In Stunning Pair Of Interviews, Trump Slams NATO And EU, Threatens BMW With Tax; Prepared To "Cut Ties" With Merkel

In two separate, and quite striking interviews with Germany's Bild (paywall) and London's Sunday Times (paywall), Donald Trump did what he failed to do in his first US press conference, and covered an extensive amount of policy and strategy, much of which however will likely please neither the pundits, nor the markets.

In Scathing Attack, CIA Director Brennan Warns Trump To "Watch What He Says"

"There is no basis for Mr Trump to point fingers at the intelligence community for 'leaking' information... Spontaneity is not something that protects national security interests and so therefore when he speaks or when he reacts, just make sure he understands that the implications and impact on the United States could be profound..."

 

Trump Responds To CIA Chief Brennan, Asks "Was He The Leaker Of Fake News?"

"Outgoing CIA Chief, John Brennan, blasts Pres-Elect Trump on Russia threat.. Oh really! Was this the leaker of Fake News?"

 

Did Chuck Schumer “Dog-Whistle” an Assasination?

by William L. Anderson, Lew Rockwell:
In a recent interview with Rachel Maddow on the MSNBC network, Sen. Charles Schumer, who is the Minority Leader in the U.S. Senate, recently hinted darkly that the federal intelligence agencies could decide to harm Donald Trump. He told an approving Maddow:

Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday to get back at you, So, even for a practical, supposedly hard-nosed businessman, he is being really dumb to do this.

The article continues:

Schumer said he didn’t know what agents would or could do to Trump. “But from what I am told, they are very upset with how he has treated them and talked about them,” he said.

The Left often likes to speak of “dog whistles” put out by Republicans when they speak, leftists claiming what is said seems to have one meaning, but actually, is said in order to “signal” other groups covertly about what the politician really believes about a certain subject.
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Last Minute Change in Security at Inauguration Reminiscent of JFK in Dealey Plaza

by Aaron Dykes, Activist Post:
Without explanation and just a week before inauguration, President Obama has suddenly announced he is removing the Major General in charge of the DC National Guard who helped plan and was set to oversee event security that day, effective right in the middle of the ceremony the very minute after Donald Trump is sworn in as president.
The termination is unprecedented and out of decorum with such a high state function taking place, raising serious concerns about the vulnerabilities and gaps in security on such an important day. Not saying that anything is going to happen, but it’s hard not to notice and raise questions when the scenario is being made plausible.
Read More @ ActivistPost.com

Pence Was Congressional Conservative Who Bucked President George W. Bush

by Ken Thomas, CNSnews:
When Mike Pence landed in Congress after the 2000 election, he was a conservative agitator who often bucked President George W. Bush’s agenda. Seventeen years later, he’s the vice president-elect and Donald Trump’s inside man on Capitol Hill.
Pence, who spent a dozen years in Congress before becoming Indiana’s governor, is visiting frequently with lawmakers and promising close coordination after Trump’s inauguration Friday. In a sign of his attentiveness, Pence will have an office in the House as well as the traditional honorary office in the Senate.
Pence’s role takes on greater importance, given Trump’s ascension to the White House without any experience in elective office.
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Death Threats Force Opera Star Bocelli To Pull Out Of Inauguration Performance

"Andrea is very sad to be missing the chance to sing at such a huge global event but he has been advised it is simply not worth the risk..."

"Mainstream Mediasaurus"

They once ruled the earth...

Why Is Obama Moving Troops Into Poland, Provoking Russia Right Before The Inauguration?

January 20th cannot come soon enough...

Howard Marks: "So Much For The Experts"

"The opinions of experts concerning the future are accorded great weight . . . but they’re still just opinions. While I take a dim view of forecasts, and especially of opinions presented as facts, I do believe there are such things as facts.  Unfortunately, however, the concept of 'facts' is among the casualties of the increasingly partisan environment.  Recently we have seen both the elevation in status of 'non-facts', as well as the tearing down of 'real facts'."

Is The Biggest Treasury Drawdown In History Imminent? The "Bond Shock" Story Refuses To Go Away

The “bond shock” story bubbles away in the background. And with the next 50-75bps rise in yields (due to perhaps expectations of trade wars or Chinese repatriation, or even further gains in inflation), the risk of a financial “event” is likely to jump. 2016 started with pessimism and ended with optimism; 2017 starts with optimism…

Matt Taibbi: "Insane Clown President Trump Was Right About The Media"

"The media and politicians had spent so much time with each other that they lost touch with regular people, and Trump capitalized on that... He made the media villains, representative of this out of touch, ivory tower political culture... I think there's some fairness to it..."

Goldman Is Concerned: "The S&P Has Surged 6% Since The Election But 2017 EPS Forecasts Haven't Budged"

"Stocks have surged by 6% since the election on the prospect of higher earnings under potential Trump policies, but consensus bottom-up 2017 EPS forecasts for S&P 500 have been unchanged" - Goldman Sachs

Professors Pledge To "Use Regular Class Time" To Protest Trump

"Teach, Organize, Resist... Challenge Trumpism...Transform your classrooms and commons into spaces of education that protest policies of violence, disenfranchisement, segregation, and isolationism."

The "Most Bearish Hedge Fund" Capitulates: "We Are Beginning To Close Parts Of Our Short Book"

"Shorting has been hard this year ... So despite what I think, we are beginning to close parts of our short book. We have largely exited airline related shorts. We have also closed staple shorts, as they were largely there to protect against a fall in yields, which they did to a degree. We have also closed many developed financial shorts to make some space for Chinese financial shorts."

Trump Team Responds: May Move White House Briefings To Accommodate More Than Just "Media Elite"

“The interest of the team is to make sure that we accommodate the broadest number of people who are interested and media from around the country and around the world,” Pence said.

Russian Foreign Ministry: "Obama Still Has A Few Days Left To Destroy The World"

Russian foreign ministry spox Maria Zakharova slammed "Obama and his illiterate foreign policy team" saying they "have dealt a crushing blow to America's prestige and leadership" and described his administration as "a bunch of geopolitical losers, enraged and shortsighted." Zakharova added that "Obama's administration still has a few days left to destroy the world."

“Total Fiasco, Utter Circus!” Cried The CIO Asking "What's The Next Big Trade?"

"The only question that really matters in this business is this: What’s the next big move? It’s probably a continuation of the Trump trade"... But "the thing is, consensus trades have a nasty habit of working, just not exactly when you want them to"

"They Are The Opposition Party" - Trump May Evict Press From The White House

The simmering cold, if heating up with every passing day, war between Trump and the press may be about to turn conventional, with the occasional chance of an ICBM.

Danger Lurks As 'Extremes' Become The Norm

#PortfolioHedgesMatter

Cable Plunges To Flash-Crash Lows On May's "Hard Brexit" Speech; DB Eyes GBPUSD 1.06; Euro Parity

After the overnight report previewing Theresa May's Tuesday speech calling for a "clean and hard" Brexit, cable has plunged to under 1.20 in very early (and illiquid) AsiaPac trading, the lowest level for sterling relative to the dollar since the October flash-crash. And, as DB warns, a full Brexit would be "consistent with GBP/USD at 1.06 or EUR/GBP close to parity respectively."

Why Everyone Is Complacent: "2016 Saw The Fewest S&P 500 Drawdowns Ever"

According to Tom Lee, 2016 was the year with the fewest number of days that saw the S&P drift more than 3% away from 52-week highs: "2016 (we do 2016 after 2/11/2016, since early part was a continuation of 2015 selling) saw only 7 days - that is the lowest ever."

Fake News Reality: NYT, Washington Post implicated in publishing false facts on Russia

from RT:

FBI & NYPD: Clinton Foundation Probed for Money Laundering, Financial Transactions with Islamic Terror Groups

from True Pundit:
Money launderers who bragged on a secret federal wire tap that they could employ Clinton Foundation connections to funnel and cleanse millions in illicit cash have sparked a newly-minted FBI investigation into the embattled charity run by Hillary Clinton and her family, federal law enforcement officials confirm.
The money laundering allegations being probed by the FBI have been buoyed by recent revelations and evidence discovered by the NYPD from a laptop confiscated from Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin’s Manhattan residence. According to NYPD, several of the emails recovered on the hard drive disclosed sensitive financial details of the Clintons and their charity. That evidence is now in the hands of the FBI too, whose New York field office has opened a parallel Clinton Foundation investigation.
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