Tag: Republic

Ep. 524 – GameStop = Game Over?

The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 524 - GameStop = Game Over?
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With the continued market frenzy and pandemonium occurring again today in the likes of GameStop, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, AMC Entertainment, and BlackBerry, it is time to step back and gain a better understanding as to what is really going on. The media and social media narrative is that a bunch of “little guys” on message boards are banding together to take down the “big guys” (a couple hedge funds). While the narrative plays very well and there is no doubt that there are separate rules between the smalls and the bigs, this does not mean that two wrongs make a right. The Kapital News discusses on a near daily basis the amount of market rigging and manipulation that takes place and talk about all of the fines and deferred prosecution agreements that are given to the major banks whom engaged in such fraud. Of course if anyone else engaged in such behavior, they would be locked up and they would throw away the key. So, this makes the narrative compelling and allows people to justify the current actions that are underway with respect to these stocks. An eye for an eye is not the solution. In fact, this is likely going to cause more short and long-term damage to the markets and society at large.

What is failing to be understood by many on these message boards, is that going after a hedge fund, does not mean that they are only going to do financial damage to the managers alone. What they fail to grasp, is the fact that these funds on many occasions are managing money for the little guy through pension funds, university endowments, hospital chains, non-profits, and charities et cetera. There is going to be collateral damage and the group mostly likely to the suffer the greatest losses is ironically going to be the little guys.

The Kapital News is gravely concerned with these actions on both sides of the trade as well as with the brokerage houses that halted trading on these stocks today with respect to the buy side. This seems more likely that this is a pump and dump scheme, which is illegal, as opposed to some sort of organic uprising of new day-traders against hedge funds. Unfortunately, most of these little guys, do not understand financial statements and fundamental analysis. So how is one to believe that all of a sudden they go after a company that is heavily shorted by a couple of hedge funds, and prove somewhat successful in hurting the hedge funds’ position – at least momentarily? Furthermore, what does not pass the smell test is the fact that we have some strange bedfellows in Congress right now with the likes of AOC, Ted Cruz, Elizabeth Warren, and Maxine Waters joining forces to investigate what is going on in this matter.

So let us understand something, for years there has been open and blatant market manipulation, tweets from the former President, massive amounts of money printing from the Federal Reserve and spending from the Congress juicing asset prices, deferred prosecution agreements being handed out like candy to the largest financial firms on the planet, and now all of a sudden these politicians are concerned with market manipulation? This does not pass the smell test. Something is afoot. The Kapital News suspects that there will be a concerted effort in Congress to clamp down further on the markets. This will likely pertain to financial institutions as well as to the individual investor. So be careful what you wish for, because this is not just a story about David v Goliath. Oh no, there is much more underway and it is not going to be for the best. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Fraud #Markets #Debt #Liberty #EndTheFed #USA #Revolution #Justice #Inflation #Gold #Silver #bananarepublic #FireCongress

Ep. 523 – The Fed Is Trapped!

The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 523 - The Fed Is Trapped!
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The Federal Reserve concluded their first FOMC meeting of the year and they kept the Fed Funds Rate unchanged at 0-25 basis points. This was in line with market expectations. However, the markets were more centrally focused on forward guidance coming from the Fed. During his afternoon press conference, Fed Chairman, Jay Powell, gave another horrendous performance. It is typical for him to dodge some of the tougher questions, but today he even did a run around with respect to the softball inquiries.

Furthermore, as far as The Kapital News is concerned, Mr. Powell admitted today that the Fed is trapped and out of ammunition. He was citing how asset prices have been rising recently due to the optimism surrounding the vaccine rollout and future rounds of fiscal spending. This is ridiculous. While these news headlines on these topics may help contribute to the rise in asset prices, the main culprit is the printing press and global liquidity. It was only recently in previous conferences that Mr. Powell readily admitted that asset prices were rising due to monetary policies. In fact, when quantitative easing, QE, was first unleashed onto the scene, it was open knowledge that its purpose was to juice asset prices in order to generate a wealth effect.

Therefore, one can conclude that the reason for the change in tune, is for the purpose of damage control. If stocks no longer keep climbing, then it must be because the vaccine does not work and/or the Congress cannot get its act together. Setting up a convenient excuse that it is not the Fed’s fault, but something else. While it is true that the printing press can print US dollars, it cannot print jobs, solvency, and sustainable business plans. If printing money was the cure, then the likes of Venezuela, Argentina, Zimbabwe, Turkey, and Iran would be the kings of the hill. But they are not. And the reason, is because printing money does not create wealth as it is not true production. This is a morphine high, and once it wears off, the pain is going to be excruciating. A prime example of this as of late pertains to the meteoric rise in the share price of GameStop and AMC Theaters. This type of behavior does not happen in a well functioning market. These are not the first two stocks that this has happened to and they are likely not the last either. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Debt #Liberty #USA #Inflation #Markets #Gold #Silver #Recession #Depression #Revolution #bananarepublic #EndTheFed #FireCongress

Ep. 522 – IMF World Economic Outlook

The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 522 - IMF World Economic Outlook
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF), released their world economic outlook (WEO), report and are predicting global GDP growth for 2021 at 5.5 percent. This is slightly higher than their previous forecast. Most of the increase is due to the optimism surrounding the release and adoption of the Covid-19 vaccines. While the report does highlight other concerns and uncertainties, the IMF is apparently giving more weight to the potential positive outcomes.

The IMF has been and remains a strong vocal advocate for a collective and coordinated global effort to adopt “stimulus” spending. Of course, from a basic mathematical approach, GDP is calculated by adding government spending, investment, consumption, and net exports. If government spending increases exponentially, which has been the case in many countries, then GDP will either rise or at least not decline as severely as it otherwise would have minus the spending measures. What this does not take into consideration, however, is that debt does not equal growth. In fact, in many countries, the added debt loads will become a net-net drag to real economic growth. The US for example is currently running a $28 trillion national debt. At current rates, this number will balloon to over $49 trillion just four years from now! Meanwhile, GDP is only expected to increase by some $3 trillion. This is a debt-to-growth ratio of 7-to-1! This is completely irrational and unsustainable, yet this is what is happening. Furthermore, most of this additional spending is taking the form of transfer payments as opposed to prudent long-term investments. This is just asking for a major inflationary event to occur – and The Kapital News would argue that it is already well underway.

Later this week, we will be discussing the Federal Reserve’s FOMC meeting and their decisions; initial jobless claims, updates to the Fed’s balance sheet, M1 and M2 money stock; and a continuation of our conversations with respect to “The Great Reset,” the IMF’s outlook, and perhaps, China’s President Xi mentioning a new cold war. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #IMF #Debt #Bailouts #Liberty #Revolution #bananarepublic #USA #EndTheFed #Jobs #Inflation #FireCongress

Ep. 521 – The Great Reset

The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 521 - The Great Reset
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Something tells us that we will be seeing “The Great Reset,” more and more over the coming months as 2021 is now underway. It is something that has been discussed since last year during the pandemic and is becoming more mainstream by the day. The theme of this year’s World Economic Forum summit, in Davos, Switzerland, is The Great Reset and it reads like another utopia. While it is big on bullet points and general ideas, it is short on details. However, the devil is in the details and The Kapital News is concerned that the same people who led us into this economic, political, and social quagmire, are not the ones fit to get us out of it and to rebuild from it. Even within the article(s) we cover during today’s discussion, there are contradictions as to what the “right” policies should look like. These contradictions and hypocrisies will become the common theme amongst these “ideas” and the people advocating on their behalf. So in short, it is nothing new.

Another key phrase that is likely to gain some traction is “stakeholder capitalism.” While this too may sound good on paper, it is really nothing more than an attempt to centrally plan and control governments, economies, societies, and the environment. The author and authors of The Great Reset fail to understand, as so many do, that if what they say and write is really what they want, then they should know there is already a system that can achieve such growth, innovation, opportunity, and collaboration, and it is called free-market capitalism! Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Liberty #Markets #USA #Revolution #Inflation #Recession #Depression #Gold #Silver #Jobs #EndTheFed #bananarepublic #FireCongress

Ep. 520 – Weekly Wrap Up

The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 520 - Weekly Wrap Up
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An outgoing Trump administration, an incoming Biden administration, executive orders, another 900k Americans file jobless claims, all-time highs hit in the markets, the Fed’s balance sheet, and in M1 and M2 money stock. We also learned that the impeachment process will be continuing, however, there will be a slight delay as it will not begin until the week of 8 February. Just because there is a new administration in office, does not mean that all of the political division has gone away or that it will go away. Most likely, it will be quite the contrary. There will be more spending, more money printing, and more politics to be played. The end result is a declining nation that is going the way of a banana republic. The solution is freedom and the restoration of our constitution and free-market capitalism. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Liberty #Jobs #Markets #FireCongress #bananarepublic #EndTheFed #Inflation #Gold #Silver #Debt #Bailouts #Protests #USA #Recession #Depression #Revolution

Ep. 518 – Joe Biden’s Inauguration

The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 518 - Joe Biden's Inauguration
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Joe Biden became the 46th President of the United States of America as he was sworn into office this afternoon by Chief Justice, John Roberts. Kamala Harris was also sworn in as the Vice President, becoming the first woman, black and Asian American to become the VP. So whatever your political leanings and thoughts are of VP Harris, this was nonetheless an historic day on those fronts.

President Biden struck the right cord, tone, and balance in his speech today. This is typically the case for any incoming President as this is the first message to the nation as the new Commander-in-Chief. It is an all hands on deck effort to craft and deliver an inspirational and memorable address to the country. While words may motivate, it is action that ultimately counts. This is where reality meets optimism. This country has been and is torn apart for a number of reasons that The Kapital News discusses on a daily basis. So it is difficult to believe that the same cast and crew of yesteryear who are partially responsible for such decay, decline, and calamity, are now somehow going to be the people to rectify and structurally reform our economic and political systems.

We know well the math behind our fiscal situation and we know the trends and trajectory. And what we have already heard from the new Biden administration, is more of the same policies that are all but guaranteed to make matters even worse. This is true, especially with respect to the middle class and lower wage earners. We will soon witness and be in the midst of the largest transfer of wealth in human history – surpassing the one we experienced following the GFC and the one we are going through now. While we do not wish the new administration any ill-will, we do however, wish that they would change course and restore our constitution and free-market capitalism. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Biden #Trump #USA #Liberty #USA #Revolution #Leadership #FireCongress #Economy #Inflation #Gold #Silver #EndTheFed #bananarepublic

Ep. 517 – Farewell President Trump

The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 517 - Farewell President Trump
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President Trump gave his farewell address to the nation this afternoon, via a videotaped speech. It was more or less a Trump campaign speech, with a much better tone and delivery. He highlighted what he believed to be the achievements of his administration, thanking his staff, and wishing well the incoming administration. As The Kapital News has stated for months, had President Trump carried himself as he did today, and maintained such composure over the last four years, he very well would be the one being sworn into office tomorrow, and not Joe Biden.

In today’s discussion, we note how the Trump administration did not embark upon a policy pathway much different than any other Republican president. He and his team attempted and/or did the following: tax cuts, regulation cuts, trade deals, build up of the military, international agreements, various social reforms, saber rattling with various countries, and undoing what Democrats had previously implemented. Now while people will disagree with certain policies, this is more about politics than anything else. There was not anything major and structurally reformed. There was no draining of the swamp. It was a continuation of the status quo. A military-industrial complex that received more money than ever before; an out of control Federal Reserve, trillion dollar deficits, and several trillion added to the national debt; a national security state that is still alive and well; no structural reforms to Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security; continuation of the two-tiered justice system; and no major investment to the nation’s infrastructure. And yes, the President’s rhetoric, style, and behavior were often unorthodox and proved to be counterproductive, and served to further divide the country. But it must be understood and understood well that people tolerated these actions because of their distrust and frustrations with the status quo. And that says something as to where we are as a people and as a nation…

The incoming Biden-Harris administration are not going to fix or solve any of these structural issues and failures. In fact, they are all but guaranteed to make them worse. The same people who were a part of previous governments and administrations are now prominent members of this team. A classic case of, “meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” The Kapital News highly suggests that the people leave the two-party system and change your voter registration to Libertarian, Independent, unaffiliated, et cetera. The point is to send a message that the people no longer support the status quo – and this is a peaceful step in that direction. Farewell President Trump and Godspeed to you and yours. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Trump #Biden #USA #Vote #Liberty #Revolution #EndTheFed #bananarepublic #Inflation #Gold #Silver #Economy #Peace #Recession #Depression #Protests #FireCongress

Ep. 516 – Make Peace, Not War

The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 516 - Make Peace, Not War
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There is dry kindling all around the globe, and it will only take the smallest of sparks to ignite an inferno. Several governments have already collapsed and others are on the brink; with some of them being major economies and world players. The global economic chain can maintain its structural integrity when a few of the weaker links breakdown, think Venezuela and Lebanon. However, should larger links in the chain join their ranks, such as Italy, then the ripple effects will be tremendous and will likely put the whole system into a tailspin. Momentum and inertia are powerful forces that may start off small and slow, but can quickly gain speed and power, which can have the effect of catching many people off guard; which can turn into a problem in and of itself.

Governments the world over have overstayed their welcomes and this has been evident for some time and most recently seen over the last two years in mass protests. These will continue, assuming they are “allowed” to. Should governments get carried away and use force to put down peaceful protests, then the only option that many will resort to will be violence. This can happen. It can happen quickly and it can easily spiral out of control. Look at the United States of America for example – this week is the inauguration in what is supposed to be a peaceful transfer of power. This is a hallmark of our republic. But no, not in 2021. On 20 January, we are going to witness nearly 30,000 national guardsmen and federal agents patrolling Washington, DC. In addition, there are nine foot high barbed-wire fences, checkpoints, and other restrictions. We also have an outgoing President who will not be attending the inauguration, which is tradition. This is a tragic scene and will forever be a stain on the country’s history.

Despite all of this and so much more, this does not mean that war is inevitable. Let us pray that it does not happen. However, from a realistic standpoint, rooted in human behavior, psychology, and history, would lead one to put the odds in the favor of conflict as opposed to peace, at least initially. The solutions exist and we have the blueprints. It is called the US constitution and free-market capitalism. It is called equal justice under the law. And it is called humanity and civility. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Liberty #Revolution #FireCongress #Debt #Jobs #Inflation #Gold #Silver #Vote #USA #EndTheFed #bananarepublic #Recession #Depression #Peace

Ep. 515 – Weekly Wrap Up

The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 515 - Weekly Wrap Up
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President Trump is impeached for the second time in four years, the Department of Labor informs us that 965,000 Americans filed an initial jobless claim last week, US retail sales fell in December for the third consecutive month, and Washington, DC is on lockdown as the entire city is basically fenced-in with barbed-wire fences and patrolled by thousands of National Guardsmen. Can you say banana republic? An eventful week to say the least and next week will likely shape up the same as 20 January is the day of the inauguration.

The United States is supposed to lead by example and serve as a beacon of democracy – free and fair elections, and a peaceful transfer of power. The images that are and will come out of Washington, DC will scar this nation’s history. This is a direct result of flawed and failed policies that having been plaguing this country for decades. A deteriorating economy leads to political and social decay and decline. From this, further and deeper divisions occur between the people. All of what is happening now is and has been highly predictable. The Kapital News has been discussing this very environment since we have been online in early 2019. And unfortunately, a change in the date on the calendar is not a remedy. As bad as 2020 was, 2021 and beyond are likely to be even worse. All of these issues need to be resolved. They are structural. They are deep-rooted. And it will take years to construct a new foundation from which to grow. Yet, this can and must be done, if our future is to be better and better than our past. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Debt #Bailouts #Vote #USA #Liberty #Revolution #Inflation #Gold #Silver #EndTheFed #bananarepublic #FireCongress

Ep. 514 – 1,000,000 File Claims

The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 514 - 1,000,000 File Claims
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Initial jobless claims filed for the week ending 9 January came in at 965,000! This is another in a long line of devastating and heart-breaking figures. Such a number has not been seen since last August. Now while the major stock averages closed slightly lower today, they nonetheless traded higher during the day session, following this news release. This is just further evidence as to how Wall Street has grown numb to and decoupled from Main Street. Perhaps it is the promise of another $2T that we do not have that is being promised by the incoming Biden team. This will increase the $600 checks to $1,400, thus making the total $2,000. Extensions will also be given to unemployment benefits as well as increases to those benefits. Currently these extensions were scheduled to last until the end of the first quarter, but now, if the new bill passes, will extend the extension to September. Eviction moratoriums are also a part of the deal and will receive further extensions as well. When will this all end? This is hundreds of billion of dollars in back rent and mortgage payments. How is this all going to be paid back?

And also in the bill is the increase in the minimum wage to $15 per hour. They really have to be trying to be this stupid and irresponsible. We are in the midst of the largest economic and job loss crises perhaps ever seen, where the hardest hit industries are those with low wages and they want to increase the minimum wage? If these employers cannot afford to keep their employees on payroll at lower wages, then what makes one think that they will be able to afford the $15 minimum? This is only going to serve the purpose of prolonging the structural unemployment and underemployment situation. All of this spending in totality is doing nothing more than robbing us and future generations of future growth and prosperity. There is no free-lunch and printing presses do not print jobs or productivity. The remainder of today’s discussion briefly mentions the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet and M1 and M2 money stock. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay wit The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #FireCongress #Debt #Inflation #Gold #Silver #Liberty #Revolution #EndTheFed #BananaRepublic #USA