From James Harkin (Webmaster & Editor of LindseyWilliams.net). Here is a summary of articles of interest from around the world for this week. Please LIKE the Lindsey Williams Online Facebook Page to see stories posted daily regarding the current state of the economy around the world.
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Latest News From December 2, 2016 to December 8, 2016:
- ALERT: Gerald Celente Just Released The Top 10 Trends For 2017 And They Will Surprise You
As we come to the end of what has been a wild trading year, here are Gerald Celente’s just released top 10 trends for 2017. Top 10 Trends For 2017. (King World News) Gerald Celente — Forecasting worldwide since 1980, never before have we observed so many key socioeconomic and geopolitical trend dynamics as those that will shape 2017 and beyond for both better and for worse… From Americans electing Donald Trump president – the darkest of dark-horse candidates whom the Trends Journal® was the first publication to forecast as winner (Trends Journal, May 2016) – to economic, financial, entertainment, technological and pop-culture mega-trends that will shape 2017, your audience and you will be ready to ride the waves and survive the dives ahead by knowing how to profit from this new-world trend order. - Massive Dollar Selling Ahead-John Williams
Economist John Williams has been forecasting a dollar selloff for a few years. It now looks like the manipulators are running out of options to keep propping up the U.S. dollar. Williams explains, “I think we are going to see massive dollar selling ahead. We have problems here not just with the economy, but you have the Fed faced with a circumstance where the U.S. banking system and the global banking system was threatened with collapse in the panic of 2008. The Fed and the Treasury decided they did not want the system to collapse. . . . All they did was buy time. Now, that time has basically run out. The economy has not turned around.” - It’s Not Over: Rogue Republican Elector Announces He Will Not Vote For Trump And Urges Others To Join Him
Donald Trump has already lost one of his electoral votes, and there are indications that a number of additional electors may be prepared to abandon him. Prior to the election, I warned my readers that we would not officially know who the next president would be until December 19th. On that Monday, the 538 members of the Electoral College will gather in their state capitals in all 50 states to formally elect the next president. Throughout U.S. history electors have voted according to the will of the people more than 99 percent of the time, but in 2016 there is a concerted effort to persuade Republican electors not to vote for Trump. If 37 Republican electors can be convinced to vote for someone other than Trump, that would keep Trump under the 270 vote threshold needed to win and it would throw the election into the House of Representatives. Most people had considered this to be a longshot, but on Monday a Republican elector named Christopher Suprun publicly announced in the New York Times that he will not cast his vote for Donald Trump. On the other side, there are at least 8 Democratic electors that have already publicly pledged to switch their votes from Hillary Clinton to a compromise Republican alternative to Trump. - Proof That The Elite Really Do Want A Global Society With No Possessions, No Privacy And No Freedom
If you listen closely, the global elite are telling us exactly what they intend to do. If they get their way, our world is going to look vastly different than it does now in the not too distant future. These elitists share a dream of an environmentally-friendly dystopian socialist paradise in which individual freedom is severely restricted for the good of the collective. Where you live, what you do for a living, what you are allowed to eat and how many children you are permitted to have would all be determined by an all-powerful central government that nobody would question or challenge. This may sound very bizarre to you, but the global elite really do dream of these things. A perfect example of what I am talking about is an article that recently appeared on the official website of the World Economic Forum entitled “Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better“. It was authored by a member of parliament in Denmark named Ida Auken, and as you can see she is quite convinced that we can achieve this type of society by the year 2030… - Robots to steal 15million of your jobs, says bank chief: Doom-laden Carney warns middle classes will be ‘hollowed out' by new technology
Robots could put 15million Britons out of work, the Bank of England Governor declared last night. In an alarming vision for workers, Mark Carney warned many jobs would be ‘hollowed out' as huge technological advances meant roles could be automated instead. The Bank has said the march of the machines in the workplace puts administrative, clerical and production staff most under threat. And it has even predicted that entire professions, such as accountancy, could be pushed to the brink of extinction as developments in computers make their roles redundant. - GOP Readies Cuts to Federal Workforce Under Trump
For years, Republicans in Congress have been eyeing an overhaul of the federal workforce — by reducing the number of workers and curtailing benefits and pay while making it easier to fire bad employees. Now, with a president-elect who has promised to do much the same, 2017 could be the best time in recent memory to make sweeping changes affecting those who work for the bureaucracy. One major plan is being readied by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The Utah Republican calls it “high on our agenda.” While details remain sketchy, it would likely mean big changes to the generous retirement benefits given federal workers, mainly by looking to shift new employees from a defined benefit into a market-based 401(k). - Eurozone Inflation Rate Highest Since April 2014
The eurozone’s annual rate of inflation rose to its highest level since early 2014 during November, but remained far short of the European Central Bank’s target as policy makers prepare for a Dec. 8 meeting at which they will decide whether to extend a bond buying program due to expire in March. The European Union’s statistics agency Wednesday said consumer prices in the eurozone were 0.6% higher in November than a year earlier, a pickup in the annual rate of inflation from 0.5% in October and its highest level since April 2014. - Multiple Jobholders Hit New All Time High As Part-Time Jobs Soar
While today's headline jobs number was essentially Goldilocks, with the payrolls print missing the expected print of 180K by just 2,000 jobs, it was accompanied by a plunge in the unemployment rate to 9 year lows as a result of a jump in the number of people leaving the labor force, and rising to a new all time high of over 95 million. But while the quantitative headline aspect is open to interpretation, the qualitative component of the November jobs print was – just like in the case of October – quite clear: it was ugly, again. Recall that in October, the Household Survey revealed that the number of full-time workers tumbled by 103,000 as part-time workers jumped by 90,000. The trend continued in November, when another 118,000 part-time jobs were added, paired with a far more modest 9,000 increase in full -time jobs. - Gold Prices Expected to Move Up With Sharia Law Revisions
Since it was first proposed last April, trading gold as a commodity within Islamic finance is now a reality. The pro-gold law was first adopted on November 19 by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions, which sets Sharia Law standards for finance groups. Historically, Islamic investments have been guided by Sharia Law, which prohibits financial practices like earning and paying interest on loans. It also outlines requirements for the exchange of commodities like gold and silver. Islamic law sees gold as a substance sold by its weight and measures; a commodity that must be immediately exchanged in equal amounts. These types of substances are called Ribawi, and traditionally include silver, dates, wheat, salt, and barley. Therefore, the idea of using precious metals as an investment vehicle or as wealth retention is new. - Obama administration fails to check immigrants against FBI databases, approves citizenship
Some 175 immigrants were approved for citizenship even though their names weren’t properly run through the FBI’s name-check databases, potentially missing red flags that may have disqualified them from naturalization, the Obama administration admitted this weekend. Homeland Security officials blamed computer code for the problem, which affected about 15,000 applications in total. The problem was significant enough that the government halted all naturalization ceremonies already in the pipeline and banned U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers from approving new citizenship applications beginning on Nov. 29, when officials acknowledged the problem in an internal email that was later obtained by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte. - How Trump’s Calls to World Leaders Are Upsetting Decades of Diplomacy
President-elect Donald J. Trump has broken with decades of diplomatic practice in freewheeling calls with foreign leaders. The call with President Tsai Ing-wen risks infuriating China, which wants to bring Taiwan back under mainland rule. By honoring the Taiwanese president with a formal call, Mr. Trump’s transition team implicitly suggests that it considers Taiwan an independent state. The U.S. has declined to recognize Taiwan since 1979, when it shifted recognition to the government in Beijing. Taiwan itself has yet to declare formal independence. Mr. Trump tweeted, “The President of Taiwan CALLED ME today to wish me congratulations on winning the Presidency.” - Kissinger and Brzezinski to Be Honoured by Nobel Institute and Oslo University
These two top officials behind major US wars (Iran/Afghanistan and Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos) and regime change (against Allende, Chile) will speak at the first of a new event, The Nobel Peace Prize Forum Oslo, created by the Nobel Institute in Oslo. More here. The leaders of the two institutions declare that they are proud to have succeeded in getting these two diplomats to Norway – and the media of course will be there. The event is sponsored by the California-based company InCircl – a marketing and mobile payment company. - Here Are The Biggest “Post-Trump” Market Risks According To Bank of America
As BofA's rates strategist Ralf Preusser writes in a note this morning, “not even a month since the US election and markets seem unrecognizable” adding that the Trump election represented a paradigm shift. Fiscal easing would take over from monetary easing and would allow for the dollar and rates to rise in unison, a trend not seen for a while. The bank notes that whilst the direction of the moves since the election is in line with its expectations and forecasts, “the speed has come as a surprise.” and while fundamentally the repricing has further to go, especially in light of OPEC’s decision to end the price war within the cartel, there are red flags emerging among which vulnerability of EMs, and the reaction function of the PBOC, while warning that investors should not forget that premature tapering by the ECB risks exposing the Euro area’s fault lines again. - 20 Years Later, Greenspan's “Irrational Exuberance” Has Become Even More Irrational
20 years, to the day, after Greenspan's iconic speech that warned of the unintended consequences of “irrational exuberance,” we find ourselves, yet again, in the midst of perhaps the largest asset bubble in history. In fact, Greenspan's warning, previously made in a speech on Dec. 5, 1996, eerily reflects many of the same concerns surrounding the market today with low interest rates and lower risk premiums driving an unprecedented equity bubble. “Clearly, sustained low inflation implies less uncertainty about the future, and lower risk premiums imply higher prices of stocks and other earning assets. But how do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated asset values, which then become subject to unexpected and prolonged contractions as they have in Japan over the past decade?” Of course, since Greenspan's initial warning in 1995 U.S. equity markets have bubbled up and crashed twice. Now, with the broader indices up 500-600%, one has to wonder whether “irrational exuberance” has once again “unduly escalated asset values.” - As Dakota Celebrates, Trump Advisors Propose Privatizing Oil-Rich Indian Reservations
With celebrations continuing at the site of the Dakota Access Pipeline protest (following the “Monumental victory” following the Obama administration's decision not to grant the construction permit), it appears the Trump administration has very different ideas. Having confirmed Trump's support for the pipeline (not to do with his investments), Reuters reports a Trump advisory group proposes the politically explosive idea of putting oil-rich Indian reservation lands into provate ownership. - Don’t Believe The Propaganda, China’s Rise Will Be The Big Shocker In 2017
Despite propaganda to the contrary, China’s rise will be the big story in 2017. Stephen Leeb: “Gold is back in business and barring some unforeseen event should soon resume its uptrend. As I recently argued, anything bringing oil to the dance would do the trick, and OPEC’s agreement to cut production fits the bill. Rumors circulating midweek that China planned to limit gold imports don’t alter this conclusion. They likely indicate an effort either to eliminate arbitrage (stemming from the fact that gold in China trades at a 10 percent premium to gold traded in the West) or talk gold down. China’s thinking on gold hasn’t changed, and the case for a near fantastical bull market in the monetary metal has moved closer… - A Devastating Collapse Looms As India Sees The Price Of Gold Selling At A Jaw-Dropping $1,600 – $3,000
With interest rates soaring, today the man who has become legendary for his predictions on QE, historic moves in currencies, and major global events, warned King World News that a devastating collapse looms as India sees the price of gold selling at a jaw-dropping $1,600 – $3,000. The Road To Global Collapse. Egon von Greyerz: “Today the Die Is Cast for Europe and the EU. This is what Caesar said when he crossed the Rubicon in 49 BC marching towards Rome, leading to a major change in Europe’s history. The Italian referendum taking place today (December 4) has a similar significance. The Brexit vote, in which Britain decided to divorce from the EU, started the breakup of the artificial construction of 500 million people being ruled by an unelected and unaccountable elite in Brussels. Even worse is an artificial paper currency, the euro, which is used by 19 out of the 28 EU countries. All paper currencies are of course artificial constructions that eventually become worthless, but to have a currency for 19 countries with different cultures, different growth rates and productivity and vastly different inflation rates is a total disaster… - What The Italian Vote Really Means And Why Commodities Are Set To Continue To Surge
On the heels of Italy’s no vote and Renzi’s resignation, this is what the Italian vote really means and why commodities are set to continue to surge. Here is what Peter Boockvar wrote today as the world awaits the next round of monetary madness: The Italians didn’t vote anti establishment I believe, they voted to keep the same sclerotic system in place. What a huge missed opportunity. Does this spell the end of the Euro experiment? Are we a step closer to a breakup? Maybe and I’ve heard all the scare stories but I still don’t believe it irrespective of the referendum outcome as the majority of Europeans still want it. Austria did not vote for the anti euro candidate and France may, and I emphasize may, elect a pro business President next year. This all said, if regulatory, labor and tax reforms don’t take shape in many European countries that have excessive debt levels and pathetic growth, then anything is possible… - Alleged “Consensus on Climate Change” Is Actually Only 75 Hand-Picked US Scientists
Considering that we're living in a time when news outlets on both sides of the political spectrum are screaming “fake news” about anything and everything written or said by anyone other than themselves, this article and the video before it will come as fantastic news for anyone looking to retire their status as a “climate denier” for good. If the whole “climate change” debate wasn’t so dishonest, so corrupt, and so fraudulent, once you finally find out where the numbers liberals have been throwing at you for years actually come from, you'd probably die of laughter. Unfortunately, when you consider how many hard working Americans Al Gore must have stolen from to become a billionaire based on a perpetual lie, it becomes less funny. - Italy's Monte Paschi Told To “Prepare For State Bailout”
On Sunday night, when we commented on the results of the Italian referendum, we said that while the Italian political limbo may or may not be an issue in the near term, a bigger problem for Italy will be the fate of Monte Paschi, whose 3rd bailout was likely doomed to failure after the failed referendum, which could unleash contagion upon the Italian banking sector at a very precarious time for Italy and Europe. Overnight, we got confirmation of that from not one but two sources, with Italian Il Sole 24 reporting that the Italian treasury is considering “precautionary” direct state intervention to rescue the bank, a plan that has already been sketched out by Rome and Brussels. The lender’s executives are meeting with European Central Bank officials today and may ask for a delay to a non-performing loan sale that’s part of the bank’s capital increase plan, the newspaper said. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Marcello Messori, economics professor at Luiss University said that “the probability of finding a natural market solution is very very low currently, due to the fact that instability implies that international investors have a lot of difficulties to decide in the short term for a very important recapitalization” and added that the ECB may give more time “if there is a solution on the horizon.” - Jim Rogers Reports on the Nation on Fire that Trump Will Inherit in January
In the following video, the RT network interviews Jim Rogers and several other members of a round table discussion over what the network refers to as “Trump-Lash.” Jim Rogers is of course, the international investor and co-founder with George Soros of the legendary Quantum Fund, from which Rogers retired from at age 37 because the Quantum fund was pumping out returns as high as 1,600%. One of the topics the round table discusses, is the recent surge in U.S. equity markets, and how those recent surges could ultimately come back later and make the impending collapse that much worse, however then again, they may not. Right now, we just don’t know, and markets can only handle so much uncertainty before the wheels begin coming off… The point the gentleman at the table make, is that the U.S. economy is in shambles, and nothing Trump or any other president will decide to do will ever be enough to prevent the long term devastation that lies ahead. In the short term, what happens is anyone’s guess. - Global Financial Markets Plunged Into Chaos As Italy Overwhelmingly Votes ‘No’
Italian voters have embraced the global trend of rejecting the established world order, but the “no” vote on Sunday has plunged global financial markets into a state of utter chaos. The euro has already fallen to a 20 month low, Italian government bonds are poised for a tremendous crash, and futures markets are indicating that both U.S. and European stock markets will be way down when they open on Monday. It is being projected that Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s referendum on constitutional reforms will be defeated by about 20 percentage points when all the votes have been counted, and Renzi has already announced that he plans to resign as a result. When new elections are held it looks like comedian Beppe Grillo’s Five-Star movement will come to power, and the European establishment is extremely alarmed at that prospect because Grillo wants to take Italy out of the eurozone. In the long run Italy would be much better off without the euro, but in the short-term the only thing propping up Italy’s failing banking system is support from Europe. Without that support, the 8th largest economy on the entire planet would already be in the midst of an unprecedented financial crisis. - The United Nations General Assembly Passes 6 Outrageous Anti-Israel Resolutions
Last Wednesday, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to adopt 6 outrageous anti-Israel resolutions. These resolutions address a wide variety of issues including “a two state solution”, the status of the Golan Heights and a “lasting solution to the question of the City of Jerusalem”. Unlike UN Security Council resolutions, these UN General Assembly resolutions are not considered to be legally binding upon the parties, but they do show that virtually the entire planet is in favor of dividing the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. In addition, even though the U.S. voted against each of these resolutions, there is still a tremendous amount of buzz that the Obama administration may decide to go along with a UN Security Council resolution that would set the parameters for a “two state solution” before the end of Barack Obama’s term comes on January 20th. I have not seen a single mainstream news article about these UN General Assembly resolutions that were just passed. The only way that I learned about them is because someone sent me a link to an announcement on the official UN website. In this article I want to share with you some extended excerpts from that announcement so that you can see for yourself exactly how the UN feels about Israel. - Wall Street’s Goldman Sachs Is Big Winner In Trump Election Victory
During the Democratic primary, Bernie Sanders demanded that Hillary Clinton release transcripts of speeches she made to Wall Street’s top banks, including Goldman Sachs. Her detractors claimed that a Clinton nomination as the democratic presidential candidate would be a win for Wall Street. While Donald Trump was campaigning he promised to “drain the swamp” in Washington, District of Criminals (DC) – by avoiding placing either lobbyists or Wall Street pros in positions of political power. Boy, how time flies! Yesterday’s certainties are certainly not today’s realities. Trump’s cabinet appointments are nestled firmly in the conservative wing of the Republican Party. - These Were Supposed To Be Hillary’s Numbers!
Good headlines just keep coming. The Chicago PMI index of Midwest economic activity jumps to its highest level in two years. The ADP employment report shows 216,000 new jobs added in November. US Q2 GDP growth is upgraded to a completely acceptable rate of 3.2%. Very nice numbers all. And – had the election gone a different way – a big help in easing the transition from one Democrat administration to another. Success breeding success. But a different number explains this apparently-accelerating expansion: US federal debt, which after growing by only $330 billion in 2015 soared by $1.38 trillion this year. For more on why this happened, see Another Election Year, Another Bunch Of Fake Growth Numbers. But for now it’s enough to say that $1.3 trillion is a lot for the entire US economy to borrow in a single year. For the federal government alone to do so is huge, and probably accounts for much of the recent above-trend growth. - Chinese Developers Rethink U.S. Real Estate Projects: “I See Danger…U.S. Real Estate Is Peaking”
For months we've been warning that real estate markets in NYC and San Francisco, among others, are getting ready to rollover as the market is about to be flooded with new supply of luxury apartments (see here and here). Real estate in both markets are just starting to show signs of cracking as the apartments sales cycle is getting stretched out and pricing growth has stalled. Now, per an article from the Wall Street Journal, wealthy Chinese real estate investors are admitting that the jig is up in large cities like New York and are running for the hills. With a substantial amount of capacity expected to come online over the next several quarters and a growth cycle that is entering its 8th year, one Chinese real estate investor admits “you get a sense now that it’s peaking.” - So THAT'S why he needs an army! EU's Juncker predicts WW3 after Italian referendum result
JEAN-CLAUDE Juncker today used the result of the Italian referendum to predict that the rise of anti-EU parties will spark World War Three. The Brussels chief said that the disintegration of the euro project would herald a return to the “tragic history” of a Europe at war. In a series of sensationalist remarks he said the continent was living through “dangerous times” due to a rise in opposition to the EU. His remarks mirror those of ex-prime minister David Cameron, who was widely mocked for predicting that Brexit would cause a global conflict. Mr Juncker is currently behind a concerted push by Brussels to acquire its own army which is being vigorously opposed by Britain. - The Propaganda About Russian Propaganda
In late October, I received an e-mail from “The PropOrNot Team,” which described itself as a “newly-formed independent team of computer scientists, statisticians, national security professionals, journalists and political activists, dedicated to identifying propaganda—particularly Russian propaganda targeting a U.S. audience.” PropOrNot said that it had identified two hundred Web sites that “qualify as Russian propaganda outlets.” The sites’ reach was wide—they are read by at least fifteen million Americans. PropOrNot said that it had “drafted a preliminary report about this for the office of Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), and after reviewing our report they urged us to get in touch with you and see about making it a story.” Reporting on Internet phenomena, one learns to be wary of anonymous collectives freely offering the fruits of their research. I told PropOrNot that I was probably too busy to write a story, but I asked to see the report. In reply, PropOrNot asked me to put the group in touch with “folks at the NYTimes, WaPo, WSJ, and anyone else who you think would be interested.” Deep in the middle of another project, I never followed up. - “Fake News” Has Been a Problem for Thousands of Years … Here’s How to Stop It
Throughout history, government officials have tried to stop “fake news” through various means. Socrates: For example, Socrates was killed in 399 BC for spreading “fake news”. His crime: “Failing to acknowledge the gods that the [mainstream media of the day] acknowledges”. William Tyndale: William Tyndale was killed in 1536 for spreading “fake news”. His crime: Translating the Bible into English so that everyone could read it for themselves, and no longer had to rely on the clergy to tell them what it said. - The ‘Fake News’ Con: A Case Study
The media have found a creative new way to explain away Hillary’s Clinton’s crushing defeat and their own humiliation. They have dubbed the agent of their mutual undoing “fake news” and talk about the phenomenon as though it made real sense. In an all too typical New York Times opinion piece this week Michael Lynch defines “fake news” as “pure fiction masquerading as truth” and presents it exclusively as a “right wing” phenomenon. Like many of his colleagues, Lynch suggests the Russian government was involved in planting fake news items and believes that such items, regardless of source, may have cost Hillary Clinton the election. - Trump’s Appointments — Paul Craig Roberts
What do they mean? Before I give an explanation, let’s be sure we all know what an explanation is. An explanation is not a justification. The collapse of education in the US is so severe that many Americans, especially younger ones, cannot tell the difference between an explanation and a defense, justification, or apology for what they regard as a guilty person or party. If an explanation is not damning or sufficiently damning of what they want damned, the explanation is interpreted as an excuse for the object of their scorn. In America, reason and objective analysis have taken a backseat to emotion. We do not know what the appointments mean except, as Trump discovered once he confronted the task of forming a government, that there is no one but insiders to appoint. For the most part that is correct. Outsiders are a poor match for insiders who tend to eat them alive. Ronald Reagan’s California crew were a poor match for George H.W. Bush’s insiders. The Reagan part of the government had a hell of a time delivering results that Reagan wanted. - The Biggest Worry About 2017 Will Surprise You…
The biggest worry about 2017 will surprise KWN readers around the world. Eric King: “Bill, anything you want to say to people around the world about the outlook for 2017?” Bill Fleckenstein: “I think the most important thing to keep in mind is how little we really know about what’s liable to happen next. We’ve got a lot of wild cards. And I think the uncertainty factor has to be much higher than it’s been in a very, very long time. Look, I’m known as a bear, right? But I’m really very optimistic and the reason I’m outlining the problems and I’m always talking about this is because we need a crisis to solve the problems. And so I’m rooting for the crisis to hurry up and hit. The longer we wait to fix things and the more we kick the can the road, the more impossible it is to fix the problems. Or said differently, the more painful it will be and the longer it will take to fix the problems. We don’t want to end up like Greece…To continue listening to the powerful KWN audio interview where Fleckenstein discusses what surprises to expect in 2017, whether or not the gold smash is finally over, and much more. - ALERT: Is This The Most Important Chart Of 2016?
As we kickoff trading in December, is this the most important chart of 2016? We see a 30+ year chart of 10-Year Treasury yields. This chart encompasses the multi-decade bull market in bonds, but it also shows that it is in danger of coming to an end as Treasury yields on the 10-Year are now reaching the upper limit of the trend channel. If the 10-Year Treasury yields break decisively above the trend channel, it would definitely be waving a caution flag that the 30+ year bull market may indeed be coming to an end… - House Quietly Passes Bill Targeting “Russian Propaganda” Websites
On November 30, one week after the Washington Post launched its witch hunt against “Russian propaganda fake news”, with 390 votes for, the House quietly passed “H.R. 6393, Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017”, sponsored by California Republican Devin Nunes (whose third largest donor in 2016 is Google parent Alphabet, Inc), a bill which deals with a number of intelligence-related issues, including Russian propaganda, or what the government calls propaganda, and hints at a potential crackdown on “offenders.” A quick skim of the bill reveals “Title V—Matters relating to foreign countries”, whose Section 501 calls for the government to “counter active measures by Russia to exert covert influence … carried out in coordination with, or at the behest of, political leaders or the security services of the Russian Federation and the role of the Russian Federation has been hidden or not acknowledged publicly.” - The Shocking Truth About How Barack Obama Was Able To Prop Up The U.S. Economy
Barack Obama is one of the biggest “Keynesians” of all time, but unfortunately most Americans don’t even understand what that means. In this article, I am going to share with you the primary reason why Barack Obama has been able to prop up the U.S. economy over the past eight years. If Barack Obama had not taken the extreme measures that he did, we would be in the midst of a historic economic depression right now. But by propping things up in the short-term, he has absolutely demolished our long-term economic future. But like most politicians, Obama has been willing to sacrifice the future for short-term political gain. If you take any basic college course in economics, you are going to learn about John Maynard Keynes. Without a doubt, Keynes was one of the most famous economists of the 20th century, and one of the things that he believed was that governments should go into debt and spend more money when an economic downturn strikes. By injecting additional funds into the economy during a time of crisis, he believed that the severity of recessions and depressions could be reduced. This approach ultimately become known as “Keynesian economics”, and in the post-World War II era virtually the entire world embraced it at least to some degree. - Italy referendum: ‘Period of uncertainty' predicted after Matteo Renzi's defeat – as it happened
Here’s a roundup of the latest on Italy’s referendum and its aftermath: Matteo Renzi is preparing to formally submit his resignation after voters dismissed his plans for constitutional reform in a crushing referendum that saw close to 60% of voters opt for “no”. He said “My experience in government ends here … I did all I could to bring this to victory. Renzi has called a cabinet meeting for 1730 GMT, after which he said he would tender his resignation. The margin of the rejection– close to 20 percentage points – was much wider than expected. On a high turnout of 65.47%, 59.11% of voters chose no; 40.89% went for yes. Overseas voters bucked the trend, voting overwhelmingly (64.7%) for yes. The vote prompted the euro to initially fall to a 20-month low against the dollar and then bounce back to its highest level since mid-November. But shares in Italian banks have tumbled. - Reprieve for Native Tribes as Army Denies Dakota Pipeline Permit
The secretary of the Army Corps of Engineers has turned down a permit for a controversial pipeline project running through North Dakota, in a victory for Native Americans and climate activists. A celebration erupted following the Sunday announcement at the main protest camp in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, where the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and others have been protesting against the 1,172-mile Dakota Access Pipeline for months. However it may prove to be a short-lived victory because President-elect Donald Trump has said he supports the project and policy experts believe he could reverse the decision if he wanted to. The line, owned by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners LP , had been complete except for a segment planned to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River. That stretch required an easement from federal authorities. The Obama administration delayed a decision on the permit twice in an effort to consult further with the tribe. - The New American Dream – A Life In Hock
We live in a society driven by debt. Cars, for example, have become hugely expensive (even on the low end) relative to what people can afford – because of the easy availability of credit. Which is the nice word used to speak about debt, intended to encourage us to get into it. It takes at least $15,000 or so to drive home in a “cheap” new car, once all is said and done. And the “cheap” car will have to be registered, plated and insured. It runs into money. And most new cars cost a lot more money. Which most people haven’t got. So they get debt. A loan. Which, when it becomes commonly resorted to as a way to live beyond one’s means as a lifestyle, drives up the cost of life for everyone. Including those who try to live within their means – or better yet, below them. When most people (when enough people) are willing – are eager – to go into hock for the next six years in order to have a car with an LCD touchscreen, leather (and heated) seats, six air bags, a six-speaker stereo, electronic climate control AC and power everything – which pretty much every new car now comes standard with – the car companies build cars to satisfy that artificial demand. Artificial because based on economic unreality. That is a good way to think about debt. It is nonexistent wealth. You are promising to pay with money you haven’t earned yet. - Stripped of Accounting Gimmicks, the US Has Been on the Verge of Recession since 2011
The Fed has a very serious problem on its hands. That problem concerns the fact that for seven years the Fed has spread the myth of a “recovery.” I say “myth” because the reality is that when you remove accounting gimmicks, the US has been a “hair’s breadth” away from a recession since 2010. The most obvious gimmick being employed is the phony “deflator” used to understate inflation and overstate growth. Everyone knows that the official CPI measure for inflation is bogus. But the Fed routinely uses a deflator that is even lower that CPI when calculating GDP. This sounds rather technical, so let’s run through this one step at a time. Consider this simple example. Let’s say that the US GDP grew by 10% last year. Now let’s say that inflation also grew by 10%. In this scenario, real inflation adjusted GDP growth was ZERO. - We Have Killed Capitalism-Jim Sinclair
Legendary gold and market expert Jim Sinclair says, “Markets do not exist anymore . . . and you can’t time what does not exist.” Sinclair contends a huge transition is underway, and the old system cannot be fixed. A new one is on the way, and the old one is going to end with a bang. Sinclair explains, “Right now, they’re eating each other, and the eventuality is, getting back to the steam pot, there is going to be a day when there is only going to be one shark left, one very fat shark left, and what happens next? That shark starves to death because it ate all the food. So, the end of this is the explosion of that steam cooker which is called capitalism.” - Americans Not In The Labor Force Soar To Record 95.1 Million: Jump By 446,000 In One Month
So much for that much anticipated rebound in the participation rate. After it had managed to post a modest increase in the early part of the year, hitting the highest level in one year in March at 63%, the disenchantment with working has returned, and the labor force participation rate had flatlined for the next few month, ultimately dropping in November to 62.7%, just shy of its 35 year low of 62.4% hit last October. This can be seen in the surge of Americans who are no longer in the labor force, who spiked by 446,000 in November, hitting an all time high of 95.1 million. As a result of this the US labor force shrank by 226,000 to 159,486K, down from 159,712K a month ago, and helped the unemployment rate tumble to 4.6%, the lowest level since August 2007. - Fake News and War Party Lies
“I have in my possession a secret map, made in Germany by Hitler’s government — by the planners of the New World Order,” FDR told the nation in his Navy Day radio address of Oct. 27, 1941. “It is a map of South America as Hitler proposes to reorganize it. The geographical experts of Berlin, however, have ruthlessly obliterated all the existing boundary lines … bringing the whole continent under their domination,” said Roosevelt. “This map makes clear the Nazi design not only against South America but against the United States as well.” Our leader had another terrifying secret document, “made in Germany by Hitler’s government. … “It is a plan to abolish all existing religions — Protestant, Catholic, Mohammedan, Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish alike. … In the place of the churches of our civilization, there is to be set up an international Nazi Church… - Prepare for a US interest rate rise before Christmas
Interest rates in the world’s biggest economy are going up before Christmas. That was the clear message from the latest set of US employment figures measuring job creation in November. Non-farm payrolls – the bellwether of demand for labour in the US – rose by 178,000, almost bang in line with what Wall Street was expecting. This was solid rather than spectacular, but good enough to trigger a move from the Federal Reserve, America’s central bank, when it meets later this month. Since it last raised rates this time in December 2015, the Fed has repeatedly found reasons to delay another increase in the cost of borrowing. But, after a slow start to the year, the pace of growth has quickened and unemployment has continued to fall, dropping from 4.9% to 4.6% last month. - “Economy Shattered, Currency Collapsing”: Venezuelans Wait In 6 ATM Lines For Enough To Buy Rice
A fistful of bolivars buys… well, next to nothing. A sad state of affairs in Venezuela. Is this how the economic crisis will play out in America? A cash strapped population, forced to the brink and stripped of their dignity? Unfortunately, it is already underway in Venezuela. Of course there is a higher standard of living in the United States overall, but tens of millions of people are already on the edge of poverty and tens of millions more can be brought to their knees in a matter of hours. Some 46 million Americans are already on food stamps, and reliance on digital systems, EBT debit cards and electronic transactions could make Americans more vulnerable than they appear on the surface. If the system shut down tomorrow, what would you do? How would you feed your family? Unless you are a prepper, the answer could make you uneasy. Long lines have been the norm in Venezuela for over a year now; shortages and rations just another part of their upended lives. But now, the sheer free fall of their currency’s value has made live even more precarious – forcing many to visit as many as six ATMs just for enough to buy very basic, cheap goods. - OPEC Oil Cuts May Revive US Fracking Boom
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has agreed to cut crude oil production, and, though there are few details, it’s likely to good news for U.S. oil drillers. OPEC’s decision to reduce oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day has already sent London’s Brent benchmark crude price up 8 percent to more than $50 per barrel. The U.S. benchmark price rose 6 percent to $47.97 on Wednesday. That’s good news for U.S. oil drillers who have been struggling to produce with prices under $50 a barrel. U.S. hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, operations can quickly respond to oil price changes, meaning lots of idle oil wells could come online in the coming weeks if prices keep rising. Indeed, International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol said U.S. shale oil would “pour” onto markets if OPEC somehow managed to raise prices. - Why Trump Will Be Unable To Save The American Coal Industry
It is no secret that the coal industry has faced hard times for the last few years. Environmental concerns led President Obama to institute more stringent regulatory requirements, while cheap natural gas created intense competition. Against that backdrop, many coal industry participants and investors hoped that President Trump would be able to reverse those fortunes. President Trump will undoubtedly do his best to help the industry, but recent events have shown that may be harder than it appears. Canada recently announced for instance that it would begin phasing out coal faster than it had previously planned due to increased environmental concerns. That’s a significant development because Canada is the fifth largest buyer of U.S. coal traditionally. - Winners And Losers Of The OPEC Deal
It’s no secret I’ve been one of the consistent naysayers about the OEPC deal. I was confident a deal wouldn’t be had, and that if they did manage to reach a deal—which seemed an impossibility given Iran/Saudi relations—it would have little to no effect on the supply glut. I was wrong on one account—they did manage to solidify a deal. It’s important to note before we look at the cold, hard facts of the deal specifics that I’m a proponent of letting markets correct themselves, and as such, I found it disturbing that the world was expectant that OPEC needed to solve the world’s oil supply glut by essentially manipulating oil prices through a controlled production cut, but nonetheless, all eyes were on OPEC. “Solve the supply glut!” the world seemed to scream. This perplexed me. - An interesting perspective on the War on Cash
It’s happening faster than we could have ever imagined. Every time we turn around, it seems, there’s another major assault in the War on Cash. India is the most notable recent example– the embarrassing debacle a few weeks ago in which the government, overnight, “demonetized” its two largest denominations of cash, leaving an entire nation in chaos. But there have been so many smaller examples. In the US city of New Orleans, the local government decided earlier this month to stop accepting cash payments from drivers at the Office of Motor Vehicles. - Demonetisation can permanently damage India’s informal economy
On November 8, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that ‘the 500 rupee and 1,000 rupee currency notes presently in use will no longer be legal tender from midnight’. This step of demonetisation was taken ostensibly for curbing black money and counterfeit currency notes. As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) figures, the higher denomination notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 constitute 86.4 per cent of the total currency in circulation in the economy, by value. Therefore, with the stroke of a pen, the government nullified 86 per cent of the currency in the economy. This huge monetary shock to the economy has both short-term and long-term effects. Firstly, such withdrawal of money supply in the economy has drastically reduced transactions and exchanges, primarily for those sectors which use cash. - The Great Unwind Unravels Hottest Rental Markets in the US. Now in San Francisco, New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, and perhaps a city near you.
Averaged out across the US, asking rents for apartments still rose in November on a year-to-date basis, though more slowly than before, with the median asking rent for a one-bedroom up 1.8% and for a two-bedroom up 2.2%, according to Zumper’s National Rental Price Index. In July, rents had still been up over 4% year-to-date. Since then, they’ve started ticking down on a monthly basis. But averages can cover up more than they reveal. On a city-by-city basis, a different scenario emerges, with rents going totally crazy in some la-la lands, as if it were still the summer of 2015, and in other cities, including the three most expensive rental markets in the US, rents are coming down hard. - Subprime Auto-Loan Delinquencies Surge to NY Fed’s Attention. Six million Americans are 90-plus days delinquent.
The increasingly turbulent sector of subprime auto loans bubbled to the attention of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In its Liberty Street Economics, it worries about the “notable deterioration in the performance of subprime auto loans” – Fed speak for the momentum with which these loans are going to heck. About six million people with subprime credit scores (below 620) are now at least 90 days past due on their payments for their car or truck. The New York Fed worries about the lenders that specialize in these loans, and it worries about the “large number of households” whose vehicles are at risk of repossession: “The increased level of distress associated with subprime loan delinquencies is of significant concern, and likely to have ongoing consequences for affected households,” it says. - Largest US Bitcoin Exchange Ordered To Disclose Three Years Of User Data To IRS
Last week we reported, that in an unprecedented attempt to breach the personal privacy of users of the largest bitcoin exchange in the US, Coinbase, the IRS filed papers seeking a judicial order to serve a so-called “John Doe” summons on the San Francisco-based Bitcoin platform. The government’s request was part of a bitcoin tax-evasion probe, and seeks to identify all Coinbase users in the U.S. who “conducted transactions in a convertible virtual currency” from 2013 to 2015. What makes a “John Doe” unique, is that it represents a special “shotgun” form of summons to look for tax evaders that allows the IRS to obtain information about all taxpayers in a group or class of people, even if the agency doesn’t know their identities. The IRS has deployed the tactic in its recent crackdown on undeclared offshore accounts, with the implication that any such broad sweep may lead to prosecution. Coinbase executives were “extremely concerned” and vowed to oppose the government's petition in court. - Debt & Deficit Outlooks for France, Italy, Spain, & Portugal
After dragging Greece kicking and screaming through a never-ending vicious cycle of fiscal adjustment and output decline, the European Commission seems to be softening in its attitude towards other struggling Eurozone economies. France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, among others, have all repeatedly been given extensions to reduce their debt and deficit levels after recurrent breaches of EU targets have gone unpunished, and the trend looks set to continue as our forecasts show that those economies will underperform again this year and next. Does this mark a shift in mindset within the Commission as to whether the Growth and Stability Pact is fit for purpose? Or rather just tactical maneuvering—or indeed resigned acceptance—in tough political times, as the EU faces unprecedented challenges to its legitimacy and survival? - One Scary Chart: Venezuela's Currency Disintegrates
It was just this past Monday when we were reported that the Venezuela currency, the Bolivar, had crashed below 3,000 for the first time ever, losing 15% of its value in just one day as the Venezuela hyperinflation had entered its terminal phase. Today, the DolarToday.com website, maintained by a person the WSJ dubbed “Public Enemy No. 1 of Venezuela’s revolutionary government, Gustavo Díaz, a Home Depot Inc. employee in central Alabama” reports that having crossed the psychological 2,000 level ten days ago, and taking out the 3000 barrier earlier this week, the Bolivar has now plunged to a new all time low of 4,609.37 on the black market, dropping by 15% from its latest print of 2,972 reported on Friday of last week, and has lost 60% in its value just in the past month. - Crunch Time for “Zombie Bank… on Brink of Collapse”
Things have gotten so serious at Spain’s sixth biggest bank, Banco Popular, that The Wall Street Journal just christened it “Spain’s most Italian bank.” It wasn’t meant as a compliment. These days the bank’s second biggest block of shareholders are short-sellers. They include some of the biggest hedge funds on the planet, from UK-based Oxford Asset Management, which holds a short position of 0.53% of the banks’ total shares, and Marshall Wace (2.23%) to Connecticut-based behemoth AQR Capital Management (2.92%). As of Nov 25, short-sellers held 8.6% of the bank’s capital. It was enough to attract the unwelcome attention of Spain’s market regulator, CNMV, which has so far refused to ban shorting of the stock but has launched an investigation into whether a group of insiders led by Mexican billionaire Antonio Del Valle is using underhand tactics to cheapen the stock in preparation for a takeover bid. - Pastor Lindsey Williams introduces Pastor David Bowen – December 1, 2016
Pastor Lindsey Williams introduces Pastor David Bowen with his regular short weekly video for readers of Pastor Williams’ weekly newsletter. - Putin: We’ll work with new US administration
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Moscow does not want to go to war or enter into confrontation and any other country in the world. During his annual state of the nation televised address Putin said he wanted to work closely with the new US Administration adding that Moscow needs friends to ensure global stability. He added that Moscow and Washington share responsibility to ensure international security and stability and for enhancing anti-proliferation mechanisms to ensure that nuclear weapons do not spread and do not fall into the hands of terrorists. But Putin also said that Russia would not allow outside interference in its affairs. “But we won’t allow any infringement on our interests and neglect of them,” he said. - Trump Confirms Retired Marine General “Mad-Dog” Mattis Will Be America's Next Secretary Of Defense
Speaking during an Ohio “thank you” rally, Donald Trump just confirmed that James “Mad Dog” Mattis will be America's next Secretary of Defense. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen 66-year-old retired Marine General James N. “Mad-Dog” Mattis to be secretary of defense, according to The Washington Post. - After A “Run On The Pension Fund” Dallas Mayor Demands Halt Of Withdrawals
We've written several times over the past couple of months about the epic meltdown of the the Dallas Police and Firefighters Pension (DPFP) (see here, here and here for background). It all started when the Pension Board discovered that one of their real estate managers had been consistently overmarking illiquid real estate investments. That discovery resulted in an FBI investigation of the manager and a $1BN write down for the DPFP. In the wake of the writedowns, Dallas policemen and firefighters rushed for the exits and withdrew over $500mm in assets. Fearing a “run on the bank” that could push the whole city of Dallas into bankruptcy, Mayor Mike Rawlings has just sent a scathing letter to the DPFP Pension Board demanded that withdrawals be halted immediately until the “solvency and actuarial soundness of the Pension System is restored.”
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