Tag Archives: Banking and Finance

Jan 28 2026

Big Picture: President Trump and Trade Using the Art of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy


Posted originally on CTH on January 27, 2026 | Sundance

People might be interested in the recent stories of Canadian Premier Doug Ford and his reversal of position on Chinese EV production. Ontario Premier Ford now welcomes Chinese EVs into Canada.

Or people might be interested in the recent story of the EU announcing a historic trade deal with India. The European Union is now looking to find new markets to replace the U.S., while simultaneously agreeing to establish a new immigration/recruitment process to accept massive numbers of Indian migrants.

Yes, Canada reverses their position on trade with China, that’s odd. And somehow the EU immediately forgets their demands for India to stop buying Russian oil or face EU sanctions, another oddity.  This is like watching someone you don’t like, get engaged to your smelly, fat ex-girlfriend. [Matthew 15:14]

Canada and the EU take trade and economic positions seemingly against U.S. interests. Simultaneously Mexico modifies all their trade positions to come into alignment with the USA. Yesterday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Mexico will no longer ship oil to Cuba.

What’s going on?

Well, to really understand what is happening you need to look at President Trump’s responses to all of the individual issues outlined above and take a much bigger picture view.  President Trump is the master of the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy.’

♦ CANADA – When President Trump was asked about Prime Minister Mark Carney creating a new trade agreement with China, President Trump responded that he didn’t care – it was irrelevant to him.  Yet, simultaneously inside the USMCA President Trump has the power to veto any trade agreement between Mexico or Canada and a non-member nation.

So, why didn’t President Trump care?  Easy, because in President Trump’s mind there’s not going to be a USMCA; so, he really doesn’t care if Canada runs to violate it.  In real terms, Canada doing bilateral deals with other countries, especially deals potentially detrimental to the USA, only strengthens his position on dissolving the USMCA.

If Canada violates the terms and spirit of the USMCA, it makes dispatch of the unliked trade agreement even easier.  Canada is helping President Trump remove the congressional justification they could use to block him.  If Canada is violating the USMCA (CUSMA), Congress is kneecapped from interference.

Provoking Canada into a trade position, that puts them at a disadvantage trying to stop the dissolution of the CUSMA, stops Congress from opposing the fracture, and then opens the door to a bilateral trade agreement, is creating a self-fulfilling prophecy that is entirely controlled by President Donald Trump.

[I pointed this out on the ‘Russian Sanctions’ map four years ago for a reason.] 

♦ EUROPE – In the last few months, the EU has been pressuring President Trump to join them in putting sanctions against India for purchasing Russian oil.  Suddenly, all those Russian energy issues are dropped, and the EU signs a trade agreement with India.  Again, just like with Canada, President Trump doesn’t care; he’s working on a much bigger objective.

Both Canada and Europe are independently, out of necessity, taking action that takes apart the trade and economic system they created.  At the core of the old trade system both Canada and Europe were exploiting the USA, exfiltrating wealth and skimming the independent entrepreneurial innovation that originates from within the U.S. economic system.

That necessary exploitation happened because the USA is innovative (freedom-based capitalism), while the CA/EU system is built on government control mechanisms.  The CA/EU energy policy is just one impactful example of their pontificating inability to be insightful when it comes to consequences.  The EU and Canada are now stuck looking for markets that will do the dirty jobs, provide them with core components, while simultaneously looking for markets for their finished products.

On the other side of the approach is President Trump, working to expand U.S. industrial dirty job capacity, create our own core components, then create finished goods entirely on our own.  A complete revitalization of the U.S. industrial and manufacturing base.  Our U.S. GDP is currently expected to grow north of 5%.  This is not happening by accident.

Additionally, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is not bragging about importing Indian IT workers in a vacuum.  If the EU cannot skim off the IT capabilities of America, they have to find another Braintrust to tap.  Just like the innovative dependencies of China, the EU is intellectually frigid; compliance is ingrained in their academia.  Within the USA, we still have foundational disposition of ‘screw you‘ in our DNA.

Look at the advancements of Artificial Intelligence, or AI. All of the growth in that tech sector is being led by America. President Trump is taking every approach to ensure we remain the world’s dominant power in AI development. As much as Elon Musk’s quirks and quasi-friendly politics annoys me personally, strategically, on the technology side, it’s good to see him chumming around with President Trump; at least that’s what I tell myself.

♦ MEXICO – This is where it gets really, super interesting.  You might remember that China was set to invest between $5 billion and $10 billion (total) in Mexico for EV auto manufacturing.  In December of 2023, three Chinese auto manufacturers, MG, BYD, and Chery, announced they were going to spend billions building new EV manufacturing plants.  Each Chinese manufacturer was initially going to spend between $1.5 to $2.0 billion.  By March 2024, the reasoning was evident – Biden was supporting it.

When President Trump won the November 2024 election, all of those Chinese investments and plans inside Mexico were cancelled.

As we noted at the end of last year, splitting the USMCA into two bilateral trade deals, one for Mexico and one for Canada, will be one of the most interesting and long-term economically significant moves in U.S. trade history.  It is going to be a lot of fun to watch these negotiations, and the pre-positioning gives us a preview of what is to come.  Mexico is doing everything almost perfectly in preparation for their bilateral deal, including their stopping of oil shipments to Cuba.

This alignment follows the Mexican government passing a sweeping set of tariffs against Chinese imports. The Mexican government, led by Sheinbaum, made moves throughout 2025 to stay in alignment with a favorable U.S. trade agreement.  Meanwhile, the Canadian government, led by Mark Carney, has been more antagonistic and positioning Canada to lose badly.

♦ SUMMARY: Some people have construed the bilateral trade preference of President Trump to be the elimination of globalism in favor of nationalism in trade agreements. While the outcome of Trump’s approach indeed aligns with that theme, it is not specifically the objective of President Trump to eliminate global trade, but rather to focus on specific interests in trade that benefit the unique nature of each party involved.

Canada can embrace China, and Europe can embrace India; in the bigger picture it really doesn’t matter.  These relationships only create dependencies which are the natural outcome of globalism.  From President Trump’s position, what really matters is what happens within our borders and how the United States economy is positioned.  This is President Trump’s singular focus.

Do you remember President Trump leaving the 2025 G7 meeting in Canada early? The final day invitation list brought Australia, Mexico, Ukraine, South Korea, South Africa, India, the United Nations and the World Bank into the G7.  President Donald Trump smartly exited the G7 assembly a day early, he departed before that crowd of interests arrived.  The world leaders came because the process to keep USA wealth inside the USA is against their interests.  That’s why they came, and that’s why President Trump left.

Globalism, in its economic construct, is a series of dependencies. However, the opposite is also true. If nations are not dependent, they are sovereign – able to exist without the need for support from other nations and systems. If nations are sovereign, then globalism is no longer needed. If each nation of the world is operating according to its individual best interests, the position of Donald Trump, then what happens to the governing elite who set up the system of interdependencies?

“G7”?

Jan 25 2026

Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino Holds a Press Conference to Discuss a Shooting During ICE Operations


Posted originally on CTH on January 24, 2026 | Sundance

More violence erupts in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the epicenter of where criminal leftists, illegal aliens and regional fraud operations -supported by political leadership- remain under scrutiny.

From DHS – “At 9:05 AM CT, as DHS law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault, an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. The officers attempted to disarm the suspect, but the armed suspect violently resisted. More details on the armed struggle are forthcoming.

Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots. Medics on scene immediately delivered medical aid to the subject but was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect also had 2 magazines and no ID—this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” VIDEO:

“About 200 rioters arrived at the scene and began to obstruct and assault law enforcement on the scene, crowd control measures were deployed for the safety of the public and law enforcement.  This situation is evolving, and more information is forthcoming.” (more)

President Donald Trump delivered a brutally honest Truth Social message noting the motives behind the local and state officials who are desperate to keep themselves protected from their involvement in criminal fraud of taxpayer funds.

In the surface this looks like an immigration and customs enforcement operation; however, just below the surface is a large criminal network operating in coordination with state and municipal leadership.  This is why the Mayor and Governor are trying desperately to keep riots on the streets.

[Source]

This criminal underworld is exactly why Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was selected to be Kamala Harris’ 2024 vice-presidential nominee by former AG Eric Holder.

[SOURCE]

Jan 23 2026

President Trump Discusses Greenland and Davos Debrief with Maria Bartiromo


Posted originally on CTH on January 22, 2026 | Sundance 

President Trump gave an extensive interview to Maria Bartiromo just before he left Davos.  The primary questions surrounded the announced deal between the Trump administration and NATO over the U.S. security request for Greenland.

President Trump said the NATO/Denmark security deal for Greenland gives the United States unlimited and exclusive use the country to build bases and systems for the North American defense dome.  President Trump also talked about the U.S. trade relationship with Europe and the friction points that still have to be addressed.  WATCH:

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Jan 23 2026

WEF Finance/Banking Panel – If Independent National Economies Continue Rising, Global Trade Drops and We Lose Control


Posted originally on CTH on January 22, 2026 | Sundance 

This is one of those conversations that hints around the edges of what the collapse of globalism actually entails.  As noted in the beginning of the WEF panel discussion by Christine Legarde, the construct of global economics was built upon a foundation of interdependent trade dependencies.  If nations are no longer reliant upon other nations for sourcing of goods and services, the global construct of banking and finance then begins to collapse.

Globalism in its economic construct is a series of dependencies. If those dependencies are severed, if each country has the ability to feed, produce and innovate independently, then the entire dependency model around globalism collapses.

Within the globalism model that was historically created there was a group of people, western nations, banks, finance and various government leaders, who controlled the organization and rules of the trade dependencies.  The action being taken for self-sufficiency, in combination with the approach promoted by President Trump that each nation state should generate their own needs, then the rules-based order that has existed for global trade will collapse.

If nations are no longer dependent, they become sovereign – able to exist without the need for support from other nations and systems. If nations are indeed sovereign, then globalism is no longer needed and a threat of the unknown rises. How will nations engage with each other if there is no governing body of western elites to make the rules for engagement?  The need for control is a reaction to fear, and it is the fear of self-reliance that permeates the elitist class within the control structures.

Global trade is now beyond goods and services and into the world of automated artificial intelligence. Legarde notes the tech sector wants/needs access to more global data in order to create the control systems of tomorrow. However, again the problem arises when sovereign nations refuse to dump their independent data into the bucket of data dependency.

If each nation of the world is operating according to its individual best interests, the position of Donald Trump, then what happens to the governing elite who set up the system of interdependencies. This is the core of their fear.

If each nation can suddenly grow tea, what happens to the East India Tea Company.  Who then sets the price for the tea, and worse still an entire distribution system (ships, ports, exchanges, banks, etc.) becomes functionally obsolescent.

In very real and actionable terms, some nations may sell cars without seatbelts, cultures might be different, even trans rights might not be recognized.

Yes Alice, in this independent and sovereign world they are talking about, things will be very different.

Freedom is that pesky thing to be managed. OMG! The horror of it. GASP!

“Those pesky proles might even barter with one another. Then what happens”?

Jan 22 2026

World Economic Forum Thanks President Trump for Stopping their Pretending


Posted originally on CTH on January 21, 2026 | Sundance

Yes, at the introduction to President Trump the business assembly of WEF leadership they actually thanked Trump and said President Trump has forced the assembly to stop pretending.  It must be the art of the deal, folks.

Following the introduction President Trump told the assembly of business leaders there was no need to repeat his prepared remarks and instead spoke off-the-cuff, giving thanks and praise to the audience specific to his intents and purposes.  During his impromptu remarks President Trump highlighted leadership in the audience and drew attention to their organizations and business interests. WATCH:

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Jan 21 2026

Ahead of Trump’s Arrival to Davos, Secretary Bessent Holds a Press Conference


Posted originally on CTH on January 21, 2026 | Sundance 

A large U.S. delegation, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio are traveling with President Trump tonight to Davos.  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and all of the key members of the cabinet are already there.

According to the official WEF schedule, President Donald Trump’s address is in the mid‑afternoon Wednesday January 21, with the Davos session set for 2:30 to 3:15 p.m. local time (8:30 to 9:15 a.m. ET).

The entire world will be watching this speech considering the geopolitical events of the past year, the current trajectory of global relationships that has been scrambled by President Trump, and anticipation of this moment being the inflection point in Western political history.

On the tech side, all of the information bots under the control of Canada, the U.K, Australia and the global intelligence apparatus will be turned on to control and shape internet opinion of President Trump’s speech.  The need for control is a reaction to fear. Do not discount the stakes at play; this is beyond the trillions – this is everything.  For the opposition to President Trump this is a zero-sum conflict.

Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent held a press conference earlier today to absorb and address some of the key questions from the international media assembly (SEE BELOW).  Combined with feedback from Secretary Lutnick and USTR Greer, the speech content is being finalized on the flight between President Trump and Secretary Rubio.

Trump’s Davos schedule, via the White House. Depart DC Tuesday evening

Wednesday in Davos:
2:10 PM – 8:10 am ET – Greets WEF leadership
2:30 PM – 8:30 am ET – Delivers his Davos speech
3:45 PM – 9:45 am ET – Bilats and meetings
5:25 PM – 11:25 am ET – Business reception

Thursday
10:30 AM – 4:30 am ET – Board of Peace Charter Announcement

Then back home.

Jan 13 2026

FED Chairman Jerome Powell Attempts to Evade Legal Accountability by Hiding Behind His Office


Posted originally on CTH on January 12, 2026 | Sundance

Regardless of how you feel about the Federal Reserve Board, I think we would all agree the construct of an autonomous central bank is outside the boundaries of our constitutional framework.  Factually, the Sea Island financial group set up the Federal Reserve as a system of control over the U.S. economy that was completely unnecessary.

That same ultra-constitutional mindset of omnipotent power permeates the recent statements by FED Chair Jerome Powell, who now attempts to evade a Dept of Justice investigation by hiding behind the ruse of his non-elected office.

Last year, facing ridiculous cost overruns, Congress questioned Powell over the insane spending proposal by Powell for a new office building.  Chairman Powell characterized the construction changes, that escalated the cost of the project from $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion, as ‘minor modifications.’  That’s $2.5 billions of taxpayer money.

A referral to the Dept of Justice was made [SEE HERE] following Powell’s testimony.  Things got ugly quickly when President Trump, a builder and renovator himself, took exception with the scale and scope of the ridiculous spending plan.

In an effort to both use his office as a defense, and simultaneously weaponize the power of his position, Jerome Powell waits until Sunday evening to announce he is being investigated by the DOJ [SEE HERE], and then he claims it is political targeting.

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[Transcript] – “Good evening.

On Friday, the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June. That testimony concerned in part a multi-year project to renovate historic Federal Reserve office buildings.

I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one—certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve—is above the law. But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure.

This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. It is not about Congress’s oversight role; the Fed through testimony and other public disclosures made every effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation project. Those are pretexts. The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.

This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.

I have served at the Federal Reserve under four administrations, Republicans and Democrats alike. In every case, I have carried out my duties without political fear or favor, focused solely on our mandate of price stability and maximum employment. Public service sometimes requires standing firm in the face of threats. I will continue to do the job the Senate confirmed me to do, with integrity and a commitment to serving the American people.

Thank you.”

Most Americans do not understand what the Federal Reserve Bank does, let alone grasp the concept of how the Federal Reserve construct has been weaponized against their economic interests.

Ultimately, at the core of the issues with the FED is the need for power and control by those who exist in the strata of high finance and banking; essentially, the originating assembly we call the Sea Island group.  This group, in synergy with the Federal Reserve, operates to control the U.S. government through monetary policy.  There is no other reason for the group to exist.

There’s no reason why banking (interest) rates cannot be localized, determined by each financial institution according to their specific area of focus, and the control of capital outflows determined at a level closest to the Main Street enterprise.

For decades a growing number of voices have been against the FED control over U.S. monetary policy.  However, the independent fiat of the FED is defended by all the beneficiaries of the controlled financial system.

Jerome Powell has consistently been politicizing his office through the use of policy. Now, he is claiming to be the victim of politicization, because he is being subjected to the same investigative rules that would apply to any other financial institution head who was guilty of fraud and/or mismanagement.

Jan 12 2026

Bessent Is Angry – Minnesota Governor Walz Refused to Provide Any Security for Treasury Secretary


Posted originally on CTH on January 11, 2026 | Sundance

It appears that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is about to discover what happens when you anger the Treasury Secretary, who happens to be the IRS Commissioner.   WATCH (Prompted):

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Jan 11 2026

President Trump Proposes One Year Cap on Credit Card Rates at 10 Percent


Posted originally on CTH on January 10, 2026 | Sundance

Details are scant, and I’m not exactly sure how this would work, but President Trump has proposed a one-year freeze on credit card rates at 10%.

[SOURCE]

As noted by Politico, previous “legislation sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and cosponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) would impose a 10 percent cap on credit card rates for five years. Similar legislation has been introduced in the House.”  Yet, unilateral authority by a President does not seem evident.

If anyone has any information on how this could be accomplished, feel free to share. I’m not sure how this can be done.

Jan 10 2026

Secretary Bessent Announces Regional Action to Block Remittances From any Entity Receiving Public Assistance


Posted originally on CTH on January 9, 2026 | Sundance 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is leading the charge to focus on Minneapolis, Minnesota Somali fraud rings for targeted regional actions.  The IRS Criminal Investigations division has been dispatched to focus on the Minneapolis region to identify fraudulent use of public assistance services, combined with the abuse of federal taxpayer funds.

These fraud cases, ongoing since the early 2020s and intensifying in 2024–2026, involve allegations of misappropriating hundreds of millions (potentially up to several billions) in taxpayer funds intended for child nutrition, autism therapy, housing stabilization, personal care assistance, and other Medicaid programs.

In a remarkable approach, Secretary Bessent announced during a Fox News interview that a regional targeting effort is now underway that will block anyone who receives public assistance from sending money overseas (remittances to foreign countries).  This is not a fee or tax on the remittance, or financial transaction; this is a complete block of their ability to send money overseas.  Anyone receiving public assistance will not be able to send money to foreign lands.

Yes, it seems like this is initially going to be subject to the honest admission of the money sender. However, with the IRS reviewing each transfer and cross referencing to public assistance records anyone who attempts to work around this regulation will be subject to federal laws on financial fraud, wire service fraud and potentially money laundering.  WATCH:

The interagency focus will eventually go nationwide, as with the new USAO position that focuses on public assistance fraud; but for now, that focused effort will target Minnesota.   Minneapolis will be the beta test for a national rollout.

All of the money service businesses in the region will now be reviewed and all financial transactions of $3,000 will be required to have an accompanying Suspicious Activity Report (SAR).  With DHS, FBI and now IRS investigators focused exclusively on the two counties involved in the Somali fraud rings, the fraudsters will be identified and prosecuted.