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Articles by Four chan
Is This The Real Reason Why The Treasury Curve Has Been Collapsing For A Month?
A 'funny' thing happened a month ago. The Treasury yield curve suddenly started to collapse... despite gains in stocks and positive economi data surprises... the question is, why? Here's one possible reason why.. Originally submitted by GovTrader, TL/DR: Tax reform creates pension fund incentive to buy 30yr bonds NOW. Currently, the top corp tax rate in the US is 35%. It looks most likely that rate will drop to 20% when tax reform passes.
Democrat Billionaire Megadonor Launches Campaign To Impeach "Mentally Unstable" Trump
Democratic megadonor and ‘enlightened plutocrat’ Tom Steyer can no longer sit idly by and watch as President Donald Trump sullies the dignity of the Oval Office by lashing at anybody who criticizes him and issuing Twitter rants directed at enemies both real and perceived.
Crypto-Currency Calm Before The Storm
Authored by Jeremiah Johnson (nom de plume of a retired Green Beret of the United States Army Special Forces) via SHTFplan.com, The United States (and the world) has been using the worthless fiat federal reserve note that is not backed by any true tangible asset. The only backing is not even the “full faith and credit of the United States government,” because the government is too far in debt to have any credit. Faith disappeared a long time ago: our faith in elected officials as public servants.
Indian Authorities Seize Half A Billion Dollars Of Heroin
The Indian coast guard seized 1,500 kilograms of heroin, the largest bust ever uncovered by authorities in any county, after commandeering a shady Panama-flagged vessel sailing in the Indian Ocean. The vessel, which was operating under the name MV Henry, was intercepted off the Gujarat coast near the city of Porbandar, according to Reuters. Crewmembers said the ship was sailing from Dubai to Alang, a town in Gujarat known for shipbreaking.
Democrats Urge Antitrust Action Against Amazon Over Whole Foods Deal
In the wake of their embarrassing electoral defeat in November, Congressional Democrats are turning against the wealthy tech benefactors who bankroll their campaigns. To wit, a group of 12 Democratic Congressman have signed a letter urging the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a more in-depth review of e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc.'s plan to buy grocer Whole Foods Market Inc., according to Reuters.
Trump To Seek Merkel's Advice On Putin, Ukraine Conflict
Ahead of Angela Merkel's first official meeting with the new administration at the White House next week, Reuters reports that President Trump will ask the German Chancellor for her views on how the United States can help resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine when they meet next week, senior Trump administration officials said on Friday.
Pelosi Demands The FBI Find "What Russians Have On Trump"
Despite US allies around the world seeking partnerships with Russia (most recently Japan's Abe), it appears the Democrats simply cannot let go of the last meme standing between their loss in the election and a drastic reality check on the failure of identi5ty politics.
Soon There Could Be Only 49 States In America
Submitted by Carey Wedler via TheAntiMedia.org, Activists in California have just taken an integral step that could leave America with only 49 states in the near future. Yes California, a pro-secession organization, received approval Thursday to begin collecting signatures from residents to put “Calexit” on the ballot for a 2019 special election.
At least 1 Dead, Multiple Injured In Major Explosion At Belgian Sports Complex
A powerful explosion went off just after midnight local time at the Plaine Chalon sports facility in Chimay, Belgium, partially destroying the building and burying an unknown number of people under the rubble, local media report. At least one person is reported dead and four were injured (two seriously) after the building collapsed, Belga News Agency reported citing emergency services spokesperson. Photos appearing to show the aftermath of the explosion have surfaced on the social media.
U.N. Peacekeepers, U.S. Embassy Stand Down As American Aid Workers Beaten, Raped In Sudan
Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog, Investigators discovered this month that at least four U.N. peacekeepers in the Central African Republic allegedly paid girls as little as 50 cents in exchange for sex. The most recent allegations involve at least four peacekeepers who are accused of paying girls as young as 13 for sex at a camp for the internally displaced next to the international airport in Bangui, the capital.
What The Next Gold Confiscation Will Look Like (And How To Protect Yourself)
Submitted by Nick Giambruno via InternationalMan.com, On April 5, 1933, under the pretext of a national emergency, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102, making it illegal for U.S. citizens to own gold. The decree forced Americans to sell their gold at an artificially low “official price.” If they refused, the government could hit them with stiff penalties: a $10,000 fine (equivalent to $180,000 today) and/or up to 10 years in prison.
Explosion Rocks Rio's Main Olympic Stadium After "Controlled Blast"
As if things were not bad enough in Rio, The Herald Sun reports that an explosion has rocked the Olympic stadium in Rio after Brazilian police discovered a suspicious device today. Tensions are high in Rio with bomb disposal experts taking no chances with a suspicious package at the Maracana Stadium.
Nobody Knows Who's Paying For The Privately Funded Democratic National Convention
Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog, Earlier this week, in my article titled, Hillary Clinton is in Deep Trouble – “Hordes of Wall Street Executives” Descend Upon Philly, I highlighted how all the Wall Street executives and lobbyists who avoided the RNC were excitedly flooding into the Democratic Convention. Here’s an excerpt: Lobbyists are being welcomed back into the fold of the Democratic Party as the Obama era draws to a close.
This Is How They Protect Us!
Authored by Paul Craig Roberts, The Latest TSA Horror “These people think they are God. They think they can do anything they want.” A partially blind, partially deaf young woman returning home from treatment for a brain tumor was brutally smashed to the ground by goon tug TSA “security” while her mother, a nurse, was shoved away. The goon thugs responsible should get at least 30 years in a maximum security prison for assault with intent to kill. But nothing will happen to them.
Consolidation In Libyan Oil - A Major Red Flag For Oil Markets?
Submitted by Nick Cunningham via OilPrice.com, A political breakthrough in Libya could potentially contribute to the return of some of the country’s disrupted oil production. Libya has been torn apart by civil war, political gridlock, and the arrival of ISIS. Two rival governments have been at odds for several years, battling for control of the country and its oil production.
Brexit: Russia's Comfort Level Rises, US Loses Eurasian Plot
Submitted by Ambassador M.K.Bhadrakumar via Asia Times, If there is a tide in the affairs of men, as Brutus said in William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, it must be the same in the affairs of nations, too. Less than a week ago, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was creeping toward the borders of Russia and relentlessly provoking it, but the tide abruptly turned on Friday. Eurasian politics will never be the same again after Brexit.
4 Reasons the Twin Towers Could NOT Have Been Brought Down With Explosives On 9/11
Preface: We've previously shown that 9/11 couldn't have been an inside job, because: 9/11 was thoroughly and exhaustively investigated by the 9/11 Commission, Congress and U.S. scientific agencies No one could have foreseen 9/11 Government officials didn't have time to stop the 9/11 attacks, once they realized America was under attack It couldn't have been a conspiracy, because no one could keep such a big conspiracy secret ...
Turkey Gloats: "The Crusader Union Falls Apart"
Earlier today, we showed the front pages of British newspapers on the first day after the historic Brexit referendum. Just as amusing front pages, howeve, abound in Turkey and especially among the pro-government (and thus government-controlled) press, such as the Akit newspaper, which looks at the chaos in the UK and says "the Crusader Union falls apart" (somewhat ironic for the former Ottoman Empire).
Brexit Wins! Next Stop: Frexit, Italexit and Swexit
More and more, the markets feel like they did in late 2007/ early 2008: when stocks held up based on hype and hope that Central Banks could put off another Crash.
Gartman Flip-flops Again: 'The Trend Is, Has Been And Shall Be Upward"
Last Thursday, Dennis Gartman flipped from net long to net short, saying "The World Is A Much More Frightening Place." Not surprisingly, just hours later stocks soared, a move which as Reuters and many others admitted was precipitated by the tragic death of Jo Cox, and Gartman was once again left out in the cold, generating virtual losses on virtual investments.
Nigeria’s Naira Fails to Float on a Sea of Tranquility
Authored by Steve H. Hanke of The Johns Hopkins University. Follow him on Twitter @Steve_Hanke. On Monday afternoon, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ended the Nigerian naira’s sixteen-month peg to the U.S. dollar, sending the naira into a freefall. The currency had been pegged at 197 naira per dollar, but as the chart below shows, it had been trading at over 320 naira per dollar for months on the black market (read: free market) and currently sits at 345 naira per dollar.
Canadian Troops Have Been Issued "Inappropriate Sexual Behaviors" Cards
It's one thing for Germany to create a leaflet in order to help refugees understand proper sex etiquette, however it seems the Canadian Armed Forces needs a bit of a reminder as well.
5 Secret Places Censored On Google Maps: "Military Secrets Blacked Out"
Submitted by Mac Slavo via SHTFPlan.com, What lies at the heart of the secret government’s infrastructure around the world? Google, it seems, won’t let you know. In many rare instances, its satellite images have been edited and blacked out to cover-up whatever is there. And since they are so deeply embedded with government and military activities, it is no wonder.
Where The Jobs Were (Not) In May, Or How Obamacare Saved The May Jobs Report
While we have already commented that the "awesomely bad" jobs report was just that, both qualitatively and quantitatively, one question is where the jobs weakness was most pronounced, i.e., which sectors saw the biggest drops in jobs in May. The answer: half of all job sectors posted a decline in May payrolls, a drop that was much broader than just the Verizon miss.
July Odds Jump To Highest Ever As Fed's Kaplan Fears "Distortions", Says "Makes Sense To Hike"
While June rate-hike odds slide, July's conditional probability of a hike is surging to 48% - its highest since the end of QE3 following Dallas Fed's Robert Kaplan's comments that "rates this low can cause distortions," adding that the US economy is "getting to the point where it makes sense to hike rates." But given all that relative hawkishness... Kaplan goes CYA... And the reaction in markets...
It's Like Magic: Obama Calls For More "Generous" Social Security Benefits
In a speech given in Elkhart, Indiana on Wednesday, President Obama called for a strengthening social security, and even expanding the benefits of the program.
"Clients Still Don’t Believe The Rally" - Smart Money Sells Stocks For Record 18th Consecutive Week
Last week, when BofA reported that its "smart money" clients had sold stocks fora record 17th week, the bank offered the following silver lining. Sales have now been slowing for the last four weeks, with last week’s net sales of $218mn notably the smallest since late February. Institutional and private clients continued to sell US stocks for the 13th and 15th consecutive weeks, respectively, though net sales by institutional clients were the smallest since mid-February.
UCLA Campus On Lockdown After 2 Shot On Campus - Live Feed
Update: Police said there were two shooting victims on UCLA's campus Wednesday but did not specify if the victims had been killed or injured. As we detailed earlier, police at UCLA were investigating a possible shooting in Boelter Hall, according to the university. People are being asked to shelter in place in Boelter Hall, according to the university. Police are investigating... Aerial video showed several ambulances on the campus, located in Los Angeles' Westwood area.
Add It Up... And It Doesn't Add Up
The growth of population has been the primary driver of global demand growth and growth in consumption. Rising wages have been largely offset by rising prices (inflation), so the primary basis of growth in demand is good old growth in population...and the deceleration in population growth should be very worrying for those expecting the next decade or two to look anything like the past seven decades.
The Truth Behind The Surge In Conservative "Extremism"
The definition of “extremist” is a rather ambiguous issue primarily dependent on opinion rather than fact. That is to say, it is generally the people in power and their propaganda mouthpieces that determine who is an extremist and who is not. There is no set or fair standard. If you are a quiet and passive sort of citizen with no political deviations and no thoughts outside of what is considered “mainstream,” then you are probably considered a non-threat to the establishment.
An Inside Look at the World's Biggest Paper Gold Market
Every day, there are a whopping 5,500 tonnes ($212 billion) of gold traded in London, making it the largest wholesale and over-the-counter (OTC) market for gold in the world. To put that in perspective, Visual Capitalist's Jeff Desjardins notes that more gold is traded in London each day than what is stored at Fort Knox (4,176 tonnes). On a higher volume day, amounts closer to total U.S. gold reserves (8,133.5 tonnes) can change hands. How is this possible?
"Hope" Spikes Most Since 2011 As UMich Consumer Confidence Hits 11 Month Highs
Consumer Expectations, according to University of Michigan, soared by the most since Dec 2011 in May's preliminary data - spiking from 77.6 to 87.5. Despite a modest rise in current confidence, this spike in "hope" was enough to send the headline confidence print to 95.8, 11-month highs and well above expectations of just 89.5. Despite confidence rising, inflation expectations tumbled (1Y from 2.8% to 2.5%). Hope is not a strategy... Soaring confidence driven by hope...
The Biggest Threat To Jeff Bezos And Amazon: President Trump
Donald Trump is unhappy with Jeff Bezos, and it now appears that the biggest threat to Amazon isn't revenue growth and profit margins, it's a potential future President Trump who may deem AMZN to be anti-competitive and force it to break apart.
A Little Market Insight Into How The Game Is Played (Video)
By EconMatters Every Game involves learning the rules of the game in order to be successful, the financial markets are the ultimate 4 dimensional futuristic chess game. There are different levels operating within the financial markets, the Game within the Game if you will. The Power Players at the top of the Food Chain run the show all things being equal. © EconMatters All Rights Reserved | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Email Digest | Kindle Average: Your rating: None Average: 5 (1 vote)
Is the Fed Finally Coming Clean About Inflation?
For years the Fed has been lying about inflation. There are many methods of doing this, but the simplest was to use a “measure” of inflation that did not actually measure inflation at all. This is the famous Consumer Price Index of CPI. It is meant to measure inflation, but ignores obvious costs of living items like food and energy usage. 1) Doing so allows the Fed and others to overstate economic growth in the US.
Introducing The London Kleptocracy Bus Tour
The City is a semi-offshore state, a bit like the UK’s crown dependencies and overseas territories, tax havens legitimised by the Privy Council. Britain’s financial secrecy undermines the tax base while providing a conduit into the legal economy for gangsters, kleptocrats and drug barons. Even the more orthodox financial institutions deploy a succession of scandalous practices: pension mis-selling, endowment mortgage fraud, the payment protection insurance con, Libor rigging.
Obamacare To Unveil "Price Shock" One Week Before The Elections
The writing was on the wall long before the largest US insurer, UnitedHealth, decided to pull the plug on Obamacare in mid April. Then, just a week later, Aetna’s CEO said Thursday that his company expects to break even, but legislative fixes are needed to make the marketplace sustainable. "I think a lot of insurance carriers expected red ink, but they didn’t expect this much red ink,” said Greg Scott, who oversees Deloitte’s health plans practice. "...
Saudi Foreign Minister Repeats Warning To US Over Sept 11 Law
The biggest financial and geopolitical story from mid-April was Saudi Arabia's threat that should the US pass a bipartisan law which would take away immunity from foreign governments in cases arising from a "terrorist attack that kills an American on American soil" and specifically could hold the Saudi kingdom responsible for its role in the Sept 11, 2001 attacks, then the Saudis would retaliate by selling up to $750 billion in American assets.
"Sell In May" ... And June
"Sell in May and go away" -- the old equity-market adage still holds water, but, as Bloomberg's Mark Cudmore explains, it's important to note how the seasonals have evolved since the great financial crisis. In its original usage, the motto implied it’s advisable to cash out of equities at the end of May and enjoy a long summer of relaxation before returning to invest again. It wasn’t just a flippant saying; the facts tallied with the intuition.
Gold More Productive Than Cash?!
Is gold, often scoffed at as being an unproductive asset, more productive than cash? If so, what does it mean for asset allocation? There are investors that stay away from investing in gold because it is an 'unproductive' asset: the argument points out gold doesn't have an intrinsic return, it doesn't pay a dividend. Some go as far as arguing investing in gold isn't patriotic because it suggests an investor prefers to buy something unproductive rather than investing into a real business.
FOMC Preview: The Fed Is "Scared To Death" & "The Knock-On Effects Could Be Spectacular"
Federal Reserve officials are virtually certain to hold interest rates steady when their meeting ends today but they could try to send a message to markets and outside observers about what likely comes next. With no press conference scheduled after this week’s meeting and no new economic forecasts to be released, all the attention will be focused on their words and the market is more aware than ever that the Fed doesn’t act in a vacuum.
Oil Algos Panic-Buy "Supply-Glut-Reported" Dip
Silver had its biggest quarterly rise in nearly 30 years in the first three months of 2016 as ETF investors, buying of silver coins (now VAT free in UK and EU) and bars and speculators in the...
Remember, the Sharpest Rallies Occur During BEAR Markets.
Looks like this rally has ended. The S&P 500 has run into the downward sloping trnedline set by the 2015 top. It has since rolled over. We’re likely heading down in a big way. Investors forget, the sharpest, most aggressive rallies occur during bear markets. This is because bear market rallies are driven by short-covering: those investors who went short are forced to “cover” or buy back shares they have sold previously.
Greek Prime Minister Sends Angry Letter To Christine Lagarde Over IMF Leak
Today's Wikileaks disclosure, in which two IMF officials hinted that the IMF may use a "credit event as a means to pressurize(sic) Greece" as it has been subsequently put by Greek officials, has elicited another round of widespread anger in Athens and could jeopardize the upcoming Greek debt negotiations.
Verge Of Revolution: The Story You Aren't Being Told About The Brazilian Uprising
As online publications have hailed the major protests overtaking the streets of Brazil at the outset of an apparent political revolution, few discuss the problems that have been brewing for decades in South America’s largest nation. While Brazilians are angry and tired of their economic hardships, they are also incensed at the country’s history of corruption, which now includes a massive presidential scandal carried out by politicians and lobbyists during the current and previous administrations.
Is Trump Starting To Get To Cruz: "I Don't Want To Copulate With Him"
The GOP presidential nominee campaign just went from the sublime to the utterly ridiculous. In what appeared to a prepared remark, Ted Cruz just explained to holiday-weekend-crowd of reporters that he "has no desire to copulate with Donald Trump." "Let me be clear, Donald Trump may be a rat, but I have no desire to copulate with him." Which oddly seems to imply that Cruz may enjoy the company of rats (just not Donald Trump size ones).
"We Ain't Seen Nothing Yet," Dutch Party Leader Rages: "We Need To De-Islamize The West"
November's mass murders in Paris; today's suicide bombings in Brussles... that's just the beginning for Europe according to Dutch Party For Freedom (PVV) leader and prominent counter-Islamist campaigner Geert Wilders who spoke earlier today with Breitbart London in the aftermath of this morning’s major terror attack and has lamented it is just the beginning of growing Islamist violence.
"It's All F**ked": Brazil Descends Into Chaos As Rousseff, Lula Wiretaps Trigger Mass Protests
Just yesterday, we said the following about Brazil: It seems as though this country can’t get through a single day without some piece of political news or economic data creating confusion and turmoil. We said that on the way to noting that central bank chief Alexandre Tombini looked set to resign for fear that former President Lula’s new cabinet position and attendant promise to "turn the economy around" would lead invariably to government interference in monetary and FX policy.
We Need The Pain That Comes With More Saving
Submitted by C.Jay Engel via The Mises Institute, The endgame of monetary side manipulations is upon us. Since 2008, central banks have done what they thought was needed to bring the markets back from the pain they experienced during the crash. The problem, of course, is that these Keynesians and Monetarists placed the high level of stock markets as the goal of “policy” and confused booming asset levels with economic growth.
JPM Looks At Draghi's "Package," Calls It "Solid," But Underwhelming
Earlier this month, JPMorgan’s Jan Loeys revealed that the bank is underweight equities “for the first time this cycle.” Why? Well, allow Jan to explain it to you: The fundamentals of growth, earnings and recession risk have not improved, and if anything have worsened. We remain wary of the near-empty ammo box of policy makers. Our 12-month-out US recession odds have risen to 1/3.
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