MSNBC's "Tax Records" Non-Story: Trump Made $150MM, Paid 25% Tax Rate, More Than Romney, Bernie

The real story here is that there is no story: what MSNBC confirmed is that Trump made more money than some of his accusers said he made, and that he paid a generous effective income tax rate, well above that paid by Mitt Romney.

filed under white trash...

Rachel Maddow Obtains Trump's 2005 Tax Return; White House Slams MSNBC For "Violating The Law To Boost Ratings"

"we've got Trump tax returns... (seriously)"

Crashing "Post-Obama Era" Gun Sales Lead To Remington Mass Layoffs

"We do believe that having a Republican in the White House…negatively impacts gun sales in that it effectively eliminates any threat of new gun regulation for the foreseeable future."

Ryancare's Fatal Logical Flaw

The Republicans have created their own problem. They are trying to keep Obama’s definition of healthcare policies while repealing Obamacare. That is not only an exercise in illogic. It is an exercise in futility.

Court Docs Reveal Monsanto Colluded With EPA To Prove Roundup Does Not Cause Cancer

Monsanto Lead Toxicologist:  "You cannot say that Roundup does not cause cancer" because "[w]e [Monsanto] have not done the carcinogenicity studies with Roundup."
Chair of EPA Cancer Assessment Review Committee:  "If I can kill this I should get a medal."

Will Voters Elect The "Dutch Trump" Tomorrow?

Tomorrow, a vote in the Netherlands could push the euro and the EU one step closer to death…

How Uber Wiped Out Millions In Capital From "Mom And Pop" Investors In NYC's 'Green Cab Ponzi'

"It was just a sea of green...I walked out telling myself, Oh my God, what have I done?"

Which State Are The Biggest "Moochers"?

Leftists proclaim that many states within the Trump heartland are what many might call "moocher states" because the residents there - taken overall - receive more in federal spending than in is paid in federal taxes. However, it's important to understand why some states are more prone to being net recipients of federal spending than others.

Balance Of Student Loans In Default Soars To Over $137 Billion

Despite Obama's efforts to establish "Income Driven Repayment" plans for student debt (which more or less simply defers principle repayments until some point in the future when they can be taken over by taxpayers), a record amount of student debt fell into default in 2016...shocking.

Is This Where "The Rubber Hits The Road" Becomes "When It All Came Off The Rails?"

As we sit here waiting to see whether the Federal Reserve does, or does not, raise interest rates; one thing is becoming clearer: This time – it’s different.

Cell Phone Searches At Border Crossings Surge 1,100% In February Compared To 2015

 "This really puts at risk both the security and liberty of the American people.  Law abiding Americans are being caught up in this digital dragnet.  This is just going to grow and grow and grow...There's tremendous potential for abuse here."

Sinking Into The Centralized Cesspool Of Corruption, Cronyism, And Sclerosis

Those urban regions that pursue decentralized, networked, localized solutions will prosper. Those urban regions that pursue the hierarchical, one "solution" fits all, high-cost bureaucratic model of central states will sink into the same cesspool of corruption, cronyism, sclerosis and failure to adapt that characterize central states.

It's Never Been Cheaper To Hedge Highly Speculative Tech Companies

While many have noticed the demise of volatility in the US equity markets - 104 days without a 1% drop, plunge in VIX, record low monthly ranges - it is the most highly speculative and most over-valued companies that appear to be the biggest beneficiaries of peak animal spirits. It has never been cheaper to hedge stocks in the Nasdaq...

What's Next With America's Enormous $20 Trillion Debt?

History is full of examples of debt bankrupting dominant superpowers, going all the way back even before the ancient Egyptians. This time is not different. Debt is a ticking time bomb. And in this case, given the widespread consequences across the world, the bomb is nuclear.

Goldman Downgrades Stocks One Day Before The Fed: "Asymmetry For Equities Is Getting Worse"

"With growth momentum nearing its peak and rates increasing further with a hawkish Fed, the asymmetry for equities is turning increasingly negative. This also means more vulnerability to potential shocks, e.g., from European politics, US policy, commodities and China. Given the asymmetry for equities is getting worse, we downgrade equities to Neutral for 3m."

North Korea Puts Army Into "Combat Mode"

"With the new orders, they must stay in battle uniform at all times, and all cadres below the rank of the commander are prohibited from commuting from their homes. The atmosphere is very tense..."

"Something Snapped": US Department Store Sales Crash Most On Record

Bank of America's internal credit and debit card data for February showed something very troubling: spending at Department stores just plunged the most on record, even surpassing the collapse during the financial crisis.

WTI/RBOB Kneejerk Higher After Unexpected Inventory Drawdown

After the Saudis spoiled the energy party early on (and tried to talk it back for the rest of the day), API reported an unexpected 531k Crude draw (the first drawdown in 2017). While Cushing saw a notable build (over 2mm - biggest since Dec 2016), Gasoline and Distillates had big draws and that sent WTI and RBOB prices higher.

White House Is Working With Congress To Amend Healthcare Bill

After yesterday's disappointing CBO scoring of the republican Obamacare repeal bill, which prompted loud protests from both the White House on Tuesday said it is working with House leadership on changes to the Obamacare repeal bill in the form of a “manager’s amendment,” which could alter the bill before it hits the House floor.

Marine Le Pen Smacks Down Reporter: ‘No One Trusts the Media’

by Paul Joseph Watson, Infowars:
A fascinating exchange in which French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen informs a reporter that no one trusts the media highlights how incredibly disconnected from reality the establishment press really is.
The reporter tells Le Pen her advice that people “turn away from the traditional media, (and) go and find news on the Internet” is “dangerous”.
Le Pen looks bemused, asking, “why?”
The reporter responds by stating, “On the Internet, you can find conspiracy theories, all types of things, it’s not necessarily verified information.”
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Another Scotland Independence Referendum Coming Up: Project Fear Scottish Style Once Again?

by Mish Shedlock, Mish Talk:

In the midst of various Frexit, Italexit, and Grexit battles, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced she will seek a Second Scottish Independence Referendum.
Recall that Nicola Sturgeon succeeded Alex Salmond as First Minister of Scotland following his resignation in the wake of the defeat of the “Yes Scotland campaign” in the Scottish independence referendum, in November 2014.
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Sleepwalking Towards Armageddon: The Nightmare Continues Six Years Later While The Mainstream Media Remains Silent

by Stefan Stanford, All News Pipeline:
‘Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.’ Hosea 4:3
Back on March 11th of 2011, our world changed forever for those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere though most still do not know it. Whether via an ‘act of nature’ or an ‘act of HAARP’, the earthquake and resultant tidal wave that struck Fukushima, Japan on that day left a path of death and destruction that has stretched far beyond that island nation.
As nuclear expert Dr. Helen Caldicott recently stated of Fukushima, “highly radioactive water is still pouring into the ocean every day and will likely continue doing so until the end of time”.
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Adulting: A Massive Failure You Must Correct

by Karl Denninger, Market Ticker:
Adulting is, simply put, the process of being an adult.
It appears to be deceptively simple: Get a job, pay rent or a mortgage, meet your utility bills so the power and water stay on, and have enough left for transportation and groceries.
Too bad it’s not that simple.
See, adulting also includes anticipating likely or worse, mathematically or physically certain — or highly likely — events.
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New Report Shows that Bitcoin is Not a Primary Currency for Terrorist Funding and Money Laundering

by Kenneth Schortgen, The Daily Economist:
As a modern day axiom likes to say, ‘Don’t steal, the government hates competition.’. And this is exactly why both governments and central banks despise monetary forms and systems that are outside their control.
Bitcoin of course was created to be a completely de-centralized form of money through which governments and central banks could not destroy using their well oiled processes of monetary expansion, devaluation, and inflation. And now that it has become an ever growing part of the mainstream, one of their new fears is that because they cannot control its price in the open markets, Bitcoin is acting in the aspect that gold used to by revealing how insolvent the dollar and other world currencies really are.
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