Tag: Truth

Ep. 494 – Biden’s Economic Dream Team Is Really A Nightmare

The Kapital News

Ep. 494 - Biden's Economic Dream Team Is Really A Nightmare

00:00 / 00:32:23

President-elect Joe Biden released more names today to fill positions within his economic team. These characters are all familiar names as many have held posts within the Obama Administration. As The Kapital News likes to say, “it’s a revolving door down there in Washington, DC.” It is quite remarkable, yet also not surprising, that such people will be filling these positions. Remarkable in the sense that no one seems to have any basic common sense for what is going on in this country. Evidently, the same people who are responsible for past and current economic calamity are now back in the fold – apparently so they can be responsible for the future economic calamity. This makes zero sense. However, what can be deduced is that the incoming Biden Administration must be fine with how things were managed in the past and thinks that’s how things should be managed going forward. This becomes the definition of insanity. And of course, it will continue to be the American people who are responsible for the bill. This will be paid through taxation, inflation, a stagnant economy, higher costs of living, lower living standards, few opportunities, and more debt. Just when you thought 2020 was nearing its close – we have all of 2021 to contend with in the aftermath of all of these flawed policies. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Debt #Bailouts #EndTheFed #BananaRepublic #Inflation #Gold #Silver #Liberty #Revolution #USA

Ep. 493 – What’s Silver + Gold Telling Us?

The Kapital News

Ep. 493 - What's Silver + Gold Telling Us?

00:00 / 00:30:50

The recent pullback in silver and gold have many wondering what this means, and what may lie ahead for the precious metals market. There are of course many theories out there, but today we discuss a couple. First, could silver and gold be sniffing out the likely oncoming tsunami of bankruptcies and insolvencies? Some argue that if this scenario unfolds, that this will be “deflationary” and thus bad news for silver and gold prices. The Kapital News notes, however, that silver and gold can also do well in a deflationary environment. It must also be stressed that when the mainstream uses the words inflationary and deflationary, they are usually used incorrectly. These are monetary phenomena whereby inflation is an increase in the money supply and conversely deflation is a contraction in the money supply. Well, hello – central banks the world over are printing their respective currencies like they are going out of style – because they are! However, what most people mean by deflation is that prices will drop and inflation – prices will rise. The Kapital News is focused on the goods and services that people actually need and use – not so much the things they do not need and are not spending money on. And with this – prices are going up. In addition, we are seeing financial asset prices make new highs, especially with respect to equities and housing. People around the world are not protesting and rioting because the cost of living is so affordable – on the contrary – the cost of living is unaffordable!

We then look at these recent price declines as perhaps simply a period of consolidation, followed by a sell off, but only to prove to be the start of the next leg higher – bull markets climb a wall of worry. The Kapital News looks at silver and gold as a long-term investment. There are simply too many boxes that are checked or will soon be checked that add fuel to this precious metals bull market. Such as low interest rates, negative rates, negative real rates, massive deficit spending, massive expansion of central bank balance sheets, political and geopolitical risks, a stagnant economy, and a whole host of uncertainties that remain with how countries and societies will handle the wealth and income inequalities, the pandemic, higher prices, elections, and so much more. The remaining decade is going to be one for the history books – what we have done to ourselves and each other, and what we do to ourselves and each other as all of this immoral and unethical behavior, along with trillions in malinvestment(s), comes home to roost. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Silver #Gold #Inflation #EndTheFed #BananaRepublic #USA #Liberty #Revolution

Ep. 492 – Turkey Or Jobs On The Chopping Block?

The Kapital News

Ep. 492 - Turkey Or Jobs On The Chopping Block?

00:00 / 00:33:07

Happy Thanksgiving from The Kapital News! Hopefully everyone was able to get together with some friends and family – even if via remotely. Social interactions and traditions are important, especially during these trying times.

Being that it’s Thanksgiving, we know the turkeys were on the chopping block. However, we received some unfortunate news the other day out of the Labor Department, telling us that initial jobless claims were higher than the previous week. This is two consecutive weeks where jobless claims have been trending higher. Given recent “lockdown” orders across various states and cities, it’s no surprise to see these figures increase. Yet, it’s our analysis that the economy remains extremely weak and vulnerable to various shocks and to time itself, and thus this may be signaling something more than just job losses due to restrictions. Printing, begging, borrowing, and spending money that we do not have will only take us so far. We may very well be reaching those limits.

For the week ending 21 November, 778,000 Americans filed an initial jobless claim. This is 30,000 more than the previous week’s figure of 748,000 – which was revised higher by 6,000. In aggregate of all persons claiming unemployment insurance, for the week ending 7 November, totals 20.45 million. This is a week-over-week increase of over 135,000. Using this number would give us a rough figure of about 14 percent as the unemployment rate. Notice that this is twice the percentage as what the jobs report tells us is the official unemployment figure – which currently stands at 6.9 percent. So while there is of course much to be thankful for during this holiday season, there is also much to be concerned about in the coming weeks, months, and even years. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Bailouts #Debt #Inflation #Recession #Depression #Gold #Silver #USA #Liberty #Revolution #BananaRepublic #EndTheFed

Ep. 491 – Yellen: No Checks, No Balances

The Kapital News

Ep. 491 - Yellen: No Checks, No Balances

00:00 / 00:34:24

Today’s title has a couple of meanings. First, since we’re a first world banana republic, we have no checks to write because there is no balance in the Treasury to cover them. Further, the only way we really show a balance in the general fund is because we print the money like it’s going out of style – because it is. Then of course, the United States government is supposed to be a system of checks and balances. But how can our system truly function as such a system, if there exists a central bank, the Federal Reserve, that is accountable to no one? Presidents, Representatives, and Senators can be voted in and voted out by the people. The President can override Congress with a veto. Congress can override the veto should enough votes exist. Congress can impeach and remove a President. The Supreme Court can rule actions and legislation to be unconstitutional. Yet, if and when central bankers set interest rates and embark upon other policies, there is no one who can overturn their decision. These “officials” are not elected, and thus cannot be voted out by the people. So where is the check and balance to their power? This is exactly the problem.

Now, with President-elect, Joe Biden, beginning his transition into the White House, he is starting to pick his cabinet. Continuing with yesterday’s discussion, we highlight his pick of Treasury Secretary of Janet Yellen. Yellen was the former Vice Chair and Chairman of the Federal Reserve. She was very a much a part of implementing and overseeing quantitative easing. She is also an advocate for granting the Fed the ability and authority to purchase equities outright. While she makes such a claim in a veiled way – make no mistake that she believes this is something Congress should consider doing – granting the Fed such powers. She, like many of her predecessors and successors, are destructive to the United States of America. Their policies are the root of our economic malaise in conjunction with actions taken by our government. It has been and remains to be a great concern that these policies are going to become even more extreme, and thus worsen and add to the damage. It’s a revolving door in Washington, DC and this is further evidence that our elected officials care not about the health of our country. The people need to wake up before it is too late. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Bailouts #Markets #Jobs #Debt #USA #Inflation #Recession #Depression #Gold #Silver #EndTheFed #BananaRepublic #Liberty #Revolution

Ep. 490 – Yellen + Screamin’

The Kapital News

Ep. 490 - Yellen + Screamin'

00:00 / 00:34:15

So here we have it! It’s vaccine Monday once again and right on cue, AstraZeneca comes out and announced the results of their vaccine’s efficacy. This is now three Mondays in a row – Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca, respectively. However, today’s news was further bolstered by the announcement that former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, is getting the nod to become the next Treasury Secretary. Of course she will need to be confirmed by the Senate, but since she has been confirmed before, there’s really no reason to think why she won’t be confirmed again. Now, The Kapital News can come up with trillions of reasons as to why she should not be confirmed, but you get the point.

The stock market loved this news and why wouldn’t that be the case? Equities rose considerably under the Yellen-Obama tenure. This is thanks to record low interest rates, and quantitative easing being the norm for the past decade plus. This monstrosity of a policy continues and now with a one-two punch at Treasury and the Fed – what could possibly go wrong? Again, The Kapital News can provide a trillion scenarios, but you get the point in that the addicts on Wall Street will continue to get their hit and in larger doses. This is destroying, if it hasn’t already killed the patient, with the patient being that of the US economy. For that matter, it’s really the global economy since these actions are being undertaken in an orchestrated manner.

What’s so sad of course, is the fact that tens of millions of Americans are still going to food banks, collecting unemployment insurance, facing eviction(s), and massive uncertainties ahead, yet global equities continue reaching new heights. This is massive fraud and contributing greatly to wealth and income inequality. This is a recipe for political, social, and economic disaster because this is not the result of production, productivity gains, and prudent valuations. No, this is at the hand of easy credit and trillion dollar liquidity injections. In short, this is a first world banana republic and the funny money is inflating financial assets into the stratosphere. Just wait until this is reflected in commodity prices and general consumer prices. The inflation is already here – now await it’s truly destructive force and the coming stagflation and potential hyperinflation. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Inflation #Gold #Debt #Silver #Recession #Liberty #Revolution #EndTheFed #BananaRepublic #Depression #Bailouts #USA

Ep. 489 – Jobless Claims Back Up

The Kapital News

Ep. 489 - Jobless Claims Back Up

00:00 / 00:28:02

For the week ending 14 November, jobless claims came in at 742,000, which is an unfortunate increase from the prior week’s figure of 711,000. However, the total of all persons claiming UI benefits decreased week-over-week by nearly 841,000 to stand at 20,319,615 – this would be for week ending 31 October. Nonetheless, with the massive interventionist fiscal and monetary policies, there still remains distortionary effects that makes it difficult to truly gauge the jobs market. Furthermore, with the winter months in front of us, in conjunction with rising Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations – what measures will state and city governments adopt to slow the spread? We’re already witnessing several states and major cities implement another round of restrictions, lockdowns, and/or curfews in attempt to bring the cases down. However, will such actions make things even worse economically? Could this be why week-over-week claims are up and could this be the start of another trend higher? Let us hope not, but let us also not be surprised if that comes to fruition. These measures in conjunction with fiscal and monetary policies are not healthy, beneficial, or sustainable in the long-run. In fact, they are quite detrimental to future growth and prosperity.

Also out this morning were the updates to the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet and M2 money stock. Both of these figures made new all-time highs. The Fed’s balance sheet is now at a record high of $7.243 trillion! The Kapital News believes this is just the beginning of another major leg higher. With respect to M2 money stock, we now stand at nearly $19.1 trillion, which is an increase of over $170 billion from the prior week! The markets are getting drunk on these monetary actions. But parties don’t last forever, and this kind of “partying” usually comes with some major negative side effects. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Bailouts #Debt #Inflation #Recession #Depression #Gold #Silver #Liberty #Revolution

Ep. 488 – The Headline Economy

The Kapital News

Ep. 488 - The Headline Economy

00:00 / 00:30:06

It’s all about the story, the narrative, the headline. Global equities are all about weaving a nice bed time story to pump stocks higher and here in the US – to all-time highs and record valuations. This historically does not bode well at all for future positive returns. In fact, it’s usually a harbinger of a significant decline – a reversion to the mean. As we have been witnessing, markets, once they sell-off, have been doing so to a greater degree and with greater rapidity. Recall Q4 of 2018 where the major indexes lost around 20 percent. Then fast forward to earlier this year, where we witnessed a near 40 percent drop within 6 weeks. What might this portend for the next leg down? Perhaps 50 percent within a few weeks – could you imagine the carnage?

Nonetheless, like a good little addict, the market has been conditioned to take any negative news in stride, “knowing” that their dealer(s), the Federal Reserve and the Congress will have their backs and throw as much monetary and fiscal support (dope), into the system as they can. And if the actual liquidity isn’t enough – don’t worry. This is because there are a number of headlines that can be circulated to juice the markets. Take for example the US-China trade talks that we heard about endlessly throughout 2019 and only to come to a “Phase 1” agreement that was no where near the hype. Then onto Covid-19 and the “need” for monetary and fiscal support – this coming to the tune of trillions of dollars that we did not and do not have. Then calls for further actions from our policymakers and this has been making the headlines for several months now, but with no deal yet agreed upon and signed. Why actually do something, if the headline is good enough to pump the markets? Then there’s the vaccine headlines – with several major pharmaceutical companies working on this assignment, this means that there can be headlines galore promising a vaccine soon to enter the market. Over the last two weeks and even today we hear of more information on the effectiveness of some of these vaccines. And while there are others, we’ll leave with the rush of IPOs – reminiscent of the late 1990s and the dot-com bust, a myriad of companies, mainly tech, are rushing the markets to raise capital. Of course very few, if any, are actually profitable – but profits matter not. This is because we’re in the midst of the headline economy – fundamentals don’t matter – just a good story. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Bailouts #Jobs #Markets #Liberty #Revolution #EndTheFed #BananaRepublic #USA

Ep. 487 – The Zombie Economy

The Kapital News

Ep. 487 - The Zombie Economy

00:00 / 00:32:28

According to estimates from Deutsche Bank, nearly 18 percent of US companies can be classified as “zombie” businesses. This is 50 percent higher than levels seen only two years ago. Zombies are generally defined as firms that can pay their operational expenses and make debt servicing payments, but are unable to pay off their debt(s). Their existence, especially at these levels, are extremely dangerous and destructive to the economy and society. Many, if not all, are “kept alive” by governmental and monetary policies. However, these actions in the long-run prove detrimental to the economy because the capital and/or liquidity injections into the system come at the expense of more debt, less investment, and fewer to no gains to productivity and innovation. Furthermore, it also hurts successful businesses more than otherwise would be the case in the event of an economic downturn. This situation arises, because in a well-functioning market economy, these zombies would go out of business or restructure, thus allowing the healthier firms to grab more market share. Well, if the zombies are kept alive, then it becomes harder for the well-run firms to acquire a bigger piece of the market. This essentially is policy making for the short-term at the expense of the long-term.

What becomes more disconcerting is that there is currently around $1.4 trillion of debt obligations on the books of these zombies. This is more than double the amount seen during the depths of the GFC. In fact, if about $1 trillion of this amount were paid down, we’d still be staring at GFC levels – just to provide some perspective. This is completely unsustainable and unhealthy. The federal government through the Nobody CARES Act, and Federal Reserve through several of their “emergency facilities,” have served to prop up these zombie firms. What should have happened is rates should have increased, poorly managed firms would have went bankrupt or insolvent, malinvestments would be flushed out throughout the economy, and well-managed firms would begin to gain market share. This is not an easy process and because of the size of this massive bubble, the correction would prove devastating to a lot of people. Nonetheless, this would have been a correction on which to build a solid foundation for future prosperity. But because politicians and central bankers do not want to be held to account, they take the “easy” way out and borrow, print, and spend money we do not have, in order to make it appear that the economy is in good shape – it is not. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Zombies #Bailouts #Recession #Liberty #Revolution #BananaRepublic #Debt #USA

Ep. 486 – Vaccine Monday

The Kapital News

Ep. 486 - Vaccine Monday

00:00 / 00:32:20

Another Monday and another vaccine headline. This one from Moderna, where according to their press release, their vaccine is 94.5 percent effective. This bests last week’s vaccine headline from Pfizer, where theirs was “only” 90 percent effective. Yes, Pfizer’ press release also came out for the Monday trading session. There are still several other pharmaceutical companies attempting to create a vaccine, so we might see this every Monday from now until perhaps the end of the year. These companies appear to be on a rotation when it comes to their vaccine announcements. We shall see. Nonetheless, the news catapulted US equities to new all-time highs and carried global stocks up as well. So despite having tens of millions of Americans out of work, collecting unemployment, in line at food banks, and facing evictions, we also have a stock market that is making new all-time highs. This is clearly a first world banana republic. And serves as further evidence of our moral, political, social, and economic decay and decline as a nation. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Vaccine #Bailouts #Debt #Recession #Depression #Gold #Silver #Liberty #Revolution

Ep. 485 – The Myth of Economic Recovery

The Kapital News

Ep. 485 - The Myth of Economic Recovery

00:00 / 00:29:15

Another week and another initial jobless claims report. For the week ending 7 November, 709,000 Americans filed an initial claim. While this may be the lowest number we have witnessed in months, this is still 3.5 times the average of what was “normal,” prior to the lockdowns, restrictions, and recession. This is still a stubbornly high number despite the fact that several trillion dollars have been thrown at and into the system. Continuing claims continue to decline, but this is a function of people returning to work and/or finding new jobs, but it’s also a function of state unemployment benefits being exhausted. This leaves those who remain unemployed and without regular state assistance to file for extended benefits if they’re available and qualified, or to apply to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation programs. Both of these programs are the children of the Nobody CARES Act and both have been trending higher in recent weeks. These programs can also assist “gig” workers and the self-employed. The fact that these numbers are increasing is disconcerting and evidence that a lot of stress remains throughout the economy.

This is also in agreement with the recent October jobs report where we continue to see about 3.7 million permanent job losers, high levels of part-time workers, and an increase in the long-term unemployed. Not to mention a lot of distortionary effects are still in the system as a result of fiscal and monetary measures. Some of which are near exhaustion and/or expiration, while others are continuing. Creating trillions of dollars and throwing them into the system will get you so far and even with that we still have 21.1 million Americans claiming some form of unemployment insurance. This is not an economic recovery – this is smoke and mirrors from our government and central bank – and will carry with it a very hefty price tag. Stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #USA #Bailouts #Debt #Recession #Depression #Inflation #Gold #Silver #Liberty #Revolution

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