Day: December 21, 2016

RACIST SCHOOLS ARE TEACHING STUDENTS THAT ‘WHITENESS IS A PROBLEM’

Jon

In the upcoming spring 2017 semester, two taxpayer-funded American universities – the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Colorado Denver – will offer undergraduate courses focused exclusively on how ‘whiteness’ is a serious social problem, reports The Daily Caller.
The University of Wisconsin course is called The Problem of Whiteness.
Here are a few excerpts from the class description:
After all, since white supremacy was created by white people, is it not white folks who have the greatest responsibility to eradicate it?
Critical Whiteness Studies aims to understand how whiteness is socially constructed and experienced in order to help dismantle white supremacy.
Whereas disciplines such as Latino/a, African, and Asian American studies focus on race as experienced by non-whites, whiteness studies considers how race is experienced by white people. It explores how they consciously and unconsciously perpetuate institutional racism and how this not only devastates communities of color but also perpetuates the oppression of most white folks along the lines of class and gender. In this class, we will ask what an ethical white identity entails, what it means to be #woke, and consider the journal Race Traitor’s motto, ‘treason to whiteness is loyalty to humanity.’

This post was published at The Daily Sheeple on DECEMBER 21, 2016.

Even Single-Family Rentals Sink in Once Hottest Markets

Jon

First cracks appear in Seattle’s crazy Rent Boom.
Median asking rents in some of the most expensive markets in the US have started to decline on a year-over-year basis, with landlords throwing incentives into the mix, even where incentives are rare. This has hit the formerly hottest rental markets: San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Washington D. C., Chicago, Miami, and Honolulu.
At the same time, rents are still rising in other cities. In Seattle, the median asking rent jumped 10% in November year-over-year, but even there, cracks are appearing. More on that in a moment.
I’ve been reporting on this spreading phenomenon for months, most recently for November rents, based on rents in multi-family buildings, often owned by institutional investors. These markets are experiencing historic construction booms of apartment and condo towers (many condos end up on the rental market).
But rents of single-family houses are not included in this data. That market tends to be the playground of mom-and-pop investors, though Wall Street and the financialization of rents have also muscled into it. This market is subject to different dynamics and has not experienced the same kind of construction boom. In San Francisco, for example, virtually none of the new construction over the past few years has been single-family.

This post was published at Wolf Street by Wolf Richter ‘ Dec 21, 2016.

Traders Place Massive Bets That 10Y Yields Tumble To 2% By February

Jon

It appears not everyone is convinced that “the 30 year bond bull is dead.” A quick glance across US equity options today shows TLT (the long-end Treasury Bond ETF) is the most active with call volumes (bullish bonds, lower rates) more than double their average, with over $1.3 billion notional in February $126 Calls (which will payoff if rates drop to around 2.00% by then).

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Dec 21, 2016.

Trump Appoints “Death By China” Author Peter Navarro To Head Trade Office, Hints At Trade War With Beijing

Jon

Another day, another shot across the bow from Donald Trump aimed squarely at China.
Having already participated (and in the case of one, precipitated) two mini diplomatic snafus with Beijing in just the past two weeks, Trump is sending a clear message to Beijing that US-China trade under his administration will be anything but business as usual, by creating a National Trade Council inside the White House to oversee industrial policy and has decided to appoint a hard core China hawk to run it.
According to the FT, which broke the news, Trump has chosen Peter Navarro, a Harvard-trained economist and one-time daytrader, to head the NTC. The author of books such as “Death by China” and “Crouching Tiger: What China’s Militarism Means for the World” has for years warned that the US is engaged in an economic war with China and should adopt a more aggressive stance – a message that the president-elect sold to voters across the US during his campaign.
Speaking to the American public, Trump said ‘I read one of Peter’s books on America’s trade problems years ago and was impressed by the clarity of his arguments and thoroughness of his research,’ Trump said. ‘He has presciently documented the harms inflicted by globalism on American workers, and laid out a path forward to restore our middle class.’

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Dec 21, 2016.

Herbert Hoover: Godfather of the New Deal

Jon

Herbert Hoover was worth $4 million in 1914 as a mining engineer and mine owner. This was before World War I, when the dollar bought 25 times more than it does today. He was good at what he did in the private sector.
He gained national fame as a World War I relief administrator: Belgian relief. The Germans let him do this because it freed up food for the German Army: no need to feed occupied Belgium. This is now how the history books tell it. This was the next phase of the legend of “Hoover the Engineer.”
Harding appointed him Secretary of Commerce. Hoover then oversaw the nationalization of the airwaves. He created the Federal Radio Commission, which became the Federal Communications Commission. Instead of selling air space to the highest bidder — the free market solution — he let the FCC license and periodically re-license broadcasters. This became the basis of the second most important cartel after the banking cartel: the media cartel. This was the origin of the mainstream media.
Coolidge kept him on, but he had contempt for him. He called him the “wonder boy.” He once said: “That man has offered me unsolicited advice every day for six years, all of it bad.”
Then he became President. He became the heir of a boom created by the Federal Reserve System’s fiat money. His actions turned what would have been a sharp recession into a depression — a word he coined to replace “panic.”
He then started spending vast quantities of federal money. He also pressured businesses to hold up wages above the market wage levels, industry by industry. This created unemployment. His government created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to provide government loans to high-risk businesses. Franklin Roosevelt retained the RFC.

This post was published at Gary North on December 21, 2016.

Gold ETF Holdings Drop For Record 28 Straight Days

Jon

While demand for physical gold is soaring in India and China (with premiums near record highs)…
Bloomberg reports that the last time ETF investors were net buyers of gold was the day Hillary Clinton conceded victory to U. S. President-elect Donald Trump. Holdings have dropped for 28 straight days, the longest run since the ETF’s creation in 2004.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Dec 21, 2016.

ECB Assets Hit 35% Of Eurozone GDP; Draghi Owns 9.2% Of European Corporate Bond Market

Jon

As global markets bask in the glow of the Trumpflation recovery, the ECB continues to be busy providing the actual levitating power behind what DB recently dubbed global “helicopter money“, by buying copious amounts of bonds on a daily basis (at least until tomorrow when the ECB goes on brief monetization hiatus, and Italy will be on its own for the next two weeks).
According to the latest weekly breakdown of what the six central banks acting on behalf of the Euro system bought in the week ending December 16, the ECB purchased at least 6 corporate bonds under its CSPP program. The latest weekly purchase lifts the number of securities held to 773; this means that the ECB now holds 9.2%, (50.6bn) of the entire European corporate market (549.34bn outstanding).
The ECB bought bonds issued by AB InBev, Autostrade Per L’Italia, Knorr-Bremse, Snam and Uniper. 104 (~13.5%) of the 773 securities are negative yielding. Utilities remain the largest industry group with 207 securities.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Dec 21, 2016.

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES

Jon

I stopped trying to predict markets back in 2008 when the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department, Wall Street bankers, and their propaganda peddling media mouthpieces colluded to rig the markets to benefit the elite establishment players while screwing average Americans. I haven’t owned any stocks to speak of since 2006. I missed the the final blow-off, the 50% crash, and the subsequent engineered new bubble. But that doesn’t stop me from assessing our true economic situation, market valuations, and historical comparisons in order to prove the irrationality and idiocy of the current narrative.
The proof of this market being rigged and not based upon valuations, corporate earnings, discounted cash flows, or anything related to free market capitalism, was the reaction to Trump’s upset victory. The narrative was status quo Hillary was good for markets and Trump’s anti-establishment rhetoric would unnerve the markets. When the Dow futures plummeted by 800 points on election night, left wingers like Krugman cackled and predicted imminent collapse. The collapse lasted about 30 minutes, as the Dow recovered all 800 points and has subsequently advanced another 1,500 points since election day. Krugman’s predictive abilities proven stellar once again.

This post was published at The Burning Platform on December 21, 2016.

DEC 21/HUGE RUN ON GOLD AT THE COMEX/PREMIUMS AVERAGE $33.00 BETWEEN SHANGHAI GOLD FIX AND NY PRICING AT THE EXACT SAME TIME/ANOTHER HUGE 3.56 TONNES OF GOLD LEAVE THE GLD/NOTHING LEAVES THE SLV/…

Jon

Gold at (1:30 am est) $1131.10 DOWN $0.40
silver at $15.92: DOWN 13 cents
Access market prices:
Gold: $1132.10
Silver: $15.94
THE DAILY GOLD FIX REPORT FROM SHANGHAI AND LONDON
The Shanghai fix is at 10:15 pm est last night and 2:15 am est early this morning
The fix for London is at 5:30 am est (first fix) and 10 am est (second fix)
Thus Shanghai’s second fix corresponds to 195 minutes before London’s first fix.
And now the fix recordings:
WEDNESDAY gold fix Shanghai
Shanghai morning fix Dec 21 (10:15 pm est last night): $ 1171.21
NY ACCESS PRICE: $1134.95 (AT THE EXACT SAME TIME)/premium $36.26
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Shanghai afternoon fix: 2: 15 am est (second fix/early morning):$ 1166.22
NY ACCESS PRICE: $1136.15 (AT THE EXACT SAME TIME/2:15 am)
HUGE SPREAD 2ND FIX TODAY!!: $30.07
China rejects NY pricing of gold as a fraud/arbitrage will now commence fully
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
London Fix: Dec 21: 5:30 am est: $1134.40 (NY: same time: $1134.60 5:30AM)
London Second fix Dec 21: 10 am est: $1133.65 (NY same time: $1134.65 10 AM)
It seems that Shanghai pricing is higher than the other two , (NY and London). The spread has been occurring on a regular basis and thus I expect to see arbitrage happening as investors buy the lower priced NY gold and sell to China at the higher price. This should drain the comex.
Also why would mining companies hand in their gold to the comex and receive constantly lower prices. They would be open to lawsuits if they knowingly continue to supply the comex despite the fact that they could be receiving higher prices in Shanghai.

This post was published at Harvey Organ Blog on December 21, 2016.

Man Who Stole $1.6 Million Bucket Full Of Gold In Midtown Manhattan Has Been Identified

Jon

Three weeks ago we reported that in what may have been one of the most brazen thefts in Manhattan’s jewelry district, a man brazenly swiped an 86-pound bucket full of gold worth $1.6 million from the back of an unattended Loomis armored truck on West 48th Street in the Diamond District on Sept. 29, in broad daylight, as tourists and locals were walking in and out of the jewelry stores that line the block.
The whole incident was caught on closed-circuit camera.

The suspect, decribed as 5 feet 6 inches tall, 150 pounds and in his 50s according to the police, managed to get away without a hitch. The police suspected that the unidentified man was lying low in Orlando or Miami until things blow over in the Big Apple.


This post was published at Zero Hedge on Dec 21, 2016.

Nightmare Before Christmas for Spanish Banks

Jon

The European Court of Justice refused to listen.
The European Court of Justice just delivered a landmark ruling that could cost Spanish banks – or Spanish taxpayers, in case of another bailout – billions of euros: 40 out of Spain’s 42 banks will have to refund all the money they surreptitiously overcharged borrowers as a result of the so-called ‘mortgage floor-clauses’ that were unleashed across the whole home mortgage sector in 2009.
These floor clauses set a minimum interest rate, typically of between 3% and 4.5%, for variable-rate mortgages, which are a very common mortgage in Spain, even if the Euribor dropped far below that figure. In other words, the mortgages were only really variable in one direction: upwards!
This, in and of itself, was not illegal. The problem is that most banks failed to properly inform their customers that the mortgage contract included such a clause. Those that did, often told their customers that the clause was an extreme precautionary measure and would almost certainly never be activated. After all, they argued, what are the chances of the Euribor ever dropping below 3.5% for any length of time?
At the time (early 2009), Europe’s benchmark rate was hovering around the 5% mark. Within a year it had crashed below 1% and is now languishing below zero. As a result, most Spanish banks were able to enjoy all the benefits of virtually free money while avoiding one of the biggest drawbacks: having to offer customers dirt-cheap interest rates on their variable-rate mortgages.

This post was published at Wolf Street on Dec 21, 2016.

Italy To Nationalize Monte Paschi After Private Sector Rescue Fails

Jon

Update: the FT writes that the Italian govt set to take a stake between 50% and 70% in Monte dei Paschi, up from the current 4% stake, as part of the government’s third bailout in as many years. As the FT adds, “the government rescue, which had long been resisted in Rome, is designed to draw a line under the slow-burn crisis in Italian banking that has alarmed investors and become the main source of concern for European financial regulators.”
It remains to be seen if Germany, long a critic of state bailouts, will be as agreeable.
Meanwhile, Pier Carlo Padoan, the Italin finmin, insisted that apart from a few ‘critical’ situations, Italy’s banking system was ‘solid and healthy’. He vowed to ‘minimise, if not erase’ any impact of the public intervention on the savings of ordinary citizens.
The third bailout, and re-nationalization, of Italy’s third largest banks is imminent following a Reuters report that the ongoing, JPM-led attempt to execute a complex private sector bailout of Monte Paschi has failed.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Dec 21, 2016.

The Biggest Threat to the Trump Rally

Jon

As the Dow Jones approaches 20,000 following Trump’s triumph, investors have reached a state of euphoria…
The Dow has scored 15 all-time closing highs since the election.
CNBC reports that ETFs have seen nearly $100 billion in inflows.
One of the Fox Business ‘analysts’ even called for Dow 30,000 yesterday.
But in the midst of the market ecstasy, the vampire squid Goldman Sachs thinks it knows what’s going to bring this party to an end…
Janet the Rally Killer
Goldman analysts note that the Trump rally’s #1 nemesis is the pantsuit in flesh Janet Yellen.
Goldman paints the picture of a more aggressive Fed pushing interest rate hikes in order to offset Trump’s fiscal stimulus, which could lead to higher inflation.
That will put downward pressure on stocks, effectively taking away the punch bowl to the Trump kegger.
Sounds plausible. Anything’s possible.

This post was published at Wall Street Examiner on December 21, 2016.

DEC 21/HUGE RUN ON GOLD AT THE COMEX/PREMIUMS AVERAGE $33.00 BETWEEN SHANGHAI GOLD FIX AND NY PRICING AT THE EXACT SAME TIME/TURMOIL IN CHINA SETS BITCOIN UP $30.00/MONTE DE PASCHI TO BE NATIONAL…

Jon

Gold at (1:30 am est) $1131.10 DOWN $0.40
silver at $15.92: DOWN 13 cents
Access market prices:
Gold: $1132.10
Silver: $15.94
THE DAILY GOLD FIX REPORT FROM SHANGHAI AND LONDON
The Shanghai fix is at 10:15 pm est last night and 2:15 am est early this morning
The fix for London is at 5:30 am est (first fix) and 10 am est (second fix)
Thus Shanghai’s second fix corresponds to 195 minutes before London’s first fix.
And now the fix recordings:
WEDNESDAY gold fix Shanghai
Shanghai morning fix Dec 21 (10:15 pm est last night): $ 1171.21
NY ACCESS PRICE: $1134.95 (AT THE EXACT SAME TIME)/premium $36.26
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Shanghai afternoon fix: 2: 15 am est (second fix/early morning):$ 1166.22
NY ACCESS PRICE: $1136.15 (AT THE EXACT SAME TIME/2:15 am)
HUGE SPREAD 2ND FIX TODAY!!: $30.07
China rejects NY pricing of gold as a fraud/arbitrage will now commence fully
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
London Fix: Dec 21: 5:30 am est: $1134.40 (NY: same time: $1134.60 5:30AM)
London Second fix Dec 21: 10 am est: $1133.65 (NY same time: $1134.65 10 AM)

This post was published at Harvey Organ Blog on December 21, 2016.

Bitcoin Soars To 3 Year Highs As China Turmoils

Jon

With Chinese liquidity markets turmoiling, bonds crashing, and gold premiums soaring, it appears growing concerns over capital controls tightening has sent Chinese fleeing into Bitcoin as a way to escape the mainland restrictions. Bitcoin is up over $30 today to its hghest since Dec 2013…
We first warned of this ‘outlet’ for Chinese capital in September 2015 when Bitcoin was trading around $200… its just topped $830…
As we noted recently, according to Bloomberg sources, Chinese officials are considering policies including restricting domestic bitcoin exchanges from moving the cryptocurrency to platforms outside the nation and imposing quotas on the amount of bitcoins that can be sent abroad. Further indicating that Chinese regulators were “just a little behind the curve”, they allegedly noticed only recently that some investors bought bitcoins on local exchanges and sold them offshore, evading rules on foreign exchange and cross-border fund flows, the report further reveals.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Dec 21, 2016.

Italy proves that banks are not the risk-free fantasy we’re told to believe

Jon

In the late 1400s, the city-states of Italy were among most dominant powers in the world.
Most of the city-states had abandoned the feudal system that persisted across Europe.
So Italy was one of the only places on the continent where anyone, including foreigners, could work hard, take risks, and become wealthy.
People could start businesses and own private property – revolutionary concepts in the 1400s.
Italy was truly the America of its day, and people from all over Europe flocked to the city-states in search of wealth and freedom.
Scientific, medical, and technological advancement flourished, as did commerce and banking.
The Medici Bank in Florence was by far the largest bank in Europe in the 1400s, and they helped popularize a double-entry system of accounting and the widespread use of credit, both of which still define modern banking.
Early Renaissance banks realized that hauling giant bags of gold coins across the countryside to settle payments with one another was expensive and risky.
Instead, every time they made or received a payment, the banks would adjust their accounting ledgers and then periodically get together to make sure everyone’s numbers matched up.

This post was published at Sovereign Man on December 21, 2016.

How Trump Can Gain 100% Control at His Press Conference from Day One

Jon

The Washington press corps has long since lost any trace of adult behavior.
Once a President stands in front of them and asks for questions, the press corps turns into a shouting pack of petulant teenagers. They shout out their questions in a cacophony of chaos.
Here is how Trump can take control.
First, as each reporter enters the room, he/she is handed a 3×5 card and an instruction sheet. The instruction sheet says this.
You have been given a 3×5 card. This card is for one question. Make it a good one. Make it precise. Please print clearly. President Trump will answer it unless it is a national security issue of the highest importance, which is unlikely. So, you really will get an answer. Ask exactly the question you want answered. Pass your card to the person collecting the cards.
The cards will be set on the table at the table at the front of the room. One of you will be selected by the person collecting the cards to shuffle them. Then another one of you will be selected to shuffle them a second time.

This post was published at Gary North on December 21, 2016.