Thursday, December 31, 2015

IMF Now Admitting Economy Not Going To Improve In 2016, Prepare For The Collapse


from X22Report:




2015 Greatest Hits: Presenting The Most Popular Posts Of The Past Year

The seventh anniversary of Zero Hedge is just around the corner, and so, for the seventh year in a row we continue our tradition of summarizing what our readers found to be the most relevant, exciting, and actionable news of the year, determined by the number of page views. We bring you the articles that you, dear reader, found to be the most interesting in the past 365 days.

Stocks End 2015 In The Red, Worst Year With Oil Since 1984








We're All Fascists Now

If Donald Trump is a megalomaniac salivating over taking control of American Weimar, then both Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio are führers in the making. The same goes for the rest of the field, where each and every candidate aspires to be the Celebrity-in-Chief. Trump only looks worse because he doesn’t have the benefit of a sympathetic media on his side.



How ISIS Broadcasts Its Message To The World: Satellite Dishes Bought In Turkey

According to a piece published earlier this month by Spiegel, ISIS obtains the satellite technology it needs to disseminate its propaganda in Antakya. In addition to reinforcing the link between the group and Turkey, this also raises an interesting question: why are the satellite service providers not doing anything to stop the group from spreading its message?



Russian Imperialism Meets Illusions Of Ottoman Grandeur

Earlier in 2015, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he found it difficult to understand what Russia was doing in Syria, since "it does not even border Syria." By that logic, Turkey should not be "doing anything" in the Palestinian territories, Somalia, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan or any of the non-bordering lands into which its neo-Ottoman impulses have pushed it.



What's Ahead In 2016 - Key Events Of The Next 12 Months

Elections, elections, and more elections is the 'regime change' meme for 2016 but, as Bloomberg details, the key events of the year ahead vary from a California marijuana referendum to Brazil's Olympics, and from Davos to SCOTUS. No matter what, 2016 holds a lot of opportunity for volatility, and without The Fed's safety net, who knows what that means for markets...



Donald Trump's Comprehensive 2015 Insult Highlight Reel

What better way to end 2015, than with a highlight reel of Donald Trump’s more colorful insults.



This Is What Stocks Do During Hyperinflation

How did Venezuela stocks perform in the past year under the country's hyperinflation? The answer: using a meaningess exchange rate, they rose 4x and, as Handelsblatt incorrectly concluded, "were the best investment of the year"; on the other hand using an exchange rates that actually reflects the country's economic implosion, they lost just over 20% of their value in the past year.



15 News Stories From 2015 You Should Have Heard About But Probably Didn't

In 2015, the iron fist of power clamped down on humanity, from warfare to terrorism to surveillance, police brutality, and corporate hegemony. The environment was repeatedly decimated, the health of citizens was constantly put at risk, and the justice system and media alike were perverted to serve the interests of the powers that be. However, while 2015 was discouraging for more reasons than most of us can count, many of the year’s most underreported stories evidence not only a widespread pattern that explicitly reveals the nature of power, but pushback from human beings worldwide on a path toward a better world.



German Police Evacuate Munich Train Stations, Warn Of Imminent Terrorist Attack

"Current information indicates that a terrorist attack has been planned in Munich," police said in a statement, adding "please avoid crowds and train stations. We will provide updates on the current situation."

A Year In The Fabulous Life Of Kim Jong-Un, In Pictures





Yellen, You Have A Problem: The "Rate Hike Corridor" Just Broke

Moments ago the effective Fed Funds rate tumbled from yesterday's 0.35% to just 0.12%, confirming that indeed the rate hike corridor can and has been breached at least once, and only two weeks into the Fed's rate hike experiment.



Now Comes The Great Unwind - How Evaporating Commodity Wealth Will Slam The Casino

The unfolding correction of the visible excesses of the credit inflation - such as overinvestment and malinvestment - will destroy incomes and profits; the Great Unwind of the less visible effects, such as the sovereign wealth fund liquidations, are a giant pin aimed squarely at the monumental worldwide bubbles in stock, bonds and real estate.

America In 2015 (The Chart)









2016 – 2018: TIMELINE FOR COLLAPSE — V, The Guerrilla Economist

by SGT, SGT Report.com:


V, The Guerrilla Economist from Rogue Money.net helps us ring in 2016 as we discuss the timeline for collapse. If we give credence to the Rothschild owned Economist magazine, then 2018 marks the very end of the line for the US Dollar. But as V notes, the dominoes of the Dollar’s demise have already been in the process of falling. V warns, “What should alarm you folks is that we are hanging on by a thread.”
Wishing you are very happy, blessed and hopefully prosperous New Year. Thank you for supporting us at SGTREPORT.com by visiting us for real news, 24/7.

Our Top Ten Conspiracies of 2015

by Patrick Henningsen and Shawn Helton, 21st Century Wire.com:

With the year coming to a close, it’s time to take stock of some of the more gripping conspiratorial events and stories covered by 21WIRE over the past year. Once again, it was a year that defied reason or logic the world over. From Paris to Palmyra, San Bernardino to Sanaa, or from Roanoke to Raqqa – there’s never been a year like 2015.

As was the case in 2014, there were a number of other high-profile news stories we could have included in this year’s conspiratorial exposé but within our top ten list, we’ve chosen to focus on not only the most important events, but also the most improbable ones as well. While CNN and other majors spent the summer doing a live reenactment of Prison Break ala milk toast, we remained busy digging into the false flag terror, NGO soft power complex, Operation GLADIO 2.0 and deconstructing the active-shooter paradox.
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THE VIEW FROM CENTRAL EUROPE AT THE END OF 2015: Breaking The Power of the Rothschild/London/Wall Street Axis

Note: I received this update from our good friend Harley Schlanger today and I wanted to pass it along immediately as we close out 2015 and look ahead to the global grass roots fight for LIBERTY in 2016… Happy New Year. ~ SGT Report
by Harley Schlanger, SGT Report.com:
Given what is about to happen in Europe, as a result of a combined increase in QE, and new bank resolution rules — including bail-ins — the pessimism which abounds here on the eve of 2016, regarding both the future of the European Union, and the survival of many European nations itself, is well-founded! There are several things I can report to you from meetings here over the last three weeks:
1. There is a clear recognition that Obama is a Satanic figure. Many people realize that the EU is a puppet state of Wall Street and the City of London, and that Obama was chosen to ram through their policies. While there is still a delusion that the economy is better in the U.S. than in Europe, there is private acknowledgement that the global economy is imploding, and the financial system — i.e., the debtor, fiat money system — is hopelessly careening toward disaster.
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2016 New Year Message from Greg Hunter

from Greg Hunter:


Happy New Year to the USAWatchdog community. There will not be a Weekly News Wrap-Up this week as I am taking time off to recharge for the new year. I do have a short New Year’s message on the next page. Thank you for supporting USAWatchdog.com. Enjoy!!

SAME OLD STORY, BE AFRAID! German Police Warn of “Imminent Terror Attack” – Evacuate 2 Train Stations

from DAHBOO77:


Exposed: What Obama Is Doing EVERY DAY Of His Hawaii Vacation Is Shocking Americans

from Western Journalism:

President Barack Obama once told Americans they cannot have everything they want.
Meanwhile, the presidential vacation to Hawaii is burning a hole in the federal budget to the tune of about $470,000 a day, according to federal documents provided to the taxpayer watchdog group Judicial Watch.
We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times … and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK,” Obama said in 2008 while campaigning for office. “That’s not leadership. That’s not going to happen,” he added.
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Social Security is a PONZI SCHEME | Ann Barnhardt

from Reluctant Preppers:


This is a excerpt from Reluctant Preppers interview with Ann Barnhardt on March 25, 2014

57 Countries Join AIIB as China Officially Launches Rival to U.S. Dollar Hegemony!

from The Money GPS




















































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California Law Allowing Government To Seize Legal Guns Goes Into Effect January 1st



Beginning January 1, gun regulations in California will give authorities the right to seize a person’s weapons for 21 days if a judge determines the potential for violence exists.
What could possibly go wrong?

Ad Shows Army Prepping for Martial Law: “This Is Not Battle Training. This Is Riot Control”

by Mac Slavo, SHTFPlan:

Will martial law be declared on American soil?
Will economic collapse and urban riots result in the final and total loss of civil liberties right here at home?
It could happen, and it is one of the “eventualities” that the military is preparing for, though they are constitutionally barred from being used domestically against the American people.
Part of the U.S. Army’s latest ad campaign, broadcast frequently during football games and sporting events, and widely across many television programs, includes a 30-second spot that shows soldiers training with shields used for domestic riot control.
Read More



Now Comes The Great Unwind - How Evaporating Commodity Wealth Will Slam The Casino

The unfolding correction of the visible excesses of the credit inflation - such as overinvestment and malinvestment - will destroy incomes and profits; the Great Unwind of the less visible effects, such as the sovereign wealth fund liquidations, are a giant pin aimed squarely at the monumental worldwide bubbles in stock, bonds and real estate.

Stocks End 2015 In The Red, Worst Year With Oil Since 1984








Government Propagandist-In-Chief Condemns Political Incorrectness As "The Furthest Thing From Brave"

Some have called Cass Sunstein "America's Goebbels" since he sugggested that the government "formally hire credible private parties to engage in counterspeech," and was engaged by President Obama as 'Information Tzar'. So today's op-ed from the government's propagandist-in-chief, condemning those who choose to push back against political correctness, should be read with a Bernaysian perspective as Sunstein attempts to delegitimize any and every effort to argue against the government's view of the world.

America In 2015 (The Chart)









The Good, The Bad & The Ugly From 2015











Turks Warn "We're One Step Away From Civil War" On Erdogan Crackdown

“The tanks fire all day and we have nowhere left to hide,”...



Bill Clinton Made $8 Million From Speeches To Companies With Matters Pending Before Hillary's State Dept

As WSJ reports, "more than two dozen companies and groups and one foreign government paid former President Bill Clinton a total of more than $8 million to give speeches around the time they also had matters before Mrs. Clinton’s State Department."

Massive Fire Breaks Out In Dubai Hotel During New Year Fireworks Display - Live Feed






Billionaires Battle: Buffett Beats Musk In Nevada

In a clash of the billionaire titans, Warren Buffett just defeated Elon Musk. The fight was over solar net-metering in Nevada...

Gray, Gays, Trump, & Paris - The Year In News













Well-Paid Pandering Pundits And The Fantasy Of Reform

Any serious reform has to start with the dissolution of the existing political parties and the Federal Reserve. Anything less is self-serving, pandering fantasy.



WTI Fades Fast After Rig Count Decline Continues

After melting up to pre-API levels this morning, crude prices are falling back (and therefore so are stocks) as Baker Hughes reports another weekly decline in rig count. After surging by 17 three weeks ago, the 2 rig decline in oil rigs in America continues to track the lagged crude oil price.

"Carson Campaign In Chaos" As Two Top Aides Resign





Yellen, You Have A Problem: The "Rate Hike Corridor" Just Broke

Moments ago the effective Fed Funds rate tumbled from yesterday's 0.35% to just 0.12%, confirming that indeed the rate hike corridor can and has been breached at least once, and only two weeks into the Fed's rate hike experiment.



Chinese Company Blames Upcoming Default On Gangsters, Mysterious Loss Of "Important Documents"

The latest Chinese company to mysteriously "misplace" its books and as a result be unable to make an upcoming bond payment is China Shanshui Cement"a former director of Shandong Shanshui, together with a group of gangsters, barged into the Headquarters by force on 27 December 2015, destroyed the properties in the offices therein and assaulted the employees of Shandong Shanshui."



Darkness Falls Upon Norway’s Key Figures Going Into 2016

As we move into winter, darkness has fallen up on us. Oil, ca. 65% of the nation’s economy, will not see the required $70 barrel anytime soon. American innovation, once again, turns a scarce resource into an abundant commodity. Despite optimistic Norwegian media articles, the potential for $20 per barrel looms. Production overwhelms demand while inventories rise to record highs. Although, still considered the best place to live, the cracks, in the oil based economy, are forming.



Iran Defies Obama, Orders Expansion Of Missile Program

Earlier today, we outlined Washington's plan to slap new sanctions on Iran in connection the October test-firing of Tehran's next generation, surface-to-surface ballistic-missile Emad. It didn't take long for Iran to hit back, with President Rouhani now reportedly ordering the Defense Ministry to "expedite" missile development.



Is Trump Winning? - Don't Show Hillary (Or Bernie) This Chart

As the fervor of the US Presidential campaign begins to heat up, it appears - despite all the hand-wringing and prosecution of the status quo - that the incumbents are losing... and losing large. According to Bloomberg's Consumer Comfort survey, Republicans are near the most confident relative to Democrats since Obama was re-elected.

Gold Undervalued Due To Massive Stock Dilution & Debt

by Steve St. Angelo, SRS Rocco:
The market price of gold would be considerably higher if it wasn’t for the massive stock dilution and debt in the gold mining industry. Basically, the gold mining industry issued billions of new shares and debt to help replace production and to compensate for rising costs. Thus, investors of gold mining stocks got raped so the market could enjoy an artificially lower gold price.
Nothing like Free Market Capitalism at work.
Read More

Sy Hersh Blockbuster: Top US General Ignored Obama, Led Secret Plot to Protect Assad and Bring Russia Into Syria War

from Russia-Insider:

President Obama’s top military commander secretly orchestrated intelligence sharing with military leaders in Germany, Israel and Russia to thwart the president’s policy to remove Bashar Assad from power in Syria and lay the groundwork for Russia’s military entrance into the Syrian civil war, because he believed Obama’s anti-ISIS strategies were hopelessly misguided.
That is just one of the astounding takeaways from a 6,800-word expose by venerated investigative reporter Seymour M. Hersh, that was just published in the London Review of Books.
Read More




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Yellen, You Have A Problem: The "Rate Hike Corridor" Just Broke



Moments ago the effective Fed Funds rate tumbled from yesterday's 0.35% to just 0.12%, confirming that indeed the rate hike corridor can and has been breached at least once, and only two weeks into the Fed's rate hike experiment.


S&P 500 Opens In The Red For 2015 - Why 2058.90 Is The Most Important Number In The World

The S&P 500 closed 2014 at 2058.90 and is currently trading below that level as the market opens. For the sake of faith in The Fed's "control" and trust in central planners ability to do "whatever it takes," it appears NYFed better "get back to work" soon to save the world.




The Uncomfortable Truth About The Great Boom And This "Recovery"

Despite such endless financial engineering, sales for the S&P 500 have been declining for the last three quarters. And profits have declined for the first time since the 2009 expansion. Simply put: The recovery is a mirage... It isn’t real... And it isn’t sustainable.



Initial Jobless Claims Surge Most In 10 Months In Pre-Christmas Week

Year-over-year, initial jobless claims are unchanged as the week-ending with Christmas Day saw a Scorrge-like 20,000 surge in initial claims. This is the largest weekly rise since February with 2015 ending with the highest initial claims print in 5 months.



Another Hedge Fund Shuts Down: SAB Capital Returns All Outside Money

Yesterday, in keeping with what has become a daily tradition, we asked a simple question: "Which hedge fund will close today." It turns out that despite our intention, the question was not rhetorical because just a few hours later Bloomberg answered, when it reported that the latest hedge fund casualty was another iconic, long-term investor: Scott Bommer's SAB Capital, which as of a year ago managed $1.1 billion, and which is now returning all outside money.



"Some Folks Are Selling" - Stocks & Commodities Suddenly Slammed

It appears the machines will have their work cut out today to keep the 'green for 2015' dream alive today as the last 30 minutes have seen selling accelerate across stock and commodity markets with bonds and the dollar bid.


The Next Time Your Financial Advisor Tells You To Buy Stocks, Show Them This Chart

Perhaps mom and pop investors should show the following chart to their financial advisors, who directly or indirectly work for these institutions, and ask them: why should they be buying, when the counterparty they are buying from is, most likely, this very same financial advisor?


Time For Torches & Pitchforks: The Little Guy Is About To Get Monkey-Hammered Again

The prospect that the leaders of our monetary politburo are about to be tarred and feathered by economic reality might be satisfying enough if it led to the repudiation of Keynesian central planning and a thorough housecleaning at the Fed. Unfortunately, it will also mean that tens of millions of retail investors and 401k holders will be taken to the slaughterhouse for the third time this century. And this time the Fed is out of dry powder, meaning retail investors will never recover as they did after 2002 and 2009.


Crude Oil Prices Suffer Biggest 2-Year Bloodbath On Record

With yet another false-dawn of crude prices blowing in the wind of cash-flow generation desperation, we thought it an appropriate time for a bigger picture glance at the state of the carnage in crude...

The Minimum Wage Hike Hangover Arrives: Dining Out To Cost 10% More Starting January 1






Obama To Hit New "Friend" Iran With Fresh Sanctions Over Contested Ballistic-Missile Program

On the heels of a “close call” in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, Washington is preparing new sanctions against a handful of companies and individuals tied to Tehran’s ballistic-missile program. "We've been looking for some time‎ at options for additional actions related to Iran's ballistic missile program based on our continued concerns about its activities,” an unnamed US official says. Iran calls the new actions "illegal."



Frontrunning: December 31

  • Oil ends 2015 in downbeat mood; hangover to be long, painful (Reuters)
  • Recession, retrenchment, revolution? Impact of low crude prices on oil powers (Guardian)
  • Midwest Flooding Might Make the Oil Glut Worse (BBG)
  • From Oil Glut to Shortage? Some Say It Could Happen (WSJ)
  • Ten Years After Blowup, Amaranth Investors Waiting to Get Money Back (WSJ)
  • China Fires a Warning Shot at Yuan Speculators With Bank Bans (BBG)



Red Or Green For The Year: Decision Time For US Markets On Last Trading Day Of 2015

It has come down to this: a year in which the US stock market (led by a handful of shares even as the vast majority of stocks has dropped) has gone nowhere, but took the longest and most volatile path to get there, is about to close either red or green for 2015 based on what happens in today's low-volume session following yesterday's unexpected last half hour of trading "air pocket" which brought the S&P back to unchanged for the year.



Something Just Broke In The U.S. Silver Market

After looking over all the figures, it seems as if something broke in the U.S. Silver Market this year. By that, we mean the normal supply and demand forces no longer make sense.



Swiss Army Chief Warns Of Social Unrest, Calls Upon Citizens To Arm Themselves

Swiss army chief André Blattmann warned, in a Swiss newspaper article on Sunday, the risks of social unrest in Europe are soaring. Recalling the experience of 1939/1945, Blattman fears the increasing aggression in public discourse is an explosively hazardous situation, and advises the Swiss people to arm themselves and warns that the basis for Swiss prosperity is "being called into question."



Guest Post: "American Capitalism" No Longer Serves Society

America is being destroyed by problems that are unaddressed. Unbridled greed, short-term in nature, will continue to drive America into the ground.


AMERICANS, & EUROPEANS: A DERIVATIVES COLLAPSE COULD WIPE OUT YOUR LIFE SAVINGS

from KafkaWinstonWorld:


Bail-in’s taking place in Italy. Only a matter of time before you get bailed-in. I know that many of you have people in your lives who are just not listening. All you can do is pass along this information to them, and let go of the results.

Montreal Implements TOTAL Ban of Pollinator-Killing Pesticide

by Christina Sarich, Natural Society:
Here is some great news for the New Year! Montreal, Canada is banning neuro-toxic neonicotinoids that have been linked to bee colony deaths, in order to save our pollinators, and our food supply. [1]
Neonicotinoids (neonics) are a class of nicotine-based pesticides that are sprayed everywhere. You will find over fifty varieties of seeds which grow into valuable fruits and vegetables sprayed by neonics. You’ll find neonics sprayed on golf courses, and football fields.
Though Montreal had limited the use of this debilitating class of pesticides in the past, it has now banned them completely due to mounting evidence that the chemicals cause disorientation, severe reproductive problems in the queen, and even early death in bee colonies. [2] [3]
Read More



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