On the same day Alex Jones is kicked off media platforms for promoting informational products the control agents deem to be ‘conspiracy theory’…. CNN airs this:
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Monthly Archives: August 2018
Trade Report: China May Have To Resume U.S. Soybean purchases Within Weeks…
As many have discussed, due to their volume requirements China cannot secure their supply chain for soybeans without purchasing U.S. soybean crops. China can purchase soybeans from Brazil and Argentina; however, that only leads to Argentina increasing it’s soybean purchases from the U.S. Amplifying this issue are current lower yields from South America in their soybean crops.
…“There is a risk that China will have to cut back its livestock production, implying higher prices on the domestic market.”…
(Reuters) – China may have to start buying U.S. soybeans again in coming weeks despite the trade war between the two countries as other regions cannot supply enough soybeans to meet China’s needs, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said on Tuesday.
In July, China imposed import tariffs on a list of U.S. goods, including soybeans, as part of the trade dispute with the United States. China is the world’s largest soybean importer and has been seeking alternative supplies, especially in South America, where supplies available for export are down.
“China has to resume purchases of U.S. soybeans,” Oil World said in its latest newsletter. “The South American supply shortage will make it necessary for China, in our opinion, to import 15 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans in October 2018/March 2019, even if the current trade war is not resolved.”
Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans could re-start “in coming weeks,” Oil World added.
Soybeans, crushed to make cooking oil and the protein-rich animal feed ingredient soymeal, were the biggest U.S. agriculture export to China last year at a value of $12.3 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (read more)
♦The 800lb Panda in the room is that China is arguably the least balanced economy in the modern world. Hence, China has to take extraordinary measures to secure their supply chain. This economic dependency is also why China has recently spent so much on military expansion etc., they must protect their vulnerable interests.
Everything important to the Chinese Economy surrounds their critical need to secure a strong global supply chain of raw material to import, and leveraged trade agreements for export. China’s economy is deep (manufacturing), but China’s economy is also narrow.
This is why China has now positioned their economic system as dependent on them being an economic bully. They must retain their supply chain: import raw materials – export finished goods, at all costs.
This inherent economic structure is a weakness China must continually address through policies toward other nations. Hence, “One-Belt / One-Road” is essentially their ‘bully plan’ to ensure their supply chain and long-term economic viability.
This economic structure, and the reality of China as a dependent economic model, also puts China at risk from the effects of global economic contraction. But more importantly it puts them at risk from President Trump’s strategic use of geopolitical economic leverage to weaken their economy.
When you plant your trees in another man’s orchard, don’t be surprised when you end up paying for your own apples!
German Automaker Daimler Halts Deal With Iran Following U.S. Sanctions…
While European countries criticized the move by Trump to exit the Iran deal, the challenge for their domestic businesses is to weigh the potential loss of American business against deals with Iran that are minuscule by comparison.
U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell has been meeting with numerous CEO’s within Germany to inform them: “either do business with Iran or the U.S., but not both.”
(Bloomberg) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s desire to isolate the Iranian economy seems to be working.
Within hours of Washington unveiling its first round of sanctions, German carmaker Daimler AG froze a plan to make Mercedes Benz trucks in Iran. That’s even after the European Union tried to salvage the Iran nuclear deal by pledging to protect firms from Trump’s assault.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if more companies were to follow Daimler out of Iran,” said Frank Biller, a automobile analyst based Stuttgart, Germany for Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg. “With the political situation right now, I’m sure a lot of companies are at least thinking about suspending their activities.” (more)
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A Discussion With National Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow: “I’m having so much fun with Trump”….
The Chairman of the National Economic Council, Larry Kudlow, gives an extensive interview to C-SPAN discussing his life, his career and his role in the White House.
Those who have followed the granular details of the how President Trump put together his team -to carry out decades-long discussed policy- will find this interview interesting. Kudlow has evolved in the past year from a MAGAnomic supporter to a MAGAnomic advocate.
California tackles THE BIG ISSUES
Is SO2 the Real Threat – not CO2?
Armstrong Economics Blog/Nature
Re-Posted Aug 7, 2018 by Martin Armstrong
It has snowed in Alberta, Canada on August 1st in the dead of summer. Such strange events like this have not been common. Europe is burning from heat when buildings do not even have air conditioning because they never needed it. The concern that we are headed into a volcanic weather event really needs our attention. Volcanos emit C02, but they are a major source of something far worse – SO2. We have all heard of the London Fog. However, in 1952, some 4,000 people in Britain died from breathing in the fog.
The London Fog of 1952 resulted from burning coal excessively because it was a bitterly cold winter. This produced sulfur dioxide in the lower atmosphere, which may have reached 7 times normal levels. This became the perfect storm. The air was stagnant and there no real wind. This combined with high humidity to create a very dense fog. Once the sulfur dioxide was trapped by the fog combining with the high humidity of water vapor, this deadly combination produced sulfuric acid, which many call today acid rain. Despite all the claims of CO2, it is really SO2 that can become lethal.
We have learned about SO2 and have been reducing human emissions since the London Fog of 1952. Despite the constant focus of cars and CO2, it is Power plants and motor vehicles that burn sulfur-containing fuels, especially diesel, that create SO2. It is the Sulfur dioxide that can react in the atmosphere to form fine particles of acrid rain that pose the largest health risks to the atmosphere. CO2 does not have the same effect. This is what the major movement has been for clean air – reducing SO2.
Volcanos emit a lot of Sulfur dioxide (SO2) which smells like rotten eggs. Humans also contribute by burning coal and other fossil fuels which are the largest source of sulfur dioxide from human activities. However, volcanoes and forest fires are THE major natural contributors. What is important to understand is that sulfur dioxide is a pollutant that does impact the climate. Once SO2 is in the atmosphere, it can easily form sulfate ions. These are negatively charged particles made of up of sulfur and oxygen atoms. Since they are negatively charged, sulfate ions combine with water vapor in the atmosphere and then form small droplets of sulfuric acid (H2SO4). You may hear of this as acid rain. CO2 does not act in this manner.
When a volcano erupts. we then see huge amounts of sulfur dioxide are released into the stratosphere which will then convert to sulfates. There is a qualification needed here because sulfates formed at lower altitudes are removed from the atmosphere in just a few weeks through settling and precipitation. However, the SO2 emission from volcanos reach the upper bounds of the atmosphere and create aerosols that are mainly tiny droplets of sulfuric acid that then stay in the atmosphere for about two years. These SO2 droplets reflect incoming solar radiation back into space yet absorb both incoming solar radiation and outgoing infrared radiation. The net result, is simply that SO2 reduces the amount of energy reaching the lower atmosphere and Earth’s surface. Hence, we get global cooling of the lower atmosphere and Earth’s surface.
Consequently, it is the volcanic eruptions are of considerable impact on global climate and are a proven fact rather than theory as is the case with CO2. Following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, a cooling trend lasted through 1993. This was attributed to the sulfuric acid aerosols that persisted in the stratosphere. Historically, there was a global cooling which followed the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa. The worst such event was the “Year without a summer” which followed the eruption of Tambora in 1815.
The other school of thought has been where many scientists believe that the continuous emission of sulfates would counter any greenhouse gas theory of CO2. As volcanos tend to erupt when the energy output of the sun declines as has been taking place since 2015, we are experiencing uneven concentrations of sulfates around the world. This may be a major issue if turning places that are normally warm to cold and cold to warm. The problem with SO2 is that it remains in the atmosphere much longer and hence the continued trend of erupting volcanos can seriously alter the climate for even more than a decade ahead.
InfoWars Banned for Hate Speech?
Armstrong Economics Blog/Conspiracy
Re-Posted Aug 7, 2018 by Martin Armstrong
The new European regulations are actually having an impact globally. Alex Jones’ InfoWars has been banned by Apple’s decision to remove five podcasts by Jones and his Infowars website. Other companies have rushed to join including Facebook, YouTube, and Spotify. The general reason is Jones’s podcasts are viewed as “hate content” which can subject them to heavy fines in Europe.
While I have appeared one time on his InfoWars, I do not create conspiracy scenarios nor do I agree with many. I look deeper than just the surface. I have stated bluntly that the forecasts made at Davos and the Bilderberg Meetings are ALWAYS wrong! Even the BBC asked why do economists get it so wrong? These meetings are often used as proof of some world order that creates everything intentionally be it a boom or a bust. I have stated countless times that if there really was some giant conspiracy that controlled the world, they would NEVER call me in for help or even explanations. The far more scary reality is the powers that be are clueless and are ruling by the seat of their pants.
It just seems as if those in power are often the people who have little experience in the real world and could not make it there so they gravitate toward government and power. Sure, you can pretend to connect dots. However, you have to actually peek behind the curtain and then you are faced with a frightening reality – nobody is in charge and there is no long-term grand plan other than hiding their incompetence. This is no different than when the dog pulls back the curtain in the Wizard of Oz and you see the fraud.
I know there is a general conspiracy about some new world order. That is exactly what was behind creating the EU and the Euro. It is failing because one-size does NOT fit all cultures and economies. Some are export driven and others are domestic consumption driven. This is the great difference between Germany (Export driven) and the United States (DOMESTIC consumption driven). I cannot see some new world order of one government EVER happening without war. You cannot get the Democrats and Republicans to agree in Congress and that is just in the USA. You really expect all world governments to ever agree to a SINGLE POWER?
Even the refugee crisis is nuts. In Britain, they call you a racist to disagree. But Muslim is not a race. The reality of this is rather simple. You offer free welfare handouts with guaranteed income, healthcare, and paid vacations just to show up, and it is HUMAN NATURE to take advantage. This knows no race, gender, or creed limitation. Historically, this ALWAYS takes place around the world. The great migration from Europe to America attracted people who wanted a new future, but they did not come to America expecting welfare and socialism. They came to work and assimilate to the culture and adopted the new language of English. They did not come and demand that America change its culture to accommodate them.
I have worked around the world. Politicians are the same everywhere. They will act ONLY out of their own self-interest. Adam Smith’s invisible hand remains supreme. There is no point in demonizing any race, creed, or gender. We are all human and humans all have the same basic traits at their core which have never changed. A mother still cries for he son who dies in war today as she did in ancient times. Technology may change, but we remain the same on a human emotional level. That is why cycles even work in all cultures.
Daily Caller Reveals Name of Decades-long Chinese Spy Working for Senator Dianne Feinstein…
Luke Rosiak, investigative reporter for The Daily Caller, revealed earlier tonight the name of the Chinese Spy employed by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) for several decades. Russell Lowe began working with Dianne Feinstein in the 1970’s. According to prior reporting by CBS Lowe passed along information gained from Feinstein to the Chinese government.
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(Via Daily Caller) […] Hankoryeh, a South Korean news publication, described Lowe in October 2017 as “a Chinese-American who spent 20 years as the aide to Dianne Feinstein.” Lowe visited the publication’s Seoul office at that time with former Democratic California Rep. Mike Honda, who left office in January 2017 after losing to progressive challenger Ro Khanna in 2016.
Feinstein has said that the spy had “no access to sensitive information,” and the former staffer was never prosecuted. (read more)
Additionally, internet research done by @almostjingo via Twitter reveals that Feinstein’s relationship to Russell Lowe goes back much further than her time in the U.S. Senate.
Understanding The Dollar Strength
Armstrong Economics Blog/USD $
Re-Posted Aug 7, 2018 by Martin Armstrong
It is fascinating to watch how the bias in people just ensures not just that a sucker is born every minute to replace the one that wises-up, but there are suckers who never learn from experience and cling to their ideas no matter how much it costs them. The U.S. dollar has been climbing against major currencies for several months, with the dollar index .DXY up is trading up about 2.84% for the year. It is true that the dollar has strengthened since late 2015 as the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates against a background of steady economic growth, slowly rising inflation and the lowest U.S. unemployment rate since the 1960s. But the strength in the dollar is more than just interest rates. It is the prettiest of the three ugly sisters as they say – US – Europe – Asia.
The Fed has raised rates twice this year and is expected to raise rates a couple more times by year end which may attract more foreign capital into the U.S. dollar with monetary policy remaining loose to very insane in Europe and Japan. We have the ECM, which has destroyed the European bond market, frozen like a deal in headlights. It is trapped and it realizes that it has been buying the debt of member states who are now addicted to excessively low-interest rates. If the ECB actually stops buying, we are looking at a major debt crisis in Europe as interest rates explode exponentially. However, their policy of austerity has really oppressed the Greek economy and now they have their eyes set on Italy which will more likely create a revolution before the Italian accept going the way of Greeks – quietly into the night.
In Japan, there to they have wiped out the bond market. The government actually bragged that they bought 97% of the government debt auction. Hellow? That’s a good thing? The Bank of Japan has reduced debt purchases for a third time in June 2018, taking advantage of the recent stability in bond yields and the yen. At least Japan is reducing its purchases whereas the ECB talks a good game, but cannot actually do anything. The attempt to force austerity by the EU upon southern Europe is tearing the system apart.
The dollar bottomed in February 2018. It has yet to elect a Monthly Bullish Reversal. Trump has been unusually vocal about the dollar, unlike most Presidents, following more in the footsteps of Treasury officials. Trump has publicly been criticizing the dollar’s strength several times. He obviously thinks a lower dollar is better for trade. But the markets are going against Trump. You cannot “Make America Great Again” without also strengthening the dollar especially when we still have insanity in Europe economically and Japan still in never-never-land.
In a CNBC television interview, Trump said he was concerned about the potential impact of a stronger dollar on American exports. He also broke tradition by criticizing Federal Reserve policy on raising interest rates, saying it takes away from the United States’ “big competitive edge”. Trump has had no problem with deficit spending hoping it would reduce the dollar to support trade and therefore jobs. While investors and traders have been concerned about the spending, they have been forced to attribute some of the gains to the Trump administration’s tax cuts which are bringing capital home. On the other hand, they see the tax cuts as widening the fiscal deficit, and that they expect leads to borrowing more on the government’s part. Then Trump’s imposition of import tariffs against China, Europe, Mexico and Canada, they generally think will contribute to inflation. But they fail to grasp that Trump is using Tariffs to force a better trade deal.
So hang on to your hat. The strength behind the dollar CANNOT be analyzed simply by looking at the domestic situation. We are in a position of capital flight on a global scale. All these arguments add up to nothing when capital begins to flee from one economic crisis to another. Remember Herbert Hoover’s words from 1931. When we begin to see the first crack in Sovereign Debt, both in Emerging Markets and inside the EU, it will be Kattie-bar-the-door!
President Trump Reinstates Phase-1 of Iran Sanctions…
Today the White House ends the initial 90-day period for the JCPOA withdrawal, and reveals the structure of the reinstatement of U.S. sanctions against Iran.
White House: REIMPOSING TOUGH SANCTIONS: President Donald J. Trump’s Administration is taking action to reimpose sanctions lifted under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
♦President Trump made clear when he ended United States participation in the JCPOA that his Administration would be reimposing tough sanctions on the Iranian regime.
♦In connection with the withdrawal from the JCPOA, the Administration laid out two wind-down periods of 90 days and 180 days for business activities in or involving Iran.
♦Consistent with President Trump’s decision, the Administration will be reimposing specified sanctions after August 6, the final day of the 90-day wind-down period.
On August 7, sanctions will be reimposed on:
•The purchase or acquisition of United States bank notes by the Government of Iran.
•Iran’s trade in gold and other precious metals.
•Graphite, aluminum, steel, coal, and software used in industrial processes.
•Transactions related to the Iranian rial.
•Activities relating to Iran’s issuance of sovereign debt
•Iran’s automotive sector.
The remaining sanctions will be reimposed on November 5, including sanctions on:
•Iran’s port operators and energy, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors.
•Iran’s petroleum-related transactions.
•Transactions by foreign financial institutions with the Central Bank of Iran.
The Administration will also relist hundreds of individuals, entities, vessels, and aircraft that were previously included on sanctions lists.
♦ ENSURING FULL ENFORCEMENT: President Trump will continue to stand up to the Iranian regime’s aggression, and the United States will fully enforce the reimposed sanctions.
- The Iranian regime has exploited the global financial system to fund its malign activities.
- The regime has used this funding to support terrorism, promote ruthless regimes, destabilize the region, and abuse the human rights of its own people.
- The Trump Administration intends to fully enforce the sanctions reimposed against Iran, and those who fail to wind down activities with Iran risk severe consequences.
- Since the President announced his decision on May 8 to withdraw from the JCPOA, the Administration has sanctioned 38 Iran-related targets in six separate actions.
♦ PROTECTING OUR NATIONAL SECURITY: The JCPOA was defective at its core and failed to guarantee the safety of the American people.
- President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran deal upheld his highest obligation: to protect the safety and security of the American people.
- The Iranian regime only grew more aggressive under the cover of the JCPOA and was given access to more resources to pursue its malign activities.
- The regime continues to threaten the United States and our allies, exploit the international financial system, and support terrorism and foreign proxies.
- The Administration is working with allies to bring pressure on the Iranian regime to achieve an agreement that denies all paths to a nuclear weapon and addresses other malign activities.
Read the Statement from President Trump HERE
Read the full Text of the Executive Order HERE
Centinel2012 