In the first week of April, James Hickson wrote in his daily newsletter:
“Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, did not open his annual shareholder letter with rosy language about the state of the world, or even enthusiasm about his bank’s record profits. Instead, he describes “yet another year of significant challenges” including the war in Ukraine, war in the Middle East, extreme tensions with China, higher food and energy prices, turmoil in the banking sector, outrageous government deficits, and even major risks with the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy. Dimon writes that “America’s global leadership role is being challenged outside by other nations and inside by our polarized electorate,” and that this is a “time of great crises”. He went on with a few charts and thoughts about the bank’s business and financial performance over the last year… and then dedicated most of the remaining 57 pages of his letter to the serious problems which face the world. His observations are wide-reaching– from the decay of social cohesion to the prospect of war and higher inflation, to the serious potential for a reset of the Bretton Woods system (which made the US dollar the world’s reserve currency).”
I think that is a very accurate appraisal of the current state of the world economy, central banks and political unrest facing the world at the moment. Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and others like them, have all sold large amounts of their own stock, which begs the question: Why? What do they know that we don’t? People are sensing the concern and unrest and moving to safe havens like cash, private digital currency and precious metals. Silver has increased and gold has hit an all-time high in the last month.
I have added a new category at the end of this update called “The Globalist Great Reset,” because nothing happens by chance or coincidence. What is happening today has been in the works for a very long time and is clearly being manipulated and coordinated globally, not by nations, but by multinational corporations and global elites who are pushing hard to eliminate freedom and take complete control of the world and its financial systems. That said, I am not saying it will happen the way they want, but it is important to understand what’s really going on so you can make decisions based on reality, not a fabricated narrative created to capture your attention and keep your focus on contrived events instead of what’s really going on. The question is, which narrative are you going to embrace? As the iconic line from The Matrix puts it: Are you going to choose the red pill or the blue pill? Will you believe and follow the carefully crafted narrative the world has laid out for you, or exit the collective narrative and find out how far the rabbit hole goes?
There has been massive activity in the areas of banking, financial transaction and exchange, as the globalists continue to push to their goal line. Most central bankers, banks, financial institutions and nations are moving toward a cashless, digital blockchain environment with digital identities. Canada is preparing to launch open banking, which 68 countries have already adopted.
LifeSiteNews: The Canadian government is setting the stage to bring in what is termed “open banking.” It is described as a “secure way” for customers to share their financial data with financial technology companies (fintechs or fintech apps). The holders of the account do not have to provide their online banking usernames and passwords. Instead, the data is shared by the customer’s bank with the fintech company, or app, through an online channel. Open banking is often contrasted with what is called screen scraping, which is when the third party is provided with the online banking username and password, enabling them to log in directly to the bank account as if they were the customer. Open banking has been adopted by 68 countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia. The U.S. Congress passed the necessary legislation to set it up in 2010, but it was not until last October that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a proposed rule necessary for implementation. The experience with open banking so far suggests that the benefits are mostly exaggerated and that, while it does not necessarily increase the risk of fraud, it does not eliminate it either. It just shifts the dangers elsewhere.
The Sociable: “The president of the World Bank calls on governments to launch digital identity schemes, so that they can be linked with the private sector and existing infrastructures.
Speaking at the World Bank Group’s inaugural Global Digital Summit last week, World Bank president Ajay Banga said that digital identity should be embraced worldwide, and that governments should be the owners, so they can guarantee privacy and security for their citizens.”
The Sociable: The European Union parliament says that the digital identity wallet will be voluntary, which is what India said about its own digital ID scheme before government agencies began mandating it for certain services. On February 29, the EU parliament adopted an updated regulation to the digital identity wallet, which European lawmakers assured would be used on a voluntary basis. According to an EU press release, “The EU wallet will be used on a voluntary basis,” while the “Updating the European digital identity framework” briefing adds that “the wallet is voluntary and free of charge for individuals, while businesses may incur costs. It does not replace existing identification and authentication means but complements them.” However, with digital identity, they can say it’s voluntary, but without it, you might not be able to access goods and services, such as opening a bank account or collecting benefits, as was the case in India. India’s digital identity scheme, Aadhaar, is a prime example of how the goal posts can shift over time. “Enrolment [sic] for Aadhaar is entirely voluntary,” reads a government press release from December 2013.
“Once everyone is hooked-up to a digital ID, then it can be linked to existing infrastructure run by private companies. “Creating a digital identity platform for citizenry is kind of foundational, and I believe your government should be the owner of your digital ID; private companies should not own that,” said the World Bank president, adding, “it is the social contract of the citizens of their countries to have an identity, a currency, and safety. We should not take that away from them.”
“Global reserve currency status allows for amazing latitude in terms of monetary policy.The Treasury Department understands that there is constant demand for dollars overseas as a means to more easily import and export goods. The petrodollar monopoly made the U.S. dollar essential for trading oil globally for decades. This means that the central bank of the U.S. has been able to create fiat currency from thin air to a far higher degree than any other central bank on the planet while avoiding the immediate effects of hyperinflation. Much of that cash as well as dollar-denominated debt ends up in the coffers of foreign central banks, international banks and investment firms. Sometimes it is held as a hedge, or bought and sold to adjust the exchange rates of local currencies. As much as 60% of all U.S. currency (and 25% of U.S. government debt) is owned outside the U.S.”
In the video & article below, Dr. Mercola features repeat guest Catherine Austin Fitts, a finance expert, and founder and president of the Solari Report. She’s one of the wisest people out there when it comes to understanding finances and how to protect your wealth in the face of this global wealth transfer. They also discuss the work of David Webb, a former hedge fund investor and a good friend of Austin Fitts. He has written a book called “The Great Taking,” available for free as a PDF from thegreattaking.com, as well as a documentary by the same name, available on CHD.TV, Rumble, and YouTube.
“His book and film detail how the Federal Reserve influences financial markets, and how its money creation has outpaced economic growth of the U.S., which is a huge red flag indicating that the velocity of money is collapsing. Central bankers and other globalists have carefully planned the coordinated takedown of the financial system using highly sophisticated strategies, including the manipulation of derivative markets. Whatever securities you believe you may own, you’re not the actual owner of, and when the derivative markets collapse, everything can be taken from you. While Webb’s work raises serious concerns, there are other more pressing issues that need our attention. Priority No. 1 is ensuring we have control over our financial transactions. We need to help state legislators to protect financial transaction freedom. North Dakota has a sovereign state bank, and the Florida State Legislature is getting ready to introduce legislation for state banking in the state of Florida. All states need to do this, as it’s one of the primary ways to protect the financial freedom of all citizens. Priority No. 2 is building and securing food freedom, and No. 3 is transparency and education. We need to educate people about the severity of what’s coming, so that we can, en masse, begin to make different choices.”
Except for a few brave exceptions, most nations are trying to impose climate change, ESG, DEI, censorship and all the other woke initiatives trumpeted by the UN, EU, WEF, etc. California is doing everything it can to destroy its economy; they have the highest taxes and most regulations, making it the most difficult state to live in. They have successfully become the number one exit state for businesses and citizens in the nation, and may soon become the first state in history to go bankrupt. They do not prosecute shoplifting under $600, they raised their minimum wage to $16.00 an hour, and are now allowing homeless people to occupy homes, businesses and schools with no eviction options to drive them out. ZeroHedge reported:
“This result shouldn’t surprise anyone. Inflation has driven up operational costs for businesses
across the US and shrunk profit margins for major food chains in the past few years. This has led to higher menu prices (like the “$18 Big Mac”) and slowing sales for every major fast food company. Another anchor dragging on the restaurant business in many regions was at least two years of covid stimulus coupled with rent moratoriums, creating aggressive labor shortages and raising wages in upwards of $16 per hour for brand new no-skill employees. Small chains and mom-and-pop businesses simply can’t compete. Larger chains raised prices but have also been forced to reduce employees and labor costs through automation, but the layoffs are just getting started.”
While many states and nations are allowing woke policies to destroy their economies, some, like Argentina, Southern Europe and Russia are rejecting woke ideologies in spite of pressure from their peers. The economist reported:
“In the two years following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s economy has repeatedly defied the doomsayers. A financial collapse, widely predicted in the spring of 2022, never came to pass. The economy fell into recession, but it was less severe than expected and passed quickly. Inflation was the most recent scare. Last year prices accelerated rapidly; economists believed they could spiral out of control. Even Mr Putin was worried. In February he urged officials to give “special consideration” to rising prices. Once again, however, the Russian economy seems to be proving the pessimists wrong. Data released on March 13th showed that prices rose by 0.7% month-on-month in February, down from 1.1% at the end of last year. The annual rate of inflation is stabilising at around 7.5% (see chart). Forecasters expect it to fall to just 4% before long; household expectations of future inflation have flattened. Russia’s presidential election was due to begin on March 15th, after we went to press. The result is a foregone conclusion. If it was competitive, these figures would do Mr Putin no harm.”
Another false narrative, anti-environment and financially unviable woke objective is EVs (electric vehicles). The average cost of an EV is $48,000 with government subsidies, without them it would cost $96,700 over ten years, making it impossible for most people to buy one. The articles below provide succinct facts of why EVs will never work and actually do the opposite of what we have been told.
There are so many wars and rumors of war, it is difficult to discern what is real and what is not. Iran launched over 300 attack drones and 32 ballistic missiles at Israel. Fortunately for Israel, their sophisticated intelligence and defense systems and Iran’s inability to carry out an effective military offensive caused little damage. Germany found evidence that their own generals discussed blowing up the Crimean Bridge, adding another suspect to those who may have conspired to take this action aside from Russia. The Swiss have decided to deal with immigration themselves, ignoring EU policy and keeping their population at 10 million until 2050. Texas is handling its border the way it sees fit, ignoring the Biden Administration and the US Supreme Court and enjoying both support and physical assistance from half of the other states.
Russia is positioned to win the Ukraine proxy war, and Putin said he will accept nothing less than unconditional surrender, while the West makes a final push to get woke nations to unite against Russia. The Biden Administration appears to be doing all it can to start a war with Russia, potentially to declare a state of emergency and/or interfere with the 2024 presidential election. Ukraine joining NATO would be a line in the sand, as it borders Russia and Putin has made it clear this is something he will not allow. It would also mark the 10th time the US and NATO will have broken the treaty they made with the Soviet Union & Russia regarding any of the 13 former Soviet satellite states joining NATO. ZeroHedge reported:
“Secretary of State Antony Blinken just dropped an ultra-provocative bombshell statement which is sure to rile Moscow further. He told reporters Thursday in Brussels, where foreign ministers are meeting to prepare for the alliance’s annual meeting in July: “Ukraine will become a member of NATO. Our purpose at the summit is to help build a bridge to that membership.” The meeting will mark the 75th anniversary that the alliance was established. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is meanwhile trying to get all 32 members to commit to long-term military funding for Ukraine, to the tune of $100 billion over a five-year period. He’s hoping for final agreement to be reached at the July meeting, current holdouts like Hungary notwithstanding.”
The Globalist agenda regarding ESG, DEI, abortion, climate change, etc. are being adopted by most nations, however, some are soundly rejecting this agenda. In the US, the Biden Administration is doing everything it can to follow the globalist plan, but the US Supreme Court
keeps ruling against them; states are rejecting and challenging these agendas in court and
winning. Woke state governments are being over-ruled by their own state supreme courts and the people are forcing woke corporate conglomerates to get rid of their woke policies by boycotting their products and services. I suggest you read the article, “Global Elites Are Not Hiding Their Destructive Population Control Agenda” below. It explains and quotes the elites you all know, announcing years ago what they planned to do and are doing today.
“There’s no secret message. It’s right there in the open and pops up again and again in the oligarchs’ oratory; Humanity is the enemy: We must reduce the population, Billions of commoners must die that we and our progeny may live. That’s it. It’s right there in black and white in their major publications, security memoranda, white papers, and speeches. Heck, it’s even engraved in stone… or at least it used to be until some enterprising individuals turned that stone into rubble. The point is: there is no secret message. There’s only a completely out-in-the-open one. And, once you truly understand this message and the ruthless, psychopathic, eugenicist, elitist, anti-human mindset of kakistocrats who promulgate it, you can finally make sense of world events. Why is the environmental movement stewarded over by murderous, human-hating wackos who desire to see billions of people die? Because the conservation movement (and all of the mainstream environmental organizations that grew out of that movement) was pioneered by murderous, human-hating eugenicists and funded by the eugenicist royals who wanted to keep their beautiful natural vistas clear of the riff-raff scurrying around beneath them.”
“To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it. Therefore, I am full of the wrath of the LORD; I am weary of holding it in. Pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the gatherings of young men, also; both husband and wife shall be taken, the elderly and the very aged. Their houses shall be turned over to others, their fields and wives together, for I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD. “For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore, they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,” says the LORD.
Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’ Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them. Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not paid attention to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it.”– Jeremiah 6:10-19 ESV
This passage is describing with great accuracy the state of our world today. The words and works of the elites (mass media, the UN, WEF, Bill Gates, George Soros, Black Rock, big tech, big pharma and the like) have poisoned and perverted our society and the minds of many. They ignore statutory laws, mock God and His laws and position themselves as gods over the people, forcing their ideologies, taking possession of land and resources, eroding personal freedom and outlawing free thought.
In the passage above God says, “…I am weary of holding it in.” God is weary of holding back and holding in the coming judgment, and I think that is the sentiment of many in the world today. They’ve had it with the fake news, fake wars, fake pandemics, fake genders, fake lawsuits, fake imprisonments, fake markets, fake money, fake presidents, fake elections, fake borders, fake problems and fake solutions. Every song that expresses this frustration goes to the top of the charts, every corporation that publically goes woke is being boycotted, and people are taking hold of every opportunity they get to express their opinion and discontent.. In short, most people have reached the end of their rope and once people reach that point, they can no longer be manipulated, nor can they can be placated any longer. I believe we are at a precipice, what happens next will be massive change. Exactly how that change will play out is uncertain, but like all massive changes, it will likely not be a smooth transition. Thus the focus of this update is to provide a snapshot of where things are at and the mitigating circumstances that will likely affect what happens next, along with the worldwide pushback that is currently in play.
BANKS & CENTRAL BANKS
The central banks of the world have all been trying to position themselves for the unfolding international banking crisis, economic fallout, devaluing currencies, and the move toward central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). I say “unfolding,” but these are events that those controlling central banks and other elite institutions are orchestrating to some degree, in order to force the conditions necessary for them to take more power, resources, and control.
In a Facts Matter presentation from the Epoch Times, Roman shared:
“While most Americans were focusing on rising inflation, the wars in Israel and Ukraine, and all of the lawsuits filed against President Trump, one issue seems to have flown under the radar: the fact that both China and Russia have been stockpiling massive amounts of physical gold. Moreover, it’s not just Russia and China—looking across the entire world, it seems like most central banks are in the process of increasing their stockpiles of gold. In fact, according to an Oct. 31 update by the World Gold Council, global central banks collectively bought an “astonishing” 800 tons of gold in the first three quarters of 2023. This is a 14 percent increase in gold buying compared with the same period last year. However, it’s not just nation states: ordinary citizens are also in the process of loading up on gold, evidenced by the fact that (in a recent earnings call) Costco executives revealed that they’ve sold $100 million worth of gold in the last quarter alone.”
Zero Hedge wrote: “In a recent interview the Dutch central bank (DNB) shares it has equalized its gold reserves, relative to GDP, to other countries in the eurozone and outside of Europe. This has been a political decision. If there is a financial crisis the gold price will skyrocket, and official gold reserves can be used to underpin a new gold standard, according to DNB. These statements confirm what I have been writing for the past years about central banks having prepared for a new international gold standard. Wouldn’t a central bank that has one primary objective—maintaining price stability—serve its mandate best by communicating the currency it issues can be relied upon in all circumstances? By saying gold will be the safe haven of choice during a financial collapse, DNB confesses its own currency (the euro) does not weather all storms. Indirectly, DNB encourages people to own gold to be protected from financial shocks, making the transition towards a gold-based monetary system more likely.
The Central Bank of Canada filed a trademark for a digital Canadian dollar, despite the majority of Canadians opposing it. There are some nations, as well as states, who are going the opposite direction, however, Epoch Times reported:
“Argentina’s new President-elect, Javier Milei, is promising to close the country’s central bank. The proposed move was previously ridiculed as just being a rumor, but Mr. Milei has written that shutting down Argentina’s central bank is a “non-negotiable matter.” Clear signs that the banking crisis is far from over was reported in ZeroHedge, “Banks such as PNC Bank and JPMorgan Chase have filed to close several branch offices in multiple states amid a troubling pattern of rising branch shutdowns in recent years. Between Nov. 12 and 18, several banks filed to close branch locations, with PNC Bank with the most filings, according to data from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank filed for 19 branch closures—five in Pennsylvania, four in Illinois, three in Texas, two each in Alabama and New Jersey, and one each in Indiana, Ohio, and Florida.
JPMorgan Chase followed closely with 18 filings—three in Ohio, two each in Connecticut and South Carolina, and one each in 11 states, including New York, Illinois, Florida, and Massachusetts. Citizens Bank came in third with eight branch closure filings—six in New York, and one each in Massachusetts and Delaware. Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank filed for seven closures—three in Tennessee and one each in Missouri, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Illinois. Bank of America made five filings—two in New York and one each in Texas, Massachusetts, and California. Citibank filed for two branch closures, and Sterling, Bremer, First National Bank of Hughes Springs, Windsor FS&LA, and Aroostook County FS&LA made one filing each. Altogether, banks filed to shut down 64 branches. One major factor that led to a surge in branch closures is the rise of digital banking, a trend that accelerated during the pandemic when people were stuck at their homes. A survey by the American Banking Association (ABA) conducted in September showed that 8 in 10 Americans used a mobile device to manage their bank accounts at least once in the previous month.“Digital banking tools have made it more convenient and more secure than ever for consumers to manage their finances,” Brooke Ybarra, ABA’s senior vice president of innovation strategy, said, according to a Nov. 3 statement.”
Gold Hit All-Time Record High as Central Banks Bought 800 Tons in 2023 (12.26.2) Facts Matter
The EU is comprised of 27 nations, 19 of which share the same currency called the euro, under the European Central Bank (ECB). The euro is the second most used currency next to the US dollar. However, unlike the US dollar and every other currency, it is the common currency for 19 different nations and is affected by 19 different nations and economies which creates many issues. It is uncertain whether or not it will be sustainable in the future as the Truth Over News video explains below. Texas is also in the process of creating its own precious metal backed currency to be used within its borders.
The Untold Story of How a Shared Currency Became the EU’s Achilles Heel (12.29.23)Truth Over News
President Donald Trump has pledged to prohibit the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) if re-elected. Lifesite News quoted him saying, “Such a currency would give a federal government – our federal government – absolute control over your money,” Trump warned regarding CBDCs. “They could take your money, and you wouldn’t even know it was gone.” “This would be a dangerous threat to freedom, and I will stop it from coming to America,”
We should note that Trump does not have an issue with digital currency in general, it’s CBDCs he opposes. As the move toward CBDCs accelerates, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a handbook for global central banks regarding the development and implementation of CBDCs. Reclaim The Net reported, “The European Parliament (EP) and the bloc’s member-countries have reached a provisional deal on the digital ID framework. The provisional agreement on what’s known as the eID (European Digital Identity) regulation is being presented by the EU Council (that worked on the agreement together with the EP), but there are also opponents.”
The Federal Reserve keeps pumping more currency into the system to fund wars and social programs with deficit spending, while everything at the supermarket becomes increasingly more and more expensive. Simon Black wrote:
“The US national debt actually reached a new milestone of $34 trillion on the very last day of the year (2023). Bear in mind that the national debt at the beginning of the year was $31.4 trillion. So, the debt increased by a whopping $2.6 trillion over the course of the 2023 calendar year. It probably didn’t help that US federal tax revenue declined significantly in 2023, down to $4.4 trillion from $4.9 trillion the year before. A decline in tax revenue is hardly a surprise given the never-ending onslaught of new regulations that make it more difficult for people to work and do business. Yesterday I wrote to you about the nearly 100 pages of regulation that requires small business owners to file a new report to the federal government each year. Never mind that businesses already must file the exact same information to the IRS. No, they want to double your compliance burden by requiring you to send the same information– in a different reporting format– to a second government agency. If that weren’t enough, in December the Labor Department published a new proposal to heavily regulate apprenticeship programs; the proposal went on for nearly EIGHT HUNDRED PAGES and includes rules about body-positive PPE (personal protective equipment) and mandating bathrooms that correspond to gender identity. So, if you have interns who identify as polygender, demiflux, and autigender (all real terms), get ready to build three new bathrooms for they/them. Naturally this whole situation is a complete train wreck.
Epic Times also reported, “Credit rating agency Moody’s has cut its outlook for the U.S. government from “stable” to “negative” due in large part to out-of-control spending. Moody’s said in a Nov. 10 announcement that it has lowered its ratings outlook on the U.S. government to “negative,” citing a lack of restraint on spending while predicting that deficits will remain “very large” for the foreseeable future. “Too much government spending was also the reason why rating agency Fitch went a step further than Moody’s and downgraded America’s credit rating from AAA to AA+ over the summer. While Moody’s decided to cut the U.S. outlook to “negative,” it opted to keep the country’s overall rating at AAA.”
One of the biggest public pension plans in the US wants to borrow tens of billions of dollars to maintain liquidity instead of triggering a fire-sale of its assets. Bloomberg reports the roughly $318 billion California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) plans to borrow $30 billion, or about 10% of its portfolio, instead of raising funds through an asset sale that might trigger fire sales. If the plan is approved, the leverage would be used “on a temporary basis to fulfill cash flow needs in circumstances when it is disadvantageous to sell assets,” a CalSTRS policy document stated.
World Markets are treading water, but more and more investors are moving into safe havens like precious metals and cryptocurrencies, positioning themselves for the shakings they know are coming. China’s stock, bond, and property markets are already experiencing great volatility and Beijing is doing all it can to keep its banks and economy afloat, but time is ticking. ZeroHedge reported:
“Global bond and stock markets added almost $20 trillion in capitalization during 2023… and all of that gain came in the last two months of the year after it had tested unchanged on Oct 28th! The gains were dominated by global stocks (which added $13.3TN) while global bonds rose by $6.1TN. Bonds ended higher in price (lower in yield) on the year. Gold up, dollar down, oil down, NatGas collapsed as The Fed shocked the world, suddenly flipping from uber-hawk to full-dove-tard… And they did all that with ‘hard’ economic data unchanged in 2023 – no real economic progress – as only ‘soft’ data (hopes and dreams) provided support for ‘goldilocks’ narratives…”
Everything is a surprise in global markets because nothing is following the economic theories and analysis of the past. This is due to massive manipulation from central banks, governments, and, most significantly, multi-national corporations and organizations controlled by hyper-rich global elites. Thus, if you want to attempt to predict where markets are headed, you need to identify who is pulling the strings of each market and what their motivation and objectives are.
The Blaze reported on another failed woke goal being pushed under the false climate change narrative regarding electric vehicles (EVs) and inaccurate expectations: “Electric vehicles have not sold well in the used car market in Europe, with consumers fearful of a lack of charging stations and driving distance capabilities of the cars. A report by independent European outlet Euractiv explained that the largest electric vehicle markets in the European Union have not seen anywhere near the expected numbers for a secondhand, used-car market. In Germany, which has the most electric vehicles on the continent, used EVs only make up 1.58% of new ownership registrations as of November 2023, while other industry groups from Italian and Spanish markets reportedly place their used EV registration rates at less than 1%.”
Why is it that every ideological woke investment plan fails? The new mantra seems to hold true, “If you go woke, you go broke.”
In addition to the growing international unrest between nations, most of the world is experiencing great internal political unrest as well. The citizens of the world are resisting their government’s intrusion into their businesses, their families, their lives and their freedom. Citizens are rejecting and pushing back against the ideological social engineering from unelected multinational corporations and organizations like: the UN, WHO, WEF, EU, Meta (formally Facebook), Black Rock, Pfizer, and Google, as well as individual global elites like Bill Gates, George Soros, Mark Zuckerberg, and Klaus Schwab, to name a few. Citizens are protesting and rejecting their government’s efforts to implement globalist ideologies in massive demonstrations going on around the world. But the controlled mainstream media blacks out everything that deviates from the narrative they want the masses to be fed. The Blaze reported:
“Google has established itself as the arbiter of “truth” in the digital age. The company controls the flow of information and can amplify or bury stories on a whim. Its leaders have given themselves god-like powers over shaping human opinion. So when they change their rules over what information they can censor in a “Sensitive Event” scenario, it’s worth examining closely.” Not to be outdone, “The EU chief called for governments and private firms to form a “new connective tissue” to “deliver the solutions we need, to fight threats like climate change or industrial-scale disinformation.” Starting in February, social media companies and websites will face fines of up to 6% of their global revenue if they fail to comply with the speech restrictions. In addition, platforms also face the possibility of being banned entirely from the bloc under the new regulation.”
A LifeSiteNews article provided yet another example of how the Australian government is continuing to surveil and remove the freedom of their citizens: “The Australian government recently introduced legislation, the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Prohibited Hate Symbols and Other Measures) Bill 2023, that, on the face of it, would make it a crime, punishable with up to five years in jail, to view online material that “describes or depicts serious violence.” It is based on wording so loose it opens the door to criminalizing large amounts of online viewing, including video games, any kind of war coverage, and entire genres of Hollywood movies.”
Australian Law Could See People Jailed For 5 Years For Viewing Serious Violence Online (1.10.24)
Despite all of the negativity, the tide is turning.So much so that the World Economic Forum had a breakout session to try and figure out why the citizens and nations of the world were ignoring, and worse yet, rejecting their initiatives. LifeSite News wrote: “To the WEF crowd, “Rebuilding Trust” often meant doing a better job to silence people by filtering out what they deemed “misinformation” and “disinformation.” In short, the problem isn’t them, it’s the people who are in the way. In order to rebuild trust, they want independent platforms like this one to be out of the way, through invasive surveillance and censorship measures.”
As much as the WEF tries to control who attends their meetings and what they say, they lost control of their Davos meeting and had numerous attendees tell them that no one was interested in their unelected governorship, globalist ideology, and elitist plans and that the biggest problem in the world was them.
The sentiments expressed at Davos are supported by tangible events happening all over the world. According to LifeSiteNews:
“German farmers have mounted a “strategic blockade” of distribution warehouses in an escalation of protests which began last November – and now threaten to undermine Germany’s globalist government. Huge nationwide protests on January 8 saw international border crossings blocked, and German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck trapped by one flash protest on a ferry. Demonstrations continued, with chants of “the government must go” resounding from the crowd.”
Canadian Courts have ruled that Trudeau exceeded his constitutional authority in his use of emergency powers against ‘the truckers’ and the Canadian people. Zero hedge reported:
“French farmers are dumping vast quantities of manure on government buildings to protest against excessive environmental regulations that threaten their way of life. The farmers are protesting against excessive regulations and climate hysteria technocracy that threatens to ruin their livelihoods, as well as an EU ban on glyphosate. Roads were also blockaded and vehicles set ablaze. Hundreds of farmers also blocked roads near council buildings around Saint-Brieuc. Farmers carrying signs that said “France, do you still want your farmers?” and “Without support, France is starving” sprayed manure on the offices of Brittany Regional Council in Rennes.”
Examples of newly elected international leaders who are pushing back
Argentine President Javier Milei has vowed to fix Argentina’s perennial economic problems by making drastic budget cuts, replacing the battered peso with the US dollar, and shutting down the central bank.
Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni is the first non-socialist, conservative, God-fearing leader of Italy since WWII. She has reversed abortion laws and rejected EU immigration, LGBT and sex change pressures.
Taiwan’s election of William Lai a strong supporter of Taiwanese independence, was a guarantee of Taiwan’s continued pushback and defiance of Beijing.
Hungary’s Viktor Orban’s continued re-election and defiance of EU pressure to accept abortion, LBGT and immigration initiatives, and support of Ukraine, is another sign. He told the EU, “There is not enough money in the world to force us to let migrants in, and there is not enough money in the world for which we would put our children or our grandchildren in the hands of LGBTQ activists. That’s impossible.”
Due to the complete failure of the Biden Administration to defend the border, Texas has taken measures into its own hands to protect its citizens from the invasion of illegal immigrants. This initiative has been supported on all levels from the Texas National Guard to County Sheriffs, local law enforcement, and individual citizens. Razor Wire has proved to be an effective tool and has been deployed in mass. The Biden Administration has been taking it down and the Supreme Court ruled Texas could not stop them; however, Texas ignored the ruling and claimed it to be their constitutional right and duty to defend themselves from the border invasion. The Texas AG told both the US Border Patrol and the Biden Administration that these groups will not take over or stop Texas from defending their border in any way. ZeroHedge reported:
“Texas Governor Greg Abbott told Tucker Carlson the State is “prepared” for conflict with the federal government. Twenty-five States have expressed support for Texas, with ten of them, according to Abbot, deploying their own National Guard to Texas to help. One of those States is Oklahoma, with Governor Kevin Stitt saying Friday “We have the right to defend our country against invasion.” The White House has refused to rule out Democrat suggestions to federalise the Texas National Guard. In defiance of the Biden Administration’s wishes, senior figures within Customs and Border Protection have stated that there are no plans to have Border Patrol agents remove razor wire barriers erected along sections of the border by the Texas National Guard Fox News reports that a high ranking CBP official told the network that their relationship with the Guard is “strong”.
In a matter of days, the governors of 25 states signed a letter in support of Texas and 10 of those states have sent either their own National Guard or other law enforcement agents to help Texas defend their border. This issue is a perfect example of why the founders created the 10th Amendment and why state sovereignty must be upheld. Until the states draw a line in the sand, the Federal government will keep encroaching. This issue has become a rallying point with far greater implications because it can be applied to many areas of the Federal government’s encroachment into state sovereignty, failure to do its constitutional duty, as well as ignoring and abusing the constitutional rights of states and their citizens.
So I’ll end this one with repeating the well-earned mantra “Don’t mess with Texas,” which I think represents the sentiment of many citizens in the US and around the world right now who are fed up with being pushed around and are beginning to take a stand.
Border Patrol Says Agents Will Not Remove Texas Razor Wire Barriers (1.27.24)
The world is rapidly changing and most Americans are largely unaware of all that’s going on in the world and how these changes are going to affect them. The expansion of the BRICS nations, de-dollarization, Russia’s inevitable defeat of NATO in the Ukraine proxy war, and the effects of global inflation, debt and recession, will all have a huge effect on the US and Western nations. Internally, the US banking crisis is not over, interest rates and inflation are rising, making it more and more difficult to expand or start a business, buy a home or simply make ends meet. The proverbial American dream is becoming just that. Trump’s mugshot, Jason Alden’s “Try That in a Small Town” and Oliver Anthony’s songs have become symbols and rallying calls of American descent and resistance against woke ideology, economic tyranny, global elites, corrupt politicians, and mass media.
CENTRAL BANKS & BANKS
Fed Reserve Chair Powell said, “The Fed is prepared to raise interest rates further if needed and intends to keep borrowing costs high until inflation is on a convincing path toward the Fed’s 2% target.“Although inflation has moved down from its peak – a welcome development – it remains too high,” Powell said in the text of a speech Friday at the US central bank’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. “We are prepared to raise rates further if appropriate, and intend to hold policy at a restrictive level until we are confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward our objective.”– ZeroHedge
This means that the ability of businesses to expand and citizens to get a mortgage payment they can afford is going to continue to shrink which results in fewer jobs, fewer new homes and businesses being built, an economic downturn, and less prosperous people. China’s central bank Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) dropped their interest rates to the lowest level since the pandemic in an attempt to help their failing economy, but it is doubtful that will stop their downward descent. However, the PBOC has continued to increase their gold reserves for the ninth month in a row, both to help protect themselves from a meltdown and for the future BRICS precious metals-backed international trading currency.
The US had its credit rating lowered by Fitch, one of the three international credit raters from triple AAA to double AA with a negative outlook, for only the second time since 1944. This will drive up the cost of debt maintenance on US debt instruments; T-Bills, Treasury Notes & US government bonds, necessitating the bonds’ interest rates be increased to get people and other nations to buy them. This will also cause the US $30 Trillion plus debt to escalate even more quickly. Simon Black wrote:
“Another day, another downgrade for America. Today it’s Moody’s Investor Service, one of the three major credit rating agencies alongside Fitch and S&P. Last week Fitch downgraded the sovereign debt rating for the United States of America. And late yesterday, Moody’s downgraded the ratings of several US banks. The implication? The seismic activity that we saw in the banking sector back in March isn’t over.”
The Washington Examiner reported that Moody’s, one of the three international credit raters, “slashed the credit ratings of 10 small and midsize banks and warned of downgrading big banks as the sector faces uncertainty Moody’s warned about credit downgrades down the road for six of the country’s biggest banks, including giants such as Bank of New York Mellon, U.S. Bancorp, State Street, and Trust Financial. It said the warnings reflected “ongoing strain” in the banking sector. Moody’s changed its outlook to negative for 11 other banking, including heavy hitters such as Capital One and Fifth Third Bankcorp.”
Another of the three international credit raters, S&P lowered CA’s credit rating because of “outmigration accelerated by cost increases could, absent the state’s ability to adapt by cutting expenditures, lead to credit quality deterioration.” Epoch Times also reported, “The world’s most heavily indebted property developer Evergrande Group filed for bankruptcy in New York on Aug. 17 amid China’s deepening property crisis. The filing under Chapter 15 of the U.S. bankruptcy code shields non-U.S. companies under restructuring from creditors coming after their U.S.-based assets. It came after the firm put off meetings regarding a $3.2 billion restructuring plan to keep the company afloat.”
China’s Evergrande Files for Bankruptcy in New York (8.17.23)
U.S. trucking firm Yellow Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Aug. 6 after the company buckled under pressure from a mounting debt load as well as a standoff with an employee union. “It is with profound disappointment that Yellow announces that it is closing after nearly 100 years in business,” Yellow CEO Darren Hawkins said in an Aug. 6 statement. “Today, it is not common for someone to work at one company for 20, 30, or even 40 years, yet many at Yellow did. For generations, Yellow provided hundreds of thousands of Americans with solid, good-paying jobs and fulfilling careers.” The Nashville, Tennessee-based nearly 100-year-old company’s bankruptcy filing puts about 30,000 workers at risk at a time when the freight industry is already grappling with slumping volumes.”– Epoch Times
Yellow Files for Bankruptcy, Blames Union for Downfall (8.7.23)
Investment companies, central banks, businesses, and citizens are stocking up on gold and silver in preparation for what they see coming and taking steps to protect themselves. Investment companies are hedging themselves against faltering economies and falling markets, central banks are printing money, and devaluing currency with some nations moving to back their currencies with physical precious metals. People and businesses are doing the same for all the reasons mentioned, as well as the overall banking crisis and future digitization of their savings in the form of CBDCs. Simon Black does a great job summarizing the current situation:
“The US government has lost all ability to live within its means. They have spent trillions of dollars on their perverted ‘justice’ programs and environmental crusades. Spending has gotten so bad that a $2 trillion yearly deficit is nothing anymore. Yet the continued accumulation of these deficits has created a gargantuan national debt. As I mentioned yesterday, most of US national debt will mature over the next several years. Since the Treasury Department clearly does not have the money to pay back $25+ trillion in debt, their only option will be to issue new debt to pay off the old debt. The problem, of course, is that the new debt comes with much higher interest rates… and I explained that simply paying interest on the debt could exceed $2 trillion within the next five years.
On top of that, mandatory entitlement spending like Social Security and Medicare will hit $3 trillion. This means that just paying for Social Security/Medicare, and interest on the debt, could exceed 100% of tax revenue. This scenario is potentially just five years away. At that point, it will be almost impossible for investors to have confidence in US government bonds. US government bonds have long been considered the safest asset in the world. But if the Treasury Department has to blow $2 trillion just to pay interest, investors will quickly start looking for other safe havens. And one of those will be gold. Think about it: there’s (currently) $32+ trillion in total US government bonds. This is much larger than the gold market. So if even a small fraction of that US debt were to flow into gold instead, the gold price would go through the roof.
I’m Rooting for Gold to Go To Zero, Too Bad it Won’t (8.15.23) SMC
Currency and cryptocurrency is another area where many are not paying close attention, however, there are massive impending changes that will greatly affect business, markets, and individuals, regardless of their geography or economic status. The move by nations to adopt central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), the move by BRICS to establish a new precious metal-backed digital currency, and de-dollarization (the move away from the USD by the rest of the world), will all greatly impact individuals and entities across the world.
ZeroHedge reported, “Putin addressed the summit remotely, and emphasized in the Russian-language speech that de-dollarization is “gaining momentum”. He said the dollar’s receding global centrality is an “objective and irreversible” process. As expected he struck an optimistic tone about the bloc’s future, also at a moment China’s XI is urging BRICS to become a geopolitical rival to the G7.” A month before this quote, Putin signed into law a bill to introduce a CBDC into the Russian economy.
US Banking Crisis, CBDC July Launch, De-Dollarization & ESG
Lifesite news reported: “The use of the US dollar as a reserve currency is under threat — and the greenback is headed for a vicious cycle that will further erode its dominance, according to the Australian think tank the Lowy Institute. That’s because the declining use of the dollar could lead to hyperinflation, which would, in turn, lead to higher interest rates as central banks combat high prices. And those rate hikes will weigh on asset prices like stocks, researcher Michael Roach said in a recent. Headlines across the globe see Australia making aggressive moves towards a cashless society, a move that gravely threatens the last bastions of economic privacy and individual autonomy. Are Australia’s major banks merely championing the cutting edge of financial convenience, or is there a more pernicious hidden agenda seeping into our digital economy? It certainly appears that Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), the potential beneficiaries of a cashless society, could become the shackles of a future technocratic authoritarian world.
Epoch Times reporter Roman does a great job synopsizing these concerns in the Facts Matter episode below.
It’s getting very difficult to separate what’s going on in global markets, banking, and international politics. There is an all-out international economic war being waged on multiple levels and fronts. On one front, we have the BRICS nations creating their own World Bank, international wire system, and international transaction currency, thereby throwing off the shackles of the last two centuries of Western-controlled economics and creating a new path. On another front, we have large multinational corporations like Black Rock, Google, Pfizer, Meta, Amazon, Target, and Budweiser trying to, not only manipulate people and nations materially and financially, but also into falling in line with their world view and socio-political agendas. At the top of many multi-billion dollar multinational corporations, (i.e. big tech, big pharma, big banking, food business giants, and other giants of material and industrial production), we have ultra-rich global elites like George Soros, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg working together, with mass media and government leaders, to push ideological ESG (environmental, social, governance) principles upon society, and influence individuals and businesses purchase the products they want to produce and sell, while give up their freedom of choice and ability to descent. This kind of structure is the very definition of Fascism.
People are fighting back against these ideological groups/principles by boycotting these companies’ products which is costing them millions and even billions of dollars, with lower stock values and down-graded credit valuations. We have recently seen some of the most successful boycotts in history. People have had enough and they are rejecting these global overlords and government elites and are choosing their own path. The leading candidates for 2024 Trump, RFK, and Ramaswamy are all speaking out against these global elites, multinational corporations, and the current political establishment.
Lifesite news reported: “I’m very pro-environment,” Musk said in a live discussion with Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on X, formerly known as Twitter. “But… we don’t … do some sort of bizarre, communism rebranded thing, which is like a lot of what ESG is, and [inflict it] upon corporate America without the knowledge of the actual shareholders, which is what’s going on.” And so I’m saying the public is being lied to by … BlackRock, Fidelity [Investments] … and you guys … need to tell your customers that you’re not making optimal decisions for shareholder value because that’s what’s going on.” The Washington Examiner also wrote, “S&P Global no longer includes environmental, social, and corporate governance scores in its debt ratings after facing scrutiny over the practice many see as politically leaning and unnecessary. The credit ratings agency has been monitoring and rating companies’ efforts regarding ESG on a scale of 1-5 since 2021 but decided late last week to ditch the analysis.”
Overall, global markets, banks, and international economies are not doing well. Zero Hedge reported that “With consensus expecting only a modest drop in the July job openings from 9.582 million to 9.5 million, what the BLS reported instead was a doozy: in July there were just 8.827 million job openings, the first sub-9 million print since March 2021. It was also the 3rd biggest miss on record! Worse, had the BLS not drastically slashed the May number from 9.582MM to a laughable 9.165MM, the drop would have been almost 800K job openings. And yes, today’s downward revision, continues the recent trend of every single data point in the Biden administration being revised sharply lower in subsequent month(s), in a coordinated propaganda attempt to make the economy look stronger, then quietly revise it away when everyone forgets.”
The Financial Times reported: “European companies have suffered at least 100 billion euros ($110 billion) in direct losses from operations in Russia since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine … A survey of major European companies showed that a total of 176 companies that have posted annual reports for 2022 and financial statements this year recorded various losses from their Russian operations.”
The Chinese economy and markets are also performing poorly and their largest bank and real estate developer filed for bankruptcy in New York: “The world’s second-largest economy is in bleak shape. China’s consumer sector fell into deflation in July for the first time in two years. Global demand for Chinese products has weakened, sending imports and exports tumbling. Millions of young people are jobless. The huge property sector, once a pillar in fueling China’s economic growth, is on the verge of a meltdown. With a crisis unraveling and U.S. hedge funds aggressively dumping Chinese stocks, Beijing is turning back to its old playbook: bury the unflattering data.” – Epoch Times
Regardless of Chinese government reports, rhetoric, and attempts to cover it up, their exports are shrinking, youth unemployment is at record levels, and their housing market and commodity prices are declining. “China has slid into deflation after months of disappointing export, manufacturing, home sales, and youth employment results. This has led to louder calls for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to roll out stimulus measures to kickstart the sputtering economy. The world’s second-largest economy has been struggling for months, failing to achieve the post-pandemic boom that many had anticipated. The latest July data release showed exports posting its sharpest year-on-year drop since before the pandemic, and imports at five straight months of decline. Factory-gate prices fell for the 10th consecutive month, while new home sales saw its most significant monthly drop since July 2022.” – Epoch Times
The BRICS nations met Aug 22-24th and expanded membership of their group beyond Brazil, Russia, India, China & South Africa to include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Argentina, Ethiopia, and Iran, effective January 1, 2024. The US weaponization of the USD against Russia and other nations, as well as their woke-based financial assistance, have significantly hastened the BRICS timeline. They are tired of second-tier treatment, being at the mercy of the West and under the thumb of the USD. The creation of the new trading currency will end the ability of the US, EU & UK to sanction and manipulate BRICS member nations because they will no longer need to use the USD for their international transactions. The effects of this meeting and future BRICS plans on US control of global markets and world economies will be far-reaching. The biggest change will be the creation of a new precious metal-backed international digital trading currency to replace the USD; Pound, Euro, and yen, as well as a new international wiring system not under the control of the US.
The war is going badly for Ukraine and the EU and other nations are moving away from supporting the US position. The Biden administration continues to weaponize everything it has to push other nations, as well as the American people, to comply with their agenda, but most are rejecting it.
Tucker Carlson released an interview with former Trump administration official Col. Douglas Macgregor (Ret.), who explained how“the war in Ukraine has put the United States on the brink of a ‘catastrophic war that could easily destroy us.”Carlson begins with the bold statement that: “pretty much everything that NBC and The NYTimes have told you about the war in Ukraine is a lie,‘The Russian army is incompetent’ – they claim. ‘Ukraine is a Democracy!’ ‘Vladimir Putin is Hitler and he’s trying to take over the world!’ ‘Thankfully, the Ukrainians are winning,’ Every claim is false, the last one especially,” Tucker said.
“The Ukrainian army is notwinning – in fact, it’slosing badly. Ukraine is being destroyed. Its population is being slaughtered … Most Americans know nothing about Ukraine,” Macgregor continued, adding that“if they knew anything about the history of Eastern Europe, they would all say ‘get out!’… because the wars and the blood and the hatred that’s been fought over for centuries is something we can’t sort out.” I encourage you to listen to the Tucker/Col. MacGregor interview, it’s the best information I have heard on what’s really happening there.
NOTE:This update is longer than usual because of the banking crisis, July US CBDC launch, and a large number of world events unfolding at a rapid pace. There will be more articles and videos than commentary.
The last four months have changed the political, economic and social structures in which the world has operated for 150 years and that trend is only going to continue. The current US administration has done everything it could to destroy America, its principles, constitutional rights, rule of law, economy, military, and its reputation in the eyes of the world. It is remarkable how quickly the US has descended into a failing world power in light of these actions. America is no longer feared or respected and nations are re-aligning their interests because they can no longer rely upon the US, nor trust their judgment.
US freedoms are being eroded and lost, succumbing to increasingly dictatorial totalitarian federal and state governments, whose agenda is to control every aspect of life. The international community is rejecting US policy in Ukraine, moving away from the US dollar, and increasingly using other currencies, as many nations move away from the US and toward China and Russia.
There are many changes in play, but most Americans are not aware of what is really going on, largely due to government and big tech censorship, and a completely manipulated mainstream media. This update will attempt to highlight some of these changes and potential changes, and how they could fundamentally change life in America.
The US House has refused to raise the debt ceiling without a reduction of spending. Thus, the annual game of chicken between the Republicans and Democrats is being played again. Will it be different this time? Will they allow the US to default by not raising the debt ceiling? Probably not, because nobody wants to be responsible for the consequences. A managed default would be better than an unmanaged one, but managed or unmanaged, a US default is looking inevitable. Although it has nothing to do with the debt crisis, interested parties will likely find a way to propose replacing the USD with a digital currency as some sort of solution to this issue. Crisis are always used to push dangerous agendas that further degrade freedom and autonomy, and a completely controlled Federal Reserve digital currency would only make things worse.
Let’s take a look at some specific actions by the current US administration. The Epoch Times reported:
“The Biden administration will soon punish Americans with high credit ratings to pay more for their mortgages to subsidize loans for homebuyers with lower scores. Starting May 1, Americans purchasing a new home or are refinancing their existing mortgages will have to pay higher mortgage rates and monthly fees if they have a higher credit score, The Washington Times reported on April 18. Consumers with lower credit scores and less money for a down payment will be given better mortgage rates than they otherwise would have in a form of wealth redistribution by adjusting the fees on loan-level price adjustments. Experts said that borrowers with a credit score of about 680 would pay more than $40 per month on a $400,000 mortgage, due to new rules issued by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).”
The principles of discipline and hard work have become racist, unfair and despised by the anti-American progressive leftist administration in DC.
The IRS is planning to expand audits and investigations on US tax payers, hiring massive amounts of employees, as well as purchasing over $10M in firearms, ammunition and tactical gear over the past 3 years. On 3/28 Simon Black wrote:
“The top 1% of US taxpayers paid 48% of total US income taxes. And that’s just at the federal level, not even counting how much of the local and state taxes the wealthy paid. Further, the top 10% paid nearly 72% of total income taxes. Meanwhile, the bottom 40% of US income tax filers paid no net income tax at all. And the next group, those making between $30-$50,000 per year, paid an effective rate of just 1.9%. (Again, this is not some wild conspiracy theory; these numbers are directly from IRS data.) But the fact that 10% of the taxpayers foot nearly three-fourths of the tax bill still isn’t enough for the progressive mob. They want even more.
The totalitarian agenda of the present White House seems to leave no industry, group, or individual citizen untouched in the name of climate change, equity, ESG, and other Progressive drivel as the articles below attest.
It took only 48 hours for Silicon Valley Bank to become the nation’s second-largest bank failure. The company’s problems started on Wednesday when the financial institution informed investors that it needed to generate $2.25 billion to cover an unexpected decline in deposits and improve its balance sheet and overall financial position. On Friday the Treasury announced that New York State regulators were shuttering Signature Bank, a major New York bank, now both banks have been declared insolvent. The Government promised to cover the loss and pronounced the banking crisis over, which of course was not true. The FDIC did not have enough to cover Silicon Valley, and the Federal Reserve isn’t capable of covering the losses either.
In the last week of April, First Republic Bank, the 14th largest bank in the US, was declared insolvent and JP Morgan is now purchasing it. Americans have little faith in the US banking
system, as depositors are withdrawing their cash at record levels and banks are putting restrictions on how much people can withdraw in one day. One of the only reasons many more banks are not becoming insolvent is that larger banks and financial institutions are making deposits into them to keep them afloat. On top of this, in the first week of May, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates another quarter percent. The Epoch Times reported:
“The month of March witnessed the fastest withdrawal of funds from commercial banks in U.S. history. According to data released by the Federal Reserve, a staggering $360 billion was withdrawn from banks across the country in the past month alone. To put this into context, not a single monthly decline in 2008 exceeded $100 billion. The recent withdrawals have dwarfed those of the past, bringing total bank deposits down by almost $1 trillion since the highs in April 2022. Central Banks are very concerned about this and are buying massive amounts of gold to protect themselves.”
Another significant concern is de-dollarization, which is the movement by the rest of the world to stop using the USD in financial transactions. When Trump was President 72% of all international transactions were conducted in dollars, today that number has fallen to 52%. Some say the USD will not be replaced because no other banking system has such liquidity and depth, however, many nations continue to move away from the USD despite these factors. ZeroHege reported:
“The BRICS coalition has become the hottest ticket in geopolitics. Argentina, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Mexico, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Egypt have either applied to join or expressed an interest in doing so. And new bilateral trade deals that bypass the dollar are being discussed all over the place. Combine the land mass, population, and natural resources of the BRICS countries with those of the potential new members and the result is more or less half the world. And now things are getting real. Global Times wrote, “The US dollar has stepped down from the altar, and now people can see it more clearly. If we look at the structure of trade between China and Russia, more than 70 percent of bilateral trade is settled in yuan or ruble, Anton Siluanov, Russian Minister of Finance, was quoted by Tass Russia News Agency as saying recently. When asked if the ruble or yuan could replace the US dollar, he replied: “We are already looking at this.”
In addition to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic, the banks under Moody’s downgrade review include Comerica Inc, UMB Financial Corp., Zions Bancorp., Western Alliance Bancorp., and Intrust Financial Corp
Coincidently, the announcement of the first major step in rolling out a US Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) came on the same day that Silicon Valley Bank collapsed. “The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced a July launch of its FedNow service, which will enable all U.S. banks to offer instant payments 24/7, and will constitute the infrastructure of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by linking each banking node directly to the Federal Reserve, according to financial experts … Cointelegraph pointed out that FedNow could “stand in place of a central-bank-issued digital currency.” – Epoch Times
The FedNow website is already online: https://explore.fednow.org/. and citizens are being encouraged to “Get on board!” As the Federal Reserve looks to gain complete control of US citizens’ cash, the current totalitarian administration is attempting to make it more difficult to avoid this control by increasing regulations on private cryptocurrency.
Many Americans and states are pushing back against this move to control the US monetary system. LifeSiteNews reported, “Governor Ron DeSantis thinks CBDCs should be banned. Addressing a press conference from behind a podium that had the words “Big Brother’s Digital Dollar” attached to it, DeSantis repeated what critics of the CBDC push keep saying. And that is, that the centralized form of digital money controlled by governments is basically a powerful surveillance tool, and that this, rather than any convenience it might offer, could be the key reason it is getting so much support from some high places. But according to the Florida governor, who is rumored to be considering running for president, CBDCs are “all about surveilling Americans and controlling behavior of Americans.”
According to Zerohedge, even the IMF is jumping on the CBDC bandwagon: “A new global currency just launched, but 99 percent of the global population has no idea what just happened. The “Universal Monetary Unit”, also known as “Unicoin”, is an “international central bank digital currency” that has been designed to work in conjunction with all existing national currencies.
Along with the IMF, many other nations are moving to digitize. “While plans to usher in centralized, government-controlled money are receiving some pushback in the U.S., the consensus in Europe seems to be in favor of introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), i.e., the digital euro. And now the question is how exactly to proceed, including by determining strategic objectives. In the eurozone – made up of the 20 (out of 27) EU members that have adopted the euro – merchants might find themselves under obligation to accept a future European Central Bank (ECB) digital currency. – (Reclaim The Net)
Simon Black provided a great step-by-step collapse of the economy due to unsustainable spending and resulting debt: “The inevitable consequence of the current Global Debt Bubble will be the Bankruptcy of the financial system and many of its participants. The one Swiss and three US banks that just went under is just a foretaste of what is to come. As the US and European banking systems come under pressure, The Everything Collapse will cause a collapse in financial markets of a magnitude that has never before been seen in history. Since the global financial system is a mesh which reaches every financial player in the world, from sovereigns to private individuals, no-one will be able to escape the The Everything Collapse. The Everything Collapse is primarily a debt crisis. Global debt has trebled in this century and if we include derivatives (a major part of which will become debt), we are looking at up to $3 quadrillion. This is 20 times global GDP and obviously of a magnitude that will cause major harm to the world. What will rapidly follow is:
Currency Debasement Leading To Collapse
High Inflation Leading To Hyperinflation
Food And Energy Shortages
Debt Defaults Leading To Debt Collapse
Implosion Of Bubble Assets (Stocks, Bonds, Property) In Real Terms – Gold
Failure Of Financial System
Political & Social Turmoil – Civil Unrest
Geopolitical Problems
The Fall Of The West And Rise Of The East And South
Global economies and markets are reeling under the relentless wars, shortages, debt and overall bad news. The IMF has continued to lower economic expectations on a quarterly basis. The US continues to push toward number one in the failing economy category by issuing crippling regulations and rules in the name of climate control and saving the environment, as well as other social engineering agenda items like ESG, censorship, gun control, education, sexual preference, etc. China, Canada and the EU are also destroying their economies with high taxes, crippling regulations, reduction of farming and food production, closing coal mines and nuclear power plants during an energy shortage, 15 minute cities, and so much more. The question people should be asking is: “Why are they doing this?” The only sane thing they are doing is pulling away from China, a little too late unfortunately as most nations are leaving the western nations and forming new alignments with the growing BRICs nations. There are, however, individual states and nations bucking the Federal government and EU overlords by passing legislation in direct opposition to their policies.
Norway joins Finland, Sweden, and the UK in denouncing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and ‘sex changes’ surgeries for minors with confusion about their gender.
Like in the US, leftists in Israel are rioting and destroying cities because that’s what the left does when it can’t legitimately control society. However, unlike in the US, the leftist government that has controlled Israel for the majority of history since its inception has lost control. At 22% in the last election, they barely scraped together enough seats to be a recognized party. Many judicial and other reforms will soon be enacted as the conservative electorate continues to grow through continued immigration and believing Jews refusing to abort their children.
Sudan is the latest nation to implode. Other nations are attempting to remove their citizens as fast as possible, but much like with Afghanistan, the US is failing to act as swiftly as other nations, again putting US citizens in harm’s way.
As discussed in the above global markets category, foolish and purposeful policies are causing energy, food and other shortages. Hundreds of thousands of citizens are demonstrating, but the mainstream media is not reporting on it. A new order is being shaped by both the actions and the inactions of the US. Zerohedge reported:
“More important are the broader implications of the two ‘dear friends’ pledging to shape a new world order and signing multiple pacts on economic, technological, and strategic cooperation. These were the words captured in a Reuters headline Wednesday… “China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin set their sights on shaping a new world order as
the Chinese leader left Moscow, having made no direct support for Putin’s war in Ukraine during his two-day visit.” Arguably the most important exchange came during the sendoff before Xi’s entourage headed to the airport, and was captured by (or rather intended for) the cameras… Xi Jinping: “Change is coming that hasn’t happened in 100 years and we are driving this change together.” Putin: “I agree.”
Mark Twain said, “Truth has no defense against a fool determined to believe a lie.” Over the last month, Elon Musk has released Twitter Files, clearly showing that the FBI, CIA, NSA, Biden Administration, Fauci, and Big Pharma all conspired with Twitter to lie and cover up the science about COVID and the C-19 Vaccine, as well as the truth about the Ukraine war, and they absolutely did everything they could to influence both the 2020 and 2022 elections, destroy Donald Trump and censor anything that went against their narrative. In short, everything declared as misinformation was the truth and everything they said was the truth was a lie. Currently, Brunson v Adam is on the Supreme Court docket with a chosen date of Jan 6th to either rule or begin to adjudicate this case that could potentially remove 385 US Reps and 96 US Senators from office and prevent them from ever holding any political office ever again.
“Investors suffered one of the worst years in recent history, with stocks and bonds falling in tandem. U.S. stocks inched lower in the final trading session of 2022, closing out a punishing year with further losses. 2022 proved to be one of the worst years for markets in recent history. Stocks and bond prices both fell, exceptional volatility roiled currencies and commodities, and cryptocurrency prices cratered as a series of crises gripped the emerging industry, its biggest pullback since 2008.” In retrospect the WSJ wrote, “Almost everyone on Wall Street and in Washington got 2022 wrong. The Federal Reserve expected 2021’s inflation surge to be transitory. It wasn’t. Core inflation climbed to a four-decade high this fall, nearly tripling the Fed’s full-year forecast. Top Wall Street analysts predicted markets would have a so-so year. They didn’t. With just a few trading days left in 2022, the S&P 500 is down 19% and on course for its biggest annual loss since the 2008 financial crisis. Bonds are headed for their worst year on record.” As to the future, the Epoch Times reported, “The vast majority of economists at 23 large financial institutions surveyed by The Wall Street Journal predict that the United States will fall into the grips of a recession in 2023 and millions of Americans lose their jobs. More than two-thirds of the nearly two dozen institutions—which include trading firms and investment banks that do business directly with the Federal Reserve—expect the U.S. economy to contract in 2023, according to the report. Two of the 23 institutions expect the recession to come later—in 2024—while the following five believe the United States will manage to avoid a downturn altogether: Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley.
Most Central Banks, with few exceptions, have been furiously printing money ever since the second quarter of 2020, devaluing their currencies and ballooning their balance sheets to levels beyond what most nations could ever hope to pay back. Can a central bank become insolvent? …Yes, but the best protection against this is sufficient gold reserves. “The Governor of the Dutch central bank stated the gold revaluation account ensures the solvency of his central bank in an interview on television about prospective losses. The significance of this statement is that if any European central bank will cover losses by using its gold revaluation account in full, the ECB has to put a floor under the gold price. And if more losses need to be covered than the current gold revaluation accounts of European central banks allow, the ECB will need to revalue gold.”–GainsvilleCoins.com
Many central banks have added to their gold reserves in preparation for what they believe is coming. Reuters wrote, “Central banks bought a record 399 tons of gold worth around $20 billion in the third quarter of 2022, helping to lift global demand for the metal, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Tuesday. Demand for gold was also strong from jewelers and buyers of gold bars and coins, the WGC said in its latest quarterly report, but exchange traded funds (ETFs) storing bullion for investors shrank. Gold is typically seen as a safe asset for times of uncertainty or turmoil, but many financial investors sold shares in gold-backed ETFs as interest rates rose and pushed up returns on other assets.
The Russian Central bank is one of the few exceptions; its currency’s stability has been strengthened and gained ground on every other central bank and currency in the world. The reason their position is secure is because on March 30, 2022, the Russian Ruble was backed by Russian gold reserves, it has been rising ever since and is now more valuable than it was before the Ukraine conflict. This is in spite of US and EU sanctions which have hurt the US, Britain, and the EU far more than Russia. The use of the USD, Pound & Euro has been radically reduced causing even a greater inflation effect on these economies.
According to Reuters; Russia’s finance ministry on Friday said the maximum possible share of Chinese yuan in its National Wealth Fund (NWF) had been doubled to 60% as it restructures its rainy-day fund to reduce dependency on currencies from so-called “unfriendly” nations. The ministry said the permitted share of gold in the NWF would also be doubled, to 40%. It said balances in the British pound and Japanese yen had been reduced to zero. Russia deems any country that has hit it with sanctions over its actions in Ukraine as “unfriendly” and has responded with counter-measures. Zerohedge wrote that if this continues it could potentially devastate western banks. “Earlier this month former NY Fed repo guru Zoltan Pozar wrote one of his most important reports of 2022, in which he described how Putin could unleash hell on the Western financial system by demanding instead of dollars, that Russian oil exporters are paid in gold, effectively pegging oil to gold and launching Petrogold. Such a move Zoltan said would lead to an immediate overnight banking crisis due to the synthetic gold short held by most western banks.”
We all need to understand the difference between crypto/digital currency and CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currency). Cryptocurrency transactions are de-centralized, they show up on the blockchain, but the identity of those making the transactions are anonymous, not recorded, like a cash transaction. CBDCs are digital, but they don’t show up on the blockchain, are highly centralized and there is no anonymity. Once a country implements a CBDC, like China did a year ago, they will know everything you buy or sell, and they can stop or disallow any transaction you make. They can control what car you buy, food you eat, donation you make; in other words they can control you. If you want to get a better understanding of cryptocurrency and find out some ways to avoid governmental control over your assets you can listen to the digital currency presentations on my video channels.
The WSJ reported that, “India’s central bank will launch its first pilot of a digital rupee for individual users Thursday, putting it ahead of many major economies in the journey toward a sovereign virtual currency. The Reserve Bank of India has said a digital rupee could provide Indians a safe alternative to risky private digital currencies. Central banks globally have been exploring the possibility of issuing a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, as crypto currencies have gained favor with the public. Many central banks, including the RBI, have long warned of the risk of unregulated cryptocurrencies, a concern exacerbated in recent days by the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, which counted on hundreds of mainstream investors and lenders.
The central bank of Nigeria not only wants to establish a digital currency, but they want to link it to a digital ID which would completely eliminate freedom and control virtually everything it’s citizens do.
India’s Central Bank to Launch Retail Pilot of Digital Rupee (11.30.22) WSJ
“The United Kingdom (UK) will release a consultative report containing the next proposed steps for its potential government-controlled central bank digital currency (CBDC) by the end of 2022. The report will be issued by the Bank of England, a UK government-owned central bank, and the UK Treasury, the government branch that develops and implements financial and economic policy. The release of the report was announced by Sir Jon Cunliffe, the Bank of England’s Deputy Governor of Financial Stability, during a recent speech titled “Reflections on DeFi, digital currencies and regulation.” Cunliffe said that the Bank of England and Treasury’s work on a digital pound was being driven by “the trends away from physical cash, which cannot be used in an increasingly digital economy, and, potentially, towards new forms of tokenised money.” Cunliffe didn’t discuss any potential privacy implications or limits that would apply to a potential digital pound but said there will be a “framework in which risks are properly managed.” – (Reclaim The Net)
Nations have been amassing debt at a speed and level unlike any other time in history and this cannot be sustained for much longer. Zerohedge reported: “For almost a year now we have been tracking several key data sets within to find the critical inflection point in this perhaps the most leading of economic indicators which will presage not only a crushing auto loan crisis, but also the arrival of a full-blown recession. We believe this moment has arrived.”
The Epoch Times quoted the WSJ, “One of the sharpest criticisms this year came from the Wall Street Journal editorial board, which wrote an op-ed titled “The Ugliest Omnibus Bill Ever” on Dec. 20 after Congressional leaders unveiled the $1.7 trillion spending package. “This is no way to govern in a democracy, but here we are,” the editorial board wrote, calling the spending bill the “worst in history.”
Zerohedge sums it up with this quote, “The world’s largest investment manager has gone all in and said the global recession is right around the corner. What’s more the financial tricks supplied by the central banks won’t work this time.”
The analysts give many reasons for this starting with the COVID crisis, but many now believe, like the false flag C-19, that the world financial crisis was contrived and purposeful. Regardless, of the reason, the spending sprees will come to an end and many will default on their debt. The only question is when?
CNBC reported, “India is set to overtake Japan and Germany to become the world’s third-largest economy, according to S&P Global and Morgan Stanley. S&P’s forecast is based on the projection that India’s annual nominal gross domestic product growth will average 6.3% through 2030. Similarly, Morgan Stanley estimates that India’s GDP is likely to more than double from current levels by 2031. “India has the conditions in place for an economic boom fueled by offshoring, investment in manufacturing, the energy transition, and the country’s advanced digital infrastructure,” Morgan Stanley analysts led by Ridham Desai and Girish Acchipalia wrote in the report. “These drivers will make [India] the world’s third-largest economy and stock market before the end of the decade.”
Most world economies and global markets have been very volatile and lost ground in 2022. Analysts, brokerage companies, and banks are forecasting gloomy outlooks for 2023. According to the Zerohedge article below, inflation is sky-high all around the world, “Geopolitical tensions are triggering high energy costs, while supply-side disruptions are also distorting consumer prices. The end result is that almost half of countries worldwide are seeing double-digit inflation rates or higher.” As the table below shows, countless countries are navigating record-high levels of inflation. Some are even facing triple-digit inflation rates. Globally, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, and Venezuela have the highest rates in the world.”
*Inflation rates based on the latest available data.
Corruption in global markets is rampant, Black Rock, Meta, Google, JP Morgan, the SEC Chairman, Vanguard, and many more have been fined, accused, questioned, or had action taken against them for their purchases, undue influence, affiliations, backroom deals, and application of ESG, to name just a few unscrupulous activities. Many states are disinvesting their state pensions funds with these companies and their attorney generals are taking them to task. The UN, the WEF, the US State Department, and various governments are trying to force global markets to comply with their agendas.
The political corruption and attempts to control people, as well as markets, are also rampant internationally. “As Statista’s Martin Armstrong notes, Greek politician Eva Kaili, vice-president of the European Parliament, was charged with corruption in a case linked to Qatar and imprisoned on Sunday in Brussels, along with three other people. The investigators’ suspicions relate to large sums of money allegedly paid by the 2022 World Cup host country to influence European politics. Last spring, an average of 68 percent of respondents in an EU-wide survey said corruption was widespread in their country. So why should it be any different in Strasbourg or Brussels? As Statista’s infographic shows, Greece leads all EU countries in the perception of corruption.”
The unelected representatives of the United Nation and the EU continue to ignore national sovereignty and impose their own agenda and personal moral imperatives on the rest of the world. Even 99-year-old Henry Kissinger has warned these groups to stop pressing their agendas and to negotiate an end to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, which Putin has said he is prepared to do. China’s mismanagement and totalitarian handling of their own manufactured C-19 bio-weapon are causing great internal unrest and international concerns. The unelected bureaucrats in Brussels are not only sanctioning Russia, but their own members for non-compliance. Many national governments and international agencies are not in agreement with the citizens, to whom they are supposed to be subject. Lines are being drawn and what will happen next is unclear.
Things are about to radically change in the state of MI and we need to think through, pray through, strategize and be ready for the changes that are coming. We need to clearly understand where we are, shift our focus and change what we were doing before to deal with the conditions we now live in.
At the end of September, I was sitting in a hotel breakfast room at 6:00 AM watching the Bloomberg channel. The focus was on the current conditions of the US economy and markets and their analysis of those numbers – numbers are the one thing that they are forced to report accurately. The analysis was completely negative with an outlook for worsening conditions. The US economy and markets are about to topple over that looming economic cliff, while many other nations have already begun their descent… but the mainstream US media is not reporting on it. The tangible ramifications of these numbers and conditions on people’s lives is completely absent and disconnected from the media’s analysis. The elite parties who are largely driving markets and economic activity do not want the world to know that their agendas, packaged as the friendly and just social and economic movements that will save the world, are actually causing this destruction and over-burdening struggling families by causing the cost of food, utilities, and other necessities to inflate. The world’s experts and analysis are lacking, because they lack spiritual understanding and discernment, and are guided by the information (or misinformation) fed to them by controlling interests, thus they can provide no answers or guidance. So, financial planners and brokers simply repeat the mantra: “Don’t do anything, markets go up and down and if you just ride it out, you’ll be fine.”
In the 2008 crisis, the average person lost 57.5% of market invested funds, and it took most about seven years to get back to where they were. Why would anyone choose that course? All signs and sources are telling us that world economies and markets are not doing well and are expected to worsen. Both sides of the continuum, Goldman Sachs, Chase Bank, Bloomberg and the WSJ, as well as Glenn Beck, the Epoch Times and other conservative and liberal economists are predicting a severe down turn on the horizon. If you haven’t made a move based on what you believe is going to happen, you may want to act soon, as the markets are already down over 20% since January.
The Epoch Times reported: “In a dialogue kicking off the first in-person meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) since the pandemic, the chiefs of the two institutions warned of a series of compounding crises threatening livelihoods, including persistent inflation and a growing risk of a global recession.”
Inflation in the US is at a four-decade high, mortgage rates are now over 7%, and home sales are tanking along with the financial markets. The US and other world economies are being destroyed by irrational climate agendas and regulation, forced electric car buying, closed pipelines, banned oil drilling, and refusal to utilize environmentally clean, safe and cost-effective nuclear power. Diesel fuel reserves are at the lowest point they have been in 71 years. Europe is already experiencing utility shortages and sky-rocketing prices, and the outlook for the rest of the world is not good; you may want to ensure you have some extra provisions on hand in the days ahead.
The Federal government’s mismanagement is glaring for everyone to see and is reflecting in the polls as we approach mid-term elections. There are some states, however, like Florida and Texas that are bucking downward economic trends, while others like California and New York seem to be driving their economies off the proverbial cliff faster than the Federal government. In fact, there is a striking difference between most red states and blue states in both current and future economic outlooks. CA and NY have been the greatest exit states by individual and businesses for the last four years, as people flow into more economically friendly and stable states like TX.
Goldman, BofA See Worst Year Since 2008 For European Equities (10.24.22)
In September, the Epoch Times wrote: “The Bank of England (BOE) was forced to enact, de facto, a bailout of the pension funds of the United Kingdom. On Sept. 28, around noon, the Bank of England stepped (back) into the gilt markets and started buying government bonds with longer maturities to stop the collapse in their value, which could have caused the financial system to become unhinged. Pension funds were faced with major margin calls, which threatened to cause a rapidly cascading run on their liabilities, as trust in their liquidity and solvency would have become questioned by a widening circle of investors and customers. In October, CNBC reported, “The Bank of England on Tuesday announced an expansion of its emergency bond-buying operation as it looks to restore order to the country’s chaotic bond market. The central bank said it will widen its purchases of U.K. government bonds… The move marks the second expansion of the Bank’s extraordinary rescue package in as many days, after it increased the limit for its daily gilt purchases on Monday ahead of the planned end of the purchase scheme on Friday.”
Central banks across the board have been intervening in the economies of their nations in an attempt to keep things afloat. Unfortunately, most are coming up short, because they have printed too much money and taken on too much debt, and their currencies, along with national economies, are in a downward spiral. Argentina’s central bank raised its interest rate to 75% in an attempt to curb its inflation which is nearing 100%. Large international banks, the EU’s Deutche Bank, and China’s Evergrande Bank are teetering on insolvencies. The UN demanded that central banks switch to price controls, which have never worked in any country that has enacted them. IMF officials think governments should all have a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to control what people spend their money on. However, Central Banks, knowing what happens next in these conditions, are buying billions of pounds of gold and manipulating gold prices.
ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) is a system used by authoritarian governments, multinational corporations, and global elites attempting to control the behaviors of their citizens, by rewarding or penalizing them for their actions. China has fully integrated the ESG system and the people that follow their rules go to the best schools, get the best jobs, live in the nicest places, get the best vacations, etc. Those who don’t follow the rules, don’t get home loans, can’t go to better schools, get better jobs, or have the same privileges and freedoms as compliant citizens for as long as they resist. The UN, WEF, Facebook, Google, Bill Gates, George Soros, and unfortunately some US banks, insurance companies, financial institutions, and other large US companies are incorporating factors like climate change, vaccination, religious affiliation, race, and sexual preference, into their decision making. This goes against the US Constitution and the freedom and equality America and many other nations desire to stand for.
Lifesite News reported: “The Federal Reserve has taken a major step in the direction of facilitating an ESG compliant monetary network that effectively acts as a parallel system to that of the Chinese Communist Party’s infamous social credit scoring system. The Fed said in a statementThursday: Six of the nation’s largest banks will participate in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise designed to enhance the ability of supervisors and firms to measure and manage climate-related financial risks. Scenario analysis—in which the resilience of financial institutions is assessed under different hypothetical climate scenarios—is an emerging tool to assess climate-related financial risks, and there will be no capital or supervisory implications from the pilot. In other words, The Fed is working with the big banks to monitor their ability to comply with the ruling class’s preferred enviro statist technocratic tyranny.”
The push for ESG scoring is starting to lose ground as individuals and states push back. Attorney generals from 19 states have launched an investigation of major financial institutions and their attempt to implement the UN sponsored Net-Zero Alliance. Many states have divested their state pensions out of Black Rock, the largest financial institution and pension provider in the world. This has caused WEF founding member Black Rock to lose massive amounts of capital, to be downgraded by USB, and to begin to backtrack on its socio-economic globalist agenda.
Epoch Times wrote: “The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could potentially allow a government to control what people spend their hard-earned cash on. Speaking at the IMF-World Bank annual meeting on Oct. 15, Deputy Managing Director Bo Li said that a CBDC could improve “financial inclusion” through programmability. “A CBDC can allow government agencies and private sector players to program, to create smart contracts, to allow targeted policy functions,” Li explained. “For example, welfare payments, for example, consumption coupons, for example, food stamps.” “By programming CBDC, that money can be precisely targeted for what kind of people can own [CBDC] and for what kind of use this money can be utilized, for example for food.” In another quote by the Epoch Times, “Francis Hunt is a chartered market analyst with over 30 years of successful trading experience. He is an expert on global markets. Hunt sees major trouble ahead as inflation destroys the value of government bonds. He says we’re already seeing this play out in Britain and Japan, and that it’s only a matter of time before it reaches the United States. He predicts governments will react by introducing central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The International Monetary Fund recently confirmed CBDCs could be used to control exactly what people spend their money on.”
The US and the world are moving rapidly toward the establishment of national digital currencies. In mid-September, the White House and Federal Reserve issued a regulatory structure for a US Digital dollar, and many other nations have issued similar statements and plans. It is no coincidence that these regulatory frameworks have been put in place at this time, or that the IMF, World Bank, White House, Federal Reserve, and ECB are all actively moving toward CBDCs. The question is not if, but when the US, and the world, will go fully digital. Recognizing the possibility of a US CBDC, the current administration has developed policy objectives for such a currency. At the end of March, EO 14067 was issued, instructing the Federal Reserve and US Treasury Department to research and report back on the pros & cons of going digital, and what would be required to make this transition. In July, Chairman Powell reported back to the House and Senate that, in order for the US dollar to retain its supremacy, it would need to go digital. On Sept 16, 2022, the White House released, “Framework for a Responsible Development of Digital Assets,” to guide this transition. With this framework in place, the transition can be initiated anytime in the near future. (For more information please refer to my Rumble presentations):
The Epoch Times Reported: “America’s recessionary drums beat louder in August as a key economic gauge from the Conference Board dropped for the sixth month in a row, with a “major driver” being the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes. The Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the United States, which is a forward-looking gauge made up of 10 individual indicators, fell by 0.3 percent in August, the Conference Board said on Sept. 22. The latest reading brings the total six-month drop to 2.7 percent in the LEI measure, which is designed to predict business cycle shifts including recessions. “The US LEI declined for a sixth consecutive month potentially signaling a recession.” Just The News wrote, The key metric fell 329.60 points on Monday, marking a 1.11% decline, placing the index in bear market territory, per MarketWatch. A bear market is traditionally defined as a 20% decline from a recent high. On Friday, the Dow Jones plunged below 30,000, effectively erasing all of the stock market’s gains since President Joe Biden took office. The S&P 500 also reached a low point for the year 2022, dropping 1.03% to 3,655.04, while the third major index, the Nasdaq Composite, dropped 0.6% to 10,802.92. A major index officially plunging into a bear market adds pressure on the Biden administration, which has sought to redefine the formal definition of an economic recession following consecutive quarters of economic decline, the traditional benchmark.”
The US economy is faltering with markets down over 20% and global economies and markets suffering even greater downward trajectories. Europe is, and will be, experiencing serious fuel shortages and price increases, crippling their factories and burdening citizens who can’t afford enough fuel to heat their homes or drive their cars. Some governments have also passed regulations limiting the minimum and maximum temperatures allowed in homes and businesses. All of this is being carried out by design in the name of a manufactured and avoidable “energy crisis” caused by calculated actions for the purpose of forcing the world to accept a massive over-arching climate change control agenda; an authoritarian agenda that benefits only elite interests and will cause a domino effect of destruction and suffering across all spheres of society.
The Epoch Times reported: “Eurozone inflation rose above 10 percent this month as economies across the 19-nation bloc begin to slow. Rising prices throughout the continent have put immense pressure on countries throughout the region. Preliminary data from the European Union’s statistics agency showed inflation hitting an annual rate of 10.7 percent for October, for the highest monthly reading since the creation of the eurozone.
The WSJ reported: “The only inflation that isn’t out there is inflated stock gains. The numbers weren’t pretty for third-quarter performance of U.S.-stock mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, as the market absorbed the economy’s inflation troubles and the Federal Reserve’s attempts to corral the problem with interest-rate boosts. The average U.S.-stock fund fell 4.5% in the quarter, according to Refinitiv Lipper data. The average fund is down 24.8% for the year to date. Only a handful of stock-fund managers have managed to stay in positive territory.”
Gas prices have doubled in some places, real estate markets have slowed, credit default swaps and derivatives are back, interest rates are up, homes are less affordable, building is more costly, and layoffs more likely. China’s economy and markets are in bad shape as well, due to their Covid regulations, depressed real estate markets, failing banks, and Orwellian controls over dissatisfied citizens.
I’ll keep my comments in this section brief due to the length of this update and all that’s happening in the world and you can check out the source links for more details. Simon Black gives a great presentation in the podcast below, on the rise and fall of empires, definitely worth a listen. Since the US media only tells you what the elite interests who own these outlets want you to know, the second article below will tell you about the massive demonstrations and unrest going on in the rest of the world. The Ukraine/Russian crisis is ongoing, but after destroying the illegal biological labs and annexing the four Ukrainian territories which were taken from Russia after WWII, Putin has basically accomplished his stated goals and indicated he means only to maintain this ground and Russian sovereignty from the intrusion of the global elite and the agendas they’re forcing on the rest of the world. The US, however, refuses to stop its continued involvement and now has boots on the ground in Ukraine in the form of inspectors (the same method by which the US first became involved in Vietnam).
The EU is a mess because of its economy and position on Ukraine. Their sanctions against Russia are the primary reason for their fuel and food shortages and inflated costs. Putin has said, if the EU lifts its sanctions, Russia will be happy to provide them with all the fuel, food and other resources they need. The EU is also trying to push price controls on oil-producing members to help non-producing members, creating further disunity within their union, and they’re also sanctioning their own members again. The new UK Prime Minister only lasted 6 weeks after Boris Johnson resigned, causing further internal instability, as well as diminishing their credibility in the eyes of other nations.
Greece and Turkey are threatening each other. China and India are still physically fighting each other in border battles, Iran is laying claim to Bahrain, Ethiopia continues to have internal conflict and China says it’s preparing to take back Taiwan. Nicaragua’s government has broken ties with the Netherlands, pushed out the EU ambassador, and announced it will not accept Washington’s new representative in the country. Needless to say, there are both wars and rumors of war throughout the world.
In less than two years the US has gone from a respected world superpower to a failing banana republic. The supply chain, which has efficiently operated for 200 years, is purposely being dismantled, inflation is 9%, the price of gas has doubled, we’ve gone from an oil export nation to an oil-dependent nation, our military leadership has gone woke and, along with our president and vice-president, are no longer respected. The US Stock market had the worst six-month performance since 1872, and after two consecutive quarters of a sinking economy (which is the definition of a Recession), US market analysts, economists, and even the media are voicing concerns. The Biden Administration’s answer to the problem is to redefine the definition of recession and raise federal income taxes on its citizens.
The WSJ wrote, “The U.S. economy shrank for a second quarter in a row—a common definition of recession—as businesses trimmed their inventories, the housing market buckled under rising interest rates, and high inflation took steam out of consumer spending.” Simon Black wrote, “The Board of Trustees for Social Security released its annual report. And, once again, it was a scathing indictment of the program’s solvency. Primarily, the report points out that, since 2008, the cost of Social Security has been “increasing much more rapidly than [its income] and is projected to continue to do so through about 2040.” And at that rate, the trustees (who are the US Secretary of State, Secretary of Labor, and Secretary of Health and Human Services explain, “Trust Fund reserves become fully depleted in 2034”.
The expectation for the second half of 2022 is bleak; the US stock market, housing market and economy will continue to falter and the USD will continue to devalue, while interest rates, inflation, unemployment and national debt will continue to rise.
Recession Fears Loom as U.S. GDP Falls for Second Quarter in a Row (7.28.22) WSJ
The Fed raised interest rates another .75% in an attempt to slow inflation, but Chairman Powell has repeatedly said rates will need to go much higher for these efforts to be successful. Fed Vice-Chair Lael Brainerd is urging the US to move swiftly towards digitizing the US dollar. Reuters wrote:
“The development of an official digital version of the U.S. dollar could help safeguard its global dominance as other countries issue their own, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday, weighing in with generally positive remarks on a hot-button topic at the central bank that has left policymakers divided. “A U.S. CBDC (central bank digital currency) could… potentially help maintain the dollar’s international standing,” Powell said in introductory remarks to a research conference held by the central bank on the international roles of the dollar. The Fed has just finished a four-month public consultation period soliciting opinions on the idea of a digital dollar. Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard has emerged as a key supporter while Fed Governor Chris Waller has made the case against. Ten countries have already launched central bank digital currencies and another 105 countries are exploring the option, according to the Atlantic Council, leading to fears the dollar could lose some of its dominance to China.”
Both the hard currency markets and the cryptocurrency markets had a very volatile Q-2 and that volatility has continued into Q-3. The Euro fell to a 20-year low, then slipped below parity with the USD, a trend that will likely continue. The one currency that’s rising against the USD as well as all the other global currencies, is the Russian Ruble, a trend that is also expected to continue (refer to my Q-1 update for the reasoning behind the Ruble’s success). The cryptocurrency markets were very volatile and some of them crashed and burned, especially those platforms which relied upon algorithms rather than reality. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban’s reputation is now tarnished because his crypto brokerage venture failed. Despite the volatility referenced above, the US as well as 105 other countries, are preparing to eliminate hard currency and create national digital currencies like China did last January.
The WSJ summed up Q-2 pretty well: “Global markets closed out their most bruising first half of a year in decades, leaving investors bracing for the prospect of further losses. Accelerating inflation and rising interest rates fueled a months-long rout that left few markets unscathed. The S&P 500 fell 21% through Thursday, suffering its worst first half of a year since 1970, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Investment-grade bonds, as measured by the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond exchange-traded fund, lost 11%—posting their worst start to a year in history. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 15%. … Growth at U.S. manufacturing companies was its weakest in two years in July, but inflationary pressures showed signs of cooling as commodity prices eased, according to surveys of purchasing managers released Monday.”
There are many reasons for the deteriorating US economy, and they almost all stem from the Biden Administration’s agenda-driven policies including purposeful attacks against US manufacturers, coal and oil producers, closures of pipelines, foreign policy and trade blunders, and misguided use of sanctions, which has backfired against the US and most of the world. America is not the only country where agenda-driven policies are destroying the economy, international trade, and leaving citizens to suffer the consequences and pay the bill. Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the European Union, the Netherlands, and UK all seem to be following the same script, which is discussed and formed at such gatherings as the World Economic Forum in Davos. Even BlackRock suffered huge losses as reported by the WSJ and Epoch Times, “BlackRock, the world’s largest investment management firm with about $8.49 trillion in assets, recorded a $1.7 trillion loss in the first half of 2022, according to the company. This was the biggest sum of money ever lost by a single company in a 6-month span, according to Marc Rubenstein, a Bloomberg analyst. In the company’s second-quarter earnings report, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink attributed the immense decline to the collapse in the financial markets, blaming an environment of rampant price inflation, rising interest rates, and market carnage.”
Some bright spots in the US are many of the Red states whose economies are not heading south like many Blue states. The Epoch Times reported, “Amidst predictions of a political “red wave” in the upcoming mid-term elections, an economic wave has been building for years with no end in sight as companies flood out of blue states and into red states. And as a result of its political divisions, America appears to now be dividing itself into prosperous, high-growth states and states that are suffering a chronic decline. But Democrat-run states believe their abortion policies could be a key factor in attracting companies back. Caterpillar and Citadel, which in June announced their exit out of Illinois, are only the latest firms to leave high-tax, high-regulation states. Tesla, Hewlett Packard, Oracle, and Remington are also among the hundreds of companies flocking out of California, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey to business-friendly places like Texas, Florida, Arizona, and Tennessee. Relocating companies have spanned industries including tech, finance, media, heavy manufacturing, autos, and firearms.
More Companies Join the ‘Great Migration’ to Red States(7.2.22)
The Biden Administration’s failed handling of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, combined with Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, have created the greatest chance for a WWIII, since WWII. The RT News reported, “The Ukrainian leader said that helping his country should be more important for Americans than domestic concerns. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has told British broadcaster Piers Morgan that inflation and coronavirus are “nothing” compared to Ukraine’s struggle, and Americans should support aid for Kiev “until we win.”” Zelensky has already received over $50 Billion in American tax dollars along with weapons and other aid, which is far more than a country in which the US has no strategic interest should ever have received, especially in such a controversial and historically complex conflict.
The Biden Administration has been forced to finish parts of the border wall Trump had built, as illegal immigrants continue to pour into the US at record levels. The administration is also losing ground in their battle to perpetuate Covid hysteria and restrictions, but with mid-term elections only 3 months away and a lack of facts and science to support their position, Monkeypox is now being declared the new world health emergency, New York, Los Angeles and Illinois have also proclaimed Monkeypox health emergencies.
The Epoch Times wrote: “The WHO now views the outbreak as a significant enough threat to global health that a coordinated international response is needed to prevent the virus from spreading further and potentially escalating into a pandemic,” Vallely said. Monkeypox is a disease primarily transmitted through the sexual activity of gay and bisexual men. “I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a July 23 statement. Beware of this politically driven global organization that is funded by the global elite,” warned the article.
EU nations like Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands have also made some very poor choices in alignment with the aforementioned script these nations all seem to be following, which is causing double-digit inflation, as well as natural gas, oil, and food shortages. Many of Europe’s leaders, including Boris Johnson (UK) and Mario Draghi (Italy), have been forced to resign, and long-time Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, is stepping down as well. The Blaze reported:
“Some of Germany’s biggest cities are preparing for an energy crunch this winter by shutting off warm water, limiting heat, and switching off lighting. The German city of Hanover is attempting to reduce its energy consumption by 15%. Between Oct. 1 and March 31, Hanover’s municipal buildings will not be allowed to be heated to a temperature over 68F. The city has banned the use of mobile air conditioning units and fan heaters. The citizens of Hanover will be forced to take cold showers at city-run facilities. The German city will cut off hot water in public buildings, swimming pools, and gyms.”
China’s economy has many issues, their largest bank is insolvent, they have overspent and printed too much money and are selling US treasuries, not only to hurt the US, but also to keep themselves afloat. The WSJ reported that China posted its slowest growth rate in two years, which means it’s probably much worse. Couple that with internal problems including Chinese leaders becoming disenchanted with and challenging Xi, and China appears to have some volatile times ahead.
UN, World Economic Forum Behind Global War on Farmers (7.27.22)
Fulton's Perspective on Global Economies, Markets & Political Events 
