Tag: 2020

Ep. 452 – More Free Stuff
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 452 - More Free Stuff
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It’s no surprise to us here at The Kapital News, as the White House, Republicans, and Democrats seem to be willing to once again get together to discuss another round of spending. On one side we have about $2.4 trillion from the Democrats, and from the White House, it appears they’re willing to go as high as $1.5 trillion. Of course, it can be reasonably deduced that what the White House is willing to do – so too the Republicans. The Kapital News expects the number to come in at around $1.9 trillion. A compromise if you will, where the Dems can claim close to $2 trillion and the President and Republicans can live with it as long as the price tag begins with “1.” Despite what figure is agreed upon and when, we still have to face the music that we do not have the money! But that’s seemingly okay, because we’re constantly told that debts and deficits do not matter. We’ve also been told by just about every member of the Federal Reserve that Congress has to do more. Why? Are we not constantly being told that we are in the midst of a “super V” recovery – then why more spending? Collectively, through monetary and fiscal measures, several trillion dollars (that we do not have), were thrown into the system (courtesy of the banana republic printing press) – and this is as far as it has taken us. We still have millions of evictions waiting in the wings. We still have a countless number of bankruptcies and insolvencies on the horizon. With these, an untold number of layoffs and permanent job losers will likely ensue. We still have moratoriums on student debt payments – these debts still need to be repaid. And lastly, but not the last of it, are the commercial and residential real estate markets that will likely experience declines not seen since the GFC or worse. But, hey, it’s all free – right?

We also discuss the typical data releases reserved for our Thursday podcast. Initial jobless claims for the prior week came in higher than market expectations at 870,000. The prior week was also revised higher by 6,000 to 866,000 claims. However, in aggregate, all persons claiming some form of unemployment benefit(s), decreased by nearly 3 million, to now sit around 26 million. This is still an extremely high number. Yet, this is somewhat of a head scratcher as over the last two weeks, we have witnessed an increase of nearly 3 million, taking the total to around 29 million. And just like that, in one week, 3 million are off the rolls? Perhaps people have found jobs, but this would not be in agreement with the various surveys of small businesses, households, and announcements and actions being undertaken in larger corporations. So what’s going on? Is this some sort of counting error? Are people no longer qualifying for benefits? These are questions to ponder, and unfortunately, several months into this monstrosity of an economic experiment, we still do not have a full picture of the jobs market. This lack of clarity will continue. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Bailouts #Debt #Inflation #Gold #Silver #USA #Recession #Depression #Protests #Liberty #Revolution #BananaRepublic #EndTheFed

Ep. 451 – Does Crime Pay?
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 451 - Does Crime Pay?
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The bulk of today’s discussion is a continuation of Monday’s podcast where we were focusing on the FinCEN investigation. This is a branch of the Treasury Department that is responsible for collecting, maintaining, and investigating suspicious activity reports, (SARs). These SARs are filed by banks when they identify unusual and suspicious transactions. The main goal is to detect money laundering and then stop it. However, as we gather through the BuzzFeed News investigation – this process is not so straight forward. In fact, many banks know and/or have a good idea that they are transacting with a money launderer, such as drug trafficker, but they continue to do business. The fees that are made from these transactions are apparently too good to give up; and furthermore, even if federal prosecutors should take action against the bank(s), the common punishment is a fine. This fine is of course paid by the shareholders and not the executives who are aware of these business dealings, nor the board directors who have a fiduciary duty to look out for the shareholders. Since this is the reality – crime does pay for these banks and other actors.

The BuzzFeed article that we continue to make our way through, highlights several of the world’s largest banks and the activities they have been involved with. These actions can range from working with Russian organized crime figures, to drug and human traffickers, to being the bank for convicted Ponzi scheme felon, Bernie Madoff. The amount of money involved is nothing short of astonishing and along with it the banking fees that are derived and the trading desk profits that are made with these funds. So long as this kind of money can be made and the corresponding punishment(s) so limited, then it can be logically concluded that these actions will continue, because crime, unfortunately, for these figures, does pay. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Banks #Fraud #Bailouts #USA #Gold #Inflation #Debt #Liberty #Revolution

Ep. 450 – Government Out of Control
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 450 - Government Out of Control
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The Congressional Budget Office, CBO, is out with their projections for debt, deficit, spending, and revenue levels out to 2050 – and it ain’t a pretty picture. Even accounting for the effects for COVID-19 and the government response thereof, deficits are expected to increase to 5 percent of GDP by 2030 and to a whopping 13 percent by 2050. For context, the average deficit as a percentage of GDP has been 3 percent for the past 50 years. Following suit, the federal debt will increase to a record size of the economy when it hits 107 percent of GDP in 2023. This trend, unfortunately continues and hits a striking 195 percent of GDP by 2050. The CBO even remarks about the fragility of the economy and it will likely not be able to tolerate higher interest rates. Also noting that inflation may be on its way depending on how the government decides to “finance” the debt. And lastly, warning of a potential fiscal crisis and/or decline in the value of Treasury securities. All of the above points have been discussed at length by The Kapital News – most of which on a near daily basis. This is nothing short of a government that is out of control. And sadly, neither the President, nor VP Biden, are likely to comment on this fiscal disaster, nor address the structural issues that have led us to this destination, nor have a realistic plan to address it. The lack of honesty and leadership is a tragedy in and of itself.

In other news, the US dollar index is rallying, putting downward pressure on precious metals, some commodities, and likely stock prices as well. Is this a rush to “safety” in the US dollar? Or is liquidity starting to dry up once again, thus causing an increase in demand for US dollars in response to all of the US dollar denominated debt(s) that are outstanding and due? This is something worth monitoring. Interesting to note, however, is that the 10-year Treasury has barely moved and has been range-bound for quite awhile. Perhaps this fact throws water on the safe-haven play, as one would also expect to see falling yields in such a scenario. Today, Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, gave testimony on the state of the economy and the various efforts undertaken to revive the economy. Long-story short, they are requesting more spending and cannot figure out how to get money in the hands of small businesses, but have no problem giving it to major banks and large corporations – American or otherwise. And lastly, with rising COVID-19 cases in Europe, UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, made a public announcement urging Brits to social distancing and utilize other measures to get the numbers down, and should numbers continue to increase, then lock-down 2.0 is the likely outcome. Other countries may follow suit. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Debt #Deficits #Recession #Depression #Inflation #USA #BananaRepublic #EndTheFed #Liberty #Revolution #Gold #Silver

Ep. 449 – Banks Caught Red-Handed?
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 449 - Banks Caught Red-Handed?
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Major documents that are housed within the Treasury Department’s, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, have been released. These files are not to be released, nonetheless, various news agencies and investigative journalists got their hands on them and have been going through them for over a year – connecting the dots and painting a picture. The story it tells is one where between 1999 and 2017, banks flagged over $2 trillion in suspicious activity transactions. The suspicious activity reports or SARs that are filed by banks and sent to FinCEN, are done so for the purpose of identifying and tracking illegal behaviors. These actions can range from the financing of terrorism, drug operations, Ponzi schemes, kleptocratic regimes, and the like. These documents will be on the level of previous releases, such as the Snowden files, Panama Papers, and various Wikileaks reports.

Pertaining to finance, this of course has a global reach and engulfs the largest banks in the world, which despite filing the SARs, are still able to collect fees off of these transactions, and rarely if ever have to pay fines. Further, executives and board members are rarely if ever held to account either criminally or civilly. And should fines be paid, then it’s the shareholders who flip the bill and not the managers who knew about these activities and/or allowed them to continue. It is no surprise that the Treasury Department is not pleased that some of these documents are likely going to be published, and express their concerns on how such a release can compromise national security and law enforcement interests. This is the typical line that is given from the government – “hiding” behind national security. There is no question that legitimate national security and law enforcement activities are of concern and should be. However, how many times have we heard this as justification from the government, only to learn that they did so to conceal wrongdoing within various departments and to infringe on the peoples’ Constitutional rights? If we’re supposed to be a government, of, by, and for the people, then how can the people make the right decision(s) in electing our political leaders, and focus on the most important issues, if the people are intentionally left in the dark?

This story will not go away anytime soon. However, what does come into question, is how much attention it will get on the mainstream media, within the Congress, within the White House, and within the public. So do not be surprised if there is an attempt to “sweep this under the rug.” Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Banks #Fraud #Bailouts #Debt #USA #Recession #BuzzFeed

Ep. 448 – Weekly Wrap Up
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 448 - Weekly Wrap Up
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News this evening is the passing of Associate Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was 87 years old and passed away in the presence of her family. Ginsburg was nominated by President Bill Clinton and served nearly thirty years on the bench of the Supreme Court. She was a tireless advocate for equal rights, especially among women – and her work alone in this area as a lawyer, would have made her an historic American figure even if she was not a Justice on the Supreme Court. May American history always remember her, and her dedication to equal rights, and may she rest in peace.

Other topics discussed today were those that were covered throughout this week. A recap of the town halls of President Trump and VP Joe Biden; further commentary on the 29.8 million Americans still receiving some form of unemployment assistance; and the likelihood of some type of additional spending/bailout coming down the pike. Enjoy your weekend! Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Unemployment #Recession #USA #SupremeCourt #Gold #Silver #Inflation #Depression #Trump #Biden #Liberty #Revolution #BananaRepublic #EndTheFed

Ep. 447 – Town Hall Showdown, Trump v. Biden Pt II
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 447 - Town Hall Showdown, Trump v. Biden Pt II
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This evening, from Scranton, Pa., former VP Joe Biden was at the town hall event hosted by CNN, and moderated by Anderson Cooper. Earlier in the week we discussed President Trump’s town hall, also in Pennsylvania. This state selection is not a coincidence as Pennsylvania is very much a battleground in the campaign. Recall that President Trump won the state in 2016 by a slim margin – Pennsylvania is typically a Democratic party stronghold in Presidential elections. Just as the President did what he needed to do, the same holds true for Joe Biden. Neither man had any major gaffe that would derail their respective campaigns. Nonetheless, this provides the country with a little sneak preview of perhaps how the first debate will look when that takes place on 29 September. Some topics of discussion during the town hall pertained to taxes, healthcare, and energy – all of which we explore during today’s podcast.

Also covered today were the typical data points related to initial jobless claims, which came in at 860,000 for the week ending 12 September. The prior week’s number was also revised upward by 9,000 to 893,000. When looking at the report in aggregate we see that the total among persons claiming some form of unemployment benefit came in at 29.8 million. This is a week-over-week increase of some 98,000. This is for the week ending 29 August, as their is a lag for these figures. What is interesting to note in this report is that this grand total weekly change saw a notable increase to the “Regular State” category of some 215,000. Is this indicative of the next wave of layoffs? It can be reasoned that if this is the case, that a significant portion of these potential layoffs will be borne by white-collar jobs. We have been seeing a marked increase in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency UC programs over the last few weeks, which were creations of the Nobody CARES Act. Under these programs, assistance was extended and/or given to those who typically would not qualify for Regular State unemployment benefits – such as gig/contract workers and the self-employed. The fact that we are now seeing an increase in Regular State, may very well indicate that another round of layoffs is underway. Also indicative of this is the fact that we are still experiencing several hundred thousand layoffs per week, several months into this pandemic.

Per our analysis, this is not surprising to see, unfortunately. However, it is still difficult to gain a true sense of the jobs picture because of the distortionary effects of fiscal and monetary policy. So it will likely be at least a few more months until be we gain a better view on the jobs front – as moratoriums are lifted/expire, evictions pick up, and further bankruptcies and insolvencies come down the pike. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Unemployment #DNC #RNC #Bailouts #Debt #Recession #Inflation #Gold #Silver #Depression #USA #Trump #Biden #Liberty #Revolution #BananaRepublic #EndTheFed

Ep. 446 – Fed Speaks + No Leadership
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 446 - Fed Speaks + No Leadership
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The world is and has been crying out for the truth and leadership for quite a while, and unfortunately, it is getting neither. Whether it’s central governments and central banks continuing with their fraudulent and asinine policies that seek to perpetually kick the proverbial can down the road, in attempts to sustain the unsustainable, to the massive amount of political corruption and mismanagement, to various social issues that seemingly never go away, one thing is certain – there is an absence of leadership. Global protests were here well before COVID-19 and they will be with us for the foreseeable future and they will gain momentum and intensify. A political sea change is here and it needs to be, because this global system is collapsing under its own weight. The question then becomes, what policies do we, as a nation, and even as the human race, adopt? Because if it’s more of the same – then we get more of the same. But if we restore our founding principles and free-market capitalism, then our future can outshine all of this darkness that we are experiencing.

Today was also the conclusion of the FOMC meeting whereby the Fed, as expected, kept rates unchanged at the zero bound (0.00 – 0.25bps). It was a terrible performance by Jay Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, during the press conference. Despite facing relatively weak and predictable questions, the fact that what the Fed has and continues to do, makes it very difficult for even the Fed Chairman to defend. In addition, he cannot simply gloss over the devastating economic reality with half the country broke and in debt. Furthermore, the corporate debt load is simply staggering, thus creating one zombie company after the next, which all but guarantees slow and anemic growth ahead. Then you have to take into consideration the massive amount of evictions, insolvencies, bankruptcies, and layoffs that are just around the corner. Take all of this together and not many would have had a solid press conference performance – unless of course one was inclined to tell the truth and to be a leader. But since we do not hear the truth and thus have no leadership in these positions of power, then we will continue to get the same devastating and destructive results. #Economy #Jobs #Leadership #Inflation #Recession #Depression #USA #Liberty #Revolution #BananaRepublic #EndTheFed #Bailouts #Debt #Gold

Ep. 445 – Town Hall Showdown, Trump v. Biden
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 445 - Town Hall Showdown, Trump v. Biden
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This evening the President gave a town hall event, hosted by ABC News, in Philadelphia, Pa. The President fielded questions from the audience and he held is own. Of course, the President was his usual self with a mixture of the truth, misinformation, distortions, exaggerations, and lies, but nonetheless, the President speaks in a manner that still resonates with many people. The audience was comprised of supporters and non-supporters and asked questions related to healthcare, the pandemic, race relations, and other relevant and timely topics. This gives us a little sample of the upcoming Presidential debates and how the President may respond to similar questions.

Later this week, on Thursday, Joe Biden will be at a town hall event, hosted by CNN, in Scranton, Pa. A lot of media coverage, especially from the Republican side, has been hyping up the debates, and are looking for Joe Biden to have a major mess-up. Should this occur, then the image that the Trump campaign is creating of Joe Biden, of a bumbling, unaware, old-man, will play right into their hands. So, this town hall may very well play a key role in seeing how Biden can handle himself in front of a live audience. Of course, Biden was on the stage for several debates throughout the primary season, as well as other televised town hall events, and he is now the party’s candidate – implying that he too held his own. There are stark contrasts in style between Trump and Biden as with ideologies, and these town halls provide us with a glimpse of what to expect in the coming debates. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Recession #USA #Inflation #Gold #Silver #Protests #BananaRepublic #Depression #EndTheFed #Liberty #Revolution

Ep. 444 – Economic Survey Says…
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 444 - Economic Survey Says...
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Today’s podcast focuses on a recent survey conducted by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The focus of the poll was centered around the economic, social, and health fallout of the pandemic. The results were, “much, much, much worse than” what some directors of the poll were predicting. When taking into account the trillions of dollars thrown into the system with the Nobody CARES Act, the survey architects thought that the results would not have been this bad at this stage – the survey was conducted from 1 July to 3 August. The survey also focuses on the four largest cities within the United States – New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston. Truly heartbreaking and devastating data exists throughout, such as many households already going through their savings, and showing further evidence as to how many households around the country did not have any savings to begin with even prior to the pandemic. Further concerns expressed by respondents were that of delaying medical care and procedures – some of which being classified as major. This is likely going to have long-term effects on the country as well, since many people were unable to see a doctor or had to delay procedures due to the concerns related to the pandemic. And despite the city, some hospitals were simply overcrowded. Still yet, with many schools still not open or partially open, leaves families and households with the additional responsibility of playing teacher and/or assisting their children at home. Many households are experiencing added pressure and stress due to this reality. What is also disconcerting is the finding in the survey that illustrates how in Los Angeles, many families do not have the high-speed internet they need so their children can attend online classes – or if they should have an internet connection at all. This is but a sample of the overall survey and needless to say, this is not a pretty picture. Please check out this article and the survey’s findings by clicking on the link at the top of this write-up or here.

These are the very issues that we have been discussing since early 2019 – well before the onset of any pandemic. These were the similar stats that were telling us that a significant portion of the country was living paycheck-to-paycheck; and had minimal savings if any, and still had various debts to payoff. This was all a disaster in and of itself and in the making. This system of corruption, abuse, nepotism, excessive debts, excessive taxation, over-regulation, and banana republic money printing is unsustainable and is eating itself alive. All of this is readily apparent and unfolding right in front of our faces. These realities for millions if not billions of people around the planet, are the direct and indirect costs associated with this system that has been adopted and which the powers that be are doing everything they can to sustain it – this must stop. We have the blueprint to correct this – the Constitution of the United States of America and free-market capitalism. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Depression #Jobs #Recession #Inflation #Unemployment #Liberty #Revolution #BananaRepublic #USA #EndTheFed #Gold #Silver #Protests

Ep. 443 – The Social Disorder
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 443 - The Social Disorder
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This weekend we witnessed more protests with the return of the Yellow Vests in France and a large march in Belarus, amongst others. As The Kapital News has been arguing extensively since last year, these protests and riots will continue and get worse before they get better. The global financial and political system is coming to an end and it will not be a pretty decline. In other, but related news, as The Kapital News has also been reporting and warning of, the world’s weakest links are cracking and will continue to do so. We have covered Venezuela and Lebanon’s economic, social, and political turmoil for months and have been warning about the next links in the chain of Turkey and Iran. Over the weekend, we are witnessing significant declines in these countries’ currencies. A direct symptom of a system in decline. This type of weakness in one’s respective currency is already the result of inflationary actions, and if these declines continue, and The Kapital News believes that they will, then these countries and others should be bracing for hyperinflation as well.

The main discussion for today’s podcast centers around a recent documentary that was watched by podcast host, Alex Karidis, titled, “The Social Dilemma,” on Netflix. This documentary focuses on current and former tech executives and engineers responsible for building and monetizing some of the world’s largest social media platforms. The consensus among the group is that the negative side effects are outweighing the positive. They don’t see this ending anytime soon either, as there is simply too much money to be made. The film highlights the mental health issues that are being experienced by many, but with particular emphasis on children and teenagers. They also explore the political ramifications and election meddling that can and likely will take place – and not by “hacking” these platforms, but rather by simply utilizing the tools that these platforms already readily provide. These platforms play a major role in moving people further and deeper into their respective political silos, which creates a vicious downward cycle of division within this country and others. This is destructive and incredibly dangerous should this trend continue and it appears that it will for the foreseeable future. The Kapital News recommends that you watch this documentary with your friends and family or at least inform them of this most important and timely discussion for both political reasons, and more importantly, the mental health of your children and family. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Protests #SocialMedia #USA #BananaRepublic #Protests #Riots #Inflation #Depression #Recession #Gold #Silver #Liberty #Revolution