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 January 6, 2017 to January 12, 2017:
The 70 Nations That Will Meet In Paris On January 15th Are Going To Publicly Commit To Dividing The Land Of Israel
A draft of the summary statement that will be released at the conclusion of the 70 nation conference in Paris on Sunday has been leaked. As you will see below, this communique is going to call for the division of the land of Israel, for the establishment of a Palestinian state, for the 1967 borders to serve as the basis for final negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and for the condemnation of any officials that refuse to support a two state solution. Of course this comes on the heels of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which many believe represented America’s greatest betrayal of Israel. Israeli government officials are publicly warning that there is a possibility that the principles agreed upon at this conference may form the basis for another Security Council resolution before January 20th, and this is something that we should all be watching for very closely.
Activists Are Hoping To Turn Donald Trump’s Inauguration On January 20th Into One Of The Biggest Riots In U.S. History
Radical leftists are planning to make January 20th the most chaotic Inauguration Day in American history. Their stated goal is to “disrupt” the Inauguration festivities as much as possible, and they are planning a wide range of “actions” to achieve that stated goal. Some of the more moderate groups are using terms such as “civil resistance” and “civil disobedience”, but others are openly talking about “blockades”, jumping barricades, throwing projectiles and “citywide paralysis”. My hope is that all of their efforts will turn out to be a big flop, but it is important to understand that these groups are well funded, highly organized and extremely motivated. The election of Donald Trump has been perhaps the single most galvanizing moment for the radical left in modern American history, and they are working very hard to turn January 20th into a major political statement.
U.S. Trade Deficit Widened in November to a Nine-Month High
The U.S. trade deficit widened to a nine-month high in November as exports fell and companies and governments imported the most since August 2015. The gap grew by 6.8 percent to $45.2 billion from a revised $42.4 billion in the prior month, Commerce Department figures showed Friday. The November shortfall was in line with the Bloomberg survey median for a $45.4 billion gap. Weaker overseas sales of U.S.-made goods and stronger domestic demand for imported merchandise indicate trade weighed on economic growth in last year’s fourth quarter. America’s net export position has also been made even more tenuous given the dollar’s rally in late 2016.
Vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy Jr. says Trump asked him to lead commission on ‘vaccine safety’
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a proponent of a widely discredited theory that vaccines cause autism, said Tuesday that President-elect Donald Trump asked him to chair a new commission on vaccines. Hours later, however, a spokeswoman for Trump’s transition said that while Trump would like to create a commission on autism, no final decision had been made. If Trump follows through, the stunning move would push up against established science, medicine and the government’s position on the issue. It comes after Trump — who has long been critical of vaccines — met at Trump Tower with Kennedy, who has spearheaded efforts to roll back child vaccination laws.
Factory orders tumble 2.4% in November
Factory orders retreated in November, snapping a four-month winning streak, the Commerce Department said Friday. The 2.4% decline was a bit stronger than the 2.3% forecast by economists surveyed by MarketWatch, but it followed an upward revision to October’s gain, taking that to 2.8%. Compared to a year ago, orders were down 1.8%. Orders for durable goods slid 4.5%, while orders for nondurable goods were down 0.2%. Shipments declined 0.1% in November, as did unfilled orders. Inventories increased 0.2%. Economists are hoping that the long slump in manufacturing will reverse as the shock to oil LCOH7, +0.34% recedes.
Report: Walmart Workers Cost Taxpayers $6.2 Billion In Public Assistance
Walmart’s low-wage workers cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $6.2 billion in public assistance including food stamps, Medicaid and subsidized housing, according to a report published to coincide with Tax Day, April 15. Americans for Tax Fairness, a coalition of 400 national and state-level progressive groups, made this estimate using data from a 2013 study by Democratic Staff of the U.S. Committee on Education and the Workforce. “The study estimated the cost to Wisconsin’s taxpayers of Walmart’s low wages and benefits, which often force workers to rely on various public assistance programs,”
Trump Bump: Small Business Optimism Soars To 12-Year High
Small business owners’ optimism soared in December to the highest level since 2004, the National Federation of Independent Business said Tuesday, as President-elect Trump unleashes “animal spirits” on Main Street, even as corporate titans such as General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) tread carefully with the president-elect. NFIB’s small business optimism index shot up 7.4 points to 105.8, the best reading since December 2004. It was the biggest monthly gain in decades. A net 50% of smaller firms see business conditions improving vs. 12% in November and -7% in October. “We haven’t seen numbers like this in a long time,” said NFIB President and CEO Juanita Duggan. “Small business is ready for a breakout, and that can only mean very good things for the U.S. economy.”
Rep. Dave Brat: ‘We Have Five or Six Plans’ to Replace Obamacare; GOP Leadership Needs to ‘Pick One’
Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA) discussed repealing Obamacare with Breitbart News Daily SiriusXM host Raheem Kassam on Monday, as well as alternate plans, including one he recently introduced in the House. The Daily Signal reports, “Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., has introduced a bill in the House that, if passed, will allow individuals to decide how they want their health care funds to be spent, without the influence of the government or health insurance providers.” Brat said that the health savings account legislation is a way for lawmakers to prove to the American people that they have a plan to replace Obamacare after repealing it. Brat discussed several domestic alternatives, as well as systems other nations use. “We’re waiting for leadership to coalesce around a plan,” said Brat.
Pope Francis Now International Monetary Guru
As the new year dawns, it seems the current occupant of St. Peter’s Chair will take on a new function which is outside the purview of the office that the Divine Founder of his institution had clearly mandated. Neo-Papist transmogrification. We highly recommend the economic thought of one of Francis’ storied predecessors, John Paul II, which we have written about on previous occasions. In “A Tale of Two Popes” and “Papal Eco-Hysteria”, we have contrasted Francis and John Paul II and quoted from the latter’s seminal encyclical “Centesimus Annus”, which probably contains the most clear-headed thinking on human liberty and economics that has ever emerged from the Vatican. Francis strikes us as a throwback to a completely discredited and dangerous ideology by comparison. Lately he is even calling for the establishment of a global central bank!
Banks Not Going Broke, They Are Broke-Rick Rule
Rick Rule is an expert on investing in all sorts of natural resources, and that includes gold and silver. He thinks it won’t take a “catastrophic event” to move prices higher in precious metals. Rule explains, “You remember the decade of the 1970’s? The shocks to the financial system were severe but survivable. The gold price went from $35 per ounce to $850 per ounce.. . . As you can see, I am not a young guy. I was a finance major, and the way I learned accounting, it’s not like the banks are going to go broke, the banks are broke. . . . It isn’t a question of ongoing bank solvency. It’s a question of real bank solvency and how long people will believe in the system. . . . If the major players had to face a liquidity squeeze, even the level of magnitude they faced in 2008, I suspect the fiscal tools available are constrained enough now that they would be unsuccessful in containing a broad liquidity base contagion.”
ALERT: One Shock After Another Will Create The Biggest Collapse Ever In World Financial Markets In 2017
As we kickoff the second week of trading in the new year, today the man who has become legendary for his predictions on QE, historic moves in currencies, warned King World News that one shock after another will create the biggest collapse ever in world financial markets in 2017. Terrifying Worldwide Panic In 2017. Egon von Greyerz: “We are only a week into 2017 but some longer-term trend changes are developing. It is interesting how a new year, combined with a new U.S. president act as a catalyst for what will be the start of monumental events in the world economy. Not that many of these will come as a surprise to the well-informed KWN audience, but for the rest of the world there will be one shock after the next that will create terrifying panic…
Wholesale Sales Disappoint Sending Inventories-Ratio Back Into Recession Territory
November saw inventories rise more than expected (+1.0% MoM vs +0.9% exp) and sales disappoint (+0.4% vs +0.5% exp) and were notably revised lower. This sent the inventories-to-sales ratio back up again – stubbornly stuck in recessionary territory. Both Inventories and sales grew year-over-year… But the gap between inventories and sales grew in absolute terms for the first time since July… Sending the inventories-to-sales ratio back up again… Automotive inventories-to-sales jumped higher once again – back near cycle highs.
The World Has Never Been In A Mega-Crisis Like This In All Of Human History
Today one of the greats in the business told King World News that the world has never been in a maga-crisis like this in all of human history. Storm Clouds Are Gathering Everywhere. John Embry: “Eric, I must begin by wishing you and your readers and listeners a belated happy new year. However, I question how happy a new year it is going to be as storm clouds have been steadily gathering everywhere…
China’s plan to dominate the global gold market
Status as one of the world’s biggest bullion importers, participation in the gold fix at the London exchange and a plan to establish a jewelry gold investment center in Shanghai has turned China into one of the leading players in the global gold market in 2016. Gold entered the New Year in a downward trend. In 2016, prices of the yellow metal have continued to drop, for the fourth year in a row. The last time such a trend was registered was between 1988 and 1992. A drop in global gold prices was advantageous for China, the world’ biggest importer of gold bars, gold investment coins and refined gold.
Is The S&P 500 Developing Into A “Bull Trap”?
Monday morning may have marked the beginning of a “bull trap,” should the S&P 500 price remain under the breakout high. Will it? Our bullish V-Spike Reversal off 2,228 set the stage for a continuation of the uptrend and bull market. After two pullbacks (retracements), price surged to new all-time highs Friday. However, Friday afternoon into Monday morning gave us a pullback under 2,270 which is a make-or-break point. Should price remain beneath 2,270, expect a swing back toward 2,255 (failure to break out). Any move back above 2,270 could trigger a powerful short-squeezed breakout but we’re not quite there yet.
10 ways the mainstream media creates fake news
The basic purpose of these ten forms is the presentation of a false picture of reality. You could find more forms, or divide these ten into sub-categories. The ten basic forms are: Direct lying about matters of fact. Leaving out vital information. Limited hangout. Shutting down the truth after publishing it. Not connecting dots between important pieces of data. Censoring the truth, wherever it is found. Using biased “experts” to present slanted or false “facts.” Repeating a false story many times. Claiming a reasonable and true consensus exists, when it doesn’t. Employing a panoply of effects. These are all traditional forms and methods.
Top Five Monetary Policy Issues To Watch In 2017
With a new year come new opportunities as well as new issues to take into consideration. Here are the five most important issues to keep an eye on in 2017. 1. Trump Presidency. 2. Ongoing Weakness in Europe. 3. China Is Still a Wild Card. 4. The Relentless War on Cash. 5. A Coming Financial Crisis. As the reality sets in that massive amounts of resources have been malinvested in unproductive sectors of the economy, the bubbles that were blown will inevitably burst.
The Globalists’ Russia Game
Thanks to Barak Obama’s most recent expression of his low character and a foreign policy weirdly akin to fantasy-baseball gone bad, thirty-five U.S.-resident Russian diplomats and their families targeted for rapid deportation feared a frantic search in the holiday crunch for open seats on flights to Moscow. On Friday, Russia sent an Ilyushin 11-96 to collect everyone and the families’ panic that they might not make their deportation deadlines receded. The embassy’s two retreats, one in New York and another in Maryland, were closed on schedule. Thus was the Obama administration’s maximally-inconvenient timing accommodated.
Boeing: Three More Waves of Layoffs in 2017, as Orders Collapse to 7-Year Low. Shares Near All-Time High
This is not the way to start your workday… to find this email from your boss in your inbox: “As we enter 2017, our plan calls for us to reduce our Engineering staff. I realize some of this news is unpleasant. But I wanted to respect your right to know what is occurring this year.” But that’s what happened on Tuesday at Boeing. Hammered by slowing aircraft sales and a declining order book, Boeing warned on Tuesday in an internal memo that it would conduct involuntary and voluntary layoffs of engineers in Washington state, southern California, and South Carolina, according to The Seattle Times. The memo did not mention the size of the staff cuts.
2016 Past is 2017 Prologue
With us being just over a week into the New Year, we feel it worthwhile to look back just one last time at 2016. We believe that many of the themes and risks of 2016 continue in 2017 and that they are likely to impact markets in the coming months – especially the precious metal markets. We always enjoy new perspectives and every year we enjoy the witty, comprehensive and insightful analysis review of the year past by David Collum. His‘2016 Year In Review’ is in the same vein and was missed by many when it was released over the Christmas period.
Don’t Count On Trump Being Inaugurated — Paul Craig Roberts
The Ruling Establishment Does Not Intend For Trump To Become President. The latest “explosive” fake news is that “multiple US officials with direct knowledge” told CNN that they have “classified documents” that Russia has compromising documents on Trump that would allow them to blackmail the US President. The documents consist of memos compiled by a former British intelligence operative “whose past work US intelligence officials consider credible.” According to antiwar.com “the dossier claimed several figures in the Trump campaign were in league with the Russian government during the campaign, and that Russia had been conspiring with them to groom Trump as an ally for ‘at least five years.’ It also claims exchanges of information between Trump and the Kremlin for ‘at least eight years,’ . . . The dossier names former Trump adviser Carter Page, his personal lawyer Michael Cohen, as well as incoming National Security Adviser Michael Flynn as having personally and repeatedly met with Kremlin officials on anti-Clinton leaks.”
Hideous Constellation of Threats and Challenges Facing Mexico
Things are rapidly going from bad to worse in Mexico. Hundreds of people were arrested and a handful of people killed over the past week as peaceful protests against the government’s hike of gasoline prices (by as much as 20% in some states) descended into widespread looting and rioting. The mood on the street was hardly helped when Mexico’s deeply unpopular president, Enrique Peña Nieto, tried to defend his actions by asking the public, “What would you have done?” For a lot of people, the answer’s clear: a lot of things, very differently. Right at the top of the list would be launching an all-out war against the endemic culture of corruption plaguing virtually all levels of government. But now, time is fast running out as Mexico now faces a hideous constellation of threats and challenges, all at the same time.
Get Ready to Pay $500 More in Taxes
It’s tax time again, and President-elect Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans in Congress have promised to slash them—especially for corporations and the rich. For millions of Americans, however, a tax increase will be the first thing they see. About 12 million workers will pay more this year because of an automatic adjustment in their payroll taxes. Unlike previous years, this rise in the Social Security “taxable minimum”—the amount of income subject to tax—is a whopper: 7.3 percent, the most in 34 years. That could cost each affected worker as much as $539, and much more if they’re self-employed. Why is 2017’s increase so huge? And where does this taxable minimum come from, anyway?
The Oil Supply Glut is Here to Stay in 2017
It has become painfully obvious that the much-hyped OPEC agreement to reduce global oil production by close to 2 million bpd won’t have the effect that its initiators had hoped for. True, crude has jumped above US$50 but failed to pass the US$55 barrier and move closer to US$60, which would have solved a lot of problems for some of the world’s biggest producers. This price increase, however, has spurred optimism among some producers and motivated them to plan output ramp-ups, which will in turn dampen the upward potential of crude more effectively than growing doubts about top producers’ willingness to stick to their commitments under the historical agreement.
Obama Regime Moves To Federalize Elections — Paul Craig Roberts
The ruling establishment has responded to Donald Trump’s election by laying the groundwork to federalize, and thus control, future elections. The federal government does not have the constitutional authority to administer elections, only to set the date. The Obama regime’s designation of elections as “critical infrastructure” seems to have no function other than to put in place a way to prevent voters from overthrowing an entrenched establishment, as the establishment fears the voters did when they elected Trump president. The distrubing question is: Why do it now after Trump’s election? Could there be a plot to rescind Trump’s election on the basis of the ongoing lies that Trump was elected not by the voters but by Russian interference? Federalization can be used to remove the states from the picture and prevent the states from challenging an establishment coup against the voters.
US Currency Crisis Coming in 2017
When the cost of importing goes up, it’s not like Americans are just going to switch from buying goods made in China to goods make in America. No, they’re just going to have to pay more to buy the goods made in China. If they don’t have the extra money, they just won’t buy as much. So, what’s going to happen as a result of increasing the cost of importing is that consumers will spend less and the bubble economy will deflate. There will be less consumer spending because consumers won’t have as much money or won’t be able to afford the higher prices. It’s going to have a negative effect on GDP.
Nobel Peace Prize Winner Obama Has 14 Days To Start World War III
Barack O’Bomber was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize before he even became President. And he hasn’t had one day of peace in his eight years. And, he now has 14 days left and appears to be trying to foment World War III with his remaining opportunity. Long ago O’Bomber accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, but didn’t do anything to either justify or deserve it. More recently he’s actually done a lot to repudiate it. In fact, according to an analysis done by the Council on Foreign Relations of Defense Department data, the U.S. dropped over 26,000 bombs in 2016 during Obama’s final year in office, that’s over 3,000 more than in 2015!
In 2017 Trump will be Presiding Over a Bankruptcy-Bill Holter
Financial writer Bill Holter says 2017 will be “the year of the Truth Bomb.” Holter explains, “I have been talking about ‘Truth Bombs’ for about a year and a half. I think what is going to happen in 2017 is that this hologram we’ve been living in, the curtain is going to be pulled back. . . . I want to see the truth come out, and that’s why we do what we do.” One of the big truths that will explode is about the economy, and this will be one of Trump’s biggest problems. Holter goes on to say, “Trump is a smart guy, and he understands that really what he’s going to be doing is presiding over a bankruptcy. That’s what his main job is going to be, and that’s reorganizing this country.”
Debt Surge Producing Fake Recovery
What do the following headlines have in common? US wages grow at fastest pace since 2009. Euro area economy ended year with strongest growth since 2011. Surge in home prices is beating the one in mortgage rates. Manufacturing in U.S. Expands at Fastest Pace in Two Years. German Inflation welcomed back. Obviously they’re all favorable, with the possible exception of German inflation – though even that is “welcome”. Taken together they paint a picture of a global economy that’s finally returning to the kind of solid growth and steady, positive inflation that most people consider both normal and good. Unfortunately, the reason for the improvement is emphatically not good: In 2016 the world borrowed a huge amount of money and spent the proceeds. The result is “growth,” but not sustainable growth.
11 Numbers That Connect The Year 2017, Israel And Donald Trump
Is 2017 going to be the most important year that we have seen in a very, very long time? Because of the work that I do, I am constantly immersed in research, and lately I keep coming across very strange “coincidences” regarding the year 2017. The numbers that I am about to share with you certainly appear to be quite remarkable, but there will be many out there that will question their significance. To the naysayers, I would suggest that God has always put a lot of emphasis on numbers from the very beginning. For example, He created the world in precisely seven days, and on the seventh day He rested. All throughout Scripture, we see certain numbers showing up over and over again, and God has a purpose in that. So please keep that in mind as you consider the following 11 numbers that connect the year 2017, Israel and Donald Trump…
Elitists Hope That Injecting The Blood Of Younger People Into Their Bodies Will Radically Extend Their Lifespans
Is the blood of young people a “fountain of youth” that will enable those that can afford the treatments to be able to live much longer lives? No matter how much money someone has, life inevitably ends at some point, but there are some extremely wealthy individuals that want to change all that. Billionaire technology investor Peter Thiel, among others, is very excited about advances that have been made in the field of parabiosis. According to Google, parabiosis is “the anatomical joining of two individuals, especially artificially in physiological research.” Based on research that has been done on mice, it is believed that blood transfusions could potentially slow or even reverse aging in humans. The Bible tells us that “the life of the flesh is in the blood”, but now these elitists want to greedily use the blood of younger people to greatly extend their own lifespans. If it turns out that this method is highly successful, will the blood of young people become a greatly valued commodity? When I first started hearing about this, I thought that it all sounded very strange. After all, if people were to drink the blood of young people we would call them vampires, but somehow it is okay to inject it directly into your veins?
It’s A Retail Apocalypse: Sears, Macy’s And The Limited Are All Closing Stores
It has only been two weeks since Christmas, and already we are witnessing a stunning bloodbath of store closings. Macy’s shocked the retail industry by announcing that they will be closing about 100 stores. The downward spiral of Sears hit another landmark when it was announced that another 150 Sears and Kmart stores would be shutting down. And we have just learned that The Limited is immediately closing all stores nationwide. If the U.S. economy is doing just fine, then why are we experiencing such a retail apocalypse? All over America, vast shopping malls that were once buzzing with eager consumers now resemble mausoleums. We have never seen anything quite like this in our entire history, and nobody is quite sure what is going to happen next. Not too long ago I walked into a Macy’s, and it was eerily quiet. I stumbled around the men’s department looking for something to buy, but I was deeply disappointed in what was being offered. After some time had passed, an employee finally noticed me and came over to help, but they didn’t have anything that I was looking for.
New Legislation Establishes Orwellian Propaganda Agency
Our elected officials in Washington have a habit of passing the laws that the American people would probably most like to know about at times when very few are likely to see it. On December 23rd of last year, while we the people were busy making preparations for the holidays, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 into law. Deep within this vast jungle of ink, paper, and legalese, lies a brand new federal agency created to combat what Hillary Clinton has called an “epidemic of fake news and malicious false propaganda.”
Donald Trump’s big week
Donald Trump is embarking on the most crucial week of his transition into the presidency — and, as usual, he’s at the epicenter of multiple controversies. Several of the President-elect’s most prominent Cabinet picks will appear on Capitol Hill this week for confirmation hearings that could be brutal. Trump will also hold his first formal news conference since the summer on Wednesday to address potential conflicts of interest that could surround his presidency. President Barack Obama will move closer to exiting the stage when he delivers a farewell address Tuesday night from Chicago. Though the inauguration is less than two weeks away, the swirl of events means Trump’s presidency effectively begins this week.
The True History of Chemotherapy & The Pharmaceutical Monopoly
In 2016, approximately 1,685,210 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States alone, and approximately 600,000 people will die from the disease. The number of new cancer cases is 454.8 per 100,000 men and women per year, based on cases from 2008-2010. Men have almost a 50 percent chance of contracting the disease at some point in their lifetime, and women have a 1/3 chance. Pretty crazy isn’t it? In a time where so much information is coming to light, challenging the belief systems of so many, it’s important to keep an open mind to new information to help us see through what’s really been happening on our planet. It’s no secret that a small group of corporations dominates almost every aspect of our lives, from energy to education, all the way to modern day healthcare.
A Nobel Peace Prize Winner Dropped 26,000 Bombs in 2016
According to an estimate conducted by Micah Zenko, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and national security expert Jennifer Wilson, a CFR research associate, President Obama dropped over 26,000 bombs in 2016. Syria was hit with 12,192 bombs, the highest number of any country on Obama’s hit list. Iraq came in a close second, receiving 12,095 bombs. Altogether, the peace prize laureate dropped at least 26,171 bombs in seven countries last year.
The Chinese Chart That Keeps The IMF Up At Night
As the IIF reported yesterday, in the first 9 months of 2016 global debt rose by $11 trillion, hitting an all time high of $217 trillion, ro 325% of world GDP. Of this increase, the IIF said that China accounted for the “lion’s share” and while China’s relentless debt-funded stimulus continues to be ignored by markets, one other organization that begins with I and ends with F has also noticed that China has a big problem. As the IMF recently wrote in its IMFDirect blog, China urgently needs to tackle its corporate-debt problem before it becomes a major drag on growth in the world’s No. 2 economy. Corporate debt has reached very high levels and continues to grow.
Venezuela’s March Toward Default
It is only a matter of time until Venezuela will default on its foreign debt. After a short peak in 2009, when the country’s foreign exchange reserves stood at over $40 billion, Venezuela has been steadily hemorrhaging its reserves down to $10 billion. In 2016, Venezuela started to sell gold in order to compensate for the loss of its monetary reserves. As a consequence, Venezuela’s gold reserves plunged from over 360 tons down to less than 190 tons. Other than in the case that some foreign power, such as China, for example, would jump in as a lender, Venezuela’s default seems unavoidable.
US drops more bombs in Obama’s final year of office than in 2015
President Obama’s shifting approach to the conflict is a lens through which to judge his legacy as a wartime leader. New York Times. The U.S. dropped 26,171 bombs last year, 3,027 more than 2015. According to an analysis of Defense Department data from the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-partisan think tank, the majority of the bombs were dropped in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. leads an international coalition fighting the Islamic State group in both countries and has carried out air operations in attempt to reduce the area controlled by the terrorist organization. Nearly the same amount of bombs were dropped in Syria (12,192) and Iraq (12,095) last year.
Obama Seized Enough Land and Water in 8 Years to Cover Texas Three Times
Last week, in one of his final moves out of the Oval Office, Obama executively designated more than 1.5 million acres of land as national monuments, preserving their untouched façade while closing them to human expansion, development, energy use, ranching or state or local jurisdiction. In a move ignored by the liberal media last week, Obama unilaterally seized more than 1.3 million acres from Utah to establish the Bears Ears Monument, preserving it at the behest of conservationist groups and Native American tribes who claimed the land was sacred. Utah’s state legislature, however, opposed the unilateral land grab across party lines, with many speculating that Obama’s move is the latest in an attempt to limit efforts from incoming President Donald Trump to expand domestic energy production.
The War On Cash Ratchets Up In Greece With “Soft Cash” Ban
It wasn’t long ago that it came out that the IMF intentionally wanted to create a “credit event” in Greece – part of a larger plan to destabilize Europe. The country has already fallen victim to the repercussions of the war on cash, but now the grip of capital control is growing tighter. The Greek Finance Ministry in their infinite wisdom has decided that its nation’s taxpayers will only be granted deductions or tax-allowances if payments are made using a debit or credit card. This comes after numerous efforts intended to restructure debt. The Greek crisis started in late 2009, as the great recession revealed problems with the Greek economy. These involved difficulties with deficits, especially those that had not been properly accounted for by the Greek government.
Gold: Getting There A Little At A Time
One of life’s hardest-to-learn but most necessary lessons is that things usually take a lot longer to work out than you’d like them to. That’s where the sayings “Being too early is the same as being wrong” and “The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent” come from. A current case in point is gold. After the metal’s decade-long bull market, a correction was inevitable. But when it finally came, rather than being short and cathartic it was long and grinding, stretching from 2012 through 2015 and causing many who got back in prematurely to eventually walk away in disgust. Then, after a nice pop in the first half of 2016, came the current long, slow-mo correction that’s fraying the nerves of remaining gold-bugs.
In Obama’s Final Jobs report, A Record 95.1 Million People Were Not In The Labor Force
As it began so it will finish. Putting the exclamation point on a trend that has marked Obama’s entire presidency, in the final Obama jobs report, the BLS announced that the total number of people not in the labor force grew once more, rising by 18,000 in December, and a whopping 841,000 in the past three months, to a new all time high of 95.102 million Americans no longer in the workforce. This meant that the perennial bogeyman of the Trump administration, the collapsing labor force participation rate, remained flat near 35 year lows, risint fractionally from last month to 62.7% as a result of 152.111 million people employed in a civilian non-institutional population of 254.742 million.
Trump Is Working On A Plan To Restructure, Pare Back The CIA And America’s Top Spy Agency
Just in case the accusations that president-elect Donald Trump is a puppet of the Kremlin, intent on destabilizing and weakening the US weren’t loud enough, moments ago the WSJ assured these would hit an unprecedented level with a report that Trump, a harsh critic of U.S. intelligence agencies, is working with top advisers on a plan that would restructure and pare back the nation’s top spy agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, prompted by a belief that it has “become bloated and politicized.” The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, or ODNI, was established in 2004 in large part to boost coordination between intelligence agencies following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Looting, Riots In Mexico Spiral Out Of Control Over 20% Gas Hike; Hundreds Arrested
Four days after the first sporadic protests emerged in Mexico City, following the infamous “gasolinazo”, or mandatory 15%-20% increase in Mexican gas prices which went into effect on January 1, the mood across the country has significantly deteriorated, with hundreds of demonstrators blocking highways, snarling traffic, raiding gas stations, jeopardizing critical supplies, and looting stores as angry but impotent motorists lashed out at the price surge, which is only going to get worse as inflation spikes even more following the record plunge in the Mexican Peso. As a reminder, the price of oil rose Sunday by as high as 20.1% to 88 cents per liter, with diesel at 83 cents — the equivalent of 12 days of a minimum wage to fill a tank of gas – compared to the U.S.’s seven hours — and the price ceiling will be adjusted daily starting Feb. 18, before letting supply and demand determine them in March.
US national debt soars by $100 billion. . . in just 8 hours
According to the latest statement issued yesterday afternoon by the Department of Treasury, the US national debt has reached $19,976,826,951,047.80. That’s $19.976 trillion, as of the close of business on Friday December 30, 2016. That number itself is obviously remarkable, just shy of $20 trillion. But what’s even more astounding is that, according to the Treasury Department’s own figures, they STARTED the day with a debt level of ‘just’ $19.879 trillion. So literally in the span of a single 8-hour workday, the US government amassed an astonishing $97 billion in debt. That’s simply incredible– $97 billion is larger than the entire GDP of New Mexico or Luxembourg. In 8 hours.
What does Donald Trump expect to happen to the price of gold?
Q: What does Donald Trump expect to happen to the price of gold? A: The public record is clear that on a personal, company and image basis, he loves gold. He does not have the fiat money religion prejudice of the central banker politicians. He will be favourable for gold. Q: Please connect this back to the five dimension analysis. A: You want to be able to go into the fifth dimension and bring back useful information and apply it physically. All successful geniuses have done this. Nikola Tesla comes to mend. He explicitly referenced this in his autobiography. If you wish to join a study group exploring this then you can apply by filling out the registration form at the link below and submitting it.
Graceland Updates: “Gold: The Cost Of Production Is Near”
1. Gold is no longer vulnerable. It has entered a nice buying area. 2. The $1225 – $1200 price zone is both technically and fundamentally important. Here’s why: 3. The average cost of producing gold is now approximately $1210. Fundamentally oriented money managers of size are almost always buyers when gold dips into the cost of production zone. 4. For a look at the technical action, please click here now. Double-click to enlarge. 5. The $1225 – $1200 zone is decent support. It’s not huge support, but it’s decent. I was a modest buyer in the $1220 area this week, after being a seller at $1305 – $1320 last week.
Bank of England admits ‘Michael Fish’ moment with dire Brexit predictions
The Bank of England has admitted its dire warnings of a downturn in the wake of the Brexit vote were a “Michael Fish” moment and said that the economics profession was now in “crisis”. Andy Haldane, the Bank of England’s chief economist, said there was a “disconnect” between political warnings about Brexit and the “remarkably placid” state of the markets, adding that the worst predictions may turn out to be “just scare stories”. He made the concession as new figures suggested Britain was the fastest growing of all advanced economies last year after the services sector defied gloomy forecasts to hit a 17-month high.
World’s Largest Democratic Country to Endorse Universal Basic Income
With Finland implementing a universal basic income (UBI) experiment that will run for the next two years, it seems that UBI is getting more attention as a viable system. Now, a leading advocate of UBI has said that the government of the world’s largest democratic country, India, is going to release a report endorsing UBI as “basically the way forward.” The report, which will be part of the Ministry of Finance’s annual Economic Survey, is expected to be released this month. India has had considerable experience with UBI pilot programs in the country. Behind these programs is Guy Standing, a founding member of the Basic Income Earth Network, and he is the UBI advocate who says that India’s report will endorse the system.
Central Banks Have Robbed Us Of the Benefits of Free Trade
The term “globalization” — in the sphere of economics — describes an increase in trade, and greater movement of capital and labor across national and regional boundaries. Free trade has long been among the driving factors behind economic globalization, and for centuries, economists have generally agreed that free trade is an important force in building wealth and economic growth. Even economists who disagree on almost everything else, can often agree that lowering barriers to trade is a good thing.
In Stunning Last Minute Power Grab, Obama Designates Election Systems As “Critical Infrastructure”
In a stunning last minute power grab by the Obama administration with just 14 days left in his Presidency, the Department of Homeland Security released a statement this evening officially declaring state election systems to be “critical infrastructure.” The statement from DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson defines “election infrastructure” as “storage facilities, polling places, centralized vote tabulations locations, voter registration databases, voting machines” and all “other systems” to manage the election process…so pretty much everything. Of course, it’s likely not a coincidence that the DHS made this announcement just hours after the “intelligence community” declassified their “Russian Hacking” propaganda which basically noted that RT has a very effective social media distribution platform while once again providing absolutely no actual evidence.
Every Asset Class Will Collapse: ‘You Need To Be Looking At Your Wealth In Terms Of How Many Chickens And How Much Gas You Can Buy’
There’s no other way to put it. The system as we know it will collapse. This, argues Karl Denninger of the Market Ticker, is a mathematical certainty. In a recent interview with Future Money Trends Denninger touches on the various dire challenges facing America. From the Presidential election to the rampant corruption in our financial, political and healthcare systems, he pulls no punches and warns that the worst is yet to come unless real action is taken immediately. Failure to do so, says Denninger, will lead to a collapse of everything we consider to be a part of our current way of life.
5 Tricks Gun-Control Advocates Play
There’s been little talk of gun control this presidential election cycle, although state-level proposals continue to make it onto state ballots. Gun control positions have come down along the usual partisan lines. It was clear from Clinton’s comments in the final presidential debate, for example, that she desires greater restrictions on access to firearms for private citizens. She expressed no such caution about weaponry carried by government employees, of course. While the candidates have declined to make gun control a central issue in the campaign, mainstream media outlets, academics, and pundits continue to press for greater government restrictions and prohibitions on firearms access for private citizens. Meanwhile, of course, government agencies continue to purchase more powerful and more deadly weaponry.
UK military to begin work on high-energy laser weapons for British armed forces
The UK military has kick-started work on the development of high-power laser weapons after being awarded a £30m contract to build a prototype system. The UK Dragonfire consortium will build a laser weapon “demonstrator” designed to track targets across long distances at land and sea, and under variety of weather conditions. The UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) is exploring the potential of Laser Directed Energy Weapons (LDEWs) as a means of defending British forces against emerging threats from drones and ballistic missiles. If the prototype is deemed successful, service-ready laser weapons will be considered for distribution across the UK military.
Grave Danger Elite Bankers Might Make Trump Fail-Lior Gantz
Financial expert Lior Gantz says there is good news and bad news for the economy with the election of Donald Trump. Gantz explains, “If he changes the equation, it could cause a lot of inflation in the U.S. U.S. banks are so liquid and have so much excess cash because of TARP programs and QE programs that this could prompt them to start lending, and lend to the wrong people. It could prompt the government to start issuing increased food stamps, universal unemployment checks and all kinds of stuff that can create large inflation in the U.S. So, that is one side that is problematic. The other side is very spectacular for the U.S. economy because Trump is doing a lot of things that should have been done years ago: deregulation, cutting back on taxes, cutting the red tape and making sure that businesses are more comfortable with opening new branches in the U.S. The best indicator of this is the Russell 2000 index that is up much more than the Dow because the small cap companies are mostly based in the U.S., and the large cap companies are international.”
Corporations Control Our Lives
In our nation, finance has a hold on almost every single part of our lives – from the day we’re born, until we take our last breath. Capitalism and the quest for larger profits have taken hold of our healthcare, our education, our homes, our communication, and even our government. Today, most babies are born in for-profit hospitals, and their medical claims are paid by for-profit insurance. As children grow, many go to for-profit charter schools or private schools, and our public education system continues to crumble. Young adults are forced to deal with for-profit lenders to go to college at for-profit universities, and everything from their backpack to their first home will generate a profit for someone on Wall Street.
Race to replace Ecuador’s Correa begins amid corruption scandal, uncertainty
Ecuador kicked off its presidential campaign Tuesday amid a looming economic crisis, a lingering corruption scandal and a thirst for change that analysts say may hamper President Rafael Correa’s hopes of putting a successor into power to continue his “Citizens Revolution.” Lenín Moreno, Correa’s handpicked candidate and one-time vice president, is leading polls ahead of the Feb. 19 race against a divided opposition. However, if he doesn’t win in the first round with at least 40 percent of the vote and a 10-point lead over his nearest rival, he’ll be forced into an April 2 runoff that could be tough. “The government has to put all its meat on the grill for this first round,” said Sebastian Hurtado with the Quito-based political analysis group Profitas. If the opposition rallies behind a single candidate in the second round, “ it will be much more difficult,” he said.
2017: a Volatile Year from All Angles – Where to now… after what 2016 dished out?
First, there was the surprise upset of the presidential election of dear old Donald. Then came the surprise shift in sentiment about the election. Before, he was a wrecking ball. After, he’s suddenly Jesus walking on water. Never mind that he’s already pissed off China… twice! Or that many are worried about his overly cozy relationship with “Darth” Putin, as with his new Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, who is also cozy with Putin. And let’s not forget the markets that were already overvalued suddenly breaking up irrationally on promises that Trump can deliver sustainable growth rates of 3% to 4% again. So, we’ll just grow our way out of this big fat bubble, shall we? Ha! That has never happened – not once in history – and there’s NO CHANCE this will be the first time… not given our aging populations, low productivity and unprecedented debt burdens!
Power & Profit Fuel War on Cash in Europe
In the wake of the attack on the Christmas market in Berlin in December, the European Commission granted customs and police authorities sweeping new powers to seize cash or precious metals carried by “suspect individuals” entering the EU. People carrying more than €10,000 euros in cash already have to declare this at customs when entering the EU. The new rules would allow authorities to seize money (or precious metals or bitcoin) below that threshold “where there are suspicions of criminal activity.” It was the latest step in the War on Cash. The powers that want to kill off cash include private and central banks, fintech firms, Silicon Valley magnates like Tim Cook and Bill Gates, telecom behemoths, credit card giants, assorted NGOs, a bewildering alphabet soup of UN agencies and many national governments. They all have their own disparate motives for taking out physical money.
How Bad Will the “Bond Massacre” Get? Worse “than the 1994 ‘Bond Massacre,’” with “sustained double-digit losses on bonds, subpar growth in developed markets, and balance sheet risks for banking systems….”
The backdrop: after 36 years of bond bull market, the amount of US bonds has ballooned to $47 trillion, up 24% from just ten years ago: US Treasurys ($19.8 trillion), Municipal bonds ($3.8 trillion), Mortgage related bonds ($8.9 trillion), Corporate bonds ($8.6 trillion), Federal Agency bonds ($2 trillion), Money Markets ($2.6 trillion), Asset backed Securities ($1.3 trillion), Bonds dwarfs the US stock market capitalization ($27 trillion). Bonds are a global phenomenon with even bigger bubbles elsewhere, particularly in NIRP countries, such as those in Europe, and in Japan. That’s why bonds matter. They’re enormous. And the damage they can do to investors is huge.
Masses Shocked By Philly Beverage Tax Impact
Philadelphia rang in the new year with a controversial new beverage tax on soda and other sugar-sweetened drinks. The tax, which went into effect on Sunday, is the first one of its kind in a major city in the United States. While the tax is technically 1.5 cents per ounce, which doesn’t sound too terrible, when buying a 10-pack of 20 oz bottles those numbers climb pretty quickly. In this case, a 10-pack of Propel flavored water that originally retailed for $5.99 had an additional three dollars tacked on to it in taxes. Chuck Andrews picked up a $1.77 gallon jug of tea, got home and looked at his receipt. “When I read the receipt I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. I paid more in tax than I did for the product,’” Andrews said.
Dow 20K Is Just The Beginning Of A Massive Rally In 2017
Interest rates have rocketed since the election. In the past month, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note – a bellwether debt security for long-term interest rates – is up 60 basis points to post the largest monthly spike in three years. Interest rates rose into the Federal Reserve’s most recent FOMC meeting, on Dec. 13 and 14. Fed officials did the expected at the meeting and raised the range on the federal funds rate 25 basis points to 0.75%-to-1%. After the meeting, Fed Chair Janet Yellen hinted that three more increases could be in store for 2017.
Doug Kass Explains Why He Is Aggressively Buying Gold
The broad consensus is to own stocks and to sell gold. But, as I have discussed since 2003 in my annual Surprise Lists, the broad consensus of investors is often wrong. Indeed, it is often the case that the very coalescing of popular opinion behind an investment tends to eliminate its profit potential. While the animal spirits may have taken over the equity markets and have ignored the gold market, we should recall that there is a reason why Keynes called them animal and not human spirits. That’s because animals are a lot dumber than humans! As excited as investors are about stocks, they are now uninterested in gold.
Pastor Lindsey Williams introduces Pastor David Bowen – January 5, 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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