Tag Archives: Inflation

Aug 10 2022

Was Judge Who Signed-Off on Sketchy FBI Search Warrant Raid of Trump Home, a Client Name in Ghislane Maxwells Little Black Book?


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 9, 2022 | Sundance 

There’s an interesting angle given the revelation that Judge Bruce Reinhart signed-off on the sketchy FBI search warrant for the residence of President Trump in Florida.

Judge Bruce Reinhart was the former U.S. attorney in West Palm Beach who spent 12 years as a federal prosecutor, before leaving his position in order to defend a network of employees who operated the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking operation.  First the background:

(NY Post) […] Reinhart was elevated to magistrate judge in March 2018 after 10 years in private practice. That November, the Miami Herald reported that he had represented several of Epstein’s employees — including, by Reinhart’s own admission to the outlet, Epstein’s pilots; his scheduler, Sarah Kellen; and Nadia Marcinkova, who Epstein once reportedly described as his “Yugoslavian sex slave.”

Kellen and Marcinkova were among Epstein’s lieutenants who were granted immunity as part of a controversial 2007 deal with federal prosecutors that allowed the pervert to plead guilty to state charges rather than federal crimes. Epstein wound up serving just 13 months in county jail and was granted work release.

[…] Reinhart was later named in a civil lawsuit by two of Epstein’s victims that accused him of violating Justice Department policies by switching sides in the middle of the Epstein investigation, suggesting he had spilled inside information about the probe to build favor with the notorious defendant, the Herald reported in 2018.

In a 2011 affidavit, Reinhart denied he had done anything improper and insisted that since he was not involved in the federal investigation of Epstein, he was not privy to inside information about the case.

However, in a 2013 court filing, Reinhart’s former colleagues contradicted him, saying that he had “learned confidential, non-public information about the Epstein matter” while employed by the US Attorney’s Office. Reinhart noted to the Herald in response that a complaint filed against him by a lawyer for Epstein’s victims had been dismissed by the Justice Department.  (read more)

Considering the FBI predicate for the raid on Trump’s home, as currently identified, is exceptionally weak; and considering the profile of the raid would have landed upon an ordinarily reluctant judicial desk; what if the FBI had leverage over Bruce Reinhart as an outcome of the case against Epstein’s enabler, Ghislane Maxwell.

The prosecutor in the New York case against Maxwell was former FBI Director James Comey’s daughter.

The client files of Epstein and Maxwell would be currently in the hands of the FBI.  If Bruce Reinhart was a client of Epstein it would explain: (a) his original motives to take up a defensive position on behalf of Epstein; and (b) current leverage for the FBI to use in order to get Judge Reinhart to sign a sketchy and dubious search warrant.

Was Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart a client of Epstein and Maxwell’s sex services?

It would be worth asking the question directly to see the response from current FBI Director Chris Wray.

Aug 10 2022

Farage, After Trump Raid People in U.K. Now Understand There Really is a Deep State


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 9, 2022 | Sundance

Nigel Farage gives a great interview on Steve Bannon’s War Room with his opinion of the FBI raid on the home of President Donald Trump.  Within the interview Mr. Farage outlines the shock that also shook the people in the U.K who see, many for the first time, that U.S. justice institutions really are politicalized.

One of the key takeaways from Europe is the realization that a Deep State really does exist in the United States of America. {Direct Rumble Link} WATCH:

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Aug 10 2022

Midterm Primary Election Night, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Minnesota and Vermont – Results and Open Discussion


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 9, 2022 | Sundance 

Tonight, the midterm elections are held in Wisconsin, Connecticut, Minnesota and Vermont.

In ¹Wisconsin a lot of people will be interested in the GOP primary race for governor.

The republican candidates include Trump-endorsed MAGA candidate Tim Michels -vs- Pence-endorsed Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch for the republican challenge to current Wisconsin governor Tony Evers.  Wisconsin has a strong establishment GOP club, and the MAGA team is at a structural disadvantage.

New York Times – Election Results Here

CNN Election Results Here

¹NOTE – As part of the club rules, Wisconsin does not have a statewide system for reporting unofficial results on Election Night, and there is not a central official website where results will be reported.  Results are transmitted from municipal clerks to Wisconsin’s 72 county clerks, who are required by law to post unofficial results to their websites. Click here for a list of all 72 county websites.

Aug 10 2022

He Looks Guilty, Joe Biden Refuses to Answer Questions About His Involvement Authorizing FBI Raid of President Trump’s Home


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 9, 2022 | Sundance 

Appearing to be medicated, today Joe Biden repeatedly refused to answer questions about his involvement in the FBI raid of President Trump’s home in Florida.

A few examples below. WATCH:

There is no way the FBI would conduct a raid on former President Donald Trump without involvement from the White House.

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Aug 10 2022

Second Quarter Productivity Drops Again, Companies Paying Workers More to Produce Less


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 9, 2022 | Sundance 

The previous first quarter productivity drop of 7.4% was the largest quarterly drop in 74 years.  Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports the second quarter productivity dropped another 4.6% [Data Here].

For July, companies are paying 5.7% higher wages and getting a 4.6% drop in output, resulting in a total unit labor cost increase of 10.8%.  That increase in final output cost will either result in higher prices or lower profits.

With weak consumer purchasing (low demand) already creating an inventory surplus, hence lower outputs, lower profit leads to cutbacks.  The largest company expenses are generally labor and energy costs. The more variable and controllable of those two expenses is labor.  You know what comes next.

(WSJ) – […] Rising productivity is the key to improving living standards; it allows companies to raise wages without raising prices and fueling inflation. Instead, businesses appear to be paying workers more to produce less. The higher unit labor costs suggest companies will either endure lower profits or pass on higher costs to consumers.

“The trend in productivity growth has worsened compared to prior to the pandemic, and the surge in unit labor costs makes the Fed’s challenge of getting inflation back down to its 2% target all the more challenging,” Wells Fargo economist Sarah House said in a research note.

The central bank has increased rates four times this year from near zero in March in an effort to raise borrowing costs, slow economic growth and bring inflation down.

The consecutive negative productivity readings are a reversal from earlier in the pandemic, when the economy was expanding rapidly and businesses appeared to be adopting new technology to cope with worker shortages and limits to face-to-face contact. (read more)

Meanwhile, “U.S. manufacturing output in June was down by 0.4% compared with March though it was still up by 3.6% compared with the same month a year earlier, estimates prepared by the Federal Reserve Board found. Three-month output growth was the weakest since early 2021, and confirms slackening momentum evident in other data on output, orders and jobs.” (Reuters)

This month’s inflation report (reflecting changes in July) will show a large decline in overall inflation. This will provide the White House with a false narrative of confidence that inflation has peaked.  However, food inflation (farm prices not yet realized) will combine with wage inflation (as noted above) sometime around October, and then we enter another round of rising prices.

The prices for durable goods have likely peaked.  If you are in the market for an expense item (appliance, furniture, etc) look for significant incentives to trigger in Sept/October; right around the same time when the layoffs start.  So, sit tight for a few more weeks.

However, the prices for highly consumable products will present a false plateau (Aug/Sept) until they go bananas again just before the Thanksgiving holiday season.

Prepare and time your affairs accordingly.

Aug 10 2022

Senator Tim Scott on FBI Raid of Trump Home, ‘We Need to Let This Play Out’


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 9, 2022 | Sundance 

It’s not very often that you get to watch a DeceptiCon evolve in real time.  Usually, with history as a guide, DeceptiCon extremists hibernate in the evolutionary process for years, only leaving a minuscule trail from which to find them until they detonate like stealth terror cells.   However, Tim Scott has prematurely detonated himself.

Appearing on CBS news to kickstart his 2024 presidential ambitions, and react/respond to the FBI raid on President Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago, Senator Tim Scott advances the DeceptiCon narrative, “we need to let this play out” etc.  WATCH, prompted:

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Tim Scott will eat the bugs while funding support for the pensions and benefits in Ukraine.

We are in a time of great consequence, the greatest in several generations.  This is a political street fight to save the nation.  Those who demand we “wait for referees” while team USA gets beaten senseless are, quite frankly, worse than useless.  They are on the other side.

Aug 9 2022

FBI Raids Trump’s Home – DOJ Planning Indictment – End of the USA As We Have Known It


Armstrong Economics Blog/Civil Unrest Re-Posted Aug 8, 2022 by Martin Armstrong


The Democrats are desperate to win in November and they are taking the United States down the drain in order to forcefully impose their will, or should I say the Great Reset. On the approaching 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, The Democrats are toying with what will most likely end in a civil war and the destruction of the United States. Never in the entire history of the United States has a former president been indicted for any criminal conduct. This has not been because there was never such an incident. Most importantly, the historic precedent is that post-term indictment is NOT legally allowed.

Americans don’t like the idea of criminalizing politics. Just look at Ukraine. In January 2022, Ukraine’s former president, Petro Poroshenko, landed in Kyiv and was charged with Treason by Zelensky in a case that illustrates the danger of criminalizing politics. So many other banana republics do the same. Once one party gets a hold of power, they try to prosecute the opposition.

Up until now, both political parties, as well as the public, see the prospect of post-term immunity as a guarantee that the country’s politics will remain civil and that power will transition peacefully from one party to the other. All of that is now crumbling before our eyes. That very percedent is what drove President Gerald Ford to pardon Richard Nixon. It was also the reason why the Office of the Independent Counsel decided not to indict former President Bill Clinton for perjury.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that his Mar-A-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, was been raided by FBI agents. “After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” Trump announced in a statement.

NEVER in the history of the United States has the FBI ever carried out such a raid. Trump publicly stated that his home was “under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents.” He also said that: “They even broke into my safe.”

Our computer has warned that 2022 would be a Panic Cycle in Politics and 2023 will be a violent year for civil unrest and war. The computer pinpoints these events that we cannot even begin to imagine the fundamentals behind them. But the Democrats have crossed the line. They are now trying to transform the United States into a banana republic of oppression and a direct assault on the very foundation of democracy. The nation has been polarized to the extreme. This is just going to put it over the top.

Aug 9 2022

Greece’s Public Debt Reached 193% of GDP


Armstrong Economics Blog/Greece Re-Posted Aug 9, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Greece’s debt problem has been unrelenting. The European Union refuses to consolidate member state debt, and Greece’s money woes have only multiplied since joining the euro. The global economic downturn is hitting the Mediterranean nation hard.

Inflation reached 11.6% in June, a rise from May’s reading of 10.5%. The Greek Statistical Service (ELSTAT) collected data noting a €13.417 billion increase in public debt from the first quarter of 2021 to the second quarter of 2022.

Fitch Ratings somehow gave Greece a positive BB rating. However, the agency warned that the nation’s debt ratio will likely triple other BB rated countries by 2024.

Greek’s public debt has reached 193% of GDP and has surpassed €357 billion. This is cause for concern, to say the least.

The EU crisis began on schedule with the political pi turning point from the major high that formed in 2007. Precisely on the day of the ECM turning point, April 16, 2010 (2010.29), Greece notified the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it was on the verge of bankruptcy. The euro fell to year-low levels by April 22, 2010, prompting the IMF to provide Greece with €45 billion the following day. Greece’s debt woes only worsened over the years, and the IMF decided that Greece’s debt was simply too high to support and urged for it to be forgiven. Brussels refused, and now Greece is in a situation from which it cannot possibly recover.

Aug 9 2022

Canada Bans Gun Imports


Armstrong Economics Blog/Canada Re=Posted Aug 9, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Canada is rapidly descending into a dictatorship under the rule of Justin Trudeau. Beginning on August 19, imports of handguns will be illegal. What has happened in the past when governments have seized guns from the people? Look throughout history, and you will find the same pattern emerges.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino determined that guns “have one purpose and one purpose only and that is to kill people.” Self-defense, the ability to remain autonomous as a nation, overall peace of mind – the list that he seems to have forgotten goes on. Criminals will always have access to guns. The people are completely defenseless now against both criminals and the government (perhaps, a synonym to criminals).

Conservative MP Raquel Dancho rightfully claimed that this act “will do nothing to stop the flow of illegal handguns.” “Instead of addressing the true source of gun crime in Canada, the Liberal government is unilaterally banning imports without parliamentary input, impacting a multi-billion dollar industry and thousands of retailers and small businesses, with very little notice,” Dancho said.

Liberal talking heads are actually blaming America for the new ban, citing the ongoing array of mass shootings. Guns have been around long before mass shootings emerged. The problem stems more from mental health, poor or absent parenting, and lust for 15-minutes of notoriety. As Joe Rogan said, America has “a mental health problem disguised as a gun problem.”

There is no handgun manufacturer in Canada, so obtaining access legally will be nearly impossible. The 2,500 stores throughout the nation selling guns should expect to shutter their doors soon. Purchases have not been outlawed entirely, but good luck obtaining a permit. The government has been attempting to buy back legal, registered guns in circulation. Estimates say there are one million handguns throughout Canada in a population of 38 million. No one should be surprised if they forcefully come for all guns.

Aug 9 2022

Energy Rationing in Spain


Armstrong Economics Blog/Energy Re-Posted Aug 9, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Spain is yet another southern European country feeling the brunt of inflation. Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) reported that prices rose 10.8% in July, an increase from June’s 10.2% reading and May’s 8.5% level. This is the highest level of inflation for the nation since September 1984.

Spain’s economy grew 1.1% in Q2, faring better than other nations, but this is a drastic decline from the 6.3% rise seen in Q2 2021. Energy prices have climbed 39.7%, and food prices have reached 9.8%. The government is simply asking residents to limit their energy consumption.

Airports, shopping centers, theaters, train stations, and all public buildings may not set their air conditioning below 27 C (80.6 F). Doors must be closed in order to preserve energy, and lights must be off by 10 PM.

Isabel Díaz Ayuso of the Madrid region is rejecting these measures. “Madrid isn’t going to switch off,” she said. “That generates insecurity and scares off tourism and consumption. It brings darkness, poverty and sadness, even as the government covers up the question of what savings it will apply to itself.” Unbeknownst to tourists, 4,500 people living in two sections of Cañada Real have been without electricity for nearly two years, and this has led to a rise in crime and extreme poverty.

Spain has also experienced two heat waves this summer. Yet again, the government is expecting the people to suffer for their own shortcomings. Spain is less dependent than other European nations on Russian energy, but they are still aiming to reduce usage with no alternatives in place at the expense of the public.