Cascading Trouble for FTX Crypto Exchange Leads to Inquiries of Campaign Donations to Democrats and Regulators


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on November 12, 2022 | sundance

FTX crypto currency exchange CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is a major donor to multiple progressive causes and politicians. This week as FTX starts to collapse, the financial system underneath the exchange looks more like a Ponzi scheme falling apart.

The CEO had been a major donor to regulators on Capitol Hill, and the tentacles of FTX extend to Ukraine where Sam Bankman-Fried was operating to support the Ukraine government with crypto currency collections and donations. The FTX corporation and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is now under multiple investigations.  Here’s the 90-second recap of the current dynamic. WATCH:

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(Via Daily Caller) Sam Bankman-Fried, prolific Democratic donor and ex-CEO of now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, funded the campaigns of members of Congress overseeing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), one of the key bodies tasked with regulating the crypto industry and the subject of Bankman-Fried’s aggressive lobbying.

Bankman-Fried’s FTX is currently under investigation by the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after Bankman-Fried allegedly moved $10 billion in client assets from his crypto exchange to his trading firm Alameda Research, and a liquidity crisis at his exchange which prompted the company to file for bankruptcy. However, prior to the agency’s probe, Bankman-Fried aggressively courted the CFTC – and funded several key lawmakers charged with overseeing the agency, pouring cash into their campaign coffers. (read more)

(Via CoinDesk) The past week has seen a dizzying downward spiral for Sam Bankman-Fried’s huge crypto empire. Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto exchange has paused withdrawals, and a tentative bailout from rival Binance appears to be kaput. That could put depositor funds at risk, and certainly spells a major setback for not only Bankman-Fried but for the cryptocurrency industry as a whole.

These downfalls aren’t rare in crypto, which is subject to extreme boom-bust cycles. But FTX and Bankman-Fried are unique in the stature they achieved before self-immolating. Over the past three years, FTX has come to be widely regarded as a reputable exchange, despite not submitting to U.S. regulation. Bankman-Fried has himself become globally influential, thanks to his thoughts on cryptocurrency regulation and his financial support for U.S. electoral candidates – not necessarily in that order.

These narratives about both FTX and Bankman-Fried are now clearly dead in the water, given recent evidence that everything was not as it seemed at the exchange, or at Bankman-Fried’s other firm, Alameda Research. (read more)

With Elections Over U.S. Multinationals Begin Announcing Job Cuts


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on November 12, 2022 

There was always a strong suspicion the woke corporations were holding back negative employment intentions until after the midterm elections.

Well, as expected, the U.S. multinationals are starting to announce advanced downsizing.

(CNBC) – Tens of thousands of tech workers have been laid off within days, as tech giants including MetaTwitterSalesforce and others shed headcount going into the final stretch of the year. At least 20,300 U.S. tech workers were let go from their jobs in November, and more than 100,000 since the beginning of the year, according to Layoffs.fyi, which tracks layoffs in the field.

Tech workers reported huge drops in confidence in their job security through the summer, as news of layoffs, hiring freezes and rescinded offers put a damper on what’s so far been a worker-driven Covid pandemic recovery.

But the latest headlines are all converging at once as businesses course-correct on over-hiring and acknowledge how rising interest rates are thwarting their growth plans, says ZipRecruiter chief economist Julia Pollak. (more)

Nov 11 (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) is planning to freeze hiring and cut some jobs as it strives to move the Disney+ streaming service to profitability against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Friday.

Chief Executive Bob Chapek sent the memo to Disney’s leaders, saying the company is instituting a targeted hiring freeze and anticipates “some small staff reductions” as it looks to manage costs. (read more)

As noted by Yahoo News, a “wave of layoffs” has begun that encompasses dozens of medium and large corporations [SEE HERE].

The layoffs, outlined in Yahoo, cover real estate, tech companies, banking, finance, automakers, EV startups, and brick and mortar stores like 7-11 and GAP.   It should not come as a surprise, but it is sad to see, nonetheless.

Within the economy, a great pretending can only last so long… then reality hits.

The skilled trades should likely end up in the best employment situation, with the tech sector the worst.  Service industries are also one of the first sectors hit when employment becomes an issue.

With rising interest rates, high inflation, excessive inventories, a shrinking production economy, extreme energy costs and diminished disposable income as a result of inflation and gas prices, there was going to come a time when it all starts to congregate.   2023 looks to be the year when economic pretenses collapse under the weight of having to admit a recession exists.

Dear Tyrants, You’re LOSING!


ProgressiveTruthSeekers Published originally on Rumble on November 9, 2022

We are the good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse. Challenges are a good thing; they strengthen us and forge our identities. They free us from complacency and limited thinking. They free us from living life on autopilot. When challenged, live in grace; no fear, no retreat, no surrender. You are not alone, and we SO got this!

Politics Globally is on a New Agenda


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Nov 10, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT from Thailand:  In Thailand, for the whole 2020, there is only 61 Covid deaths.
Few months after mass vaccination there is 20000 “Covid” deaths.
This year, I believed that there is an explosion of COVID illnesses and deaths, just like Canada. And the authority is keeping a tight lip about it.
Look like 2022 desease cycle is driven by the COVID Varients.

DC

REPLY: All of the death I personally know of are ONLY from those who were vaccinated. The NY Supreme Court ordered back pay to those who were fired for refusing the vaccines stating that the vaccine neither prevented anyone from getting COVID nor spreading it. It was a total PR routine and the politicians merely got their pockets filled thanks to bribes.

COMMENT From Brazil: So, about the Brazilian Elections.
The Brazilian military (DoD) were not allowed to access the source code by the Supreme Court.
The conclusion, the fraud is guaranteed, as the lack of transparency.
I wouldn’t want to be in Lula’s shoes. Now, everybody knows.
There was a huge fraud against Bolsonaro, because nobody voted in Lula.
Unbelievable, the world will not recover from this, the thing is going into free fall.
When the military cannot do its job, something is very rotten, they have no authority within their own country, so where does this external power or interference come from?
King regards,
R.

REPLY: Bolsonaro had to be removed from office the same as Trump, Putin, and Jinping. I have a video clip someone took at the Davos WEF meeting in 2019 where Bolsonaro said these people are insane. The EU organized a rigged election in Italy to get rid of Silvio Berlusconi. The EU rigged the Scottish separatist vote as well. The EU rules that Catalonia has no right to separate.

We do not live in a world where the right to vote is truly respected. Bolsonaro had to go for the WEF was out to remove him because he stood against their climate change agenda.
There is nothing we can do about this. It will play out and blow up in everyone’s face.

Another Brick in the Wall


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Nov 9, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

It is rare for a celebrity to speak out against the agenda. Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters has reached a level of fame where he can question the status quo as his legacy is sealed. Waters called Biden a “war criminal” for encouraging the war in Ukraine. “This war is about the action and reaction of NATO pushing right up to the Russian border, which they promised they wouldn’t do when Gorbachev negotiated the withdrawal of the USSR,” Waters declared. Amazing how a musician understands the situation better than politicians.

CNN attempted to argue with Waters, but he held firm. The reporter attempted and failed to belittle Waters by saying he should see Russia as the enemy as his father died in the last world war. However, that is precisely what Waters and any sensible human are aiming to avoid – another world war. “Don’t forget 23 million Russians died protecting you and me from the Nazis,” Waters said.

He then asked the reporter what he thought America would do if China began to line up on the US border. We all know the answer to that question. Imagine if China placed nuclear weapons in or near Canada and Mexico? The nuclear apocalypse would have already happened.

Many hold the same views as Roger Waters, but they are too afraid to speak up. The average person, who may not tune into political commentary, will listen to celebrities when they speak. The problem becomes the fear of cancelation. It is career suicide to question the current agenda. Pink Floyd cannot be canceled; they’ve been popular for far too many decades. The left “hippies” of the past are nothing like the hipsters today who encourage war and echo the voices of the elite.