Friday, November 20, 2015

Islamic Gunmen Storm Luxury Hotel In Mali Capital, Take 170 Hostage; French, US Special Foreces Follow - Live Feed



Less than a week since the Friday 13th Paris terror attack, hours ago the newswires lit up with news of another terrorist attack when gunmen shouting and screaming "Allahu Akbar" attacked the Radisson Blu, a luxury hotel full of foreigners, in Mali's capital Bamako, taking 170 people hostage. The identity of the Bamako gunmen, or the group to which they belong, is not known



Gartman: "It Is Time To Sell Crude Oil Once Again"

"It is time to sell crude oil once again, and the risks are small while the potention seems large. Let’s sell a bit of both WTI and Brent crude, sufficient to be one unit in aggregate with nearby January WTI trading at or near to $41.85 and nearby Brent trading at or very near to $44.23."



EU's Founding Treaty To Be "Reconsidered", Seeking End To Passport-Free Travel

Between the French (Interior Minister Cazeneuve: "we're face with a new kind of terrorism", and Hungary (PM Orban: "allowing people into our own back yard" who may then commit acts of terrorism was irresponsible), AP reports that the EU's founding treaty with regard to passport-free travel - the so-called Schengen Agreement - is to be reformed. "We want Europe, which has lost too much time on a certain number of questions, to note the urgency and take decisions today," exclaimed Cazeneuve, with Orban adding "the founding treaty is currently an obstacle to this and I believe it needs to be reconsidered." According to Cazeneuve, the reforms will happen by year-end.



Europe Cracks Down On Bitcoin, Virtual Currencies To "Curb Terrorism Funding"

European Union countries are preparing to crackdown on virtual currencies such as bitcoin, and anonymous payments made online and via pre-paid cards "in a bid to tackle terrorism financing after the Paris attacks, acording to a draft document."



Video Footage From Mali Reveals Tense Standoff Between Special Forces, Hostage Takers

In the past hour several video clips have emerged from Mali, showing the tense situation where an estimated 10 gunmen, according to AFP, have taken dozen of hostages and where Mali, French and US special forces are now engaging the hostage takers.

Frontrunning: November 20


  • French, U.S. Troops Enter Mali Hotel as Gunmen Hold Hostages (BBG)
  • Top suspect seen on CCTV in metro during Paris attacks (Reuters)
  • Paris Attacks’ Alleged Ringleader, Now Dead, Had Slipped Into Europe Unchecked (WSJ)
  • Global shares march on as alarm bells ring for metals (Reuters)
  • European Stocks Rise With Asian Shares as Zinc, Ringgit Advance (BBG)
  • World leaders arrive for summit amid heavy security (Reuters)



Futures Rise, Global Stocks Set For Best Week In Six Unfazed By Terrorism Concerns

Futures are modestly higher in early trading having tracked the USDJPY once again almost tick for tick, with the carry trade of choice rising to 123 shortly after Mario Draghi's latest speech pushed the dollar strong initially only to see most gains promptly evaporate against both the Yen and the Euro. European shares are likewise little changed, after gaining earlier, while Asian stocks rise; oil also advanced in early trading only to drop to its lowest overnight level moments ago, a few dimes over $40, with aluminum and copper both posting modest increases.



The Party Is Over: Goldman Sees "Limited Equity Upside" As "Bernanke Put" Is Replaced With "Yellen Call"

"We see a risk that the ‘Bernanke put’ will gradually be replaced by the ‘Yellen call’. The ‘Bernanke put’ captured the intuition that when the risks to growth, monetary policy reacts aggressively to bad news. Now that these risks have receded, we expect the Fed will shift to an easing bias, implying that monetary policy will likely begin to react more aggressively to good news... Rallies in risk sentiment may be met by less accommodative monetary policy – the ‘Yellen call’.



German Bunds Give Draghi The Finger: 2-Year Hits Record Negative Low -0.39%

While the initial EUR response was as expected, dropping about 30 pips (but already rebounding on concerns that the Draghi bazooka may truly be empty this time - after all what else can he surprise with as CA's Valentin Marinov said), German Bunds, especially the short-end, were quick to give Mario Draghi the middle finger and the 2Y has dropped to a fresh record low of -0.389%, because all they heard was that the ECB will monetize even more debt.


lesson on how to create hyperinflation 101...

Euro Tumbles As Draghi Says "ECB Will Do What It Must To Raise Inflation" But Drop May Not Last

Yesterday, there was pent up expectation that the ECB's latest minutes, by being structurally dovish and thus the opposite of the Fed's own minutes, would unleash another round of EUR weakness. This did not happen, and instead not only did the EUR jump during the day, but the USD saw an unexpected round of all day weakness. Many were surprised by this response. It turns out Mario Draghi was merely biding his time, and in a speech released moments ago, titled "Monetary Policy: Past, Present and Future" delivered at the European Banking Congress, Draghi pulled another "whatever it takes" card, and promptly sent the Euro currency reeling, if only for the time being.



The Most Important Question About ISIS That Nobody Is Asking

We wonder how long until someone finally asks the all important question regarding the Islamic State: who is the commodity trader breaching every known law of funding terrorism when buying ISIS crude, almost certainly with the tacit approval by various "western alliance" governments, and why is it that these governments have allowed said middleman to continue funding ISIS for as long as it has?

Putin Outed ISIS’s G20 Financiers — But Not a Single Western Media Outlet Has Reported It

A revealing silence from the “free” western press
from Global Research:
We’ve been very patient. For the last 12 hours we’ve been constantly refreshing Google News for just one — one — western article about Putin’s bombshell comments at the G20 summit in Antalya. You would think that the Russian President stating publicly that ISIS is receiving money from 40 different countries, including G20 members, would be “newsworthy”. Right?
But the western media has defied even our worst expectations: Not a single mainstream western outlet reported on Putin’s comments. Typically, at least the Daily Beast has the common courtesy to distort or misrepresent the most recent Putin press conference. But in this instance, there is literally no written western record of Putin saying anything about who finances ISIS during the G20 summit in Turkey. This is insane.
Read More @ Global Research.com




Caught On Tape: Russian Air Force Destroys Dozens Of ISIS Oil Trucks

"In just the first few days, [Russian] aviation has destroyed 500 fuel tanker trucks, which greatly reduced illegal oil export capabilities of the militants and, accordingly, their income from oil smuggling."



How Islamic Extremism Was Born

History takes no prisoners. It shows, with absolute lucidity, that the Islamic extremism ravaging the world today was borne out of the Western foreign policy of yesteryear.



"People Are Worried" - Chinese Authorities Arrest 'King Of IPOs' & 'Hedge Fund Brother No. 1'

The arrests or investigations targeting the finance industry in the aftermath of China’s summer market crash have intensified in recent weeks according to Bloomberg, creating a climate of fear among China’s finance firms and chilling their investment strategies. As one professor of Chinese economy noted, "some in the political leadership sought to find scapegoats to blame" for the market crash which along with massive intervention "created uncertainty and anxiety that can only undermine the effort to make these markets work better."

The Baltic Dry Shipping Index Just Collapsed To An All-Time Record Low



by Michael Snyder, The Economic Collapse Blog:

I was absolutely stunned to learn that the Baltic Dry Shipping Index had plummeted to a new all-time record low of 504 at one point on Thursday.  I have written a number of articles lately about the dramatic slowdown in global trade, but I didn’t realize that things had gotten quite this bad already.  Not even during the darkest moments of the last financial crisis did the Baltic Dry Shipping Index drop this low.  Something doesn’t seem to be adding up, because the mainstream media keeps telling us that the global economy is doing just fine.  In fact, the Federal Reserve is so confident in our “economic recovery” that they are getting ready to raise interest rates.  Of course the truth is that there is no “economic recovery” on the horizon.  In fact, as I wrote about yesterday, there are signs all around us that are indicating that we are heading directly into another major economic crisis.  This staggering decline of the Baltic Dry Shipping Index is just another confirmation of what is directly ahead of us.
Read More…

Terror Grips World, House Votes No to Refugees, Obama Care Disaster

from Greg Hunter:


The attack in France is a game changer, not just for France, but for the world. France is clamping down, and the President of France is now turning hard core.
This is in part due to fear and outrage from the carnage, but President Holland is also afraid that his number one political adversary is pointing out the attack happened on Holland’s watch. There is no telling who is coming into Europe with the revelation that fake passports are being used by terrorists.
Here in the U.S., the House has voted overwhelmingly to curtail the Syrian refugees. Both Democrats and Republicans put a stop to the refugees 289 to just 137. That’s enough to override a veto from the President. Intelligence experts say there is no way to properly vet and check out the thousands wanting to come into the U.S.

Financially Engineered Stocks Drag Down S&P 500

from Wolf Street:

Stocks have been on a tear to nowhere this year. Now investors are praying for a Santa rally to pull them out of the mire. They’re counting on desperate amounts of share buybacks that companies fund by loading up on debt. But the magic trick that had performed miracles over the past few years is backfiring.
And there’s a reason.
IBM has blown $125 billion on buybacks since 2005, more than the $111 billion it invested in capital expenditures and R&D. It’s staggering under its debt, while revenues have been declining for 14 quarters in a row. It cut its workforce by 55,000 people since 2012. And its stock is down 38% since March 2013.
Read More

Shock DHS Report: There Are 73 Airport Employees On Terror Watchlists… How Will They Properly Screen Syrian “Refugees”?

by Mac Slavo, SHTFPlan:
Can we trust the federal government to protect us from terrorist who may be coming to the U.S. to cause trouble?
President Obama and other establishment figures are assuring us that thousands of Syrian refugees and other immigrant pools should be accepted in the U.S., and that risky figures will be swiftly screened out by an appropriate Homeland Security vetting process.
However, a fresh report identified scores of suspected individuals who were missed by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA),who operate under Homeland Security, during airport hiring processes, yet are on the government terrorist watchlist.
Read More

Gowdy: ‘What I’m Really Afraid of Is a Foreign Policy That Creates More Widows and Orphans’

by Melanie Hunter CNSnews:
At a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security hearing Thursday on the Syrian refugee crisis, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said what he’s “really afraid of is a foreign policy that creates more widows and orphans.”
“The president says we’re scared of widows and orphans. With all due respect to him, what I’m really afraid of is a foreign policy that creates more widows and orphans, so where maybe he ought to start … is a foreign policy in the Middle East, including Syria, where people can go back to their homelands, which is their preference, go back to their homelands,” Gowdy said.
Read More…

9/11 John Kerry Admits that WTC7 was Brought Down by Controlled Demolition

from CraveChange?:


Don’t Adopt Our Gun Control Laws, Australian Politician Tells US

by Kit Daniels, Infowars:
Australia is a “nation of victims” because of its strict gun control laws, according to Australian senator David Leyonhjelm.
The Liberal Democrat told the NRA that Australia should not be a model for gun control because the country’s 1996 gun bans – pushed through after the Port Arthur massacre – have made “no difference.”
“We are a nation of victims,” he said. “You cannot own a gun for self defense… the criminals still have guns.”
“There’s a very vigorous black market for guns, so it’s not made the slightest bit of difference; if you want a gun, you can get one.”
Read More…

Could This New Method of Water Retention Save California from the Drought?

by Christina Sarich, Natural Society:
Many places on the planet have arid climates and harvest rainwater in order to stay irrigated even when the sun blazes hot. California scientists have taken a hint from those who take the rain when it comes in order to help the state survive one of the worst droughts in its history.
This is no new technology. China recently commemorated a 2000-year old irrigation system. Proper irrigation systems not only save water in times of drought, but also save entire cities from flooding when rivers and lakes overflow.
Read More

HOW CONVENIENT: Suspected Paris Attack “Mastermind” Killed in Police Raid – prosecutor

[Ed. Note: Dead men tell no tales. Nor do they testify in court.]
from RT:

The alleged mastermind and sponsor of attacks in the French capital on Friday, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was killed during an anti-terrorist operation in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on Wednesday, Paris prosecutor François Molins said.
His body was found under the wreckage of the building in Saint-Denis, which was stormed in Wednesday’s raid.
“Abdel Hamid Abaaoud has just been formally identified and certified killed during the raid, after comparing fingerprints,” the statement said. “It was the bullet-ridden body we discovered in the building,” Paris persecutor François Molins said.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls praised the elimination of one of the masterminds behind the Paris attacks.
Read More @ RT.com


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