Tag: Money

Ep. 604 – An Economic Quagmire
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 604 - An Economic Quagmire
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From one economic figure to the next, it is never really good enough. At least not for the Federal Reserve and other major central banks to truly begin normalizing their respective balance sheets, let alone even discuss the topic. They are concerned how tapering and/or any subsequent increase to interest rates will impact global equity, bond, and currency markets. And rightly so. The Fed attempted to taper and increase interest rates only a few short years ago and it ended with equity markets dropping nearly 20 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018. The economy and equity markets could not digest a Fed’s balance sheet below $4 trillion or the Federal Funds Rate just north of 2 percent. Fast-forward to a balance sheet near $8 trillion and the FFR at the zero bound, and you can surely see their predicament. Equity and bond prices have been able to increase over this pandemic period for one reason and one reason only and that is due to the major liquidity injections by central banks and federal government programs. Remove these items and prices are nowhere near these levels. Policymakers are trapped, they know it, and they are getting more and more nervous by the day.

Initial jobless claims came in at 385,000 for the week ending 29 May. This is the lowest figure since 14 March of 2020 when the number was 256,000. The number from last week was revised slightly lower by 1,000 to now stand at 405,000. In aggregate, some 15.4 million Americans continue to claim some form of unemployment insurance. This gives a de facto unemployment rate of 11.1 percent. The official unemployment rate is currently 6.1 percent. The May jobs report will be released tomorrow morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS, and it will be watched closely by global markets. Analysts are looking for nearly 1 million jobs having been added to the roles for the month of May. A recent report released by ADP has stated that 978,000 private sector jobs were added in the month of May. Recall that last month, expectations were for nearly 1 million job gains for April, however, the official statistic came in at 266,000. Will May be a repeat of April or more in alignment with market forecasts?

The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet has hit another all-time and now currently stands at $7.935 trillion. This is a week-over-week increase of some $32 billion. It is somewhat laughable how the Fed stated only yesterday that they will begin to taper their holdings of corporate bonds, which amount to $14 billion. And even this is supposed to be a process that could take until the end of the year. Meanwhile, they added $32 billion to their balance sheet in one week alone! The Fed also remains committed to their QE policy of purchasing at least $120 billion per month in US Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. M1 and M2 money stock has also been updated and both currently stand at all-time highs, as of April. Coming in at $18.935 trillion and $20.109 trillion, respectively, really puts things into perspective, especially when considering that M1 was at $4 trillion prior to the pandemic and M2 was at $15.5 trillion. So what exactly did we get for all of this funny money? Because we can assure you that this is no free lunch. Jay Powell, Chair of the Fed is expected to speak tomorrow. Most likely this will be some form of damage control for the jobs report whether the number is good looking or ugly. These markets need continued hand-holding in order to grind higher. Talk about a command and control economy. Land of the free, eh? Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Inflation #FoodPrices #Gold #Silver #Protests #Riots #Liberty #USA #Leadership #Revolutions #EndTheFed #bananarepublic #FireCongress #Jobs #Bailouts #Debt

Ep. 591 – The Ever-Changing Narrative
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 591 - The Ever-Changing Narrative
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In the 24/7 news cycle, there is always a moving target. So it is not uncommon for there to be a new narrative from week to week or even day to day to hold the attention of their viewers. The Kapital News does not play this game and has called out most, if not all of these narratives as of late for being what they are – phony. The main narrative to focus on with respect to markets is the liquidity injections by central banks into the system. It is the funny money that is conjured up out of thin air that continues to prop up these markets. Simply ask yourself where would bond prices, bond yields, interest rates, and equity prices be if it were not for these actions undertaken by central banks? The answer is quite simple, yields and interest rates would be higher, and bond and equity prices lower. This is a house of mirrors and one which is built upon a foundation of sand. Nonetheless, the markets continue to buy into this narrative and policy and so they march onward and upward to new highs. Yes, there have been some minor pullbacks here and there, but they then go on to make new highs. As long as this is the case, then markets move higher. But once this relationship breaks down, and The Kapital News believes that it is only a matter of time, then these liquidity injections will no longer matter and will be impotent in propping up the markets. This will likely result in a great unraveling, whose force cannot be stopped by any kind of monetary or fiscal intervention. At this juncture, market forces are in complete control and they will rid the system of malinvestments and fraudulent businesses. Look out below.

Other news discussed pertained to updates on the Colonial pipeline situation, the Israeli and Palestinian conflict that has been intensifying, and an update on the tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Much of these geopolitical events are not receiving the news coverage they deserve and furthermore, the equity markets do not seem to be pricing in the types of risks that can rapidly develop if any of these global issues escalate more seriously than where they currently stand. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Inflation #Fraud #FoodPrices #Debt #Spending #EndTheFed #bananarepublic #FireCongress #USA #Israel #Palestine #Russia #Ukraine #Protests #Riots #Peace #War #Gold #Silver #Commodities #Liberty #Leadership

Ep. 588 – Jobless Claims Below GFC
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 588 - Jobless Claims Below GFC
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It has been over a year, but finally the initial jobless claims figure is below that witnessed during the depths of the GFC. In aggregate, regular state unemployment and PUA claims came in at a combined 599,000 for the week ending 1 May. The peak during the GFC was around 660,000. The prior combined figures for around an entire year stood north of 900,000 on a weekly basis! Regular state claims came in at 498,000 and the prior week was revised upward by 37,000 to stand at 590,000. The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims came in at 101,000. In aggregate, amongst all forms of unemployment insurance, some 16.2 million Americans continued to file claims. This gives a de facto unemployment rate of 11.6 percent. The official unemployment rate is currently at 6 percent. The jobs report for the month of April will be released tomorrow by the BLS.

The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet stands at $7.81 trillion, which is a week-over-week increase of $30 billion, and is just shy of a new-all time high. The Fed remains committed to purchasing at least $120 billion of US Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities per month. This will take the balance sheet to around $8.5 trillion by the end of the year, and The Kapital News expects that number to be closer to $10 trillion. This policy of QE continues onward despite record high equity prices, record high housing prices, sky-rocketing commodity prices, rising food prices, et cetera. If the jobs report provides a strong number, then the Fed is going to find themselves to be trapped even more than what they currently are. How can they continue to justify their policies and interventions if everything is looking healthy? Of course things are not healthy. It is a smoke and mirror show provided to us via trillions in fiscal and monetary policies. But the Fed will never admit to this, so they will continue with some made up narrative to justify their reckless actions. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Inflation #Protests #FoodPrices #EndTheFed #bananarepublic #FireCongress #Liberty #USA #Leadership #Gold #Silver #Commodities #Debt

Ep. 583 – Powell + Biden Speak, Trillion Dollar Giveaways
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 583 - Powell + Biden Speak, Trillion Dollar Giveaways
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Just when you thought multi-trillion dollar deficits for the past couple of years was bad enough, wait…there is more! The one-two punch from monetary and fiscal authorities keeps coming with no end in sight. The government, especially the Democrat party wants to continue with the massive spending spree and the Federal Reserve is more than happy to continue to finance such profligacy. Of course nothing is free and the results will be higher direct taxes at every level, federal, state, and local, higher inflation, lower living standards, and fewer opportunities. One cannot fix a global debt crisis with even more debt. Yet no policy maker regardless of political party or monetary institution wants to take responsibility or accountability for their years of reckless and criminal behavior. We do not have the right to steal from future generations, yet that is exactly what it means when we run these types of annual deficits and accumulate a national debt of over $28 trillion and growing!

Today was the conclusion of the FOMC meeting and as expected the Fed left the Federal Funds Rate unchanged at 0.00-0.25 percent. They also maintained their stance with respect to their QE program whereby they will continue to purchase at least $120 billion per month of US Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. Last week their balance sheet hit a record high of over $7.8 trillion. Fed Chair, Jay Powell, continues to reiterate that inflation expectations will be transitory and will be a result of base effects, due to the low levels seen last year due to the lockdowns. In effect, he is stating that the Fed is just going to wait and see what happens next year, because the base effects will be in play through the remainder of this year. So a large print on inflation may very well occur and the Fed will just presumably shrug it off and say it is only due to base effects. We wonder if the people who have to pay higher prices will be so nonchalant about their currency being devalued?

Finally some tougher questions were asked of Jay Powell, but most likely simply due to the obvious absurdity of their policies and rhetoric. For instance, questions were asked with respect to the real estate market, which is currently hitting all-time highs with prices and other metrics. It was then asked with this as a backdrop, why then does the Fed continue to purchase $40 billion per month of MBS? It may be understood and even accepted that during the GFC, housing prices were collapsing and MBS were toxic assets and the Fed was attempting to inject liquidity into the system via these purchases. That was then and this is now. The GFC was an emergency and thus they justified their actions because of the falling house prices. Now, we have prices at all-time highs and the Fed also states that the economy is recovering – so where is the emergency to justify these purchases? A fair and basic question that received a terrible answer or better yet a non-answer, but at least the question was asked. On the other side, however, giving credit where credit is due, Jay Powell did admit that rising housing prices are pricing people out of the market, especially younger people, and that this is problematic. This is true. Yet does he not understand that much of this is a direct result of monetary policies that he is responsible for and fiscal policies of which his institution finances? This summarizes who and what we are dealing with.

This evening President Joe Biden gave an address to a joint-session of Congress. In his hour long speech he promised trillions of dollars in new spending on top of the trillions of dollars already passed to be spent during his short-time in office. There is completely no understanding of basic mathematics that exists within Congress, especially within the Democrat party. For instance, the Biden administration wants to increase taxes on the wealthiest of individuals and corporations. And presumably, with this extra tax revenue all of these new and old programs will be funded. Well not so fast. We are on track to spend nearly $8 trillion this year alone! This will give us an annual budget deficit of over $4 trillion. Our deficit will be larger than the entire amount of tax revenue that is brought in, which is around $3.5 trillion. Further, if you take $8 trillion and divide by 52 weeks in the year, you get around $154 billion of spending per week! And this is just the federal government. So, you can confiscate 100 percent of Jeff Bezos’ net worth, not just income, but everything the man owns, and it will only finance the US federal government for one full week! Yeah it does not add up and look who is in control of the education system – yep the government. These programs are outrageous, un-American, and unconstitutional. Yet none of that is going to stop them from trying to pass more legislation and spend trillions of dollars that we do not have – thus stealing it from future generations and robbing them of their prosperity and opportunities. This is all only going to get worse. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Fraud #Inflation #Spending #Debt #Gold #Silver #EndTheFed #bananarepublic #FireCongress #Liberty #USA #Leadership #Revolution #Protests #Peace

Ep. 575 – Initial Claims Below GFC, Gov’t Fuels Retail
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 575 - Initial Claims Below GFC, Gov't Fuels Retail
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Initial jobless claims for regular state unemployment benefits finally came in below the levels seen during the depths of the GFC, with a number of 576,000 for the week ending 10 April. The prior week was revised upward by 25,000 to now stand at 769,000. However, it must also be understood that since the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns, the Congress passed the Nobody CARES Act, which created the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program that allows people who would normally not qualify for regular state aid to file a claim. This number came in at 132,000, which in aggregate takes us north of 700,000 initial jobless claims. So still not entirely below the GFC levels, but trending that way and hopefully that continues. However, The Kapital News remains highly skeptical as printing, borrowing, and spending this money is not real economic growth or productivity. This means we have be living off of a temporary “high” from such fiscal and monetary measures that could lead to further economic deterioration.

Other economic news released today pertained to US retail sales, which came in well above market expectations with a print of 9.8 percent month-over-month. The prior month was revised downward to -2.7 percent. This data has been tracking very closely with the money handed out by the government. January saw a nice increase due to stimulus checks, February saw the drawdown referenced above, and March saw the big jump, most likely due to a combination of stimulus checks and tax refunds. Should this trend continue, then absent some further government money, retail sales will likely cool off. However, it should be noted that government money will be sent out to people with children. And it should be stressed that by government money, we mean US taxpayer money.

The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet has hit a new all-time high to now stand at $7.79 trillion! A week-over-week increase of some $80 billion. The Fed remains committed to their QE policy of purchasing a minimum of $120 billion per month of US Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. The Fed continues with such a policy with respect to MBS, despite housing prices at all-time highs. At a minimum, the balance sheet will likely hit $8.5 trillion by the end of the year, and could be closer to $10 trillion, should fiscal and monetary authorities take further action in the markets. For context, prior to the GFC, their balance sheet was around $900 billion.

Lastly, Chinese economic data coming across the wires shows GDP for Q1 year-over-year grew by 18.3 percent. Despite such a large increase, this was below market expectations that were closer to 19 percent. Further, Chinese residential real estate prices grew by 4.6 percent year-over-year. Earlier this year, Chinese regulators noted that their real estate market was likely in a bubble. This recent data appears to indicate that this continues to be the case. The regulators were also pointing fingers at the US and European economies, and stating that these economies were also in bubbles. Essentially setting the stage to blame the US and European nations should there be any weakness in the economy and/or financial system. With all of the fiscal and monetary actions that have been conducted throughout 2020 and continuing to today and beyond has placed the global economy on even shakier ground, thus making the global system that much more fragile and susceptible to shocks. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Inflation #USA #China #Liberty #Gold #Silver #Debt #Spending #Bailouts #Leadership #EndTheFed #bananarepublic #FireCongress #Fraud

Ep. 571 – Another 750,000 Jobs Bite The Dust
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 571 - Another 750,000 Jobs Bite The Dust
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Were we not just informed last Friday with the release of a “stellar” jobs report that the economy and namely the jobs market recovery was well underway? Well then how can we have another 744,000 Americans filing initial jobless claims for the week ending 3 April? Furthermore, you have to understand that this figure only represents regular state unemployment benefits. However, due to the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns and restrictions, federal government programs were established to assist those who would not traditionally qualify for state benefits. So, taking into consideration such a program, known as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA, we see that nearly 152,000 Americans filed an initial claim for the week ending 3 April. This means in aggregate that nearly 900,000 Americans filed an initial claim last week! Talk about recovery, as this is now over one full year since such draconian measures have been implemented. Last week’s figure of 719,000 was revised upward to now stand at 728,000 for the week ending 27 March. In aggregate, across all unemployment programs, some 18.2 million Americans continue to file claims. This is little changed from the prior week, and gives us a de facto unemployment rate of 12.7 percent. This is more than double the official unemployment rate, which now rests at 6.0 percent.

In other news, the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet sits at $7.708 trillion, which is a week-over-week increase of $20 billion and is just shy of hitting a new all-time high. The Fed remains committed to their QE program of purchasing at least $120 billion per month of US Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. They continue to purchase MBS despite the fact that housing prices are at all-time highs and continue to climb, even as lumber and other construction materials prices continue their ascent.

And lastly, major geopolitical risks are taking shape around the globe. Whether it is increasing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, China, Taiwan, and the Philippines, Northern Ireland rioting against Brexit, how the US is involved in all of these areas, or leaders in Italy and Turkey doing some name-calling, one thing is certain, the globe is on very unstable ground. With so much taking place, it increases the likelihood of mistakes being made or it creates the perfect environment for a false-flag attack, which will then be used as justification for conflict or even war. And oh yes, the Middle East and Africa remain hot spots for conflict as well. And if enough people in poorer and middle-income nations does not constitute enough financial strife, add Canada to the mix. A new survey released indicates that 53 percent of Canadians are on the verge of insolvency as they are only $200 away from not being able to pay their monthly bills and debt obligations. This figure includes the 30 percent of Canadians who are already insolvent. And despite all of this or perhaps because of it, real estate prices in Canada continue to skyrocket, with many homes selling well above their asking price, site unseen! But remember, our fearless leaders inform us that there is NO inflation. What a joke. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Debt #Inflation #Geopolitics #Protests #Peace #USA #Liberty #Leadership #EndTheFed #bananarepublic #FireCongress #China #Russia #Germany #Ukraine #Taiwan #Philippines #Italy #Turkey #Canada

Ep. 570 – Uncle Sam’s Debt Is Junk
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 570 - Uncle Sam's Debt Is Junk
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We say it on a near daily basis when covering market performance, and that is calling out Uncle Sam’s debt as junk. It is not said to be facetious or to act as a wise-guy, but rather to admit reality. Currently, junk bond or high yielding debt is trading near all-time lows and is trending lower. Meanwhile, the US 10 year note and 30 year bond, are trending higher. There has never been a time when these yields have converged and rightly so. US debt is supposed to be risk-free, whereas junk bonds are called junk because there are several inherent and obvious risks. The higher the yield, the higher the chance of default. During the GFC, high yield hit nearly 23 percent! This was an example of markets functioning in attempts to accurately price risk. Well not this time. While it is true that yields spiked during the onset of the pandemic, rising to over 11 percent, they quickly came back down. The reason was because of fiscal and monetary measures. Emphasis given to monetary measures, because the Federal Reserve created various emergency facilities to purchase corporate debt and they did. Not only did the Fed purchase corporate debt on the secondary market, they also purchased it directly from the companies themselves in the primary market. Many of these companies were far from being junk rated as some were the largest firms in the world. So not only did the Fed purchase US corporate debt, but also foreign corporate debt!

By undertaking such measures, the Fed also sent the signal to the markets that they will be there to cushion and even perhaps prevent, any sort of further sell-off in the corporate debt market. What this then translates into is comfort and confidence of investors to get back into the game because they believe they have an insurance policy from the Fed. That is to say that should corporate bonds sell-off again, the Fed will purchase them and make the investors whole or at least lessen their losses. This goes completely against the Fed’s charter and any semblance of free-market functioning. This also goes against logic, because it can be argued that this economic lockdown was worse than the GFC and many economic variables conclude as much. Thus junk bond yields should be much higher. However, they are not due to the centrally planned actions undertaken by the Federal Reserve.

All of this has thus led to junk bond yields being at record lows. Should this downward trend continue in concert with rising US government debt yields, they may very well converge, although not likely. At this juncture there will be no denying that Uncle Sam’s debt is junk. It is important to stress that the Treasury market and corporate debt markets, along with others, are being greatly manipulated due to these policies. This in turn creates great distortionary effects and one of the biggest and most problematic is the mispricing of risk. In essence, without such policy interference, yields on Treasuries and corporate debt would likely be much higher. Furthermore, the spread in yields is tightening even as we have Fitch Ratings issuing a note forecasting a wave of bankruptcies across 2021 and 2022 as fiscal and monetary measures are scaled back. So understand that we have added trillions of dollars to our national debt, our trade deficits are at record highs, and we are still going to have to contend with a countless number of bankruptcies and insolvencies. Then what was the purpose of all of this money spending, borrowing, and printing if we still have such economic devastation on the horizon? These actions, coupled with these yield spreads tightening, and several other data points are indicative of a system that is nearing exhaustion. Policymakers understand the extent of their Ponzi scheme better than anyone and thus we are witnessing one extreme policy after the next to keep it all afloat for as long as they can. But remember, they cannot keep it going forever, and the longer they do, the bigger the fall and negative consequences. Abuses of power and billions and trillions of dollars are stolen right in front of our faces, and nothing is done about it to stop this madness. We need to wake up and we need to wake up now! Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Debt #Inflation #USA #FoodPrices #Liberty #Protests #Revolution #EndTheFed #Leadership #bananarepublic #FireCongress #JunkBonds

Ep. 563 – Jobless Claims Remain Above GFC
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 563 - Jobless Claims Remain Above GFC
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Despite being one full year into lockdowns and restrictions, initial jobless claims remains higher than even during the depths of the GFC. For the week ending 20 March, initial claims came in at 684,000, which happens to be the lowest reading since last year. Last week’s figure was revised upward by 11,000 to stand at 770,000. In aggregate, amongst all unemployment insurance programs, some 18.9 million Americans continue to file claims. This gives a de facto unemployment rate of 13.3 percent, which is more than double the official rate at 6.2 percent.

The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet hit another all-time high to now stand at $7.719 trillion. The Fed remains committed to its policy of QE, by purchasing $120 billion per month of US Treasuries and mortgage-backed-securities. This will likely take the balance sheet above $8.5 trillion by year end, which would be a 10x fold increase to the balance sheet since the GFC! Other monetary measures such as M1 and M2 also hit all-time highs. And lastly, the Suez Canal traffic jam continues into the weekend. Some estimates state that this blockage is costing the global economy $400 million per hour! A staggering figure no doubt and highlights the vulnerabilities that exist within some of these trading routes and the sizes of some of these vessels. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #SuezCanal #FoodPrices #Protests #Inflation #Leadership #USA #EndTheFed #bananarepublic #FireCongress #Taxes #Gold #Silver #Liberty

Ep. 558 – Market Losses + Job Losses
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 558 - Market Losses + Job Losses
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One day after the Federal Reserve gave the markets a pot of gold, it appears that it was just as quickly taken away. The major US indexes all closed in the red, with the tech heavy Nasdaq leading the way. This is also on the continuation of rising yields, with a focus on the US 10 year note, which hit levels above 1.7 percent during the trading session. With equity prices at or near all-time high valuations, rising yields and interest rates could pull the rug out from under this massive bubble. Recent history suggests that it can happen, as we witnessed such an episode in Q4 of 2018. This is why so much attention is being paid to rising global bond yields, and the rhetoric and actions of central bankers are being closely monitored. This in and of itself indicates how centrally planned the financial markets and economy have been – as the world, and trillions of dollars of financial assets await the words of only a handful of people. This is dangerous and will end in destruction.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending 13 March were 770,000, which remains over 100k higher than the figures we witnessed during the depths of the GFC. And this has been the case for one full year! The numbers from the prior week were revised upward by 13k and now stand at 725,000. In aggregate, there still remains 18.2 million Americans collecting some form of unemployment insurance. This gives us a de facto unemployment rate of 13 percent as opposed to the official rate at 6.2 per cent. And lastly, the Fed’s balance sheet has hit a new all-time high and now stands at $7.69 trillion. New highs are to be expected on a near weekly basis as the Fed remains committed to purchasing $120 billion per month of US Treasuries and mortgage-backed-securities. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Inflation #FoodPrices #Protests #USA #Liberty #Leadership #Gold #Silver #EndTheFed #bananarepublic #FireCongress

Ep. 556 – Stagflation + Social Unrest
The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 556 - Stagflation + Social Unrest
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As we discussed global food prices hitting a six-year high during yesterday’s podcast, it proved good timing as a couple news articles were published today highlighting this situation in Nigeria and Lebanon. Both of these countries have been discussed at length for a while on the podcast, and these articles serve as further evidence as to what we have been monitoring.

It is a part of the larger narrative that The Kapital News is attempting to weave. One that links together economics, politics, and society. In this instance, we are analyzing how past and current policies are leading to social unrest, political instability, and economic weakness. Highlighting the protests and riots that were sweeping the globe during 2019, The Kapital News stressed the importance of paying attention to these events, analyzing their causes, and warning that such events would likely take place in developed markets, and even the United States. In time, we were proven correct. Now, with the pandemic seemingly making its way to the rear-view mirror, and no sound solutions being implemented during 2020, has caused many people around the world to once again take to the streets against their governments. This will be a common theme throughout 2021 and beyond until there are true structural changes.

Some countries may be able to traverse these rough waters without much chaos or violence. However, such countries will likely prove the exception and not the rule. This means that a lot of geopolitical risks have not been fully discounted into the markets, which are trading at or near all-time record high valuations. The pandemic has already caused severe supply chain disruptions that will likely continue throughout this year and into the next. However, should more countries take to the streets, then this will put further pressure on global supply chains and result in higher prices for major commodities, which will further strain the economic situation. This will be a vicious cycle until the system has been exhausted, which will leave millions if not billions of people negatively impacted. The globe is awash in trillions of dollars of new debt and with little to show for it. As inflationary effects start to make their way into real goods, these problems will no longer be able to be avoided. The monetary cat-and-mouse game will be over and market forces will take charge and lead the correction. There is no easy solution to what plagues us and these market forces will be brutal – even though they are what is needed.

Other items discussed today were economic data releases for US retail sales and industrial production. Also, the daily market performance wrap-up and a brief mention of the Federal Reserve concluding their FOMC policy meeting tomorrow. Global markets will be anxiously awaiting to hear what Chairman Jay Powell has to say – because we are a centrally controlled global economy. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Inflation #Stagflation #Debt #Markets #Jobs #Protests #USA #Liberty #Gold #Silver #Revolution #EndTheFed #bananarepublic #FireCongress #Bonds #FoodPrices