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 February 3, 2017 to February 9, 2017:
Debt Apocalypse Beckons As U.S. Consumer Bankruptcies Do Something They Haven’t Done In Almost 7 Years
When debt grows much faster than GDP for an extended period of time, it is inevitable that a good portion of that debt will start to go bad at some point. We witnessed a perfect example of this in 2008, and now it is starting to happen again. Commercial bankruptcies have been rising on a year-over-year basis since late 2015, and this is something that I have written about previously, but now consumer bankruptcies are also increasing. In fact, we have just witnessed U.S. consumer bankruptcies do something that they haven’t done in nearly 7 years.
Last year, Obama gave $27B to lawless ‘sanctuary’ cities
On January 25, 2017, his third full day on the job in the White House, President Trump fulfilled more of the promises he’d made — those concerning illegal “immigration” — by signing two executive orders: Executive Order: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements, which authorizes the construction of a wall along the porous U.S.-Mexico border. Executive Order: Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of United States, which authorizes the denial of federal funds to “sanctuary” states and cities that willfully violate Federal immigration law in an attempt to shield aliens, including criminals, from removal from the United States and, in so doing, “have caused immeasurable harm to the American people and to the very fabric of our Republic.” As White House spokesman Sean Spicer put it, “The American people are no longer going to have to be forced to subsidize this disregard for our laws.”
How George Soros Singlehandedly Created The European Refugee Crisis – And Why
George Soros is trading again. The 85-year-old political activist and philanthropist hit the headlines post-Brexit saying the event had “unleashed” a financial-market crisis. Well, the crisis hasn’t hit Soros just yet. He was once again on the right side of the trade, taking a short position in troubled Deutsche Bank and betting against the S&P via a 2.1-million-share put option on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF. More interestingly, Soros recently took out a $264 million position in Barrick Gold, whose share price has jumped over 14% since Brexit. Along with this trade, Soros has sold his positions in many of his traditional holdings. Soros had recently announced he was coming out of retirement, again. First retiring in 2000, the only other time Soros has publicly re-entered the markets was in 2007, when he placed a number of bearish bets on US housing and ultimately made a profit of over $1 billion from the trades.
Prominent Republicans Pitch Carbon-Tax Plan to Top Trump Aides
A group of prominent Republicans and business leaders pitched a tax on carbon dioxide to top White House aides Wednesday, selling the plan as an economic win that could drive job growth and yield environmental dividends too. Former Secretary of State James Baker and other members of the new “Climate Leadership Council” pressed the case in a 45-minute meeting in the Roosevelt Room that included President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser Gary Cohn, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and senior aide Kellyanne Conway. “The signs were very encouraging,” Ted Halstead, who founded the council, said after the meeting. “Two weeks into this new administration, we have positioned our solution as the most promising climate solution — if they want to go there.”
Millennials are struggling at work because their parents ‘gave them medals for coming last'
Bosses the world over are struggling with their millennial employees – they say we confound leadership, are self-entitled, narcissistic, lazy and tough to manage. But according to motivational speaker and author Simon Sinek, this is the result of our parents’ “failed parenting strategies.” After the astounding success of his video on millennials in the workplace, which has had over 56 million views on Facebook alone, Sinek spoke to The Independent about how our parenting, combined with social media, working environments and our impatience have created a generation plagued by low self-esteem, and what we can do about it.
Which Assets Are Most Likely To Survive The “System Reset”?
Your skills, knowledge and and social capital will emerge unscathed on the other side of the re-set wormhole. Your financial assets held in centrally controlled institutions will not. Longtime correspondent C.A. recently asked a question every American household should be asking: which assets are most likely to survive the “system re-set” that is now inevitable? It's a question of great import because not all assets are equal in terms of survivability in crisis, when the rules change without advance notice. If you doubt the inevitability of a system implosion/re-set, please read Is America In A Bubble (And Can It Ever Return To “Normal”)? This brief essay presents charts that reveal a sobering economic reality: America is now dependent on multiple asset bubbles never popping–something history suggests is not possible.
Dirty Vaccines: Every Human Vaccine Tested Was Contaminated With Metals and Debris in New Study
Researchers examining 44 samples of 30 different vaccines found dangerous contaminants, including red blood cells in one vaccine and metal toxicants in every single sample tested – except in one animal vaccine. Using extremely sensitive new technologies not used in vaccine manufacturing, Italian scientists reported they were “baffled” by their discoveries which included single particles and aggregates of organic debris including red cells of human or possibly animal origin and metals including lead, tungsten, gold, and chromium, that have been linked to autoimmune disease and leukemia.
FDA finally admits chicken meat contains cancer-causing arsenic
After years of sweeping the issue under the rug and hoping no one would notice, the FDA has now finally admitted that chicken meat sold in the USA contains arsenic, a cancer-causing toxic chemical that’s fatal in high doses. But the real story is where this arsenic comes from: It’s added to the chicken feed on purpose! Even worse, the FDA says its own research shows that the arsenic added to the chicken feed ends up in the chicken meat where it is consumed by humans. So for the last sixty years, American consumers who eat conventional chicken have been swallowing arsenic, a known cancer-causing chemical.
Records: Soros Fund Execs Funded Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, John McCain, John Kasich, Lindsey Graham in 2016
Employees of a hedge fund founded by the king of the Institutional Left, billionaire and Democratic Party mega-donor George Soros, donated tens of thousands of dollars to top Republicans who fought against President Donald Trump in 2016, donation records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics show. Soros Fund Management, a former hedge fund that serves now as an investment management firm, was founded by progressive billionaire George Soros in 1969. It has risen to become one of the most profitable hedge funds in the industry. Employees of the firm are heavily involved in backing political candidates giving millions upon millions to groups that were supporting failed 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton for the presidency.
White House Releases List Of Terror Attacks It Considers Underreported By The Media
The White House released a list Monday night of the terror attacks it believes were underreported by the media. CNN’s Jim Acosta said his producer was given the list of the 78 attacks outside of the White House. Though he did not read the list in full on air, Acosta said it included attacks like Paris, Brussels, Nice, Istanbul and San Bernardino. Dan Merica said a White House official told him that “most of these attacks did not receive adequate attention from Western media sources.”
President Trump is now speculating that the media is covering up terrorist attacks
Speaking to the U.S. Central Command on Monday, President Trump went off his prepared remarks to make a truly stunning claim: The media was intentionally covering up reports of terrorist attacks. “You’ve seen what happened in Paris, and Nice. All over Europe, it’s happening,” he said to the assembled military leaders. “It’s gotten to a point where it’s not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that.” The comment immediately harked back to comments from senior adviser Kellyanne Conway on MSNBC last week.
The Leftwing Has Placed Itself In The Trash Can Of History
At a time when the Western world desperately needs alternative voices to the neoliberals, the neoconservatives, the presstitutes and the Trump de-regulationists, there are none. The Western leftwing has gone insane. The voices being raised against Trump, who does need voices raised against him, are so hypocritical as to reflect less on Trump than on those with raised voices. Sharon Kelly McBride, speaking for Human Rights First, sent me an email saying that Trump stands on the wrong side of “America’s ideals” by his prohibition of Muslim immigrants into the US.
Trump Is Right: Silicon Valley Is Using H-1B Visas To Pay Low Wages To Immigrants
On the heels on its controversial immigration ban targeting seven Muslim-majority countries, the Trump administration has drafted a new executive order that could actually mean higher wages for both foreign workers and Americans working in Silicon Valley. The Silicon Valley companies, of course, will not be happy if it goes into effect. The order aims to overhaul and limit work visas, notably the H-1B visa program. Tech companies rely on these to bring in foreign talent. Their lobbyists claim there is a “talent shortage” among Americans and thus that the industry needs more of such work visas. This is patently false. The truth is that they want an expansion of the H-1B work visa program because they want to hire cheap, immobile labor — i.e., foreign workers.
O'Reilly said Putin is a killer. Trump's reply: ‘You think our country is so innocent?'
President Donald Trump has long been effusive in his praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike. In an interview with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, which will air ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday, Trump doubled down on his “respect” for Putin – even in the face of accusations that Putin and his associates have murdered journalists and dissidents in Russia. “I do respect him. Well, I respect a lot of people, but that doesn't mean I'll get along with them,” Trump told O'Reilly. O'Reilly pressed on, declaring to the president that “Putin is a killer.” Unfazed, Trump didn't back away, but rather compared Putin's reputation for extrajudicial killings with the United States. “There are a lot of killers. We have a lot of killers,” Trump said. “Well, you think our country is so innocent?”
Bill O’Reilly, meet the real “KILLER”. Barack Obama’s massive kill list in charts
Former POTUS Barack Obama may have played the part of a dainty liberal, but don’t be fooled, deep down Barack was a killer. A killer of mass proportions. As the US liberal and neocon media freak out over Trump’s interview with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, where Trump (GASP) admitted that he “respects” Putin, and America “is not so innocent” when it comes to killing…we present to you the real stone cold killer. When it comes to racking up ‘kills’, no one was more deadly these last eight years than Barack Hussein Obama. No world leader even comes close to Obama’s kill stats.
A bill has already been introduced in Congress to remove the US from the United Nations
A bill introduced by Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers earlier this month calls on the US to “terminate” its membership in the United Nations and effectively sever all ties with the organization. The bill, titled the American Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2017, was proposed on January 3. It is cosponsored by a handful of Republican lawmakers, including North Carolina Rep. Walter Jones, Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, Missouri Rep. Jason Smith, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, Tennessee Rep. John Duncan Jr., and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz. Biggs said in a statement on Monday that he cosponsored the bill because he believes that “our sovereignty as a country is harmed by our membership in this body.”
Trump to order regulatory rollback Friday for finance industry starting with Dodd-Frank
President Trump plans to order a rollback Friday of regulations governing the financial services industry and Wall Street under the Dodd-Frank law and beyond, a White House source confirmed. Gary Cohn, White House Economic Council director, told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published last night that the administration would also move against a regulation designed to force retirement advisers to work in the best interest of their clients. That “fiduciary rule” is set to take effect in April. Promulgated by the Department of Labor, it’s meant to eliminate conflicts-of-interest among professionals dealing with people enrolled in qualified retirement plans and IRAs.
Trump’s Enemies Within
How on earth is all this stuff getting in the newspapers? Bob Haldeman told Richard Nixon that he had uncovered the culprit: Mark Felt, a top official at the FBI. “Now why the hell would he do that?” asked Nixon, who was secretly recording the exchange. Cracking down on Felt directly was out of the question, the two men agreed. “If we move on him, then he’ll go out and unload everything,” Haldeman said, of the man later revealed as Deep Throat. “He knows everything that’s to be known in the FBI.”
President Trump Speaks: Here's Why They Hate Him
The political elites hate him on both sides of the Atlantic. Why? Because he's not on board with their precious New World Order. RTV takes a closer look at President Trump's inauguration speech and its ramifications. Trump is far from perfect, but so was Constantine…and look how God used him. Pray for President Donald J. Trump!
U.N. Official Admits Global Warming Agenda Is Really About Destroying Capitalism
A shocking statement was made by a United Nations official Christiana Figueres at a news conference in Brussels. Figueres admitted that the Global Warming conspiracy set by the U.N.’s Framework Convention on Climate Change, of which she is the executive secretary, has a goal not of environmental activists is not to save the world from ecological calamity, but to destroy capitalism. She said very casually: “This is the first time in the history of mankind that we are setting ourselves the task of intentionally, within a defined period of time, to change the economic development model that has been reigning for at least 150 years, since the Industrial Revolution.”
Scientists have a plan to replace fossil fuels with nuclear fusion by 2030
Nuclear fusion is premised on building technology that would replicate the reaction that naturally powers our Sun – two light atoms, in this case, hydrogen, are fused together under extreme temperatures to produce another element, helium. The process would release vast amounts of clean energy drawn from an almost limitless fuel source, with nearly zero carbon emissions. However, it has yet to be done on a scale that would make it usable. Canadian scientists are hoping to change that, announcing plans to harness and develop nuclear fusion technology so they can deliver a working nuclear fusion plant prototype by 2030. What they need, however, is for the government to invest in their vision.
FDA quietly bans powerful life-saving intravenous Vitamin C
It would be naive to think that the FDA endeavors to protect the public’s health as its primary focus. Indeed, that would be a conflict of interest, as it serves its master, the pharmaceutical industry. Has the Food and Drug Administration engineered a shortage of intravenous vitamin C as part of an overall attack on natural and non-toxic approaches to healing that compete with prescription drugs? An analysis by Natural Blaze would suggest that the answer is yes.
Halftime HELL: Satan speaks through Lady Gaga to declare dominion over the Earth (while Pope Francis blesses) (satire)
Before you get into this article, note that I’m marking it “satire.” Yet none of the themes unveiled here are actually funny. This is serious stuff… it’s just that 99.9% of humanity isn’t ready to cognitively grasp what I’m about to present here, so until people are more ready to face the reality of demonic evil in our world, I’m going to label all this a weekend joke. Funny, isn’t it? If it’s too much for you, don’t take it too seriously. The NFL is a joke anyway, right? The average Superbowl viewer is so totally clueless about reality that they have no idea what they’re even watching. Over the last several years, the NFL has slowly given way to the agenda of truly evil globalists, pushing quack science fraud (breast cancer “awareness” propaganda), anti-American hatred (Colin Kaepernick’s nauseating antics), cultural subversion agendas and vulgar halftime shows that frequently invoke Satanic imagery in ritualistic fashion (see the multitude of photos and videos below for proof).
Is Your Retirement Portfolio Ready For A Potential Dollar Crash?
Since the mid 1990’s, the U.S. dollar has benefitted consistently from an official federal government position of a strong dollar policy. This may be about to change dramatically, and not just because newly inaugurated President Trump and his administration have hinted that they want to scrap it. Co-Founder David Marsh from the London-based Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) advisory group has announced that the dollar collapse of the early 1980s could be set to imminently repeat itself. Marsh is a financial specialist who advises a variety of asset management companies. He is now forecasting a dollar crash much like the one witnessed over three decades ago. This would represent a sea-change for the U.S. dollar which has been rallying for nearly five years.
Liberal lynch mob trolling Trump could bring down US democracy
The Left's non-stop temper tantrum since Trump's election win is revealing an ugly underbelly of the Democratic Party – think Rosie O'Donnell mud-wrestling with a pig – where a rogues’ gallery of provocateurs aims to delegitimize conservative rule. First, some necessary background: for 15 uninterrupted years of US military escapades abroad, eight of those years on Obama's watch, the Liberal Left could not be awakened from its somnambulist slumber, not even to hold a meaningful antiwar protest in the spirit of their Vietnam-era forebears.
Permaculture, Politics and Solutions Thinking
How we think colours everything we do, that is indisputable. Our biases definitely affect our objectivity and clarity as well as our judgement, factors critical to effective solutions thinking. Permaculture is a discipline which embodies systems thinking, the ability to think holistically, to clearly see what is before us in its entirety, and to understand the relationships between elements of a system. Equally important to Permaculture is solutions thinking, the ability to create optimal solutions to address specific problems.
New Warming On European Banks
The European Banking Authority (EBA) just called for urgent action to be taken in regards to European banks’ bad loans. Because Italy is not the only country having to grapple with this problem: EBA’s chairman, Andrea Enria, is worried that ten European countries have more than 10% in non-performing loans (NPLs), which shows the extreme fragility of their banking system. Those NPLs are loans for which the payments are late for 90 days or more.
The Other “Ban” That Was Quietly Announced Last Week
Most of the world is in an uproar right now over the travel ban that Donald Trump hastily imposed late last week on citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries. But there was another ban that was quietly proposed last week, and this one has far wider implications: a ban on cash. The European Union’s primary executive authority, known as the European Commission, issued a “Road Map” last week to initiate continent-wide legislation against cash. There are already a number of anti-cash legislative measures that have been passed in individual European member states. In France, for example, it’s illegal to make purchases of more than 1,000 euros in cash.
Pound, Dollar, Euro and Yen Will be Worthless Within Five Years
The new US Administration has taken over with the conviction that they will “make America great again”. I really wish they will succeed because a strong US would be good for the world. Sadly, the odds of achieving that admirable objective are totally stacked against them. At the end of the next 4 years, there is a risk that this Administration will be more hated than any government since Carter and possibly even more disliked than Hoover.
Is Italy’s Banking Problem Becoming Too Big to Solve?
Ever since the European Commission and ECB jointly decided that Italy’s government could bend EU banking rules out of all recognition in order to bail out the country’s third largest bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Europe’s financial stocks have been on a tear. But the good times were brought to a grinding halt Monday after Italy’s largest bank, Unicredit, which employs 55,000 people in 17 countries, announced losses for 2016 of €11.8 billion. By the bank’s logic, it would have announced profits if it hadn’t had to write off €12.2 billion, including billions of euros of non-performing loans (NPLs) festering on its balance sheets.
Markets Smell a Rat as Central Banks Dither
Markets are suspecting that central banks are in the process of exiting this fabulous multi-year party quietly, and that on the way out they won’t refill the booze and dope, leaving the besotted revelers to their own devices. That thought isn’t sitting very well with these revelers. In markets where central banks have pushed government bond prices into the stratosphere and yields, even 10-year yields, below zero, there has been a sea change.
California in the red by $127.2 billion, state auditors say
A financial report issued by state auditors finds that the state of California is in the red by an unsustainable $127.2 billion. The report says that the state’s negative status increased that year, largely because it spent $1.7 billion more than it received in revenues and wound up with an accumulated deficit of just under $23 billion in fiscal year 2011-2012, the Sacramento Bee stated. Gov. Jerry Brown has referred to the deficit and other budget gaps, mostly money owed to schools, as a “wall of debt” totaling more than $30 billion, the Sacramento Bee reported. About half of the deficit came from the state issuing general obligation bonds and then giving the money to local governments and school districts for public works projects. The report listed California’s long-term obligations at $167.9 billion, nearly half of which ($79.9 billion) were in general obligation bonds, with another $30.8 billion in revenue bonds, the Sacramento Bee reported.
It’s Time We Talked About Our Owners – How vast asset managers impact “our increasingly cartelized economy.”
The world’s biggest asset manager, BlackRock, was splashed across the front pages of the Spanish financial news yesterday. The firm had just raised raised its stake in Spain’s telecoms giant Telefónica to 336 million shares — the equivalent of 6.7% of Telefónica’s total capital, with a market value of just under €3 billion. In the short space of five months BlackRock has almost doubled its holdings and is now the largest owner of Telefónica stock, ahead of Spain’s second biggest bank, BBVA, which holds 6% of the shares. The asset manager has also expanded its participation in Telefónica’s international subsidiaries, raising its holdings in Telefónica Deutschland to 0.76% and Telefónica Brasil to almost 2%, making it the firm’s biggest institutional shareholder.
We Are Moving Forward: The Future of Oil and Gas
Oil will hold a dominant position in the world energy demand at least next 20 years. Despite the small decline, oil will secure as many as 29 percent of world energy demand by 2035 vs 32 percent in 2015. The slight decline by 3 percent will occur because of gas, nuclear and renewables (including biofuels) sectors rise in the world energy demand share. ‘Global oil production becomes geographically more concentrated as low cost producers gain share. The Middle East, US, and Russia account for 63% of oil production in 2035, up from 56% in 2015.’ BP reports in its Energy Outlook-2017. BP publishes its energy outlooks on a regular basis. The Energy Outlooks allow to track in details the global energy trends. One of those energy trends is that BP expects 106 million barrels of oil per day as demand and 107 million barrels of oil per day as supply by 2035. North America will hold its dominant in gas production. BP considers North America will produce 1.33 billion t.o.e. of gas per year by 2035 what makes 31 percent share of the global gas production. North America has been keeping its dominant in gas production since 1995, by the way. Before 1995 episodically North America had been ‘overtaken’ in gas production by USSR. USSR collapsed in 1991 while the previous year – 1990 was the last year when Soviets could produce more gas than the entire North America. In 1990 USSR produced 672 million t.o.e of gas versus 584 million t.o.e produced in North America. In 1995 North America got 651.7 million t.o.e of gas while Soviets faced only 569.1 million t.o.e. North America leads in the global gas production ever since.
Whistle-Blower: ‘Global Warming’ Data Manipulated Before Paris Conference
A high-level whistleblower at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has revealed that the organization published manipulated data in a major 2015 report on climate change in order to maximize impact on world leaders at the UN climate conference in Paris in 2015. According to a report in The Mail on Sunday, NOAA scientist Dr. John Bates has produced “irrefutable evidence” that the NOAA study denying the “pause” in global warming in the period since 1998 was based on false and misleading data. The NOAA study was published in June 2015 by the journal Science under the title “Possible artifacts of data biases in the recent global surface warming hiatus.”
Shell To Sell Another $5B In Assets, Misses Profit Expectations
Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) is making “significant progress” on selling another US$5 billion worth of assets, chief financial officer Simon Henry said on Thursday after the oil supermajor reported 2016 profits below analyst expectations. Shell’s current cost of supplies (CCS) – a key measure comparable with net income – came in at US$1.8 billion, excluding identified items, compared with US$1.6 billion for the fourth quarter 2015, the company said today. Full-year 2016 CCS earnings attributable to shareholders excluding identified items dropped to US$7.2 billion from US$11.4 billion in 2015. The fourth-quarter profit fell short of analyst estimates by around US$1 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Weatherford Slashes Another 3,000 Jobs
As part of its strategy to further cut costs and reduce debt, oilfield services company Weatherford International (NYSE:WFT) said on Thursday that it had launched another head count reduction plan totaling 3,000 employees. Weatherford’s Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Christoph Bausch said at the company’s earnings call on Thursday for the fourth-quarter and full-2016 results: “At the time of this call, we have already reduced 2,000 employees out of the 3,000 mentioned before.” In its drive to cut more costs, Weatherford will also pull back its pumping operations in the U.S. and close additional uneconomical field locations, Bausch said, adding that all those actions are expected to generate additional annualized cost savings of about US$300 million.
Fukushima nuclear reactor radiation at highest level since 2011 meltdown
Extremely high radiation levels have been recorded inside a damaged reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, almost six years after the plant suffered a triple meltdown. The facility’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), said atmospheric readings as high as 530 sieverts an hour had been recorded inside the containment vessel of reactor No 2, one of three reactors that experienced a meltdown when the plant was crippled by a huge tsunami that struck the north-east coast of Japan in March 2011. The extraordinary radiation readings highlight the scale of the task confronting thousands of workers, as pressure builds on Tepco to begin decommissioning the plant – a process that is expected to take about four decades.
Russian economy to emerge from contraction
Russia’s economy ministry on Monday said that GDP growth fell by one per cent in December from the same time last year. In October, the economy contracted by 0.6 per cent but grew in November by a revised 0.9 per cent. For 2016 as a whole, GDP fell 0.6 per cent from 2015. According to forecasts by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the UN, Russia’s economy has beaten the effects of US and European Union sanctions over the Ukraine crisis. In 2017, GDP growth is expected between one and 1.5 per cent.
Things Just Got Serious in Europe’s War on Cash
The central authorities in Europe just launched their most important offensive to date in their multiyear War on Cash. The new move comes directly from the European Union’s executive branch, the European Commission, which just announced its intention to “explore the relevance of potential upper limits to cash payments,” with a view to implementing cross-regional measures in 2018. Maximum limits on cash transactions already exist in most European countries, and the general trend is downward. Last year, Spain joined France in placing a €1,000 maximum on cash payments. Greece went one better, dropping its cap for cash transactions from €1,500 to €500. In simple terms, any legal purchase of a good or service over €500 will need to be done with plastic or mobile money.
Gerald Celente Issues Major Trend Alert On The Road For The Gold Market In 2017
With the price of gold surging above the critical $1,220 level, the top trends forecaster in the world, Gerald Celente, just issued a major trend alert on the road for the gold market in 2017. Here Is What To Look For In The Gold Market In 2017. Gerald Celente — Trends are born, they grow, mature, reach old age and die. The Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, Trend has just been born. Never in modern history has the nation stood so divided and nations across the globe so alarmed following the election of the leader of the world’s largest economy and most powerful military…
The Alternative Fact of the Cashless Society
Last week a new phrase was introduced into our lexicon by Trump Adviser Kellyanne Conway. When asked about why press secretary Sean Spicer had made statements that were (according to the press) unverifiable she said that he had used ‘alternative facts’. This prompted a raft of satire, journalists to flail their arms up at the audacity of Conway and Trump’s administration, and for people to rush out and buy George Orwell’s 1984. Penguin, the world’s largest publisher, ordered a 75,000 copy reprint last week. Apparently more than the ‘typical reprint’ for the 1949 Orwellian classic. The ‘alternative facts’ statement echoed of ‘Newspeak’ the language used by the totalitarian government in Orwell’s 1984 to influence and control its citizens of Airstrip One (previously Britain).
Cal Berkeley Fascists Violently Protest Free Speech
150 masked “protesters” at Cal Berkeley, precisely 0.0039 percent of the 38,000 student body was all it took to shut down free speech at the University of California, Berkeley. The protesters are so confused that they see the shutdown as a victory for free speech. Something is wrong here. The 150 violent protesters are masked, so we don’t know if they are students or a Deep State operation against President Trump. The protesters are behaving as fascists by shutting down free speech. By associating the exercise of free speech with fascism, the protesters appear to be too stupid to be Cal Berkeley students. When I was a graduate student at Cal Berkeley, there were high admission standards. Perhaps those standards have been declared to be racist and were thrown out with the bath water.
Leaked Draft of Trump’s Religious Freedom Order Reveals Sweeping Plans to Legalize Discrimination
A leaked copy of a draft executive order titled “Establishing a Government-Wide Initiative to Respect Religious Freedom,” obtained by The Investigative Fund and The Nation, reveals sweeping plans by the Trump administration to legalize discrimination. The four-page draft order, a copy of which is currently circulating among federal staff and advocacy organizations, construes religious organizations so broadly that it covers “any organization, including closely held for-profit corporations,” and protects “religious freedom” in every walk of life: “when providing social services, education, or healthcare; earning a living, seeking a job, or employing others; receiving government grants or contracts; or otherwise participating in the marketplace, the public square, or interfacing with Federal, State or local governments.”
Amazon sinks as revenue misses, guidance disappoints
The online retail technology company reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations on Thursday, but revenue that fell short of estimates. It also gave future guidance that was below the average estimate. Shares dropped more than 4 percent after hours. The free-spending company has invested heavily in new projects and infrastructure to meet ballooning demand as more shopping moves online. Amazon keeps taking business from traditional retailers, which are closing stores by the hundreds. But it also offers promotions to have the lowest prices, a “cost of doing business,” chief financial officer Brian Olsavsky said.
Student Loan Reforms to Watch for in 2017
So far, the Trump administration continues to deliver on some key campaign promises. These promises include the travel ban, federal hiring freeze, and authorizing the construction of the US-Mexico border wall. Higher education is another issue Trump will likely be addressing in the coming months, as it continually ranks as the biggest source of consumer debt today.
America’s Problem with Student Loans Is Much Bigger Than Anybody Realized
The Department of Education recently released a memo admitting that repayment rates on student loans have been grossly exaggerated. Data from 99.8% of schools across the country has been manipulated to cover up growing problems with the $1.3 trillion in outstanding student loans. New calculations show that more than half of all borrowers from 1,000 different institutions have defaulted on or not paid back a single dollar of their loans over the last seven years. This comes in stark contrast to previous claims and should call into question any statistics provided by government agencies. The American people haven’t fully grasped the long-term implications of loaning a trillion dollars to young people who have no credit or assets.
US Productivity Growth Has Never Been This Low For This Long
Despite slowing US productivity growth QoQ in Q4 (from +3.5% in Q3 to +1.3% in Q4), overall productivity in 2016 grew at 1% – the best annual growth since 2013. However, that silver-lining is akin to being the tallest midget as over the longer-term, US productivity growth has never been this low for this long.
Fed Leaves Policy Rate Unchanged, Offers No Hint on When It Might Next Move
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it remains on track to gradually raise short-term interest rates this year and gave no hint about when the next increase might come. Following a two-day policy meeting, officials voted unanimously to hold their benchmark rate steady in a range between 0.50% and 0.75%, while noting in a statement some recent improvements in the economy, including an uptick in consumer confidence. They lifted rates by a quarter percentage point in December and penciled in three quarter-point moves in 2017. Investors hadn’t expected the Fed to move Wednesday and were looking for a signal about its next meeting on March 14-15. Market reaction to the statement was muted.
Gold Gains as Trump Shocks Markets by Doing What He Said He’d Do
President Donald Trump’s policies have brought gold back to life. Gold futures rose for a second day, posting the biggest monthly gain since June, on investor concern over moves by Trump that included barring entry by citizens from seven predominantly Muslim nations and firing the acting U.S. attorney general for refusing to enforce the order. The dollar headed for a third straight decline against a basket of 10 currencies, and U.S. stocks slid. Confusion over U.S trade and immigration policies has helped rekindle haven demand for gold, which in December capped its biggest quarterly decline in more than three years. Money is also flowing back to precious metals as speculation mounts that the Federal Reserve may be more cautious in raising U.S. interest rates amid concerns Trump’s policies could stifle economic growth. Protests from New York to Atlanta to Detroit were held Sunday.
GOP Rebrands Obamacare Strategy From ‘Repeal’ to ‘Repair’
Some Republicans in Congress are starting to talk more about trying to “repair” Obamacare, rather than simply calling for “repeal and replace.” There’s good reason for that. The repair language was discussed by Republicans during their closed-door policy retreat in Philadelphia last week as a better way to brand their strategy. Some of that discussion flowed from views that Republicans may not be headed toward a total replacement, said one conservative House lawmaker who didn’t want to be identified. Using the word repair “captures exactly what the large majority of the American people want,” said Frank Luntz, a prominent Republican consultant and pollster who addressed GOP lawmakers at their retreat.
ALERT: Former Soros Associate Just Warned We Are About To Witness ‘Absolute F*cking Chaos’ Across The Globe
Today a former associate of George Soros told King World News that we are about to witness “absolute f*cking chaos” across the globe in a little over two months. Victor Sperandeo oversees over $3 billion, has been in the business 45 years, and has worked with famous individuals such as Leon Cooperman and George Soros. Below is what Sperandeo had to say. Victor Sperandeo: “What people are underestimating is the upcoming election in the Netherlands on March 15. A month later France is going to hold their election…
Mexican border wall could take just two years to build
The Mexican border wall could take just two years to build and parts could be “see through,” according to the new head of the Department of Homeland Security. “The wall will be built where it’s needed first, and then it will be filled in. That’s the way I look at it,” Secretary John Kelly told Fox News. “I really hope to have it done within the next two years,” the retired four-star Marine general added. Fox’s Catherine Herridge reported Thursday that Kelly told her that the wall won't all be solid and sections of it may be transparent.
U.S. appeals court revives JPMorgan silver futures rigging lawsuits
A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday revived three private antitrust lawsuits accusing JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) of rigging a market for silver futures contracts traded on COMEX. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said a lower court judge held hedge fund manager Daniel Shak and two other traders to an excessively high legal standard when deciding last June 29 to dismiss their complaints. Shak, Mark Grumet and Thomas Wacker accused the largest U.S. bank of having in late 2010 and early 2011 placed artificial bids on the trading floor, harangued staff at metals market COMEX to obtain prices it wanted, and made misrepresentations to a committee that set settlement prices. The traders said this forced them to post more capital to support their positions in silver futures spreads, and ultimately to liquidate them at heavy losses.
As Brazil Unemployment Hits Record High, Rio's Murder Rate Soars
With Brazil stuck in what may be its worst depression on record, it will surprise nobody that the homicide rate in Rio de Janeiro climbed by 20% in 2016 from the previous year, as violence soared in the Brazilian metropolis amid rising unemployment and sharp cuts in public security budgets. Worse even than Chicago, state security statistics released on Wednesday and cited by Reuters showed that 5,033 people were murdered in Rio during the year, up from 4,200 in 2015.
Researchers: Fake News Did Not Alter Election Results
As social media sites like Facebook and Snapchat move to eliminate “fake news” reports from their sites, researchers from Stanford and New York Universities say Americans can be sure of one thing: the phenomenon did not affect the results of the presidential election. The new study released last month investigated the influence that fake news may have had on President Trump’s victory. NYU economics professor Hunt Allcott and Stanford economics professor Matthew Gentzkow led the research. The pair ran a series of tests to determine which fake news articles were circulated, how much of it was circulated, and the amount of voters that believed the stories to be true.
The Central Banks Pull Back: Now It's Up To Fiscal Policy To “Save The World”
Another problem is the rise of social discord, for reasons that extend beyond the reach of tax reductions and increased infrastructure spending. Have you noticed that the breathless anticipation of the next central bank “save” has diminished? Remember when the financial media was in a tizzy of excitement, speculating on what new central bank expansion would send the global markets higher in paroxysms of risk-on joy? Those days are gone. Nowadays, central banks cautiously continue the bond buying programs they've had in place for years, but their policy initiatives are tepid at best: they talk about expanding asset-buying programs to include more stocks, or discuss notching interest rates higher in some cases; but the talk is subdued, as expectations are being consciously lowered.
State Minimum Wage Hikes Already Passed Into Law Expected To Cost 2.6 Million Jobs, New Study Finds
Even though we know that Bernie and his alt-left compatriots will never tire of their endless “Fight for $15” no matter how much data we throw at them, we thought we would go ahead and highlight yet another economic study detailing the devastating job losses that will result from minimum wages hikes that have already been passed in states all around the country. The latest study comes for the American Action Forum (AAF) and estimates that 2.6 million jobs will be lost around the country over the next several years as states phase-in minimum wage hikes that have already been passed.
BOOM! Companies That Openly Criticized Trump For “Making America Safe Again” Take Stock Market Hit
The Dow Jones industrial average fell around 120 points after sliding more than 223.39 points, dropping below 20,000, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most losses. Most of the companies who criticized Trump’s temporary travel ban on the 7 nations Obama’s DHS identified as terror hotbed nations lost money in the stock market today. Apparently keeping our country safe takes a back seat to these companies, unless of course, we see another major terror attack in America by an unvetted refugee, then they’ll all be lining up behind Trump and complaining he didn’t do enough…
Trump pledges to end political limits on churches
Declaring that religious freedom is “under threat,” President Donald Trump vowed Thursday to repeal a rarely enforced IRS rule that says pastors who endorse candidates from the pulpit risk losing their tax-exempt status. “I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution,” Trump said at the National Prayer Breakfast, a high-profile event bringing together faith leaders, politicians and dignitaries. Trump's pledge was a nod to his evangelical Christian supporters, who helped power his White House win. So far he has not detailed his plans for doing away with the rule, which he has previously promised to rescind. Named after then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson, the regulation has been in place since 1954 for tax-exempt charities, including churches, though it is very rare for a church to actually be penalized.
Pastor Lindsey Williams introduces Pastor David Bowen – February 2, 2017
Pastor Lindsey Williams introduces Pastor David Bowen with his regular short weekly video for readers of Pastor Williams’ weekly newsletter.
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