China Furious After US Launches Trade War "Nuke" With 522% Duty

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 15:42
China is livid: as a result of record Chinese steel dumping, the US unleashed what is nothing short of a nuclear bomb in its rapidly escalating trade war with China, by imposing duties of 522% on cold-rolled steel used in automobiles and other manufacturing. In doing so it has effectively rendered Chinese exports to the US unsustainable and will force even more excess Chinese production to remain landlocked within China's borders, making the domestic glut that much worse.

Small Business Owner Explains The Unintended Consequences Of Obamacare

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 17:37 "I feel the burden of many new initiatives as they affect my company’s ability to operate profitably and to hire and retain employees. Many of these initiatives often have unforeseen consequences and cause small businesses additional expenses and burdens that can lead to less hiring, more expenses, and sometimes lead to businesses closing their doors."

Caption Contest: Obama Unveils New Anti-Trump Weapon

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 18:05 Taking a page from Mario Draghi's economic savior play-book, it appears President Obama's meeting with Janet Yellen was not wasted as he seems to have found the blueprints of his own 'bazooka' and bubble-blowing machine. Perhaps the realization that Trump's success is based on Obama's fiction-peddling, the president has been forced to do "whatever it takes" ...

FBI Director Contradicts US Intelligence - "No Evidence" Of Terrorism In EgyptAir Crash

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 17:20

 

 

Hawk & Hawker Send Stocks Negative For 2016, Yield Curve Crush Continues

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 16:04

Trump Right Again: "Act Of Terrorism" Took Down EgyptAir Airplane

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 11:55 U.S. government officials are operating on an initial theory that EgyptAir Flight 804 was taken down by a bomb, two U.S. officials told CNN on Thursday. Officials said the theory could change, with one senior administration official cautioning it is not yet supported by a "smoking gun."

Legendary Gold Trader Jim Sinclair Says Gold Headed to $50,000/oz! Here’s Why…

by Jim Sinclair, via Silver Doctors:
Legendary gold trader Jim Sinclair shocked the precious metals community Friday by publicly stating that the US will be Cypruss’d, the current take-down in gold & silver is a last-ditch can kicking attempt by the bullion banking cartel, as that as a result of the coming derivatives collapse banking system bail-in, physical gold is headed to $50,000/oz!
Today, Sinclair updated CIGA’s on the fundamentals behind his $50k gold prediction:
I have a huge number of emails all asking why $50,000 gold. The answer is that the bullion market is in the process of emancipation of the gold price from the fractional paper gold system. The actualization of the real price of gold will be its emancipation from the prison of paper gold. The emancipation will occur because there is no gold whatsoever behind the deluge of paper we have just witnessed.
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Democrats Fear Violence At Convention: "Don't Want To Go Back To '68 Riots"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 17:15 Any way you slice it, the Democratic National Convention coming up in Philadelphia in late July promise to be tumultuous. As California Senator Diane Feinstein makes clear in this short and sweet video below, the establishment fears the riots and backlash that could come from a contested, or at least highly protested, convention as Sen. Sanders vows to continue the fight ‘until the last ballot is cast.’

US Special Forces In Libya To Fight the ISIS Problem They Created

by James Corbett, CorbettReport:
In 2011 NATO rained bombs on Libya to remove the Gaddafi government from power. Openly backing known terrorists in their push to oust Gaddafi, the NATO powers, led by Obama, Cameron and Sarkozy, ended up supporting, fostering and equipping battle-hardened jihadis that they then sent off as a proxy army to begin the destabilization of Syria. But now that proxy army is coming home to roost, with recent reports claiming as many as 6,500 Islamic State fighters are operating in Libya.
So of course the US has responded to this mess in the only way it knows how: sending more troops. Well, to be more accurate, the troops have been there for half a year, but the government is just now getting around to announcing their presence…via an anonymous leak in the Washington Post, that is.
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Plan B To Stop the Trump Movement Is In Effect

by Dave Hodges, The Common Sense Show:
The vast majority of us in the Independent Media are thrilled that Donald Trump is the “presumptive” nominee for the GOP in the upcoming Presidential race. However, as I privately speak to my media colleagues, to some degree, we all have the same foreboding. What should be a time of celebration combined with the hard work of getting ready for the challenges of getting ready to defeat the American Hitler of our time, Hillary Clinton, we instead are worried about what is coming.
I knew the moments that Trump appears to have won, that our real challenges would come our way. It is in that perspective that I figured out why Donald Trump has not been assassinated as was RFK at his high water mark. Magically, and perhaps spiritually Trump has united a country around not accepting leadership that doesn’t put Americans first. This means stopping the devastating impacts of free trade agreements, stopping the inherent dangers associated with an unsupervised refugee-resettlement program, etc., etc.
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The Biggest Bubbles: China vs. the U.S.

by Jeff Nielson, Sprott Money:

There is perhaps no other area where the tunnel-vision, hypocrisy, and corruption of the U.S. media is more visible than with respect to its nearly incessant China-bashing. Previous commentaries have exposed such vacuous drivel again and again and again.
While the subject matter of the Corporate media’s China-bashing varies month to month, regularly interspersed in this propaganda are numerous variations of “China’s economy is in a bubble.” Once again this week, this is a theme in the U.S. mainstream media . Once again, we see hypocrisy of epic proportions.
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Game Over Theranos: Elizabeth Holmes' Personal Assistant Quits

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 16:39

"Wussification Of America" Reaches Wall Street: Everyone Gets A Trophy As 91% "Beat" Estimates

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 16:25 When it came to sports, the “wussification” of America came to fruition with the idea there should be no “losers,” and keeping “score” was simply a means to discriminate against those who were “athletically challenged.”  Everyone gets a trophy. Unfortunately, the same has become true with Wall Street. In the latest earnings season related nonsense, we have seen the “wussification of Wall Street.”

'There Will Be Banker Blood': Why JPM Is Afraid Of "Quiet Trading Floors"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 15:25 With banker bonuses set to drop this year, it should be no surprise that things are not all sunshine and roses on Wall Street. After 30 years of dramatically outperforming Main Street, Wall Street wages may be set for some mean-reversion as JPMorgan analysts take an ax to the biggest global investment banks' earnings. As Bloomberg reports, "quiet trading floors" are set to depress global investment banks’ second-quarter revenue 24 percent, with weakness across equities, interest rates, currencies, with a regionally-driven weakness from Asia.

SaxoBank CIO Warns "Central Banks Can Do Nothing"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 15:05 Saxo Bank chief economist Steen Jakobsen said that zero rates, zero growth, zero productivity, and zero reforms have left a great many countries adrift in a “new nothingness”. The products of this nothingness, said Jakobsen, include apathy, stagnation and “an economic outlook based more in peoples’ heads than in reality”.

Insurer Sues US Government For $223 Million In Obamacare Related Back Payments

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 14:48 In yet another development in the train wreck that is Obamacare, while we know that the legislation is failing individuals and businesses, the government is now failing to live up to its obligations made to the insurers who chose to participate in the healthcare exchanges. "All we're asking is for the federal government to do what they promised" said Highmark Health CEO David Holmberg.

Oil-For-Drugs Swap: India's Answer To Venezuela's Unpaid Bills

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 14:27 Venezuela can’t pay its millions of dollars in debt to Indian pharmaceutical companies, say Indian officials, so officials are considering a proposal that would see the Latin American country swap oil for its drug debts. After an unlucky gamble on India’s part that Venezuela’s emerging economy would be a good place to hawk Indian pharmaceuticals, the debt is now mounting and poor crisis management coupled with the long-running oil price slump has left Venezuela too cash strapped to pay up.

Meanwhile In The U.S. Congress: "Chaos And Shouting" After LGBT Measure Fails To Pass

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 14:08 The US economy must be truly fixed and all geopolitical conflicts resolved, because as the world enjoys its global utopia on a day when yet another airplane was taken down by terrorists according to the latest news, the US House of Representatives is busy dealing with stuff such as this: according to the Hill, "the house floor devolved into chaos and shouting on Thursday as a measure to ensure protections for members of the LGBT community narrowly failed to pass after Republican leaders urged their members to change their votes."

Asset Management Companies Should Dump Their Own Stock

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 13:48 An index of public asset management companies was just soundly rejected at key chart resistance.

Republicans, Democrats Agree On A Bill To Bailout Puerto Rico

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 13:27 It turns out that Puerto Rico's plan to default on its debt and beg congress for help is working out as planned. After a slight delay, House Republicans have reached an agreement with the Obama administration to provide a path to restructure Puerto Rico's $70 billion debt load. The bill would offer the island a legal out similar to bankruptcy and wouldn't commit any federal money according to the WSJ.

Fed Up With The Fed

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 13:07 Destroying our ability to discover the real cost of assets, credit and risk has not just crippled the markets--it's crippled the entire economy.

Jeff Gundlach Warns That "Something Changed" At The Fed

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 12:46 Something has changed according to Jeff Gundlach.  After claiming that a rate hike is "inconceivable" as recently as a month ago, a stance which he softened somewhat in recent days, Gundlach said that the Fed has changed the conditions required for a potential interest-rate hike this year. Cited by Bloomberg, Gundlach believes that the Fed's thinking has shifted from, 'if the data pattern improves we will have the green light to hike,' to 'unless the data pattern weakens we have the green light to hike.'"



"Wrong Way Gartman"...

"What The Hell Just Happened" - To Gartman "Yesterday Was Our Worst Day Of The Year Thus Far"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 12:25 "Having been 150 Dow points higher and then only moments later to have traded down to where the Dow was suddenly 150 lower, the market finished effectively unchanged, with the Bulls and the Bears left scratching their heads and wondering aloud, “What the hell just happened?”... Yesterday was our worst day of the year thus far, as that which we were long of fell and that which we were short of closed unchanged."

Preet Bharara Press Conference On Dean Foods Insider Trading Scandal That Snagged Phil Mickelson

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 12:05 Over a decade ago, the US cracked down on Marth Stewart as an example of all that is wrong with the US financial system. The same US which did not put any  bankers in prison after the financial crisis. We now get a repeat. The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara announces charges against William “Billy” Walters and Thomas Davis, the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dean Foods Company, for insider trading.

Mickelson Responds To Insider Trading Scandal: Will Return All Illegal Profits, "Move On"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 11:29 "[Mickelson] has entered into an agreement with the SEC under which he will return all the money he made on that 2012 investment. Phil understands and deeply respects the high professional and ethical standards that the companies he represents expect of their employees, associates and of Phil himself. He subscribes to the same values and regrets any appearance that, on this occasion, he fell short. He takes full responsibility for the decisions and associations that led him to becoming part of this investigation."

Government At Work - In 1 Perfect Photo

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 11:15 A perfect metaphor for the meaningfulness of government activity...

Dudley A Dud: Stocks Hit Lows After NY Fed President Warns June "Definitely Live Meeting"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 10:57 DUDLEY: JUNE IS DEFINITELY A LIVE MEETING
DUDLEY: QUITE PLEASED WITH MARKET'S JUNE-JULY VIEWS
DUDLEY: MKT PRICING OF FED HIKE ODDS WAY TOO LOW PRIOR MINUTES

Greek Pipeline Breakthrough To Challenge Russian Gas Dominance In Europe

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 10:33 After years of debate, political jockeying and acrimony, a major pipeline project to bring natural gas to Southern Europe has broken ground. The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will connect the Caspian Sea to European markets, providing Europe with another large source of natural gas that will help the continent diversify away from Russia. The route begins at the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan, where the South Caucuses Pipeline will carry Caspian gas from the large Shah Deniz-2 gas field, delivering it to the border with Turkey.

"Sell In May" Strikes Once Again - S&P, Dow Plunge Into Negative Territory For 2016

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 10:07 Once again a late-day miracle VIXtermination-driven bounce "off the lows" is erased on heavy volume selling. With the S&P breaking key technical levels, only Dow Transports remains in the green (up less than 1%) for the year now as Fed speakers pile on the hawkish tone...

Goldman Responds To Goldman's Stock Offering of A Goldman-Upgraded Tesla

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 09:59 In what many considered to be a flagrantly criminal abuse of investment bank "restricted lists", yesterday Goldman underwrote a $2 billion equity offering for Tesla (to find its amusing expansion strategy) just hours after Goldman upgraded the stock to a Buy. We have done our best to alert the regulators however we are confident the regulators are paid far better to remain unalerted.  So for those curious what Goldman's research analyst who upgraded Tesla, Patrick Archambault, had to say about this "odd, very odd coincidence", here it is straight from the mouth of the horse which obviously remains stabled safely on the other side of the Chinese wall located at 200 West.

Riksbank Says It's Time To Prepare For Helicopter Money

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/19/2016 - 09:18 it will not be possible, in the future, to conduct monetary policy in the way and with the impact we have previously been accustomed to. And this is something for which we need to prepare ourselves. She notes that, alongside cutting the policy rate to below zero and purchasing securities, so-called helicopter money could provide a hypothetical path to take to increase scope for monetary policy.

Why Is The Federal Government Planting Microphones In Public?

by Derrick Broze, Activist Post:
A former special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigations is blowing the whistle about the bureau’s practice of installing microphones in public places, including trees, courthouses, and bus stops.
Jeff Harp, a former FBI special agent and security analyst for KPIX 5 in San Francisco, recently told KPIX 5 News that FBI agents regularly hide microphones in indiscriminate locations for surveillance purposes. Harp says that between March 2010 and January 2011, FBI agents hid microphones inside light fixtures and at a bus stop outside the Oakland Courthouse without a warrant to record conversations. The FBI is reportedly attempting to catch real estate investors involved in fraud.
“They put microphones under rocks, they put microphones in trees, they plant microphones in equipment”, Harp said. “I mean, there’s microphones that are planted in places that people don’t think about, because that’s the intent!”
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New Riot Control Robot Can “Zap Protesters Into Submission”

by Joshua Krause, via SHTF Plan:
Over the past few years, the police in America and around the world have been facing more scrutiny than they ever have before. Their abuses and arrogant demeanor are now easily recorded, and displayed on the internet for all to see. As a result, it’s never been so easy to criticize the police.
But it’s important to remember that not all cops are bad. It may seem that way, because people are much more likely to turn on their smartphone cameras when a cop is being an intolerable tyrant. There are still plenty of police officers out there who have a conscience, and no doubt, the government is afraid of these officers more than anyone else. They’ll never be able to crackdown on the population, unless they have near 100% obedience from their enforcers.
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The Federal Reserve is NOT Going To Raise Rates and Destroy Gold

by Mike Swanson, Wall Street Window, SGT Report:
Yesterday the stock market and gold prices fell into their closing bells after the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve’s April meeting.
The Federal Reserve did not raise interest rates at that meeting, but the minutes showed that some Federal Reserve Board members hope to raise interest rates in June.
Back in December the Federal Reserve raised interest rates and predicted that it would raise rates four times in 2016. Then the stock market dumped in January and banks in Europe showed signs of stress so the Federal Reserve got scared and was unable to raise rates at any of its meetings so far this year.
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The World is Rushing Headlong Towards a Return of the Gold Standard

by Ken Schortgen Jnr, Rogue Money:
While many alternative economists are split in their trust of someone of the likes of Jim Rickards, his newest book, The New Case for Gold, has come out at a near perfect time in history. This is because after 100+ years of central bank monetary policies built upon fractional reserve banking, debt creation, and fiat currencies, the global demand for sound, asset backed money is rushing towards us at an accelerating rate.
When times are tough, new economic theories get a better hearing. Maybe some old ones, too.
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