Three Dead, Police Officer Shot At Michigan County Courthouse - Live Feed

A police officer was shot in the left arm and finger after shots were fired at the Berrien County Courthouse in St. Joseph, Michigan, according to local news outlets. According to media reports, at least 4 people have been shot with unconfirmed reports of 3 casualties.

Nintendo Soars As 'Pokemon Go' More Popular Than Porn

When your app is "more popular than porn" it is hard to argue with Nintendo's stock prices surge following the unprecedented success of the launch of Pokemon Go - the augmented reality app taking the world by storm.

Dallas Police Chief's Advice To Young Black Men Everywhere

"I wouldn't protest, I'd get involved and do something about it... become part of the solution, serve your comunities... we're hiring."

 

"Something Big" Indeed Came - Bernanke's Japan Visit Unveils "Helicopter Money", Sparks Monster Rally

When we first heard this past Thursday that private blogger and Citadel employee Ben Bernanke was going to "secretly" meet with both the BOJ's Haruhiko Kuroda and Japan PM Abe, we warned readers that "something big was coming." Two trading days later, with the USDJPY higher by 200 pips and soaring after something big indeed came overnight from Japan: nothing less than the first "lite" instance of helicopter money .

Seattle Is Hiring: "A Race And Social Justice Manager To Achieve Racial Equality"

 

Behind The IEX Crusade To Fix The Market, In Its Own Words

IEX's recent approval as a US stock exchange, against Nasdaq's and the rest of the industry's best efforts, has created a venue where fair trading takes place. As the following clip, in IEX-own words, expresses so clearly, it is hard enough already for main-street to understand and stay on top global developments. They should not need to struggle between choosing a Post No Preference Blind Limit Order or a Routed Peg Order.

  

Distraction, Dysfunction, & Dissonance

Hillary took advantage of last week’s racial strife to deflect the blows she took from FBI Director James Comey in his public remarks about Hillary’s email problem. She went into full pander mode, blaming “white privilege” for the recent enormities involving guns and police. Of course, that will only fuel the “narrative” that whites are wholly responsible for black dysfunction, a false story that will lead to more conflict.

 

Trump: "I Am The Law And Order Candidate; Without Safety We Have Nothing"

Trump declared himself the "law and order candidate" while criticizing Hillary Clinton over her use of the now infamous private email server. "I am the law and order candidate... I'm also the candidate of compassion — believe it," Trump added. "But you can't have true compassion without providing safety," he continued. "Without safety, we have nothing."

Why Gundlach Thinks It's Going To Get Worse, And Why He Is "Pretty Sure That Trump Will Win"

"What is really happening here is that there’s massive technological change, and big changes almost always lead to political instability. People who benefit from the old construct are loath to see it change, because they don’t want to lose their power and economic advantage. And so they dig their heels in even harder. That’s what we’re seeing in Britain right now. People who remember the good old days when they had factory jobs and made a good living—that’s been taken away, and they want to do something about it."

Chasing Fools Gold (aka Central Banker Alchemy)

Remember the story of “The Philosopher’s stone?” In a nut shell it was an alchemical substance capable of turning worthless metals into gold. Today, much like those of yore, central bankers across the globe are engaging in that never-ending quest for the ability to turn the worthless – into the precious. And to the ill-informed it seems they have indeed achieved it. That is, as long as you wrap it in the same cloth as found in “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” For if not – the naked truth becomes appalling clear. And it ain’t pretty.

US Consumers No Longer "Eating Out" - Restaurant Guest Counts Tumble To Three Year Lows

Knapp-Track casual dining same store sales for the month of June were down 2.3% with guest counts down 4.8%. These results compare against same store sales that were up 1.5% and guest counts that were down 1.1% in June 2015.  Sales and guest counts in June were the weakest since January 2014 (more than two years) and February 2013 (more than three years), respectively. On a two-year basis, same store sales were down 0.8% with guest counts down 5.9%.

"Greed And Fear" Index Soars To Highest Since 2014

What "wall of worry"?

Foreign Buyers Avoid Poor, Tailing 3Y Auction With Lowest Bid to Cover Since 2009

It had been an ugly day for bonds all day, with 10Y yields rising to day's highs moments ago, rising as much as 1.427%, and as such it was hardly a surprise that today's Treasury sale of $24 billion in 3 year paper was anything but impressive. In fact, it was downright ugly. The high yield of 0.765%, while a steep drop from last month's 0.93%, tailed the When Issued 0.761% by 0.4 bps.

Are Collapsing Rates Good Or Bad: Hedge Fund CIO Takes On "Today's Most Important Question"

As rates and growth converge at low levels, legacy investments modelled on more optimistic assumptions struggle. Many fail. The pressure on incumbent profit margins from these newcomers simply exacerbates their troubles. “So that feedback process of interest rates below a certain level becomes quite destructive to the existing base of capital,” explained Lithium. “That’s the simplest answer.”

Nasdaq Tops 5,000 For First Time In 2016 - Best Streak In 5 Years

Having now rallied for 8 of the last 9 days, the Nasdaq Composite just broke above 5,000 for the first time since Dec 31 2015. This is the biggest 9-day run in the Nasdaq since October 2011...

Deutsche Bank CoCo Bonds Soar To 11.5% Yield Following Bailout Demands

"...but but but, we thought CoCo bonds were supposed to protect taxpayers, such as EU member Great Britain??"

Majority Of Americans 'Disapprove' Of Comey's Decision On Hillary

A majority of Americans disapprove of FBI director James Comey’s recommendation that Clinton not be charged with a crime over her email arrangement, by 56-35. But, perhaps unsurprisingly, as WaPo reports, there is a striking difference between Republicans and Democrats as cognitive dissonance in the latter seems extreme given that about two-thirds think the issue of Hillary's "extremely reckless, unsophisticated" history is unrelated to what she'd do as president.

US Supreme Court Justice: "If Trump Wins, It's Time To Move To New Zealand"

In what we can assume was a joke, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that if Donald Trump wins the presidential election, she’ll consider moving.  In an interview with The New York Times published Sunday, the Supreme Court justice, whose peers traditionally avoid political topics like the plague, said her husband, who died in 2010, would have said, "Now it’s time for us to move to New Zealand."

Fool's Errand: NATO Pledges Four More Years Of War In Afghanistan

The longest war in US history just got even longer. As NATO wrapped up its 2016 Warsaw Summit, the organization agreed to continue funding Afghan security forces through the year 2020. Of course, with all that funding comes US and NATO troops, and thousands of contractors, trainers, and more.

This Is The Risk America Faces Now: “An Irrevocable Series Of Events… Up To and Including Civil War”

by Karl Denninger, via SHTF Plan:
Seriously folks?
You don’t understand why The Ticker has faded to black?
REALLY?
Let me start with this: Why do drug dealers shoot each other on street corners?
Answer: Joe the drug dealer cannot call the cops and tell them that Jack the drug dealer ripped him off and sold him a bag of oregano instead of weed. Joe also can’t sue Jack. Thus, when the threshold of his tolerance is crossed Joe has only the use of direct force available to him because he has no recourse to the law to settle his dispute with Jack.
The FIRST foundation of civil society is The Rule of Law. Without it there is literally nothing other than the Law of the Jungle, commonly known as “he who has the biggest teeth (or the most guns) and is willing to use them first wins.”

Let me remind you that Han Solo, who is widely regarded through the Star Wars series as a hero, shot first at Mos Eisley. George Lucas edited that in the second release of the film (and later had to put it back after fan outrage) but it is a fact that Han shot first in the original theatrical release.Why did Han shoot first and kill Greedo? Because he knew there was no Rule of Law and he had no recourse to the law, which incidentally was later proved to be an exactly correct expectation when he was made an ornament in Jabba’s castle.
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John Williams on the BREXIT and the Economic Consequences, Hyperinflation & Death of US Dollar

from FutureMoneyTrends:

One of our most popular guests is here to update us on the world economy and he has the number crunching to back up his claims, that’s what makes what he says so ear piercing. After the BREXIT the path for the US Dollar is even more shaky as the EuroZone is fighting to survive in it’s current state.

Gold ETF Shares Provide Exposure to the Price of Gold But Not Gold Ownership.

by Louis Cammarosano, Smaulgld:
Insured Vaulted Gold vs. Gold ETF Shares.
If you are buying gold for insurance against bad outcomes exchange traded funds (ETFs) have three major issues:
1. If the stock market closes or there is a bank holiday you have no access to trade your shares- when the market opens the price of gold could be dramatically higher or lower;
2. You have NO access whatsoever to EVER take physical delivery of ANY gold, unless you buy an inordinately high number of of shares. This may be an advantage in good times as the ETF covers the storage and insurance (in some cases) costs for you. In bad times, it could be a disadvantage; and
3. If the ETF is mismanaged and goes bankrupt, you have a claim on the trust NOT a claim an any amount of gold.
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Who’s Most Afraid of Contagion from Italy’s Bank Meltdown?

by Don Quijones, Wolf Street:
French and German banks.
Contagion is the reason Italy’s banking crisis is all of a sudden Europe’s biggest existential threat. Greece’s intractable problems are out of sight, out of mind; Brexit momentarily spooked investors and bankers; but Italy’s banking woes have the potential to wipe out investors and undo over 60 years of supranational state-building in Europe.
The last few days have seen growing calls for taxpayer-funded state intervention, a practice that was supposed to have been consigned to the annals of history by Europe’s enactment of new bail-in rules on Jan 1, 2016. The idea behind the new legislation was simple: never again would taxpayers be left exclusively holding the tab for European banks’ insolvency issues while bondholders were getting bailed out. But even before the new rules have been tried out, they are about to be broken, or at least bent beyond all recognition.
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Bahamas to Its Citizens Traveling to the US: Beware of Out of Control Cops

by Clarice Palmer, The Anti Media:
It appears even foreigners are scared of United States law enforcement.
The Bahamian government is warning its citizens to use extreme caution when traveling to the United States. The recommendation follows the “extrajudicial killings” of blacks, Caribbean outlet Antillean Media Group (AMG) reports, “which have spurred increased unrest across America.”
The recent murders of Alton Sterling, a black man shot to death by two Baton Rouge, Louisiana police officers, and Philando Castile, a black gun owner from Minnesota who was shot dead by a Falcon Heights police officer, have sparked outrage across the nation. At a protest Thursday in Dallas, Texas that followed the Sterling and Castille murders, thousands called for an end to police shootings — and the anger sparked by systemic police abuse led to the murder of five police officers.
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Glyphosate Disrupts Uterus Study Finds

by F. William Engdahl, New Eastern Outlook:
One of the most difficult aspects of demonstrating the possible risks of GMOs and their paired chemical herbicides such as Monsanto Roundup containing glyphosate is that the GMO chemical companies make it virtually impossible for serious, unbiased scientists to test possible dangers. An uncharacteristically huge resistance inside the member countries of the EU among the population and various NGOs has three times forced a postponement of EU Commission decision to renew the EU license for glyphosate. In 2015 an agency of the World Health Organization labeled glyphosate a “probable carcinogen. Now a team of scientists has published their peer-review findings discovering serious damage to the uterus of rats exposed to glyphosate, the world’s most-used weed-killer. Other alarming signs of high glyphosate toxicity also to humans are being documented as well.
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