Tag: Taxes

Ep. 582 – Low Rates Fuel Housing, Zombies, + Chaos

The Kapital News

Ep. 582 - Low Rates Fuel Housing, Zombies, + Chaos

00:00 / 00:33:45

Low interest rates are fueling much more than just housing and zombie corporations, but earlier today housing data came across the wires. The Case-Shiller 20-city composite home price index saw an 11.9 percent year-over-year increase in the month of February. This reading is the highest since 2014. With respect to the national home price index, the year-over-year increase was also at 12 percent. This is the highest reading since 2006. It is interesting to note that the time period of reference is just prior to the GFC when the housing market peaked.

The Kapital News has been mentioning how the current environment is likely going to have to contend with a triple whammy or trifecta of serious economic and financial issues. For one, the trade wars, supply disruptions, and fiscal policy measures are highly reminiscent of the causes of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Secondly, there is a fascination and outright obsession with big tech names, SPACS, and cryptocurrencies, where the crowd claims that these assets can only experience price appreciation. Thus mirroring the Dot-com era. And lastly, with residential real estate prices moving as they have been over the prior year and likely to continue in this manner for at least the remainder of this year, will generate data points not seen since the peak of the housing bubble in 2006, which led to the GFC. So, it should be highly evident that risks abound and that such price appreciation across the spectrum of asset classes is due in large part because of low interest rates, fiscal policies, and monetary policies. All of which cannot last forever, so it begs the question, when will it let up, and when it does, what will the fallout look like?

Not only are low interest rates fueling asset prices higher, they are also creating new zombie corporations, as well as continuing to prop up existing zombies. If market forces were allowed to prevail, as opposed to distortionary interventions via the government and central bank, then these firms would have gone out of business and/or restructured. This would have been a net-positive for the long-term health of the economy. Yet due to such monetary and fiscal policies, these poorly managed companies were given a life-line, and it came in the form of easy money and cheap credit via low interest rates. The existence of these firms will stunt future growth and prosperity because these firms will have to allocate a disproportionate amount of their cash flows to servicing debt as opposed to capital expenditures, investments, and hiring. This is at complete odds with one of the dual mandates of the Federal Reserve and that is achieving full employment. Well how can full employment be achieved if a significant portion of US firms are classified as zombies? This figure is now nearing 25 percent! This is a question that needs to be asked and answered.

Lastly, because the worlds of economics, politics, and social issues are always intertwined, there exists risks and opportunities within any environment. However, given the current climate, it is reasonable to assume, and recent geopolitical events would indicate that there are more risks than there are opportunities. It is simply not logical to believe that a global debt crisis can be managed or solved by increasing the amount of debt into the system. This faulty logic along with the subsequent policies that are implemented, give rise to a lot of social movements, and increase the likelihood of global conflict. This conflict can be internal to countries or it can be between and amongst nations that can turn into war. Revolutions are fought on empty stomachs. And when one accounts for increasing food prices, commodities, and security threats, coupled with pandemic lockdowns, lack of future opportunities, and many people being priced out of various markets, then it is rather easy to connect the dots. The global system is extremely fragile right now on many fronts, and thus it will only take the slightest of internal or external shock(s) to bring it all down. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Inflation #FoodPrices #Protests #Revolution #USA #Liberty #EndTheFed #Leadership #bananarepublic #FireCongress #Gold #Silver #Commodities #Peace

Ep. 579 – Job Market Distortions + Higher Taxes

The Kapital News

Ep. 579 - Job Market Distortions + Higher Taxes

00:00 / 00:28:31

For the second consecutive week, initial jobless claims came in under 600k to stand at 547,000 for the week ending 17 April. While this figure is below that which was witnessed during the depths of GFC, we cannot forget the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program that was created by the Federal government. This figure came in at 133,319, which means in aggregate, weekly claims were 680,000 – still higher than the GFC, yet trending lower, and that is good news. The prior week was revised higher by 10k to now stand at 586,000. In aggregate, across all forms of unemployment insurance, some 17.4 million Americans continue to claim benefits. This gives us a de facto unemployment rate of 12.5 percent, which is more than double the official unemployment rate of 6.0 percent.

The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet hit another all-time high and now stands at $7.82 trillion, which was a week-over-week increase of $27 billion. The Fed remains committed to their QE program of purchasing at least $120 billion of US Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities per month. This will take their balance sheet to at least $8.5 trillion by the end of the year, and The Kapital News is projecting that it will be closer to $10 trillion! For context, their balance sheet was just shy of $900 billion during the GFC. This is nearly a 10x increase in just a little over a decade! And do recall that when QE was announced that it was going to be temporary. This program is a couple of years away from applying for a driver’s license – so much for short-lived. It is important to note this because current Fed members are stating that inflation will only be transitory. The same people who said QE would be temporary are saying the same about inflation – see where we are going with this?

As The Kapital News has been mentioning since we have been online starting in 2019, is to get ready for tax hikes. We were running trillion dollar deficits prior to the pandemic, the subsequent lockdowns, and massive spending programs. It is basic math at the end of the day. We are all for cutting taxes, in fact, we want to see the income tax abolished, along with the Federal Reserve. However, if policymakers are going to cut taxes, then they need to cut spending as well. Only solving for half of the equation is asking for trouble – i.e. large deficits. These deficits bring about the hidden tax of inflation, and now because of the size of our deficits, tax increases are coming. It was only a matter of time, but now the Biden Administration is discussing raising taxes. Their first target is capital gains taxes in a show to target the rich, but make no mistake that they will also be broad-based when the dust settles. We are dealing with a $28.2 trillion national debt. We are on the path to spend nearly $8 trillion this year alone, which gives us a deficit of over $4 trillion! Our deficit alone is higher than all of the tax revenue that is brought in annually, which is currently around $3.5 trillion! How sustainable do you think this is? And unfortunately, there is not much to show for it. So it is another double whammy as usual as we have to contend with the inflation tax and an increase to direct taxation. It should also be stressed that confiscating the entire net worth of the country’s wealthiest individuals would only cover expenses for several months. Point being, we are in a lot of trouble and attempting to tax and spend our way out of it, is not the solution. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Inflation #Taxes #Debt #Spending #Gold #Silver #USA #Bailouts #Liberty #Leadership #Justice #Truth #EndTheFed #bananarepublic #FireCongress

Ep. 570 – Uncle Sam’s Debt Is Junk

The Kapital News

Ep. 570 - Uncle Sam's Debt Is Junk

00:00 / 00:38:37

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. 569 – US Taxpayers Bailout The World

The Kapital News

Ep. 569 - US Taxpayers Bailout The World

00:00 / 00:33:29

Whether it is the trillions upon trillions of dollars that are being spent by Uncle Sam and printed by the Federal Reserve, or the $650 billion that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, just gave to the IMF, one thing is certain, and that is the American taxpayer is paying the bill. Now the US taxpayer is not the only group that will be feeling the consequences of such reckless policy. Instead it will be millions, if not billions of people the world over. They will feel the effects via inflation. Many poorer and middle-income nations are already contending with the destructive nature of inflation. Most notably for these countries is the price of food, energy, medicines, and other living necessities. Such cost increases are in turn leading to political and social unrest. This trend is likely to continue. However, The Kapital News would like to note that there may be a delay as to when some of these protests and riots gather more steam and traction. This is potentially due to the $650 billion that was given to the IMF to assist such countries with their ailing and failing economies. They are on the verge of defaulting on their debts, which in turn would have caused further problems, thus creating a vicious-cycle for these countries, which would likely manifest itself with people protesting and rioting. The $650 billion, buys some time. Furthermore, with our reckless spending, is leading to record trade deficits. That is to say we are importing more than we are exporting at record levels. This signifies that our spending is leading to increasing production levels in other countries. If we were producing such goods, then we would not need to import them to such a degree. So understand simply, the US produces dollars, and the world is producing goods. How long will this continue?

The Kapital News has also been informing our audience of further fiscal policy measures amounting to trillions of dollars before 2021 even got started and prior to the election of now President, Joe Biden. It would not have made much of a difference as to whom is the President, as further spending was coming regardless. Nonetheless, the new infrastructure bill has gained some parliamentarian clearance to be passed, at least in part, via budget reconciliation. This is where a simple majority in the Senate, 51 votes, is enough to pass the legislation. In this instance, as was the case for the Nobody CARES Act 3.0 worth $1.9 trillion, VP Kamala Harris would be the tie-breaking vote, assuming this falls on party lines. This determination by the Senate parliamentarian does not mean that this bill will pass quickly. There are a few Senate Democrats who are not huge fans of the current bill, and they also come from more conservative states. Therefore, it is very likely that these Senators will leverage this to gain extra funds to their states in order to look the other way with their objections and then ultimately pass the bill. When it is all said and done, trillions more in spending will be appropriated throughout the remainder of 2021 and perhaps beyond.

A recent report released by Fitch Ratings, one of the major corporate credit rating agencies within the United States, is issuing a warning with respect to bankruptcies. The agency rightly claims that the level of bankruptcies that occurred throughout 2020 was well below what would have been expected and historically experienced in past recessions. They also correctly note that this anomaly occurred due to the unprecedented monetary and fiscal policy actions that were implemented. However, Fitch remarks that once these fiscal and monetary supports are removed, forbearances and moratoriums lifted or scaled back, that “bankruptcies will rise, potentially significantly.” Their projections are for both 2021 and 2022. This is a very damning report and rebuke of said monetary and fiscal policies. What this in effect means, is exactly what The Kapital News has been saying since last year, and that is all of the trillions in spending, borrowing, and printing will have been only to kick the can down the road. In other words, nothing structural has been resolved. You may be able to print dollars, but you cannot print solvency. Most of the damage is believed to be experienced by small and medium sized firms, which will further the consolidation process by larger corporations. One of the direct results of extraordinary and reckless fiscal and monetary decisions, has been the “zombification” of the economy. At recent count, nearly 25 percent or 1-in-4 businesses in the US are classified as zombies. This is the economy of the living dead, and if Fitch Ratings is correct, then some of these zombies may be going out of business for good. There are still a ton of risks and headwinds staring us in the face and coming down the pike. Money printers and stimulus checks will not solve these problems. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Bailouts #Inflation #Debt #USA #Liberty #Leadership #FoodPrices #Gold #Silver #Commodities #Oil #EndTheFed #bananarepublic #FireCongress #Protests #Bubbles #Fraud

Ep. 566 – Central Banks Taunt The Markets

The Kapital News

Ep. 566 - Central Banks Taunt The Markets

00:00 / 00:34:40

If the incompetence of central bankers was not enough to deal with, now we have to contend with their arrogance. European Central Bank, ECB, President Christine Lagarde, remarked in a recent interview that central banks remain steadfast in achieving their goals and dared the markets to test their resolve. What is she talking about? Is the ECB President openly admitting that central bank policy and natural market forces are at odds with each other? If this is the case, which The Kapital News believes to be true, then Lagarde has just declared that equity and bond prices would be quite lower compared to current levels.

Of course this is the open secret about global monetary policy, yet no one dares to say it, especially not a central banker. Quite the contrary, as central bankers attempt to attribute equity and bond price gains to fiscal support or a more resilient global economy. Rarely, if ever, do central bankers want to stand in the center of the stage and take all the credit nor do they ever openly taunt the markets. Global equity prices are at their outrageous valuations, especially in the United States, because of the monetary measures that were undertaken since the pandemic and even prior. So it is a simple thought experiment to ask oneself the following, if such measures and liquidity were removed from the system, would equity and bond prices be at their current levels? The answers is a resounding, NO! Prices would be much lower and interest rates much higher. This is what needs to occur in order for markets to find fair value, for zombie corporations to be liquidated or restructured, and for all other malinvestments to be liquidated or restructured as well.

This will be a lengthy and painful process, but it is one that is needed and required in order to establish a solid foundation on which to build a sustainable future economy and society. But we will never hear this from central bankers or politicians. Instead they give us their lethal combination of incompetence and arrogance. And while the top 1 and 10 percent of the population see trillions of dollars added to their net worth in the midst of a pandemic, these same central bankers inform of us a growing wealth inequality problem. Yet they never seem willing or capable of placing the blame at their own feet for such inequality. This type of rhetoric from Lagarde and other central bankers is concerning to say the least. This is now open warfare between free-market capitalism and central planning. Let us hope for the sake of freedom, sound economics, individualism, and posterity that free-markets win the day. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #CentralBanks #Inflation #Markets #Debt #Protests #Riots #Liberty #USA #Leadership #EndTheFed #bananarepublic #FireCongress #Pandemic #Gold #Silver #Commodities

Ep. 563 – Jobless Claims Remain Above GFC

The Kapital News

Ep. 563 - Jobless Claims Remain Above GFC

00:00 / 00:29:23

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. 537 – Inflation Announced

The Kapital News

Ep. 537 - Inflation Announced

00:00 / 00:28:02

The Kapital News has been discussing and demonstrating how inflation has been here for years via the increase to money supply, and just importantly, the effects of inflation, known as price increases. Countries around the world in 2018 and 2019 (prior to the pandemic), were protesting and rioting in the streets. This was not because the cost of living was so affordable. Quite the contrary, where people could not afford to live and any minor price or tax increase unleashed the population to take to the streets. In more advanced economies, prices have been rising for basic necessities, such as food, energy, utilities, and medical costs. However, these rates in price growth were likely lower than is less developed nations. Yet, with respect to financial asset prices in developed economies, the world has seen and continues to witness record or near record prices in stocks, bonds, and real estate. This may be a temporary high where people believe that stocks can only go up. But in all likelihood, this is setting up to be one of the biggest bubbles ever created and thus its popping and subsequent decline will be one of the largest.

In low and mid-income countries around the globe, food prices are increasing at double-digit rates. Some countries are beginning to curb exports, thus putting further upward pressure on prices for agricultural goods. Today, Kraft-Heinz and ConAgra, announced that due to commodity price increases, that their customers are likely going to be paying higher prices for their goods at some point later this year. These statements are likely going to continue throughout the year and will be echoed by many companies across various sectors of the economy. The damage by federal governments and central banks has already been done. Now, the globe awaits its true effects and destruction of inflation. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Inflation #Gold #Silver #bananarepublic #EndTheFed #USA #Liberty #Leadership #Recession #Protests #Depression #Debt #Spending #FireCongress #Jobs

Ep. 533 – Fake Unemployment!

The Kapital News

Ep. 533 - Fake Unemployment!

00:00 / 00:34:42

Jerome Powell, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, made some comments this afternoon, and one in particular pertained to stating that the “real” unemployment rate is closer to 10 percent. The BLS just released the jobs report last Friday and informed us that the official unemployment rate is 6.3 percent. This is quite the discrepancy. So what gives? The Kapital News believes this is the first of many one-two punches to be thrown by Treasury Secretary, Janet “Dingbat” Yellen, and Jay Powell. Recall that Yellen was the former Chair of the Fed. This past weekend, Yellen made comments supporting the $1.9 trillion spending package being proposed by the Biden administration, arguing that its passage will help return the US economy to full employment. This is hogwash. Nevertheless, we now have Mr. Powell arguing with official government statistics, which is highly uncommon, and also arguing that monetary policy will remain accommodative until we once again reach full employment. Clearly, something is afoot. Especially when one considers how important the “independence” of the Fed is in the eyes of Fed officials. They always note how important it is for the government to stay out of the business of the Fed. So why is the Fed so concerned with the policies of the government? Wouldn’t this invite political interference into their decision-making?

The Kapital News believes that the Federal Reserve along with the Treasury Secretary, know that they are trapped. They know that their fiscal and monetary policies have run their course and are at their end. But they also do not want to take any responsibility for their actions since the GFC and so they would simply rather continue with the same policies as opposed to admit their mistakes and change course. This pride or perhaps complete ignorance and incompetence has proven to be and will continue to be extremely expensive and destructive to the economy. The inflation that has thus been generated will continue to make its way throughout the global economy. The first to be affected has been and remains financial assets, but inflation has also been hitting healthcare costs, commodities, and food. It is in these latter groups where the most destruction will occur. Most people do not own financial assets, but everyone needs food and energy. Even with respect to financial assets, as prices go higher for equities and housing, it prices much of the population out of these markets because they cannot afford them. It is one thing to be in a position where one cannot afford equities and/or housing. It is a completely different situation when they cannot afford their utilities, transportation, medical care, and food. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Fraud #FakeMarkets #Fake #Bailouts #FireCongress #bananarepublic #EndTheFed #Recession #Depression #Inflation #Gold #Silver #USA #Liberty

Ep. 531 – The Bubble Buys A Bubble

The Kapital News

Ep. 531 - The Bubble Buys A Bubble

00:00 / 00:30:56

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, announced today that the company purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin in attempts to diversify their cash position. It was also noted that the company would be open to purchasing gold bullion and gold ETFs. This may be all fine and well as the company is at liberty to invest and diversify as they see fit, however, it is kind of ironic because in the view of The Kapital News, both Tesla and Bitcoin will be known as the posterchildren of this bubble era when the music stops playing. What is concerning, is the fact that Elon Musk announced such measures over social media as well, that caused a frenzy of buying for Bitcoin, which hit an all-time high today above $46,000 per coin. Mr. Musk knows very well that when he says something on any media platform that it will have an impact on markets, especially with respect to this topic. Knowing he has this power has him straddling a very thin line that neighbors market manipulation. The SEC may be well served in looking further into this matter. If the layman had this type of ability to sway markets, the SEC would probably already have him in handcuffs. Talk about little guys versus the big guy…

The Congressional Budget Office, (CBO), came out today with their analysis on the proposed minimum wage hike to $15 per hour, and concluded that while 900k may be lifted out of poverty, 1.4 million job losses will occur. At a time of chronic and structural unemployment and underemployment, the Biden administration and Democrats believe now is the time for such a policy. Are they trying to be stupid? There should not even be a minimum wage. This is to be negotiated between employee and employer based off of experience and responsibilities of the role, and the supply and demand of labor thereof. The government has no business in this transaction, just like they have no business in most other areas across the economy and society. The unfortunate thing in all of this is that the very people who think they will benefit the most from such an increase in the minimum wage, will be the ones most adversely impacted. They will be replaced by touchscreen monitors, robots, and other technologies. They will have their hours reduced so that employers’ operational costs do not balloon. This could have the impact of going from full-time to part-time, which may impact health insurance and/or retirement benefits. Of course, none of this is mentioned by the proponents of such a policy. In their view, it must be better to let the people find out the hard-way, even though the Democrats pretend to be the party that cares for the little guy.

Other items discussed during today’s podcast pertain to the potential executive action to forgive student debt. This may be as high as $50,000 per student. This is a travesty and the President does not have the authority to legislate via fiat, a.k.a Executive Order. Such an act, whether at the executive or legislative level is wrong. It is immoral, unethical, and un-American. What of those people who sacrificed to pay their loans off? What of those people who never went to college, never wanted to attend, and never will? Why should all of these people now bear the costs of paying off these debts of others? The argument is that if such debt is “forgiven,” then the money used for debt payments can now be used to spend into the economy. If this argument were true, then why stop at student debt? What about mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, personal loans, and others? Such forgiveness would add nearly $1.7 trillion to our national debt instantly, which is already nearing the $28 trillion level. Letting everyone else pay for the debts and/or mistakes of others is no way to run a government or society. The moral hazard that this creates will last generations. And who does the government pick and choose as the “winners” of such a policy? Only for those with outstanding debts or also those who will be entering college this year, next year, for how many years forward or otherwise?

And lastly, the second impeachment trial of former President, Donald J. Trump commences tomorrow. This is a constitutional act, period. Whether or not you believe this issue is an impeachable offense is another matter entirely, but the Congress has the authority to do so. Otherwise, there would be a loophole within the constitution that would allow for a President on his last day(s) in office to commit an impeachable offense and suffer no consequence for such action(s). Nonetheless, the trial will resemble another circus – a circus that never seems to leave town. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Tesla #Bitcoin #Markets #Fraud #Jobs #USA #Liberty #Bailouts #Bubbles #Recession #Depression #EndTheFed #Debt #Spending #bananarepublic #Inflation #Gold #Silver #FireCongress

Ep. 529 – Jobs Slide, Market Highs

The Kapital News

Ep. 529 - Jobs Slide, Market Highs

00:00 / 00:28:50

While the initial jobless claims figure came in better than expected, 779,000 remains stubbornly high. This is still well north of the 650,000 figure seen during the depths of the GFC. Since the restrictions and lockdowns, we have not seen a weekly jobless claims figure below 700,000 – almost a full year ago. This has been truly destructive and devastating. For the week ending 16 January, 17.8 million Americans continue to claim some form of unemployment insurance.

Despite these dizzying jobless numbers, the stock market’s major indexes all hit new closing highs. This has become par for the course with a deteriorating jobs markets and yet equity markets continue to rally. Just last week, amidst the trading frenzy in a handful of stocks, we also witnessed the worst week for Wall Street since last October. Yet fast forward only one week, and we are at new all-time highs. The equity markets remain well disconnected from the underlying economy. This is a central banker’s world for the time being and liquidity rules the roost. There will come a day of reckoning due to market forces that are greater than all central banks and governments, and when this occurs, it will be truly devastating and historical.

Speaking of liquidity, the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet remains near all-time highs around $7.4 trillion. The Kapital News believes this figure will near or exceed $10 trillion by the end of this year. M1 money stock hit a new all-time high and now stands at $6.9 trillion, representing a week-over-week increase of nearly $150 billion. Perhaps this is the accelerant for the markets moving higher? M2 saw a slight reduction week-over-week, but remains well within all-time highs that were hit last week.

Lastly, government regulators joined forces today to discuss last week’s market mayhem in GameStop Corp, AMC Entertainment, and others to determine its cause and if necessary take action. What these actions will be is for anyone to guess, but it should be understood that the authorities are more likely than not going to implement some sort of action. Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, needed to receive a waiver from the Treasury Department’s ethics office, due to the fact that Secretary Yellen received $700,000 from hedge fund Citadel LLC, for a speaking engagement, following her departure from the Federal Reserve. Citadel is front and center with last week’s episode as they are one of the largest customers of online brokerage and trading app, Robinhood. This is the fox running the henhouse and then once the hens go missing, the fox and his buddies conduct the investigation. Our markets are broken and have been for quite awhile and the policy measures underway now and the regulations about to come down the pike, are not the solutions. In fact, they are a major part of the problem. The January jobs report will be released tomorrow morning. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Markets #Debt #Inflation #Gold #Silver #USA #Liberty #Revolution #bananarepublic #EndTheFed #Recession #Depression #Bailouts #Protests #FireCongress

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