New Video Exposes Anti-Trump Groups Plotting Criminal Acts To Disrupt Inauguration

"Yeah, if you had...a pint of butyric acid, I don't care how big the building is, it's closing...And this stuff is very efficient, it's very very smelly, lasts a long time, and a little of it goes a long way."

Germany Slams Trump Criticism: Urges US To "Build Better Cars", Accuses Washington Of Causing Refugee Crisis

Responding to Trump's Sunday criticism, Germany's economy minister Sigmar Gabriel said "there is a link between America’s flawed interventionist policy, especially the Iraq war, and the refugee crisis, that’s why my advice would be that we shouldn’t tell each other what we have done right or wrong" and also urged the US to "build better cars" if it wants Germans to buy them.

Canadian Military's Second-In-Command Has Been Relieved Of Duty For Leaking Highly Classified Information

It appears the US Democratic party and Clinton campaign are not alone when it comes to problems preserving highly sensitive information. According to the Globe and Mail, Canada's Vice-Admiral Mark Norman has been relieved of his duties as the Canadian military's second-highest-ranking officer over alleged leaks of highly classified information.

NYSE Short Interest Plunges To Lowest In Three Years

It turns out, he is not alone. As our friends at GaveKal point out, of the end of December, short interest dropped to its lowest level since early 2014, even as stock market indices hovered at new highs, suggesting that a short squeeze into the close of 2016 indeed took place as many trading desks suggested, and may have been responsible for the push higher in equity market toward the end of 2016.

From "Promise" To "Payback" - Here Are The Five Stages of The "Trump Trade"

There are five defining stages for the "Trump trade": Trading i) ‘the promise’; ii) the deal-making; iii) the enactment; iv) the economic impact, and, v) the payback. Trump’s press conference last Wednesday drew the line between ‘the promise’ phase, and, the stage where deliverables will become progressively more important. Here is what to expect next.

Obama Sends 10 More Guantanamo Detainees To Oman

Reconfirming that he has much left to accomplish in his final week in office, Obama has released another 10 Gitmo detainees that have just confirmed their safe arrival in Oman. 

"Losers Who Won't Lose" - John Lewis Versus Donald Trump

This is an enormous week in the United States: opening today with the Martin Luther King holiday, and culminating with the Presidential Inauguration. So it’s perhaps interesting to see a small spar between two individuals who are close to each event - Congressman John Lewis, a prominent figure from the Civil Rights Movement era, and President-elect Trump.

A New Problem Emerges For The Davos Elite

"There's a sense that the system is broken," said Richard Edelman, head of the Edelman Trust Barometer.  "The most shocking statistic of this whole study is that half the people who are high-income, college-educated and well-informed also believe the system doesn't work."

FBI Arrests Widow Of Orlando Nightclub Shooter

The wife of the man who carried out a deadly terrorist attack in Orlando, was arrested by the FBI in connection with the mass shooting, a law enforcement official said Monday.

While Davos Elites Address Populism, Just "Eight Men Own Same Wealth As Half The World"

US Marines Land In Norway For The First Time Since World War II, Angering Russia

Just one week after thousands of US troops arrived in Poland to "support NATO's Anti-Russian buildup", 300 U.S. Marines from Camp Lejeune landed in Norway on Monday for a six-month deployment, marking the first time since World War II that foreign troops have been allowed to be stationed there.

America - Under New Management

Whatever the world will be treated to under the new American presidency, the words of Neil Innes ring true: “No matter who you vote for, the government always gets in.”

As Lewis Shuns Trump, MLK's Son Meets With President-Elect

As Congressman John Lewis - a prominent civil rights era figure - continues to shun the president-elect (for his illegitimacy), it appears none other than Martin Luther King Jr.'s son is willing to give him a chance. Trump's incoming press secretary, Sean Spicer, announced via Twitter that the two will meet and discuss the civil rights leader's legacy.

Five Dead, 15 Wounded After Gunman Opens Fire At Mexican Nightclub

A lone shooter fired on a crowd at a nightclub in Playa del Carmen, site of the BPM electronic music festival in Mexico early Monday, leaving at least five people dead and at least a dozen more injured. Local news reports suggest that the shooting came after a 'disagreement' and is connected to ongoing drug cartel wars in the area

Food-Stamp Recipients Can Now Order From Amazon, Other Online Retailers

Despite federal authorities in south Florida busting the largest food-stamp fraud operation in U.S. history last year, food-stamp recipients can use their taxpayer-funded benefit to order online from retailers like Amazon under a new Obama administration initiative that aims to facilitate the shopping experience for rural and urban residents. It marks the latest of many costly experiments by the administration to expand the fraud-infested program, which has seen a record-high number of beneficiaries under President Obama.

Turkey Faces Double-Digit Inflation Due To Crashing Lira, As Budget Deficit Hits Record

Here comes stagflation. Turkey's biggest headache, its crashing currency, will soon translate into another major problem. According to two senior economy officials, inflation could reach double digits in the first quarter for the first time in almost five years as a result of the lira's falls, even as the government's budget deficit just hit a record high.

Trump Promises "Insurance For Everybody" In Obamacare Repeal

"We’re going to have insurance for everybody.  There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.  It’ll be another plan. But they’ll be beautifully covered.

Is Tolerance A One-Way Street?

Just over two years to the day since two gunmen walked into the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris and murdered twelve people, we have learned for certain that any such tolerance is a one-way street.

IMF Downplays Trump Stimulus Effect; Slashes Saudi, Mexico Growth In Latest World Economic Outlook

As the world's elite gather in Davos to decide for the minions what the world should look like, The IMF has taken a far dimmer view of global (and by that we mean Trumpian) economic growth than markets appear to be. In addition to slashing Brazilian, Mexican, and Saudi Arabian economic growth forecasts, Lagarde's lackeys are taking a cautious stance toward the policies of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office this week, assuming only a modest boost to the U.S. economy from his promise of fiscal stimulus.

In Stunning Pair Of Interviews, Trump Slams NATO And EU, Threatens BMW With Tax; Prepared To "Cut Ties" With Merkel

In two separate, and quite striking interviews with Germany's Bild (paywall) and London's Sunday Times (paywall), Donald Trump did what he failed to do in his first US press conference, and covered an extensive amount of policy and strategy, much of which however will likely please neither the pundits, nor the markets.

Key Events In The Coming Week: Trump Inauguration, Davos, Theresa May, ECB, China GDP

The week ahead will be a busy one, with a plethora of events including the Davos shindig, where particular focus will be on Chinese President Xi Jinping, the first Chinese president to attend. China will also announce GDP on Friday, which also marks the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th US president. Tuesday brings Theresa May's long-awaited Brexit speech.

Oil Slides After Saudis Suggest Early End To OPEC Deal

Following a brief spike overnight (as China intervened in its equity market), crude prices slipped lower, testing towards a $51 handle after Saudi Arabia says OPEC is on track to wrap up its production curbs by the middle of the year, potentially leaving its aim of clearing a global oil glut unfinished.

China Warns Trump "It Will Take Off The Gloves" If He Continues To Provoke Beijing

In the latest indication that China is becoming increasingly unsettled by Trump's relentless attacks on legacy diplomacy with China, and especially the "One China" policy, two leading state-run newspapers warned on Monday that Beijing will "take off the gloves" and take strong action if Trump continues to provoke Beijing over Taiwan once he assumes office.

South Korea Seeks Arrest Of Samsung Chief For Bribery, Embezzlement And Perjury

South Korea political crisis spilled over into the corporate sector overnight, when the country's special prosecutor on Monday sought a warrant to arrest the head of Samsung Group, the country's largest conglomerate, accusing him of paying multi-million dollar bribes to a friend of impeached President Park Geun-hye.

Ray-Ban Maker Luxottica To Merge With French Esilor, Creating $49 Billion Eyewear Giant

The US may be closed, but nothing stands in the way of merger Monday, which today struck in Europe with the announcement that Italy's Ray-Ban maker, Luxottica, and France's lens company Essilor agreed to a €46 billion ($49 billion) merger to create a global eyewear giant with annual revenue of more than €15 billion.

Tumbling Pound Rattles Global Markets; Chinese Stock Slide Forces Government Intervention

Sterling fell, equities slid, Chinese markets got a helping government intervention hand again, and gold climbed over concerns U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is prepared to lead Britain out of the European Union’s single market and as the U.S. President-elect suggested other countries could break from the bloc.

Can Marine Le Pen Pull Off French Election Stunner? Germany Loses No Matter Who Wins

Conventional wisdom suggests National Front candidate Marine le Pen will make it to the second round in French elections, then lose in a landslide to whoever her opponent happens to be. However, le Pen’s odds of winning it outright may be far better than most think.

US Military Deploys Nuke-Spotting Radar To Monitor North Korea

The Sea-based X-Band Radar has deployed out of Pearl Harbor after North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un recently said his country was in the "final stages" of test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile. Media sources reported that the SBX was being sent about 2,000 miles northwest of Hawaii to watch for a possible North Korean launch in coming months. The Pentagon downplayed the floating radar's Monday departure.

Two Things To Read On Martin Luther King Day

While MLK was a peaceful man, he was unquestionably a fierce revolutionary against the prevailing status quo. While his cause and struggle look so obvious now, in his day many segments of American society considered him the enemy, including the U.S. government. For example, we now know that the FBI actually wrote him a letter suggesting he commit suicide.

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