trendsjournal.com – History Before It Happens

December 19, 2023

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TECHNOCRACY BRIEFS: AGE IS JUST A (TRILLION DOLLAR) NUMBER, AND SCALE OF AI JOBS REPLACISM STUNS EXPERTS

Numbers posted this week about a booming “longevity industry” bear out one of our 2025 top trends, “WELCOME TO FOREVERLAND” (2 Jan 2025).

EGYPT INKS DEAL FOR ISRAELI GAS EVEN AS TEL AVIV CARRIES OUT GENOCIDE IN GAZA

Despite Egypt calling Israel’s war in Gaza a genocide, the country last week inked a record-breaking deal with an Israeli energy company called NewMed to provide Cairo with more gas than ever, which the company called a “win-win.”

THEFT OF A NATION: HOW THE DEEP STATE SWAMP IS STEALING THE PEOPLE’S POWER

What on earth is happening to this country? How, over the course of 250 years, did we go from prizing self-government to allowing a corrupt, self-serving ruling elite to dominate us with terror campaigns, brute force, and psychological warfare?

WHEN THE ECONOMY FALLS, JOBS GO WITH IT

More than half of U.S. industries are currently cutting jobs, according to Moody’s Analytics, with only healthcare showing job gains.

TOP TREND 2024, EV GO FU: U.S. AUTOMAKERS SHIFT FROM EVs BACK TO GAS BUGGIES

Detroit is returning to a focus on internal combustion passenger vehicles after the Trump administration and a Republican Congress have voided policies and regulations that focused carmakers on the transition to electric mobility, The Wall Street Journal reported.

“BIG BEAUTIFUL” TAX LAW SHOWERS CASH ON BIG CORPORATIONS

Donald Trump’s “big beautiful” tax-cut bill Congress passed in July has handed AT&T an extra $1.5 to $2 billion this year in tax savings, the equivalent of an 11-percent increase in its free cash flow, the company recently said.

WHY IS ETHEREUM THE “NEW” OLD CRYPTO WUNDERKIND?

Since early 2023, Bitcoin has obviously led the way in terms of recovery from a particularly bleak “crypto winter” period. But is the recent renewed interest and price appreciation of Ethereum just a regular sign of a bull run “altcoin season”, or is something more happening?

OPENAI OPENS NEW MODELS TO DEVELOPERS

OpenAI has released its first two “open-weight” AIs, breaking with the subscription model it has relied on since its inception.

CHINESE IMPORTS ARE COSTING EUROPE JOBS, ECB SAYS

The increase in China’s exports to Europe from 2015 through 2022 has erased 240,000 jobs in the Eurozone, the European Central Bank said, and warned that more jobs are at risk now that Chinese goods that would have been sent to the U.S. before the tariff war are now destined for Europe.

CAR SALES IN CHINA INCREASED MORE SLOWLY IN JULY

Beijing’s efforts to rein in the bloody price war that has battered the country’s automakers in recent months showed some effect last month.

LONDON ARRESTS 522 FOR SUPPORTING A PRO-PALESTINE GROUP

Police in London arrested 522 people on Saturday for demonstrating against the British government’s decision to label Palestine Action, a protest group banned under the U.K.’s Terrorism Act 2000 after members damaged planes inside a British military base for the country’s role in supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

CORPORATE STOCK BUYBACKS FUEL STOCK MARKET RALLY

To 11 August, U.S. companies have announced $983.6 billion in stock buybacks, the most in this part of a year since at least 1982, according to research firm Birinyi Associates.

IRAN’S TOP DIPLOMAT CALLS U.S.-ISRAELI STRIKE ON NUCLEAR FACILITIES THE ‘GRAVEST VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW’

Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s top diplomat, said in an interview last week that the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Tehran’s nuclear sites were the “gravest” violation of international law and “absolutely unforgivable.”

NEW ORDERS TO GERMAN FACTORIES DROPPED IN JUNE

German factories received 1 percent fewer orders in June than in May, the government’s DeStatis statistics agency reported. That followed May’s 0.8-percent decline.

AMERICA LAST: HOUSE REPUBLICANS FLOCK TO ISRAEL TO MEET WITH NETANYAHU DURING RECESS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted at least 20 Republican House members in Israel last week during a trip that was organized by AIPAC and updated them on the “war” in Gaza and the “mendacious campaign being waged by Hamas against the State of Israel.”

NEW ‘DIRTY DOZEN’ LIST WARNS ABOUT RISING PESTICIDE RESIDUE IN COMMON PRODUCE

The Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) 2025 Dirty Dozen list includes two new entries—blackberries and potatoes—both flagged for high pesticide levels and exposure to banned or hormone-disrupting chemicals

ECONOMIC UPDATE—MARKET OVERVIEW

Again, and again, and again, as we say, “You can’t make this shit up.” Month-after-month, week-after-week, day-after-day, President Trump says he will do one thing then backtracks and/or does another of his this or that.

POST-REALITY SYSTEM—HISTORICAL MARKET AND ECONOMIC TRENDS ARE NO LONGER WORKING

This is THE TRUTH. Historical models on the economy and the markets are failing… but not because the fundamentals have changed, but because they’ve been hijacked.

Digital Ticker Tape With The Words "Stock Buyback" In The Center

CORPORATE STOCK BUYBACKS FUEL STOCK MARKET RALLY

To 11 August, U.S. companies have announced $983.6 billion in stock buybacks, the most in this part of a year since at least 1982, according to research firm Birinyi Associates.

SYNTHETIC DEVOLUTION: NPR TRIES TO REHABILITATE HE JIANKUI AND GENE-EDITING BABIES

Yes, the science world (though unfortunately not enough of the general populace) professed to be shocked and horrified in 2018, when a Chinese scientist declared he had successfully gene edited twin babies.

The Flag Of Israel Behind Barbed Wire And A Storm Sky

SECURITY CABINET APPROVES NETANYAHU’S PLAN TO OCCUPY GAZA CITY, AS IDF ESCALATES KILLING SPREE

The Israeli security cabinet last week approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan for the IDF to occupy Gaza City, a sign that the government is fully committed to carrying out the Trump-Kushner plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza of Palestinians to make room for lavish hotels in the oceanside enclave.

The Kremlin And Red Square At Night, Viewed Across The Moskva River, In Moscow

UKRAINE LAUNCHES DRONE STRIKES AT MOSCOW, RUSSIA TAKES MORE UKRAINE TERRITORY BEFORE ALASKA PEACE SUMMIT

Ukrainian drone strikes killed three across Russia and targeted Moscow on Sunday night that largely included industrial targets and a......

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Global Economy

SPOTLIGHT: BIGS GETTING BIGGER

Blackstone, the world’s richest private equity firm, is negotiating with several potential private lenders to secure about $3 billion in loans to buy Enverus Inc., a data and software service for the energy industry, people familiar told Bloomberg.

A Digital Collage Of A Large Golden Bitcoin, A Stack Of Similar Coins, China's Flag, And Financial Data With Stock Quotes And Graphs

HONG KONG TESTS STABLECOINS AS BEIJING WATCHES

Cryptocurrencies are banned in mainland China, but Hong Kong has passed a law that will allow any business with a license to issue stablecoins backed by a fiat currency of its choice.

SPECIAL REPORT: TRUMP’S TARIFF WAR

On 7 August, new U.S. tariffs took effect on goods arriving in the U.S. from more than 90 countries. U.S. businesses and consumers now pay an average tariff rate of about 18 percent, economists have calculated, the highest rate in 90 years and eightfold more than the 2.3 percent when Donald Trump took office.

The Israel War

Palestinian People Walking Through The Rubble And Massive Destruction Of Their Homes And Businesses By IDF Airstrikes

GAZA DEATH TOLL

Israel has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians and wounded 153,213 in its genocide campaign inside Gaza. More than 11,000 are missing.

U.S. President Donald Trump Stands On A Balcony During The Signing Of The Abraham Accords At The White House

TRUMP GIVES ISRAEL GREEN LIGHT TO KEEP UP MASSACRES IN GAZA, SAYS ‘REMEMBER OCTOBER 7’

U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview on Monday that he had a “good” telephone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and appeared to—once again—offer his support for the IDF to ramp up its killing sprees inside Gaza.

SECURITY CABINET APPROVES NETANYAHU’S PLAN TO OCCUPY GAZA CITY, AS IDF ESCALATES KILLING SPREE

Trends in AI

AI: A MATH GENIUS AND SCIENCE DECEIVER

Last May, 30 of the Western world’s leading mathematicians gathered in Berkeley, Cal. Their purpose: to give a math test to OpenAI’s o4-mini AI.

CHINA PROPOSES GLOBAL ORGANIZATION TO GUIDE AI

At its World Artificial Intelligence Conference in late July, China said it wanted to help create a worldwide organization to guide AI’s development, regulate it, and foster global cooperation in the AI revolution, officials said.