Something Very Strange Is Taking Place Off The Coast Of Galveston, TX

Oil storage problems are so severe that traders asking ships to go slow, and that is where we see something very strange occurring off the coast near Galveston, TX.

In New Video, ISIS Warns Russia That "Blood Will Spill Like Ocean," While IS Sinai Threatens Israel

“Soon, very soon,“the blood will spill like an ocean.”
"We will uproot the state of the Jews. You and Fatah, and all of the secularists are nothing. You will be overrun by our creeping multitudes,”

Oil Majors Don't Share OPEC's Optimism On Oil Prices In 2016

“This is [a] man-made crisis in our industry we have created,” al-Rhumy said. “And I think all we’re doing is irresponsible.”

600 Hungry, Angry Chinese Workers "Sleep On The Street" After CEO Disappears With Their Wages

In the latest confirmation that China's Politburo is getting far more nervous than it will admit, hundreds of workers at a Hong Kong-owned toy factory in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen have been protesting since last week after the owner "disappeared," leaving their wages unpaid.

Incumbents Are Being Swept From Office Around The World

Evidently, voters are in a very bad mood just about everywhere. Unfortunately, they are bereft of good choices in most places. Usually one essentially gets to exchange one bunch of psychopathic looters for another – so it is like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Very often, things will simply go from bad to worse, as the underlying basic problems are usually misdiagnosed, resp. there is no-one willing to actually tackle them. Investors should pay very close attention to this trend...When the performance of financial markets diverges from underlying social mood trends, it is usually time to be very careful.

Maduro Nephews Arrested After Attempting To Smuggle 800 Kilos Of Cocaine Into The US

Two nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro were set to appear in front of a New York judge today after the pair was accused of attempting to smuggle some 800 kilos of coke into the US. The case raises further questions about drug smuggling among Venezuelan officials and individuals with ties to powerful figures. For his part, Maduro tweeted the following:"The fatherland will follow its course. Neither attacks nor imperialist ambushes can harm the people of the liberators."

The Stench Of Freddie Mac Is Back - An $18 Billion Spree Of Crony Capitalist Thievery

Washington’s capacity to foster crony capitalist larceny and corruption never ceases to amaze. But as we recently noted, Wall Street’s shameless thievery from US taxpayers is about to get a whole new definition.

Strong 30 Year Auction Sees Second Highest Ever Allotment To Foreign Central Banks

The internals were mixed with the Bid to Cover sliding from 2.460 to 2.409, which however was above the 12 TTM average of 2.356. Offsetting the slightly weaker BtC print was the jump in Indirects, which rose from 56.4% to 60.3% the second highest on record, as foreign central bankers have again decided that the safety of US paper offsets the duration risk of holding it in a rate hike environment.

These 425 Goldman Bankers Just Hit The Jackpot

It's that time of year.... when the bank-that-does-God's-work chooses who to bless with mass affluence. This year 425 Goldman Sachs' employees were annointed "Managing Directors" which according to Emolumnet.com means an average annual comp of approximatley $1 million.

China Panics: Sends Fiscal Spending Through The Roof As Credit Creation Tumbles

In a sign that the slowing economy, rising bank NPLs, and lackluster demand for credit from overleveraged corporates is overwhelming Beijin's easing efforts, China's October loan growth data came in far weaker than expected in yet another sign that all is most certainly not well with the world's engine of global growth and trade. Meanwhile, fiscal spending soared as it now appears Beijing may have no choice but to go the helicopter route if it hopes to reignite growth.

Did Russia Just "Gently" Threaten The USA?

A major Russian TV channel just aired a report about Putin meeting with his top military commanders, and pointed out what the Kremlin said was a mistakenly leaked secret document, which showed drawings of a "new nuclear submarine weapons system." This so-called “leak” of “secret documents” is, of course, no leak at all.  This is a completely deliberate action.

Just Stop Talking! - All 5 Fed Speakers Send Stocks Lower

When FedSpeak Fails...

Cramer Does It Again: Camera-On-A-Stick Plunges Below IPO Price

Having soared to almost $100 - because it was a social media company - Camera-on-a-stick maker GoPro has collapsed 75% from its highs and broken back below its $24 IPO Price for the first time.. which is odd as in July, CNBC's Jim Cramer said "Go Pro is heading higher... I know growth oriented money managers who would gladly pay as much as 60 times earnings for a company with these numbers. I think GoPro's a bargain at these levels."

Spain's Black Swan In Muddied Waters As Court Ruling, Political Turmoil Threaten Catalan Secession Bid

Spain's Constitutional Court has ordered the suspension of Catalonia's independence bid and threatened to arrest its leader Artur Mas. Separately, Mas lost a bid for re-election as the same lawmakers who support his push for independence are unwilling to support him as President citing corruption.

Larry Summers' "Make-Believe World"

Evolution happens without goals... without conscious thought. It is a trip without a destination. It is also the way economies work; they do not respond well to manipulation by self-important meddlers. But if you are speaking for the entire planet, you have already gone way beyond the theory of evolution. You are in a world without theory… without science… without experience or history. You are in a world of make-believe – where pundits pretend to know what they are talking about and newspapers fill space with mythical claptrap.

Does Raising the Minimum Wage Hurt Employment?

from Outsider Club:

One of the big questions in the GOP debate last night was about raising the minimum wage. This is a hot issue right now.
Fast food workers in 270 cities across the country went on strike Tuesday, some of them picketing the debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
This prompted a moderator to ask Republican nominee Ben Carson if he supported raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. (Note: Likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton supports a $12 minimum wage.)
Carson’s response: “As far as the minimum wage is concerned, people need to be educated on the minimum wage. Every time we raise the minimum wage, the number of jobless people increases.”
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Gold Bullion Demand Surges 27% In Q3 – New Chinese “Buying Spree”

from Gold Core:

Gold Demand Trends Q3 2015 was released by the World Gold Council today. The quarterly publication is the leading industry resource for data and opinion on global gold demand and examines demand trends by sector as well as geography.
The key findings from the report are as follows:
– Overall demand increased by 8% year-on-year to 1,121t as selling of futures contracts and ETFs contributed to a price dip, 6% in July, which buoyed gold demand around the world.
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Sheriffs Just Stood Up To Obama: ‘This Is the Biggest Sham…’

from Western Journalism:

The Obama administration has run afoul of local law enforcement officials on several issues, including gun control and racial profiling.
Just days after the mass release of a record 6,112 federal inmates, however, sheriffs around the country are making sure their concerns are known. Pinal County, Arizona, lawman Paul Babeau lambasted the executive decision to set the prisoners free on the basis that they pose no safety threat to the public, according to Fox News.
“For them to tell me or tell citizens that they’re going to do a good job and these inmates are non-violent,” he said, “when in many instances drug crimes, drug purchasing, drug trafficking are related to other, violent crimes, I’d be amazed if the 6,000 … being released are non-violent.”
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A Currency on Edge

from Wolf Street:

After a few months of electoral uncertainty which saw Argentina’s blue dollar, or parallel exchange rate, rise to well over 16 AR$/US$, this week has been volatile. On Tuesday morning, the rate fell to US$14.35, then bounced back to US$14.70 the same day. Today it’s back up above US$15.05 and rising. What’s going on?
A few factors are at play here, but none add up to such a spectacular drop. It is the beginning of the month, meaning banks are again selling “savings dollars” to individuals that meet the requirements. Last week, savings dollar sales were higher than US$374 million to roughly 600,000 individuals, representing a 15% increase over the same period last month. These individuals take these physical dollars directly from the bank to their neighborhood cueva and exchange them ate the blue rate — pocketing the difference.
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Vatican properties are operating as BROTHELS and massage parlours for priests, claims latest Vatileaks report

from Daily Mail:

Vatican-owned properties are being used by priests as brothels and massage parlours, according to the latest claims to emerge from the Vatileaks scandal.

The properties implicated in a report, leaked by a Vatican mole, include premises close to the Italian Parliament and a solarium near Piazza Barberini.

A Vatican department, the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, owns hundreds of exclusive properties in central Rome, was also singled out in the document.

It claimed that Vatican officials were allowing buildings to be leased out at peppercorn rents as favours to powerful colleagues.

Read More…

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