Hillary’s Latest Headache: Skolkovo

The subject of Russia’s influence in American politics has been a hot topic of late, particularly as the MSM continues to link Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin and the DNC hack. However, a report published by the Government Accountability Institute presents a new twist in the Kremlin-US political ties. It all started with the 2009 “Russian reset” touted by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The Burrito Index: Consumer Prices Have Soared 160% Since 2001

Our money is losing its purchasing power much faster than the government would like us to believe.

VIX Smash Sends S&P 500 To Fresh Record Highs

Another day, another dip bought to record highs...

Saudis Slash Oil Prices For Asian Markets; So Much For Solving That Banking Liquidity Crisis

Shortly after we spoke yesterday about the banking liquidity crisis in Saudi Arabia caused by the "Saudi circ ref" (low oil prices -> budget deficits -> more oil pumping -> even lower oil prices), almost on cue, the state-owned Saudi Aramco, the worlds largest oil exporter, announced the largest price cut for Arab light sweet crude sold into Asian markets in 10 months.

“Stock Markets Should be Down Massively,” but Investors “Hypnotized that Nothing Can Go Wrong”

by Wolf Richter, Wolf Street:
Bond bull Gundlach U-turns, goes “maximum negative” on Treasuries
Stock investors have entered a “world of uber complacency,” Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital in Los Angeles, explained – we assume with some bafflement.
On Friday, the S&P 500 hit another all-time high, after it was reported that the US economy grew at a painfully slow rate of 1.2% annualized in the second quarter, after a first quarter of 0.8% growth, which produced a first-half growth of 0.9% annualized, the worst in four years.
Even “adjusted” ex-bad-items earnings of S&P 500 companies have declined on a year-over-year basis for four quarters in a row. Total business sales in the US have declined since mid-2014. Defaults of companies rated by Standard & Poor’s have jumped to the highest level since the Financial Crisis. Overall business bankruptcies are soaring. Yet, stocks march higher.
Read More

Can't wait to see the bubbles burst...

Amazon Is Now Bigger Than Exxon Mobil

With Exxon Mobil sliding after earnings, Amazon's market cap - for the first time ever - is now larger than the oil giant. Next stop AAPL...

Italian Banks Crash Despite 'All Clear' From EU Stress Tests

For a few minutes at the open, mainstream business media persuaded itself that the EU stress tests had proved that everything was fine in Europe's banking system again. But very quickly, things went south with Italian banks - the center of the storm - reversing gains and then extending losses with Unicredit now down 8% (after being up 4%).

Construction Spending Growth Crashes To 5-Year Lows

"it's probably nothing..."

US Manufacturing PMI Bounces To 9-Month Highs, ISM Drops

Following China's great-and-terrible manufacturing PMI data overnight, Markit's US manufacturing index surge to 9-month highs, printing at the expected 52.9 led by faster growth of output, new orders, and employment. However, in true Chinese-style, US ISM Manufacturing missed expectations (52.6 vs 53.0) with new orders and employment dropping. So take your pick!

Satyajit Das Slams Policymaker Ignorance: "QE-Forever Cycle" Means Catastrophe Is Inevitable

"Policymakers have chosen to ignore the central issue of debt as they try to resuscitate activity," warns Satyajit Das in a shocking Op-Ed in today's FT, and with global central banks now printing $180 billion a month (and growing), "the global economy may now be trapped in a QE-forever cycle," confirming von Mises prescription that "there is no means of avoiding the final collapse..."

Preview Of Key Events In The Coming Week

After last week's central bank and GDP fireworks, we have another busy week on deck culminating with Friday's jobs report, the 100% priced in BOE rate cut, as well as a possible easing by the RBA.Here is the full breakdown.

The Best And Worst Performing Assets In July And YTD

Whistleblower's Stunning Claim: "NSA Has All Of Hillary's Deleted Emails, It May Be The Leak"

"If the FBI really wanted them they can go into that database and get them right now,” William Binney said of Clinton’s emails as well as DNC emails. Asked point blank if he believed the NSA has copies of “all” of Clinton’s emails, including the deleted correspondence, Binney confirmed. “Yes. That would be my point. They have them all and the FBI can get them right there.”

For All The F**king Uncertainty, Why Is The Stock Market At All Time Highs?

But, but, but... "the market hates uncertainty..."

Russian Military Helicopter Shot Down Over Syria; All Five On Board Killed

A Russian Mi-8 helicopter has been shot down by ground fire in Syria following delivery of humanitarian supplies to Aleppo, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. The three crew and two officers from Russia's reconciliation center were returning to base

Uber Throws In The Towel: Sells Money Losing Chinese Operation To Local Competitor Didi Chuxing

Concluding a vicious, money-losing ridesharing price war in China, overnight Didi Chuxing, the dominant ride-hailing service in China, announced it would acquire Uber’s operations in the country, ending a battle that cost the two companies billions as they competed for customers and drivers.

Tesla, SolarCity Merge In $2.6 Billion Transaction

Concluding a transaction that surprised the world when it was announced one month ago, and which we hope the regulators are poring over as a result of a myrida of "related party transactions", moments ago SolarCity (whose stock is currently halted) announced that Tesla and SolarCity would combine in all-stock deal; in which SCTY stockholders will receive 0.110 Tesla common shares per SCTY share, valuing SCTY common stock at $25.37 per share.

Euro Stocks Reverse Early Gains Dragged Lower By Slumping Banks; US Futures Flat; Crude Slides

Following last Friday's shocking weak US GDP print, Asian stocks jumped to an 11 month high on reduced prospects of a near-term rate hike, while the region also digested mostly encouraging in conflicting Chinese PMI data. European bank stocks initially rose following the release of the 2016 stress test then declined, tempering gains in global equity indexes, amid investor skepticism over the usefulness of stress-test results and weaker oil prices.

Is Twitter "Shadow-Banning" Donald Trump?

Twitter is provably censoring Donald Trump in order to prevent him raising money for his presidential campaign.

The Full Details Behind Monte Paschi's €5 Billion Bail Out

1. Increase the coverage ratio for Bad debt
2. Transfer all the existing stock of Bad debt into a securitization vehicle. The senior tranche will be covered by government guarantees, Mezzanine will be bought by Atlante fund and the equity tranche will be transferred to existing shareholders and deconsolidated.
3. A €5bn capital increase to remove the negative capital impact from the operation and maintain capital level at the current level of 11.8%.

10 Cancer Causing Foods You Probably Eat Every Day

by Twain Yobra, Natural News:
You’ve probably heard of foods that reduce risk of cancer. Well, as you would expect, there are others that increase risk of cancer. Sadly, the intake of these foods is increasing day by day. Here are some of the cancer causing foods you should avoid.
1. Microwave popcorn
This convenient healthy snack seems harmless, doesn’t it? The truth is, the popcorn itself is not the problem but the bag it’s packed in. These bags are lined with a chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). And one study found that PFOA caused infertility in women.
2. Processed meats
Processed meats such as bacon, sausages, hot dogs and so on, can cause serious health problems if eaten long term. A recent study found that people who ate 160+ grams of processed meat every day had a 44 percent higher chance of dying in the next 12 years.
Read More

/