Tag: Supreme Court

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. 454 – Debate I, A National Disgrace

The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 454 - Debate I, A National Disgrace
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Where to even begin? The Kapital News has been saying for months that this debate was likely going to be a national disgrace and that’s exactly what is was. We noted yesterday that we were very much hoping to be pleasantly surprised whereby the candidates would engage in a civil debate discussing the many issues that are facing the country. Well, this of course did not happen. The level of rage, disrespect, and unprofessional behavior by the President was something for the history books. The first 15-20 minutes was nothing more than a shouting match with both candidates and the moderator, Fox News anchor, Chris Wallace, talking over each other. Even Wallace admitted that he was yelling and asked the President if he would like to swap seats. Vice President Biden’s behavior wasn’t much better – but what do you expect when you have someone interrupting you and calling out your son for being a “coke” head? There were winners of this debate – Russia, China, Iran, and many other adversaries of the United States. There were losers also – the American people, civility, and the American political process. Do you see why The Kapital News is so against this two-party system? If it wasn’t evident enough prior to this national tragedy, then it should be readily apparent now.

What about the very realistic scenario where many students were given the assignment of watching this debate so that they, along with their classmates and teacher(s), can have a civil discussion in class? You know – to become engaged in the political process and to be informed citizens so as to add to the debate. What do you think these students are now thinking and how they’re feeling about the country and the state of our politics? How do the parents respond to this type of “performance,” and explain this debate to their kids? In the next debate, assuming that there is one, it will be a townhall event. Can you imagine the very real scenario of a parent in the audience outlining the above situation and then asking President Trump and VP Biden to apologize for their rhetoric and actions during the first debate? That could prove to be a very powerful moment in this election should that come to pass, but we shall see. An apology is deserved nonetheless.

On some of the questions asked this evening, President Trump refused to condemn white supremacists and in regards to a certain group, he said for them to “stand back, and stand by.” Does this mean that this group will be given some sort of “green-light” to conduct riots or act violently if Trump loses the election? The President was also unable to say that he would accept the election results even after being verified by an independent party. Further, to add to this, the President has even gone so far in recent press conferences to say that he will not commit to a peaceful transition of power – a linchpin of the American Republic. On Biden’s side, when asked about the possibility of “stacking” the US Supreme Court, should he and the Dems win in the election, he shied away from answering the question outright. His running-mate, Senator Kamala Harris, also dodged answering this question in recent press interviews. This should be an easy answer of, “no,” but apparently it must be circulating through their minds as a viable option. Many more examples, but you get the point.

This country needs a revolution and we pray that it’s peaceful. One simple act to get this started is to leave the two-party system and register as a Libertarian, Independent, even unaffiliated – so long as you are no longer a Republican or Democrat. They have left you a long time ago, and they do not deserve your respect or your vote – they have not earned them. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Trump #Biden #RNC #GOP #DNC #Disgrace #Elections #Liberty #USA #Politics #BananaRepublic #EndTheFed #Revolution

Ep. 453 – Presidential Showdown – Trump v. Biden

The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 453 - Presidential Showdown - Trump v. Biden
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Tomorrow will be the first Presidential debate between President Trump and former VP Joe Biden – taking place in Cleveland, Ohio and hosted by Fox News anchor, Chris Wallace. During today’s podcast we discuss the potential outcomes and various scenarios of tomorrow evening’s event. However, what we stress the most during our conversation today are the structural issues facing the country, and if any of these topics will be addressed. We imagine that a couple will be noted, but we’re not holding our breath that brilliant policies will be mentioned either. In fact, we believe that some of the biggest issues will not even me mentioned – such as the Federal Reserve and their policies; the bankruptcies and insolvencies that are waiting in the wings; the national debt – but more specifically, the question of, “do debts and deficits matter, and if yes, why, and if not, why not?” Are the candidates concerned about inflation, stagflation, or hyperinflation? Are they concerned with a stock market at record levels, with respect to valuations? Are they concerned with the solvency of the US Treasury? Or what about the millions of evictions that are likely coming down the pike once the moratoriums are lifted? These are some basic questions and concepts that need to be addressed and taken seriously, but something tells us that they’re barely going to receive a mention and even if they are – the candidates will not likely address them head-on. This is a failure of leadership – but with all this said, The Kapital News hopes to be proven wrong – that these questions will be asked and that they will be thoughtfully and thoroughly answered. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #RNC #DNC #Trump #Biden #Election #USA #Debt #Inflation #Gold #Bailouts #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. 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. 377 – The Fed’s BS

The Kapital News
The Kapital News
Ep. 377 - The Fed's BS
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Of course this has a couple of meanings, but we are mainly referring to the Fed’s balance sheet, (BS). It is Thursday, so the Fed has updated their BS figures and we now stand at $6.9 trillion! This is up some $200 billion for the week and is unfortunately not shocking. Also, since it is Thursday, we received the initial jobless claims for the prior week and sadly, another 3 million Americans have filed for unemployment insurance. This takes us to nearly 36 million Americans losing their jobs over the last two months. Certainly, some of these jobs will be returning and some of them have. But it would be prudent to be mindful that some of these jobs may have “come back” due to SBA loans that require employers to bring back their employees and place them all on payroll – a condition to make the loan(s) forgivable. So it’s quite possible that even though people are back on payroll, it does not necessarily mean that they are in fact working. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming months of economic data releases.

A brief follow up to yesterday’s podcast, “Negative Rates Are Coming,” we wanted to highlight a point we did not mention in our discussion and that pertains to Jay Powell making reference to “putting away” all of their tools once the crisis is over. Oh, really? Didn’t former Fed Chair, Ben Bernanke, say the same thing in relation to QE during the GFC? Yes, yes he did. So again, we do not trust these central bankers to hold the line, get tough with Congress, buck what the markets want, or much anything else for that matter. That is why it’s only a matter of time before negative rates are here.

And then lastly, we discuss a couple of cases that were before the US Supreme Court where they heard arguments pertaining to the release of the President’s tax returns and other financial papers. The lower courts for both cases ruled that these papers needed to be turned over to Congress and to a DA’s office out of the state of New York. The President obviously appealed these lower court decisions and it is now in the hands of the Supreme Court Justices and they will likely render a verdict sometime this summer – right in the heat of the 2020 Presidential election race. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Debt #Bailouts #USA #EndTheFed #Recession #Depression #Protests #Gold