Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that negotiators have reached an agreement on the core elements of a deal to increase the government’s borrowing cap and set a $1.3-T overall level for the agency budgets that Congress passes each year. He told reporters that talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, (D-CA), have settled on […]
FLASH: The US economy will mark 10 years of expansion in July, the longest on record. Strong job gains have been a Key feature. After years no growth the US economy has made a huge comeback. The credit can only be given to President Trump’s promised rollback of the tax and regulatory schemes implemented from […]
Now, there is enough evidence about UFOs that “you can’t really ignore it” anymore, former British Defense Ministry official Nick Pope said Sunday. In a radio interview Mr. Pope said “there has been an increased number of cases where not only has the radar tracked these objects performing extraordinary speeds and maneuvers… but then the […]
Saturday, rival political factions took to the streets across Venezuela in the mounting struggle for control of the crisis-wracked nation, where US backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó, 35 anni, is attempting to oust socialist President Nicólas Maduro. It was the 1st march Mr. Guaidó has led since Maduro loyalists stripped him of legal protections he’s […]
Steps are being taken this week to stop Democrats’ continued obstruction of President Trump’s nominees and “restore normalcy” to government, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) writes. “Since January 2017, for the 1st time in memory, a minority has exploited procedure to systematically obstruct a President from staffing up his administration,” Senator McConnell said in […]
Democrats have to “stay focused on our purpose” and the party’s legislative agenda on healthcare, wages, and “cleaner government,” House speaker Nancy Pelosi, (D-CA), is urging her caucus. According to reports citing an unnamed source who was in attendance at a closed-door caucus meeting Tuesday, Speaker Pelosi said Democratic lawmakers have to prioritize and move […]
FLASH: Theresa May summons Brexiteers to ward off coup. UK Prime Minister Theresa May was holding crisis talks with colleagues on Sunday working to revive her 2X Brexit deal after reports that her Cabinet was plotting to topple her. The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union was already slipping from Mrs. May’s weakened grasp […]
US construction spending spiked in January, with investment in public projects rising to a more than 8-year high, which could boost economic growth estimates for the first quarter. The US Commerce Department said on Wednesday that construction spending jumped 1.3%, the largest increase since last April, after a revised 0.8% fall in December. Economists polled […]
$SNCAF FLASH: There no money, no sex and nothing illegal happened, but is is a scandal in Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing a controversy that seems trivial, but it could topple him in elections later this year. In Canada 2 high-profile women ministers in Mr. Trudeau’s Cabinet, including Canada’s 1st indigenous justice […]
FLASH: The EU’s economy is cooling more than many investors believe, the slowdown poses the biggest risk to the market. The European Central Bank (ECB) has limited tools at its disposal to respond to economic weakness while European governments are not prepared to respond with spending warns Mohamed El-Erian. “People are underestimating how quickly Europe […]
FLASH: Blacks and Latinos hesitate to join marijuana industry As marijuana becomes legal in more parts of the country, employers are finding a significant lack of participation from demographics who say they may have been (were) unfairly targeted by police during the war on drugs. Studies suggest Blacks and Latinos are at least 4X as […]
French ‘yellow vests’ are protesting for a 16th weekend running in Paris and other cities to show they are still mobilized against the Macron government’s economic policies they see as favoring the rich. In Paris, protesters gathered Saturday at the Arc de Triomphe monument as a march was planned through the well-off western neighborhoods of […]
$TSLA FLASH: US Government Closely Eyeing Elon Musk Tuesday night, Elon Musk Tweeted Tuesday evening that Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) would make around 500,000 cars in Y 2019. Later he corrected himself within hours to say he meant the company would be producing at an annualized rate of 500,000 vehicles by the end of this year. If […]
Tuesday, President Trump expressed displeasure with a tentative deal by congressional negotiators on border security spending that offered no funds for his promised US-Mexican border wall, but did not reject it outright, indicating he did not expect another government shutdown. President Trump demand for $5.7-B from Congress to help build the Wall, said he has […]
Nobody wants to see another government shutdown, and Congress will cut some kind of deal that will keep the United States safe, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) said Tuesday. “I do not think anybody wants to see what we just went through for 35 days,” the Michigan Democrat said in a TV interview Tuesday. “It hurt the […]
$DIA, $SPY, $QQQ, $RUTX, $VXX Monday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the recent partial government shutdown inflicted “no permanent damage” to the economy. “I still think the economy is very strong,” the head of the National Economic Council that advises President Trump said at a White House briefing. “As I have said many times I […]
The rise of populism is leading to Europe “coming apart before our eyes,” a group of 30 historians and Nobel laureates from 21 countries conclude in a co-signed letter Sunday. “We must now will Europe or perish beneath the waves of populism,” the letter reads, per the report. “We must rediscover political voluntarism or accept that resentment, […]
Sunday, Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said that President Trump will shut down the government again if he does not get border Wall funding. In a TV interview Mr. Mulvaney said the President is “willing to do whatever it takes to secure the border.” “I think he actually is,’’ ready to shut down […]
$DIA, $SPY, $QQQ, $RUTX, $VXX Stocks jumped at the open on initial speculation that a deal to reopen the government was imminent, the notion that the Fed may be getting close to the end of its balance sheet normalization effort, plus the expression from Treasury Secretary Mnuchin that the US is making progress with China trade […]
The Trump White House has asked various government agencies to make a list of programs that would be severely impacted by the ongoing shutdown if it goes into March and April. According to our information, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney wants the information by Friday, the day the partial shutdown will marks […]
Now, not only are the non-essentials (NE) non-essential they can be stoned doing nothing! The furloughed NE federal workers who cannot pay for medical marijuana during the government shutdown can get it for free from America’s pot dealers. BudTrader a massive marijuana-trading marketplace that allows users to buy and sell grow supplies, cannabis, and paraphernalia, declared […]
$DIA, $SPY, $QQQ, $RUTX, $VXX The S&P 500 gained 0.2%, Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.7%) and the NAS Comp (+0.1%) experienced uneven post options expiry trading action finishing in the Green. The Russell 2000 (-0.2%) did, too, but it finished in the Red. Most S&P 500 sectors finished higher with consumer staples (+1.2%) and utilities […]
Friday, President Trump made a “major announcement” Saturday on the government shutdown and his demand that Congress fund the Mexican border Wall. President Trump offered the Democrats a deal that would extend protections for so-called Dreamers by three years in exchange for $5.7-B in funds he is seeking for a border barrier in a well […]
President Trump softened expectations that he is close to declaring a national emergency to get the money he want to build the US-Mexico border wall as a 3-week impasse closing parts of the government continued Friday. There are about 800-K federal employees who missed their 1st paychecks under the stoppage. Lawmakers tried to reassure federal […]
The vast majority of French voters are unhappy with the way President Emmanuel Macron, 40 anni, and his government are running the country, and are keen to see more measures to boost household incomes, a poll showed Thursday. A wave of “Yellow Vest” street protests in the past 2 months have rocked Mr. Macron’s Presidency, […]
US President Donald Trump says parts of the government will stay shut as long as Democrats refuse to build the Wall on the US-Mexico border. Tuesday, asked when the government would reopen, President Trump said: “I can’t tell you when the government’s going to be open. I can tell you it’s not going to be […]
America’s children can rest easy today, as the partial government shutdown will not affect how the US military tracks Santa Claus’ worldwide journey this Christmas Eve. In a Tweet, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) and U.S. Northern Command reassured children and parents everywhere that the Santa tracking mission will continue “In the event of a government shutdown, NORAD will continue with […]
$DIA, $SPY, $QQQ, $RUTX, $VXX The S&P 500 fell 2.1% Friday on headline uncertainty surrounding politics and trade. As they continued to provide a justification to reduce risk. Friday’s decliner pushed the benchmark index to a new yearly low at 2408.12 and a weekly loss of 7.1%. All 11 S&P 500 sectors finished in the […]
President Trump Vows to Win The Border Wall Battle Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay says that President Trump needs to remain strong on building The Wall on the US southern border. “If you go into these sort of fights, you better be ready to fight it until the end – especially if you’re president […]
The Senate advanced the House-passed spending bill that contains $5.7-B in Wall funding Friday. The Senate passed a motion to proceed on the House-passed continuing resolution (CR), 48-47, that includes $5.7-B in border Wall funding, which will put the spending bill to a full floor vote. Vice President Mike Pence broke the tie on the […]
Tuesday, in public, President Donald Trump threatened to shut down the government if Congress does not provide the money he says is needed to build ‘The Wall” at the Mexican border. President Trump’s comments came as he opened a Oval Office meeting with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, with partial shutdown looming on […]
Macron No Where to be Seen as Violent Protests Loom in France The Big Q: When will he resign? As anti-government protests rage through France and Paris locks down, fearing new riots, the man whose presidency has unleashed the anger is nowhere to be seen. French President Emmanuel Macron, 40 anni, has stayed out of […]
$5-B in Tariffs Collected in October From US-China Trade Dispute On Thursday and again on Friday, President Trump Tweeted that talks with China are going well. According to the data, the tariffs which are often paid by importers, who then pass the added costs onto companies to whom the products belong are may fall on the shoulders of […]
The French Are Protesting Economic Disparity French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to cut taxes and boost France’s growth, now 1.5 yrs after he came into power, he is facing violent protests over rising taxes, a high cost of living and policies some say favor the rich. A country’s economic indicators don’t always match the […]
As Paris Burns, Macron Seeks Way Out of Deep Chaos in the ‘Greening’ of France Should President Macron’s support in Parliament collapse, he will resign, the people already hold in in very low regard. Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron, 40 anni, ordered his PM to hold talks with political leaders and demonstrators, as he seeks […]
Mexico’s President ‘AMOL’ Vows End “rapacious” Elite Veteran leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador aka AMOL, 65 anni, took office as Mexican President Saturday, vowing to see off a “rapacious” elite in a country struggling with corruption, chronic poverty and gang violence on the doorstep of the United States. AMOL took the oath of office in […]
Republicans Border Security, Not Government Shutdown Republicans do not want a government shutdown, rather to be sure the southern border is secure, and bi-partisan support is needed, especially with the threats being posed by the invading migrant caravan that has arrived, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R:LA) said Friday, while shooting down claims from Senate […]
President Trump, ‘Totally Be Willing’ to Shut Down Govt to Get Border Wall Funds US President Donald Trump said he would “totally be willing” to shut down the government if Congress does not send him a bill approving $5-B for his proposed Wall on the US southern border with Mexico. His comments came during an […]
Tijuana, Mexico is in a “Humanitarian Crisis” The Mayor of Tijuana has declared a humanitarian crisis in his border city and said Friday that he has asked the United Nations for aid to deal with the approximately 5,000 Central American invading migrants who have arrived in his city. Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum said that the […]
President Trump’s Message to Mexico: “You must do more.” President Donald Trump, with his threat to shut down the US-Mexico border, is sending a message to Mexico that it must do more to help with the migrant caravan situation, former acting ICE Director Thomas Homan said Friday. “I think President Trump is sending a message, […]
Exhausted Central American Asylum-seekers Gather in Tijuana Nearly 2,000 caravan migrants reached the US border in at Tijuana, Mexico Thursday, with more coming in a trickle of buses. The City of Tijuana, with its privately run shelters operating well above their capacity of 700, opened the gymnasium and gated sport complex for up to 1,000 […]
Weakened Invading Migrant Groups Arrive at US Southern Border Invading migrants from Central Americans have reached the US southern border, catching rides on buses and trucks for hundreds of miles in the last leg of the journey Wednesday as the 1st groups began arriving in the border City of Tijuana. Authorities in Tijuana were struggling […]
British Cabinet Backs PM May’s BREXIT Plan British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday that cabinet had backed her BREXIT plan, adding it was in the national interest but that there would be difficult days ahead. “The collective decision of cabinet was that the government should agree the draft withdrawal agreement and the outline […]
Chinese Investors Sentiment is Very Weak, Conditions Abroad Have Little Influence $ALMMF, $CHL, $PTR Market sentiment is very weak. President Xi’s government is struggling to dispel such gloom and talk stock prices back up with promises of tax cuts, more bank lending and a media campaign. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index sank 30% from January […]
Investors Focused on Outcome of Congressional Midterm Elections $SPY, $DIA The US Congressional midterm elections will have implications for Wall Street, regardless of how they shape the balance of power in Congress. That is because in every scenario there could be winners and losers in Key sectors of the market, including banking, pharmaceuticals, companies that […]
US Crackdown on Invading Migrant Caravans “Completely Appropriate” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Sunday pushed back on criticism of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on a caravan of migrants seeking entry to the United States calling the measures “completely appropriate.” In a network TV interview Secretary Pompeo said he’s been “involved in scores of conversations about stopping […]
Everest Horse Racing Ad on Sails of Sydney Opera House Coming “This is one of the biggest events of the year why not put it on the biggest billboard Sydney has.” The Prime Minister has defended a decision to project details of the world’s richest turf horse race on the Sydney Opera House amid a […]
US Researchers Turn to Canada for Quality Cannabis Extracts $TLRY, $GWPH The US government has approved the importation of marijuana extracts from Canada for a clinical trial, highlighting a new path for American researchers who have trouble obtaining the drug for medical studies. The University of California San Diego’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research announced […]
China’s PBoC Intensifies Pressure on Cryptocurrency Activity $BTCUSD Chinese authorities have intensified pressure on domestic cryptocurrency activity. Beijing supports the development of the underlying blockchain technology, but it is still trying to limit speculation in digital currencies roughly 1 year since banning their sales in ICOs. Bitcoin prices surged last year as investors bet blockchain […]
James Comey and Robert Mueller Leveraged Their Government Ties For Profit $LMT US President Donald Trump slammed fired FBI director James Comey in a Monday Tweet, returning to his claim that the probe by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 Election is a “witch hunt.” “Mueller is Comey’s best friend,” President […]
History will be made when 2 exquisite Hong Qi limousines pull onto the competition field at the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Great automobiles produced in Europe and the United States have long graced the competition field of this Concours, but this will be the first appearance for automobiles produced in mainland China. The Chinese […]
US GDP Growing on Strong Domestic Demand The US economy set to charge ahead as fresh domestic demand carries it past some softening overseas, keeping the Fed on course for further interest-rate hikes later this year Households have more cash to spend than thought, thanks to pools of savings and President Donald Trump’s tax cuts. […]
President Trump Drives Debt Sales to Near-Recession Levels as Economy Booms US President Donald Trump is boosting long-term US debt sales to the highest since Y 2010, matching the pace when the country was digging itself out of the worst recession since World War II, even as the economy is booming. To cope with the […]
US-Taliban Talks Send ‘Very Positive Signals’ A meeting between a senior US diplomat and Taliban representatives in Doha last week to discuss a possible ceasefire ended with “very positive signals” and a decision to hold more meetings. The meeting between a delegation led by Alice Wells, deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of […]
Car, Gun, Money: Scandal over Macron’s ex-Aide Grips France Alexandre Benalla never held the nuclear codes. Alexandre Benalla never lived in a 300-sqm apartment Alexandre Benalla was never my lover,” The fancy car, the luxury address, the gun. How and why a security aide to French President Emmanuel Macron , 40 anni, obtained them are […]
President Trump, “I don’t care what the political ramifications are.” Tuesday, President Donald Trump again vowed to shut down the federal government in September if the Democrats do not give him the $25-B for his border wall, declaring “I don’t care what the political ramifications are.” “Our immigration laws and border security have been a […]
President Trump Will Shut Down Government Over Illegal Immigration President Donald Trump said Sunday he would allow the federal government to shut down if Democrats refuse to back major changes to immigration laws his administration wants. “I would be willing to ‘shut down’ government if the Democrats do not give us the votes for Border […]
President Trump Seeks “Regime Change” in Iran Brett Hume: Trump “will not say” that he’s “attempting to overthrow the government or attempting to get regime change, but I think that’s exactly what this is all about.” SANDRA SMITH (Media Matters, interviewer): What do you make of the escalating war of words between the U.S. and […]
The GCC is Seeing a Resurgence in Real Estate $JLL With diversification plans taking shape, 10–year visas on the horizon and Crude Oil prices holding firm, investor sentiment has increased again in the GCC’s property market The resilience of the GCC’s real estate market has proven itself yet again this year, having weathered several stifling […]
Colombian Navy has Found the “Holy Grail” of Shipwrecks Just off Cartagena. Colombia’s government advances toward salvaging the treasure from the sunken Spanish galleon San Jose. Sitting at the bottom of the ocean, just off Colombia’s coast, is one of the Western Hemisphere’s richest treasures: a Spanish galleon packed with billions of dollars worth of […]
Russia Off the List of Top US Treasury Note/Bill/Bond Holders Russia is no longer listed among the Top foreign holders of US government securities, according to a report released in Washington. Russia, once among the Top 10 foreign owners of Treasuries, the country’s holdings of US bills, notes and bonds in May fell to $14.9-B, […]
China’s Ban on Cryptocurrency ‘Killed’ Bitcoin Trading $BTCUSD China’s central bank has hailed it’s cryptocurrency crackdown a complete success. Declared by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) and reported by state media, data apparently shows that the Chinese currency is now involved in less than 1% of all Bitcoin trades worldwide. The Big A: How did this happen? […]
Behind the Ongoing Anti-Regime Protests in Iran Protests against the ruling regime in Iran have now continued into July, with fresh demonstrations in the south and southwest of the country reported Sunday night and Monday morning. In fact, Iran has witnessed strikes and protests on a daily basis since December 2017. The 1st one took place […]
The Trump Effect: Iran’s Leaders Struggling to Defend Economy From US Sanctions $OIL Iran is looking to ways to keep exporting Crude Oil and other measures to counter US economic sanctions. Since last month, when US President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear which lifted most sanctions in Y 2015, Iran’s rial has dropped […]
The Farm Bill Now Focused on Hemp US Hemp producers and several advocacy groups have agreed that legislation offered by Senate Majority Senator Mitch McConnell, (R-KY), could have a dramatic impact on the US Hemp industry. Hemp, predominantly used a fiber, is part of the cannabis family like marijuana. However, Hemp contains much lower levels […]
Iran’s Economy in Trouble, Citizens Protest Across the Country Monday, protesters in the Iranian capital swarmed its Grand Bazaar on Monday, and forced shopkeepers to close their stalls in apparent anger over the Islamic Republic’s troubled economy, months after similar demonstrations rocked the country. The demonstration came a day after protests forced 2 major shopping […]
‘Peu’ Macron Now Trying His Hands at Destroying Europe Emmanuel Macron said populism is spreading across the continent “like leprosy” sparking fury from Italy’s new anti-establishment government as cracks within the EU deepen. French President Emmanuel Macron has launched an astonishing attack on the populist, nationalist, and traditionally conservative political parties rising in Europe, angering […]
Canada’s Senate Approves the General Use of Recreational Marijuana Tuesday, Canada’s upper House of Parliament approved a revised bill to legalize recreational marijuana, setting the stage for the country to become the 1st G7 nation to legalize cannabis. The Senate voted 52-29 in favor of the revised bill from the elected House of Commons, paving […]
Angela Merkel’s Government Crumpling, Ousting Looms A dispute in Angela Merkel’s coalition over migration policy has swiftly escalated into the biggest tests of her Chancellorship. The clash has opened a rift at the heart of her camp, between her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its CSU Bavarian sister party. How the conflict is resolved will […]
The Big Q: Was Bitcoin’s Dive Really Caused By a “Hack”? $BTCUSD At the weekend the price of Bitcoin hit a 2-month low on the Bitfinex exchange and bounced a bit. The Big Q: Was the cause of the dive really a ‘hack’? The Big A: Some think that the hack on a SKorean exchange […]
The Trump Effect at Work: US Household Wealth Tops $100-T $DIA, $SPY, $QQQ, $RUTX US household wealth topped the $100-T mark for the 1st time in Q-1 of Y 2018, the Fed reported late Thursday. The Fed said the net worth of the nation’s households and nonprofits rose to $100.8-R in the 1st frame of the year, […]
Populist Government Takes Power in Italy “Populism is the new organizing principle.” The new government has pledged to pursue a host of populist policies, including reclaiming national sovereignty from the European Union over issues ranging from border protection and immigration to economics and finance. For now, however, it has abandoned previous plans to hold a […]
Expect Italy’s New anti-Establishment Government to ‘Dump’ Euro $EUR Thursday, just a few minutes after the announcement on of a deal on a new anti-establishment government in Italy, 1 of its leaders attacked a top Eurozone official for comments he deemed racist in a fresh sign of cracked relations with Brussels. In a conference Thursday, […]
Japan Proposes Legalization of ICO Fundraising $BTCUSD, $ETHUSD Japan has unveiled proposed guidelines for the legalization of raising money in the cryptocurrency space. A government-backed research group has put forward rules that would see ICOs (initial coin offerings) given regulatory definition and approval. An ICO is a means of raising capital by issuing and selling new […]
Mexican Government is Breaking Up Migrant Caravan President Trump Tweeted, “It better be stopped” Monday evening, the Mexican government started to break up a migrant caravan that was moving through southern Mexico. Immigration officials were registering the travelers, and providing suggestions that some could get humanitarian visas, while others would have to exit Mexico The […]
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Has 10X the Data on American’s than Facebook $AMZN, $FB, $ORCL, $GOOGL Amazon has 10X the data on American consumers and owns the Washington Post a left wing political newspaper, always critical of President Trump and his administration. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) disengaged with Washington’s biggest lobbying firm and brought on new advisers following […]
The Democratic Party is the Party of Jihad It will be the death of American democracy if the Democrats are successful in overthrowing the government of President Trump The Democratic Party has gone on the offensive and adopted the strategies of Jihad to overthrow the government of President Donald Trump, they have dubbed it “Resistance” […]
This Omnibus $1.3-T Spending Bill, Much More of the Same The Big Q: Why is our President afraid of a government shutdown? Friday, our President reached out to the Democrats, gave them what they wanted (could never gotten under Hussein Obama) and sent an Olive Branch at Robert Mueller. And in return for what? Thus, […]
Fully 74% of Americans Believe the “Deep State” is Not a Myth A large majority of Americans (74%) believe that unelected officials, the “Deep State”, are manipulating national policy, according to the latest Monmouth University poll. The results, according to Monmouth’s survey: 60% overall say appointed officials have too much sway in U.S. policy. 59% of […]
Robert Mueller’s Investigation Flouts US Justice Department Standards Gates was charged with $100 million in financial crimes, and pled guilty to two minor offenses, one of them highly questionable. My columns have many times observed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s failure to set limits on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. To trigger the appointment of a special […]
Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies Across the Board $BTCUSD Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies are new, alluring and somewhat complex investment assets. People see Bitcoin as currency, an investment and a store of value. Government’s do not agree on what Bitcoin is. The US Internal Revenue sees and treats it as property, The US Securities and Exchange Commission considers […]
Readers Keep Asking, “What is Bitcoin Gold Really?” $BTCUSD,$BTG Cryptocurrency forks of various types take place regularly. Even Bitcoin has experienced several different iterations and branches this way, and now 1 of the largest and most discussed Bitcoin forks happened late in Y 2017. Bitcoin Gold was a hard fork of the original open source cryptocurrency which took […]
Saudi King Establishes Anti-corruption Prosecution Units Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has established special anti-corruption units of prosecutors to pursue embezzlement cases in the Kingdom after a recent crackdown. King Salman’s decision was announced Sunday in a report on the state-run Saudi Press Agency. The report said the King’s decision came from “his concern over combating […]
Nor’easter Update: Atlantic Coast Hammered, 5 People Killed by Falling Trees A Nor’easter pounded the Atlantic coast with hurricane-force winds and sideways rain and snow Friday, flooding streets, grounding flights, stopping trains and leaving 1.6-M customers without power from North Carolina to Maine. At least five people were killed by falling trees The storm submerged cars […]
FOMC Eyeing Inflation, ‘Strike a Balance’ with Rate Hikes Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, pledging to “strike a balance” between the risk of an overheating economy and the need to keep growth on track, told US lawmakers Tuesday that the central bank would stick with gradual interest rate increases despite the added stimulus of tax cuts […]
The Big Q: What is going on in the Deep State? Some Background FISA is the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 was written to enable the federal government to spy on foreign agents at home and abroad. The secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which hears the government’s lawyers has morphed foreign intelligence surveillance into […]
The State of California is Poverty’s Worst Friend Much like FDR’s failed economic policies, the State of California would do more for the poor by just leaving them alone. The League of Nations’ records of levels of employment before and after the Depression showed that most nations that simply did nothing but wait, fared much […]
The US Government Shutdown Has Ended The Government has shut down 19X since Y 1976, 50% of the shutdowns occurred at a weekend. And 2 shutdowns occurred during The Clinton Administration in the Winter of Y’s 1995 to 1996. Former President Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress were at odds and shut the government down […]
Democrats Caved, Get Little, as Government Shutdown Ends The US government shutdown is over, and the impasse exposed the Democrats’ limits on how far they were willing to go with the fight, at the risk of looking beholden to 1 part of their base, activists pushing to allow the Dreamers (DACA) to stay in the […]
World’s Financial Markets ‘Bloated’ with Liquidity $DIA, $GLD, $SLV As far as the market trends I usually follow went last week, nothing new in the broad stock or precious metals markets, more of the same old stuff. The Dow Jones (DJIA) made another new all-time high Wednesday, the 95th since the November 2016 election. But besides […]
President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago 1yr Celebration to Go on Without Him Since President Trump and the GOP were unable to close a deal to keep the US government operating, the President chose to remain in Washington, DC this weekend, canceling his trip to Mar-a-Lago for his planned 1yr in the Oval Office celebration. The party celebrating President […]
Schumer’s Shutdown, Senate Dems Derail Bill to Avert Government Shutdown Late Friday in Washington, DC, a procedural vote to advance legislation passed by the US House to fund the federal government through next month failed in the Senate Friday, less than two hours before a shutdown would occur at midnight. Most Democrats rejected the continuing […]
Bitcoin US Vs Bitcoin Asia $BTCUSD Bitcoin and the other major cryptocurrencies rebounded after a steep mid-week selloff on concerns about regulatory crackdowns in SKorea. After briefly dipping to near $9,000 during the week, Bitcoin traded near $12,000 on Friday as investors turned their attention away from Asian government crackdowns and focused on some new cryptocurrency-related options […]
This is What Happens When the US Government Shuts Down President Donald Trump and GOP leaders in Congress are hard at work to meet a Midnight Friday deadline to pass a short-term spending bill to keep the US government open and prevent agencies from shutting down. This is what happens on a shutdown During government […]
US Stock Market Behind President Trump on Government Shutdown $DIA, $SPY, $QQQ, $VXX US stocks rose to new records Friday, as the pending government shutdown proved No Match for the New Year Extension of The Trump Rally. Trading ranges were pretty narrow for most of the day, but a late wave of buying has the […]
Expecting Sealed Indictments to be Opened in Clinton/Obama Uranium One Scandal The indictments involve a Canadian company called Uranium One, a Russian investor, the State Department, and The Clinton Foundation. “As the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show, a flow of cash made […]
SKorea’s Government Plans to Ban Bitcoin Trade $BTCUSD Thursday, SKorea’s government said it plans to ban cryptocurrency trading, sending Bitcoin prices plummeting and throwing the virtual coin market into turmoil as the nation’s police and tax authorities raided local exchanges on alleged tax evasion. The clampdown in SKorea, a crucial source of global demand for […]
More Saudi Royals Released From Detention, Huge Fines Paid Two sons of Saudi Arabia’s late King Abdullah have been released from detention at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel, just days after 23 other detainees in the Kingdom’s 2-month-old anti-corruption campaign were also freed. Saudi Arabia’s Attorney General approved the release of Prince Meshaal bin Abdullah and Prince […]
US Economy Ready for an Investment Boom and Strong Growth $DIA, $SPY, $QQQ, $VXX We here at HeffX-LTN are optimistic about America’s economic future now that President Trump and GOP lawmakers have kept their promise of a sweeping tax reform. “I think the economy is on the verge, which you heard me say this, because of the […]
Medical and Recreational Marijuana Update Some leading Senate Republican calls for removing obstacles to medical marijuana research, a Florida judge decides to take up a case over the state’s ban on smoking medical marijuana, and states likely to allow recreational marijuana use in Y 2018 On the Medical side National Recently, Orrin Hatch decried obstacles to […]