Category End of Fossil Fuel

Jul 18 2022

Sunday Talks, Biden Energy Security Coordinator Amos Hochstein Spins Saudi Trip and Need for Windmills


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

CBS pretentious pretender Margaret Brennan interviews Joe Biden’s Energy Security Coordinator Amos Hochstein about the trip to the Gulf Arab States and subsequent energy policy developments.  [CBS Transcript Here] Hochstein spins the non-existing benefits of the trip by attributing the pre-existing Saudi cease-fire in Yemen as an outcome of Biden talking to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Quite a stretch.

Hochstein still thinks there is going to be a way for ‘western governments‘ to place price caps on Russian oil exports by getting the entire planet to agree only to pay Russia a set price for oil.  With Russia an OPEC+ member, and the members of OPEC not in ideological alignment with the Biden administration on a host of geopolitical issues, good luck with that.  The producers (OPEC) have control over what prices the consumers (Non OPEC) pay; they are not going to give up that mechanism just to please the Biden administration.

On the domestic front, while there is little possibility of a global oil production increase from OPEC, Hochstein claims to have assurances from U.S. oil producers they will increase their production capacity by November.  At the same time the institutions in charge of Biden energy policy are going to keep targeting the oil producers to destroy them. Quite a weird dynamic.   Hochstein finishes by saying solar and windmills are the future of U.S. energy production and if we invest more, well, we can save the planet. WATCH:

It is worth remembering what MbS said about the meeting: “We agree on many things, but we differ on a few others. Every country has its own culture and circumstances. I respect yours, you respect mine. Do not impose your culture on us. Do not impose your beliefs on us.” … “We agree we need to do more for climate change, but you guys are doing it wrong by favoring certain energy sources over others. The world needs energy security. We need all energy sources including oil & gas. We are doing our part on both fronts: climate change & energy security.” … “The stage of a country’s economic & social development must be considered in climate change negotiations.” … “We are increasing our production capacity to 13 million barrels per day (from 12 mb/d), but that is it. We cannot do more.”

The message here is: You guys do your part and invest more if you want to avoid energy crises, recessions and unemployment. Do NOT blame us!

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to Face The Nation. As President Biden met with Middle Eastern leaders last week, he was accompanied by Amos Hochstein, the Special Presidential Coordinator for International Energy Affairs. He’s with us now. Mr. Hochstein, Welcome to Face The Nation. Good to have you here in person.

PRESIDENTIAL COORDINATOR ON ENERGY SECURITY AMOS HOCHSTEIN: It’s great to be in person. Thank you.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So you were one of the few US officials in the room when President Biden met with Saudi leaders. Why was this trip worth the political risk? What did you get?

HOCHSTEIN: Well, I think this was a historic trip. First, it started just landing in Saudi Arabia in Jeddah, as the first-ever flight from for a president to fly from Israel, directly to Saudi Arabia, with the backdrop of Saudi Arabia, opening the announcing that they’re opening the skies for the first time for Israeli Aircraft, for all aircraft, including flights to and from Israel over its airspace, comes on the backdrop of a major achievement over the last few months of a ceasefire in Yemen, where 1000s of people have been killed. Over the last seven years, this has been the longest ceasefire we’ve had with a commitment from Saudi Arabia to work to extend the ceasefire even further; major announcements for food security and achieving contributions from the GCC from the Gulf countries on food security.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But none on oil, yet.

HOCHSTEIN: Well, we had a major announcement on cooperation on energy writ large. And if you recall, just before the President announced his trip just a few days before that OPEC+ made a- a major shift and its policies, recognizing that since Putin started amassing forces, the markets have been affected, and that there was a supply-demand issue and announced increases in supply over 50% for July and August. And I’m, based on what we heard, on the trip, I’m pretty confident that we’ll see a few more steps in the coming weeks.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So OPEC+ meets August 3. Saudi has some, very little spare capacity. So are you saying you got a wink and a nod that they’re going to pump more?

HOCHSTEIN: I think what we discussed, first of all, it’s not just about Saudi, it’s about we met with with the GCC and with Saudi Arabia. There is, I’m not going to go into how much spare capacity there is in Saudi Arabia and in UAE and Kuwait, etc. But there is additional spare capacity, there is room for increased production. As we’ve told producers in the United States, we’ve had conversations over the last several months and weeks, with OPEC. And I believe that there is still more room to-to see additional steps.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Saudi says it’s got like a million spare barrel capacity.

HOCHSTEIN: Again, it’s not just about Saudi, this is OPEC. So, there are other countries as well. So, we needed to see a little bit more. But let’s-let’s look at what has happened since the President announced his trip. Oil prices at that point were at about $120. Today, oil prices are around $100, $101. So that’s a $20 decline based on the steps–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –some of that economic concerns, though China, looking like it’s slowing and concerns here about consumption going down.

HOCHSTEIN: So there’s no doubt there’s never one reason why oil prices go up while goes down. As you know, in oil prices go up, they tend to say there’s only one reason; that’s the part of the political leadership. But if you think about it this way, over the last few months, the President has supplied the US market with a million barrels a day, which is a historic level from the strategic reserve. We’ve never done that before.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And that, what, ends in September?

HOCHSTEIN: No that-that will end towards the end of the year.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Will it end towards the end of the year? Can you afford to stop putting emergency supply on the market?

HOCHSTEIN: Well, look at what has happened. The private sector, as we talked to them, the United States said they can increase production in the United States by about a million barrels a day. But it’s going to take time to invest in it, it will come at the end of the year. So we stepped in, the president stepped in and said ‘I’ll fill that gap.’ So hopefully, my expectation is that the private sector in the US will have those increases coming, so we don’t need to have the emergency from the US government. In the meantime, we’ve seen the prices, both the oil price, but also the price of the pump has come down at the fastest rate that we have seen in over a decade. So, from over $5. And remember this just a few weeks ago–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –still pretty high, but it’s still pretty high. It may have come down a bit.

HOCHSTEIN It’s not $5 anymore, it’s now $4.55. And I expect it to come down more towards $4. And we already have many gas stations around the country that are below $4. So we’re this is the fastest decline rate that we’ve seen against a major increase in oil prices during a war in Europe, where one of the parties in the war is the third largest producer in the world. So these are extraordinary circumstances we’ve taken very tough measures to address them right away, both for the American consumer but really for global economy, too.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we’ll watch to see if those gas prices continue to fall. I want to ask you about what the administration is pushing around the world which is this concept of putting a cap on the price of Russian oil that is sold, so that it’s not cutting back on the amount but rather the windfall profits Putin can profit off of it. What’s to stop Vladimir Putin from just saying, fine, I’m just going to stop pumping.

HOCHSTEIN: Well, I think that the wait, look the price cap is–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Does that ruin your plan, if he does that?

HOCHSTEIN: Well, first, he could do that tomorrow, regardless of what we do on a price gap. You know, Putin has been an unreliable supplier, unfortunately. But I think what we’re doing is we’re designing the mechanisms so that he can still, he’d still would have revenues he needs those revenues to, that’s the only revenues he really has in his country. There’s nothing else in Russia except for oil and gas.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, JP Morgan says he’s got enough cash that he’s sitting on, that he could cut by 5 million barrels in that extreme example, that the price of oil would go up to over $300 a barrel, almost $400 dollars a barrel.

HOCHSTEIN: Well, what we want to be able to do is to mitigate where the price of oil on the world market doesn’t actually impact Russia at all, because we’re going to put a price cap, so that all they have is to get that price at no more than that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.

HOCHSTEIN: We believe that that is the way to do it. So if prices go up, he still won’t get that price and we can reduce that price.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Why would India or China comply?

Well, first, at the G7, a couple of weeks ago, the G7 endorsed this idea as a good idea. We’re now starting to have the conversations with the major consumers. And I would ask the question the other way around, doesn’t every buyer try to get a lower price? So, I think every buyer is incentivized to pay less. And I’ll go a step further. Right now, regardless of what you see as the global oil price. That’s not what Putin’s getting. So these headlines about Putin getting some kind of a math between how much is he selling times the price of oil in the world, that’s not his revenue, because he’s already agreed to major discounts–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –He’s still taking in money and he’s still funding this war. So–

HOCHSTEIN: That’s what we’re trying to stop.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right. But in the meantime, I want to ask you quickly about the president’s climate change efforts, this bill, and his proposal is completely stalled right now. The president says he’s going to take executive action, what is the plan? What are you going to actually do here in the United States?

HOCHSTEIN: Well, I think we’ve tried to get a plan where we can incentivize, great incentives for US investors–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –But you can’t block new oil and gas drilling, right? You can’t do some of those things, because they would counter your efforts.

HOCHSTEIN: Well, I think what we want to do in this in this bill that we’ve proposed, and we are hopeful that we still hope that that’s what Congress does, is to give it the kind of incentive assurances that we can have additional American investment in climate, renewable energy electric vehicles. Why wouldn’t we want to do that? Why would we want to make-to create an environment in which China is ahead of us? The rest of the world is making the investments and we’re not. We want to be able to put the kind of incentives that will be additional investment in the infrastructure for renewable energy, for solar, for wind, and for electric vehicles and for our nuclear fleet in this country. That’s how we get to climate. We didn’t get that today. The President is determined to take some action that he can through executive orders, and through other actions. We’ll see what we can do this weekend in the coming weeks. But again, I think that the responsibility here is to be able to invest into our future, whether we like it or not this those-some don’t like it. This is the future of energy markets in the United States and around the world. We got to decide do we want the US to lead, or do we want the Chinese to lead this?

MARGARET BRENNAN: You got to convince Senator Joe Manchin, we’ll be talking about that ahead in the segment, thank you very much for coming in. [LINK]

…”And then he said, Texas has no wind for the windmills.  Yes, Texas!”

Jul 18 2022

Precursor, The Larger Motive of the J6 Committee


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

The January 6th Committee in Washington DC has a much bigger bipartisan motive than most Americans understand.  The elimination of Donald John Trump from the political landscape is an exercise in protecting a surveillance state from the threat that Trump represents.

That said, I’m not sure that even Donald Trump himself realizes and/or appreciates the scale of threat he is considered to a system created in the aftermath of 9/11/01.  However, consider this a precursor to the next post on this website that will hopefully show exactly what the scale of the problem is.

Wyoming congressional representative Liz Cheney gets a lot of attention for her opposition to Trump; but what most people do not yet fully grasp is the direct and consequential nature of her opposition.  Liz Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has a vested interest in removing the threat of Trump because the real issue comes back to what her father created in the aftermath of 9/11, the domestic political surveillance state.

There are two defensive operations currently underway in Washington DC to protect the biggest issue that few people talk about.  The first is the objective of Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, the former Obama White House senior national security advisor and legal liaison from the executive branch.  The second objective is the J6 committee trying to stop Donald Trump from ever holding political office again.

Lisa Monaco is in place to protect the former Obama White House from legal and/or political responsibility in their weaponizing of domestic law enforcement operations inside the U.S. Dept of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Monaco’s undiscussed job is to target any entity who might reveal what Obama did, and what systems currently exist.

When you understand what Monaco is responsible for doing, you also understand why the National School Boards Association wrote a letter to the DOJ asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to use his influence and control over the FBI to target parents who attended School Board meetings in opposition to the agenda of the progressive left.

Alot has been written about that requested targeting operation, yet few people have wondered what mechanisms are known to the NSBA that would facilitate their request to the Dept of Justice.  In the bigger picture, the request from the NSBA was a request to deploy tools that only exist thanks to the bipartisan work of Dick Cheney and Barack Obama.

There is a currently ongoing national surveillance system that monitors you, me and everyone else that Washington DC might consider a threat.  It is within this system that you find the real issue and motive for why Democrats and Republicans would be united in their effort to remove Donald Trump as a perceived threat.

Many people have written about the political goals of the January 6th committee, yet few people really grasp what DC is trying to hide and protect from the American people.

It is only when you fully understand their motives that you can fully appreciate the scale of what they will do to keep the system in place.  A national surveillance system that was created by Dick Cheney and then later refined by Barack Obama.

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Jul 17 2022

Biden Visits Saudi Arabia, Returns with an Empty Tin Cup and Urgent Need for More Windmills


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 16, 2022 | Sundance

Joe Biden is heading back from an embarrassing trip to Saudi Arabia and the middle east.  Putting aside the fact that physically and mentally Biden looked weak, foolish, and generally incoherent, in an odd way he was appropriately representative of the current of U.S. influence on the global stage.

Before getting to detail, first it is important to emphasize a point that doesn’t get attention domestically.  Democrats are exceptionally weak on all aspects of foreign policy, specifically because their modern ideology is based on hypocrisy of a stunning magnitude.

Domestically, the U.S. media protect democrats by spinning everything into the best light possible.

However, on the world stage the non-western leaders like Putin, Xi and MbS use that hypocrisy like geopolitical ammunition.

Examples… Domestically the U.S. media do not bring up the Joe Biden Afghanistan mess, the rise -and current legitimacy- of the terrorist Taliban; or the brutal mess Barack and Hillary created in Libya; or the unauthorized intervention into Syria that created ISIS; or the complete fubar that was an illegitimate invasion of Iraq; or Hillary’s insufferable “reset” in Russia; or their inability to deal with China’s proxy province of North Korea, because they pretend it’s not; or the current circus célebrè in Ukraine.

Each region, and there are many more, a typical example of how modern democrats are fundamentally weak on foreign policy.  It is not just Joe Biden either; just about every leftist head of state within the alliance of “western democracies” are also pathetically impotent when it comes to influence on a global stage.

The U.K’s Boris Johnson, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern and France’s Emmanuel Macron are collectively as pathetic as Biden when it comes to leadership and influence.  Once they step out of their ‘liberal democracy‘ bubble, and head into a nation that doesn’t have state run media like CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Post, Politico and/or The New York Times, those leaders look like the pathetic fools they are.

Biden and the rest of the leftist heads of state decry “autocracy,” and wax philosophically about “western democratic values”, while standing atop two years of their authoritarian pandemic rules, regulations, mandates and unilateral fiats.   Consider their chase for their beloved climate change energy policy and contrast it against their political pearl-clutching over the energy inflation they created.

Is it any surprise that Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador want’s nothing to do with the other two knuckleheaded leaders of North America who are selling windmills while regulating traditional oil, coal and natural gas out of existence?  At a certain point, a good neighbor has to look at the duct-taped landscaping and say this is ridiculous.  I digress.

The point is that the so called “western values” are nothing more than high-minded think tank talking points.  Nowhere in actual policy do you find western values exhibited in real world action.   Biden wants to confront Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), or Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping over possible human rights abuses, while the same Joe Biden is locking up his political opposition under the justification of an insurrection?  Wait, what?

Yeah, so we started a civil war in Libya and thousands of people are dying in the aftermath. So what?   Biden is here to talk about the Khashoggi splinter your eye, not the Abu Ghraib plank in his.  And, oh yeah, don’t you dare talk about Biden shutting down pipelines and his beloved Green New Deal, just give the U.S. more oil damn you, or something.

I remember well in 2016 when the U.S. media were saying Hillary Clinton was going to mop the floor with Donald Trump at a foreign policy debate.  All Trump had to do was point out the stupid Clinton state dept hypocrisies and it looked like he just threw a bucket of water on the wicked witch.  Hillary melted, and it was hilarious.

Fast forward four years later and another foreign policy matchup was scheduled between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.  Do you remember what happened?  If not, it wouldn’t be surprising, because THEY CANCELLED THE DEBATE.  Why? …

…. Because Trump the peacemaker had just introduced the Abraham Accords.  There was actual peace finally in the Middle east. The U.S. embassy in Israel was built in Jerusalem, without violence.  The U.S. under Trump had a peaceful relationship and mutual understanding with North Korea and Kim Jong Un.  North and South Korea were talking about reunification.  ISIS was destroyed; there was no longer any issue with Syria, and Turkish PM Erdogan was both accountable and on a leash.  There was no conflict with Russia; no expansion of NATO and every NATO country finally paying for their own defense.  Yeah, go figure, THEY CANCELLED THE DEBATE.

Donald Trump had the upper hand in all of his foreign policy engagements, because Trump foreign policy was not inherently based on hypocrisy.

Joe Biden, not so much…

From MbS as interpreted: “We agree on many things, but we differ on a few others. Every country has its own culture and circumstances. I respect yours, you respect mine. Do not impose your culture on us. Do not impose your beliefs on us.” … “We agree we need to do more for climate change, but you guys are doing it wrong by favoring certain energy sources over others. The world needs energy security. We need all energy sources including oil & gas. We are doing our part on both fronts: climate change & energy security.” … “The stage of a country’s economic & social development must be considered in climate change negotiations.” … “We are increasing our production capacity to 13 million barrels per day (from 12 mb/d), but that is it. We cannot do more.”  The message here is: You guys do your part and invest more if you want to avoid energy crises, recessions, and unemployment. Do NOT blame us!

(Via Wall Street Journal) – After his meeting with the crown prince, Mr. Biden said he felt confident that Saudi officials are supportive of increasing oil supply in the coming weeks. But Saudi officials tempered expectations, reiterating that the kingdom would do what is needed to balance the market if there is a shortage of supply.

Any action, Saudi officials said, would need to be coordinated with the rest of OPEC+, a coalition that includes the Saudi-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and a separate group of crude producers led by Russia. OPEC+’s current production agreement is expiring at the end of August, setting up some crucial decisions about output for the Saudis and Russians in the next month.

[…]  Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said after the summit that there had been no discussion of military or technical cooperation with Israel.

Aside from the U.S. saying the Saudis would work to settle the war in Yemen, which it was already doing, the White House didn’t detail any specific human rights-related concessions that the kingdom agreed to during the meeting.

To the Saudis, the benefit of the visit was more immediately evident. From the moment Mr. Biden arrived at the gilded royal palace in this seaside city, Saudi officials enthusiastically held up the meeting as evidence of the crown prince’s renewed influence. State media promoted photos and videos of the two leaders together. Saudi newspapers later showcased images of the duo bumping fists and sitting together at a conference table. “All Weather Friends,” read one local headline.

“The fact that they’ve come and met means we can resolve these matters quicker and faster, because there’s a personal relationship, and the kingdom has historically had a personal relationship with the president of the United States,” said Princess Reema bint Bandar, the Saudi ambassador to Washington. “So, this isn’t a matter of turning the page. This is a matter of strengthening the relationship.”

Mr. Biden is the latest world leader to make the trip to see the 36-year-old crown prince after years of keeping him at arm’s length over the killing of Mr. Khashoggi. French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to Saudi Arabia in December, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the trip in March. (read more)

Jul 16 2022

If You Eat Today…


Armstrong Economics Blog/Uncategorized Re-Posted Jul 16, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

If you’re not from America, replace “Biden” with your elected official who is following plans for the Great Reset. The civilians and service members are the ones who truly keep our nations afloat and deserve praise for their efforts.

Jul 16 2022

WWIII is not Worth Supporting Ukraine in a Land Grab


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

The West is determined to invade Russia and they believe that they can destroy it despite the fact that they are no longer a communist nation or a threat. That does not seem to matter for they want war because Russia and China will not surrender their sovereignty to the United Nations under this Great Reset all for Climate Change & the WEF.

Indeed, many practical Western military strategists are starting to agree that Henry Kissinger’s advice must be taken and that peace negotiations should begin – NOW. There is a growing number of military strategists that realize that Russia and Belarus along with China and North Korea will all join to defeat the West and NATO which they see as the greatest threat now to humanity.

The West needs war because it can no longer maintain this Marxist socialism system borrowing endlessly with no intention to repay anything  back. This is coming to an end. Our computer has warned 40 years ago that the target for the collapse of socialism was due in 2023. Communism fell in 1989 and now it is our turn in 2023. Marx’s theories will be remembered throughout history. I find it interesting that it is forbidden even in the Ten Commandments warning that this idea of rob from one class to hand to another has never worked. We must now pay the price for this theory. When it was first imposed, over 200 million people died resisting communism in Russia and China. It is ironic that now we are the Marxism trying to impose our will upon Russia and China. What goes around, comes around.

Russia has been unable to use its air power because NATO is providing Ukraine with all the tactical information needed so they only need to turn on their radar minutes before launching and as such Russia cannot destroy those systems which have been supplanted by NATO. Either Russia takes out the AWACs providing that information which then is an act against NATO. The West thinks it is very clever in this arrangement but they really have entered the war and it is just a matter of time that this escalates out of control.

The danger here is that the West is pushing Russia into a very dangerous position. Russia can terminate the entire supply of arms to Ukraine by destroying dams that also form key bridges over the Dnepr. However, they can score a complete defeat of Ukraine by launching several dozen tactical nuclear weapons. What will NATO do then? These clever tactics of NATO being in the war but pretending they are not is a very risky game.

It is not likely that the West will ever take the advice of Kissinger and apply pressure to Kyiv to come to the table and face this unpleasant reality that they must relinquish their claim to territory occupied by Russians who they absolutely hate.

Jul 16 2022

THE COLLAPSE IS HERE & THE FARMERS ARE FIGHTING BACK


The Dive With Jackson Hinkle  Published originally on Rumble on July 15, 2022

Jul 16 2022

From Saudi Arabia Joe Biden Pledges to Keep Pushing Green New Deal, “I am Going to Use Every Power I Have”


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

During his press conference from Saudi Arabia, the installed occupant of the White House was asked about the possibility that congress will not pass the $500 billion spending proposal to continue the radical transformation of the American energy sector. [Transcript]

Q On the issue of climate, Joe Manchin obviously made significant news right now, which appears to be torpedoing what was one of your biggest priorities as it relates to energy and to climate back at home. Your message to those Americans right now who are looking for that relief that would have a wide impact as it affects the climate and energy specifically?

Joe Biden: “I am not going away. I’m going to use every power I have as President to continue to fulfill my pledge to move toward dealing with global warming.”  Thank you very much.” [link]

Put another way, “you will eventually eat the bugs.”

As previously noted, regardless of how much chaos, crisis and hardship they create, the collective western government leaders are not going to stop pushing their Build Back Better climate change agenda.  These are committed ideologues.  They are united in their objective and not a single politician is willing to see the catastrophic damage they are creating.

We the citizens of the ‘western democracies’ are in an abusive relationship with our own governments’.  The yellow vests in France, the MAGA movement in the U.S., the Australian labor unions, the Canadian Truckers and now the Dutch farmers are the unstable tremors for global political shifts.

They all followed the same pandemic spending instructions from the World Economic Forum, and western leaders have shown absolutely no desire to pull back and listen to the people as they move forward with their Build Back Better energy programs. Quite the opposite is happening.

Collectively those same leaders are charging head strong into their Build Back Better agenda, regardless of what that does to the global economy.

The collective sanctions placed against Russia are being used as a shield for the inflation created by their energy policy.   Everyone is feeling the supply-side inflation from Europe to the United States.  Additionally, their “climate change’ agenda and energy policies are creating economic turmoil, and now food insecurity

Their energy programs are creating massive global inflation.  That inflation is building up frustration like a pressure cooker.   People are growing increasingly desperate, and now the absence of food stability, a direct result of their collective attack on oil, coal and natural gas, could seriously change things.  They are standing atop a powder keg they call “the great reset.”

The looming shortage of food could be the pressure point that fractures the tectonic political plates.

Jul 16 2022

Pete Buttigieg Admits High Gas Prices are Intentionally Part of the Biden Strategy to Push People to Electric Vehicles


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

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a cabinet ideologue with zero experience in business or transportation, appears in the news admitted the high price of gasoline is part of the Biden energy agenda to push people into purchasing electric vehicles.  You’ll have a higher car payment, but you won’t pay for gasoline.  WATCH:

Jul 16 2022

Biden Fist-Bumps Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman During Greeting in Saudi Arabia


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

After calling Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (aka MbS) a “pariah” for killing CIA operative Jamal Khashoggi, a Qatar-based Brotherhood member who was working under the CIA cover of a Washington Post press credential, Joe Biden now greets MbS in Saudi Arabia with a fist-bump.  WATCH: 

It is pretty clear from the way Biden was prepping for the introduction, that a fist-bump was agreed between both teams.

Jul 16 2022

Wells Fargo Proactively Cuts Profit in Half to Save Funds for Predicted Loan Losses


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

This shouldn’t come as a surprise.  Most banks and financial institutions are being very careful right now as they prepare for the consequences of consumers running out of money.  All banks are securing reserve accounts in anticipation of defaults increasing.

July 15 (Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co said on Friday its second-quarter profit nearly halved as the bank set aside more funds to cover potential loan losses, while its mortgage lending business came under pressure from higher interest rates.

The fourth-largest U.S. bank reported profit of $3.1 billion, or 74 cents per share, compared with $6 billion, or $1.38 per share, a year earlier. Its total loan loss provisions were $580 million in the quarter, including a $235 million increase due to loan growth.

Under an accounting standard that took effect in 2020, banks must factor the economic outlook into loan loss reserves. Last year, the bank had released $1.6 billion from its reserves for loan losses as the economy rebounded from the pandemic.

Wells Fargo Chief Financial Officer Mike Santomassimo told reporters that retail and business customers remain strong, but the bank is prepared for a potential economic downturn.  “Things will probably get worse, but that’s already included in the overall scenario analysis and the allowance level we have for the quarter,” Santomassimo said.

[…] Big bank executives have sounded cautious so far this earnings season, with JPMorgan Chase & Co’s Chief Executive Jamie Dimon likening the macroeconomic environment to a coming “storm.” (read more)