Category Green Energy Not Reliable

Jul 28 2022

Fed Chair Announces Addition 0.75% Increase in Interest Rates and There will be More, After They Assess How Much Damage This Creates


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 27, 2022 | Sundance

While admitting that consumer spending had dropped; and while admitting that production of goods and services had “slowed significantly”; and while admitting that consumers have “lower real disposable incomes and tighter financial conditions; and while stating that “activity in the housing sector had weakened”, housing purchases have fallen; and while accepting that “business fixed investment seems to have declined in the second quarter,” Fed Chairman Powell announces his intention to continue targeting excessive demand.

If we accept that monetary policy can only impact the demand side of the economy (regulatory policy impacting the supply side); and if we accept all off the currently existing realities of a declining demand side, as outlined by Powell; then you might wonder what excessive demand is it that he’s targeting?   The answer to that question is the secret sauce.  They want less energy demand.   WATCH (2 mins):

The federal reserve, just like all the central banks around the collective western alliance, is trying to reduce the economy in order to reduce energy use.   This is the monetary policy side supporting the Build Back Better, Climate Change, regulatory policy side. {Go Deep}

They cannot admit openly what they are doing, but the bankers are trying to help the globalist politicians by shrinking their economy.  Raising interest rates into preexisting economic contraction is against their legislative mandate, because it only leads to unemployment and a smaller economy.

Powell is using the pretense of demand side inflation as a justification to raise interest rates.  It’s not demand driving inflation, it’s the energy policy.

Powell is managing the monetary side of the transition to a New Green Deal economy.

Powell is managing the economy into a recession to support the “energy transition”.

This is all being done on purpose.

[…] Mr. Powell said in his news conference following the Fed’s decision to raise rates by by 75 basis points that future rate decisions will be made on a meeting-by-meeting basis now that the federal funds rate target range is between 2.25% and 2.5%, which he deemed roughly neutral in terms of its impact on economic activity.

Mr. Powell said the 75-basis-point moves in June and July were unusually large and something similar at the September FOMC “could be appropriate.” But he said that the Fed can no longer provide “clear guidance” and will let the data determine what happens next. He said he still believes monetary policy will need to move to a restrictive stance and will likely be between 3% and 3.5% by year end. (LINK)

Jul 28 2022

Here We go Folks, U.S. Trade Imbalance Shrinks as Imports Plummet


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 27, 2022 | Sundance

Imports are plummeting… should be a good thing… trade imbalance shrinks…. that lifts GDP calculations…. but the problem is…

…. Consumer Demand Has Collapsed.

The state of the U.S. economy is not as difficult as the ‘experts’ always claim.  Simple business and checkbook economics always, always, tell you the future. You just have to be willing to accept things as they are, not as you would wish them to be.  Let’s have an honest chat. We need it.

Remember, it was November 2021, and no one was paying attention but retail hiring was negative.  The month before the 2021 Christmas holiday, when historically businesses would be adding people to their payrolls to support the increase in shopping, and retail businesses did no hiring. In fact, 20,000 retail jobs were LOST the month before Christmas.  Retail sales had plummeted. That was a major flare, no one paid attention. Everyone was distracted with the Supply Chain crisis.

Then the fourth quarter 2021 GDP result came in at 6.9%, massively higher than the visible reality on Main Street.  The reasoning was identified as a major increase in the value of inventories. While the Biden administration liked the GDP figure, the existence of the unsold inventory was another major flare.  Add unsold inventory units to the massive inflationary value of those units (+8%) and you quickly see the +6.9% was bad news, not good news.  Major increases in the value of goods have no value unless people are purchasing them.  It wasn’t happening.  Again, no one (except us) was paying attention.

Then the first quarter of 2022 GDP result came back with a negative 1.6% result.  With high inflation those inventories were stagnant.  The eight-percentage point GDP swing from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022 was another warning flare.  Again, no one was truly paying attention.  Retail sales -as measured in units purchased- had been in a contracting position since June of 2021, when the stimulus ran out.  However, skyrocketing inflation was hiding lower unit sales.

With inventories stagnant, purchase orders to manufacturers stopped. Orders for non-durable consumer goods dropped.

Due to lengthy supply chains, including trans-pacific shipments, the process to stop deliveries in the electronic goods sector takes around 90-days before the drop in retail sales reaches the manufacturer to stop production.  Here is the announcement from Samsung: “Samsung Electronics is temporarily halting new procurement orders and asking multiple suppliers to delay or reduce shipments of components and parts for several weeks due to swelling inventories and global inflation concerns, sources have told Nikkei Asia.” 

Pay attention to the dates.  Prices were dropping because consumers were not spending:

If the USA economy was really in the shape that appeared statistically, you would see it on Main Street.  We did see it on Main Street.  Consumer purchases of non-essential goods had stalled and contracted.  Everyone was paying more for food, energy, housing and fuel.  There was/is no room in the household budget to spend on non-essential purchases.  People are hunkering down.  That was very visible.

When the U.S. consumer stops purchasing goods, the overseas suppliers of those goods need to stop manufacturing and sending them here.  As a result, if the economy was in really bad shape, we would expect that imports would drop dramatically.  This drop in imports would obviously impact the trade deficit.  Well….

WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) – The U.S. trade deficit in goods narrowed sharply in June as exports surged, while business spending on equipment remained strong, reducing the risk that the economy contracted again in the second quarter.

The better-than-expected reports from the Commerce Department on Wednesday left economists scrambling to upgrade their gross domestic product estimates for the last quarter, which had ranged from negative to barely growing. The data were published ahead of the release on Thursday of the advance second-quarter GDP estimate.

[…] The goods trade deficit shrank 5.6% to $98.2 billion, the smallest since last November. Goods exports increased $4.4 billion to $181.5 billion. There were strong gains in exports of food and industrial goods. But fewer capital and consumer goods as well as motor vehicles and parts were exported.

Imports of goods fell $1.5 billion to $279.7 billion. They were pulled down by imports of motor vehicles and food.

[…]  The Commerce Department also reported on Wednesday that wholesale inventories increased 1.9% in June, while stocks at retailers rose 2.0%. Retail inventories were boosted by a 3.1% jump in motor vehicle stocks.  Excluding motor vehicles, retail inventories increased 1.6%. This component goes into the calculation of GDP.

And here comes the kicker….

[…] According to a Reuters survey of economists, GDP likely increased at a 0.5% annualized rate in the second quarter. The survey was conducted before Wednesday’s data. The economy contracted at a 1.6% pace in the first quarter.  Investors have been nervous about another negative quarterly GDP reading, which would mean a technical recession. (read more)

Does that 0.5% look familiar?  It should.

From CTH in June: “We can see no political scenario where the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will report a negative second quarter GDP number, despite the reality of a contracted economy.” … “CTH predicts the BEA is likely to generate a statistical report somewhere in the +0.5% range. Just enough positive GDP to avoid the literal definition of a recession.  The BEA report will be issued at the end of July and if they follow recent patterns, they will likely underestimate the inflation rate as well as under-calculate the import data.”

From CTH in July: “CTH has predicted the people within the BEA research group, ie those who make the determinations of GDP, will circle the statistical wagons and generate something akin to a positive 0.5% GDP figure for Q2.“

Three other factors also impact the import data. (1) Operation hide the ships continues (CA regulation issue). (2) There is an ongoing labor dispute with the west coast longshoreman union, and shippers trying to avoid issues are rerouting to Gulf of Mexico and East coast. And (3) There is an ongoing independent truckers strike and protest happening at California ports.   All of these provide convenient justifications for lower port data, which, conveniently for the Biden administration, inflates GDP.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis is likely to attribute a 0.5% calculation of GDP (release tomorrow) to the lowering of imports (a deduction to GDP) and then apply a liberal dose of inflation to the value of goods and services created by the economy.

A +0.5% BEA result avoids the pesky technical definition of a recession.

Jul 27 2022

Kamala Harris Clarifies Her Personage During White House Round Table


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 26, 2022 | Sundance

Just in case you were unaware Ms. Harris wants you to be aware:

“Good afternoon.  I want to welcome these leaders for coming in to have this very important discussion about some of the most pressing issues of our time.  I am Kamala Harris.  My pronouns are “she” and “her.”  I am a woman sitting at the table wearing a blue suit.”

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The cultural Marxists are working overtime to make people believe this is now the acceptable social norm.  It’s not, it’s just plain weird and goofy.

[Transcript] …”I’ve asked these leaders to come in so that we can discuss these issues and pay attention to the fact that the Dobbs decision and the act of the United States Supreme Court to take away a constitutional right, that had been recognized, from the people of America will impact a lot of people and differently in some situations.  And we need to be responsive to these issues and also lift up the voices of all people who will be impacted and the way that they will be impacted. So that’s why we are convened today.  And I will add a couple of points of the impact in terms of the direct impact that we anticipate there will be from the Dobbs decision”…

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Jul 27 2022

Senator Chuck Grassley Outlines “Systemic Institutional Corruption” Within Dept of Justice and FBI


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 26, 2022 | Sundance 

Yesterday, Senator Chuck Grassley sent a letter [pdf HERE] to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Chris Wray, notifying them of whistleblower allegations from within the FBI that senior leadership in both Main Justice and FBI are involved in a coordinated effort to cover-up criminal activity related to Hunter Biden.

The whistleblower allegations, in combination with the documented history of DOJ and FBI misconduct, culminate in Senator Grassley stating:

“If these allegations are true and accurate, the Justice Department and FBI are – and have been – institutionally corrupted to their very core to the point in which the United States Congress and the American people will have no confidence in the equal application of the law. Attorney General Garland and Director Wray, simply put, based on the allegations that I’ve received from numerous whistleblowers, you have systemic and existential problems within your agencies.” (LINK)

Unfortunately, what this amounts to, is Senator Grassley is telling Chris Wray and Merrick Garland, the leaders of the institutionally corrupt activity, that they are systemically corrupt. Which is akin to telling a criminal that he is engaged in unlawful conduct.

Our friend Techno Fog breaks down the outlined allegations succinctly HERE.  Absolutely none of the information contained in the allegations is surprising or new to anyone who has followed the details of Main Justice and FBI activity through the past several years.  What Grassley outlines is simply evidence, supportive evidence, of what has been transparently obvious to those who have reviewed the DOJ and FBI conduct.

The U.S. Dept of Justice and FBI are now political institutions that have abandoned their originating mission in order to become the domestic equivalent of the Soviet-era FSB. Their joint targeting mechanisms have been redesigned to support the interests of corrupt DC politicians, specifically the interests of democrats.  Grassley is admitting what has been visible for years.

Senator Grassley is telling the corrupt DOJ-FBI leadership that people in the organizations are outlining the detailed behavior of their corrupt leadership.  However, with zero oversight involved; and with democrats in charge of all committees that would be responsible for such oversight; and with institutional media in alignment and agreement with the corrupt institutional intents of the DOJ/FBI; the frustrating question becomes, “and“?

I mean, who are we kidding?…  If republicans were in charge of the Senate Judiciary, Reform/Oversight, or Intelligence committees, do we really believe that anything would be different?   Before responding to that cynicism remind yourself, they were, for four years, January 2015 through January 2019 republicans were in charge of oversight.

It was exactly when republicans were in charge of Main Justice and FBI oversight, that Main Justice and FBI were targeting political candidate Donald Trump.

The letter from Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley, despite the major allegations it contains, carries absolutely no pretense of a process for the systemic institutional corruption it outlines.  Instead, the letter asks AG Merrick Garland and FBI Director Chris Wray to review their own corrupt conduct and/or do a better job of hiding their corrupt activity.

This fundamental flaw in the oversight issue is the Edward Snowden conundrum.  When the intelligence agencies are corrupt, and the heads of the corrupt intelligence agencies are in direct alignment with the corrupt heads of the intelligence agency oversight, where exactly is the whistleblower with evidence of criminal corruption supposed to go?

This is why and how the Fourth Branch of U.S. Government is now the superseding apparatus above all other branches.  {GO DEEP} This is why and how Barack Obama, John Brennan and Eric Holder created it, cemented it, and made it impervious to any effort to remove it.

The Fourth Branch of Government is evil Sauron and Washington DC is Mordor. The J6 committee is creating and dispatching Orcs to defend it.  The corrupt media have aligned with it, and the institutions in/around it are self-aware and fully autonomous.  To mix metaphors and overlay their ability to monitor every single aspect of every life that might seek to challenge or destroy it, Skynet -the end game outlined by Snowden- has been activated.

~ Read Techno Fog for Details on the Grassley Letter ~

[SEE pdf Here]

Jul 26 2022

EU Energy Panic Cycle to Begin


Armstrong Economics Blog/Energy Re-Posted Jul 26, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

On August 1, the European Commission will begin to reduce its demand for gas with no alternative in place. Unsurprisingly, our computer states that a Panic Cycle will begin in August or September and go into Q1 of 2023. Europe must reduce its gas consumption by 15% (45 billion cubic meters). In comparison, Russia delivered 150 billion cubic meters to the EU last year. Russia’s largest gas provider, Gazprom, has threatened to cut off Europe from gas entirely. Europe has no alternative solutions at this time. Therefore, they’re implementing a “Save Gas for a Safe Winter” plan in Brussels.

Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen claims that all member states will suffer from their proxy war with Russia, albeit some more than others (e.g., Germany). “It’s important that all member states contribute in the saving, the storing and are ready to share gas,” she said. Let us see how friendly this bloc really is when it comes to sharing an essential resource in limited supply.

Member states are now required to submit energy plans to the Commission by the end of September and update plans every two months until March 2023. There is proposed legislation that would allow the Commission the authority to declare a “Union alert” and impose mandator gas caps on member states.

The bloc plans to fill its gas storage capacities to 80% by November, but that may be a lofty goal. European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson expressed pessimism in interviews.  “We risk ending this winter with empty storage, which will be impossible to refill in time for the next heating season,” she warned, as this crisis is only beginning.  Simson and others are calling on the public sector to reduce demand.

This will fall back to the citizens, who will be asked to limit their consumption and abandon comforts for a proxy war they never voted on. Frans Timmermans, the Executive Vice-President of the Commission in charge of the European Green Deal, has already suggested people switch off lights and electrical appliances and reduce AC/heater usage. No one will stop these politicians from flying around on their jets, surrounded by bodyguards in numerous SUVs, while they make the people suffer for their poor policies.

Jul 26 2022

The White House Changed the Definition of a Recession


Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics Re-Posted Jul 26, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Governments have a way with words. Namely, they can change the definition of a word at the stroke of a pen. The definition of “vaccine” changed under the CDC’s guidance from “a product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting the person from that disease” to “a preparation that is used to stimulate the body’s immune response against diseases.” This permitted the COVID experimental injection to be called a “vaccine.”

According to some on the top US court, only a specialized biologist can define the term “woman.” “Mothers” has changed to “birthing people,” and words seem to have lost all meaning.

Now, the White House is changing its definition of “recession.” A recession was typically categorized as two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction, albeit not the best measure. Still, this was the tried and true formula for the government to determine the health of the overall economy. The White House now says that data from every facet of the US economy must be considered and foreshadows what to expect for Q2. The White House will not admit that the US is in a recession under Joe Biden. They will downplay the next GDP reading for Q2 and cite their newly formed definition for a “recession.”

Jul 26 2022

Weber Manufacturing Announces Layoffs Due to Collapsed Sales, U.S. Economy Shrinking, CEO Resigns


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 26, 2022 | Sundance

It is only one U.S. company; however, the makers of Weber Grills and products released their sales data, and the background shows a severe economic contraction that has resulted in their operating loss of $51 million in the quarter that ended March 31, 2022.  NOTE THE DATE.

July 25 (Reuters) – Weber Inc (WEBR.N) on Monday replaced top boss Chris Scherzinger with an insider and warned that mounting inflationary and supply chain pressures could hit the grill maker’s financials and workforce, sending its shares down 20% in premarket trading.

The company withdrew its fiscal 2022 net sales and core earnings forecasts, saying higher consumer prices and geopolitical uncertainty were squeezing store traffic as well as margins.

Weber, which also suspended its quarterly cash dividend, said it was pursuing a number of initiatives, which may include job cuts, reducing expenses and tightening its inventory levels.

The company also forecast a net loss for the quarter ending June 30, citing weak store traffic and higher discounting. In the quarter ended March 31, Weber’s net sales decreased 7% and net loss came in at $51 million compared with a net income last year. (read more)

Weber is a good company with strong fundamental products.  Unfortunately, the layoffs that are likely to soon surface are not going to be isolated to Weber.  The contraction of economic activity is going to start surfacing in the balance sheets of multiple companies this quarter.

We can expect to see a bloodbath of employment layoffs in this quarter (July, Aug, Sept) at the same time as the federal reserve continues to raise interest rates to support the new energy “transition.”

As noted in Weber’s financials, the consumer contraction started escalating more than six months ago.  Companies can only hide a severe drop in income for a short period, and then eventually cost-cutting decisions must be made.

Jul 26 2022

Tucker Carlson Outlines the Ukrainian Blacklist of American Critics, Including Rand Paul, Glenn Greenwald, Tulsi Gabbard and Col Douglas McGregor


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 26, 2022 | Sundance

The non-democratic, socialist and totalitarian Ukraine government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has created a blacklist of western voices that are considered “Russian propagandists” for their criticism of the Ukraine-Russia conflict. [Details Here]

The overwhelming commonality of the people on the list is their advocacy for citizens of nations who are providing support for Ukraine to have a democratic voice on the issue. The Zelenskyy government has stated it will not permit any criticism of their country and demands that all western nations continue to send billions of dollars to provide an appropriate lifestyle for all Ukrainian government officials.

Currently the burden of financing the continuation of the Ukraine government has fallen upon U.S. taxpayers who have provided approximately $60 billion so far for the pay and pension benefits of Ukraine officials and their families. President Zelenskyy says we have a moral obligation to continue this funding, and any voice who would question the process is now blacklisted within Ukraine and labeled a Russian propagandist.

Tucker Carlson discussed the issue with two of the people targeted by Zelenskyy, former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and journalist Glenn Greenwald. WATCH:

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Jul 26 2022

The Professional Republican Club Blames Inflation and More Discerning MAGA Supporters for Failure to Support Selected Club Candidates


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 25, 2022 | Sundance 

The professionally republican party members, led by Ronna McDaniel Inc, are not happy with the grassroots MAGA voters who are not filling their party campaign coffers at the anticipated rate.

If the donors of the grassroot MAGA base continue to withhold financial contributions, mostly due to a lack of club alignment with the priorities of the voting base and the right wing of the DC UniParty refusing to act for our interests, the professional republican club business may suffer.  The tenured board members of the club are not happy. Not happy at all.  [Washington Examiner Article]

Keep in mind, the only two times in the modern Republican club era when grassroots funds exceeded the corporate Wall Street donor class, was in 2010 with the rise of the Tea Party and then again in 2016 with MAGA and Donald Trump.

Small dollar donations (under $250) within the GOPe club were never a part of the established republican club priority, until they saw what can happen when the grassroots mobilize.  It was the scale of donations from the Tea Party base (monster vote) and MAGA base (monster vote) that stunned former RNC Chairman Reince Priebus in 2016. Mr. Priebus temporarily convinced the GOPe Club owners (board members) to tamp down their open hostility and verbal disparagement against the base.

The professionally republican club members, including Ronna McDaniel Inc, despise the vulgarian deplorables with a condescending intensity that drips from their pursed lips as they sip white wine spritzers from their crystal goblets at cocktail parties. It’s a similar dynamic of hatred on the DNC club side of politics toward the Bernie Sanders vulgarians; although Obama Inc (Plouffe, Axelrod, et al) taught the Pelosi crew to hide it better.

WASHINGTON DC – […] “We do these massive 3,000-person surveys to our donor file,” Moffatt explained. “The verbatim [responses have been:] It’s gas or this donation; it’s vacation with our children or this donation.” Republican insiders interviewed for this story were more guarded when discussing the Trump factor in the second-quarter fundraising downturn experienced by so many GOP candidates and groups, fearing reprisals by the former president. Granted anonymity, they unloaded.

Republicans are critical of Trump’s fundraising tactics and the money he has taken off the table for Republican candidates and groups to raise and spend. Save America, Trump’s PAC, issues dozens of email appeals daily and raked in $103.7 million this cycle. If the former president were sharing the wealth, perhaps Republicans would be less resentful. But Trump appears to be hoarding cash, $103.1 million through June 30, for a 2024 presidential bid. (read more)

Jul 26 2022

Even CNN Panel Cannot Support the Biden Administration Redefining Terms Because their Economic Policy Sucks


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 25, 2022 | Sundance

No credit to the CNN team for calling out the obvious; I mean, this is the same panel who redefined “insurrection” to fit their needs; however, the Biden administration’s efforts to redefine economics are so pathetic even the narrative engineers at CNN cannot support them.  WATCH:

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