Tag Archives: End of Free Speech

Mar 17 2023

Financial Crisis of 2023


Armstrong Economics Blog/Banking Crisis Re-Posted Mar 17, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION #1: Marty, I think your warning about the collapse of leadership in government and the private sector rings true as Ken Griffin, the founder of hedge fund Citadel, said the rescue of Silicon Valley Bank shows the U.S. economic system is “breaking down before our eyes” because they bailed out the depositors. Yet Carl Icahn seems to agree with your saying that the U.S. economy is at a breaking point because of inflation. He said, “every hegemony has been destroyed by inflation.”

Very few so-called billionaires seem to understand what’s at stake. It makes me think they were just lucky in how they made their money. After Griffin’s comment, I would not be inclined to invest in Citadel. Then a group of banks is talking about depositing $20 to $30 billion to save Republic bank.

Is there any hope for the future when leadership is absent in these times of chaos?

UT

QUESTION #2: Thanks for everything you do. At the WEC, you warned about banks and even the big funds. The turning point was at the end of January here in 2023. Is it possible that this financial crisis will be the major factor even overpowering war when the ECM comes into play by April 10th?

CW

ANSWER: Anyone who does not understand that inflation is a natural occurrence when you get into a war is clearly not a student of history and has no business being the CEO of even the head local dog-catcher. The Roman deity Janus, after whom January is named, was the two face entity who looked at the past and the future. The doors to his temple would be closed when there was peace. That symbolized that nothing was at risk of changing. However, in times of war,  they would leave the doors open to symbolize the uncertainty of war that the spirits could flow in and out.

Only today, do we seem to no longer respect that the cost of war is both lives lost and inflation for those who survive. This Ukrainian Proxy War serves no purpose. Winning or losing will have ZERO impact on our national security or the future of the people. This is simply a grudge match instigated by the Neocons who perpetually love war as long as someone else is dying for their personal goals. To them, it is nothing more than watching a war on CNN and cheering as if it were a football game.

I have said that this war will undermine the entire US economy and that is now manifesting in the Financial Crisis of 2023 which will be far worse than any of these people expect. The lack of experience and the stupidity of those who remark that capitalism is collapsing because they are honoring the depositors is absurd. A depositor has NO WAY of understanding the financial status of a bank until it is too late. They receive no warning and yet there are those who say they should suffer the losses because that is capitalism.

Sorry, but that has NOTHING to do with capitalism. It is no different than FRAUD soliciting money with a false pretense. Investing in a hedge fund like Citadel is different from a bank. Depositors in a hedge fund know they are investing their money and they are getting a piece of that return. That is capitalism. Someone who has a bank account where their social security check is automatically deposited took on no such risk. Sorry – that is different that a hedge fund that goes bust.

The problem we have is that the ECM turning point is April 10th. Yet it is also the Pi Target from the fall of the USSR and the birth of even Ukraine. We just had Poland losing their mind and sending jets to Ukraine. That makes Poland a viable target for war. Poland is irresponsible given the fact that the Ukrainians slaughtered over 300,000 of them and has refused to ever apologize for their WWII Nazi involvement.

We have a problem here with the Financial Crisis simultaneously with important cyclical targets regarding war. Any personal interpretation I can offer is just a personal opinion. Both trends are colliding into April and this may be a two-prong panic of unprecedented significance.

Mar 17 2023

EU Central Bank Raises Rates Again Despite Weakened Banking Concerns – Supporting Climate Change and Assisting Central Bank Digital Currency Creation Most Important


Posted originally on the CTH on March 16, 2023 | Sundance 

The European Central Bank (ECB) raised interest rates again today, while simultaneously promising to support further bank bailouts that might come as an outcome of raising the rates again.   In the bigger picture there are two dynamics supported by the ECB playing out.

The first issue is the ideological effort to change the economic models based on climate change.  The Build Back Better (Green New Deal) policy, a traditional energy production control effort, is being supported by the ECB effort to shrink the EU economy to meet the rate of diminished energy production.  Make the economy smaller to meet the lower energy production rate.

Lowered energy production (oil, coal and natural gas) has raised energy prices; this is the fuel behind supply side inflation.  The Western policy created energy inflation is hitting every aspect of the EU, US and western global economy.  The prices of all downstream goods and services have risen dramatically as a result.  The European banks are not going to stop trying to make the economy smaller just because banks are failing.  That brings us to the second issue.

Like the first issue with BBB controls, the World Economic Forum action plan for government also includes the creation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).  The collapsing of the traditional banking system supports the agenda to create CBDCs.  Raising interest rates puts more pressure on already weak banks.  This is a feature not a flaw of the intent.

Shifting the economy from traditional oil, coal and natural gas is one aspect (climate change).  Shifting the banking system from traditional currency to central bank digital currencies is the second aspect (total govt financial control).   The banking instability is the crisis that facilitates the CBDC solution.   Ergo, continue raising rates and continue making the crisis more useful.

In the bigger picture, this is an ideological quest to fundamentally change the western economic model.  Support for that change is what we are witnessing as the EU central banks continue raising rates.  Ultimately, banks being controlled by government is the necessary step to achieve the second phase of the larger plan.

(Via Wall Street Journal) – FRANKFURT—The European Central Bank raised interest rates by a half-percentage point while promising emergency support for eurozone banks if needed, showing the policy makers’ balancing act as they seek to combat high inflation without aggravating strains in the financial system.

The ECB said in a statement that it would increase its key rate to 3%, following consecutive half-point rate increases in February and December. The 50 basis-point rise surprised analysts who had expected a smaller uptick given the tense market situation after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

At a news conference, ECB President Christine Lagarde signaled the bank would be cautious about further rate increases, while stressing it stood ready to provide fresh liquidity to banks. Policy makers will make future rate decisions based on coming economic data, she said, a change from previously announcing plans for rate increases months in advance.

“It’s not business as usual,” Ms. Lagarde said. “It is not possible at this point in time…to determine what the path will be going forward.” (read more)

Meanwhile in the U.S., the Fed/Treasury plan is to do essentially the same thing by supporting the big banks with over $2 trillion in available backstop funding.  The Fed is celebrating the big banks supporting the smaller banks.  Ultimately, this is the banking system downsizing and getting more control with less players.

Washington, DC — The following statement was released by Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen, Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell, FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg, and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu:

Today, 11 banks announced $30 billion in deposits into First Republic Bank. This show of support by a group of large banks is most welcome, and demonstrates the resilience of the banking system.  (LINK)

The implementation of a U.S. digital currency will become easier if there are fewer players in the banking system.  WATCH:

Mar 17 2023

Kevin O’Leary Discusses How Small and Regional Banks Will Disappear With New Biden/Yellen Policy…


Posted originally on the CTH on March 16, 2023 | Sundance

Small to medium sized banks along with credit unions are the best vehicle for Main Street USA small businesses.  Somehow in all the conversations about banking customers, this little factoid is seemingly, perhaps purposefully, overlooked.   WATCH:

Mar 17 2023

Senator Bill Cassidy Confronts Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Biden Tax Proposal, “That’s a Lie”


Posted originally on the CTH on March 16, 2023 | Sundance 

During today’s Senate Finance Committee hearing, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) questioned Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen about Social Security and the immediate cuts that take place in nine years if the current plan goes bankrupt.  The confrontation was professional, but also very focused.  WATCH:

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Mar 16 2023

Cash Not Accepted


Armstrong Economics Blog/The Hunt for Taxes Re-Posted Mar 16, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

There once was a time when cash was the undisputed king. Merchants preferred cash payments over credit, and there were often incentives for paying with paper. I recall receiving lower gas prices when paying with cash, for example. It is increasingly common to see “no cash accepted” signs at establishments as the world moves toward a cashless society. At the Federal level, there are no laws protecting consumers who wish to pay in cash. The Federal Reserve stated on its website:

There is no federal statute mandating that a private business, a person, or an organization must accept currency or coins as payment for goods or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether to accept cash unless there is a state law that says otherwise.

"Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," states: "United States coins and currency [including Federal Reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal Reserve Banks and national banks] are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues." This statute means that all U.S. money as identified above is a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor."

Yet, the Federal Reserve also recognizes that as of 2021, 4.5% of US households were “unbanked.” This means that 5.9 million households are unable to pay by card. This is the lowest unbanked rate since the Fed began keeping track in 2009. The most common reason for not having an account, reported by 21.7% of unbanked households, is that they do not meet minimum balance requirements. The second most reported reason (13.2%) is that people simply do not trust banks, while the third most cited reason (8.4%) was the desire for privacy.

If merchants refuse to accept cash, these people cannot participate in consumerism. Their legal tender is simply not accepted. Unbanked households are more likely to contain persons with lower levels of education, lower incomes, disabilities, single mothers, and minorities. As the Fed reported:

“Differences in unbanked rates between Black and White households and between Hispanic and White households in 2021 were present at every income level. For example, among households with income between $30,000 and $50,000, 8.0 percent of Black households and 8.4 percent of Hispanic households were unbanked, compared with 1.7 percent of White households.”

If cash is legal tender, then it should be accepted everywhere. Numerous merchants not only refuse cash but they charge an additional fee for using credit. Tennessee, Arizona, Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode, Colorado, and Connecticut have laws at the state level protecting cash payments. Some cities such as Washington D.C., Berkley, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco also have laws in place. However, I can assure you that many retailers in these areas still do not accept cash.

Washington wants to move us toward a cashless society to tax everyone, even those with the least to give, on every transaction we make.

Mar 16 2023

Swiss Central Bank Steps in to Backstop Credit Suisse Amid Financial Collapse – The Larger Geopolitical Dynamic is Clear


Posted originally on the CTH on March 16, 2023 

Before getting to the details of the Credit Suisse issue, it is worth taking a bigger geopolitical context to the dynamic.  The initial backstop sought by Credit Suisse was from the Saudi National Bank; however, SNB Chairman Ammar Abdul Wahed Al Khudairy refused more lending {LINK}.

This is where we need to keep the BRICS -vs- WEF dynamic in mind and consider that ideologically there is a conflict between the current agenda of the ‘western financial system’ (climate change) and the traditional energy developers.  This conflict has been playing out not only in the energy sector, but also the dynamic of support for Russia (an OPEC+ member) against the western sanction regime.  Ultimately supporting Russia’s battle against NATO encroachments.

Russia, Saudi Arabia and China are geopolitically aligned in interest against the western financial system.  As a consequence, when western banks find themselves in need of capital and cash, there is a layered geopolitical dynamic in the background to Saudi refusal that must be considered.

With multiple western banks now in trouble, Credit Suisse is also exposed, and, like U.S. Treasury/Fed intervention in America, the Swiss central bank has stepped in to backstop the looming collapse.

In the big picture we are seeing the ramifications of the ‘Build Back Better‘ agenda impacting the banking and finance sector which spearheaded it.  I am not seeing this discussed anywhere, as the western governments of the collapsing banks are being forced to intervene.

(Reuters) – Credit Suisse on Thursday said it was taking “decisive action” to strengthen its liquidity by borrowing up to $54 billion from the Swiss central bank after a slump in its shares intensified fears about a broader bank deposit crisis.

The Swiss bank’s problems have shifted the focus for investors and regulators from the United States to Europe, where Credit Suisse led a selloff in bank shares after its largest investor said it could not provide more financial assistance because of regulatory constraints.

Regulators in the private banking hub on Wednesday had sought to ease investor fears around Credit Suisse, which added to broader worries sparked by last week’s collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, two U.S. mid-size firms.

Asian stocks had extended Wall Street’s tumble on Thursday and investors bought gold, bonds and the dollar, leaving markets on edge ahead of a European Central Bank meeting later in the day. The bank’s announcement in the early European morning helped trim some of those losses though trade was volatile. (read more)

Again, I go back to the geopolitical map.  The yellow nations with sanctions against Russia are also the yellow nations driving the ‘Build Back Better’ climate change energy policy.  The grey nations are not in alignment with either dynamic.  It is not a coincidence the banking issues are all within the yellow nations.

(Via Daily Mail) Wall Street’s main stock indexes opened lower on Wednesday, as turmoil at Credit Suisse renewed fears of a banking crisis and sent shares of major US banks lower.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 396 points, or 1.23 percent, while the S&P 500 opened 1.09 percent lower and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.20 percent.

Shares of First Republic, one of the regional banks swept up in contagion fears after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, dropped up to 11 percent after the bank’s bond rating was downgraded to junk status by S&P.

In Europe, shares of Credit Suisse plunged more than 25 percent, hitting a new record low for the second day in a row, after the Swiss bank’s largest investor said it could not provide more financial assistance to the lender.

The Big Four trillion-dollar US banks suffered in early trading after yesterday’s rally. Wells Fargo slid 3.9 percent, Citigroup dropped 4.3 percent, Bank of America was down 2.2 percent and JP Morgan saw a 3.5 percent dip.

After the collapse of SVB Financial and Signature Bank, emergency measures by US authorities had soothed some worries about the health of the other banks, helping regional lenders stage a rebound in Tuesday’s session.

However, regional banks were giving back their gains in early trading Wednesday, with shares of First Republic, PacWest and Western Alliance all down between 2.7 percent and 11 percent.

[…] Driving investor sentiment was turmoil at Credit Suisse, after its biggest shareholder – the Saudi National Bank – said that it would not inject more money into the ailing Swiss bank.

Saudi National Bank chairman Ammar Al Khudairy told Reuters: ‘We cannot [buy more shares] because we would go above 10 percent. It’s a regulatory issue.’

The Saudi bank holds a 9.88 percent stake in Credit Suisse, according to Refinitiv data. (read more)

Yellow Team -vs- Gray Team:  Remember, China just brokered a deal to lessen hostilities between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The fulcrum of that agreement was economics.

Meanwhile in North America, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador has said he was not willing to join the energy suicide pact pushed by Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau…. A policy break in the trilateral relationship which suddenly, and not coincidentally, aligns with the timing to make Mexico a pariah to the U.S. vis-a-vis a renewed media push on the drug cartel narrative.

BIG PICTURE NOT BEING DISCUSSED – The western politicians followed the climate change instructions of the WEF multinational corporations and banks (Build Back Better) and post-pandemic immediately started reducing energy development.  The central bankers then began raising interest rates to shrink the economies of the same western nations to the scale of the now diminished energy production.

The raising of interest rates is now hitting the national and multinational banks impacted by government policy that was following WEF orders.  Now the western politicians are stepping in with the government controlled central banks to backstop the national banks and multinationals.  Can you see the dynamic?

Team yellow is suffering the consequences of their own ideological policy as enacted.  Team grey is not going to help team yellow get out of a crisis team yellow created, which was intended to hurt team grey.

…. And we continue watching.

Mar 16 2023

Joe Biden Brags About Lessening Massive Inflation He Creates


Posted originally on the CTH on March 15, 2023 | Sundance 

This is so far beyond hubris, the gaslight from where hubris emanates would take a year to reach it.

Joe Biden spikes the football on the Twitter claiming to have lessened inflation he created. [LINK]

I try not to hold negative sentiments, but I cannot help but loathe this man.

Mar 16 2023

Lindsey Graham and The War Drum Band Going Bananas After Russians Intercept U.S. Spy Drone Over Black Sea


Posted originally on the CTH on March 15, 2023 | Sundance

Senator Lindsey Graham (U-DC) is trying to get the Libyan band back together as part of the effort to escalate a NATO war against Russia.  In the latest development, according to the U.S. version of events, Russia took down a Reaper drone over the Black Sea:

The MQ-9 Reaper drone was making a routine flight before it was intercepted by two Russian Su-27 fighter jets on Tuesday. The warplanes dumped jet fuel on the drone and flew in front of it in a “reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner,” according to a statement from U.S. European Command.

One of the Russian aircraft then struck the drone’s propeller, rendering it unflyable and prompting U.S. operators to ditch it in the Black Sea. (link)

The Russian version of events outlines something akin to Russian pilots throwing a Pepsi at it.  As relayed by Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov:

[…] “I explained the position of the Russian Federation,” Antonov said. “I stressed that the American UAV that was moving deliberately and provocatively towards the Russian territory with its transponders turned off violated the boundaries of the temporary airspace regime established for the special military operation, which was communicated to all concerned users of international airspace in accordance with international norms.”

“At the same time,” he added, “the Russian fighters scrambled to identify the intruder did not use on-board weapons or come into contact with the UAV.”

“The unacceptable actions of the United States military in the close proximity to our borders are cause for concern,” Antonov said. “We are well aware of the missions such reconnaissance and strike drones are used for.” […] “What do they do thousands of miles away from the United States? The answer is obvious – they gather intelligence which is later used by the Kiev regime to attack our armed forces and territory,” Antonov said.

[…]  “Let us ask a rhetorical question: if, for example, a Russian strike drone appeared near New York or San Francisco, how would the US Air Force and Navy react? I am quite confident that the US military would act in an uncompromising way and would not allow its airspace or territorial waters to be breached,” Antonov said.  “We proceed from the fact that the United States will refrain from further speculations in the media landscape and stop making sorties near the Russian borders,” he added.  (link)

The United States govt/military justified their operation near the Russian border by saying we patrol everywhere in the globe doing these surveillance missions, so the Russians just need to stop being so sensitive:

[…] U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa routinely fly aircraft throughout Europe over sovereign territory and throughout international airspace in coordination with applicable host nation and international laws. In order to bolster collective European defense and security, these missions support Allied, partner, and U.S. national objectives. (link)

And, of course, Senator Lindsey Graham demands an immediate U.S. declaration of war against Russia:

Mar 15 2023

Russia Shoots Down US Drone, Escalating Fears of Hot War. Plus, David Sacks Argues SVB “Bailouts” Averted Financial Meltdown | SYSTEM UPDATE #55


By Glenn Greenwald Posted Originally on Rumble on Mar 14, 7:04 pm EDT