Target Profit Drops 90% in Second Quarter as Inflation Changes Consumer Purchasing


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 17, 2022 | Sundance

In the second quarter of 2021 Target earned $1.82 billion in profit.  In the second quarter this year, target earned $183 million. That’s the result of inflation hitting the middle-class consumer.

Few people are buying electronics, home goods, durables or clothing.  Any retailer that specializes in the sale of non-essential items is going to feel the financial results of working-class families reprioritizing their spending.  Checkbook economics is the economics that matters.

Hopefully, CTH readers are well prepared for this phase of the Joe Biden economy. It will almost certainly get worse.

(Daily Mail) – Target reported on Wednesday that its profits plunged nearly 90 percent last quarter after it was forced to slash prices to clear unwanted inventories of clothing, home goods and electronics.

In early June, Target warned that it was canceling orders from suppliers and aggressively cutting prices because of a pronounced spending shift by Americans as inflation cuts into spending on non-essential items.

US retailers have cut their profit forecasts in recent weeks as consumers squeezed by higher prices for essentials such as food and gas cut back on items like apparel and electronics.

[…] ‘Americans have had to trade down or delay purchases as inflation continues to squeeze household budgets,’ Morning Consult’s retail and e-commerce analyst Claire Tassin told DailyMail.com. (read more)

The cascading impact will flow through multiple sectors, including housing.

(Forbes) – Despite falling mortgage rates providing some relief to potential home buyers, mortgage applications fell to the lowest level since the turn of the century last week—providing fresh evidence that the housing market downturn may have room to run as some experts worry about how the collapse will damage the broader economy.

Mortgage applications fell 2.3% from one week earlier, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, pushing overall applications to the lowest level since 2000 even as rates on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage slipped to a two-month low of less than 5.5%. (read more)

Mike Pence Denounces Calls to Defund the FBI


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 17, 2022 | Sundance

Former Vice President Mike Pence delivered an establishment republican party speech at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH, today.  During his prepared remarks, Pence denounced the effort of some people in the republican party who call for defunding the FBI.

According to Pence he was, “deeply troubled” by the behavior of the justice department and the FBI during their raid on President Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago. Pence continued by saying the FBI “rank and file” should not be attacked or disparaged for the political agenda exhibited by the organization they represent.  It’s a weird statement when you think about it in context.

The FBI as an institution doesn’t do anything; it is the men and women within the institution that take actions based on corrupt political intent.  The only way to address the behavior of the FBI is to do exactly the opposite of what Pence is saying.  Institutions are made up of people. The rank and file within that corrupt system are the people carrying out the corrupt endeavors.  The audio is a little poor, but here is the segment, WATCH:

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South Korea Offers Olive Branch to the North


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Aug 17, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Russia recently claimed that it had been a close friend of North Korea since World War II, when Japanese forces were expelled from the peninsula. In a celebratory speech, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol mentioned how the end of Japan’s colonization was a win for both Koreas, albeit leading to their nasty divorce. Yoon said he would like to strengthen relations with Japan, as well as North Korea.

South Korea is requesting the same demand – denuclearization.  “We will implement a large-scale program to provide food, providing assistance for establishing infrastructure for the production, transmission and distribution of electrical power, and carry out projects to modernize ports and airports to facilitate trade,” Yoon said. Furthermore, Yoon said that they would modernize North Korea’s hospitals and infrastructure, and “carry out initiatives to allow for international investment and financial support.”

North Korea will never abandon its nuclear program for fear of retaliation. Without nuclear power, the small, impoverished country would be completely vulnerable. I warned in March 2018:

“The entire world is going to go nuts 2031/2032. There will not be a country that is spared from political and economic events. The risk a serious famine in North Korea which could result in the people rising up will arrive in 2023. That pressure will begin here this year 2018.70 – which will be September 13th, 2018. This appears to the turning point that is not just concerning North Korea. It is appearing around the world in many markets. The risk for political change in North Korea comes into play as soon as 2019/2020.”

We saw political destabilization in North Korea in 2020 when Kim Jong-Un went missing from the public eye. Many thought he was dead, and reports circulated that his sister, Kim Yo-Jong, had become the Supreme Leader. It has now come to light that Jong-Un was “seriously ill” during the pandemic. “Even though he was seriously ill with a high fever, he could not lie down for a moment thinking about the people he had to take care of until the end, in the face of the anti-epidemic war,” his sister recently revealed.

Kim Jong-Un declared complete victory over the coronavirus. “For a country that has yet to administer a single vaccine shot, our success in overcoming the spread of the illness in such a short period of time and recovering safety in public health and making our nation a clean virus-free zone again is an amazing miracle that would be recorded in the world’s history of public health,” KCNA quoted him as saying. However, he blames South Korea for contaminating his country with the virus.

North Korea will never abandon its nuclear power, nor will it make amends with South Korea. The hatred runs too deep. Although the nation needs financial assistance, it is turning to its new ally, Russia, with the help of China. Our models state that there could be civil unrest in the hermit kingdom next month. Civil unrest will not be tolerated and cannot occur without a full-scale uprising. Could involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war be the final straw?

National Bank of Romania Hires Fortune Teller


Armstrong Economics Blog/Central Banks Re-Posted Aug 17, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The National Bank of Romania (BNR) is turning to ancient rituals to predict future economic movements. Gabriela Dima, 64, often referred to as Minerva, holds two majors in psychology and cinematography. She also happens to be a popular fortune teller, a Bucharest fairy, and the newest hire of Romania’s central bank.

Inflation in Romania reached 15.05% this June. Last month, the National Bank of Romania voted to raise interest rates by 100 basis points to 4.75%. What will the bank do next? Perhaps Minerva knows.

Fortune telling has been a long tradition in Romani culture that dates back hundreds of years. Although the church shunned the practice, people remained superstitious and often looked to tellers for advice. Minerva has not disclosed her position at the central bank, but BNR declared that she is indeed employed there. So perhaps she will lighten the sentiment and give some of the population a boost of confidence regarding the future. Either way, her advice will be better than any analyst following Schwab’s Great Reset agenda to topple the global economy.

Quit Pretending


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 15, 2022 | Sundance

Given the events of the last six years as the baseline…. If you cannot recognize the events over the past 75 days as coordinated, including:

…. The FBI raid on August 8

….. Joe Biden “vacation”

….. Ron DeSantis presented as the palatable illusion of choice. 

Then you have not been paying attention, or you are in denial.

What is the great offense?

Answer: The people elected someone who was not approved.

There is one permanent, political and administrative deep state running the United States Government.

It does not matter which color flag rests atop the congressional spire, republican or democrat, it does not change the behavior of the participants.

Transcript ] […] Our movement is about replacing a failed and corrupt political establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American People. There is nothing the political establishment will not do, and no lie they will not tell, to hold on to their prestige and power at your expense.

The Washington establishment, and the financial and media corporations that fund it, exists for only one reason: to protect and enrich itself.

The establishment has trillions of dollars at stake in this election. As an example, just one single trade deal they’d like to pass, involves trillions of dollars controlled by many countries, corporations and lobbyists.

For those who control the levers of power in Washington, and for the global special interests they partner with, our campaign represents an existential threat.

This is not simply another 4-year election. This is a crossroads in the history of our civilization that will determine whether or not We The People reclaim control over our government.

The political establishment that is trying everything to stop us, is the same group responsible for our disastrous trade deals, massive illegal immigration, and economic and foreign policies that have bled this country dry. The political establishment has brought about the destruction of our factories and our jobs, as they flee to Mexico, China and other countries throughout the world. Our just-announced jobs numbers are anemic, and our gross domestic product, or GDP, is barely above one percent.

Workers in the United States, were making less than they were almost 20 years ago – and yet they are working harder.

It’s a global power structure that is responsible for the economic decisions that have robbed our working class, stripped our country of its wealth, and put that money into the pockets of a handful of large corporations and political entities.

Just look at what this corrupt establishment has done to our cities like Detroit and Flint, Michigan – and rural towns in Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina and across our country. They have stripped these towns bare, and raided the wealth for themselves and taken away their jobs.

The Clinton Machine is at the center of this power structure. We’ve seen this firsthand in the WikiLeaks documents in which Hillary Clinton meets in secret with international banks to plot the destruction of U.S. sovereignty in order to enrich these global financial powers.

And, likewise, the emails show that the Clinton Machine is so closely and irrevocably tied to media organizations that she is given the questions and answers in advance of her debates. Clinton is also given approval and veto power over quotes written about her in the New York Times. And the emails show the reporters collaborate and conspire directly with the Clinton Campaign on helping her win the election.

With their control over our government at stake, with trillions of dollars on the line, the Clinton Machine is determined to achieve the destruction of our campaign, which has now become a movement the likes of which our country has never seen before – and we won’t let them do that.

The most powerful weapon deployed by the Clintons is the corporate media. Let’s be clear on one thing: the corporate media in our country is no longer involved in journalism.

They are a political special interest, no different than any lobbyist or other financial entity with an agenda. And their agenda is to elect the Clintons at any cost, at any price, no matter how many lives they destroy.

For them, it is a war – and for them, nothing is out of bounds.

This is a struggle for the survival of our nation. This election will determine whether we are a free nation, or whether we have only the illusion of Democracy but are in fact controlled by a small handful of global special interests rigging the system.

This is not just conspiracy but reality, and you and I know it.

The establishment and their media enablers wield control over this nation through means that are well known. Anyone who challenges their control is deemed a sexist, a racist, a xenophobe and morally deformed. They will attack you, they will slander you, they will seek to destroy your career and reputation. And they will lie, lie and lie even more.

The Clintons are criminals. This is well-documented, and the establishment that protects them has engaged in a massive cover-up of widespread criminal activity at the State Department and Clinton Foundation in order to keep the Clintons in power. Never in history have we seen such a cover-up as this, one that includes the destruction of 33,000 emails, 13 phones, laptops, missing boxes of evidence, and on and on.

People who are capable of such crimes against our nation are capable of anything.

[…] But I take all of these slings and arrows for you. I take them for our movement, so that we can have our country back. Our great civilization, here in America and across the civilized world, has come upon a moment of reckoning.

We’ve seen it in the United Kingdom, where they voted to liberate themselves from global government and global trade deals and global immigration deals that have destroyed their sovereignty.

But the central base of world political power is here in America, and it is our corrupt political establishment that is the greatest power behind the efforts at radical globalization and the disenfranchisement of working people.

Their financial resources are unlimited. Their political resources are unlimited. Their media resources are unlimited. And, most importantly, the depths of their immorality is unlimited.

Our political establishment has no soul. I knew these false attacks would come. I knew this day would arrive. And I knew the American people would rise above it and vote for the future they deserve.

The only thing that can stop the Corrupt Clinton Machine is you. The only force strong enough to save this country is you. The only people brave enough to vote out this corrupt establishment is you, the American People.

They control the Department of Justice, and they even clandestinely meet with the Attorney General of the United States – in the back of her airplane, while on the runway – for 39 minutes – to most likely discuss her reappointment in a Clinton Administration just prior to the Attorney General making a decision over whether or not to prosecute Hillary Clinton.

Likewise, they have corrupted the Director of the FBI to the point at which stories are already saying the great men and women who work for the FBI are embarrassed and ashamed to what he’s done to one of our great institutions. Hillary Clinton is guilty of all of the things that Director Comey stated at his press conference and Congressional hearings, and far more – and yet he let her off the hook, while others lives are being destroyed for far less.

This is a conspiracy against you, the American people.

This is our moment of reckoning as a society and as a civilization.

I didn’t need to do this. I built a great company, and I had a wonderful life. I could have enjoyed the benefits of years of successful business for myself and my family, instead of going through this absolute horror show of lies, deceptions and malicious attacks. I’m doing it because this country has given me so much, and I feel strongly it was my turn to give back.

Some people warned me this campaign would be a journey to hell. But they are wrong, it will be a journey to heaven because we will help so many people.

In my former life, I was an insider as much as anybody else – and I know what’s like to be an insider. Now I am being punished for leaving their special club and revealing to you their great scam. Because I used to be part of the club, I’m the only one who can fix it. I’m doing this for the people, and this movement is just right – and we will take back this country for you and Make America Great Again.

The corrupt establishment knows that we are an existential threat to their criminal enterprise. They know, that if we win, their power is gone and returned to you. The clouds hanging over our government can be lifted, and replaced with a bright future – but it all depends on whether we let the New York Times decide our future, or whether we let the American people decide our future.

If this Clinton Campaign of Destruction is allowed to work, then no other highly successful person – which is what our country needs – will ever again run for this office.

I will not lie to you. These false attacks hurt. To be lied about, to be slandered, to be smeared so publicly and before your family, is painful.

What the Clinton Machine is doing to me, and my family, is egregious beyond words. It is reprehensible beyond description.

But I also know, it’s not about me – it’s about all of you. It’s about all of us, together, as a country.

It’s about the Veterans who need medical care, the mothers who’ve lost children to terrorism and crime, it’s about the inner cities and the border towns who desperately need our help, it’s about the millions of jobless Americans. This election is about the people being crushed by Obamacare, and it’s about defeating ISIS and appointing Supreme Court Justices who will defend our Constitution.

This election is also about the African-American and Hispanic communities whose communities have been plunged into crime, poverty and failing schools by the policies of Hillary Clinton. They’ve robbed these citizens of their future, and I will give them their hope, jobs and opportunities back. I will deliver.

This election is about every man, woman and child in our country who deserves to live in safety, prosperity and peace.

We will rise above the lies, the smears, and the ludicrous slanders from ludicrous reporters.

We will vote for the country we want.

We will vote for the future we want.

We will vote for the politics we want.

We will vote to put this corrupt government cartel out of business. We will remove from our politics the special interests who have betrayed our workers, our borders, our freedoms, and our sovereign rights as a nation. We will end the politics of profit, we will end the rule of special interests, we will put a stop to the raiding of our country – and the disenfranchisement of our people.

Our Independence Day is at hand, and it arrives, finally, on November 8th. Join me in taking back our country, and creating a bright and glorious new dawn for our people.

Donald Trump, October 13, 2016 

Tucker Carlson Reacts to the FBI Raid on President Trump’s Home


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 15, 2022 | Sundance

Returning from a vacation that coincided with the FBI raid on President Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago, Fox News host Tucker Carlson delivered an extensive monologue upon his return Monday night.

Beginning by questioning the baseline assumptions, Carlson walks through the events as they are known. WATCH:

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DOJ Asks Judge to Keep Affidavit for Search Warrant Used Against President Trump Sealed from Public Review


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 15, 2022 | Sundance

If the search warrant affidavit was revealed to the public, the DOJ Lawfare tribe targeting Trump – within the DOJ National Security Division (DOJ-NSD), could not keep the benefit of selective leaks to their media stenographers.  It would be more difficult to frame the narrative.  [DOJ Filing pdf HERE]

On Thursday August 11th, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the justice department was committed to transparency in order to retain their integrity with the American public.  On Monday August 15th, Attorney General Garland asked the court to keep the records sealed.   The six-year pattern continues….

WASHINGTON DC – “If disclosed, the affidavit would serve as a roadmap to the government’s ongoing investigation, providing specific details about its direction and likely course, in a manner that is highly likely to compromise future investigative steps,” U.S. Attorney Juan Gonzalez and Justice Department counterintelligence chief Jay Bratt said in a filing urging the continued secrecy of the affidavit.

“The fact that this investigation implicates highly classified materials further underscores the need to protect the integrity of the investigation and exacerbates the potential for harm if information is disclosed to the public prematurely or improperly,” the DOJ officials wrote.

doj-filing – FBI warrant – Affidavit

The Inflation Reduction Act is “Orwellian”


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Aug 16, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Experts have stated that the Inflation Reduction Act will not reduce inflation in any meaningful way. So why is the White House spending $739 billion on this failed act? They have no idea! No Republican voted to pass the act, and the Democrats are yet again spending recklessly without reason.

The Congressional Budget Office analyzed the proposal and found it negligible at best. In fact, the CBO believes inflation could possibly rise in 2023 due to this expensive proposal. Estimates range from the act reducing inflation by 0.1% to increasing it by 0.1%. Furthermore, the Obamacare subsidies will be given to families earning up to $304,000 annually who do not need government handouts. The CBO also found that the 15% corporate tax minimum within the proposal will hurt businesses and prevent them from expanding.

“When you look at your next paycheck, remember that the Democrats voted to spend $740,000,000,000 of your hard-earned money to double the size of the IRS and to pay for their reckless tax & spending spree,” Senator Thom Tillis tweeted. So why is the White House expected to pass this legislation?

ABC News anchor Jonathan Karl questioned clueless White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “But let me ask you, it’s called the ‘Inflation Reduction Act,’ but the Congressional Budget Office, which is nonpartisan, said that there would be a negligible impact on inflation this year and barely impact inflation at all next year, isn’t it almost Orwellian?” Karl asked. “How can you call it inflation reduction when the nonpartisan experts say it’s not gonna bring inflation down?”

Jean-Pierre did not have an answer. She simply stated that the proposal is “making sure that billions in corporate America are paying their fair share.” We know from data that the IRS will target everyone and has historically gone after lower-income Americans. Another Democrat-backed reckless spending bill that taxpayers will pay for without ever having the opportunity to cast a vote.

Wyoming and Alaska Primary Elections Tomorrow – Liz Cheney and Lisa Murkowski Face MAGA Challengers


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 15, 2022 | Sundance

One-way voters in Wyoming and Alaska could sound a resounding message of support for President Trump would be to succeed in the primary challenges to Liz Cheney (U-Wyoming) and Lisa Murkowski (U-Alaska) on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON – Cheney faces daunting prospects in her effort to fend off the Trump-backed Harriet Hageman, increasingly looking at a life beyond Capitol Hill that could include a possible presidential campaign. Murkowski, however, is expected to advance from her primary and is already planning to compete in the November general election.

The anticipated outcomes at least partially stem from the nuanced politics of each state. Wyoming is a Republican stronghold, delivering Trump his strongest victory of any state in the 2020 campaign. Alaska, meanwhile, has a history of rewarding candidates with an independent streak.

But Murkowski enjoys an additional advantage in the way elections are being conducted in Alaska this year. Winner-take-all party primaries, like the one Cheney is facing, have been replaced by a voter-approved process in which all candidates are listed together. The four who get the most votes, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election in which ranked voting will be used.

Murkowski benefits from avoiding a Republican primary, “which she would have had a zero percent — I mean zero percent — chance of winning,” said Alaska pollster Ivan Moore.

Murkowski has 18 challengers in her primary, the most prominent being Republican Kelly Tshibaka, whom Trump has endorsed. (READ MORE)

North Korea Forms Alliance with Russia


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Aug 16, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

On Korea’s liberation day, President Vladimir Putin responded to Kim Jong-Un’s request to join the fight in Ukraine. In a letter to the North Korean dictator, Putin said North Korea had been a friend to Russia since Japan’s defeat during World War II. Kim is calling for “strategic and tactical cooperation, support and solidarity” between the two nations, and Vladimir agrees that it would be in the best interest of both parties.

Putin is seeking to “expand the comprehensive and constructive bilateral relations with common efforts” with the hermit kingdom. North Korea needs Russia and China to survive. In 2011, Kim J0ng-Un’s father, Kim Jong-il, visited Russia and negotiated a contract to send North Korean workers to Russia. US sanctions were intended to reverse this proposal but it was largely ignored. Both Russia and North Korea have been banished from doing business with the West entirely, so all bets are off.

This arrangement is certainly more beneficial for North Korea as it is desperate for allies. The move will undoubtedly anger the West, but this is the result of failing to hold diplomatic talks with Russia and imposing endless sanctions.