Autor: João

US Empire

Por | 5 ago, 2019 | , , |

The Western Alliance Is Falling Apart   Peter Koenig Aug. 2, 2019   Ever since Imran Khan became the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan in August 2018, the winds have changed. While his predecessors, though generally leaning eastwards, have often wavered between the US and the China orbit, Khan is in the process of clearly defining his alliances with the east, in particular China. This is for the good of his country, for the good of the Middle East, and eventually for the good of the world. A few days ago, RT reported that China, in addition to the expansion of the new port in Gwadar, Balochistan, has entered agreements with Pakistan to build a military/air base in Pakistan, a new Chinese city for some half a million people, as well as several road and railway improvement projects, including a highway connecting the cities of Karachi and Lahore, reconstruction of the Karakoram Highway, linking Hasan Abdal to the Chinese border, as well as upgrading the Karachi-Peshwar main railway to be completed by the end of 2019, for trains to travel up to 160km / hour. This rehabilitation of dilapidated Pakistani transportation infrastructure is not only expected to contribute between 2% and 3% of Pakistan’s future GDP, but it offers also another outlet for Iranian gas / hydrocarbons, other than through the Strait of Hurmuz – for example, by rail to the...

Ler mais

Doom Index Update

Por | 5 ago, 2019 | , |

Recession Looms   Joe Withrow Aug. 5, 2019   The Doom Index came back with an 8 reading again this quarter. That means the Crash Flag we raised back in April will continue to fly overhead… a little more tattered and frayed for its work. Now, this doesn’t mean we will see a market crash tomorrow. Or next week. Or even next month. That’s because nobody can perfectly time tops and bottoms… Not even our vaunted Doom Index. As the old Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek demonstrated way back in 1945, information is dispersed throughout society. What any single entity knows is only a small fraction of the sum of knowledge all members of society hold. That’s why no single person or institution can have all the answers. We built the Doom Index to monitor the financial and economic indicators that give us an early warning of trouble ahead. We designed it to tell us when conditions are ripe for a crash. And we based it on backtests going back to the late 1990s. And now, the Doom Index says conditions are ripe. The numbers now show a clear slowdown in the economy. Let’s take a closer look at some of the data coming back… Manufacturing Slows As regular readers know, we put a lot of stock in the ISM Manufacturing Index. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) is a...

Ler mais

Jeffrey Epstein

Por | 4 ago, 2019 | , , |

Genie Behind the Crash   Steve Brown Aug. 4, 2019     So far, Jeffrey Epstein’s case has largely been limited to allegations of sex trafficking, but when we consider persons of great financial power and influence possibly linked to Epstein, the scope is broadened.  But what if that scope can be broadened to further encompass corruption of the global financial system itself…? Now there are two patterns to emerge so far with regard to Epstein’s philanthropic activities, one relating to philanthropic donations to Israeli causes, and the other regarding scientific experiments for genetic research. Even so, why would such philanthropy be the basis for Epstein’s obsessive secrecy? There must be a third track. Epstein was recently revealed to be the director of Leon Black’s Family Foundation until 2007, a very significant date. Black is the multi-billionaire chairman of Apollo Global Management, a private equity leveraged buyout financial firm. Black writes: “On a few occasions I donated money to certain charitable organizations with which Mr. Epstein was affiliated, and he made contributions to certain charitable organizations that are meaningful to me.” The foregoing glosses over the fact that as director, Jeffrey Epstein donated millions on behalf of Leon Black to Charles Bronfman’s Taglit-Birthright Israel charity which promotes Zionism and opposes Palestinian rights. Then, subsequent to Epstein’s conviction in 2008, Black donated $10M USD to Epstein’s charity ‘Gratitude America’ in...

Ler mais

Bill Bonner and Phony Money

Por | 4 ago, 2019 | , |

The Unkindest Cut of All   Van Bryan Jul. 4, 2019   “The biggest mistake in Fed history.” That’s how Bill described the Federal Reserve’s decision this week to lower its key rate. All eyes might have been on America’s central bank this week. But the “unkindest cut of all” is just a symptom of a much larger problem… As Bill showed this week, American capitalism needs real wealth to thrive. Today, it has only “managed” rates and fake money. And the Fed is going to see it just gets more of it. It’s the era of Inflate or Die. And this fake boom isn’t quite ready to die yet… How Free Money Took the Charm out of Charm City On Monday, Bill’s hometown of Baltimore is in the news. President Trump says Charm City is “very dangerous” and “rat-infested.” The mainstream press are in an uproar. But POTUS isn’t exactly wrong about Baltimore… Soon, We’ll All Be West Baltimore On Tuesday, Bill turns again to his hometown of Baltimore. Once a prosperous American city, Baltimore is now a tragedy. As Bill put it, too much fake money and phony government programs is what undermined the town. And those same ills are being dispersed nationwide… Beyond Meat: It’s Not Just the Meat That’s Fake How to make the perfect vegan-friendly burger? Beyond Meat – one of Wall Street’s hottest young companies – is...

Ler mais