Interview: Collapsing Global Finance with Martin Armstrong


Armstrong Economics Blog/Armstrong in the Media Re-Posted Oct 23, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Check out my latest interview with Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson.

The Interview of Lukashenko The West Refuses to Listen


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Oct 22, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The very question posed to Lukashenko demonstrates how biased the media is. There is ZERO independence and certainly ZERO effort by any investigative journalist to challenge whatever either side says in a war because it is always a propaganda war simultaneously. Zelensky was voted in to create peace and carry out the Minsk Agreement. The US and NATO told him NOT to negotiate peace. This is a proxy war and this is the real issue that the media refuses to even discuss.

The Albertsons and Kroger Merger Faces Legislative Scrutiny as European Company Ahold Assembles Competitive Bid


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 22, 2022 | Sundance 

Last week we discussed the announcement of a $24.6 billion merger deal between Kroger and Albertsons supermarkets {Go Deep}.  The majority stockholders in both companies are institutional investment groups, Blackrock, Vanguard and Cerberus.

The merger would consolidate the second and third largest food retailers in the U.S. and would certainly dilute the competitive dynamic amid the supermarket industry.  Concern over price controls and decreased competition has now arrived on the desks of DC legislators who are reviewing the deal.

(Reuters) – […] U.S. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar and Republican Senator Mike Lee were quick to say that they would hold a hearing to discuss the merger. A European interloper could make deal plans even harder.

Frans Muller, Chief Executive of Stop & Shop owner Ahold Delhaize (AD.AS), has made no secret of his desire to consolidate U.S. grocers. The Netherlands-based firm is already the fourth largest grocery chain. If it managed to cobble together a better offer than Kroger’s bid for Albertsons, it would become the second largest supermarket. Plane spotters tracked two Albertsons jets next to Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. base in Massachusetts in early August. Ahold declined to comment.

Ahold can also afford a chunky deal. The Dutch grocer has debt of just 2 times its $6.7 billion of EBITDA estimated for this year, according to Refinitiv. That’s 50% less than the average. If investors reckoned there was merit in a deal, Muller could also use equity to beef up the offer. At more than 12 times, Ahold’s price-to-earnings ratio is a fifth higher than Albertsons’, giving it currency.

Aspects of the deal might make it easier for antitrust authorities to get comfortable, too. Kroger and Albertsons would have a combined market share of 13%, whereas a deal with its Dutch rival gives much less of the pie. Ahold focuses on the East Coast of America whereas Albertsons has a big presence on the West Coast. So regulators wouldn’t have to worry about a larger Kroger shutting down competing Albertsons stores.

[…] U.S. senators who scrutinise antitrust issues expressed “serious concerns” about grocery company Kroger’s plan to buy rival Albertsons, and said they would hold a hearing in November on the $25 billion deal.

The announcement by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee antitrust panel, and Republican Senator Mike Lee confirmed a previous report by Reuters.

A Kroger spokesperson said the company looked forward to the hearing. “We welcome the opportunity to outline how this transaction will benefit America’s consumers by expanding access to fresh, affordable food,” the company said in a statement.

The Federal Trade Commission is expected to review the deal to ensure it complies with antitrust law. (read more)

This might be one of those rare times when a legislative and regulatory review may actually be beneficial to the outcome for the consumer.

December 16, 2020, Dozen Large Eggs $1.79

October 11, 2022, Dozen Large Eggs $7.29

(Source)

(DCBusinessDaily) – […] Scott Rasmussen Number of the Day shows 76% of voters have seen their grocery prices go up in the last month. The poll also found 60% of voters believe prices will continue to rise. Additionally, 54% of voters say gas prices have gone up in the last month and 59% believe gas prices will continue to go up. Ballotpedia’s poll methodology surveyed 1,200 registered voters from Oct. 6-8. According to the Ballotpedia website, the poll was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage and political party to reflect a fair balance of voters across the country. The margin of sampling error is +/- 2.8 percentage points.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) summary for the nation on Oct. 13, which found that the rate of inflation over the last 12 months stands at 8.2%. It rose 0.4% in September. In the last year, food costs have risen by 11.2%, energy costs have increased by 19.8%, gas prices have risen by 18.2% and the cost to purchase a new vehicle has increased by 9.4%. (more)

Insufferable J6 Committee Files Political Subpoena for President Trump Testimony as a Midterm Loss Election Shield and Insurance Policy


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 21, 2022 | Sundance

Yesterday, Politico noted President Trump had enlisted the law firm of Harmeet Dhillon as a proactive measure against a J6 subpoena. “Former President Donald Trump has hired a firm to engage with the Jan. 6 select committee on its forthcoming subpoena of him, POLITICO has learned.” {link} Less than a day later the J6 committee issues the formal subpoena.

Once again, the corrupt DC institutional system, and specific media participation, are identified by the leaks and recipients. The injustice system, DOJ/FBI always use the New York Times and Politico as their advanced public relations firms. The insufferable J6 subpoena details can be FOUND HERE.

WASHINGTON DC, J6 Committee – “Pursuant to a unanimous vote of the Select Committee, Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) today announced that the Select Committee has issued a subpoena to former President Donald Trump for testimony under oath and records relevant to the Select Committee’s investigation into the attack on the January 6th on the United States Capitol and its causes.

In a letter to Mr. Trump, Chairman Thompson and Vice Chair Cheney underscored his central role in a deliberate, orchestrated effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and block the transfer of presidential power, a matter central to the committee’s investigation as it reviews the facts and considers recommendations to prevent a recurrence of the violence of January 6th.” {link}

The committee is giving President Trump until November 4th to comply with the document request, with a demand for testimony by November 16th.

No president (executive branch) has ever been forced to give testimony to a legislative committee (legislative branch) because the very foundation of the demand violates the separation of powers as established in the constitution.  This legal argument will take some time to work itself out, and the (un)likelihood of the subpoena being successful speaks to the political nature of the theatrics in advance of the 2022 midterm election.

That said, having been the recipient of two J6 subpoenas, successfully defeated – in part thanks to your support, I can provide some insight into why President Trump enlisted the Dhillon Law Firm.

At least from my experience, there are only a handful of potential lawyers or law firms who will even take the case of a fight against a J6 committee subpoena because: (1) it is just so fraught with politics, and (2) the entire enterprise is a litigious and financial black hole.

The weaponized J6 committee has a bottomless budget, the J6 targets do not.  Ultimately, the financial cost is the root cause of why Lawfare succeeds.  It’s just too damned expensive to fight them off, even with great lawyers.  I can only imagine how much Steve Bannon has spent, and how much President Trump will have to spend.

Even a simple responsive letter to the committee, depending on scale and scope, starts around $10,000 and goes up from there; that’s just for the initial response.  If the initial response isn’t successful, the fight retainer starts around six figures for the next round… and that’s just a single and simple case.  The more complex legal arguments are exponentially more costly for the targets.  Justice system? Yeah, good luck with that.

Now, given the J6 subpoena against President Trump is likely to fail on constitutional grounds, let’s talk about the motive for why they would do this.

The J6 Committee has a timeline that is now extended beyond the midterm election.  This is not accidental.  The midterm election is likely to result in the House flipping from Democrat control to Republican control.  Keep in mind both Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are lame ducks right now.  Additionally, the people inside the J6 committee machinery are Lawfare agents like Mary McCord.

The committee is timing their political effort to extend beyond the midterms in order to shield itself from Republican scrutiny.  The oft familiar “ongoing investigation” shield becomes a purposeful technique to protect themselves, a transparent motive surfaces for their timeline.

Post-election, the committee will lean heavily on the media to avoid any/all discoveries of their malicious targeting conduct if the midterm elections remove the Democrats from power. This is the way these conniving and corrupt political lawfare agents work.

Unfortunately, the Republican wing is not an opposing force against the Democrat wing.  They are both wings of the same DC UniParty vulture.  So, we should not anticipate any full combat in the post-election House by an angered GOP against Democrats.  Everything will be optics; nothing will be substantive.

Bottom line, the J6 subpoena against Trump should fail, but that’s not the real motive for the J6 to push the subpoena against Trump.  They are using this Trump subpoena, and the long battle that will ensue over it, as a shield against scrutiny by a flipped power structure in the House of Representatives.

If Republicans win the House, Nancy Pelosi will retire. Bookmark it. There is no scenario where Nancy Pelosi will remain in congress after all of the political manipulation, she has done in the past four years.  Adam Schiff will likely be minority leader.

AOC Has Got to Go


Armstrong Blog/Politics Re-Posted Oct 21, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is no longer the progressive sweetheart in the public eye. AOC’s willingness to thrust America into war has caused her supporters to see her as a hypocrite and a coward. “I believed in you, and you became the very thing you sought to fight against,” one member in a Bronx AOC town hall event yelled. “You ARE the establishment!”

Her entire platform is crumbling. She came into the political sphere as an “outsider” who would fight against the establishment, but she is another swamp member. This is the same woman who pretended to cry at the southern border and demand that the encampments be taken down, only for her to ask the migrants to leave New York. Barely anyone showed up to her town hall meeting, but those who did had choice words for her.

AOC has voted to supply Ukraine with weapons and training. Her supporters were under the false impression that a progressive Socialist would be against a nuclear Armageddon. “You voted to mobilize and send money to Ukrainian Nazis! You are a coward! Where are you against the war mobilization?” one citizen shouted.

Hecklers began shouting, “AOC HAS GOT TO GO!” Her true colors are finally showing. She was never anti-establishment and never intended to be a voice for Main Street. This comes on the heels of Pelosi being booed at a major concert in New York and Jill Biden facing heckling at a Philadelphia Eagles game. All these incidents occurred in blue states. Things are not looking good for the Democrats this November.

Iranian Drones


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Oct 21, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The western alliance is not the only one providing military training. Iran has sent military members to Crimea to train Russian troops. Specifically, they are training them to use Iranian drones. There were reports of Russian troops visiting Iran in August to learn how to operate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Since then, there have been numerous reports of UAVs failing, but the successfully deployed UAVs are capable of causing serious damage.

Shaheds, also known as kamikaze or suicide drones, explode on impact and are capable of also carrying missiles. This drone is less expensive to develop, but it can travel up to 1,000 miles and leave a range of destruction in its path. Mohajer-6 UAVs can be used for spying purposes and can, of course, also hold a missile. Ukraine claims that they have shot down at least 200 drones and have the capability to jam radars.

Both Russia and Iran have denied trading weapons, but what do they have to lose now that all the cards are on the table? Russia has violated the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 by transferring arms from Iran. The West has already sanctioned Russia in every way possible. Numerous nations are placing sanctions on Iran now, but again, they are not too concerned. Tehran and Moscow, two nuclear powers, are strengthening their relationship and seem prepared to face any Western consequences while resuming trade.