Something Strange Is Taking Place In The Middle Of The Atlantic Ocean

In the latest sign that the world is simply running out of capacity when it comes to coping with an inexorable supply of commodities, three diesel tankers en route from the Gulf to Europe did something rather odd on Wednesday: they stopped, turned around in the middle of the ocean, and headed back the way they came.

Caught On Tape: Chaotic Aftermath Of A Russian Strike On ISIS Oil Tankers

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 15:51 "Over several past weeks, the intensity of air strikes at Islamic State and other terrorist targets has been increased. Russian warplanes focus on exterminating terrorists’ income sources in Syria."

Ecological Panic: The New Rationale For Globalist Cultism

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 22:00 If ecological panic is the primary trigger of collapse, war and industrialized death, the elites escape all blame. They are the ones, after all, trying to “save us” from ourselves by introducing carbon emissions controls, not to mention the idea of population controls. Global warming becomes a catch-all bogeyman, a Frankenstein monstrosity created by humanity and plaguing humanity. Those who deny the existence of global warming or who question the legitimacy of its high priests (climate scientists) are not exercising their right to skepticism; they are contributing to inevitable genocide. Therefore, climate denial would have to be punished by governments, as climate scientists have been publicly suggesting.

The Fed Hike Will Unleash A Monster Dollar Rally Goldman Predicts; Merrill Disagrees

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 21:27 The "long dollar" trade may be the most crowded ever but that doesn't mean there aren't disagreements where the greenback goes from here, especially after the Fed's historic first rate hike.

Search For Fabled Nazi Gold Train Is A Bust: "There May Be A Tunnel...But There Is No Train"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 21:00 Several months ago a couple of amatuer explorers in Poland thought they had finally found the location of the fabled Nazi gold train (used to ferry away the Reich's ill-gotten gains) and the Polish government even sent military teams to start digging it up because it was believed to be hidden in secret railway tunnels some 30 feet underground. But as the New York Times reports, the hunt for the train may be a bust...

Congress Fumes As Experts Say Iran Violated UN Ban By Test-Firing Nuclear Capable Ballistic Missile

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 20:35 Iran's move to test-fire a new ballistic missile in October may not have violated the letter of the nuclear accord (on which the ink is barely dry), but UN experts say it does violate a Security Council resolution, a revelation which puts the Obama administration in an extremely awkward position just as Iran was poised to see economic sanctions lifted.

China Weakens Yuan For 9th Consecutive Day, Longest Streak Since 2008

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 20:33 In the first two weeks of August 2008 (just a month before Lehman imploded), as tensions built in US financial markets, China weakened the Yuan for 10 straight days. Tonight, China just extended its streak of weakening the Yuan fix to 9 days (for an aggregate 1.4% devaluation, the largest such drop outside of August's devaluation in history). This pushes the Yuan back to June 2011 levels.

A Majority Of Americans Oppose "Assault Weapons Ban" – Highest Number On Record

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 20:10 U.S. President Barack Obama is not just the world’s best gun salesman, he’s also the world’s worst gun control spokesperson.

In Dramatic Reversal, US Vice President Biden Calls On Turkey To Withdraw Its Troops From Iraq

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 19:43 "The Vice President reaffirmed the United States' commitment to Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity and called on Turkey to do the same by withdrawing any military forces from Iraqi territory that have not been authorized by the Iraqi government."

Asset Protection? Silver Has Held Its Value For 23 Centuries

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 19:20 How much do you think your paper currency will be worth 23 centuries from now? Or even 23 years? Or potentially even 23 months?

Meet The Foreign Criminals Using L.A. Real Estate To Launder Money & The Developers Who Help Them

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 18:30 While New York City and London are already well known as top destinations for shady, foreign-money laundering oligarchs who often attain untold riches by thieving from their own people, the Los Angeles area has likewise morphed into a criminal real estate hub.

Caption Contest: Kerry, Putin, Lavrov Staring Match Edition

Don't blink...

Fed Hikes Rates, Unleashing First Tightening Cycle In Over 11 Years

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 18:00 In the end, the Fed did not surprise, and raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade in a widely telegraphed move while signaling that the pace of subsequent increases will be “gradual” and in line with previous projections. The Federal Open Market Committee unanimously voted to set the new target range for the federal funds rate at 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent, up from zero to 0.25 percent.

Hoax Or No Hoax? You Decide - Here Is The Full Text Of The Email Threat That Closed LA Schools

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 17:57 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: "Something big is going down. Something very big. It will make national headlines... I am a devout Muslim, and was once against violence, but I have teamed up with a local jihadist cell as it is the only way I'll be able to accomplish my massacre the correct way... I wish you the best luck. It is time to pray to allah, as this may be your last day."

Presenting Saxo Bank's 10 "Outrageous Predictions" For 2016

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 17:40 "The irony in this year’s batch of outrageous predictions is that some of them are “outrageous” merely because they run counter to overwhelming market consensus. In fact, many would not look particularly outrageous at all in more “normal” times – if there even is such a thing!"

Treasury Report Shows Biggest Threat to U.S. Is on Wall Street

by Pam Martens and Russ Martens, Wall Street on Parade:

If the U.S. government issued a warning yesterday that there was a credible threat of a new terrorist attack from a foreign terrorist, we can guarantee you that it would have made front page headlines. What the U.S. government did instead yesterday was to issue a formal warning that the prospects for a new financial crisis have grown, and, in one area, are at an “historically elevated level.”
Since the financial crisis of 2007-2009 did more economic damage to the U.S. than all terrorist attacks combined and will have a devastating impact on the standard of living of the next generation, one would think this new financial warning would have been worthy of a mention on the front pages of mainstream newspapers. And yet, we could find no mention in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, etc. (To their credit, the Wall Street Journal and Reuters did write about the findings.)
Read More…

What Benefits To Savers? Banks Rush To Hike Prime Rate To 3.50%, Forget To Increase Deposit Rate

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 17:32 Someone forgot to give the banks the memo that the Fed's first rate hike since 2006 was supposed to, at least on paper, benefit the savers of America and not so much the, well, banks.. Because the ink hadn't even dried on the Fed's statement and one after another banks revealed that they would promptly boost their Prime lending rate from the current benchmark of 3.25% to the new Fed Funds-implied prime rate of 3.50%.

SEC Throws Up On Third Avenue's Gating Plan (Then Folds)

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 17:28 Update: The SEC Folds - SEC PERMITS TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF THIRD AVENUE REDEMPTIONS, WILL BE SUBJECT TO ONGOING SEC OVERSIGHT
HYG, the now infamous high-yield bond ETF, had an "ok" day, rallying along with everything else post-Fed. However, shortly after the close, it started to fade quickly as SEC "expressed concerns" about Third Avenue's plan for liquidation.

Prepare For Peso Plunge: Argentina Lifts Currency Controls

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 17:15 At 6 p.m. local time in Buenos Aires, new FinMin Alfonso Prat-Gay will announce the end of currency controls in Argentina, ushering in a new era and a sharply weaker peso as the official and black market rates converge.

The Humiliation Is Complete: Assad Can Stay, Kerry Concedes After Meeting With Putin

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 16:36 "The United States and our partners are not seeking so-called regime change [and] there is no policy of the United States, per se, to isolate Russia."

On The Important Role Of Recessions - Austrians Had It Right

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 16:30 The continued misuse of capital and continued erroneous monetary policies have instigated not only the recent downturn but actually 30 years of an insidious slow moving infection that has destroyed the American legacy. “Recessions” should be embraced and utilized to clear the “excesses” that accrue in the economic system during the first half of the economic growth cycle. Trying to delay the inevitable, only makes the inevitable that much worse in the end.

Market Confidence In The Fed's Policy Error (Summed Up In 1 Chart)

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/16/2015 - 16:10 While The Fed is confidently rising rates, the market is signalling its belief that this is a policy error. Not only are longer-dated bond yields lower but short-term money-market expectations for January now see a higher chance of a rate-cut, than a rate-hike.

“No-Fly Loophole” Will Be Used to Target Our 2nd Amendment Without Due Process

from TRUTHstreammedia:

CIA Funding of Tech Companies

by James Hall, Activist Post:
Government funding of companies provides a steady stream of support for tech developing innovations. One vehicle for facilitating this relationship can be found in an entity called, In-Q-Tel. IQT describes their function as:

In-Q-Tel is the independent, not-for-profit organization created to bridge the gap between the technology needs of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) and emerging commercial innovation. We invest in venture-backed startups developing technologies that provide ready-soon innovation (within 36 months) vital to the IC mission. These technology startups are traditionally outside the reach of the IC; in fact, more than 70 percent of our portfolio companies have never before done business with the government.
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ALERT: US TANKS WITH TROOPS ROLLING DOWN THE FREEWAY IN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY

from grindall61:

Troops with equipment being mobilized in Southern California. Video first starts near the 15/210 juntion heading southbound on the I-15 freeway. Looks like some of the equipment in this video.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL831…

Trump Exposed How Bush Family Helped Bin Ladens Escape After 9/11

While all air traffic grounded after 9/11, then-President Bush flew Bin Laden family out of country
by Kurt Nimmo, Infowars:
During the Republican debate Tuesday Jeb Bush took exception to Donald Trump’s assertion George W. Bush flew Saudis and members of the Bin Laden family out of the country.

Despite the corporate media insisting this is a conspiracy theory we have definitive proof Jeb’s brother gave preferential treatment to Saudis—including Saudis who were considered principle witnesses to the September 11 attacks.

NBC News reported:

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Thirty Years of Zero Price Discovery in Silver

by Jeff Nielson, Sprott Money:
A recent commentary presented readers with a shocking reality for which there was finally unequivocal data: there has been a supply deficit in the silver market for roughly thirty consecutive years. Such a deficit is unprecedented in the history of human commerce. Indeed, in almost any other market, it would be absolutely impossible.
What is necessarily implied by any supply deficit? Demand exceeds supply, and excess demand can be met only by encroaching upon stockpiles. Only one other commodity market on the planet has sufficient stockpiles to supply the market through thirty consecutive years of supply deficits: the gold market.
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Is The Fed Trying To Arrange A Bailout Of Junk Bond Funds?

by Dave Kranzler, Investment Research Dynamics:

Warning #3: If you are hesitant to sell your bond funds, use any bounce in the junk bond market to get out of all fixed income funds. Someone asked me the other day about Treasury funds. Go read the fine print in the prospectus. You can find it online. If the fund permits the use of derivatives, get out of it. 100’s of thousands of investment advisors and retail investors loaded up on Pimco’s Total Rate of Return fund having no idea that it is riddled with derivatives. If you own Black Rock funds, don’t wait for a bounce. Just get out. Black Rock is the financial market version of Fukushima.
I heard a rumor today that the Fed is trying to solicit “fire sale” liquidity bids from private equity funds for big chunks of the bonds held by high yield mutual funds and ETFs. I want to emphasize that this is an unsubstantiated rumor but it comes from a good source.
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