Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a stark warning to governments in the European Union, as well as the UK, over increasingly authoritarian crackdowns on freedom of expression. Rubio cautioned that the current trajectory could alter the “shared culture” between the United States and Europe. During Friday’s press conference, Rubio doubled down on goals …READ THE FULL REPORT |
MICHAEL EVERY/OR OR PICTON/GIFFIN OR RABOBANK EXECUTIVE/COMMENTARY ON WORLDLY AFFAIRS
7. OIL ISSUES/NATURAL GAS/ENERGY ISSUES/GLOBAL\
Pump Baby, Pump! EIA Thinks OPEC Can Produce Far More Than Anyone Expected
Monday, Dec 22, 2025 – 07:20 AM
Authored by Julianne Geiger via OilPrice.com,
The U.S. Energy Information Administration quietly rewrote a key assumption about the global oil market this week: OPEC can produce more oil than previously thought.
In its December Short-Term Energy Outlook, the EIA updated how it defines and estimates OPEC crude oil production capacity. The result was a material upward revision.
The agency now estimates OPEC’s effective production capacity was higher by about 220,000 barrels per day in 2024, 370,000 bpd in 2025, and 310,000 bpd in 2026 compared with its earlier assessments.
The change didn’t come from new drilling or surprise barrels. It came from a rethink of what “capacity” actually means.
The EIA refined two concepts it uses to assess supply risk: maximum sustainable capacity and effective production capacity. Maximum sustainable capacity is the theoretical upper limit a producer could reach within a year if everything runs smoothly. Effective capacity is more practical — the amount of oil that could realistically be brought online within 90 days and sustained without damaging fields or infrastructure. That second number is what the EIA uses to judge how much oil is actually available to respond to market shocks.
By tightening those definitions and reassessing disruptions, the agency concluded that OPEC’s buffer is larger than previously assumed. Because actual OPEC production estimates were left mostly unchanged, the revisions flowed almost directly into higher estimates of spare capacity.
This spare capacity serves as the oil market’s shock absorber.
When it’s thin (or thought to be thin), prices react violently to wars, sanctions, hurricanes, or refinery outages. When it’s fat, geopolitical risk carries less pricing power. In its latest update, the EIA is effectively telling the market that supply is less fragile than many traders believed.
This complicates OPEC+ messaging.
The group has leaned heavily on the narrative of tight capacity to justify production discipline. The EIA’s recalculation doesn’t blow that argument up, but it does weaken it.
As the EIA tells it, the market may not be as close to the supply edge as it thought. And that’s not a bullish message.
8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUES
VENEZUELA/USA
Venezuela Vows To Defend ‘Homeland At Any Cost’ – Orders Naval Escorts Of Tankers
Friday, Dec 19, 2025 – 06:25 PM
Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez has said Venezuela would defend the “homeland at any cost” in response to President Trump’s declaration that he’s imposing a blockade on all “sanctioned” tankers entering and leaving Venezuelan ports.
“We say to the US government and its president that we are not intimidated by their crude and arrogant threats,” Padrino Lopez said on Wednesday. “The dignity of this homeland is neither negotiable nor cowed by absolutely anyone.”
Padrino Lopen also told state TV that the blockade violates the UN Charter. “For this reason, these actions amount to an open act of aggression, and we are declaring this to the entire world,” he said.
The New York Times reported that, in the wake of Trump’s threat, which he issued on Tuesday night, the Venezuelan Navy began escorting tankers leaving Venezuelan ports, meaning that if the US attempts to seize another tanker that has a naval escort, it could lead to a direct clash between the US and Venezuelan militaries.
According to a report from The Associated Press, about 30 tankers under US sanctions were navigating near Venezuela as of Wednesday, and sanctioned vessels carried about 18% of Venezuela’s international shipments this year.
Also on Wednesday, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez issued a statement rejecting President Trump’s claims to Venezuela’s oil and land.
“Venezuela, in the full exercise of the International Law that protects us, our Constitution, and the laws of the Republic, reaffirms its sovereignty over all its natural resources, as well as the right to free navigation and free trade in the Caribbean Sea and the oceans of the world,” she said.
Venezuela has ordered its navy to escort oil tankers leaving port & has lately aired footage of its military ‘readiness’ along the coast…
“His true intention, which has been denounced by Venezuela and the people of the United States in massive demonstrations, has always been to seize the country’s oil, land, and minerals through gigantic campaigns of lies and manipulation,” Rodriguez added.
END
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN CLOSING MARKETS AND EUROPEAN BOURSE OPENING AND CLOSING/ INTEREST RATE SETTINGS MONDAY MORNING 6;30AM//OPENING AND CLOSING
EURO/USA: 1.1732 UP 0.0025 PTS OR 25 BASIS POINTS/WITH STOCKS IN EUROPE ALL GREEN
USA/ YEN 157.35 DOWN 0.315 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 DEC 2024/Bank of Japan raises rates by .25% TO1.75 ..TAKAICHI NEW PM AS YIELDS RISE//JAPAN DEEPLY IN TROUBLE WITH RISING RATES AND A FALLING YEN!!
GBP/USA 1.3435 UP .0093 OR 83 BASIS PTS
USA/CAN DOLLAR: 1.3768 DOWN 0.0029 CDN DOLLAR UP 29 BASIS PTS//CDN DOLLAR STILL GETTING KILLED)
Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED UP 26.92 PTS OR 0.69%
Hang Seng CLOSED UP 111.24 PTS OR 0.43%
AUSTRALIA CLOSED UP 0.02%
// EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL RED
Trading from Europe and ASIA
I) EUROPEAN BOURSES: ALL RED
2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED UP 111.24 PTS OR 0.43%
/SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 26.92 POINTS OR 0.690%
AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED UP 0.02 %
(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED UP 895.18 PTS OR 1.02%
INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE GREEN
Gold very early morning trading: 4409.95
silver:$69.11
USA dollar index early MONDAY morning: 98.15 DOWN 1 BASIS POINTS FROM FRIDAY’s CLOSE
MONDAY MORNING NUMBERS ENDS
And now your closingMONIDAY NUMBERS 11: 30 AM
Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 3.151 % DOWN 2 in basis point(s) yield
JAPANESE BOND 10 yr YIELD: +1.963% DOWN 2 FULL POINTS AND 0/100 BASIS POINTS /JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/
JAPAN 30 YR: 3.378 UP 3 BASIS PTS//DEADLY
SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.287 DOWN 2 in basis points yield
ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD 3.5111 DOWN 2 points in basis points yield ./ THE ECB IS QE’ ING ITALIAN BONDS (BUYING ITALIAN BONDS/SELLING GERMAN BUNDS)
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 2.8575 DOWN 1 BASIS PTS
IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES : MID DAY MONDAY
Closing currency crosses for day /USA DOLLAR INDEX/USA 10 YR BOND YIELD/1:00 PM
Euro/USA 1.1738 DOWN 0.0005 OR 5 basis points
USA/Japan: 155.40 DOWN 0.096 OR YEN IS UP 10 BASIS PTS// HIGHLY INFLATIONARY TO JAPAN
Great Britain 10 YR RATE 4.4870 UP 1 BASIS POINTS //
GREAT BRITAIN 30 YR BOND; 5.213 DOWN 2 BASIS POINTS.
Canadian dollar DOWN 0.009 OR 9 BASIS pts to 1.3778
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The USA/Yuan CNY UP AT 7.0408 ON SHORE ..
THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE UP TO 7.0328
TURKISH LIRA: 42.74 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WATCH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.//
the 10 yr Japanese bond yield at +1.953 DOWN 2 FULL basis pts
THE 30 YR JAPANESE BOND YIELD: 3.378 UP 3 basis pts
Your closing 10 yr US bond yield DOWN 4 in basis points from WEDNESDAY at 4.112% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%)
USA 30 yr bond yield 4.803 DOWN 3 basis points /11:00 AM
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 3.452 DOWN 4 BASIS PTS.
GOLD AT 10;00 AM 4331.70
SILVER AT 10;00: 65.81
Your 11:00 AM bourses for Europe and the Dow along with the USA dollar index closing and interest rates:MONIDAY CLOSING TIME 11:00 AM//
London: CLOSED DOWN 31.45 PTS OR 0.32%
GERMAN DAX: DOWN 4.43pts or 0.02%
FRANCE: CLOSED DOWN 30.31 pts or 0.57%
Spain IBEX CLOSED DOWN11.80pts or 0.07%
Italian MIB: CLOSED DOWN 163.95. or 0.47%
WTI Oil price 56.50 10.00 EST/
Brent Oil: 60.01 10:00 EST
USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE /// AT: 79.81 ROUBLE DOWN 0 AND 68/ 100
CDN 10 YEAR RATE: 3.409 DOWN 3 BASIS PTS.
CDN 5 YEAR RATE: 2.956 DOWN 3 BASIS PTS
CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM
Euro vs USA 1.1758 UP 0.0050 OR 50 BASIS POINTS//
British Pound: 1.3461 UP 0.0088 OR 88 basis pts/
BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD: 4.5190 DOWN 2 FULL BASIS PTS//
BRITISH 30 YR BOND YIELD: 5.271 UP 0 IN BASIS PTS.
JAPAN 10 YR YIELD: 2.074 UP 6 FULL BASIS PTS (DANGEROUS TO THEIR ECONOMY
JAPANESE 30 YR BOND: 3.423 UP 2 PTS AND STILL VERY DANGEROUS TO THEIR ECONOMY
USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 156.98 DOWN 0.753 OR YEN DOWN 201 BASIS PTS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS/YEN FALLING DEEPLY IN VALUE
USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.3749 DOWN 0.0049 PTS// CDN DOLLAR UP 49 BASIS PTS
West Texas intermediate oil: 59.04
Brent OIL: 62.05
USA 10 yr bond yield DOWN 1 BASIS pts to 4.167
USA 30 yr bond yield UP 1 PTS to 4.842%
USA 2 YR BOND 3.505 UP 2 PTS
CDN 10 YR RATE 3.465 DOWN 1 BASIS PTS
CDN 5 YEAR RATE: 2.990 DOWN 1 BASIS PTS
USA dollar index: 97.95 DOWN 30 BASIS POINTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 42.81 GETTING QUITE CLOSE TO BLOWING UP/
USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE: 78.80 UP 1 AND 70/100 roubles //
GOLD $4,436.60(3:30 PM)
SILVER: 68.35 3;30 PM)
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: UP 227.79 OR 0.47 %
NASDAQ 100 UP 121.21 PTS OR 0.52%
VOLATILITY INDEX 14.10 DOWN 0.81 PTS OR 5.42.%
GLD: $ 408.23 UP 9.21 PTS OR 2.31%
SLV/ $62.47 UP 1.54 PTS OR OR 2.53%
TORONTO STOCK INDEX// TSX INDEX: CLOSED UP 229.51 PTS OR 0.72%
end
TRADING today ZEROHEDGE 4 PM: HEADLINE NEWS/TRADING
Bullion & Black Gold Bid, Bonds & The Dollar Skid As Santa Rally Starts In Stocks
WRAP UP
Stocks trend higher in quiet trade ahead of data – Newsquawk US Market Wrap
Monday, Dec 22, 2025 – 03:59 PM
- SNAPSHOT: Equities up, Treasuries down, Crude up, Dollar down, Gold up.
- REAR VIEW: Miran refuses to commit to January decision; Further Japanese officials jawboning; Japanese FinMin says they have “free hand” to take bold action on the JPY; Trump could name new Fed Chair in first week of Jan.; Soft US 2yr auction; NVDA plans to begin first shipments of H200 AI chips to China before mid-Feb; HON cuts guidance; Wells Fargo says ORCL is undervalued.
- COMING UP: Data: German Import Prices (Nov), Spanish GDP Final (Q3), US Richmond Fed (Dec), Durable Goods (Oct), GDP Advance (Oct), PCE Prices (Q3), Industrial Production, Consumer Confidence, Canadian GDP Events: RBA Minutes (Dec Meeting), BoC Minutes (Dec Meeting), BoJ Minutes (Oct) Supply: US.
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MARKET WRAP
The trading day was quiet, but stocks trended higher throughout Europe and the US sessions before paring slightly into the close – the Russell led the gains. Materials, Financials and Energy outperformed sector wise with Materials benefitting from upside in metals prices. The Energy sector was buoyed by gains in crude prices as geopolitical tensions mount with regard to Venezuela, Russia/Ukraine, and Syria. There are also concerns regarding Israel and Iran after Iran conducted missile drills. Regarding the laggards, Staples was the only sector in the red, while Tech and Utilities also underperformed, albeit still closed green. Chip names were firmer with SMH and SOXX ETF rising over 1% with NVIDIA (NVDA) gaining on reports it is preparing to export H200 chips to China from mid-February in 2026, albeit it is still awaiting government approval. T-Notes settled slightly lower across the curve ahead of supply this week, while the 2-year note auction was lacklustre, albeit with little reaction. Miran also spoke, who hinted at slowing down his rate cut votes to 25bps from his usual 50bps dissent, but also no move was seen with the Fed largely expected to hold in January following the guidance tweak in December. In FX, the Dollar lagged while Antipodes outperformed on the upside in stocks and base metals. The Yen also strengthened after more commentary from Finance Minister Katayama – who said they have a free hand to take bold action on the Yen. Attention turns to the quarterly PCE and GDP data on Tuesday, as well as Consumer Confidence and Industrial production. Treasury traders will be eyeing the auctions ahead of Christmas.
US
MIRAN (dove): The Governor refused to commit to a January decision, as when he was asked about reducing rates by 50bps in January, the uber-dove said given policy moves thus far, the need for him to dissent and vote for 50bps again has become a bit less, and he needs to see the data before making a decision. The Trump appointee added the Fed can get to a point of ‘micro managing’ the policy rate when they get closer to neutral, but they are not there yet. On data, Miran remarked there were some anomalies in the inflation metrics from the shutdown, and the data suggests the Fed should be moving in a dovish direction. Re. the neutral rate, Miran said it has shifted lower, policy needs to reflect this, and it is important that the policy rate continues to be adjusted down, as if not, the risk of recession increases. Lastly, he is unsure if he will stay on at the Fed, but noted if no one is confirmed for his seat by end-January, will assume he is staying on.
FIXED INCOME
T-NOTE FUTURES (H6) SETTLE 5 TICKS LOWER AT 112-11
T-Notes see mild pressure overnight, tracking JGBs, with limited price action in the US trading session ahead of data. At settlement, 2-year +2.12bps at 3.507%, 3-year +3.06bps at 3.556%, 5-year +2.46bps at 3.714%, 7-year +2.87bps at 3.929%, 10-year +2.55bps at 4.167%, 20-year +1.24bps at 4.794%, and 30-year +2.14bps at 4.841%.
INFLATION BREAKEVENS: 5-year TIPS +2.4bps at 1.447%, 10-year TIPS +2.3bps at 1.919%, 30-year TIPS +1.9bps at 2.639%.
THE DAY: T-Notes see slight pressure across the curve in very quiet trade ahead of the Christmas holiday. The majority of pressure was seen overnight tracking JGBs lower as pressure continues post-BoJ in the tail end of last week. The only data to digest from the US was the Chicago National Fed Activity Index for September, which saw further weakness, and briefly lifted USTs a couple of ticks slightly before paring thereafter. Fed speak saw Governor Miran on Bloomberg TV, who toed his usual dove stance noting there is still room to go before reaching the neutral rate. He had not made up his mind yet for January when asked if he would vote for a 25 or 50bps cut, but noted given policy moves thus far, the need for him to dissent and vote for 50bps again has become a bit less. As such, it could mean if the Committee decides to hold, he could dissent in favour of a 25bps reduction. Miran also added he wants to see the data, but also noted as they get closer to neutral they can “micro manage” the policy rate, as opposed to taking bigger steps – T-Notes were unphased by Miran’s comments and largely traded sideways throughout the US session. Then came the 2-year auction (more below), which was on the softer side but had little impact on prices. Tuesday will likely be the highlight before Christmas with quarterly GDP and PCE data due, as well as Industrial Production and Consumer Confidence. There will also be the 5-year T-Note auction and 2-year FRN.
SUPPLY:
NOTES:
- The US Treasury sold USD 69bln of 2-year notes at a high yield of 3.499%, tailing the when issued by 0.3bps, a worse sign of demand when compared to the prior auction (which came in on the screws) and the six auction average for a 0.4bps stop through – it was also the largest tail since April, and the fourth tail in 2025. The bid-to-cover of 2.54x was also soft vs the prior 2.68x and average 2.61x. The breakdown saw direct demand rise to 34.1% from 30.7% (above the 31.7% average), offsetting most of the drop in indirect demand to 53.2% from 58.1% (six auction average 57.1%), leaving dealers with 12.7% of the auction, slightly above the prior and average of 11.2%. Overall, a soft auction but with little price reaction.
- US to sell USD 70bln 5-year notes on December 23rd; to sell USD 44bln 7-year notes on December 24th
Bills
- US sold USD 90bln of 3-month bills at high-rate of 3.560%, B/C 2.86x;
- US sold USD 80.5bln of 6-month at high-rate 3.485%, B/C 3.18x
- US to sell USD 75bln 6-week bills and USD 50bln of 52-week bills on December 23rd.
STIRS/OPERATIONS
- Market Implied Fed Rate Cut Pricing: January 5bps (prev. 5.5bps), March 15bps (prev. 13.9bps), April 22bps (prev. 22.0bps), December 55.7bps (prev. 59.6bps).
- NY Fed RRP Op demand at USD 1.523bln (prev. 3.075bln) across 7 counterparties (prev. 12).
- NY Fed SOMA Reserve Management T-Bill Purchases: Buys USD 6.8bln of USD 43.351bln offered; Offer to cover 6.4x.
- EFFR at 3.64% (prev. 3.64%), volumes at USD 93bln (prev. 88bln) on December 19th
- SOFR at 3.66% (prev. 3.66%), volumes at USD 3.238tln (prev. 3.273tln) on December 19th.
CRUDE
WTI (G6) SETTLED USD 1.49 HIGHER AT 58.01/BBL; BRENT (G6) SETTLED USD 1.60 HIGHER AT 62.07/BBL
The crude complex was firmer to start the holiday-truncated week, amid a raft of geopolitical concerns. Energy saw gains as geopolitical tensions mount about Venezuela, Russia/Ukraine, and Syria, in addition to concerns regarding Israel and Iran after Iran conducted missile drills. On the former, over the weekend, US authorities seized a second Venezuelan oil tanker, whereby a US official said the pursuit was related to a “sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion”, with the latest news stating US is pursuing a third oil tanker linked to Venezuela. Meanwhile, according to Axios sources, Israeli officials warned the Trump admin that an Iranian IRGC missile exercise could be preparations for a strike on Israel, but separate reports noted US intelligence currently has no indication an Iranian attack is imminent. As such, and amid the oil-bullish geopolitics, benchmarks ground higher throughout the duration of the EU and US session, to see WTI hit a high of USD 58.13/bbl and Brent USD 62.16/bbl. Looking ahead, the calendar is very thin, and in a day of light newsflow as participants await the upcoming Christmas holidays.
EQUITIES
CLOSES: SPX +0.56% at 6,873, NDX +0.46% at 25,462, DJI +0.47% at 48,363, RUT +1.08% at 2,557.
SECTORS: Materials +1.35%, Financials +1.25%, Industrials +1.12%, Energy +1.08%, Real Estate +0.71%, Health +0.66%, Consumer Discretionary +0.63%, Communication Services +0.57%, Utilities +0.42%, Technology +0.40%, Consumer Staples -0.41%.
EUROPEAN CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 -0.32% at 5,742, Dax 40 +0.03% at 24,296, FTSE 100 -0.32% at 9,866, CAC 40 -0.37% at 8,121, FTSE MIB -0.37% at 44,594, IBEX 35 -0.07% at 17,158, PSI -0.25% at 8,191, SMI -0.08% at 13,161, AEX -0.20% at 943.
STOCK SPECIFICS:
- Adeia (ADEA) entered into a long-term media IP license agreement with Disney (DIS); ADEA also raised FY25 revenue view to USD 425–435mln (exp. 365.75mln, prev. 360–380mln).
- Alphabet (GOOGL) is to acquire Intersect for USD 4.75bln cash plus debt. Note, First Solar (FSLR) saw strength as Intersect is one of their customers.
- Apple (AAPL) will reportedly launch two new AI wearable devices next year, including AI glasses and AI AirPods.
- Cintas (CTAS) proposes to acquire UniFirst (UNF) for USD 275/shr in cash; UNF closed Friday at USD 170.16/shr.
- Clearwater Analytics (CWAN) entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired for ~USD 8.4bln or 24.55/shr in cash; CWAN closed Friday at 22.25/shr
- Honeywell International (HON) lowered FY and Q4 guidance.
- Janus Henderson (JHG) confirmed that the Co. is to be acquired by Trian Fund Management and General Catalyst for USD 49/shr in a USD 7.4bln deal.
- NVIDIA (NVDA) plans to begin first shipments of H200 AI chips to China before mid-February. Initial shipments of H200 chips to China are expected to be ~40-80k units, but sources noted significant uncertainty remains as Beijing has yet to approve any H200 purchases, and the timeline could shift depending on government decisions, according to Reuters citing sources.
- Paramount Skydance (PSKY) amended its USD 30/shr all-cash offer for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD); Larry Ellison has agreed to provide an irrevocable personal guarantee of USD 40.4bln of the equity financing for the offer and any damages claims against Paramount.
- UBS now sees Tesla’s (TSLA) Q4 deliveries now seen at 415k (prev. 429k); updated forecast is informed by weaker US deliveries given the ending of the USD 7.5k EV consumer tax credit at the end of September.
- Wells Fargo says recent AI-related pessimism has left Oracle (ORCL) undervalued and reiterates an ‘Overweight’ rating with a PT of USD 280.
- Strategy (MSTR) increased its cash reserve to USD 2.2bln but paused purchases in Bitcoin.
FX
The Dollar was weaker on Monday, in a lack of headline-driven newsflow and thin liquidity as participants count down the days to the Christmas break. While scheduled events were thin for today, Tuesday sees the release of quarterly GDP and PCE data, as well as US Consumer Confidence. Fed’s most dovish member, Miran, spoke, who appeared to tone down his uber-dove tone since his appointment. When asked about a 50bps January cut, the Governor said given policy moves thus far, the need for him to dissent and vote for 50bps again has become a bit less, and he needs to see the data before making a decision. Elsewhere on the Fed footing, and In fitting with recent reports, CNBC cited sources, said Trump could name the new Fed chair by the first week of January. DXY printed a low of 98.196, vs. an earlier high of 98.699.
G10 FX was all higher and profited off the flailing Buck, as Antipodeans and GBP outperformed, and CAD ‘underperformed’, but still saw solid gains vs. the Greenback. In the G10 space, the main story was the Yen, where we saw some more jawboning from Top Currency Diplomat Mimura overnight; said he is recently seeing one-sided, rapid moves, will take appropriate action against excessive moves, and concerned about FX moves. Despite there being little move, the Yen saw notable strength in wake of the Finance Minister Katayama stating they have a “free hand” to take bold action on the JPY. Immediately, USD/JPY tumbled to c. 156.85 from 157.40, with the pair printing a further low of 156.71, and currently residing around 157.
Antipodeans were buoyed by the broader risk-on sentiment and the upside in underlying metals prices, which saw NZD/USD and AUD/USD hit peaks of 0.5801 and 0.6660, respectively.
For the Euro watchers, ECB’s Kazimir, Vujcic, and Schnabel spoke, albeit with little market reaction. Vujcic said the next Deposit Rate move could be in either direction, while the latter remarked one should not expect a rate hike at present or in the foreseeable future, and at some point they will need to raise rates, but not in the foreseeable future.
EMFX was mixed with little currency-specific newsflow. In LatAm, focus in Venezuela resides around US continuing to seize oil cargoes, while in Brazil, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, ex-President Jair Bolsonaro’s son, stated the presidential platform is to include tax cuts and privatisations, eyeing postal service and Petrobras divestments Lastly, China’s Commerce Ministry is to impose levies of up to 42.2% on EU dairy products, effective 23rd December, following its anti-subsidy probe.
END
USA ECONOMIC COMMENTARIES
Watch: US Naval Forces Now Have Suicide Drones
Friday, Dec 19, 2025 – 11:00 PM
U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the 5th Fleet successfully tested a low-cost kamikaze drone from the deck of the USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32), an Independence-class littoral combat ship.
The test of the Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) was completed in the Arabian Gulf region and marks a “significant milestone in rapidly delivering affordable and effective unmanned capabilities to the warfighter,” Vice Adm. Curt Renshaw, commander of NAVCENT/C5F, wrote in a statement.
The sea-based test follows U.S. Central Command’s announcement of the U.S. military’s first one-way-attack drone squadron based in the Middle East…
Cheap kamikaze drones are reshaping the modern battlefield by dramatically reducing the cost of precision strikes. Equipped with low-cost warheads, these drones cost a fraction of cruise missiles while being capable of swarming overwhelming missile defense shields. Their effectiveness has been demonstrated repeatedly in Ukraine, where cheap, disposable drones have crippled air defenses, struck critical power grid infrastructure, and oil/gas tankers.
end
Schweizer Exposes DEI Fraud Machine Inside Federal Contracting Complex
Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025 – 09:50 PM
Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute and the investigative journalist who broke the Clinton Cash corruption story, has uncovered what may be one of the most brazen grifts operating inside the Capital Beltway. His new reporting exposes deep cronyism and corruption inside the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program, where DEI-driven preferences opened the door for fraudsters to siphon off lucrative no-bid federal contracts.
Instead of supporting legitimate small business development, the 8(a) program has been a massive pipeline for pass-through entities that collect bidless contracts on silver platters while quietly outsourcing the real work to major consulting firms.
The result: Merit-based competition gets sidelined, and tens of billions in taxpayer dollars flow through shell operators, allowing the corrupt Beltway economy of parasites to loot taxpayers. The looting went into hyperdrive during the Biden-Harris regime years.
Remember the ‘Gold Bars‘ corruption story with the EPA? – Well, this 8(a) corruption turns out to be very similar: loot taxpayers as much as possible with Biden in the White House, who had no idea what was happening.
Schweizer has built a career exposing this kind of institutional rot, and the developments in the news cycle so far suggest the Trump administration is preparing to slam down the accountability hammer and smash parasites across the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.
“For years, DC insiders have exploited a federal DEI contracting program that provides windfalls to beltway elites. This open secret isn’t about helping the downtrodden; it’s about bagging no-bid paydays. The SBA’s 8(a) program is long overdue for reform,” Schweizer began the X thread post on Tuesday night, as well as publishing a report on The Drill Down.
He pointed out that his team “followed the money and found that the SBA’s ‘8(a) contracting program’ contains stunning levels of cronyism and corruption,” adding, “Corps win government contracts not due to merit but because they check the right DEI boxes. ZERO accountability!”
How the 8(a) scam works:
It’s one thing to catch fraud in Excel spreadsheets. It’s another thing to see it happening in the real world. As Schweizer’s team highlighted, undercover footage from O’Keefe Media Group showed 8(a) operators openly admitting to the racket…
“The floodgates opened wider when the Biden administration tripled contracting quotas for race-based awards. Money was even diverted away from veteran-owned businesses. Identity first, performance second — and the costs exploded,” Schweizer emphasized.
What makes the 8(a) scandal so critical is that no corner of the federal contracting world has been more gamed than the 8(a).
The program may have begun with good intentions, but the road to hell really is paved with them. In practice, it’s morphed into an arbitrary tollgate that every major contracting firm knows how to subvert through pass-through entities.
Everyone in the DC consulting world understands how the game works: set up a compliant 8(a) “small business,” win the no-bid award, and let the big consulting firms do all the work.
These DEI mandates have proven to make the government dysfunctional. It’s more hoops, more paperwork, more meaningless certifications, more administrative drag, and ultimately a worse product. Fraud is one thing. But the DEI overlay has turned the DC into a bloated and corrupt hellhole that ultimately sticks taxpayers with the inflated bill.
Schweizer ends the thread with a hint that an enforcement phase may be approaching, and that the days of operating this DEI scam in the shadows of the DC beltway could be numbered.
end
The Crisis Of Disability In America
Friday, Dec 19, 2025 – 10:35 PM
Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has an ongoing household survey to provide a snapshot of where we are in jobs and the labor market generally. This survey has usually proven to be the most accurate measure. Part of the survey includes questions concerning disability. It’s not about claims; it’s about answers to the following questions.
- Are you deaf, or do you have serious difficulty hearing?
- Are you blind, or do you have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses?
- Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, do you have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions?
- Do you have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs?
- Do you have difficulty dressing or bathing?
- Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, do you have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping?
You can take issue with this questionnaire and observe that people might perhaps exaggerate. Who, for example, hasn’t navigated a long flight of stairs and found himself rather fatigued at the end? Chronic obesity would tip the scales. At some point in the aging process, we all become disabled.
But let’s say you run the same exact survey for 20 years. Even with inaccuracies in reporting, even with a tendency to exaggerate, the trend line would still be highly significant if only because the survey methods remain the same.
Here is where the news gets grim. The latest survey reports that 36.63 million Americans have a disability. That’s an increase of 7 million over the summer of 2020, at the time when we were supposed to be in the midst of a debilitating pandemic.
The disabilities began to soar only after the inoculation was pushed and sometimes forced on the public.
The upward trend began in February 2021 and has not stopped.
Edward Dowd, investment analyst and author of “Cause Unknown: The Epidemic of Sudden Deaths in 2021 & 2022,” comments:
“The November US BLS Disability data has been updated and it’s grim … new highs across the board. Disaster.”
It is not plausible to attribute all the increase to the COVID shot, which is now widely acknowledged to be neither safe and nor effective. At the same time, it would be naive not to attribute some or a substantial or even the dominant part of the reason to the debilitating effects of the supposed cure. This is surely one of the great failures in the history of pharmacology. And the data here tells the story.
Other factors aside from the vaccine gone wrong might be substance abuse, depression, lack of exercise, poor diet, and the chronic disease problem generally speaking. The ill health both physical and mental in the United States is breaking all records. That is impacting reporting on disability and also the way in which labor markets are handling disability.
In the backdrop of this is a long-broken system for dealing with the disabled. People injured by the shots, for example, have essentially no options for redress because the makers lobbied for and obtained a liability shield in 1986. Even with documented and obvious harms, the injured have nowhere to go. One hopes that this unjust system will be revisited completely at some point.
My very first assignment in journalism school was to track the progress of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. I worked with a top lobbyist on the bill. The architects of the legislation were very well intentioned and wanted some federal attention on their plight. The bill banned discrimination, allocated vast new sums for benefits, and mandated all reasonable accommodation for the disabled, including physical upgrades of property.
As I looked at the legislation, and having many disabled friends myself, it became obvious to me that the legislation would certainly make a bad situation worse. It would turn a culture that was helpful toward the disabled into one that feared the liability associated with having them in the workforce. The mandates for physical improvements would be hard on business and breed resentment, and the jump in benefits would create a moral hazard that would increase the disabled population.
I explained all of this to the promoters of the legislation and begged them to back off, for the sake of the disabled population. They were aghast at my opinion and essentially told me to shut up. My report eventually was published (I wish I could find it) and warned of a coming disaster. That disaster did in fact come as unemployment among the disabled population grew for the rest of the decade. Business worried about liabilities and discrimination complaints worked on the margin to exclude these people from the workforce, and people began to resent rather than feel empathy toward the disabled population. None of this surprised me.
Sometimes the phrase “good intentions” gets thrown around too much. Not every government welfare program is rooted in good intentions. In the case of disability legislation, there is no question of the desire on the part of its promoters to advance the well-being of those with genuine issues and remove barriers.
Sadly, the Americans with Disabilities Act did exactly the opposite, which was easily predicted by anyone with a modicum of economic understanding.
Since those days, the problem has gotten worse. It is ever harder for the disabled population to be hired. Consider someone with severe autism, for example. The stipulations in the law make it difficult for them to be hired, and even working as volunteers can be looked at unfavorably by labor regulators. It is just much easier to exclude them from the workforce, thus avoiding liability risks and garnering extra attention from the law enforcers.
Now we see the problem getting much worse. With 36.63 million Americans reporting a debilitating disability, we see grave strains on health insurance and institutions that care for such people. With one in 31 children age 8 or younger identified as autistic, the problem is set to get much worse in the years ahead. Many of these people require full-time care, depending fundamentally on family. But when the family is not there, what happens? The institutions have to pick up the bill.
We have here the makings of a medical, social, and economic problem that no president or legislature is in a position to solve. It’s one that will vex national well-being for many decades during our lifetimes. Society aspires to care for such people and treat them with dignity but the regulations and laws have made that very difficult.
There is truth to the observation that societies should be judged by how they treat those least fortunate. America has generally done well but will it in the decades ahead?
END
Trump Announces $1.3 Billion In Sales Of ‘Gold Card’ Visas Since Dec. 10
Monday, Dec 22, 2025 – 04:15 AM
President Donald Trump announced Dec. 19 that his administration has sold more than $1.3 billion worth of “Trump Gold Cards,” a new immigration program offering expedited residency to high-skilled foreign talent, with proceeds going toward paying down the national debt.
In remarks to the press, Trump said that sales had exceeded $1.3 billion and described the Gold Card as a “green card on steroids.”
He said the option would allow companies to retain graduates from elite institutions, such as Harvard and Wharton, who might otherwise have to go back to their native countries upon graduation.
“They graduate from the top schools,” Trump said. “These people want to hire them. Now you’re able to buy a card and you’re able to keep people in the country.”
Trump highlighted how his immigration policy focuses on securing top talent and curbing illegal immigration.
“Under the Biden administration, 25 million people came in, and they came from prisons and mental institutions, and they were drug dealers and all sorts of people came in that shouldn’t be here. They came from the jails,” he said.
As Kimberly Hayek details below for The Epoch Times, the Gold Card allows businesses to purchase the visas for foreign workers, enabling them to stay indefinitely with work rights. The visa costs $1 million in the form of a donation to the U.S. federal government.
The program, which has been challenged legally, began accepting applications on Dec. 10.
Trump launched the Gold Card in September with an executive order and instituted a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applicants. The H1B fee exempts current holders and renewals, according to the White House.
Trump first proposed the Gold Card visas in February, floating a $5 million price tag for residency and a path to citizenship.
“Wealthy people will be coming into our country,” he said when he proposed the program. The administration launched a dedicated website in June.
When launching the immigration Gold Card program, Trump said it would “reduce our taxes greatly and hopefully bring some great people into our country.”
Payments go straight to the U.S. Treasury. Howard Lutnick, secretary of commerce, was instrumental in launching the program, he said.
Twenty states, however, filed a lawsuit against the $100,000 H-1B fee, arguing it goes beyond executive authority.
Meanwhile, proponents say the program fixes longstanding issues with the H1-B lottery system.
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON
KING NEWS
| The King Report December 22, 2025 Issue 7644 | Independent View of the News |
| As expected, The Bank of Japan hiked its policy rate to “around 0.75%,” the highest rate in 30 years. This is the fourth rate hike since Governor Kazuo Ueda took over the BoJ in 2023. Japan’s 10-Year (JGB) yield hit 2.02%. The 30-year hit 3.42% and the 40-year 3.72%, the highest yields since their debut years in 2007 and 1990. The yen/$ declined sharply and hit 157.49 at 10:36 ET. Silver hit $67.44; gold rallied moderately. Copper soared, as did Bitcoin. USHs fell modestly. The End of the Road for Japan – Robin Brooks, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution… Japan’s latest fiscal stimulus is sending the Yen into a new devaluation spiral We’re in the early stages of a global debt crisis. Longer-term bond yields are rising as markets grow increasingly fearful that high debt levels will be inflated away. A desperate search for safe havens is underway, which is what the “debasement trade” is all about… The problem is that this (QE) doesn’t fix the underlying problem, which is over-indebtedness. It just transmogrifies what would be a crisis in the bond market into a currency crisis… https://robinjbrooks.substack.com/p/the-end-of-the-road-for-japan The FT: EU agrees €90bn loan to Ukraine after frozen Russian asset plan fails – Money to be borrowed against bloc’s budget after leaders fail to agree on proposal using Moscow’s funds A Dark Day for Europe – Robin Brooks The decision to use joint EU debt issuance for Ukraine instead of Russian money is awful Joint EU debt issuance makes fiscal dysfunction – already acute – even worse. It’s already the case that high-debt countries like Italy and Spain give no aid to Ukraine because they’ve run out of fiscal space… joint EU debt issuance is financial engineering that uses German fiscal space to create the illusion that everyone is helping when that isn’t true… https://robinjbrooks.substack.com/p/a-dark-day-for-europe In Germany, a new poll suggests consumers are returning to economic uncertainty, amid rising inflation fears and debates about the future of pensions. https://t.co/zYYZNoeMLP @ekwufinance: Bank of America says it plainly: Soon every major commodity chart will look like gold. Why? Trump will run the economy hot; Gen Z buys every dip with zero hesitation; The Fed will be forced to run it hot as well; Liquidity + fiscal dominance + underinvestment = the same recipe that launched gold now applies to the entire commodity complex. And the most hated, underowned, mispriced commodity of them all? Oil…. Still the best contrarian trade on the board. https://x.com/ekwufinance/status/2001699550684127283 December U Michigan Sentiment 52.9, 53.5 exp, prior 53.3; Current Conditions 50.4, 50.7 exp & prior Expectations 54.6, 55 exp & prior; 1-year Inflation 4.2%, 4.1% exp & prior; 5-10-year Inflation 3.2% as expect and prior. The 50.4 Current Conditions reading is the lowest in the history of the survey back to January 1978. It is lower than the ’87 Crash, Crisis of 2008, and the Covid Crisis. WSJ: We Let AI Run Our Office Vending Machine. It Lost Hundreds of Dollars. Anthropic’s Claude ran a snack operation in the WSJ newsroom. It gave away a free PlayStation, ordered a live fish—and taught us lessons about the future of AI agents. @m3_melody: Existing Home Sales Non-seasonally adjusted were 293,000; the lowest for any Nov since 1999 except Nov 2008. Down -7.0% YOY & -18.4% MOM. Nov median sales price at $409, 200 up 1.2% YOY. Fewer biz days but methinks most analysts who say that have never worked a month end @RapidResponse47: @POTUS: “As of today, 14 out of the 17 largest pharmaceutical companies have now agreed to drastically lower drug prices for their American patients… This represents the greatest victory for patient affordability in the history of American healthcare by far.” https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2002101129086447998 University of Michigan Current Conditions for December Chinese researcher on US visa charged with smuggling E. coli into the country… FBI charges Youhuang Xiang, a J-1 visa holder from China, for allegedly smuggling E. coli into the US… The three scholars, who conducted research at the University of Michigan’s Shawn Xu Laboratory, allegedly received multiple shipments of concealed biological materials related to roundworms from a Chinese Ph.D. student in Wuhan, China, Chengxuan Han… https://www.foxnews.com/us/chinese-researcher-us-visa-charged-smuggling-e-coli-country-fbi-director-kash-patel-says The Bank of Japan rate hike, Japan’s fiscal imbroglio, bond yields jumping globally, ugly consumer sentiment, disappointing existing home sales, yada, yada, yada, did NOT matter to most of the Street – because it was December option and futures expiration. Stocks had to be manipulated higher! Fangs and trading sardines, of course, led the manipulation/rally for the $7.1 trillion expiration on Friday. ESHs traded mostly modestly lower until they rallied after 2 ET. ESHs hit 6854.50 (+24.00) at 4:30 ET and went inert. They broke lower after 6 ET. ESHs hit 6829.00 at 8 ET and then plodded higher until they soared 3 minutes before the NYSE open. ESHs went nearly vertical to 6887.50 (+57.00) at 9:59 ET. After a retreat to 6866.75 at 10:27, ESHs plodded to a daily high of 6893.75 (+63.25) at 13:15 ET. ESHs then did a lethargic and elongated A-B-C decline to 6879.25 at 15:44 ET. The late manipulation forced ESHs to 6890.50 at 16:03 ET. Positive aspects of previous session The Expiry Day manipulation occurred; Fangs and trading sardines led the rally, of course. Negative aspects of previous session Bonds declined globally. Precious metals rallied as silver jumped above $67. Copper continues to soar. Oil and gasoline rallied moderately. Ambiguous aspects of previous session When will accurate US economic data appear? First Hour/Last Hour Action [S&P 500 Index]: 1st Hour from NYSE Open: Up; Last Hour: Down Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to traders]: 6822.38 Previous session S&P 500 Index High/Low: 6840.02; 6792.62 WSJ: “Something is profoundly wrong with the U.S. welfare system—a problem that runs far deeper and is more dangerous than the shocking fraud in Minnesota that has been making headlines… real federal welfare spending has soared by 765%, more than twice as fast as total federal spending, and now costs $1.4 trillion annually. Were that money simply doled out evenly to the 19.8 million families the government defines as poor, each household would receive more than $70,000 a year.” https://x.com/SteveGuest/status/2002198667550249246 @KobeissiLetter: China is dominating the worldwide race for power: China now has a record 3.75 terawatts of power generation capacity. That capacity has doubled over the last 8 years. This is nearly 3 TIMES more than the US, which has ~1.30 terawatts of capacity. Furthermore, China has 34 nuclear reactors under construction, more than the next 9 countries combined. Nearly 200 other reactors are planned or proposed. https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2002013158958133672 At the same time, there are currently no large commercial nuclear reactors under construction in the US. @BraVoCycles: SPY OPEX Outcome on the Largest OPEX Expiration ($7.1T) in History Call open interest total: 1,088,777; Put open interest total: 3,518,913 About 99% of SPY puts expired worthless, as SPY closed at 680.59. Gone with the wind. Learn Wall Street tricks, the biggest poker game in the world. (‘Tis why there is manipulation!) https://x.com/BraVoCycles/status/2002128838860370324 Major Kentucky bourbon maker Jim Beam shuttering distillery for 2026 Kentucky’s $9 billion bourbon industry grapples with a glut of whiskey and a slump in demand at home. https://www.kentucky.com/news/business/article313847580.html Chicago Fed: Why Bubbles Occur: Revisiting the Rationality Debate Dec 2025 Economic theorists typically define bubbles not as boom-and-bust episodes but as situations in which the price of an asset is objectively too high compared with the asset’s intrinsic worth. Specifically, economists define a bubble as a case in which an asset price exceeds the discounted value of the cash flows that the asset is expected to pay out over its lifetime… (What is Bitcoin’s intrinsic value?) The point is that one cannot dismiss explanations of asset bubbles that arise when rational agents trade assets they understand are overvalued but believe they can trade profitably. Therefore, the exact role of market psychology remains an open question—one that can matter for whether and what type of policy interventions might be appropriate during asset booms… Rational models of bubbles in which agents disagree and traders buy assets so that they can sell them to someone else for a profit might therefore be relevant for studying some aspects of cryptocurrencies. But models of rational bubbles where bubbles are money-like objects may also be useful frameworks for studying this phenomenon… https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/economic-perspectives/2025/3 Boeing sells former Chicago headquarters for $22 million Boeing initially signed a 15-year lease in the Riverside Plaza building before later buying it for $165.2 million in 2005… https://www.costar.com/article/722805581/boeing-sells-former-chicago-headquarters-for-22-million Illinois House speaker gets $40M sports complex for alma mater (a high school; nothing for Bears!) https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-house-speaker-gets-40m-sports-complex-for-alma-mater/ WSJ: U.S. Oil Blockade of Venezuela Pushes Cuba Toward Collapse Cuba’s economy, long dependent on cheap Venezuelan oil, now struggles to function as a result of the U.S. military’s buildup in the Caribbean. Today – Traders want to be long for the Monday Rally, the post-expiry rebound, and the Santa Rally, which is technically the last 5 days of a year through the first two days of the ensuing year. Ergo, the Santa Rally window opens on the abbreviated Christmas Eve session on Wednesday. ‘Tis why ESHs are +18.50; NQHs are +106.75; Dec AU is +6.30; and USHs are -4/32 at 20:15 ET. Weekly MACD for the S&P 500 turned negative on November 21, 2025. It turned negative during the final week of 2025. The index did NOT break down until March 7, 2025. For the past 5 years, the S&P 500 Index did NOT break down until MACD fell below 100. It is 184.536 now. Ergo, on a weekly basis, it’s probable that a breakdown is NOT likely until latter January. S&P 500 Index with Trender Buy & Sell signals; MACD lower chart S&P Index 50-day MA: 6768; 100-day MA: 6647; 150-day MA: 6470; 200-day MA: 624 DJIA 50-day MA: 47,223; 100-day MA: 46,354; 150-day MA: 45,367; 200-day MA: 44,372 (Green is positive slope; Red is negative slope) S&P 500 Index (6834.50 close) – BBG trading model Trender and MACD for key time frames Monthly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 5799.20 triggers a sell signal Weekly: Trender is positive; MACD is negative – a close below 6420.50 triggers a sell signal Daily: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 6875.25 triggers a buy signal Hourly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 6799.78 triggers a sell signal Congressional Democrats’ approval lowest since 2009: Survey Just 18 percent of respondents approve of the job congressional Democrats are doing… while 73 percent disapprove… https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/congressional-democrats-approval-lowest-since-220220922.html @bennyjohnson: Photo released of suspected Brown University shooter Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old noncitizen from Portugal and former Brown University student. He was found dead at a storage facility in (Salem) New Hampshire. https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/2001849367385526510 Authorities believe the murdered MIT professor (Portuguese) and the Brown University shooting suspect attended the same school in Lisbon, Portugal. Brown University shooter Claudio Neves Valente cased campus for weeks before massacre, custodian told cops https://trib.al/ohs5zJW @paulsperry_: According to new Providence PD affidavit, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente fired forty-four (44) bullets from a 9 mm handgun, striking 11 Brown U. students, killing two. Ammunition included hollow-point bullets. Two “high-capacity” magazines were found containing 30 rounds each. Secretary Kristi Noem @Sec_Noem: The Brown University shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente entered the United States through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program (DV1) in 2017 and was granted a green card. This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country. In 2017, President Trump fought to end this program, following the devastating NYC truck ramming by an ISIS terrorist, who entered under the DV1 program, and murdered eight people. At President Trump’s direction, I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program. @LauraLoomer: The Providence, RI Chief of Police says the Brown University shooter was a Portuguese national named Claudio Neves Valenti. He was 48 years old and his last address was listed in Miami, Florida. The shooter was an immigrant student and a Muslim who shouted Allahu Akbar. This is why Brown covered it up. They wanted to protect an immigrant student. They should be held accountable… @nicksortor: Rhode Island authorities say Brown University shooting suspect Claudio Neves Valente made a “BARKING NOISE” while he was opening fire on students. “Don’t ask me — I don’t know why,” the RI Attorney General said. This is according to student interviews following the shooting. Authorities do not seem to believe he said “Allahu Akbar,” contrary to online reports. @elonmusk: Brown employs one “administrator” for every two students! @devorydarkins: Jesse Watters says what we are all thinking: “So one of the biggest murder mysteries in the country was solved thanks to a homeless guy who lived at the scene of the crime. Did Brown University know there was a homeless graduate living in the engineering building? If they did know, why didn’t they send investigators to interview him? If they didn’t know a homeless guy was living in the engineering building, then that’s a massive security breach. I’m not sure what’s worse, them knowing or not knowing. We hope homeless John gets the 50g’s because he deserves the reward. Isn’t it interesting that the public helped crack this case, because, for a week, investigators were yelling at the public.” https://x.com/devorydarkins/status/2002188483155374309 @ginamilan_: According to a Reddit post, the Brown University custodian, aka the homeless man, repeatedly warned police about the suspect, and they did nothing. https://x.com/ginamilan_/status/2002232941636727121 Judge Hannah Dugan Found Guilty of Felony Obstruction, Not Guilty of Misdemeanor Charge Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan was found guilty of the felony charge of obstructing and not guilty of the misdemeanor charge of concealing by a jury, following a four-day trial. Dugan was arrested by the FBI back in April, accused of helping an illegal immigrant named Eduardo Flores-Ruiz evade arrest by ICE… Dugan now faces up to five years in prison for the felony obstruction charge and a $250,000 fine. https://townhall.com/tipsheet/amy-curtis/2025/12/18/hannah-dugan-verdict-n2668145 @briannalyman2: Massive scandal: Fulton County (GA) admits they “violated” the rules in 2020 when they certified ≈315K early votes that lacked poll workers’ signatures. “We don’t dispute the allegation.” The SOS also found FC “violated Official Election… Processes” https://t.co/Gy9pgnbT8E FischerKing64: Remember that Trump was indicted for “pressuring” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to investigate election integrity in his state, and that this was linked with his impeachment. Kinda looks like Trump was right and was punished for asking appropriate questions. @kylenabecker: Fulton County does not contest that at least 315,000 votes were ILLEGALLY counted in the 2020 election? We’re not talking about a few hundred votes. 315,000. Biden, they say, “won” Georgia by 11,779 votes. Kind of puts that Fani Willis lawfare suit claiming Trump engaged in a “conspiracy” to contest the Georgia election in a whole new light, doesn’t it?… @Rasmussen_Poll: Georgia 2020: “I observed thousands of mail-in absentee ballots in pristine condition being counted at the back of the room … the paper looked perfect with no folds nor creases … I noticed that the print on the ovals looked perfect as well. The ballots had the appearance of being copied off a printer.” https://x.com/Rasmussen_Poll/status/2002146416379245058 Georgia 2020 Trust Deficit – Forensic audit – blocked 100 drop boxes – no surveillance videos 15 election routers – vanished 10 Dominion tabulators – vanished 20K ballot images – vanished 148K Mail-Ballot signatures – unverified 150K ballots – STILL locked up https://x.com/Rasmussen_Poll/status/2002039286917365863 Ex-CBS reporter @laralogan: So much for “no fraud in Georgia in 2020”. No wonder they went after so many people – they were so exposed. Zohran Mamdani appointee resigns after vile antisemitic social media posts resurface … including rants about “money hungry Jews” and defunding NYPD “piggies.”… https://nypost.com/2025/12/18/us-news/zohran-mamdani-appointee-catherine-almonte-da-costa-made-vile-antisemitic-comments-in-unearthed-social-media-posts/ @matthewschmitz: In 2016, Zohran Mamdani’s director of appointments wrote, “It’s important that white people feel defeated.” https://x.com/matthewschmitz/status/2001792082428465620 Zohran Mamdani picks failed progressive Biden nominee Julie Su as top ‘economic justice’ aide https://trib.al/cppJRv6 Who is named in the Epstein files? List of famous people exposed in bombshell release https://t.co/aIbEOHkg0c The DoJ pulled a picture of Trump from the Epstein file released on Friday. Team DJT later published it. Someone made an egregious mistake in removing it, which gave DJT foes a talking point. Reverend Jordan Wells @WellsJorda89710: BOMBSHELL at AmFest: Dead silence from the TPUSA crowd as Tucker Carlson spends his entire speech shilling for Islam… Zero cheers. Crickets. You could hear a pin drop. Tucker Qatarlson is officially gone. The man who once exposed the establishment is now a paid mouthpiece for Islamic apologists and Qatar’s agenda. Daily anti-Israel rants, soft on jihadist-sympathizing regimes… but suddenly Islam gets the kid-glove treatment? https://x.com/WellsJorda89710/status/2001977674588168315 @AJManaseer: This is unironically a good point when it comes to the Bears stadium. Illinois spent $2.5B housing, feeding and caring for migrants since 2020. Suddenly we can’t find a small fraction of that to support the state’s most popular sports team? At the very least we get better infrastructure, new public transit, and a sweet new stadium instead of lighting that money on fire. Congress established the Kennedy Center as a memorial to JFK. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/20/76h @BarbaraComstock: There are lawyers on the current Kennedy Center Board like @IngrahamAngle and Second Lady Usha Vance @SLOTUS and even Attorney General @PamBondi who apparently don’t understand that a Board can’t override law. What an embarrassment. Conan O’Brien stopped guests from calling 911 on Nick Reiner during explosive fight with dad Rob at holiday party: report https://trib.al/B9GclqE | |
SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT
Joshua Hall on X: “
BREAKING: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has just released HUNDREDS OF BOMBSHELL RUSSIAGATE DOCUMENTS proving that Barack Obama personally ordered CIA agents to manufacture false intelligence on President Trump and was actively “working with the enemy” to https://t.co/hMmTAKqg6A” / X
https://x.com/JoshHall2024/status/2001694999331680612
GREG HUNTER..INTERVIEWING STEVE QUAYLE
War On Silver, Now War For Silver – Steve Quayle
By Greg Hunter On December 20, 2025 In Market Analysis, Political Analysis2 Comments
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com (Saturday Night Post)
You know Steve Quayle as a renowned radio host, filmmaker, book author and archeological dig expert. Most people do not know that Quayle has four decades experience in the gold and silver markets. Quayle says the exploding record high prices for gold, and especially silver, are signaling big trouble brewing for the financial system. Are prices rising because we are near a global sovereign debt crisis or a wider war with Russia and Ukraine? Are currencies under pressure or is the bond market about to tank? It might be anyone of these, or all of the above, but one thing is for sure, the price of silver is going up well beyond the latest record high price. Quayle says, “This has been one of the most explosive weeks with events taking place. Those of us in the business have known that the powers that be have been making their war on silver for 50 years. For 50 years, they have been manipulating the price of silver . . . robbing primarily from the individual investor. The war on silver has passed. Now, we are looking at the war for silver that is underway. We are looking at a global treasure hunt for gold and silver, primarily silver ,for the burgeoning and exploding technology. Silver has properties that no other metal has.”
For example, Samsung just cut a deal in Mexico to reopen a mine and take all the production over the next two years. They are bypassing COMEX, CME and the LBMA and getting their raw silver directly from the mine. Quayle knows of nearly a dozen other big tech companies scrambling for silver. Quayle points out, “This is critical because the amount of silver that would normally be available to individual investors is being cut off at the mine.”
Quayle says China is one of the biggest players getting control of silver supplies around the globe. Quayle says, “People would be astonished that the industrial demand for silver outstrips the available silver. . .. Here is the bottom line: on the production side, silver is oversold dramatically . . .. By the way, I am told the official price for silver behind the scenes is $86 an ounce. . .. The question is how fast will the silver market accelerate and make it impossible for the average investor or private investor to acquire?”
Quayle is also seeing the end of the futures markets and the way silver and gold has been priced. Quayle says, “We are watching the end of the futures market in the United States and in London. The London Bullion Metals Exchange cannot deliver. In my opinion, they have cheated and lied.”
If they don’t have the metal to deliver, they cannot set the price. Quayle says, “Would you trust them with anything such as cattle futures, hogs or soybeans? Heck no. . .. Physical silver in hand still exists, but for how long? This is not a scare tactic. It is supply and demand. . .. I am telling people to get what you can while you can because the day will come when silver and gold will be unobtainable. . .. It’s critical for people to acquire what they can acquire now in silver. Gold is always your savings. Silver, historically, has been your barter fund. Gold is your savings account for the future, and silver is your way to make it to the future.”
There is more in the 58-minute interview.
There is an 8-minute video to explain how easy it is to ride out any terror attack or extreme storm. You can get more information on Starlink at Starlink123.com and Sat Phones at Sat123.com and BeReady123.com. You can also call 855-980-5830 and talk to a real human. Same goes for EscapeZone.com. where you can get Faraday bags big and small. You can also talk to a real human at EscapeZone.com by calling 702-825-0005.
Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog as he goes one-on-one with Steve Quayle warning you to prepare for much higher prices for silver and the financial storm that a failure to deliver physical silver will cause for 12.20.25.
(To Donate to USAWatchdog, click here)
SEE YOU ON TUESDAY.
harveyorganblog.com 
