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Welcome To LaLa Land As Market Jettisons Tail Risks (5/16/2024)
Welcome To LaLa Land As Market Jettisons Tail Risks By Simon White, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and analyst The economy is signaling a more volatile, potentially recessionary period. Markets, however, aren’t paying attention. Not only are the twin tail risks of a downturn or resurgent inflation being ignored, but a near-impossible “immaculate acceleration” of boomy growth and benign price appreciation is becoming the base case. It’s not the first time that markets and the economy have been at odds, but this is one of the most egregious. Just as the …
Welcome To LaLa Land As Market Jettisons Tail Risks By Simon White, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and analyst The economy is signaling a more volatile, potentially recessionary period. Markets, however, aren’t paying attention. Not only are the twin tail risks of a downturn or resurgent inflation being ignored, but a near-impossible “immaculate acceleration” of boomy growth and benign price appreciation is becoming the base case. It’s not the first time that markets and the economy have been at odds, but this is one of the most egregious. Just as the …
Futures Flat At All Time High As Markets Mull Next Move (5/16/2024)
Futures Flat At All Time High As Markets Mull Next Move US index futures are flat after notching new record highs on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, spurred on by a miss in the US CPI print and retail sales data on Wednesday, which also boosted bets the Federal Reserve will ease policy. That inflation data, which the market was feverishly anticipating, was inadvertently published 30 minutes early the BLS reported, raising fresh questions about how some of the world’s most sensitive economic information is released. As of 7:30am, …
Futures Flat At All Time High As Markets Mull Next Move US index futures are flat after notching new record highs on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, spurred on by a miss in the US CPI print and retail sales data on Wednesday, which also boosted bets the Federal Reserve will ease policy. That inflation data, which the market was feverishly anticipating, was inadvertently published 30 minutes early the BLS reported, raising fresh questions about how some of the world’s most sensitive economic information is released. As of 7:30am, …
What About The Non-Superstar Companies That Account For 85% Of US Jobs (5/16/2024)
What About The Non-Superstar Companies That Account For 85% Of US Jobs By Dhaval Joshi of BCA Research The Superstar Economy The stellar performance of the S&P 500 superstars is not representative of the profits of wider corporate America. For the direction of the US jobs market, we should closely monitor the profits of the 6.4 million non-superstar US companies that account for 85 percent of US jobs. These profits have been softening. The US stock market’s record 50 percent valuation premium versus the non-US stock market is pricing generative …
What About The Non-Superstar Companies That Account For 85% Of US Jobs By Dhaval Joshi of BCA Research The Superstar Economy The stellar performance of the S&P 500 superstars is not representative of the profits of wider corporate America. For the direction of the US jobs market, we should closely monitor the profits of the 6.4 million non-superstar US companies that account for 85 percent of US jobs. These profits have been softening. The US stock market’s record 50 percent valuation premium versus the non-US stock market is pricing generative …
Commodity Index Hits Highest In Year As Sticky Inflation Becomes Nightmare For Fed (5/16/2024)
Commodity Index Hits Highest In Year As Sticky Inflation Becomes Nightmare For Fed About a month ago, HSBC Global Research noted a forecast for a “weak” bull market in commodities. New data shows that the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April rose by .3% from the previous month and by 3.4% year-over-year. Although inflation is still increasing, it is doing so at a slower pace. Meanwhile, in Asia, Beijing is working to stabilize its economy. Amid these developments, commodity prices, tracked by Bloomberg, have reached their highest level in …
Commodity Index Hits Highest In Year As Sticky Inflation Becomes Nightmare For Fed About a month ago, HSBC Global Research noted a forecast for a “weak” bull market in commodities. New data shows that the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April rose by .3% from the previous month and by 3.4% year-over-year. Although inflation is still increasing, it is doing so at a slower pace. Meanwhile, in Asia, Beijing is working to stabilize its economy. Amid these developments, commodity prices, tracked by Bloomberg, have reached their highest level in …
'So Much For Democracy'? Blinken Justifies Ukraine Canceling Elections (5/16/2024)
‘So Much For Democracy’? Blinken Justifies Ukraine Canceling Elections Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com, Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Tuesday and delivered a speech where he justified President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to postpone elections. Presidential elections were due to be held in March, but they weren’t, and Zelensky will remain in office after his term ends on May 20. Ukrainian parliamentary elections were scheduled to be held last year in October, but they were also canceled. On Tuesday night Blinken put on a concert at …
‘So Much For Democracy’? Blinken Justifies Ukraine Canceling Elections Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com, Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Tuesday and delivered a speech where he justified President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to postpone elections. Presidential elections were due to be held in March, but they weren’t, and Zelensky will remain in office after his term ends on May 20. Ukrainian parliamentary elections were scheduled to be held last year in October, but they were also canceled. On Tuesday night Blinken put on a concert at …
These Are Africa's Most Powerful Passports (5/16/2024)
These Are Africa’s Most Powerful Passports The Seychelles has the most powerful passport in Africa, followed by Mauritius and South Africa, according to the Henley Passport Index 2024. This index ranks passports based on the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. As Statista’s Anna Fleck shows in the following chart, citizens from Seychelles can travel to 156 destinations without a visa organized beforehand. In a global comparison, the country ranks 26th, joint with St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean as well as Uruguay in South …
These Are Africa’s Most Powerful Passports The Seychelles has the most powerful passport in Africa, followed by Mauritius and South Africa, according to the Henley Passport Index 2024. This index ranks passports based on the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. As Statista’s Anna Fleck shows in the following chart, citizens from Seychelles can travel to 156 destinations without a visa organized beforehand. In a global comparison, the country ranks 26th, joint with St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean as well as Uruguay in South …
“West's Governments Need War” Warns Martin Armstrong “Because Their Debts Are No Longer Sustainable” (5/16/2024)
“West’s Governments Need War” Warns Martin Armstrong “Because Their Debts Are No Longer Sustainable” Interview with Martin Armstrong by Piero Messina for SouthFront Martin Armstrong is one of the most influential economists of our times. Someone called him the “Forecaster”, because that was the title of the biopic film that helped make his activities known throughout the world. Those of Martin Armstrong are not just “predictions”, as his reflections are based on the compendium of precise mathematical formulas and analytical skills. We interviewed him to try to understand the current geopolitical context. From the crisis …
“West’s Governments Need War” Warns Martin Armstrong “Because Their Debts Are No Longer Sustainable” Interview with Martin Armstrong by Piero Messina for SouthFront Martin Armstrong is one of the most influential economists of our times. Someone called him the “Forecaster”, because that was the title of the biopic film that helped make his activities known throughout the world. Those of Martin Armstrong are not just “predictions”, as his reflections are based on the compendium of precise mathematical formulas and analytical skills. We interviewed him to try to understand the current geopolitical context. From the crisis …
Google's Smartphone Loyalty Problem (5/16/2024)
Google’s Smartphone Loyalty Problem Google’s latest smartphone, the Pixel 8a went on sale this week – a more affordable version of October’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, with which the tech giant aims to wrestle more of the market out of Apple’s and Samsung’s hands. While the devices and their AI-driven software may well win over new customers, Statista’s Martin Armstrong reports that data from the Statista Consumer Insights survey suggests Google’s biggest battle could be to hold onto the ones they’ve already got. When asked how likely they were to change to …
Google’s Smartphone Loyalty Problem Google’s latest smartphone, the Pixel 8a went on sale this week – a more affordable version of October’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, with which the tech giant aims to wrestle more of the market out of Apple’s and Samsung’s hands. While the devices and their AI-driven software may well win over new customers, Statista’s Martin Armstrong reports that data from the Statista Consumer Insights survey suggests Google’s biggest battle could be to hold onto the ones they’ve already got. When asked how likely they were to change to …
Hezbollah Leader Threatens To “Open The Sea” To Flood Europe With Migrants (5/16/2024)
Hezbollah Leader Threatens To “Open The Sea” To Flood Europe With Migrants Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah urged Lebanese authorities to ‘open the sea’ in order to flood Europe with a new wave of migrants. Nasrallah made the remarks during a televised address at a rally marking the eighth anniversary of the assassination of late Hezbollah Resistance military commander Mustafa Badreddine. The militant leader called for “a national decision that says: we have opened the sea… whoever wants to leave for Europe, for Cyprus, …
Hezbollah Leader Threatens To “Open The Sea” To Flood Europe With Migrants Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah urged Lebanese authorities to ‘open the sea’ in order to flood Europe with a new wave of migrants. Nasrallah made the remarks during a televised address at a rally marking the eighth anniversary of the assassination of late Hezbollah Resistance military commander Mustafa Badreddine. The militant leader called for “a national decision that says: we have opened the sea… whoever wants to leave for Europe, for Cyprus, …
Get Woke, Go Broke: New “Queer” 'Doctor Who' Suffers Worst Ratings In Series History (5/16/2024)
Get Woke, Go Broke: New “Queer” ‘Doctor Who’ Suffers Worst Ratings In Series History Woke activists today often like to hearken back to nostalgic media from the 1960s; what they consider the golden era or genesis moment of far-left movements in British and US history. These were the days when being a progressive was considered “counter-culture” and cool, with every major rock star and celebrity tapping into youth angst and hippie philosophy. The progressive shift led to considerable social instability in the 1970s. It is common these days to hear …
Get Woke, Go Broke: New “Queer” ‘Doctor Who’ Suffers Worst Ratings In Series History Woke activists today often like to hearken back to nostalgic media from the 1960s; what they consider the golden era or genesis moment of far-left movements in British and US history. These were the days when being a progressive was considered “counter-culture” and cool, with every major rock star and celebrity tapping into youth angst and hippie philosophy. The progressive shift led to considerable social instability in the 1970s. It is common these days to hear …
Israel Will 'Set Sights' On Turkey If Hamas Defeated, Erdogan Claims (5/16/2024)
Israel Will ‘Set Sights’ On Turkey If Hamas Defeated, Erdogan Claims Via The Cradle Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on 15 May that Israel would “target” Turkey if victorious against the Hamas and other Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. “Israel will not stop in Gaza, and if not stopped, this rogue state will eventually target Anatolia with its delusions of a promised land,” Erdogan said during a parliamentary group meeting in Ankara. “We will continue to stand by Hamas, which fights for the independence of its own land and …
Israel Will ‘Set Sights’ On Turkey If Hamas Defeated, Erdogan Claims Via The Cradle Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on 15 May that Israel would “target” Turkey if victorious against the Hamas and other Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. “Israel will not stop in Gaza, and if not stopped, this rogue state will eventually target Anatolia with its delusions of a promised land,” Erdogan said during a parliamentary group meeting in Ankara. “We will continue to stand by Hamas, which fights for the independence of its own land and …
Escobar: De-Dollarization Bombshell – The Coming Of BRICS+ Decentralized Monetary Ecosystem (5/15/2024)
Escobar: De-Dollarization Bombshell – The Coming Of BRICS+ Decentralized Monetary Ecosystem Authored by Pepe Escobar, Get ready for what may well be the geoeconomic bombshell of 2024: the coming of a decentralized monetary ecosystem. Welcome to The Unit – a concept that has already been discussed by the financial services and investments working group set up by the BRICS+ Business Council and has a serious shot at becoming official BRICS+ policy as early as in 2025. According to Alexey Subbotin, founder of Arkhangelsk Capital Management and one of the Unit’s conceptualizers, …
Escobar: De-Dollarization Bombshell – The Coming Of BRICS+ Decentralized Monetary Ecosystem Authored by Pepe Escobar, Get ready for what may well be the geoeconomic bombshell of 2024: the coming of a decentralized monetary ecosystem. Welcome to The Unit – a concept that has already been discussed by the financial services and investments working group set up by the BRICS+ Business Council and has a serious shot at becoming official BRICS+ policy as early as in 2025. According to Alexey Subbotin, founder of Arkhangelsk Capital Management and one of the Unit’s conceptualizers, …
Environmental Protection Not A Major Issue For Majority (5/15/2024)
Environmental Protection Not A Major Issue For Majority In a survey of 38 countries carried out by Statista Consumer Insights, only between 21 and 44 percent of respondents said that they considered environmental protection a major issue for their country. As Statista’s Katharina Buchholz reports, respondents in Brazil were the most concerned about the environment, with those in Mexico and Colombia also rating environmental protection as more important than most countries in the survey. You will find more infographics at Statista The picture was more mixed in Asia, with Indonesians seeing …
Environmental Protection Not A Major Issue For Majority In a survey of 38 countries carried out by Statista Consumer Insights, only between 21 and 44 percent of respondents said that they considered environmental protection a major issue for their country. As Statista’s Katharina Buchholz reports, respondents in Brazil were the most concerned about the environment, with those in Mexico and Colombia also rating environmental protection as more important than most countries in the survey. You will find more infographics at Statista The picture was more mixed in Asia, with Indonesians seeing …
A Nanny State Idiocracy: A Tale Of Too Many Laws And Too Little Freedom (5/15/2024)
A Nanny State Idiocracy: A Tale Of Too Many Laws And Too Little Freedom Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute, “Whether the mask is labeled fascism, democracy, or dictatorship of the proletariat, our great adversary remains the apparatus—the bureaucracy, the police, the military.” – Simone Weil, French philosopher We are caught in a vicious cycle of too many laws, too many cops, and too little freedom. It’s hard to say whether we’re dealing with a kleptocracy (a government ruled by thieves), a kakistocracy (a government run by unprincipled career politicians, …
A Nanny State Idiocracy: A Tale Of Too Many Laws And Too Little Freedom Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute, “Whether the mask is labeled fascism, democracy, or dictatorship of the proletariat, our great adversary remains the apparatus—the bureaucracy, the police, the military.” – Simone Weil, French philosopher We are caught in a vicious cycle of too many laws, too many cops, and too little freedom. It’s hard to say whether we’re dealing with a kleptocracy (a government ruled by thieves), a kakistocracy (a government run by unprincipled career politicians, …
Convicted Non-Violent Felons Can Own Guns, Ninth Circuit Rules (5/15/2024)
Convicted Non-Violent Felons Can Own Guns, Ninth Circuit Rules In what must be the first time California’s 9th circuit has ruled in favor of the 2nd Amendment, non-violent convicted felons can now own guns. The decision stems from a 2020 case, in which California resident Steven Duarte was arrested after tossing a handgun out of a moving car during a traffic stop. He was indicted by a federal grand jury for possessing said firearm while being previously convicted of “a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year” …
Convicted Non-Violent Felons Can Own Guns, Ninth Circuit Rules In what must be the first time California’s 9th circuit has ruled in favor of the 2nd Amendment, non-violent convicted felons can now own guns. The decision stems from a 2020 case, in which California resident Steven Duarte was arrested after tossing a handgun out of a moving car during a traffic stop. He was indicted by a federal grand jury for possessing said firearm while being previously convicted of “a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year” …
Toxic Atmosphere At FDIC Spurs Calls For Chair's Resignation (5/15/2024)
Toxic Atmosphere At FDIC Spurs Calls For Chair’s Resignation Authored by Philip Wegmann via RealClearPolitics, The White House did not offer their full faith and credit to the FDIC chairman when asked by RealClearPolitics about a bombshell 234-page investigation that detailed a toxic environment within the agency. Other than noting that Martin Gruenberg, the official in question, had already “apologized and spoke[n] to” allegations that he presided over a culture of bullying, harassment, and mismanagement, Karine Jean-Pierre, the president’s spokeswoman, mostly demurred. Gruenberg will not skate by so easily when …
Toxic Atmosphere At FDIC Spurs Calls For Chair’s Resignation Authored by Philip Wegmann via RealClearPolitics, The White House did not offer their full faith and credit to the FDIC chairman when asked by RealClearPolitics about a bombshell 234-page investigation that detailed a toxic environment within the agency. Other than noting that Martin Gruenberg, the official in question, had already “apologized and spoke[n] to” allegations that he presided over a culture of bullying, harassment, and mismanagement, Karine Jean-Pierre, the president’s spokeswoman, mostly demurred. Gruenberg will not skate by so easily when …
“Make Innocence Great Again”: Mothers Gear Up To Decide The 2024 Elections (5/15/2024)
“Make Innocence Great Again”: Mothers Gear Up To Decide The 2024 Elections Authored by Russ Jones via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), A voter casts her ballot with her child during the midterm primary election at a polling station at Rose Hill Elementary School in Alexandria, Va., on June 21, 2022. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) “Make innocence great again.” It’s a mantra that Juliana Ormond feels strongly about. The suburban mom of three children seeks to call attention to the importance of preserving the purity and innocence of childhood. She said …
“Make Innocence Great Again”: Mothers Gear Up To Decide The 2024 Elections Authored by Russ Jones via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), A voter casts her ballot with her child during the midterm primary election at a polling station at Rose Hill Elementary School in Alexandria, Va., on June 21, 2022. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) “Make innocence great again.” It’s a mantra that Juliana Ormond feels strongly about. The suburban mom of three children seeks to call attention to the importance of preserving the purity and innocence of childhood. She said …
Boeing Could Face Criminal Prosecution Over 737 MAX Crashes: Justice Department (5/15/2024)
Boeing Could Face Criminal Prosecution Over 737 MAX Crashes: Justice Department Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The U.S. Department of Justice determined on May 14 that Boeing violated a deferred prosecution agreement that allowed the aerospace company to evade criminal charges after two crashes of its 737 MAX jet that killed everyone on board. The logo for Boeing appears on a screen above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on July 13, 2021. (Richard Drew/AP) Justice Department prosecutors delivered …
Boeing Could Face Criminal Prosecution Over 737 MAX Crashes: Justice Department Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The U.S. Department of Justice determined on May 14 that Boeing violated a deferred prosecution agreement that allowed the aerospace company to evade criminal charges after two crashes of its 737 MAX jet that killed everyone on board. The logo for Boeing appears on a screen above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on July 13, 2021. (Richard Drew/AP) Justice Department prosecutors delivered …
Glenn Greenwald Makes An Important Prediction On Ukraine (5/15/2024)
Glenn Greenwald Makes An Important Prediction On Ukraine It was Tuesday night that Secretary of State Antony Blinken was leading a bizarre rock anthem as the guitar and vocals front man at a Kiev bar, singing Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” — and the internet collectively cringed. But only the next morning, on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared he was canceling all upcoming foreign trips at a moment his forces are getting hammered in the Kharkiv region. “Volodymyr Zelenskyy has instructed that all international events scheduled for the …
Glenn Greenwald Makes An Important Prediction On Ukraine It was Tuesday night that Secretary of State Antony Blinken was leading a bizarre rock anthem as the guitar and vocals front man at a Kiev bar, singing Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” — and the internet collectively cringed. But only the next morning, on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared he was canceling all upcoming foreign trips at a moment his forces are getting hammered in the Kharkiv region. “Volodymyr Zelenskyy has instructed that all international events scheduled for the …
FBI And DHS Issue Warning On Foreign Terrorist Groups For June “Pride Month' (5/15/2024)
FBI And DHS Issue Warning On Foreign Terrorist Groups For June “Pride Month’ Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times, The FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a public service announcement saying that foreign terrorist organizations like ISIS and related terrorist organizations could target certain events across the United States during “Pride Month”-related events in June. “Organizations like ISIS may seek to exploit increased gatherings associated with the upcoming June 2024 Pride Month,” the announcement said. The two agencies said the terror threat is “compounded” by …
FBI And DHS Issue Warning On Foreign Terrorist Groups For June “Pride Month’ Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times, The FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a public service announcement saying that foreign terrorist organizations like ISIS and related terrorist organizations could target certain events across the United States during “Pride Month”-related events in June. “Organizations like ISIS may seek to exploit increased gatherings associated with the upcoming June 2024 Pride Month,” the announcement said. The two agencies said the terror threat is “compounded” by …
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