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Articles by Divine Wind
Using online activities for assessing individuals
Anyone play MMO strategy games like Star Trek Fleet Command? I've enjoyed it for several years now. Recent readings encouraged me to look into the psychological research aspects recurrent online activities such as gaming and chat forums. As the 400+ year old phrase "knowledge is power" continues to prove, data collection is big business. As the more recent acronym "TANATAAFL" continues to prove in commercial America, users of "free" accounts can be mined for data.
Will the WHCA dinner be rescheduled this year?
The cost of the dinner, the logistics of organizing it and, of course, security concerns pretty much ensure it won't be rescheduled this year....maybe not any year with Trump still president. Saturday's shooting has prompted board members to consider how to fix the annual event www.salon.com Trump has called for the dinner to be rescheduled in 30 days, but he often says things he knows can't happen simply so he looks good.
Hegseth pulls a Bondi in Congressional hearings
For the second day in a row a Trump cabinet official threw a tantrump during Congressional testimony defending a massive increase in taxpayer spending and hiding facts about Trump's war in Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tangled with Senate Democrats Thursday during his second day of hearings on Capitol Hill, sparring with lawmakers over President Trump’s war with Iran, the Pentagon’s massive $1.5 trillion defense budget request and potentially sending troops to polling sites.
American duty to have a two-week supply
Survival training isn't just about bigger guns or being able make a shelter in the wilderness. It's about forethought and preparation. The Red Cross recommends people living in areas subject to natural disasters to have up to two weeks of supplies. I go with the two week plan, but circumstances vary for all Americans. We do the best we can.
Divine wind: Japan gets lift from explosive stock market rally
Women holding parasols, look at an electronic board showing Japan's Nikkei average above the 20,000 mark outside a brokerage in Tokyo June 2, 2017. — Reuters picTOKYO, June 5 — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suddenly seems to have a divine wind at his back. A resurgent stock market is an unexpected bit of good news for Abe, whose signature policy of ultra-loose monetary expansion and economic reforms has delivered mixed results in recent years.
California Lake Mysteriously Runs Dry Overnight, Thousands Of Fish Dead
Perhaps it is because the world has grown habituated to its unique set of "liquidity" problems, but California's record, and ongoing, drought has not been receiving much media coverage in recent weeks. Perhaps it should be, because according to a report by CBS Sacramento, the mystery that recently surrounded the water levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell, has spilled over to a water reservoir in Northern California.
Is Goldman Preparing To Sacrifice The Next "Lehman"
One of the more "unmentionable" conspiracy theories surrounding the demise of Lehman Brothers in 2008 is that this "shocking" event was in fact a well-choreographed and carefully scripted "controlled demolition", with the Lehman Bankruptcy - the event that officially unleashed the Great Financial Crisis - getting the express prior permission of both Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson, a former Goldman employee, whose motive was the elimination of the one firm that was then Goldman's biggest...
"Hawkish"-er Yellen & Japanese Deflation Spark Uncertainty Across AsiaPac
The evening started on a high note when Janet Yellen's survival giving a speech warranted a 100 point rip in Dow futures (and USD strength). Then Japan stepped up with its first deflationary CPI print since April 2013 (which of course was met with stock-buying because moar QQE is overdue but that soon faded). EM FX is tumbling further (with Malaysia leading the charge).
Economic Collapse Full Frontal: The Brazil Case Study
To be sure, emerging markets are for the most part an across-the-board trainwreck right now, as a confluence of factors including still-depressed Chinese demand, sluggish global growth and trade, depressed commodity prices, and a looming (supposedly) Fed hike have conspired to push emerging economies from LatAm to AsiaPac to the brink.
Peter Hambro: "It's Virtually Impossible To Get Physical Gold In London"
Just after my colleague Ronan Manly wrote a very extensive article on how much gold is left in London (not much), Petropavlovsk Chairman and Co-Founder Peter Hambro discusses gold at Bloomberg Television. He, like Manly, concludes there is very little physical gold left in London. From Mr Hambro: My baseline is they [the Chinese] have been buying and the Indian have been buying in enormous quantities. It’s virtually impossible to get physical gold in London to ship to those countries.
The Human Cost Of Socialism In Power
The attempt to establish a comprehensive socialist system in many parts of the world over the last one hundred years has been one of the cruelest and most brutal episodes in human history.
We Now Know What Happened At 6:12 AM This Morning
In a day in which the total breakdown of the market and the sheer dominance of various HFT algos was painfully obvious for any remaining carbon-based trader forms to see, we started off with not one but two E-mini trading halts following ridiculous buying slams. This is what we asked first thing this morning: Anyone waking this morning will glance at US equity futures and happily note its unchanged-ness relative to weakness in Asia overnight.
Hungarian Convicts Build 100-Mile, Anti-Migrant Fence Out Of Razor Wire
Responses to Europe’s increasingly acute refugee crisis triggered by near daily escalations in Syria’s four-year old, bloody civil war have varied by country. Germany has said it’s willing to take at least 500,000 asylum seekers per year. In France, public opinion has now swung in favor of accepting more migrants from the war-torn Middle East, while the EU more generally has announced plans to impose a quota of 160,000 refugees per country subject to certain caveats and exemptions.
Fortress Europe Under Threat
Submitted by Erico Matias Tavares via Sinclair & Co., We apologize in advance for the depressing tone of what we have written here. Of course the migrant crisis that Europe is currently facing is anything but cheerful – for those who understandably are desperate to come in and for the Europeans who are contemplating the likely consequences of this. But the lack of leadership to tackle this clear and present danger to Europe's future is truly concerning.
The Biggest Red Herring In U.S. Shale
A red herring is something that takes attention away from a more important subject. Rig productivity and drilling efficiency distract from the truth that tight oil producers are losing money at low oil prices. Pad drilling allows many wells to be drilled from the same location by a single rig. Rig productivity reflects the increased volume of oil and gas thus produced by each of a decreasing number of rigs.
"Liar Loans" Are Back! 2008 Here We Come
Earlier this year, as the US auto sales miracle unfolded on the back of record loan terms and record high average monthly payments, we continually argued that underwriting standards were likely to deteriorate going forward as competition for the finite pool of creditworthy borrowers heats up.
Bye Bye BABA - China's "Amazon" Plunges After Talking Down Numbers
BABA Shares stalled once again in their efforts to break back above the IPO price of $68. Following a Citi tech conference which reportedly saw Alibaba investor relations talking down their numbers, BABA has plunged over 6%. *ALIBABA WILL HAVE ‘TOUGH COMPS’ IN 3Q: CITI CONF As Bloomberg reports, Alibaba faces tough comps this quartrr in other revenue category due to anniversarying of some items: IR exec said at Citi conf. Average: Your rating: None Average: 5 (1 vote)
Trump Surges Past "Almost Apologetic" Hillary As Presidential Front-Runner, Latest Poll Shows
Despite the liberal media spinning Hillary's non-apology as bringing her closer to the American public, it appears her presidential campaign took another shot to the chest this weekend. Not only does Bernie Sanders keep rising in the polls, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump leads Hillary Clinton head-to-head, garnering 45% support versus 40% of his Democratic rival, according to a new national poll.
In Bed With The Despotic House Of Saud
Saudi King Salman visits Washington amid disagreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia on a broad range of issues. Moreover, the disagreements are rooted in fundamental characteristics of the anachronistic Saudi regime. Many regimes around the world, and the political and social systems of which they are a part, are markedly different from what is found in the United States, but the Saudi polity is one of the most different.
Powder Kegs Exploding: Violence Escalates In Turkey, Yemen As Mid-East Tips Towards Chaos
On Friday we checked in on two of the world’s most important conflicts: 1) that which is unfolding in Turkey where President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has effectively granted Washington access to Incirlik (you know, for “anti-terror” sorties) in exchange for NATO’s acquiescence to a brutal crackdown on the Kurds as AKP looks to usurp Turkey's fragile deomcracy, and 2) that which is unfolding in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting to restore the government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
Probably The Most Interesting Chart In The World
I’m not sure if the guy in the Dos Equis commercial is Brazilian, but it would be fitting if he was because, in our view, the Brazilian Bovespa is…”The Most Interesting Chart In The World” right now. That is obviously saying a lot too considering the present action within the financial markets. So what is our criteria for that title? It’s obviously subjective, but lots of potential “GOOD” and potential “BAD” certainly makes for an interesting chart. The Bovespa has that.
Did Tim Cook Lie To Save Apple Stock: The "Channel Checks" Paint A Very Gloomy Picture
Back in February 2013, Thorsten Heins, then-CEO of what was once the iconic "smartphone" brand Blackberry, publicly lied that its Hail Mary iPhone competitor, the Z10, had "record" early sales. He told CNET, that "BlackBerry nearly tripled the sales of its best performance over the first week in the U.K., while it had its best first day ever in Canada.
Here Comes The Plunge Protection Team
Gold fundamentals are tight, but not so much in silver. According to popular belief, the prices of the metals are supposed to move together. What happens when a trading thesis is believed by just...
#BlackMonday Now Trending On Twitter
Whispers about the possibility of a "Black Monday" began to circulate late last week as a harrowing unwind in emerging markets, a shaky Chinese equity market, and a seemingly confused Federal Reserve put markets from New York to Shanghai on edge. Sure enough, a sharp decline in Gulf markets on Sunday, followed immediately by a bloodbath in China and emerging markets on Monday led the Dow to fall by more than 1,000 points out of the gate.
Gold Is "Undervalued" For 1st Time In 6 Years, BofAML Says
With hedge funds net short for the first time ever, and Commercial Hedgers are holding the lowest net short position in gold futures since the launch of the gold bull market in 2001, we thought it interesting that - for the first time since 2009, BofAML's fund managers' survey finds Gold is "undervalued." For the first time since records began, hedge funds are net short gold futures, according to CFTC data... This is what happened the last time gold saw a 'low' net long position...
"Deal Or War": Is Doomed Dollar Really Behind Obama's Iran Warning?
US President Barack Obama has given an extraordinary ultimatum to the Republican-controlled Congress, arguing that they must not block the nuclear accord with Iran. It’s either “deal or war,” he says. In a televised nationwide address on August 5, Obama said: “Congressional rejection of this deal leaves any US administration that is absolutely committed to preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon with one option: another war in the Middle East. I say this not to be provocative.
Cash-Strapped Saudi Arabia Hopes To Continue War Against Shale With Fed's Blessing
Two weeks ago, Morgan Stanley made a decisively bearish call on oil, noting that if the forward curve was any indication, the recovery in prices will be "far worse than 1986" meaning "there would be little in analysable history that could be a guide to [the] cycle." As we said at the time, "those who contend that the downturn simply cannot last much longer are perhaps ignoring the underlying narrative that helps to explain why the situation looks like it does." "At heart," we continued, "this...
West Point Professor Calls For Military Strikes On Journalists Critical Of War On Terror
An assistant professor from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point recently declared that professionals critical of the “War on Terror” constitute a “treasonous” opposition that should be subject to military force. He believes the U.S. should have the right to attack people who are critical of U.S. military operations — specifically, professionals, legal scholars, journalists, and other people effectively spreading ideas that oppose war. Professor William C.
Goodbye Troika: Germany Rides Into Its Greek Colony On The "Quadriga"
With creditors' motorcades having officially returned to the streets of Athens in the wake of Greek lawmakers' approval of the second set of bailout prior actions last Wednesday, tensions are understandably high. After all, these are the same "institutions" which Yanis Varoufakis famously booted from Greece after Syriza swept to power in January, and they've come to represent the oppression of the Greek people and are now a symbol of the country's debt servitude.
Jade Helm Begins: The Complete "Texas Takeover" Guide
Although you might have missed it, the federal government re-annexed Texas on Wednesday. Jade Helm 15, a controversial set of military training exercises being conducted by the US Spec Ops Command in Texas, Utah, Nevada, California, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico kicked off this week and will last until September 15.
A "No" Victory Appears Probable: What Happens Next According To Deutsche Bank
With early forecasts all telegraphing a modest victory for the "Oxis", barring some last minute miracle, the Varoufakis gambit - with some last minute assistance by the IMF - may succeed. What happens next?
Greek Banks "Unofficially" Limit Walk-In Withdrawals To €3,000, FT Reports
With last week's outflows from Greek banks totaling €6 billion by some estimates, and with Reuters reporting pre-orders for Monday withdrawals topped €1 billion, capital controls now appear to be almost inevitable and indeed, the ECB itself hinted earlier today that if Monday's emergency summit is a failure (which now appears likely), it will need to reevaluate whether the ELA cap is increased starting tomorrow.
Water Wars Crush California Wineries: "Whoever Has The Longest Straw Wins"
Eerily reminiscent of the determinedly evil oil baron from the movie 'There Will Be Blood', Reuters reports the growing tensions amid California's drought-stricken wineries are boiling over: "There is way too much demand. I blame a lot of vineyards like other people do... It's a matter of who has the longest straw at the bottom of the bucket." No one should worry though, because the government is here to help - with a new water management agency...
You've Been Warned: Calls For Mandatory "National Service" For Americans Aged 18-28 Have Begun
WAR is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small “inside” group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many.
Visualizing Every Overseas Chinese Investment Over $100 Million
The global reach of the world’s most populous country has grown exponentially over the last decade. China’s thirst for assets in metals, energy, agriculture, and other sectors is reflected in today’s post. In the above data visualization, every attempted Chinese merger and acquisition (M&A) overseas over $100 million is sorted by country and industry.
NATO Goes "Back To The Future", Will Store Tanks, Heavy Weapons Near Russian Border
As the presidential race heats up in the US, Republicans are set to make foreign policy a major campaign issue with Vladimir Putin serving as the quintessential example of what happens when The White House looks to ‘appease’ a head of state bent on the illegitimate expansion of national borders by violating the sovereignty of his neighbors. The extent to which that characterization of Russia’s recent actions in Eastern Europe approximates reality almost doesn’t matter.
California Water Wars Escalate: Government Orders Massive Supply Cuts To Most Senior Rights Holders
Just two weeks after California's farmers - with the most senior water rights - offered to cut their own water use by 25% (in an attempt to front-run more draconian government-imposed measures), AP reports that the California government has - just as we predicted - ignored any efforts at self-preservation and ordered the largest cuts on record to farmers holding some of the state's strongest water rights.
Writing's On The Wall: Texas Pulls $1 Billion In Gold From NY Fed, Makes It "Non-Confiscatable"
The lack of faith in central bank trustworthiness is spreading.
Hacked Emails Expose George Soros As Ukraine Puppet-Master
Just days after George Soros warned that World War 3 was imminent unless Washington backed down to China on IMF currency basket inclusion, the hacker collective CyberBerkut has exposed the billionaire as the real puppet-master behind the scenes in Ukraine.
Crony Capitalism At Work - Boeing Threatens To Leave US If Ex-Im Subsidy Yanked
Submitted by Veronique De Rugy via The National Review, When has crony capitalism really gotten out of control?
Now Hiring In China: Porn Identification Officers
On June 5, all eyes will be on OPEC as the group convenes in Vienna to discuss its course for the second half of 2015.
Meet The Woman Who Attacked Mario Draghi: In Her Own Words
The biggest star of today's ECB's press conference was not Mario Draghi but 21-year-old German feminist, Josephine Witt, an ex-Femen activist who jumped on Draghi's desk wearing an "ECB Dick-tatorship", a slogan she repeatedly screamed as she was led away by security guards. She threw paper copies of her demands at Mr Draghi, while showering him with confetti that were created from her finely chopped up manifesto.
The "Short-Squeeze ETF" Has Finally Arrived
It was over two and a half years ago when we first revealed that the only remaining "alpha strategy", one which has outperformed throughout the entire centrally-planned regime has been "Buying The Most Hated Names", i.e., betting on a short squeeze.
Greek FinMin: "Greece Will Adopt the Bitcoin If Eurogroup Doesn't Give Us A Deal"
While Greece’s lenders are pushing the Greek government to accept their terms in order to allocate funds so the country will not go bankrupt, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis seems to have another ace up his sleeve.
Gold In Fed Vault Drops Under 6,000 Tons For The First Time, After 10th Consecutive Month Of Redemptions
Two months ago, when looking at the most recent physical gold withdrawal numbers reported by the Fed, we observed something peculiar: between the publicly reported surprise redemption by the Netherlands (122 tons) and the just as surprise redemption by the Bundesbank (85 tons), at least 207 tons of gold should have vacated the NY Fed's gold vault.
The 'Obama' Warning System
Do our childish minds really think those whom we blindly empower will scurry away like cockroaches exposed by the refrigerator light and leave us be after the fall? Really? Are we serious?
Thousands Of Layoffs Coming After Buffett Merges Heinz With Kraft, Creating 5th Largest Food Company In The World
Another day, another mega-M&A deal taking advantage of abnormally low bond rates, this time however not involving biotechs or a specialty pharma seeking to purchase a debt-free balance sheet, but one involving the Oracle of Omaha himself, and his Heinz investment, which will merge with Kraft Foods whose market cap was over $40 billion this morning on the news of the merger, and create the third largest food and beverage company in the US, and 5th largest in the world.
Fukushima's Nuclear Reactor Fuel Is "Missing"
In the same week as Japan unveils its Pacific-Rim-esque anti-tsunami wall public works project, and Japanese government auditors say the operator of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant has wasted more than a third of the 190 billion yen ($1.6 billion) in taxpayer money allocated for cleaning up the plant after it was destroyed by a March 2011 earthquake and tsunami; Science Journal reports, Fukushima won't be truly safe until engineers can remove the reactors' nuclear fuel.
A Scientific Model Of What A Zombie Apocalypse Would Look Like (And Where Not To Hide)
The best spots for riding out a zombie apocalypse are sparsely populated areas of Montana and Nevada, which remain untouched even four months, according to a new study by researchers at Cornell University who have developed a statistical model for simulating the spread of a fictional zombie epidemic.
Venezuela To Start Fingerprinting Supermarket Shoppers
Back in August, when we wrote about the latest instance of trouble in Maduro's socialist paradise, we cautioned that as a result of the economic collapse in the Latin American nation (and this was even before the plunge in crude made the "paradise" into the 9th circle of hell), Venezuelans soon may need to have their fingerprints scanned before they can buy bread and other staples.
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