Tag: Elections

Ep. 460 – Pence v. Harris Debate
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 460 - Pence v. Harris Debate
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The first and only Vice Presidential debate took place tonight between VP Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris. Both sides did what they had to do in our opinion. Pence had to defend the Trump Administration’s record as best he could and attempt to do so with a more serious and civil tone – he succeeded. Harris on the other hand had to simply keep the pace, as the Biden/Harris ticket is well ahead in the polls – even in key swing states and among key demographics – she succeeded. The main event is always the Presidential race and thus the Presidential candidates, and this race is no different. There are only a few short weeks to go until 3 November, and despite that, it must be stressed that anything can happen between now and then. It still is anybody’s race, but given the recent events surrounding the debates thus far, among other concerns, The Kapital News is now forecasting a likely victory for the Biden/Harris ticket. Again, this could change, but if the course remains steady then it will be an extreme uphill battle for the Trump/Pence ticket to win re-election.

In other news, the President reversed course with respect to stopping the negotiations surrounding another round of spending and is once again claiming that he wants to sign a deal. This is borderline insanity and shows the immense power of the words and actions of the President. Yesterday following his tweet to stop the talks, the markets sold off massively. Today, due to the reversal – stocks rallied nearly 2 percent. The President knows of his power and what he’s doing – this is market manipulation and needs to be investigated. These actions have been taking place in the face of the American people since 2017 – it needs to end. The President is also increasing the amount he’d like to give to the airline industry from $20 billion to $25 billion. The previous amount worked out to $625,000 per job “saved.” Now, with the increase, it’ll amount to $781,250 per job “saved.” This is beyond ridiculous. These are publicly traded companies – let them issue shares, go to the corporate debt markets, seek loans from banks, sale their assets, etc. The last place they should be coming for assistance is to the American taxpayer. This should tell you all you need to know as to who our elected officials are really working for. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Elections #Debates #Bailouts #Jobs #Inflation #RNC #DNC #EndTheFed #BananaRepublic #Liberty #Revolution #Gold #Silver #Recession #Depression #USA

Ep. 459 – The Circus Continues
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 459 - The Circus Continues
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Presidential tweets caused markets to swing back ‘n forth, ending the day lower. Earlier in the afternoon, stocks rallied off the news that the President was feeling better and not exhibiting any symptoms of COVID-19. This rally was only later to be reversed by yet another tweet, whereby the President ordered his representatives to end the negotiations with the Democrats on another spending bill – stocks sold off massively. This is an interesting turn of events, as earlier the President was praising the economy and stock market – only to tweet out the stoppage of further spending that the stock market has been hoping for over the last several weeks. Also interesting is the fact that only a few days ago, the President was telling Congress to get their act together to pass another spending bill. Furthermore, the President a couple of weeks ago during a press conference at the White House, called out Republicans to go for the, “big one,” with respect to another spending bill – claiming that it (the money), all comes back to the USA anyway. Now while the President has stopped the negotiations, he is claiming that another spending bill will be passed after he wins his re-election. So, is the President holding this money as ransom?

We know through various surveys that nearly 50 percent of US households are broke. And we know that some 30 to 40 percent of small businesses have claimed that if they do not receive further assistance from Congress that they will not be able to last through the end of the year. These figures do not count the number of small businesses that have already closed their doors for good. Now make the logical connection(s), without further governmental assistance, many more small businesses will be forced to file bankruptcy and/or liquidate, which will result in further layoffs, which in turn will lead to lower demand for various goods and services throughout the economy, thus causing further downward pressure. This is in stark contrast to how the President notes that the economy is on a fast track to recovery. Then, coincidentally today, we have Jay Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, making comments that without further spending by Congress, the economy may face tragic outcomes. This is some of the strongest language that the Fed Chair has used to stress the need for further fiscal measures. So – somebody is not telling us the truth. On one hand, the President says everything is fine and further spending can wait and/or isn’t needed; and on the other, we have the Fed Chair claiming that major risks exist to the economy/markets if further fiscal actions are not taken.

The Kapital News believes that this house of cards economy is on the verge of collapse. We have consistently been against both fiscal and monetary efforts to “bolster” the US economy and markets since the very beginning and even before they were enacted. There is no free lunch and the costs associated with these efforts will be felt for at least a generation. Meanwhile, any short-term “positive” effects that these measures may have brought have already run its course. Note that some $9.6 trillion has been spent from Federal/State/Local governments and this is where we are: some 26.5 million Americans still claiming unemployment insurance, permanent job losers at 3.8 million, a level not seen since 2013, median duration of unemployed at levels not seen since 2012, tens of millions of evictions waiting in the wings, a countless number of bankruptcies and insolvencies, and with it massive layoffs. So, no, this is not a strong economic recovery. This is simply an attempt by government and central bank figures to keep this mirage of an economy afloat – and in the interim it is decimating small businesses and middle-America – and the true costs of it all have not even been realized – yet. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Bailouts #Debt #Elections #Inflation #Gold #Silver #USA #Liberty #Revolution #EndTheFed #BananaRepublic #Jobs #Recession #Depression #GE #Boeing

Ep. 458 – The Trump Show + Biden Townhall
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 458 - The Trump Show + Biden Townhall
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The President has left Walter Reed Medical Center and has returned to the White House, despite his physician claiming that the President is still, “not out of the woods.” The Kapital News believes that this is a mistake and that the President should spend another day or two at least, in the hospital. He has the ability to work from this location if he so desires and he’s surrounded by the necessary personnel and equipment, should his condition deteriorate. There is still much to know as to the true state of the President’s health, as the White House and the President’s physician refuse to answer even the most basic of questions. This is a scenario where the American people have the right to know the true status of the President’s health. However, this is consistent and fitting with a White House that delays, dithers, and distorts the truth constantly. It is also an unfortunate event that several other members of the White House have tested positive for COVID-19. This is very much the Trump show – as he used today’s travel from the hospital to the White House as a photo opportunity. We hope the President recovers, but this type of theater is simply not needed.

This evening, former VP Joe Biden, was at a townhall event in Miami, Florida – a battleground state in the upcoming election. This was nothing special from Biden, nor were the questions from the audience. Missing constantly are the structural issues that are tearing this country apart, and everybody seems to simply ask the same questions over and over that have already been answered (for the most part). Still nowhere to be seen or heard are the issues related to the debt and deficits, the actions undertaken by the Congress, White House, and Federal Reserve to bailout one industry after the next – and more spending is on its way. No discussion about the market manipulation amongst the banks and the massive fines that they are paying – yet no one is held accountable. These and so many more questions like these have and will continue to be missing from the conversation – so do not be surprised that nothing changes for the better when you continually decided to vote for the same two-party system time and time again, and await a different result. This is the definition of insanity – and that’s exactly what we’re witnessing. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Elections #Bailouts #Debt #Inflation #Gold #Silver #BananaRepublic #EndTheFed #Liberty #Revolution #Jobs #Protests #Trump #Biden #Debates #RNC #DNC #Recession

Ep. 457 – Last Jobs Report Before Election
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 457 - Last Jobs Report Before Election
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The official jobs report was released last Friday and this will be the last jobs report prior to the elections of 3 November. Gaining 661,000 jobs in the month of September was well below market expectations. However, the unemployment level still declined to 7.9 percent. Looking deeper into the report, we witness an increase of 345,000 permanent job losers, taking this to a total of 3.8 million. This now represents an increase of around 2.5 million since February. Another figure that helps to point out that this is a structural issue, is the increase in the number of long-term unemployed (over 27 weeks), up 781,000 to 2.4 million. While it is welcomed news of people being rehired (mainly), or finding new jobs, it must be stressed that the fiscal and monetary policies that have been enacted are temporary in nature as to their potency. Yet, their costs will be long-lasting. These longer-term negative effects is what gives The Kapital News concern. This is witnessed by two factors, 1) there are still 26.5 million Americans claiming some form of unemployment benefit, and 2) Congress, the White House, and the Fed are all discussing another $1.5-2 trillion spending bill. If everything was great, and a V-shaped recovery is well underway, then why the need for more spending? And recall, we don’t have the money – so we’ll print it – this is inflationary. This inflation is very much a part of the devastating costs associated with these fiscal and monetary policies. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Bailouts #Unemployment #Debt #Inflation #Gold #Silver #USA #Liberty #Revolution #BananaRepublic #EndTheFed

Ep. 456 – To Bailout Or Not To Bailout?
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 456 - To Bailout Or Not To Bailout?
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In the banana republic of the United States that is the question. Evidently, spending over $7 trillion so far this year just isn’t enough, and the Nobody CARES Act could only take us so far. This leaves the Democrats and the White House negotiating for another massive spending bill. The Democrats are at $2.2 trillion, while the White House is closer to $1.6 trillion. In discussion is another round of bailouts for the airline industry – around $20 billion. Recall earlier in the year, the airline industry received $25 billion. During the first round, an arbitrary date of 30 September was established as the deadline, whereby the airlines would be set free to “fly” on their own. This was clearly in anticipation that the industry and broader economy would have been in recovery by now, and much closer to where things were prior to the pandemic. This is, unfortunately, not the case. The airlines have been making some noise over the last several weeks highlighting this fact, and dangling tens of thousands of further layoffs over the heads of Congress and the White House – seeking further bailouts. Well it appears that they may be getting their wish. As it stands now, another 32,000 jobs would be lost without further governmental assistance. So, let’s do the math: $20 billion divided by 32,000 jobs equates to $625,000 per job – not too shabby. We knew pilots were paid well, but $625,000?! No wonder the airlines wanted another bailout. Let us not forget that these are publicly traded companies that have access to financial markets – corporate debt and equity. There is ZERO reasoning behind why they should be coming to the US taxpayer to bail them out – let alone for the second time within one year.

It is Thursday, so the bulk of today’s discussion was focused on the initial jobless claims data. For the week ending 26 September, another 837,000 Americans filed for initial claims. This was slightly below market expectations around 850,000, but still another heartbreaking number nonetheless. The prior week’s figures were also adjusted higher by 3,000 to 873,000. In total for all persons claiming an unemployment benefit, for the week ending 12 September, 26.5 million is the number – an increase of some 485,000 from the week prior. An important technical note was added to the Department of Labor’s release, describing how the state of California will be pausing the release of their data due to the backlog of claims and to implement an anti-fraud system. The pause will be for two weeks. California is one of the largest economies on the planet in and of itself and is the most populous state in the country. This will further blur the true picture of the jobs market. What is also worth questioning, is what happens if the economy doesn’t quickly rebound and the backlog of claims continues to get larger – will the state “pause” further data releases? And finally, the last official jobs report prior to the 3 November elections will be released tomorrow. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Bailouts #Unemployment #Elections #USA #Gold #Silver #Debt #Congress #Recession #Depression #BananaRepublic #EndTheFed #Liberty #Revolution

Ep. 455 – Electoral College Map Math
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 455 - Electoral College Map Math
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It’s a race to 270 electoral college votes and the heat is on. After last night’s national disgrace of a debate, we think it’s safe to assume that the election at this juncture is leaning towards the Biden/Harris ticket. Upon reviewing the electoral college map, it’s already an uphill battle for the President to win re-election. When he won in 2016 he pulled an inside-straight, and even in doing so, it was by razor thin margins accounting for some 70-80,000 votes across a few states. What is interesting, however, is that there is a real possibility of a 269-269 outcome. And in the year of 2020, all things are possible. There are of course other maps that would have razor thin margins of victory as well. However, the point we want to make with these closer contests is the very real likelihood that the Presidency will be contested in the courts. Such a legal battle could take weeks and even months to sort itself out. Recall in 2000 the contested votes in the state of Florida. This time around, should it be a close election that is contested, it will involve several states. Regardless of who wins the Presidential election, there is going to be some major steam and pressure released throughout the country – and let us all remember that we are all Americans. Pray for peace. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Elections #Trump #Biden #USA #Economy #Liberty #Revolution

Ep. 423 – 2020 Presidential Race Heats Up
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 423 - 2020 Presidential Race Heats Up
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Today Democratic Party Presidential candidate Joe Biden announced his pick for VP, and it’s California Senator Kamala Harris. Sen Harris was a candidate for the Presidency on the Dem side, but failed to gain enough traction to win the nomination. Nonetheless, she has evidently earned the trust and confidence of Biden as she is now his running-mate. With this announcement, the Presidential race is now heating up. With only a few short months to go, it’s still a close toss-up as to who will win the Presidency in the opinion of The Kapital News. And if 2020 continues on its current trajectory, then a few short months may feel like an eternity and anything and we mean anything could happen.

Despite what the politicians themselves will tell you and what the mainstream media would have you believe – there’s really not that much of a difference between both sides. Yes, they’ll tell you otherwise. Yes, they’ll tell you how they’re different and one side wants to raise taxes and the other cut them. How one wants to handle foreign policy this way and the other side that way, etc… But understand and understand well that at the end of the day on a net-net basis we have to look at the results and the actions. And one administration after the next whether Republic or Democrat, in conjunction with Congress, have led us to a path of ruin. There is no major difference between the two-parties – they are virtually one-in-the-same. All you have to do is pay attention and put aside the party and put the country first. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Debt #2020 #USA #BananaRepublic

Ep. 381 – The DC Power Play
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 381 - The DC Power Play
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A power play in DC appears to be taking shape regarding the economic response from the Fed and the government in relation to COVID-19. Over the last couple of weeks, the argument between a liquidity crisis and a solvency crisis has been and continues to be discussed. This is likely to be at the crux of this particular DC power play. Because after all, no politician or policymaker wants to be the one holding the bag when all of this comes crumbling down – so, they’re setting the stage for the blame game.

On the one hand, we have the Federal Reserve, where Jay Powell accurately notes that there is a difference between a liquidity and solvency crisis. It is on the liquidity side of the ledger where the Fed can be most “effective.” They can print money and expand the money supply at-will. They can flood the financial system by utilizing a number of lending facilities – and they have. However, this does not solve the solvency crisis that surely awaits us. Here, the Fed Chairman has been stating that he believes Congress and the Administration should take a bigger role through fiscal measures as opposed to relying solely on monetary ones. Here is where the power play or blame game starts to form. The Fed can show via various statistics, such as their balance, that they have thrown trillions of dollars into the system to keep the financial plumbing moving along – in conjunction with other measures. Now, while they claim they still have ammunition, it would be prudent for the government to step in even further, is their argument – the Fed is passing the baton of responsibility. “Hey, we here at the Fed have done our part, look at exhibit, A, B, C, etc… now it’s your turn Uncle Sam.” So now the ball is in the hands of Congress and the Administration – a huge and slow moving political machine – what could possibly go wrong? So, if the solvency crisis does unfold, meaning a considerable amount of businesses, (of all sizes), file bankruptcy and/or liquidate, then a lot of this blame will fall squarely on the shoulders of the government – at least this is what the Fed is trying to position for. Will the Congress and/or Administration allow this to happen?

No one wants to step up and be the leader. No one wants to step up and admit to our many faults as a country, as a society, as individuals. No one wants to speak the harsh truths of the matter with respect to so many subjects. No, no. But what we can do without hesitation, is burden future generations who have nothing to do with this, and have them pay for it with lower living standards, higher costs, and lack of opportunities. All for the purpose of returning things back to “normal.” Normal by the way is insanity personified, and completely unsustainable, but as our podcast highlighted yesterday, Nobody CARES. It will thus be interesting to see how the government handles the solvency crisis and who they seek to blame. It’s a power struggle, it’s a money struggle, it’s a reputation struggle, and it’s a legacy struggle. And on top of it all, it’s a Presidential election year. We told you 2020 was going to be interesting and it’s only May! Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Recession #Debt #Bailouts #USA #EndTheFed #Congress #Liberty #Revolution #Gold #Depression

Ep. 317 – The State of the Union
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 317 - The State of the Union
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President Trump delivered his State of the Union Address, claiming that the Union is strong. We unfortunately, disagree. Can some of the economic headlines appear on the surface to be strong? Yes. But what happens when we begin to dig deeper and peel away layer after layer of the onion? Well, it doesn’t look so good anymore. And that’s exactly what we have been witnessing here in the USA for quite awhile. It’s one attempt after the next to gloss over the problem with huge fiscal deficits and easy monetary policies. These policies and their negative consequences will be coming home to roost in the near future and the effects will be devastating to millions and millions of people around the world. There is no leadership in the halls of our governments. None. The only leadership is by those who have taken to the streets in protests around the globe in response to corrupt, fraudulent, and weak governments. All we have to say is – it’s about damn time! And in short order, such protests will make their way to the United States as well – and rightly so. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #SOTU #Impeachment #Truth #Justice #Peace #Economy #Recession #Politics #USA #Congress #Constitution #Republic

Ep. 90A – US v. China + Harris v. Biden
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 90A - US v. China + Harris v. Biden
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The G-20 meeting in Osaka, Japan has concluded and with it the talks between Presidents Trump and Xi. The world is now left with an indefinite trade truce. Neither side is increasing or decreasing their respective tariffs, but talks are set to continue. Last time these two leaders met from their G-20 meeting in Argentina, a 90-day deadline was established to get a deal struck before further tariffs would be levied from the US side. This time, however, there is no new deadline. While President Trump has stated that the meetings went better than expected, the Chinese media was reporting that there is a long road ahead before reaching a deal. If we enter into a war of the words between the US and China – who will the world and the markets believe? On a domestic front, Senator Kamala Harris went after former VP Joe Biden in round two of the debates and has received some praise and some criticisms. Regardless, it remains the opinion of The Kapital News that Senator Harris is going to be a formidable candidate on the Democratic side – the subsequent media coverage of Senator Harris is further evidence in our corner.