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In front of everyone’s eyes, it’s a rigged freak show and the freaks are in charge.
On the Market Front: Yesterday, the Bankster megabank Citigroup flash-crashed Sweden’s benchmark index, the OMX, sinking it 8 percent before it closed down around 2 percent. The flash crash rippled across other European stock markets.
Because the London Stock Exchange was closed for a banking holiday, trading volume in Europe was thinner than usual. We note this because when trading was low back in August 2004, Citigroup Banksters pulled another one of its flash-crash stunts.
Yesterday, Citi released a statement admitting that “This morning one of our traders made an error when inputting a transaction. Within minutes, we identified the error and corrected it.”
Back in 2004, when it was a slow trading day, Citigroup’s gamblers code-named the “Dr. Evil” trade, exploited the weak trading day by placing sell orders for billions of dollars of bonds which rapidly drove down prices… and then they bought them back at lower prices, earning big profits. Hip to Citi’s “Dr. Evil Trade,” Europe’s Financial Services Authority hit Citigroup with a $26 million fine.
As Wall Street on Parade (WSP) points out in their report, “Citigroup’s Role in ‘Flash Crash’ in Europe Yesterday Is Reminiscent of Its ‘Dr. Evil’ Trade in 2004”:
“Dr. Evil was not the first time that Citigroup used a code name for an unseemly maneuver. Citigroup staffers created another code name, “Buca Nero”—Italian for “Black Hole”—for an accounting maneuver it used to make debt appear to be an investment at the debt-strapped Italian dairy giant, Parmalat. The company collapsed in 2003 in what was then Europe’s largest bankruptcy.”
They also note how the Bankster Gangsters not only enriched themselves, but, while the workers of Slavelandina were going bust at the start of the “Panic of ‘08,” WSP notes:
“Beginning in December 2007 and lasting through at least June of 2010, Citigroup received the following in bailouts: $2.5 trillion in secret cumulative loans from the Federal Reserve; $45 billion in capital injections from the U.S. Treasury; the Federal government guaranteed over $300 billion of Citigroup’s assets; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) guaranteed $5.75 billion of its senior unsecured debt and $26 billion of its commercial paper and interbank deposits.”
The list of Evil Trade frauds and fraudsters—which is not reported by the Presstitute media who are part of the syndicate—goes on, and is greatly detailed in WSP’s article.
The facts are clear for all to see: From the Feds pumping in countless trillions to keep the Wall Street White Shoe Boys gambling with cheap money, to the tens of trillions going to the Banksters who are “To-Big-to Fail,” to the bullshit artists that elevate themselves with the names “Plunge Protection Team” in the U.S., and the “National Team” in China—that artificially prop-up crashing equity markets—THE GAME IS RIGGED!
The Political Front: Take a trip around the world. They just had an election in France. Look at the arrogant Rothschild flunky Macrone they re-elected.
How about war-torn Ukraine?
Zelensky, a comedian that played the role of President of Ukraine on TV, won the election to become the actual president.
You can’t make this shit up.
It should be a fictional tragedy, but it is an immoral reality.
Take a look at who is running the “Exceptional” nation of America—the #1 warmongering nation in the world that is fighting to keep its top spot by challenging Russia in its fight for Ukraine.
It’s a shit show for all to see, but for the masses, they are too blind to see it. Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado summed it up perfectly after he visited Kyiv on Saturday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Delegation of Doom. He said they discussed three topics with Zelensky: “Weapons, weapons and weapons.”
Bravo! More weapons of death and not a peep about peace.
Peace is a dirty word when tens of trillions are being made by the war industry and enriching the military-industrial complex as we greatly detail in this and previous Trends Journals.
And how the media cheers these warmongers while they blackball and silence those pushing for Peace—a term that may be banned by “Miss Information,” as the Trends Journal cover illustrates and the series of Technocracy articles that detail the escalation of censorship in dead-woke America.
Again, it’s a Global Shit Show.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the U.K. has the style, looks, and lying track record to put him at the head of the clown class, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau—who, if his Daddy wasn’t PM he’d be a Grade B actor—symbolizes the class of arrogant, self-centered, sociopaths who people across the globe vote to run and ruin their lives.
The list goes on, and we note this because in trend forecasting, all things are connected and the most important trend is the call for more “Weapons, Weapons, Weapons” that is beating the WWIII war drums.
We have detailed extensively in this and other Trends Journals how the Ukraine War plus the sanctions and embargoes imposed on Russia by the United States and NATO have driven inflation higher and economies down.
Yet, rather than taking proactive measures to reverse these negative trends, the Shit Show leaders are ramping up the down-turn and pushing inflation higher by their war deeds.
While the mainstream business media is now saying that we are entering into a period of stagflation, they got it wrong. No, economies will not “stagnate” as inflation goes higher, Gross Domestic Products will decline. Thus, we are entering a period of “Dragflation”… declining GDPs and rising inflation.
LAST WEEK: U.S. EQUITY MARKETS END WORST MONTH IN MORE THAN TWO YEARS
Weighed down by tech stocks, the NASDAQ lost more than 13 percent in April, its worst monthly performance since October 2008. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 4.9 percent last month and was down more than 9 percent this year at the 30 April close. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dumped 8.8 percent in April after four consecutive losing weeks, losing 13 percent this year as of 30 April.
On Friday alone, the S&P cast off 3.6 percent after Amazon and Apple reported disappointing first-quarter results.
The Dow and S&P turned in their most dismal one-month records since March 2020 when the COVID War began. Both are approaching a correction, defined as a decline of 10 percent from a recent high.
U.S. stocks began this year at or near record highs.
TREND FORECAST: The popular and heavily traded FAANG stocks of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google collectively lost $1 trillion in value in April… and the feeling on The Street is more hi-tech weakness coming. We had forecast that much of the COVID War would end by late March, mid-April. It has, as many European and Western nations ease COVID mandates and restrictions.
Thus, the end of the COVID era has deflated stocks that did well during lockdowns, particularly tech stocks. Indeed, Amazon’s share price dropped 14 percent on Friday, indicating that rising prices and general caution are leading consumers to scale back their online shopping. The company recorded its first quarterly loss in seven years.
Unchecked inflation, concerns about the impact of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s increasingly aggressive approach to interest rates, and geopolitical turmoil all drove share prices down.
TREND FORECAST: Last week, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy contracted 1.4 percent in the first quarter. Yes, “contracted” which means negative, a down-sliding GDP while the Consumer Price Index in March rose 1.2 percent, bringing the seasonally adjusted inflation rate up 8.5 percent over the last 12 months.
Clearly, Dragflation has hit the U.S. economy: GDP goes down as inflation goes up, and not “stagflation” as The Street is selling with their claims that the economy is stagnant while inflation rises.
Profits Up, But Down
Corporate profits are likely to have gained 7 percent in the first quarter, which is the slowest rise since 2020’s final quarter.
Yields on the benchmark 10-year U.S. treasury note closed April at 2.885 percent, posting its biggest monthly gain since December 2009. The higher yields rise the lower the draw for tech stocks and other companies whose worth depends on cheap money to pump up future growth.
The dollar continued to gain strength against the yen.
The Japanese currency’s weakness is a result of the Bank of Japan’s insistence on maintaining a negative interest rate while other nations are raising theirs, luring investors away, as we reported in “Japan’s Yen Continues Its Tailspin as Inflation Accelerates” (26 Apr 2022).
Outside the U.S., markets rose broadly last week.
Europe’s STOXX 600 was up 0.74 percent and the Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 1.75 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 4.01 percent; South Korea’s KOSPI took on an additional 1.03 percent.
In China, the SSE Composite climbed 2.41 percent and CSI Composite rose 2.43 percent on president Xi Jinping’s promise to expand infrastructure spending. (See related story in this issue.)
YESTERDAY: U.S. EQUITIES SHAKE OFF APRIL DOLDRUMS
It was another swing day with the markets opening down, and then closing up with The Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 84 points, or 0.3 and the NASDAQ snapped out of its gloom with a 201-point bump, gaining 1.6 percent.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index—which is in correction territory, down some 13 percent this year—was up 0.6 percent for the day after touching its lowest intraday point this year.
Nasdaq Composite hit its lows for the year in early trading Monday that saw Tesla drop more than 2 percent. Some analysts expressed concerns that Elon Musk, the Tesla founder, could be loaded with debt after his purchase of Twitter and be forced to unload more shares.
Musk sold about $8.5 billion in shares of his company. He tweeted on Thursday evening that he has no plans to sell any more of his shares in his car company. He owns about 15 percent of the company.
There are lingering concerns about the massive COVID-19 lockdowns in China and their impact on the supply chain. (See “SHANGHAI BLUES: MILLIONS GET LOCKED DOWN TO FIGHT COVID WAR.” )
Nio, Li Auto, and XPeng, automakers in China, announced that they will move just 18,000 cars, which is their worst effort in a year. Nasdaq.com said investors may be right to be concerned about “Tesla missing its sales targets this quarter as well.”
TREND FORECAST: The word on The Street was that when the S&P reached its low, bargain-hunters poured into the markets. But as we see it, it’s marketplace madness: Up, down, sideways, flat, the reality is that the higher the Fed raises rates and as they cut back on the monetary methadone they were injecting into The Street’s money junkies, the lower equities and the economy will fall.
How fast and high will interest rates have to rise to bring equities down? Read Gregory Mannarino’s article in this issue, The Federal Reserve Is HYPER-BALLOONING The Money Supply, GUARANTEEING More Inflation.
The benchmark 10-year treasury note lifted its yield briefly to 3 percent during the day, its first visit to that level since late 2018. The yield closed slightly lower at 2.995 percent, up from Friday’s close of 2.885 percent.
And since U.S. interest rates and bond yields lift the opportunity cost of holding zero-yield bullion, despite being a hedge against inflation and a safe-haven asset, Comex gold for June delivery backed off $27.70 to $1,863, down 2.5 percent and marking its largest one-day slip since 9 March.
With currencies across much of the globe still in decline, the dollar inched up 0.4 percent. (See related story in this issue.)
Despite fears of a slowing global economy and China’s growth in descending mode as their Zero COVID War policy continues, with fears of more sanctions and embargoes on Russia, oil prices ended the day up.
World-standard Brent crude closed at $107.57, with U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $105.17. The two prices so close to each other indicates no slack in the market.
Bitcoin traded sideways. Fortune magazine reported that May is usually considered a positive month for the cryptocurrency and pointed out that over the past 11 years, bitcoin has ended the month up seven times and down four times.
Overseas, the pan-European Stoxx 600 slid 1.46 percent after data showed Germany’s retail sales fell in March, disappointing analysts, who had expected growth. Also, a new poll showed European consumers’ confidence slumped to a surprising degree.
Markets in China and Hong Kong were closed for the Labor Day holiday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 0.11 percent and South Korea’s Kospi was also down 0.26 percent.
TODAY: The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up 67.29, or 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq Composite added 27.74, or 0.2 percent. The S&P 500 rose 20.10, or 0.5 percent, to finish at 4175.48.
Equity gamblers have been preparing for a key Fed meeting tomorrow that is expected to focus on combating soaring inflation in the U.S. by raising interest rates .50 percent.
The country is dealing with a confluence of economic trouble ranging from Ukraine sanctions which have worsened already spiking inflation, new anti-COVID lockdowns in China which may disrupt supply chains, and higher costs of living for the average American as prices go up and wages, compared to inflation, go down.
The 10-year Treasury note fell back to 2.957 percent, but hovered around its multi year high.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 was up 2.37 points, or 0.53 percent on Tuesday and Britain’s FTSE 100 added 16.78, or 0.22 percent.
South Korea’s Kospi was down 6.99 points, or 0.26 percent, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.41 percent. China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was up 71.58, or 2.41 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.06 percent higher, finishing the trading day at 21,101.89.
GOLD/SILVER: Gold was up $4.70, or 0.2522 percent on Tuesday and silver was up 0.011, or 0.05 percent. With interest rates rising, gold is highly sensitive to rising rates since the high rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
TREND FORECAST: It is a simple equation. The higher inflation rises, the higher safe-haven assets gold and silver rise. And, when the Banksters raise interest rates, it will bring down Wall Street and Main Street very hard… and the harder they fall, the higher precious metal prices will rise.
We maintain our forecast, that on the downside, should gold prices fall below $1,850 per ounce, prices can sink down to the low $1,710 per ounce level. For gold to maintain strength, prices must stay in the high $1,900 per ounce range and when they solidify above $2,200 per ounce, gold will spike to new highs.
OIL: Brent crude fell 1.51 percent to $105.96 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate fell $3 to $102.17 per barrel.
However, thanks to the sanctions imposed by the United States and NATO on Russia, today U.S. natural gas hit its highest level in nearly 14 years. This, of course, will increase inflation and divert consumer spending from products and services to fuel. Natural gas prices have jumped more than 8 percent over the last two sessions and were up nearly 30 percent in April.
BITCOIN: Bitcoin took a hit today, falling 2.02 percent to 37,732.40. Where it is trading now, is in the same low range it has been for several weeks.
Edward Moya, Oanda senior market analyst, told CoinDesk that crypto traders are waiting to see if “Wall Street has come close to pricing in peak Fed hawkishness.”
“Bitcoin will continue to trade as a risky asset until further progress is made with the Lightning network,” he said. “Bitcoin needs a fresh catalyst, and progress in the peer-to-peer payment network might be what is needed to revitalize crypto bulls.”
TREND FORECAST: We maintain our trend forecast that when bitcoin solidly breaks above $55,500 per coin, it will head toward new highs. We also forecast, the downward breakout point would be hit should prices fall below $25,000 per coin. If they go that low, bitcoin could well fall back to the $10,000 range.