White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders delivers brief remarks to the press pool discussing the government shutdown. Mrs Sanders notes Democrat leadership Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin and Steny Hoyer are playing political games with national security.  The border security impasse between Republicans and Democrats continues with a partial government shutdown.

Jumpin’ Ju-Ju Bones…. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases the December 2018 jobs report and the numbers are “eye-popping.”  ♦In the month of December 312,000 new jobs were added.  ♦Real wage growth now 3.2%.  ♦Prior October and November jobs reports were adjusted upward by 58,000 jobs.   Main Street USA is roaring!!

Here’s the data:  Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 312,000 in December. The unemployment rate rose to 3.9 percent (more static workers entering workforce).

Employment in health care rose by 50,000 in December. Within the industry, job gains occurred in ambulatory health care services (+38,000) and hospitals (+7,000). Health care added 346,000 jobs in 2018, more than the gain of 284,000 jobs in 2017.

In December, employment in food services and drinking places increased by 41,000. Over the year, the industry added 235,000 jobs, similar to the increase in 2017 (+261,000).

Construction employment rose by 38,000 in December, with job gains in heavy and civil engineering construction (+16,000) and nonresidential specialty trade construction (+16,000). The construction industry added 280,000 jobs in 2018, compared with an
increase of 250,000 in 2017.

Manufacturing added 32,000 jobs in December. Most of the gain occurred in the durable goods component (+19,000), with job growth in fabricated metal products (+7,000) and in computer and electronic products (+4,000). Employment in the nondurable goods component also increased over the month (+13,000). Manufacturing employment increased by 284,000 over the year, with about three-fourths of the gain in durable goods industries. Manufacturing had added 207,000 jobs in 2017.

In December, employment in retail trade rose by 24,000. Job growth occurred in general merchandise stores (+15,000) and automobile dealers (+6,000). These gains were partially offset by a job loss in sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores (-9,000). Retail trade employment increased by 92,000 in 2018, after little net change in 2017 (-29,000).

Over the month, employment in professional and business services continued to trend up (+43,000). The industry added 583,000 jobs in 2018, outpacing the 458,000 jobs added in 2017.

♦  In December, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose 11 cents to $27.48. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 84 cents, or ¹3.2 percent.

¹Remember, inflation is currently estimated at 1.6% to 2% (depending on sector).  Lower tax rates, higher wages, low inflation combined with lower gas prices means extra money in workers pockets; quite a bit of extra money actually.  This helps explain the more than six percent increase in 2018 holiday spending.  Almost every economic benefit is central to Main Street USA (blue and white collar).

♦  The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for November was revised up from +155,000 to +176,000 (increase of 21,000; the change for October was revised up from +237,000 to +274,000 (increase of 37,000). With these revisions, employment gains in October and November combined were 58,000 more than previously reported.

After revisions, job gains have averaged 254,000 per month over the last 3 months. (BLS Links)

The talking heads are stunned – watch:

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In the realm of everything geopolitical in consequence, a recent article from an interview with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro highlights the globalists’ worst nightmare. And the comments from the WTO reflects the global influence of President Donald J Trump.

Before getting to two key points, rather stunningly delicious points, it’s worth remembering that Brazil is the “B” in the ‘BRICS alliance’.  Before U.S. President Donald Trump took center stage in the world of international influence, the former governments of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) had formed a coalition.  Each nation represented an enlarged -and growing- regional trade/economic influence.

Shortly after taking office; and with hindsight – prior to the China confrontation; President Trump began a systematic process of challenging various economic influencers.  This is the origin of the Trump Doctrine .

By expanding U.S. energy development, strategically engaging with OPEC (Gulf Cooperation Council) States, and simultaneously engaging with Baltic States at the Three Seas Summit in Warsaw Poland, President Trump established the groundwork for downward pressure on oil prices.  This comprehensive and geopolitical energy strategy diminished the ability of Russia to maintain a consistent external financial influence.

(Tweet Link) – (Article Link)

Simultaneously, President Trump reset the framework for U.S. relations with India; and, while few were paying attention to the side-bar benefit of Nikki Haley, President Trump engaged with Prime Minister Modi in bilateral discussions of enhanced economic partnership. [See: India Invests $500 Billion in two U.S. Steel Operations]

In addition to India providing strategic benefit for trade market systems and access; an enhanced relationship with India also provides an economic foil against China. [Remember, Chinese President Xi is allied with, and heavily invested in, Pakistan.  India’s Prime Minister Modi is allied with, and heavily invested in, Afghanistan.]

♦ Big Picture – With President Trump focused on Main Street USA, the policies to support economic nationalism (Main Street) run in opposition to the multinational interests of  global financial elite (Wall Street).   The constructs of the World Bank (WB), World Trade Organization (WTO), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are necessarily weakened by the rise of President Trump and economic nationalism writ large.

At the same time as President Trump unapologetically confronts these multinational financial institutions, the people of Poland, Hungary, Italy and now Brazil; having felt no benefit from left-wing global policy (economics and immigration); embraced the more visible benefit of a nationalist economic policies and reaffirmed sovereignty.

Back to the BRICS…  What we now see is two central regional components of the BRICS alliance, India and now Brazil, allied in economic ideology with President Trump.

In essence: Russia is bleeding financially (oil revenue dependent). China is being weakened during the U.S. -vs- China trade confrontation.  And India along with Brazil are joining with the U.S.  This fractures the BRICS alliance. [Hell, it just about destroys it.]

That’s the background.

Now, lets take a look at the article from Brazil we cited in the beginning:

France24 – Brazil’s new President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday that he would be open to the possibility of the United States operating a military base on his country’s soil, a move that would form a sharp shift in direction for Brazilian foreign policy.

Bolsonaro, who took power on Tuesday, said that Russia’s support of President Nicolas Maduro‘s “dictatorship” in neighboring Venezuela had significantly ramped up tensions in the region and was a worrying development.

Asked by the SBT TV network in an interview taped on Thursday if that meant he would allow U.S. military presence in Brazil, Bolsonaro responded that he would certainly be willing to negotiate that possibility.

“Depending on what happens in the world, who knows if we would not need to discuss that question in the future,” Bolsonaro said.  He emphasized that what Brazil seeks is to have “supremacy here in South America.”

But wait, here’s the even bigger part of the story:

[…] Separately, Bolsonaro met with the head of the World Trade Organization, Roberto Azevedo, who said the government’s sharp rebukes of globalism were shared by many other countries and that the trade body was making changes.

On Wednesday, Brazil’s new Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo said that under his watch the country would fight for change at multilateral institutions like the WTO.

Araujo’s words were not a threat, Azevedo said.

“To the contrary, I think it was very propitious and compatible with what is happening,” he said after meeting Bolsonaro. “The World Trade Organization itself is beginning the process of reforms.”  (link)

Hello?

Wait.., wha?…

Mr. Robert Azevedo, the head of the World Trade Organization, is now acquiescing to President Donald J Trump’s position that the era of multilateral, multinational, financial and corporate trade exploitation, ie. “globalism“, is over.

The WTO has agreed to reform in order to survive? …And the WTO is admitting this to nationalist political leaders after their successful elections?….

Pinch me!

Winnamins.

STAT !

Big ones.

“Hey, Mitt”..

Oh dear.  U.S. President Donald J Trump just posted a graphic on his Instagram accountthat will likely make his political opposition go bananas.  Epic:

(Link)

From all appearances President Trump is not backing down from his demand for border security that includes a border wall physical barrier.  And while Democrats thought they had him painted into a zero-sum corner, well, there’s every indication the White House is prepared to let the partial government shutdown go on for months if needed.

This position now puts all the pressure on Nancy Pelosi.

It looks like President Trump tasked Chairman Kevin Hassett, of the White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), to run the numbers on how the prolonged government shut-down might have an impact on the economy.

Hassett’s rough estimate, calculated from the withdrawal of income from the furloughed federal employees, is around 1/10th of one percent per pay cycle (every two weeks) in GDP impact.  Little to no actual economic effect.

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Simultaneously, all of the economic adversaries, like China, are watching this and realizing that President Trump doesn’t bluff.  As they are engaged with representatives from the U.S. delegations they carry the concern that President Trump’s team is not afraid to embrace any political confrontation in their determination to achieve victory.

Methinks this won’t work out the way the Democrats originally had planned…

Tomorrow, Friday January 4th, the U.S. Labor Department will release the December jobs report which will offer an in-depth look at the labor market including: job additions, the unemployment rate, the labor participation rate and actual wage growth.

In the interim, the ADP National Employment Report provides a monthly snapshot of U.S. nonfarm private sector employment based on actual transactional payroll data. Their review of national payroll ledgers shows a stunning; 271,000 jobs added in December.

(link to ADP data – link to pdf)

FOX Business – […]  “We wrapped up 2018 with another month of significant growth in the labor market,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute. “Although there were increases in most sectors, the busy holiday season greatly impacted both trade and leisure and hospitality. Small businesses also experienced their strongest month of job growth all year.”

The better-than-expected number can be attributed to good weather last month and strong holiday hiring, despite a tumultuous month for the markets, according to Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi.

“Businesses continue to add aggressively to their payrolls despite the stock market slump and the trade war,” he said in a statement. “Favorable December weather also helped lift the job market. At the current pace of job growth, low unemployment will get even lower.”   (more)

Also released today was an interesting snippet from inside the Bureau of Labor Statisticsreview of metropolitan unemployment regions:

…In November, Ames, IA, had the lowest unemployment rate, 1.2 percent.

El Centro, CA, and Yuma, AZ, had the highest unemployment rates, 18.1 percent and 14.9 percent,respectively…. (link)

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivers a press briefing on the day the new 116th congressional session begins.  There is somewhat of a scramble as the press briefing was only recently announced.  Anticipated start time around 4:30pm EST.

UPDATE:   SURPRISE !!!  President Trump delivered the briefing:

Fox News Livestream Link – PBS Livestream Link – Global News Livestream Link

U.S. President Donald Trump holds the first cabinet meeting of 2019 and allows the media to engage for a lengthy question and answer session:

Hopefully President Trump can withstand the severe UniParty manipulation and actually get the troops out within the four month time-frame. However, with John Bolton as National Security Adviser, consider me slightly skeptical.  Bolton loves war…

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