Trump Threatens "Clueless" Obama: "Will Hit Him Just Like I Hit Bill Clinton"

Obama is "a president who doesn't have a clue..." and if "he’s going to start campaigning... well, that means I’m allowed to hit him just like I hit Bill Clinton, I guess right?"

This Could Soon Lead to the Collapse of the U.S. Dollar

by Nick Giambruno, International Man:
“I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”
“Read my lips: no new taxes.”
“We were not trading arms for hostages.”
Politicians are professional liars. They do it every day. And they usually do it without any consequences.
I’d bet that Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan, who told the three lies quoted above, didn’t think twice about them.
But the lies would all come back to haunt and humble them. Those words cost Bush senior his reelection.
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The U.S. Economy Is Collapsing And The S&P 500 Is Flat?

by Dave Kranzler, Investment Research Dynamics:
That [the unchecked market intervention by the Fed] will never change, Bill. Here’s what will happen: 99.5% of the public will NEVER believe that gold is the solution and they don’t even care if it’s manipulated. But when the point in time occurs when it becomes obvious to most that they have to have gold to stay afloat, it will be too late. There will be LOOONG lines around the block at coin shops. People in the front of the line will be able to sell some of their gold and silver to people in the back of the line for DOUBLE the price they just paid. It will be similar to the Weimar Republic when someone would order a cup of coffee, drink it, order another one and the 2nd cup was twice as expensive as the first. That day may not be far off. – my email exchange with Bill “Midas” Murphy of Lemetropole Cafe
If it’s not obvious to anyone by now, then those “anyone’s” are not following the news. All private-sector sourced economic data is showing an economic collapse in progress. The exiting home sales data is not private – it’s quasi-Government because the statistical seasonal “adjustments” programs used by the National Association of Realtors is the same algorithm used by Government statistical magicians.
Just take a look at the list of headlines in Zerohedge this morning – this is not a product of “conspiracy theory” website – it’s the economic headlines listed in one place:
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“Get the Hell Out of the Country” : Professor Crushes “Political Correctness” Wave Sweeping America in Viral Speech

by The Doc, Silver Doctors:
In a time where college students are offended by pretty much everything, The Federalist Papers reports that one professor at UNC-Wilmington decided to cut through the rhetoric and let his students know that they aren’t the special snowflakes liberals and their parents would have them believe.
His epic class introduction has gone viral, and for good reason: this is the most common sense lecture to come out of any college in a long time.
Welcome back to class, students! I am Mike Adams your criminology professor here at UNC-Wilmington. Before we get started with the course I need to address an issue that is causing problems here at UNCW and in higher education all across the country. I am talking about the growing minority of students who believe they have a right to be free from being offended. If we don’t reverse this dangerous trend in our society there will soon be a majority of young people who will need to walk around in plastic bubble suits to protect them in the event that they come into contact with a dissenting viewpoint. That mentality is unworthy of an American. It’s hardly worthy of a Frenchman.
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Meanwhile In Southampton... $27,000 Bottles Of Champagne

What deflation?

July Odds Jump To Highest Ever As Fed's Kaplan Fears "Distortions", Says "Makes Sense To Hike"

While June rate-hike odds slide, July's conditional probability of a hike is surging to 48% - its highest since the end of QE3 following Dallas Fed's Robert Kaplan's comments that "rates this low can cause distortions," adding that the US economy is "getting to the point where it makes sense to hike rates."< But trhen again, he also warns "we need to be prepared for Brexit," given The Fed their excuse to do nothing once again.

As Oil Revenues Dry Up, ISIS Adapts Quickly With "Religious Tithes"

The Islamic State (ISIS) has been making up for its oil profit losses by increasing the taxes it levies on the people living on territory it still controls. Despite the drops – reportedly caused by the international military coalition’s attacks on the group’s oil strongholds, “ISIS remains the richest terrorist organization on the planet.”

"I Hope They Have Kidnapping Insurance" - Trump Blasts PGA Tour For Taking His Tournament To Mexico

"It is a sad day for Miami, the United States and the game of golf" is the way Donald Trump started his statement in response to the news that the PGA Tour has decided to move a long-standing golf tournament from Donald Trump's golf course in Miami, Florida, "They're moving it to Mexico City which by the way, I hope they have kidnapping insurance."

Meet Ability Inc – The Israeli Company That Wants To Hack Your Cellphone

With just a few million dollars and a phone number, you can snoop on any call or text that phone makes – no matter where you are or where the device is located. That’s the bold claim of Israel’s Ability Inc, which offers its set of bleeding-edge spy tools to governments the world over. And it’s plotting to flog its kit to American cops in the coming months.

Hillary's Lead Over Bernie Sanders Evaporates Ahead Of California Primary

According to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News/ Marist poll, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are now deadlocked in California ahead of next week’s high-stakes primary, raising the prospect of a surprise outcome that would give Mr. Sanders confidence to carry his campaign into the party’s convention next month. According to the WSJ, Clinton leads the Vermont senator by just 2 percentage points among likely Democratic primary voters, 49% to 47%, well within the survey’s margin of error. The poll signals a closer contest than expected just weeks ago.

Former JPM FX Salesman Claims He Was "Tossed Overboard In An Attempt To Make JPM Look Clean"

With banks eager to scrub the pervasive FX rigging and manipulation which has been one of the scandals plaguing the banking sector over the past two years, numerous lowly traders had been thrown under the legal bus as the traditional scapegoats meant to deflect attention from company insiders and senior management, many of whom were well aware of the illegal practices taking place. Increasingly more however, refuse to accept this fate.

Europe Braces for More Jihadist Attacks: "Another Attempted Attack Is Almost Certain"

"We know that the Islamic State has the European Championship in its sights." — Hans-Georg Maaßen, head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency

Oil Jumps After DOE Reports Bigger Than Expected Inventory Draws, 19th Weekly Production Cut

Following last night's surprise build of 2.35mm barrels reported by API (against expectations of a 2.5mm draw), DOE reported inventory draws across the board. While the headline crude draw of 1.36mm barrels was below expectations of -2.5mm, it was considerably lower than API. Cushing saw a bigger than expected draw of 704k and both gasoline and distillates draws were bigger than expected. This is the seventh week in a row of Distillate draws. Crude production fell for the 19th week in a row to its lowest since Sept 2014.

Who's Right?

"Investors" are buying bonds and stocks since the US equity market opened... despite oil plunging and USDJPY at lows of the day...

Caught On Tape: Brazilian Police Fire Tear Gas, Rubber Bullets As Protesters Try To Storm New President's Office

As expected, the peaceful transition period surrounding the new, and just as corrupt according to many, government of Brazil's new president Michel Temer did not last even a month. Yesterday, clashes erupted in Brazil with police deploying tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters opposing to the country's new interim government.

BOJ Member Warns Japan Economy Is So Fragile, It Could Sink Into Recession Due To "Weather"

"Japan’s economy, with its potential growth rate of nearly 0%, is so fragile as to be liable to post negative growth even because of trivial external factors such as weather conditions."

Oil Tumbles After OPEC Fails To Reach Oil Freeze Agreement

The anticlimatic conclusion to today's OPEC meeting came earlier courtesy of Bloomberg which moments ago reported that OPEC has failed to reach a new oil supply agreement, but that it has agreed to appoint a Nigerian candidate for new OPEC secretary general.

ISM New York Collapses To 7-Year Lows

So much for that April bounce!!

Bill Gross Explains Why He Is Now Shorting Credit

"For over 40 years, asset returns and alpha generation from penthouse investment managers have been materially aided by declines in interest rates, trade globalization, and an enormous expansion of credit – that is debt. Those trends are coming to an end.... A repeat performance is not only unlikely, it  is impossible unless you are a friend of Elon Musk and you’ve got the gumption to blast off  for Mars. Planet Earth does not offer such opportunities."

Dear "Initial Jobless Claims"-Creator, Explain This

Initial jobless claims printed 267k - slightly better than expected and very slightly less than last week - which is odd because both ISM Manufacturing and ISM Service employment data suggests a very different picture indeed.

Mario Draghi Explains Why 'Buying Corporate Bonds As Well' Will Work This Time - ECB Press Conference Live Feed

With rates left unchanged - deep in NIRP-land - amid an increasingly fragile banking system (see Italian bank stocks), we expect ECB chief Mario Draghi to reassure an anxious public how well QE is working (despite weak growth and tumbling PMIs), how great negative rates are for stimulating 'something' despite inflation's drift lower, and how his about-to-be-launched corporate bond buying bonanza will really solve the problems of the world (by enabling firms to lever up even more and buyback more stock?).

ADP Employment "Moderates" As Manufacturing Jobs Fall Again

Printing a perfectly as-expected 173k rise in jobs for May, ADP Employment change offers hope for tomorrow's payrolls to give The Fed the go-ahead for a rate-hike. This is still the second lowest print since last September as manufacturing (and goods-producing) jobs fell once again. However, as even the always optimistic Mark Zandi notes, “Job growth has moderated this spring as energy companies and manufacturers shed jobs. Retailers are also more circumspect in their hiring.”

Turkey Recalls Ambassador From Germany After Bundestag Acknowledges Armenian "Genocide"

Moments ago, in a move that will infuriate Turkey, the German parliament withstood a barrage of pressure from the Turkish government, and approved a symbolic resolution that declares the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces a ‘genocide’, a step widely viewed as a tacit escalation against Turkey.

Saudis Have Lost the Oil War

by F. William Engdahl, New Eastern Outlook:
Poor Saudi Arabia. They don’t realize it yet but they have lost their oil war. The war in its current phase began in September, 2014, when the dying King Abdullah and his Minister of Petroleum, Ali Al-Naimi, told US Secretary of State John Kerry they would gladly join Washington in plunging world oil prices. It became clear the main Saudi motive was to eliminate the new growing challenge to their control of world oil markets by forcing prices so low that the US shale oil industry would soon go bankrupt. For Kerry and Washington the focus, of course, was to economically cripple Russia in the wake of new US sanctions by damaging their revenues from export of oil. Neither achieved their aim.
Now, however, it’s clear that Saudi Arabia, which along with Russia is the world’s largest oil producer, is going down a dark road to ruin. Washington seems more than happy to cheer them on.
The long-term Washington strategy since at least 1992, well before September 11, 2001 and the Washington’s declaration of its War on Terror, has been by hook or by crook, by color revolution or outright invasion, to directly, with US “boots-on-the-ground,” militarily control the vast oil reserves and output of the major Arab OPEC oil countries. This is a long-standing institutional consensus, regardless who is President.
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The World’s Most-Extreme Economic Terrorism

by Jeff Nielson, Bullion Bulls Canada:
When most people hear the phrase “economic terrorism”, the first thing which likely comes to mind is cyberterrorism, such as the mysterious “hackers” known (appropriately) as Anonymous. Readers of my own work may think of things like the destruction of Greece’s economy, where Greece was bankrupted when the Big Bank crime syndicate drove its interest rates as high as 30%, via the illegal manipulation of the credit default swaps market.
However, these are mere episodes of economic terrorism. The most-extreme economic terrorism in the world today is a single, ongoing crime, which terrorizes the entire world economically, every day of our lives. It is the extreme, criminal, upward manipulation of the U.S. dollar.
This is not a “theory”. It’s not speculation. It is yet more conspiracy-fact. It is a fact that the Big Banks have been criminally convicted of conspiring to manipulate all of the world’s currencies, going back to at least 2008. A criminal conviction is not a “conspiracy theory”.
We read about this economic terrorism every day of our lives. When you read about Russia having “a currency crisis”, it is a crisis in relation to the value of the U.S. dollar. When you read about Brazil, or Venezuela, or India, or South Africa, or even China having “a currency crisis”, it is a crisis in relation to the value of the U.S. dollar.
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Major Study Destroys Drug War Fear Propaganda – As States Legalize Marijuana, Teen Use Plummets

by Justin Gardner, Activist Post:
A curious thing is happening as the war on weed crumbles before knowledge and reason. The propaganda campaign orchestrated during the 20th century by the State and its corporate allies is unraveling, exposing the absurdity of prohibition.
Since the gates have been pried open–to an extent–for medical cannabis research, we are discovering amazing benefits of this plant for a variety of ailments. Yet it is still classified by federal government as a Schedule 1 drug with “no medicinal value and high potential for addiction.”
Meanwhile, alcohol and cigarettes—other psychoactive drugs that actually do kill people—have no medicinal value and are highly addictive, yet are not subject to Controlled Substances classification.
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Venezuela Socialist President Praises Bolshevik Bernie

from TRU News:
Venezuela’s embattled president, Nicolas Maduro, said on Tuesday night he supported Bernie Sanders in the U.S. presidential race, adding that the candidate, who describes himself as a democratic socialist, would win if the vote were “free.”
Maduro, a socialist who sees himself as the political heir to his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, has long railed against the United States, blaming it for Venezuela’s economic crisis and accusing Washington of attempting to topple him.
He also criticised presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, saying he’s “using a force of change that’s hidden in U.S. society”.
Venezuela is reeling from a brutal economic crisis that has seen food and medicine running short and spiraling inflation destroying incomes.
The United States and Venezuela have had troubled relations since Chavez became president in 1999, and the countries have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010.
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