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 24, 2017 to March 2, 2017:
March 2017: The End Of A 100 Year Global Debt Super Cycle Is Way Overdue
For more than 100 years global debt levels have been rising, and now we are potentially facing the greatest debt crisis in all of human history. Never before have we seen such a level of debt saturation all over the planet, and pretty much everyone understands that this is going to end very, very badly at some point. The only real question is when it will happen. Many believe that the current global debt super cycle began when the Federal Reserve was established in 1913. Central banks are designed to create debt, and since 1913 the U.S. national debt has gotten more than 6800 times larger. But of course it is not just the United States that is in this sort of predicament. At this point more than 99 percent of the population of the entire planet lives in a nation that has a debt-creating central bank, and as a result the whole world is drowning in debt.
What This Woman Was Shown About The Future Of The United States Will Shake You To Your Core
Judgment is coming to America very soon. Recently, Julie Whedbee was shown what life will be like for believers in the United States during the Tribulation. She has been having dreams and visions for over 20 years, and she is someone that I have come to hold in high regard. What was revealed to her about the future of the United States is quite chilling to say the least. She was shown a time when Christians have to live in hiding in a post-apocalyptic America where millions of people have already been killed.
Virtually Everyone Agrees That Current Stock Market Valuations Are Not Sustainable And That A Great Crash Is Coming
Current stock market valuations are not sustainable. If there is one thing that I want you to remember from this article, it is that cold, hard fact. In 1929, 2000 and 2008, stock prices soared to absolutely absurd levels just before horrible stock market crashes. What goes up must eventually come down, and the stock market bubble of today will be no exception. In fact, virtually everyone in the financial community acknowledges that stock prices are irrationally high right now. Some are suggesting that there is still time to jump in and make money before the crash comes, while others are recommending a much more cautious approach. But what almost everyone agrees on is the fact that stocks cannot go up like this forever.
Video: Nancy Pelosi Refuses to Applaud American Job Creation
As President Donald Trump hailed the creation of private sector jobs by American companies since he was elected, many in Congress cheered tonight. Except Nancy Pelosi. During his Address to Congress, Trump ran down a list of companies that have announced investments and job additions in the last several weeks. “Since my election, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Generall Motors, Spring, Sofbank, Lockheed, Intel, Walmart and many others have announced that they will invest billions and billions of dollars in the United States and create tens of thousands of new American jobs,” Trump said. As many stood to applaud, Pelosi remained seated with a sour look on her face.
California Governor Spends $25 Billion Per Year On Illegals, Officials Warned Dam Failing 12 Years Ago
According to a report from the Washington Times, California Governor Jerry Brown has been spending $25 billion a year supporting illegal immigrants while neglecting the failing Oroville dam. Despite California’s utter hatred for President Trump they sure do expect a lot from him. When President Trump said $1 trillion needed to be spent on the nation’s infrastructure Governor Brown responded by submitting a $100 billion wishlist for projects in California. In the $100 billion request submitted by Governor Brown there was not a single mention of the Oroville dam. Governor Brown had absolutely no plans to fix it despite warnings that the dam was in serious need of repair for nearly 12 years according to Mercury News.
Obamas To Make Over $60 Million From Book Deal
What took the Clintons years of confidential speeches before major investment banks and middle eastern clients of the Treasury Department, the Obama's plan to achieve with just two books. According to the FT, several publishers are participating in a blockbuster auction for the global rights to two books by Barack and Michelle Obama where the bid has reached more than $60 million. The Obamas, who are writing separate books but selling the rights jointly, stand to make a record amount for their presidential memoirs.
Russia and China veto UN vote on Syria
Russia and China veto UN Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Syria, as in a blow to the Western powers a raft of non-aligned countries decide to vote against or abstain. As promised Russia voted against the latest attempt by the Western powers to use the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Syria, this time in connection with Syria’s alleged use of chemical weapons. This is the seventh occasion that Russia has wielded its veto on Syria’s behalf. China also voted against the resolution, the sixth time China has voted against a Western sponsored resolution concerning Syria.
What's So Bad About Globalism? (Spoiler Alert: Everything)
As far as I can tell, globalism is a scheme concocted by the rich to destroy the working and middle classes through worldwide financial imperialism. I have a strong hunch that globalism is also a plot hatched to obliterate indigenous cultures and real human differences under the deceptive ruses of “multiculturalism” and “diversity.” This is why I’m confused whenever I hear someone say they hate “the rich,” oppose “imperialism,” and support “the working class” while being an unquestioning cheerleader for open borders and global government.
Millionaire Migrants: Countries That Rich People Are Flocking To
Money may not buy happiness, but it does buy the ultimate flexibility for making financial and lifestyle decisions. For many of the world’s millionaires, money provides a highly effective means to escape their home country when times get tough. They can pack their bags, and move their family and capital to a location that will provide superior opportunities for prosperity. According to a new report by New World Wealth, this couldn’t have been truer for 2016, as the amount of millionaire migrants increased by 28% from the previous year.
The FTSE 100 broke its record closing high for a 13th time in 2017
Britain's FTSE 100 reached an all-time closing high on Wednesday buoyed by a weakening pound and a rise in sentiment following Donald Trump's more conciliatory than expected speech to Congress on Tuesday evening. Trump's speech, along with hints from members of the the US Federal Reserve's FOMC that the central bank could hike interest rates helped push the dollar higher and the pound lower, driving a more than 1.6% rally in the UK's benchmark share index. The FTSE closed at 7,384.6 points on the day, a gain of 1.67%, surpassing the previous record of 7,337 points, a milestone reached in January of this year.
NY Teamsters Pension Becomes First To Run Out Of Money As Expert Warns “Pension Tsunami” Is Coming
The New York Teamsters Road Carriers Local 707 Pension Fund has won the unfortunate award for “First Pension to Officially Run Out of Money.” According to the New York Daily News, and a host of angry former truck drivers who've had their pension benefits slashed, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) has officially been forced to step in and take over payments to retirees of the Local 707, albeit at a much lower rate. Of course, the Teamsters 707 and other Teamster pension boards attempted to submit plans that would have cut benefits in order to prolong payments to retirees but those plans were universally rejected by the Obama administration… better that the pensions just run out of cash completely.
FULL: President Trump Speech to Congress – 2/28/2017
President Donald J. Trump addresses Congress for the first time.
Trump declares it's ‘time to join forces' to fix US problems
Heralding a “new chapter of American greatness,” President Donald Trump stood before Congress for the first time Tuesday night and issued a broad call for overhauling the nation's health care system, significantly boosting military spending and plunging $1 trillion into upgrading crumbling infrastructure. Striking an optimistic tone, Trump declared: “The time for small thinking is over.” Trump's address came at a pivotal moment for a new president elected on pledges to swiftly shake up Washington and follow through on the failed promises of career politicians. His opening weeks in office have been consumed by distractions and self-inflicted wounds, including the bungled rollout of a sweeping immigration and refugee executive order that was blocked by the courts.
Trump Proposes Cutting State Department Budget By 37%
One month ago, a media frenzy broke out after the WaPo reported of mass voluntary resignations at the State Department, to protest the arrival of Rex Tillerson. Shortly after, it was revealed that not only was it not a “mass resignation” (there were only four high level resignation) but it was all procedural, meant to streamline the transition from one administration to the next. However, the bloodbath at the State Department – for years Hillary Clinton's kingdom, and populated with many pro-Clinton staffers – may have been merely deferred because as AP reports, the Trump administration is proposing deep cuts in spending for diplomacy and foreign aid programs to help pay for increased military spending. Officials familiar with the proposal say it calls for slashing more than a third, or 37%, of the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development budgets. Development assistance would take the biggest hit.
“There Must Not Be A Bail In”: Germany Vows “No Debt Relief For Greece”
The standoff over the Greek debt crisis was nowhere closer to an amicable resolution on Sunday, when Germany's deputy finance minister Jens Spahn said in an interview with German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that Greece must not be granted a “bail in” that would involve creditors taking a loss on their loans, reiterating the German government's opposition to debt relief for Athens, and confirming that when it comes to Europe's recently adopted “bail-in” protocols, they “work” in theory, but certainly not in practice (see the latest taxpayer funded bailout of Monte Paschi for another recent example). “There must not be a bail-in,” Jens Spahn said quoted by Reuters, adding that “we think it is very, very likely that we will come to an agreement with the International Monetary Fund that does not require a haircut,” he said, referring to losses that Greece's creditors would have to take if debt was written off.
Barclays Server Crash Leaves Customers Unble To Withdraw Cash, Use Debit Cards
Having managed to stem its recent earnings rout, reporting a Q4 rebound in income from continuing operations which rose to £380 million after reporting a loss of £2.24 billion a year ago, UK's Barclays is facing a more traditional problem: on Saturday Barclays customers have reported problems using their cards in shops and withdrawing money from some cash machines according to the BBC. Barclays customers tweeted about problems using their cards when out shopping or trying to access online banking on Saturday afternoon. “Wondered why my card was declined when paying for lunch. Barclays servers have crashed. Brilliant,” said one customer, James.
Poland, Hungary Join Together To Challenge EU Bureaucracy
The rifts within the EU continue to widen as Poland and Hungary join together in opposition to the EU bureaucracy. Soon after Poland’s ultra-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party came to power in October 2015, the Polish parliament passed a law allowing the government to appoint the judges of its choosing to the highest court and not recognize those chosen by its predecessor, the liberal Civic Platform party. The crisis began in 2015 when Civic Platform, the party then in power, improperly nominated two judges to the constitutional court. When the PiS won October’s elections, it refused to recognize them and also blocked three other judges who had been properly selected by parliament. PiS also wants the court to hear cases in chronological order, rather than setting its own priorities for tackling its caseload. The Polish government believes it is unfair that a constitutional court with a majority of judges appointed under the previous parliament should be able to scupper flagship policies for which PiS secured a mandate in democratic elections in 2015.
Stockman: “After March 15 Everything Will Grind To A Halt”
Two weeks after David Stockman warned that “the market is apparently pricing in a huge Trump stimulus. But if you just look at the real world out there, the only thing that's going to happen is a fiscal bloodbath and a White House train wreck like never before in U.S. history” and exclaimed that, when looking at markets, “what's going on today is complete insanity” he is back with another interview, this time with Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog in which he, once again warns, that a giant fiscal bloodbatch is coming soon, and urges listeners to pay especially close attention to the March 15, 2017 debt ceiling deadling, at which point everything could “grind to a halt.” As Greg Hunter writes, former Reagan Administration White House Budget Director David Stockman says financial pain is a mathematical certainty. Stockman explains, “I think we are likely to have more of a fiscal bloodbath rather than fiscal stimulus. Unfortunately for Donald Trump, not only did the public vote the establishment out, they left on his doorstep the inheritance of 30 years of debt build-up and a fiscal policy that’s been really reckless in the extreme. People would like to think he’s the second coming of Ronald Reagan and we are going to have morning in America. Unfortunately, I don’t think it looks that promising because Trump is inheriting a mess that pales into insignificance what we had to deal with in January of 1981 when I joined the Reagan White House as Budget Director.”
Minimum Wage Massacre: Wendy's Unleashes 1,000 Robots To Counter Higher Labor Costs
In yet another awkwardly rational response to government intervention in deciding what's “fair”, the blowback from minimum wage demanding fast food workers has struck again. Wendy's plans to install self-ordering kiosks in 1,000 of its stores – 16% of its locations nationwide. Wendy's chief information officer, David Trimm, said the kiosks are intended to appeal to younger customers and reduce labor costs. Kiosks also allow customers of the fast food giant to circumvent long lines during peak dining hours while increasing kitchen production.
Trump's first budget proposal will call for $54 billion increase in defense spending
President Donald Trump's first budget will call for a $54 billion (£43bn) increase to defense spending and an equal cut in what his administration deems lower priority programs, an Office of Management and Budget official told reporters Monday. Under Trump's proposal, most federal agencies would face budget reductions, but the official did not say which would see the biggest cuts. Foreign aid spending would also drop. Speaking at a meeting with governors Monday, Trump said, “We're going to do more with less and make the government lean and accountable.”
Former IMF Chief Sent To Jail As Spain Prosecutes 65 Elite Bankers In Enormous Corruption Scandal
In many other countries, excluding the United States, corrupt bankers are often brought to task by their respective governments. The most recent example of a corrupt banker being held accountable comes out of Spain, in which the former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Rodrigo Rato was sentenced to four years and six months behind bars. According to the AFP, Spain’s National Court, which deals with corruption and financial crime cases, said he had been found guilty of embezzlement when he headed up Caja Madrid and Bankia, at a time when both groups were having difficulties.
Arizona House Unanimously Passes Bill Taking on State, Federal Asset Forfeiture
Today, the Arizona House voted 60-0 to pass a bill reforming the state’s asset forfeiture laws. The bill also takes on federal forfeiture programs by banning prosecutors from circumventing state laws by passing cases off to the feds in most situations. Rep. Eddie Farnsworth (R-Gilbert) introduced House Bill 2477 (HB2477) on Feb. 7. The legislation would require prosecutors to establish a higher evidentiary standard for asset forfeiture. As it stands, the law only requires a preponderance of the evidence. HB2477 would raise that, requiring police and prosecutors to provide “clear and convincing evidence” the property was linked to a crime. While the proposed law would not require a criminal conviction before proceeding with asset forfeiture, it would take a step toward reforming Arizona’s forfeiture laws under that essential standard.
Former Trump trade adviser: The world's foremost authority on trade could be Trump's next target
The senior adviser who led President Donald Trump's trade transition team suggested to Business Insider that the next trade agreement that could come under fire from the White House was the US's participation in the World Trade Organization. Dan DiMicco, the former Nucor CEO and board member of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, said “right now” the global organization “does not work for us.” Formed in 1995, the organization consists of more than 160 members. It acts as an international body that, based on a set of agreements negotiated and signed by those members, supports free trade and opposes the sort of protectionist policies that were the hallmark of Trump's campaign promises.
New Studies Found Something That Really Causes Climate Change (And It Has Nothing To Do With Human Beings)
A new study produced by a University of Wisconsin-Madison geoscientist and Northwestern astrophysicist presents an explanation of the fluctuations of the earth's temperatures in the past that highlights the complexity of the forces at work on the earth's climate and how much we still have to learn about them. The study maintains that the cycle of changes in the climate over the millennia is largely a result of changes in the amount of solar radiation, in part caused by small changes in the orbits of Earth and Mars. While the notion that the impact on earth's orbital cycle on solar radiation levels is a significant factor determining global temperatures is anything but new, the team of scientists seem to have tied the phenomenon to planetary orbits in a more concrete manner than previous studies.
Trump cuts US debt by $12bn in his first month in office, accuses media of ‘not reporting’ it
The US President Donald Trump has tweeted that he managed to decrease the US total public debt by US$ 12 billion during his first month in office while the former President Barack Obama increased it by US$200 billion over the same period. Trump has also accused the media of turning the blind eye to this fact. “The media has not reported that the National Debt in my first month went down by $12 billion vs a $200 billion increase in Obama first mo,” he said in his Twitter post.
Dallas Police Pension Board Approves Benefit Cuts; Asks For More Taxpayer Money To Avoid Collapse
For the past several months we've warned that the taxpayers of the City of Dallas, despite all of the tough talk coming out of their elected city council members, would ultimately be forced to bail out the failing Dallas Police and Fire Pension (DPFP) system. And just last night the DPFP board voted 9-0 to approve a plan that would do just that. The plan to save the DPFP was proposed by Dan Flynn, chair of the pensions committee in the Texas House of Representatives, and calls for Dallas taxpayers to contribute 34.5% of police and firefighter salaries each year into the failing pension system, up from 27% in 2015, plus an incremental $11 million per year. In total, the adopted plan will cost Dallas taxpayers an extra $22 million per year.
Auto Loan Bubble Bursting, And Lenders Know Where Your Car Is At All Times
The story of the Car Loan subprime lending epidemic is nothing new (one of many, student loans etc). Zerohedge has been writing about it for years, with the financial MSM catching on not too long ago. Even John Oliver had a segment about it on his popular show, Last Week Tonight. The new subprime lending epidemic, in the $1.1 Trillion market, which the experts tell us is contianed and won't have the same effect as in the previous crisis, is where all it takes to buy a car at a dealership is the ability to fog a mirror. Cracks have been rearing their heads over the last few months, but nothing like we are seeing as of late. According to the latest data, auto loan delinquencies are now at levels not seen since the last financial crisis.
Is it Autumn 2007 All Over Again?
While the financial world continues to delight in Trump Mania, the US economy has rolled over into recession. I realize this sounds completely insane. After all, stocks are at new all time highs and a full 61% of Americans view the economy as “strong.” Unfortunately, this is perception, not reality. When it comes to the economy today, Americans are like the guy who hasn’t realized the party is over, and keeps dancing while others are already starting to leave. Consider Government tax receipts. This is perhaps the single most objective economic metric on the planet. If the economy is growing, business are being started, jobs are being created, and more people and entities area paying taxes.
How Many Euro Crises Will This Make? It’s Getting Hard To Keep Track
Every few years, it seems, one or another mismanaged eurozone country falls into one or another kind of crisis. This leads to speculation about the end of the common currency, which in turn spooks the global financial markets. Then the ECB conjures another trillion euros out of thin air, buys up and/or guarantees all the offending country’s bonds, and calm returns for a while. At least, that’s how it’s gone in the past. The latest crisis has more than the usual number of flash-points and could, therefore, be something new and different.
Reasons Are Mounting To Be Very Cautious About Stocks Right Now
This year, that outlook could be best described as cautious, which stands in sharp contrast to the bullishness on display in the stock market itself so far in 2017. It’s been said many times that bull markets climb a “wall of worry” but there seems to be a shortage of worry these days among professional investors. The CBOE SPX Volatility Index (VIX), the stock market’s favorite fear-gauge, has collapsed in recent months, hitting a low under 10 at the beginning of February. That’s the lowest level of market volatility recorded in two-and-a-half years … no worry here! And the percentage of Bullish Investment Advisors hit 62.7% last week, a 12-year high! No worry here, either.
The World Now Faces A Devastating Endgame And How “They All Sold At The Absolute Bottom”
With continued uncertainty around the globe, today the man who has become legendary for his predictions on QE, historic moves in currencies, spoke with King World News about a devastating endgame the world faces and how they all sold the absolute bottom. “They All Sold At The Absolute Bottom” Egon von Greyerz: “Western central banks have a real knack for timing the sale of their gold reserves. They are absolute experts when it comes to picking the bottom of the gold market. Central banks in the UK, Switzerland and Norway, to mention a few, timed their sales to perfection. The only problem is that they all sold at the absolute bottom between 1999 and 2004. That was of course the time to buy gold and not to sell. But the finance ministers in charge of Western economies have no understanding of economics. They don’t even understand that the absolute destruction of their paper money is always revealed by the gold price…
President of US Mint AP: Trump Tariff Could Divorce Physical Silver From Spot Prices!
Roy Friedman, President of US Mint Authorized Purchaser Manfra, Tordella, & Brookes Joined the Show This Week For A Fascinating Discussion On the Inner Workings of the US Physical Silver Bullion Market. Friedman Discusses The Coming Asset Reallocation, Physical Silver Bullion Shortages, & Trump: Could The Donald Be the Catalyst That Finally Separates the Paper and Physical Silver Markets?
Man Who Advises Top Sovereign Wealth Funds In The World Says Price Of Silver Will Skyrocket In 2017
On the heels of a wild start to the 2017 trading year where the Dow has repeatedly hit new all-time highs, today King World News spoke with the man who advises the most prominent sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds, and institutional funds in the world. Eric King: “Michael, what’s exciting today is you have a new outperform in the precious metals sector.” Michael Belkin: “Yes, Eric. We have a new 7 stock basket of silver stocks that our model forecast says will outperform the silver universe. We’ve just introduced it in this week’s forecast and I’m recommending these stocks for new purchases right now. I think there is a big opportunity right now in silver stocks. I have silver stocks moving into an outperformance mode in relative and absolute terms.
A New Monetary System Is Coming But We Are Being Threatened With A Crushing Blow To Our Way Of Life
With tensions heating up around the world, a new monetary system is coming but we are being threatened with a crushing blow to our way of life. A New Monetary System And A Threat To Our Way Of Life. Stephen Leeb: “I’m starting this interview with a depressing admission: today, for the first time in a pretty long life, geopolitical events are starting to really scare me to death. No, it’s not Trump, or any particular president, nor is it Korean missile tests or any other specific event in the news. Instead, I refer to America’s growing inability to see, think, or plan long term. Commodity shortages are coming, a new monetary system is coming, and a divided, short-sighted country has no response. We are threatened with a crushing blow to the U.S. and our way of life…
The Mother Of All Financial Bubbles
At PeakProsperity.com, we pride ourselves on providing fact-based context to breaking important events. Within 72 hours of the Japan tsunami in 2011, we had analyzed the situation and concluded with high probability that three core meltdowns had occurred at the Fukushima nuclear plant. While it took years for officials to finally admit to the full extent of the crisis, history has validated our initial analysis. How did we get it right? By using a science-based approach grounded in observation, deduction and a healthy skepticism of what the “experts” in charge claimed. We also went to great lengths to educate our readers about the science in play, explaining in detail how radioactivity and contamination differ, the health risks from such a nuclear accident, and what concerned folks could do to remain as safe as possible.
Russia Gold Buying Returns In January – Buys One Million Ounces
Russia gold buying returned in January with the Russian central bank buying a very large 1 million ounces or 37 metric tonnes of gold bullion. The increase in the gold reserves came after Russia did not buy a single ounce in December – a move seen as potentially a signal or an olive branch to the U.S. and the incoming Trump administration. It also came after Russia had accelerated its gold buying in the final months of the Obama Presidency. October 2016 saw an increase of 1.3 million ounces or 48 metric tonnes and this was the largest addition of gold to the Russian monetary reserves since 1998. Indeed, it was the biggest monthly gold purchase in this millennium for the Russian central bank.
The Billionaire-Owned, Corporate Media is as Worthless as Ever
Rather than focus its journalistic energy on chronicling the economic insecurity plaguing so many of our fellow Americans, the billionaire-owned corporate media appears entirely obsessed with chattering endlessly about Russia conspiracy theories and domestic coup plots. Instead of looking in the mirror and admitting how its countless errors and propaganda pushing led to multiple humanitarian disasters over the last couple of decades, the oligarch-owned mainstream media insists upon a narrative that Trump the individual is at the root of our problems, as opposed to an entrenched executive branch with excessive power. This is because the mainstream media isn’t actually concerned about our cancerous, systemic metastasizing statism, it merely doesn’t want Trump in charge of it. I, on the other hand, want to dismantle that unconstitutional state entirely and transfer power to the American people where it belongs — self-government. Does anyone actually think for a second the media would be this adversarial if Hillary won?
Iran Announces 2 Billion Barrel Shale Oil Find
The western province of Lorestan will be getting new attention from the Iranian oil ministry following the discovery of major shale oil reserves in the region, according to new reports emerging from the area. The resources, found in the Ghali Koh field, totaled two billion barrels, Bahman Soleimani, the National Iranian Oil Company’s Soleimani said on Monday, citing a recent study. “The oil is light,” he described. Other research on the area’s shale gas reserves will be completed by October 2017, the official added.
Biggest Gasoline Glut In 27 Years Could Crash Oil Markets
Oil prices are stuck in a holding pattern, waiting for more definitive data on what comes next. OPEC compliance is helping keep prices afloat, but rising U.S. oil production is acting as a counterweight. A new problem that has suddenly emerged is the record levels of gasoline sitting in storage. The market has already had to digest the fact that U.S. crude oil stocks were rising, and investors have done their best to explain away the trend. But now gasoline inventories are climbing to unexpected heights. It would be one thing if crude stocks were rising, perhaps because refiners were going offline for maintenance. But if that were the case, then gasoline stocks would draw down on lower refining runs. But if both crude and refined product inventories are going up at the same time, then there should be some reasons for worry.
The Stakes for Trump and All of Us — Paul Craig Roberts
We need to understand, and so does President Trump, that the hoax “war on terror” was used to transform intelligence agencies, such as the NSA and CIA, and criminal investigative agencies, such as the FBI, into Gestapo secret police agencies. Trump is now threatened by these agencies, because he rejects the neoconservative’s agenda of US world hegemony that supports the gigantic military/security annual budget. Our secret police agencies are busy at work planting “intelligence” among the presstitute media that Trump is compromised by “Russian connections” and is a security threat to the United States. The plan is to make a case in the media, as was done against President Nixon, and to force Trump from office. To openly take on a newly elected president is an act of extraordinary audacity that implies enormous confidence, or else desperation, on the part of the police state agencies.
China pushes for open world economy
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a G20 meeting in Bonn, Germany on Thursday that Beijing wants to see an open world economy system and said his country stresses multilateralism and globalization. He called on his German hosts to work with China to promote global rebalancing and safeguard trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. He said such efforts would ensure continued global economic growth. During his meeting with (EU) foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini that China and Europe should work together on global security and trade. He also called on the EU to fast track Article 15 of the protocol on China’s entry into the World Trade Organization.
A new arms race in the Middle East?
New data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute on global weapons sales indicates that there may be an arms race in full swing in the Middle East and Asia. According to a report on trends in international transfers of major weapons published by SIPRI, arms sales have reached their highest since the late 1980s, just before the end of the Cold War. “The flow of arms increased to Asia and Oceania and the Middle East between 2007–11 and 2012–16, while there was a decrease in the flow to Europe, the Americas and Africa,” SIPRI says. SIPRI examines arms imports in five-year increments.
The Russian Love Affair With Donald Trump Sours As The U.S. And Russia Move Toward War
In recent months Donald Trump has been severely criticized by both Democrats and Republicans for not being sufficiently “anti-Russia”, but the truth is that the Trump administration has not been working hard enough to repair a relationship that is now souring very rapidly. When Donald Trump won the election in November, the Russians celebrated tremendously, because they greatly preferred Trump over Hillary Clinton. But just because Trump was victorious does not mean that our relationship with Russia will automatically improve. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin both have huge egos, and it is quite easy to imagine a scenario in which things between them go very, very badly.
What Exactly is the “Deep State” People Are Talking About???
Prior to the 2016 presidential election, there were many topics that were deemed “off limits” by academia, the media, the establishment, the “Powers That Be,” or whatever other crafty names a person can think of to describe the invisible hand that guides society. Over the last several decades, by using agents within academia, the media, and Hollywood to assist them, those very same aforementioned powers have “conditioned” the masses (without many even realizing it), on how to respond to people who ask too many questions about complex or controversial topics. The “Deep State” is one of those topics.
Will We See an “American Spring” 2017? We Better…
In 2011, a revolutionary wave of both violent and non-violent demonstrations, protests, riots, coups and civil wars arose seemingly independently of one another, and spread across the Arab world. Today, we know U.S. intelligence agencies (aka the “deep state”) were involved many of the uprisings. In some instances entire regimes fell, and in other instances there were far less predictable outcomes. In light of how many career bureaucrats have been very vocal about their unhappiness with President Trump’s surprise victory, is it really all that shocking to see the same intelligence apparatus relentlessly launching assaults against the Trump Administration? In a word: Yes. Why? One of the hallmarks of what makes America such a unique and special country, has always been our peaceful transition of power with each new administration since our country’s inception… but all that was “pre-Obama.”
Fed Frets about Commercial Real Estate Bubble & its $2 Trillion in Loans Mostly at “Smaller Banks”
The fear of what Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Tuesday – and other Fed governors earlier – called “waiting too long” before raising interest rates is increasingly inserting itself into Fed pronouncements. One of the aspects – and this is getting articulated with increasing intensity – is commercial real estate (CRE) and its impact on banks whose nearly $2 trillion in CRE loans are backed by collateral whose boom-prices are known to crash periodically in phenomenal busts. Or is it the fear of “having already waited too long?”
“Seriously Delinquent” Auto Loans Surge – Bank regulators have been warning, now it’s happening.
The New York Fed, in its Household Debt and Credit Report for the fourth quarter 2016, put it this way today: “Household debt increases substantially, approaching previous peak.” It jumped by $226 billion in the quarter, or 1.8%, to the glorious level of $12.58 trillion, “only $99 billion shy of its 2008 third quarter peak.” Yes! Almost there! Keep at it! There’s nothing like loading up consumers with debt to make central bankers outright giddy. Auto loan balances in 2016 surged at the fastest pace in the 18-year history of the data series, the report said, driven by the highest originations of loans ever. Alas, what the auto industry has been dreading is now happening: Delinquencies have begun to surge.
S&P 500 Earnings Stuck at 2011 Levels, Stocks up 87% Since
The S&P 500 stock index edged up to an all-time high of 2,351 on Friday. Total market capitalization of the companies in the index exceeds $20 trillion. That’s 106% of US GDP, for just 500 companies! At the end of 2011, the S&P 500 index was at 1,257. Over the five-plus years since then, it has ballooned by 87%! These are superlative numbers, and you’d expect superlative earnings performance from these companies. Turns out, reality is not that cooperative. Instead, net income of the S&P 500 companies is now back where it first had been at the end of 2011. Hype, financial engineering, and central banks hell-bent on inflating asset prices make a powerful fuel for stock prices.
Trump Administration Toughens Asylum Rules, Speeds Deportation Process
Amid judicial blockages, and rogue border agents, it appears the Trump administration is still trying its best to follow through on its campaign promises to crackdown on illegal immigration. As Reuters reports, The Department of Homeland Security has prepared new guidance for immigration agents aimed at speeding up deportations by denying asylum claims earlier in the process. Following last week's apparent crackdown on DREAMers, Reuters reports new guidelines, contained in a draft memo dated February 17 but not yet sent to field offices, directs agents to only pass applicants who have a good chance of ultimately getting asylum, but does not give specific criteria for establishing credible fear of persecution if sent home.
North Korea's Regime In Jeopardy After China Bans All Coal Imports
North Korea just lost a very big ally. On Saturday, China said that it was suspending all imports of coal from North Korea as part of its effort to implement United Nations Security Council sanctions aimed at stopping the country’s nuclear weapons and ballistic-missile program. The ban, according to a statement posted on the website of the Chinese Commerce Ministry, takes effect on today and will last until the end of the year. While China will hardly suffer material adverse impacts, Chinese trade – and aid – have long been a vital economic crutch for North Korea, and the decision strips North Korea of one of its most important sources of foreign currency.
“There's Something Weird Going On”: Jeff Snider On The Global Dollar Shortage
The first time we explained that one of the biggest risks facing a world in which the dollar is the reserve currency is a global USD shortage, was in mid-2009, when we wrote “How The Federal Reserve Bailed Out The World.” At the time, the IMF calculated that just ahead of the financial crisis, “major European banks’ US dollar funding gap had reached $1.0–1.2 trillion by mid-2007. Until the onset of the crisis, European banks had met this need by tapping the interbank market ($432 billion) and by borrowing from central banks ($386 billion), and used FX swaps ($315 billion) to convert (primarily) domestic currency funding into dollars.” The IMF then extrapolated that “were all liabilities to non-banks treated as short-term funding, the upper-bound estimate would be $6.5 trillion.”
US Aircraft Carrier Group Begins “Routine” Patrols In Disputed South China Sea
Threatening to destabilize the tentative improvement in Sino-US relations achieved in recent days following Trump's recent concession over the “One China” policy, was the US deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) to the disputed waters of the South China Sea on Saturday as part of maritime “routine operations”, according to an announcement posted on the Vinson's Facebook page. Sailing with the 97,000-ton Vinson is the guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer, the Navy said in a statement. The Vinson carries a flight group of more than 60 aircraft, including F/A-18 jet fighters.
New Political Turmoil In Italy After Renzi Quits As Ruling Party Leader, Triggering Re-election Battle
Two months after an unexpected, landslide loss in the December 4 constitutional referendum which cost him his job as Italy's prime minister, on Sunday Matteo Renzi quit as leader of Italy’s ruling party, in the process triggering a re-election fight against minority dissidents that threatens the stability of the center-left government, Bloomberg reports. Renzi told a national assembly of the ruling PD that he had handed in his resignation acknowledging he was set back by defeat in last year's referendum, one day after critics from leftist factions threaten to abandon the Democratic Party.
The Unthinkable Just Happened In Spain
Untouchable. Inviolable. Immunity. Impunity. These are the sort of words and expressions that are often associated with senior central bankers, who are, by law, able to operate more or less above the law of the jurisdictions in which they operate. Rarely heard in association with senior central bankers are words or expressions like “accused”, “charged” or “under investigation.” But in Spain this week a court broke with that tradition, in emphatic style. As part of the epic, multi-year criminal investigation into the doomed IPO of Spain’s frankenbank Bankia – which had been assembled from the festering corpses of seven already defunct saving banks – Spain’s national court called to testify six current and former directors of the Bank of Spain, including its former governor, Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez, and its former deputy governor (and current head of the Bank of International Settlements’ Financial Stability Institute), Fernando Restoy. It also summoned for questioning Julio Segura, the former president of Spain’s financial markets regulator, the CNMV (the Spanish equivalent of the SEC in the US).
‘I will not submit!' Marine Le Pen REFUSES to grovel to Merkel and EU in swipe at elite
MARINE Le Pen delivered a rousing speech last night promising that as French President she will not take instructions from Angela Merkel nor beg for her approval. Marine Le Pen continued her fight for the French Presidency, as she laid her policies to put her country's sovereignty first and foremost. In a rallying cry to a crowd in Clairvaux-Les-Lacs, Ms Le Pen said she will not bow down to Angela Merkel and Jean-Claude Juncker. She said that for too long nationals leaders had to ask for permission from the German Chancellor before announcing any action.
Pastor Lindsey Williams introduces Pastor David Bowen – February 23, 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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