With the US in deep economic and financial crisis, with the Fed now monetizing more than 100% of debt issuance, and with US debt set to hit $30 trillion from its current $23 trillion in about 2 years, there were growing concerns that this was an opportunity for a perfect storm to strike with one or more rating agencies downgrading the US as a result of […]
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Authored by Mike Whitney via The Unz Review, 1– Unemployment is off-the-charts Thursday’s jobless claims leave no doubt that the country is in the grips of another severe recession. More than 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment insurance in the last week. That number exceeds the gloomiest prediction of more than 40 economists and pushes the two-week total to an eye-watering 10 million claims. According to CNBC: […]
Jim Chanos had a good start to the day today. Hours before his appearance on CNBC, where he weighed in on a number of topics, he had already covered his short on Luckin Coffee. Recall, we reported this morning that Luckin Coffee was smashed 85% after it admitted to inflating its sales to the tune of RMB 2.2 billion after an internal investigation. Luckin Coffee said its […]
Update (1740ET): Following reports that small banks were on the verge of pulling out of the administration’s $350 billion “Paycheck Protection Program” over fears they might be blamed for corruption and fraud due to hurried oversight, the White House got Jovita Carranza (the woman who replaced Linda McMahon at the helm of the SBA) and Steve Mnuchin out in front of the cameras to deny reports […]
Summary: Spain deaths pass 10k Global cases near 1 million mark Infection in New Delhi slum sparks fears of mass breakout PM Abe mocked for handing out ‘two masks’ to every Japanese household British health official says “everybody is frustrated” about test shortage UK’s Johnson says lockdown likely to last beyond April 15 NYC Mayor tells New Yorkers to weak masks in public Half the world […]
Via SchiffGold.com, We just wrapped up the worst first quarter in the history of the US stock market. Think about that in context. Even during the dark days of the Great Depression, there has never been a worse start to a year for the US stock market than 2020. Nevertheless, there are still a lot of people out there who think this is going to be […]
Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci says that the United States will not come out of lockdown until there are no “new cases” of coronavirus, prompting some to question precisely how long that will be. During yesterday’s White House briefing, Fauci, who has become the face of America’s response to the coronavirus, was asked by a reporter whether social distancing […]
After weeks of finding new ways to embarrass himself in the coronavirus news cycle – most recently taking a stab at doctors and saying they were too “scared” to help coronavirus patients – Elon Musk has opened up a new chapter in both virtue signalling and public humiliation as it relates to the ongoing global pandemic. As a reminder, we have been reluctantly covering Musk’s “bizarre” […]
Authored by Jim Quinn via The Burning Platform blog, “People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.” – Alan Moore – V for Vendetta “Authority, when first detecting chaos at its heels, will entertain the vilest schemes to save its orderly facade.” – Alan Moore – V for Vendetta I wrote an article called V for Vendetta – 2011 just over nine years […]
High-end stores across the country have been boarding up their stores in anticipation of civil unrest due to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. In Beverly Hills, the Pottery Barn and West Elm stores near Rodeo Drive were spotted with boards across the windows according to TMZ. Meanwhile, stores in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Paris, Vancouver and elsewhere were similarly boarded up. The “Magnificent Mile” in […]
There’s another ‘epidemic’ ripping through America that, for many on Wall Street, is just as terrifying as COVID-19… and this time The Fed is to blame. We reported last week on the multitude of mortgage companies that were facing an existential threat from massive margin calls: First, its was AG Mortgage Investment Trust which on Friday said it failed to meet some margin calls and doesn’t […]
As the virus crisis worsens in the US, employees at Amazon and Instacart are planning to strike today. Amazon workers at a New York fulfillment center are preparing to strike around lunchtime to call attention to the company’s “lack of safety protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic,” reported NBC New York. The union that represents workers at the Staten Island warehouse claims Amazon is more concerned about profits […]
Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, In early 2017, I warned investors about the “I bought it for the dividend” investment thesis. To wit: “Company ABC is priced at $20/share and pays $1/share in a dividend each year. The dividend yield is 5%, which is calculated by dividing the $1 cash dividend into the price of the underlying stock. Here is the important point. You do NOT receive […]
Authored by MN Gordon via EconomicPrism.com, “We’re not letting Boeing go out of business.” – Donald Trump, President USA Something Stinks On Tuesday, in anticipation of several trillion dollars of Congressional pork, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rallied 11.37 percent. This marked its best day since 1933. Some Dow 30 stocks did much better. For example, Chevron was the top performer; closing up 22.74 percent. […]
Early this week, we were among the first to report on the “break down” in precious metals markets. While the demand for gold has been soaring as a safe haven asset amid the multiple global crises we are currently facing, forced paper gold liquidation (as leveraged funds scramble to cover margin calls) and unprecedented logistical disruptions created a frantic hunt for actual bars of gold. Specifically, […]
An infant in Illinois has also succumbed to COVID-19. The child’s exact age was not provided. “There has never before been a death associated with COVID-19 in an infant. A full investigation is underway to determine the cause of death,” said Illinois Department of Health Director Dr. Ngozzi Ezike. “We must do everything we can to prevent the spread of this deadly virus. If not to […]
Authored by Jonathan Turley, The incredible meltdown of Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich.,yesterday on the floor of the House of Representatives shows how members can fuel rather than fight hysteria and panic. The shocking scene was played out as the very task force members who she referenced are trying to rebut some alarmist predictions and estimates. Much of the nation is sheltering in place. We get it. However, […]
Late on Thursday, we calculated that as of the end of this turbulent week, the Fed will have added a record $625 billion to its balance sheet, bringing the total to $5.5 trillion, an increase of $1.3 trillion in two weeks (6% of GDP), which was the amount the Fed monetized during all of QE1 in response to the financial crisis, but which took place over […]
Even as liberals whine about President Trump’s petty feuds with reporters and his newfound insistence that the country – or at least sizable parts of it – get ‘back to work’ by Easter (April 12), his approval rating has continued to climb, as Americans rally around the president during times of crisis (and, to be fair, Trump stepped up during that one Friday press conference where […]
Authored by Seth Levine via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, These are truly remarkable times in the investment markets. The speed, intensity, and ubiquity of this selloff brings just one word to mind: violence. It would be remarkable if it wasn’t so destructive. Sadly, the reactions from our politicians and the public were predictable. The Federal Reserve (Fed) faithfully and forcefully responded. Despite its unprecedented actions, it seems like they’re “fighting the […]
Via Doug Noland’s Credit Bubble Bulletin blog, Being an analyst of Credit and Bubbles over the past few decades has come with its share of challenges. Greater challenges await. I expect to dedicate the rest of my life to defending Capitalism. One of the great tragedies from the failure of this multi-decade monetary experiment will be the loss of faith in free market Capitalism – along […]
Summary: Global case total tops 600k Global COVID-19 death toll tops 30k Japan fast-tracks approval of treatment drug for COVID-19 Third UK minister self-quarantines after showing symptoms of virus Calif. death toll tops 100 Trump weighing enforceable quarantine order for all of greater NY area Trump tells NBC reporter that quarantines of New York, NJ & Conn. were “possible” Axios reports infant dies in Chicago after […]
Let’s face it: after the fastest bear market crash in history, which saw the S&P500 tumble 35% from an all time high in less than a month, a faster and more chaotic decline than the crashes of either 1987 or 1929 which set off the Great Depression, culminating with the S&P500 hitting its lowest level since 2016 on Monday… … this however was followed by the […]
Meanwhile, In India While much of the world is practicing social distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19, Indians – some donning face masks – are still gathering in tightly packed crowds despite an order to ‘stay indoors’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Here’s the scene at the bus station in Dheli: Delhi bus stationpic.twitter.com/Bwnp40UIF8 — Old Holborn ✘ (@Holbornlolz) March 28, 2020 It’s not much […]