• Tag Archives Donald Trump

  • Week in Review: September 23, 2017

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    Almost a decade later, the Federal Reserve this week announced it will begin reversing quantitative easing. Slowly. Very slowly. The balance sheet currently stands at $4.5 trillion and they will begin allowing $10 billion in assets to roll off their sheets next month. Given the unprecedented nature of QE, even this modest reduction has many market observers on edge. Of course, the fallout from the Fed’s actions are still being felt, while the Trump Treasury is making threats that it would have disastrous consequences if acted on.

    This post was published at Ludwig von Mises Institute on September 23, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Alternative Media Economy Fiscal Policies and tagged

  • Trump Sports Feud Escalates: Demands NFL Chief “Tells Them To Stand”

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    Update 4: In the latest escalation in his feud with the NFL, Trump just (re)blasted Commission Roger Goodell in a tweet, saying he was trying to “justify” the actions of players who don’t stand for the National Anthem. His tweet was sent in response to a statement Goodell released earlier today criticizing Trump for “disrespecting” NFL owners by suggesting they fire players for protesting.
    Roger Goodell of NFL just put out a statement trying to justify the total disrespect certain players show to our country. Tell them to stand!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017

    Update 3: As the feud between the president Stephen Curry intensifies, on Saturday afternoon his team the Golden State Warriors, stood with him and announced they will not be attending the White House visit at all. In a statement, the Warriors said that “while we intended to meet as a team at the first opportunity we had this morning to collaboratively discuss a potential visit to the White House,” the statement read, “we accept President Trump has made it clear that we are not invited.”
    It added that “we believe there is nothing more American than our citizens having the right to express themselves freely on matters important to them,” the statement continued. “We’re disappointed that we did not have an opportunity during this process to share our views or have an open dialogue on issues impacting our communities that we felt would be important to raise.
    As a result, “in lieu of a visit to the White House” the Warriors will use their trip to D. C. to “celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion-the values that we embrace as an organization.”

    This post was published at Zero Hedge on Sep 23, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Alternative Media Blogosphere Government and tagged

  • Trump Sports Feud Escalates: Warriors Respond “The President Has Made It Clear We Are Not Invited”

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    Update 3: As the feud between the president and the Warriors escalates, moments ago the basketball team issued a statement release in which it said that ‘President Trump has made it clear that we are not invited’ and that “in lieu of a visit to the White House” the Warriors will use their trip to D. C. to “celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion-the values that we embrace as an organization.”

    This post was published at Zero Hedge on Sep 23, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Alternative Media Blogosphere Government and tagged

  • LeBron Calls Trump “Bum” For Withdrawing Steph Curry’s White House Invite

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    Update: As one might have imagined, the responses to Trump’s comments have been far-ranging and explosive but perhaps the best known and most stunning was from LeBron James who called the president a “bum” for rescinding Curry’s invite (after Curry had he wouldn’t go)…
    U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain't going! So therefore ain't no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!
    — LeBron James (@KingJames) September 23, 2017

    This post was published at Zero Hedge on Sep 23, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Alternative Media Blogosphere Government and tagged

  • Market Talk- September 22nd, 2017

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    The Australian ASX was probably over-sold yesterday and therefore stood as the only core that performed today. Closing up +0.5% was a healthy recovery after yesterdays 1% decline. China’s downgrade put a small dent in confidence for the cash markets which took the Hang Seng down
    -0.8% while the Shanghai closed with just small loss. Geopolitical risks remain present after US President Donal Trump signed to expand measurers to target North Korean trade. the Nikkei although closed lower (-0.25%) was off of its earlier lows as news of the speech-plays increased between the two nations. Having seen gold break the psychological $1300 mark yesterday, today we traded comfortably below that level all day. The Yen has dipped back below 112 again as talks of possible missile launches were circulating ahead of the weekend.

    This post was published at Armstrong Economics on Sep 22, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Geopolitics Gold Market Commentary Precious Metals and tagged

  • Gold Bullion Fails to Recover $1300 Even as Dollar Retreats Post-Fed, Kim + Trump Trade Insults

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    Gold bullion rallied almost $10 per ounce on Friday from yesterday’s 4-week lows against the Dollar but failed to recover what analysts called the “key pivot” of $1300 despite claims of safe-haven buying after Pyongyang threatened to test a nuclear bomb over the Pacific Ocean.
    The Yen rose faster versus the Dollar, erasing last week’s 0.7% gain in gold for Japanese investors, as Kim Jong-un – leader of the regime in neighboring North Korea – called US President Trump “deranged”, and Trump called Kim a “madman”.
    “Chinese interest was once again prevalent to underpin the early session bid,” says one Asian bullion desk.
    Ratings agency S&P today downgraded China‘s sovereign debt one notch to A+, saying that credit growth remains strong and “deleveraging is likely to be [too] gradual.”
    This was the ” wrong decision” Beijing’s Finance Ministry replied.
    Chinese gold premiums, over and above the global reference rate of London prices, held Friday at $7 per ounce, still below the typical incentive for new imports of $9-10 per ounce.
    After India’s gold bullion imports tripled from a year ago to $15 billion-worth in April-August, “We don’t favor a blanket restriction on gold imports,” the Economic Times today quotes a Commerce Department official, “[because] it may involve disputes in the World Trade Organisation.”

    This post was published at FinancialSense on 09/22/2017.

    This entry was posted in Economy Energy Gold Market Commentary Precious Metals and tagged

  • Global Markets Spooked By North Korea H-Bomb Threat; Focus Turns To Brexit Speech

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    S&P futures retreated along with European and Asian shares with tech, and Apple supplier shares leading the drop while safe havens such as gold and the yen rose, as the war of words between U. S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un escalated and North Korea threatened to launch a hydrogen bomb, leading to a prompt return of geopolitical concerns. Trade focus now turns to a planned speech by Theresa May on Brexit (full preview here).
    As reported last night, the key overnight event was the latest threat by North Korea that its counter-measure may mean testing a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific, according to reports in Yonhap citing North Korea’s Foreign Minister. North Korea’s leader Kim said North Korea will consider “corresponding, highest level of hard-line measure in history” against US, while he also stated that President Trump’s UN speech was rude nonsense and demonstrated insanity and inhumanity which confirmed North Korea’s nuclear and missile advances are on right path and will continue to the end. There was more on the geopolitical front with the Iranian President
    informing armed forces that the nation will bolster its missile
    capabilities, according to local TV.
    As a result, treasury yields pulled back and the dollar slid the most in two weeks following North Korea’s threat it could test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean. Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index edged lower as a rout in base metals deepened, weighing on mining shares. WTI crude halted its rally above $50 a barrel as OPEC members gathered in Vienna.
    US stock futures pulled back 0.1% though markets were showing growing signs of fatigue over the belligerent U. S.-North Korea rhetoric. ‘North Korea poses such a binary risk that it’s very hard to price, and at the moment investors just have to look through it,’ said Mike Bell, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management. Despite the latest jitters, MSCI’s world equity index remained on track for another weekly gain, holding near its latest record high hit on Wednesday as investors’ enthusiasm for stocks showed few signs of waning.

    This post was published at Zero Hedge on Sep 22, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Alternative Media Blogosphere Economy Energy Geopolitics Gold Market Commentary Precious Metals and tagged

  • “Russia Hoax Continues”: Trump Blasts Facebook Ad Frenzy; Hits “Fake News” For “Screaming” For Hillary

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    Continuing his early morning tweetstorm, Donald Trump on Friday questioned the recent media focus on Facebook’s decision to overhaul how it handles political advertisements amid investigations into alleged Russian interference in U. S. elections, and called reports of Kremlin-linked groups buying Facebook ads to sway the 2016 election part of a “Russia hoax.”
    ‘The Russia hoax continues, now it’s ads on Facebook. What about the totally biased and dishonest Media coverage in favor of Crooked Hillary.”
    The Russia hoax continues, now it's ads on Facebook. What about the totally biased and dishonest Media coverage in favor of Crooked Hillary?
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 22, 2017

    This post was published at Zero Hedge on Sep 22, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Alternative Media Blogosphere Politics and tagged

  • Pensions and Debt Time Bomb In UK: 1 Trillion Crisis Looms

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    – 1 trillion crisis looms as pensions deficit and consumer loans snowball out of control
    – UK pensions deficit soared by 100B to 710B, last month
    – 200B unsecured consumer credit ‘time bomb’ warn FCA
    – 8.3 million people in UK with debt problems
    – 2.2 million people in UK are in financial distress
    – ‘President Trump land’ there is a savings gap of $70 trillion
    – Global problem as pensions gap of developed countries growing by $28B per day
    Editor: Mark O’Byrne
    ***
    There is a 1 trillion debt time bomb hanging over the United Kingdom. We are nearing the end of the timebomb’s long fuse and it looks set to explode in the coming months.
    No one knows how to diffuse the 1 trillion bomb and who should be taking responsibility. It is made up of two major components.
    710 billion is the terrifying size of the UK pensions deficit 200 billion is the amount of dynamite in the consumer credit time bomb How did the sovereign nation that is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland get itself so deep in the red?
    This is not a problem that is bore only by the Brits. In the rest of the developed world a $70 trillion pensions deficit hangs heavy.

    This post was published at Gold Core on September 22, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Banking Economy Market Commentary and tagged

  • “So What Did We Learn From Yellen?”: Deutsche, Goldman Explain

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    For those still unsure what Yellen’s rambling, disjointed press conference meant yesterday, or are still in shock over the Fed’s admitted confusion by the “mystery” that is inflation, here is a quick recap courtesy of Deutsche Bank and Goldman, explaining what we (probably) learned from the Fed and Yellen yesterday.
    First, here is DB’s Jim Reid:
    So what did we learn from the Fed and Yellen last night? Firstly we learnt that stopping reinvestment is a sideshow for now and that the market still cares more about the probability of a December hike and where the Fed thinks inflation is heading. Just briefly on the balance sheet run-off, they have committed to the plan from the June meeting of $10bn per month ($6bn USTs and $4bn Mortgages) with an incremental increase every 3 months until we get to $50bn. However on the rates and inflation outlook the committee and Yellen were on the hawkish side. As DB’s Peter Hooper discusses in his note, barring negative surprises in the months just ahead, the Fed is on track to raise rates once more this year and three times in 2018. Yellen recognised that inflation has been running low recently but put a higher blame on one-off factors than was perhaps anticipated. At the same time she noted that monetary policy operates with a lag and that labour market tightness will eventually push inflation up.
    The complication for markets though is that beyond 2017, the FOMC will see a huge upheaval in its membership which could easily mean current member’s thoughts are meaningless in a few months time and also that Mr Trump’s fiscal plans (or lack of them) have the ability to completely change the debate. So its difficult to read too much into the current FOMC’s forecasts. However for now December is very much live with the probability of a December rate hike moving from a shade under 50% to 64% by the US close (using Bloomberg’s calculator).

    This post was published at Zero Hedge on Sep 21, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Alternative Media Blogosphere Economy Fiscal Policies Real Estate and tagged

  • “If This Trade Doesn’t Work, You Can Blame Me…”

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    In July I wrote a piece titled, ‘Is the real US Dollar Pain Trade Lower?’. At the time the US dollar was sucking wind, but many traders were still playing for a bounce. The prevailing wisdom was that the Fed’s tighter monetary policy, combined with Trump’s business acumen, along with a tax reform bill, and topped off with a massive short covering surge from emerging market US dollar denominated issuers, would ensure the two-year US dollar rally would continue.

    This post was published at Zero Hedge on Sep 20, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Alternative Media Blogosphere Fiscal Policies Government and tagged

  • Stock And Financial Markets Pause Ahead Of FOMC Statement, Yellen Comments

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    World stock markets were mixed in subdued trading overnight. U. S. stock indexes are pointed toward narrowly mixed openings when the New York day session begins.
    Gold prices are higher in pre-U. S.-session trading, on bargain hunting, short covering and some safe-haven demand following a fiery speech by U. S. President Trump at the U. N. on Tuesday. Trump threatened to completely destroy North Korea.
    Markets have paused ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that began Tuesday morning and ends Wednesday afternoon with a statement.

    This post was published at Wall Street Examiner on September 20, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Banking Economy Fiscal Policies Gold Market Commentary Precious Metals and tagged

  • At Least 139 Dead, 60 Pulled Alive From Rubble After Powerful Earthquake Rocks Central Mexico

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    God bless the people of Mexico City. We are with you and will be there for you.
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2017

    Update 9 (9:10 pm ET): The head of Mexico’s National Civil Defense agency says the death toll from a major earthquake that rattled the center of the country has reached 139.
    Luis Felipe Puente said 64 people had died in the state of Morelos, just south of Mexico City, though local officials reported only 54.
    In addition, 36 people died in Mexico City, 29 in Puebla state, nine in the State of Mexico and one in Guerrero.
    Update 8 (7:15 pm ET): Death toll from Mexico earthquake now at 119, according to state and city officials.
    That makes it the deadliest to hit the country since the 1985 quake that, in an incredible coincidence, occurred exactly 32 years ago today, surpassing the death toll from another earthquake the shook the region less than two weeks ago.
    * * *
    Update 7 (6:50 pm ET): Mexico City government says 30 dead in capital, bringing nationwide total to 94, according to AP.
    Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said that the number of buildings that collapsed has risen to 44, and that between 50 and 60 people have been pulled alive from rubble.
    Horrifying videos of buildings crumbling into piles of rubble continue to emerge on Twitter

    This post was published at Zero Hedge on Sep 19, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Alternative Media Blogosphere Ecology Government and tagged

  • Mother of All Bubbles: Global Debt May Be Understated By $13 Trillion

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    The US national debt was in the news last week as Pres. Trump signed a spending bill that raised the debt ceiling limit for the next three months and added approximately $318 billion to the national debt. Officially, the US debt surged to to $20.16 trillion. Of course, the actual figure for government unfunded liabilities runs even higher. And Trump wants to do away with the debt ceiling altogether.
    The US debt makes up just one part of a rapidly growing worldwide debt problem. Earlier this summer, US Global Investors CEO Frank Holmes called global debt ‘the mother of all bubbles.’ Now we have a report from the Bank of International Settlements saying worldwide debt may actually be understated by $13 trillion. Reuters reports the understatement is because ‘traditional accounting practices exclude foreign exchange derivatives used to hedge international trade and foreign currency bonds.’
    Bank for International Settlements researchers said it was hard to assess the risk this ‘missing’ debt poses, but that the main worry was a liquidity crunch like the one that seized FX swap and forwards markets during the financial crisis. The $13 trillion unaccounted-for exposure exceeds the on-balance-sheet debt of $10.7 trillion that data shows was owed by firms and governments outside the United States at end-March.’

    This post was published at Schiffgold on SEPTEMBER 18, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Economy Fiscal Policies Government Market Commentary and tagged

  • Defense Contractors on Cloud 9

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    The backdrop: Money. More than ever before. The Senate is expected to pass by a wide margin a $700-billion defense bill today. When it comes to extravagant military spending, Congress is relentlessly bipartisan, and all bickering stops, as long as the bacon gets spread to every district and state.
    ‘The 1,215-page measure defies a number of White House objections, but Trump hasn’t threatened to veto the measure,’ the Washington Post mused. ‘The bill helps him honor a pledge to boost military spending by tens of billions of dollars.’
    So who gets this money?
    It’s going to get spread around, but defense contractors are going to get a chunk of it, and they’ve been on cloud 9 all year. Their shares – fired up by plenty of saber-rattling – have mostly soared from all-time high to all-time high.
    These are some of the biggest defense contractors and their shares year-to-date as of this morning:
    Rockwell Collins (COL), to be acquired by United Technologies: $130.90, up 40.6% YTD United Technologies (UTX) is gobbling up Rockwell, got beaten down 8% since July, and is the exception: $113.04, up a measly 3.1% YTD Boeing (BA), after implementing a series of big layoffs in the US: $253.51, up 61% YTD Northrop Grumman (NOC): $274.23, up 16% YTD Orbital (OA) jumped 20% this morning to $132.60, up 48% YTD Raytheon (RTN) $183.06, up 26% YTD Lockheed Martin (LMT) $303.74, up 19.8% YTD Honeywell International (HON) $137.50, up 18.4% YTD Orbital jumped 20% this morning after the announcement that Northrop Grumman would acquire it for $134.50 a share, in a deal valued at $9.2 billion including the assumption of $1.4 billion in net debt.

    This post was published at Wolf Street on Sep 18, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Blogosphere Economy Government Market Commentary and tagged

  • US Fires Latest Shot In China Trade War: Warns Beijing Is “Threat To World’s Trading System”

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    It’s been at least a few weeks since the topic of trade war with China dominated the news flow, so moments ago U. S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer decided to poke that particular wound, in during a speech in Washington said that “China’s coordinated effort to create national champions and distort markets is a threat to the world’s trading system.”
    Some headlines from his speech, via Reuters:
    USTR LIGHTHIZER SAYS THERE IS A GROWING FEELING AMONG VOTERS THAT GLOBAL TRADING SYSTEM NOT FAIR TO U. S. WORKERS USTR LIGHTHIZER SAYS “WE WILL HAVE CHANGE IN TRADE POLICY” USTR LIGHTHIZER SAYS U. S. CAN COMPETE IF CONDITIONS ARE FAIR USTR LIGHTHIZER SAYS HE AND TRUMP BELIEVE U. S. SHOULD BE MORE PROACTIVE IN TRADE POLICY, DEMAND RECIPROCITY USTR LIGHTHIZER SAYS HE AND TRUMP BELIEVE THAT TRADE DEFICITS MATTER USTR LIGHTHIZER SAYS SCALE OF CHINA’S EFFORT TO SUBSIDIZE INDUSTRIES IS A THREAT TO WORLD TRADING SYSTEM USTR LIGHTHIZER SAYS 301 PROBE INTO CHINA’S INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PRACTICES COULD LEAD TO WTO CASES

    This post was published at Zero Hedge on Sep 18, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Alternative Media Blogosphere Economy Geopolitics Politics and tagged

  • Stocks Panic-Bid At Cash Open As VIX Crushed To 9 Handle

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    …because nothing says “sell protection” or “cover hedges” like a warmongering Trump addressing The UN and a clueless Fed set to announce balance sheet normalization…
    US equity markets are open… Sell VIX Mortimer, Sell!

    This post was published at Zero Hedge on Sep 18, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Alternative Media Blogosphere Economy Fiscal Policies Market Commentary and tagged

  • WSJ Reports That Trump Won’t Withdraw From Paris Deal, White House Denies

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    Update: it took about 10 minutes for the White House to deny the WSJ report, with the NYT and Bloomberg reporting that a White House spokesman has denied the WSJ story claiming US might stay in Paris accords, saying “position hasn’t changed.” Bloomberg confirms the White House comment, stating that there is “no change” in the US position on the Paris Deal, and that US will withdraw unless presented with “more favorable terms.”
    WH spox denies WSJ story claiming US might stay in Paris accords — saying position hasn't changed…
    — Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) September 16, 2017

    This post was published at Zero Hedge on Sep 16, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Government and tagged

  • Harvey, Irma, Gold and Bad Options

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    In the Previous Three Weeks:
    Gold rose over $1,330. Silver reached $18.00. The DOW almost reached another all-time high. Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Texas coast, flooded Houston, and caused massive damage. Hurricane Irma crashed into Florida and created flooding and huge damage, although a late move west reduced potential destruction. China is preparing a crude oil contract that will allow oil exporters to sell their crude on a Chinese exchange and be paid in yuan, which can be sold on a Chinese exchange for gold. This could be very important for the gold market. The Federal Reserve met and … yada yada yada. North Korea and President Trump exchanged pleasantries in their great distraction game. GOLD: Year 1913: Price of gold: $20.67 per oz. U. S. national debt $3 billion. Year 2017: Price of gold: $1,300 per oz. U. S. national debt $20 trillion. The national debt is over 6,000 times larger than in 1913, yet the gold price is just 62 times higher.

    This post was published at GoldStockBull on September 14th, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Economy and tagged