TRENDS ON THE ECONOMIC AND MARKET FRONT
DOLLAR’S VALUE SINKS TO 14-MONTH LOW; DEATH OF DOLLAR?
The dollar’s value sank to its lowest in 14 months against other major world currencies on 14 July, according to the U.S. Dollar Index.
ECONOMIC UPDATE – MARKET OVERVIEW
Equity markets in the U.S. are rising as fear of a recession diminishes and corporate profits continue to increase. But while the expectations for economic growth keep rising, the value of the dollar keeps falling. Sinking to a one-year low on anticipation that the Federal Reserve will, at best (or worst) raise interest rates just another 50 basis points and then start lowering them, last week the dollar had its worst week of the year... and the downward trend line continues.
M&A DEALS CRASH IN THIS YEAR’S FIRST SIX MONTHS
From 1 January through June, companies announced $1.3 trillion worth of mergers and acquisitions globally, a value 37 percent below the same period in 2022, data service Refinitiv reported.
INFLATION RATE FALLS TO 3 PERCENT
The U.S. top-line inflation rate fell to 3 percent in June, down from 4 percent in May, less than a third of its peak of 9.1 percent in June 2022 and close to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2 percent.
LATE LOAN PAYMENTS ON THE RISE
Many Americans’ credit scores rose as the COVID War set in and people paid down debt when there were fewer options for spending.
HOME MORTGAGE RATE TOPS 7 PERCENT
After sliding for the past eight months, U.S. mortgage rates climbed back above 7 percent last week, Bloomberg reported.
BRACE FOR A WAVE OF BANK MERGERS, EXPERTS SAY
High interest rates, tighter regulations, and growing losses on commercial real estate loans will drive an increasing number of small, regional, and mid-size banks to surrender to mergers in coming months, according to a dozen banking industry analysts and executives interviewed by CNBC.
REGULATORS FINE BANK OF AMERICA $250 MILLION OVER FAKE ACCOUNTS
Bank of America (BoA) must pay $250 million in fees after it was found to have opened credit card accounts in customers’ names without their permission and for double-charging some fees.
TRENDS ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC FRONT
SPOTLIGHT, TOP TREND 2023: OFFICE BUILDING BUST
The plunging number of people commuting five days a week to central offices could slash the value of office real estate by $800 billion in nine key cities by the end of this decade, according to an analysis by the McKinsey Global Institute.
TOP TREND 2022, SELF-SUFFICIENT ECONOMIES: EU, LATIN AMERICAN LEADERS MEET THIS WEEK TO REVIVE ECONOMIC TIES
On Monday and Tuesday this week, more than 50 leaders from Latin America, Caribbean nations, and the European Union (EU) met in Brussels in the first such transatlantic summit since 2015 in an effort to smooth over differences and rebuild trade relationships.
WHEN THE ECONOMY FALLS JOBS GO WITH IT
Again, the facts are in the data and the numbers are in the facts. The higher interest rates the deeper economies will decline and the higher the unemployment numbers will rise. Inflation and high interest rate hikes are causing companies in many sectors to lay off employees.
BANK OF CANADA RAISES INTEREST RATES TO 22-YEAR HIGH
Once again, the Bank of Canada (BoC) raised its key interest rate by a quarter point, moving it from 4.75 to 5.0 percent in the wake of second-quarter consumer spending that was stronger than predicted.
SPOTLIGHT: CHINA’S ECONOMIC STRUGGLE
The value of exports from China fell 12.4 percent in June, year over year, to $285 billion after declining 7.5 percent in May, The Wall Street Journal reported.
SPOTLIGHT: BIGS GETTING BIGGER
As we had long forecast, the higher central banks raise interest rates, the lower the Merger and Acquisition trend… which hit record highs at the height of the COVID War in 2021 when interest rates sank and governments pumped in countless trillions to artificially prop up sinking economies.
UKRAINE WAR TREND UPDATE
CONGRESS HATES PEACE: HOUSE EASILY DEFEATS AMENDMENTS CALLING FOR LIMITS TO UKRAINE FUNDING
Warmongers in Congress—desperate to keep the military-industrial complex happy—rejected amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have imposed restrictions regarding supporting Ukraine's war effort against Russia.
BULLSHIT BIDEN SAYS RUSSIAN PRESIDENT DOESN’T HAVE THE STOMACH FOR A LONG WAR
President Joe Biden told an audience in Finland last week that he disagreed with the analysis that the Ukraine war could last for years in a stalemate—saying Russian President Vladimir Putin will eventually capitulate and seek a negotiated settlement.
WWIII: BIDEN ORDERS 3,000 RESERVISTS TO BE READY FOR EUROPEAN DEPLOYMENT
President Joe Biden ordered 3,000 U.S. troops to be prepared to be deployed to Europe as the Ukraine War continues to rage.
ORBÁN BLASTS U.S., NATO FOR NO TALK OF PEACE, SAYS WAR WOULD BE OVER
Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, called for peace negotiations in Ukraine following the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, that resulted in Kyiv being locked out of the alliance and zero talk of peace negotiations.
BIDEN PREPARING NATO FOR LONG WAR IN UKRAINE
President Joe Biden attended the major NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania last week and his message to current alliance members was that support for Ukraine must not waver no matter the risks.
FRANCE SAYS IT WILL PROVIDE UKRAINE WITH LONG-RANGE CRUISE MISSILES
French President Emmanuel Macron announced last week that Paris will provide Ukraine with its own version of the U.K.’s long-distance Storm Shadow missiles—a move that is seen as a new escalation by the West that could add pressure on Germany and the U.S. to follow suit.
PUTIN AGREES WITH TRENDS JOURNAL: “DON’T COUNT ON UKRAINE’S COUNTEROFFENSIVE”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview published Sunday that Ukraine’s counteroffensive has failed and the attempt to breach the 930-mile front line has resulted in failure.
FEATURED TRENDS GUEST ARTICLE by John & Nisha Whitehead
TARGETED FOR TYRANNY: WE’RE ALL SUSPECTS UNDER THE GOVERNMENT’S PRE-CRIME PROGRAM
We’re all being targeted now. We’re all guilty until proven innocent now.
FEATURED TRENDS GUEST ARTICLE by Dr. Joseph Mercola
TOP SWEETENER OFFICIALLY DECLARED A CARCINOGEN
The World Health Organization has finally gotten around to declaring the popular artificial sweetener aspartame a potential carcinogen.[1] I warned about aspartame’s cancer-causing potential on my site over 25 years ago, in my best-selling book, “Sweet Deception: Why Splenda, NutraSweet, and the FDA May Be Hazardous to Your Health,” in 2006, and in an article I wrote for The Huffington Post.[2] It’s since been deleted—but you can see just how long this danger has been known.
PRESIDENTIAL REALITY SHOW® 2024
CHRIS CHRISTIE, GOP PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL, CALLS FOR UNLIMITED BUFFET OF WEAPONS FOR UKRAINE
Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor and GOP presidential hopeful, checked off his establishment box last week when he said Ukraine should be provided any weapon it needs to defeat Russia on its home turf.
TRENDS IN TECHNOCRACY by Joe Doran
HOW AI “FORGETS” RELEVANT FACTS WHEN PRESENTING INFORMATION
In the course of writing this week’s article about EV technology, I had a fascinating exchange with Google’s generative text based AI, called Bard.
EV FABULISM WON’T HEAL THE EARTH, BUT WILL ENRICH ELITES
The Biden administration allocated hundreds of billions in a misnamed “Inflation Reduction Act” in 2022 to create subsidies and incentives for a supposed “green energy” transition.
ISRAEL HONING AI IN BATTLEFIELD SITUATIONS
That AI pause? If it’s happening at all (which is doubtful), the pause certainly doesn’t extend to the rapid development and implementation of AI in military applications.
THIS WEEK IN SURVEILLANCE
A just released Biden Administration Cybersecurity strategy has many “stakeholders” and government bureaucrats disappointed, because it lacks the implementation of a Federal “digital identity” plan.
TRENDS IN CRYPTOS
THE NEW CHOKEPOINT TIGHTENS: COINBASE DEFENDS CRYPTO STAKING SERVICES
In a 14 July blog post, Coinbase gave an in depth defense of their platform’s crypto staking services.
That follows a lawsuit brought in June by the SEC and 10 states filed against the exchange, alleging that its staking services constitute an offering of “securities.”
BLOCKCHAIN BATTLES
To say it was a good day for crypto doesn’t quite get it right.
It was a day that crypto likely avoided the hardest road to greater adoption.
TRENDS IN THE COVID WAR
COVID SCIENTIST WHO CAST COVID LAB LEAK AS ‘CONSPIRACY’ IN 2020 PRIVATELY SAID JUST THE OPPOSITE
An eminent scientist who took the lead in denouncing the Covid lab leak scenario in 2020, privately said he thought a lab leak was “highly likely.”
CDC JOURNAL SAYS AGENCY PROMOTED MASKS BASED ON UNRELIABLE DATA
Newly released analysis of the data that the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention used to justify mask use during the COVID-19 outbreak raises new questions about the agency’s pro-mask conclusion.
COVID WARS LEADS TO ABSENTEEISM CRISIS AT SCHOOLS IN THE U.S.
Newly released data shows a major jump in children missing school across the U.S. after politicians and health officials forced them to needlessly stay home during the COVID-19 outbreak.
U.S. SCHOOL CHILDREN COULD BE LOSING MORE GROUND ON LEARNING GOALS
American students are dumber since politicians and health bureaucrats locked them outside of the classroom during the COVID-19 outbreak and now—despite the billions spent on getting them up to speed—they could be falling even further behind.
AMISH CHILDREN: NO VAX, LESS CHRONIC ILLNESS
Steve Kirsch, a former tech entrepreneur, claimed that a new study found that children of the Amish—who are known to shun the common comforts in society for a life based on self-sufficiency—have dramatically lower instances of chronic health issues that affect millions of Americans.
TRENDS IN GEOPOLITICS
U.S. RAMPING UP CONFRONTATION WITH RUSSIA IN SYRIA
The U.S. is considering military options to respond to alleged acts of aggression by Russian fighter pilots over Syria, as tensions between Moscow and Washington keep ramping up.
MIDDLE EAST MELTDOWN: STOKING TENSIONS WITH IRAN, U.S. SENDS F-16 FIGHTERS TO THE PERSIAN GULF
A senior U.S. defense official told reporters last week that the Pentagon will bolster its forces in the Persian Gulf by sending F-16 fighters to the region after Washington accused Iran of recent acts of aggression on Western oil tankers in the vital waterway.
TRENDS-EYE VIEW
ARE WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS SUICIDE PILLS?
The European Medicines Agency announced Tuesday that it will investigate reports of suicidal thoughts tied to popular weight loss drugs that have grown in popularity as a quick fix for weight loss.
CALIFORNIA SPENDS $17.5 BILLION OVER 4 YEARS ON HOMELESS CRISIS, CELENTE’S SOLUTION IGNORED
Despite California spending $17.5 billion over the course of four years to try and get a grip on its homeless crisis, the number of individuals living on the street during that time only increased, according to a new report.
WORRIED ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE: LEAD TELECOM CABLES POISONING AMERICANS, AND THE COMPANIES DON’T CARE
Old lead cable wire used by telecom giants decades ago have become a health risk for Americans across the U.S., according to an extensive report last week in The Wall Street Journal.
TRENDS IN HI-TECH SCIENCE by Ben Daviss
TOYOTA RE-ENERGIZES EXPECTATIONS FOR SOLID-STATE EV BATTERIES
By 2027, Toyota will perfect a solid-state battery for all-electric vehicles, the company announced on 4 July.
PSEUDO-PSYCHEDELIC DRUG TREATS DEPRESSION WITHOUT THE “TRIP”
Psychedelic drugs are having a moment as the new breakthrough treatment for depression.
BUILDINGS ARE BREAKING. THE CLIMATE CRISIS IS THE CAUSE.
The ground underlying urban centers is shifting, causing buildings’ foundations and structures to crack, and the cause is the world’s rising temperature, according to a first-of-its-kind study just released by researchers at Northwestern University.
TRENDS IN AI
MORE THAN A THIRD OF WORKERS EXPECT TO BE REPLACED BY AI
Thirty-six percent of workers expect AI to either eliminate their job or take it from them, according to a new Ipsos poll of 22,186 adults in 31 countries.
E-COMMERCE CEO REPLACES 90 HUMAN WORKERS WITH A CHATBOT
Dukaan, an Indian e-commerce company, suddenly has 90 percent fewer workers. In their place, it has a chatbot one of the company’s data scientists created over a span of two days.
AIs SWEAR THEY WON’T HURT US OR STEAL OUR JOBS
In their first live press conference, nine robots enlivened by AI said their siblings will expand through the global economy but promised they would not hurt humans and don’t want to take our jobs.
OPENAI ESTABLISHES SQUAD TO COMBAT ROGUE AI
OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT and launched the new AI revolution, announced it has set up a team called Superalignment that’s dedicated to ensuring that AI systems don’t run amok and cause catastrophic consequences for humanity.
DETECTORS DESIGNED TO I.D. AI-GENERATED IMAGES OFTEN FAIL
Software designed to flag phony images generated by artificial intelligence let a photo of Elon Musk kissing a humanoid robot pass as genuine; it wasn’t.
AI TO ADVERTISERS: UP YOUR GAME
By the end of this year, half of all advertising revenue is likely to be tied somehow to AI, according to GroupM, a global media agency.