Category: Economy

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The Ghetto-ization of American Life – Charles Hugh Smith 4/25/24

Source: charleshughsmith.blogspot.com

Behind the facade of normalization, even high-income lifestyles have been ghetto-ized.

Consider the defining characteristics of a ghetto:

1. The residents can’t afford to live elsewhere.

2. Everything is a rip-off because options are limited and retailers / service providers know residents have no other choice or must go to extraordinary effort to get better quality or a lower price.

3. Nothing works correctly or efficiently. Things break down and aren’t fixed properly. Maintenance is poor to non-existent. Any service requires standing in line or being on hold.

Continue reading “The Ghetto-ization of American Life – Charles Hugh Smith 4/25/24”

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April 20, 2024: Final Nail in America’s Coffin? – Ron Paul 4/23/24

Source: Antiwar.com

When future historians go searching for the final nail in the US coffin, they may well settle on the date April 20, 2024.

On that day Congress passed legislation to fund two and a half wars, hand what’s left of our privacy over to the CIA and NSA, and give the US president the power to shut down whatever part of the Internet he disagrees with.

Continue reading “April 20, 2024: Final Nail in America’s Coffin? – Ron Paul 4/23/24”

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Australia Bins 35% of Covid Vaccine Supply – Rebekah Barnett 4/18/24

Source: Brownstone.org

As part of its pandemic response, the Australian government purchased 267.3 million doses of Covid vaccines, enough to vaccinate Australia’s population of approximately 26 million people ten times over.

But figures released to Dystopian Down Under by the Department of Health (DOH) this week confirm that, three years into the vaccine program, only 70 million doses, or 26% of the 267.3 million doses purchased, have been administered, while 35% of vaccines doses have been wasted since the start of the vaccine rollout.

Continue reading “Australia Bins 35% of Covid Vaccine Supply – Rebekah Barnett 4/18/24”

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What Happened to Bitcoin? – Jeffrey A. Tucker 4/14/24

Source: Brownstone.org

Those who involved themselves in Bitcoin markets after 2017 encountered a different operation and ideal than those who came before. Today, no one much cares about what came before, speaking of 2010-2016. They are only watching the upward price momentum and are thrilled for the increase in the asset valuation of their portfolio.
Continue reading “What Happened to Bitcoin? – Jeffrey A. Tucker 4/14/24”

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The Fed Has Negative Capital Using GAAP Accounting – Pam Martens and Russ Martens 4/11/24

Source: WallStreetOnParade.com

The Fed’s unprecedented experiments with years of ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy) and QE (Quantitative Easing), where it bought up trillions of dollars of low-yielding U.S. Treasuries and agency Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) and quietly parked them on its balance sheet, are now posing a threat to the Fed’s flexibility in conducting monetary policy.  (Since 2008, the Fed’s concept of conducting monetary policy has come to enshrine serial Wall Street mega bank bailouts as a regular part of its monetary policy. Large and growing cash losses at the Fed may seriously crimp such future bailouts.)

Continue reading “The Fed Has Negative Capital Using GAAP Accounting – Pam Martens and Russ Martens 4/11/24”

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SEC Moves Against Decentralized Finance, Targets Uniswap – Rick Findlay 4/11/24

Source: ReclaimTheNet.org

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delivered an enforcement notice to Uniswap, a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange.

Known as a Wells notice, the enforcement wrangle points toward a future legal dispute between the regulatory body and Uniswap, reflecting its reputation as a precursor to enforcement actions.

Continue reading “SEC Moves Against Decentralized Finance, Targets Uniswap – Rick Findlay 4/11/24”

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Costco Selling Up To $200 Million In Gold Bars Per Month, Wells Fargo Estimates – ZeroHedge 4/10/24

Source: ZeroHedge.com

Last December, wholesale retailer Costco announced that they had sold over $100 million worth of gold in Q3 2023.

“You’ve probably read about the fact that we’re selling one-ounce gold bars. We sold over $100 million of gold during the quarter,” sad CFO Richard Galenti.

Now, Wells Fargo estimates that Costco “may now be running at” $100 million to $200 million per month in gold sales.

Continue reading “Costco Selling Up To $200 Million In Gold Bars Per Month, Wells Fargo Estimates – ZeroHedge 4/10/24”

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Jamie Dimon Huddles in Private with Biden Bigwigs as his Bank Faces More Crime Charges – Pam Martens and Russ Martens 4/1/24

Source: WallStreetOnParade.com

Remember that time in 2016 when Attorney General Loretta Lynch decided she would take a private meeting with Bill Clinton on her plane as it was parked on the tarmac in Phoenix – while his wife, Hillary Clinton, was under federal investigation for using an unsafe private email server at her New York home to receive classified government emails when she was Secretary of State?

What President Biden’s Vice President, Kamala Harris, and his Chief of Staff, Jeff Zients, did in mid-March was equally scandalous. Harris had a “one-on-one lunch at the White House” with Jamie Dimon, the Chairman and CEO of the most crime-riddled bank in the United States, JPMorgan Chase. Zients also separately met with Dimon. That reporting comes courtesy of reporters Joshua Franklin and James Politi of the Financial Times (paywall). It has not been disputed by the Biden administration.

Continue reading “Jamie Dimon Huddles in Private with Biden Bigwigs as his Bank Faces More Crime Charges – Pam Martens and Russ Martens 4/1/24”

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Five Banks Have a Combined Half Trillion Dollars in Commercial Real Estate Loans; Number 1 is JPMorgan Chase – Pam Martens and Russ Martens 3/28/24

Source: WallStreetOnParade.com

Yesterday, American Banker released a report showing that five banks in the U.S. hold a combined half trillion dollars in commercial real estate (CRE) loans. It came as a big surprise to a lot of folks that the bank holding the largest amount of CRE loans is JPMorgan Chase – whose bank holding company is also exposed to $49 trillion in derivatives as of December 31, 2023 according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. (See Table 14 at this link.)

Continue reading “Five Banks Have a Combined Half Trillion Dollars in Commercial Real Estate Loans; Number 1 is JPMorgan Chase – Pam Martens and Russ Martens 3/28/24”

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The Meltdown of Commercial Real Estate – Peter St Onge 3/25/24

Source: Brownstone.org

In case you’ve still got money in a bank, Bloomberg is warning that defaults in commercial real estate loans could “topple” hundreds of US banks.
Leaving taxpayers on the hook for trillions in losses.

The note, by Senior Editor James Crombie, walks us through the festering hellscape that is commercial real estate.

To set the mood, a new study predicts that nearly half of downtown Pittsburgh office space could be vacant in 4 years. Major cities like San Francisco are already sporting zombie-apocalypse downtowns, with abandoned office buildings baking in the sun.

Continue reading “The Meltdown of Commercial Real Estate – Peter St Onge 3/25/24”

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The White House Makes Good on Its Antitrust Threats – Jeffrey A. Tucker 3/23/24

Source: Brownstone.org

On May 5, 2021, White House press secretary Jen Psaki issued a mob-like warning to social-media companies and information distributors generally. They need to get with the program and start censoring critics of Covid policy. They need to amplify government propaganda. After all, it would be a shame if something would happen to these companies.

These were her exact words:

The president’s view is that the major platforms have a responsibility related to the health and safety of all Americans to stop amplifying untrustworthy content, disinformation and misinformation, especially related to Covid-19 vaccinations and elections. And we’ve seen that over the past several months. Broadly speaking, I’m not placing any blame on any individual or group. We’ve seen it from a number of sources. He also supports better privacy protections and a robust antitrust program. So, his view is that there’s more that needs to be done to ensure that this type of misinformation, disinformation, damaging, sometimes life threatening information is not going out to the American public.

Continue reading “The White House Makes Good on Its Antitrust Threats – Jeffrey A. Tucker 3/23/24”

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How Shadowy Network Of NGOs Supplies Mega-Corporations With Migrants To Exploit Cheap Labor – ZeroHedge 3/11/24

Source: ZeroHedge.com

One week ago, we wrote a note describing how illegals are obtaining jobs through a federal government loophole enabled by the Biden administration as they await deportation proceedings. This caught the attention of Elon Musk, who said, “Wow, learn something new every day.” 

Now, we’re revealing how corporate interests have become deeply interconnected with immigration through a non-governmental organization called Tent Partnership for Refugees. This NGO comprises more than 400 major multinational companies committed to hiring “refugees.”

Continue reading “How Shadowy Network Of NGOs Supplies Mega-Corporations With Migrants To Exploit Cheap Labor – ZeroHedge 3/11/24”

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How Did American Capitalism Mutate Into American Corporatism? – Jeffrey A. Tucker 3/15/24

Source: Brownstone.org

In the 1990s and for years into our century, it was common to ridicule the government for being technologically backwards. We were all gaining access to fabulous things, including webs, apps, search tools, and social media. But governments at all levels were stuck in the past using IBM mainframes and large floppy disks. We had a great time poking fun at them.

Continue reading “How Did American Capitalism Mutate Into American Corporatism? – Jeffrey A. Tucker 3/15/24”

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What is the Bitcoin Halving? Unveiling the Most Important Event in Bitcoin’s History – Brian Nibley 3/7/24

Source: FinanceMagnates.com

With spot Bitcoin ETFs having been approved the same year that the halving is set to take place, many newcomers to the space may be wondering: what is the Bitcoin halving? This is a common question among those wanting to learn more about the Bitcoin protocol. Expected to be the most important event in Bitcoin’s history, the 2024 halving is expected to occur sometime on or around April 13.

Here we will cover the basics of how the Bitcoin halving works, what the Bitcoin halving is, why it happens, and what it may mean for markets this year and beyond….

Read More…

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The Israel Lobby’s Persistent Role in Sanctioning Syria – Hekmat Aboukhater 2/22/24

Source: MintPressNews.com

On February 13, the U.S. House of Representatives deliberated on Resolution 3202, the “Assad Regime Anti-Normalization Act of 2023.” The following day, the House passed the bill with a 389 to 32 bipartisan majority. Now, the bill moves on to the Senate, where it will most likely pass with similar bipartisan support and a ringing endorsement from President Biden once it reaches his desk.

The bill was pushed with a veneer of Syrian support represented by the advocacy of the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF) and the Syrian American Council (SAC) – Syrian opposition groups in the U.S. While its aims seem, at face value, to focus on humanitarian issues and a quest for accountability, the reality is much more complicated.

Continue reading “The Israel Lobby’s Persistent Role in Sanctioning Syria – Hekmat Aboukhater 2/22/24”

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Jamie Dimon and Nine of his Top Executives at JPMorgan Chase Have Dumped Over $150 Million of their JPMorgan Stock in Last Two Months – Pam Martens and Russ Martens 2/26/24

Source: WallStreetOnParade.com

According to Form 4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by corporate insiders, ten of the key executives at the largest bank in the United States, JPMorgan Chase, have dumped more than $150 million in common stock in the bank this year. The sales come as the bank’s stock has been hitting all time highs while the scandals at the bank are also hitting unprecedented levels.

Continue reading “Jamie Dimon and Nine of his Top Executives at JPMorgan Chase Have Dumped Over $150 Million of their JPMorgan Stock in Last Two Months – Pam Martens and Russ Martens 2/26/24”

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Biden’s War on Domestic Energy Intensifies – Brent Bennett 2/18/24

Source: RealClearWire.com

On Jan. 26, President Joe Biden took an aggressive step forward in his war on American energy by halting the permitting of new liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals. This action has massive global implications, as TPPF’s Mark Mills laid out when the decision was publicly announced.

It also has the added benefit for the president of attacking primarily Texas and Louisiana, red states that account for the bulk of U.S. LNG exports. This decision comes on the heels of Texas taking steps to secure its border with Mexico, putting the state directly at odds with the administration—once again.

Continue reading “Biden’s War on Domestic Energy Intensifies – Brent Bennett 2/18/24”

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Ozempic Users Slash Snack Buying At Supermarkets, Survey Finds – ZeroHedge 2/20/24

Source: ZeroHedge.com

America’s anti-obesity craze, courtesy of GLP-1-based weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, produced by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, continues to create anxiety among the food-industrial complex after a new study cited by Morgan Stanley shows households on the weight-loss drugs are spending less at the supermarket.

Continue reading “Ozempic Users Slash Snack Buying At Supermarkets, Survey Finds – ZeroHedge 2/20/24”

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Fatal Flaws Undermine America’s Defense Industrial Base – Brian Berletic 2/15/24

Source: Journal-NEO.su

The first-ever US Department of Defense National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS) confirms what many analysts have concluded in regard to the unsustainable nature of Washington’s global-spanning foreign policy objectives and its defense industrial base’s (DIB) inability to achieve them.

The report lays out a multitude of problems plaguing the US DIB including a lack of surge capacity, inadequate workforce, off-shore downstream suppliers, as well as insufficient “demand signals” to motivate private industry partners to produce what’s needed, in the quantities needed, when it is needed.

Continue reading “Fatal Flaws Undermine America’s Defense Industrial Base – Brian Berletic 2/15/24”

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Alberta Rejects Trudeau’s ‘Unconstitutional’ Oil and Gas Emissions Cap – Clare Marie Merkowsky 2/9/24

Source: LifeSiteNews.com

Alberta has officially rejected the Liberal government’s oil and gas emission cap, saying it would cripple Canada’s economy.

On February 5, Alberta Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schulz published an open letter to Liberal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, warning him that Alberta will not be enforcing the proposed oil and gas regulations.

Continue reading “Alberta Rejects Trudeau’s ‘Unconstitutional’ Oil and Gas Emissions Cap – Clare Marie Merkowsky 2/9/24”

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Europe Erupts In Widespread Farmer Protests As Revolt Against ‘Green’ Policies Intensifies – ZeroHedge 1/31/24

Source: ZeroHedge.com

Farmers in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, Romania, and other countries across Europe are protesting radical leftist governments by obstructing major transport networks with tractors. This widespread populist movement is sweeping Europe at a time when over-regulation, taxes, and the climate change agenda threaten the livelihoods of not just farmers but working-class people and comes several months before the European election cycle kicks off in June.

Some countries hit hardest by protests have been Germany, Italy, Belgium, and France. Protests are expected to spread to Spain and Portugal.

Continue reading “Europe Erupts In Widespread Farmer Protests As Revolt Against ‘Green’ Policies Intensifies – ZeroHedge 1/31/24”

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Dutch Government’s $25 Billion Plan to Get Rid of Farmers; Funded by Taxpayers – Dr. Joseph Mercola 1/26/24

Source: ChildrensHealthDefense.org

Story at a glance:

  • Dutch cattle farmers own 70% of Holland, but the government is pushing for a forced buyout of 50% of their land, claiming it’s necessary to reduce pollution.
  • Experts say the move to get rid of farmers isn’t about the environment but, rather, taking control of valuable land.
  • The government’s computer models, which are used to support its plan to reduce nitrogen by buying up farmland, are based on a flawed assumption that nitrogen migrates from one field to the next.
  • The push to remove farmers from their land is being driven by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which are primarily funded by the government, making them government extensions.
  • A $25 billion government fund, created using taxpayers’ money, has been established to buy farmers’ land; once a farmer sells their land, they’ll be legally prohibited from establishing a farm anywhere else in Europe.

Continue reading “Dutch Government’s $25 Billion Plan to Get Rid of Farmers; Funded by Taxpayers – Dr. Joseph Mercola 1/26/24”

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How Yemen Changed Everything – Pepe Escobar 12/28/23

Source: New.TheCradle.co

Whether invented in northern India, eastern China or Central Asia – from Persia to Turkestan – chess is an Asian game. In chess, there always comes a time when a simple pawn is able to upset the whole chessboard, usually via a move in the back rank whose effect simply cannot be calculated.

Yes, a pawn can impose a seismic checkmate. That’s where we are, geopolitically, right now.

The cascading effects of a single move on the chessboard – Yemen’s Ansarallah stunning and carefully targeted blockade of the Red Sea – reach way beyond global shipping, supply chains, and The War of Economic Corridors. Not to mention the reduction of the much lauded US Navy force projection to irrelevancy…….

Read More…

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The Number of IPO Listings Has Plunged in the U.S. While Some Investors Are Nursing Losses of 70 to 95 Percent – Pam Martens and Russ Martens 12/4/23

Source:WallStreetOnParade.com

Through last Friday, there have been 148 IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) in the U.S. this year, the lowest number in the past six years. But what is more striking about the U.S. IPO market is how poorly these IPOs have performed for investors.

Continue reading “The Number of IPO Listings Has Plunged in the U.S. While Some Investors Are Nursing Losses of 70 to 95 Percent – Pam Martens and Russ Martens 12/4/23”

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You’re Paying for the Israel War. You’ll Also Pay for the Refugees. – Ryan McMaken 11/14/23

Source: Mises.org

The United States regime has picked sides in the Israel-Hamas war and has committed to funding Israel’s ongoing bombing of non-combatant men, women, and children in the Gaza strip. Northern Gaza’s infrastructure is now all but destroyed, with millions of Gazans displaced and homeless. Nearly ten times more Gazans than Israelis have now died in the conflict. Many Gazans have fled to the southern portion of Gaza, but homelessness and abject poverty awaits them there.

Continue reading “You’re Paying for the Israel War. You’ll Also Pay for the Refugees. – Ryan McMaken 11/14/23”

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Israel’s Military is Part of the US War Machine – Norman Solomon 11/8/23

Source: Antiwar.com

The governments of Israel and the United States are now in disagreement over how many Palestinian civilians it’s okay to kill. Last week – as the death toll from massive Israeli bombardment of Gaza neared 10,000 people, including several thousand children – top U.S. officials began to worry about the rising horrified outcry at home and abroad. So, they went public with muted misgivings and calls for a “humanitarian pause.” But Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear that he would have none of it.

Such minor tactical discord does little to chip away at the solid bedrock alliance between the two countries, which are most of the way through a 10-year deal that guarantees $38 billion in U.S. military aid to Israel. And now, as the carnage in Gaza continues, Washington is rushing to provide extra military assistance worth $14 billion.

Continue reading “Israel’s Military is Part of the US War Machine – Norman Solomon 11/8/23”

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How the US Spent $4.1 Billion on Global LGBT Initiatives – Jackson Elliott 11/6/23

Source: TheEpochTimes.com

During the past three fiscal years, $4.1 billion in federal money from taxpayers has flowed to LGBT initiatives in the United States and around the world, an Epoch Times investigation has revealed.

From Oct. 1, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2023, the U.S. government issued more than 1,100 grants to fund LGBT-promoting projects around the world, according to a review of a federal spending website.

The scope of projects varies widely.

Continue reading “How the US Spent $4.1 Billion on Global LGBT Initiatives – Jackson Elliott 11/6/23”

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The US has Lost its First-World Status – Daniel Nuccio 11/9/23

Source: Brownstone.org

Everything is dirty. Nothing works. But everything’s also more expensive. And oh, by the way, you don’t have privacy anymore.

That is how I described life in the US to a friend who had been living abroad for a bit more than a decade when we met up earlier this year during his brief return to the states.

We’re not a first world country anymore, I told him. Hopefully our decline stops somewhere around second world, I half-joked. That’s probably the best we can hope for.

Continue reading “The US has Lost its First-World Status – Daniel Nuccio 11/9/23”

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Don’t Fall for Biden’s Latest Talking Point – Connor O’Keeffe 11/1/23

Source: Mises.org

As the long-hyped Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia stalls and a new war in Gaza draws the world’s attention, American support for funding Kyiv’s war has waned. In an effort to reverse this, the Biden administration is changing its messaging. A Politico report from last week details how White House aides are now telling members of Congress to sell Americans the lie that continuing to send money and weapons to Ukraine is good for the economy.

Continue reading “Don’t Fall for Biden’s Latest Talking Point – Connor O’Keeffe 11/1/23”

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“This Is Unacceptable”: Blue States Blast Biden Over Border Blunders As Backlash Intensifies – ZeroHedge 10/8/23

Source: ZeroHedge.com

Blue states buckling under the strain of hundreds of thousands of migrants bussed into their Democratic strongholds are blaming President Joe Biden for not doing enough to curb the influx of illegals.

The latest politician to blast Biden is Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who told Biden in a Monday letter that his state is in an “untenable situation,” and that the feds need to take “swift action.”

Continue reading ““This Is Unacceptable”: Blue States Blast Biden Over Border Blunders As Backlash Intensifies – ZeroHedge 10/8/23″

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Governments Start Calling For Price Controls; Rationing And CBDCs Come Next – Brandon Smith 9/21/23

Source: Alt-Market.us

Last month in the middle of the surreal “Bidenomics” hype I published an article titled ‘Nothing Is Over: Inflation Is About To Come Back With A Vengeance.’  I outlined the misconceptions surrounding CPI and how it is not an accurate model for the effects of inflation.  I also noted that the index had been manipulated downwards by Joe Biden as he flooded the market with oil from the strategic reserves.  Because so many elements of the CPI are connected to energy, Biden had created an artificial drop in CPI using this strategy.

Continue reading “Governments Start Calling For Price Controls; Rationing And CBDCs Come Next – Brandon Smith 9/21/23”

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Target To Shutter Nine Stores In Major Cities After Being Targeted By Violence, Theft – ZeroHedge 9/26/23

Source: ZeroHedge.com

Retail giant Target on Tuesday announced the closure of nine stores in major cities across the US, citing violence, theft and organized retail crime. The news comes on the heels of a warning from the company that lost or stolen inventory has created a $500 million dent in profitability this year.

“We cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance,” the company said in a press statement. “We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all.”

According to CNBC, the company will close one store in Harlem, two stores in Seattle, three stores in the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area, and three more in Portland, Oregon….

Read More…

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Some Companies Pull Advertising From Rumble For Its Neutral Stance on Russell Brand – Cindy Harper 9/23/23

Source: ReclaimTheNet.org

The online free speech war has found a new battlefield with the video platform Rumble at its center, following recent accusations leveled against comedian Russell Brand. Numerous companies, including Burger King, Asos, the Barbican, and meal delivery service HelloFresh have withdrawn their ads from the increasingly popular platform.

A group called The News Movement, who say they “help people fight misinformation,” contacted companies, pointing out that their adverts were being shown on Russell Brand’s channel.

The group said they also contacted other brands including “Ralph Lauren, eBay and Hilton hotels” who didn’t respond to their “request for comment.”…

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