TRENDS ON THE ECONOMIC AND MARKET FRONT
ECONOMIC UPDATE – MARKET OVERVIEW
In The Bronx, we used to say, “Bullshit has its own sound.” Let’s look at the facts... just the facts.
TOP TREND, DRAGFLATION: U.S. ECONOMY SLOWS IN FEBRUARY
After growing 3.2 percent in January, consumer spending online, in restaurants, and stores slipped 0.4 percent in February, the U.S. labor department reported.
WHOLESALE PRICES TICK DOWN IN FEBRUARY
U.S. wholesale prices eased back 0.1 percent in February after adding 0.3 percent in January, the labor department reported.
HOUSING PRICES FALL YEAR OVER YEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2012
The average U.S. selling price of a home in February was $386,721, 1.2 percent lower than a year earlier, online brokerage Redfin reported.
WHY SIX-FIGURE EARNERS STILL RENT A HOME INSTEAD OF BUYING
Increasingly, Americans earning $100,000 or more annually are continuing to rent their homes instead of buying.
BAILING OUT DEPOSITORS IN FAILED BANKS RISKS PUBLIC BACKLASH
The public widely resented government bailouts for banks “too big to fail” during the Great Recession. Politicians across the political spectrum, from Elizabeth Warren to Donald Trump, howled with outrage and accused officials of rescuing elites while households and small businesses were left to fend for themselves.
TRENDS ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC FRONT
SPECIAL REPORT: THE BIG BANKSTER BUST CONTINUES
As the banking crisis continues, each week we will provide Trends Journal subscribers with an overview of the current events forming the future banking crisis trends.
WHEN THE ECONOMY FALLS JOBS GO WITH IT
This is week 33 of our reporting the long trend-line of layoffs that signal a further economic downturn in a country near you. Rising inflation and rising interest rate hikes are causing companies in many sectors to lay off employees. And of course, the more people fired, the more home foreclosures, inability to pay car loans, credit card debt, etc.
CONSUMER SPENDING STRENGTHENS IN CHINA
China’s consumers increased their spending by 3.5 percent in this year’s first two months, the country’s statistics agency reported, as China emerged from three years of draconian anti-COVID lockdown mandates.
ECB RAISES RATE A HALF POINT
The European Central Bank (ECB) raised its base interest rate by half a percentage point last week, as it did in December and February, lifting the rate it pays on deposits from banks to 3 percent and the rate it charges banks for loans to 3.5 percent.
CENTRAL BANKS MUST KEEP RAISING INTEREST RATES, OECD SAYS
With data showing European wages rose their fastest ever late last year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) called on central banks to keep raising rates to battle inflation that has proved unexpectedly stubborn.
POLISH INFLATION HIGHEST IN 27 YEARS
In February, Poland’s annual rate of inflation reached 18.4 percent, its highest since 1996, after ending January at 16.6 percent, the Russian news service RT reported.
TOP TREND, NEW WORLD DISORDER: ARGENTINA’S INFLATION RATE EXCEEDS 100 PERCENT
Inflation in Argentina kept climbing in February, reaching 102.5 percent, its first time in triple digits since 1991, the country’s National Institute of Statistics and Census reported.
SPOTLIGHT: BIGS GETTING BIGGER
As forecast, the Merger and Acquisition trend which we have been long reporting would peak when the Federal Reserve would aggressively raise interest rates and cut off the cheap money supply, has indeed peaked. Indeed, they “slowed to a trickle”... and here are the latest “trickles.”
UKRAINE WAR TREND UPDATE
RUSSIA ACCUSES DENMARK OF NORD STREAM SABOTAGE COVER-UP
Russia accused Denmark of making a mockery of its probe into the September bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines by refusing to share information discovered during the probes into the blast.
WARMONGER U.S. BANS PEACE TALKS: WASHINGTON WORRIED CHINA COULD BRING STABILITY TO UKRAINE
The Biden administration is growing concerned that China might be able to broker a peace deal in Ukraine after scoring a major diplomatic victory earlier this month with the Saudi Arabia-Iran truce.
FIGHTER JETS COMING: UKRAINE ALLIES RAMPING UP THE WAR
Poland and Slovakia have become the first Western countries to approve fighter jets for Ukraine as the war drags on—while countries like the U.S. and U.K. continue to refuse due to escalation fears.
U.K. SEES BIGGEST DECLINE IN LIVING STANDARDS EVER AS WARMONGERS KEEPS PUMPING UKRAINE WITH WEAPONS AND MONEY
When wars are fought, the little guy suffers while the Bigs get bigger.
CHINA CRITICIZES BIDEN ADMINISTRATION FOR PROMOTING UKRAINE WAR AND ‘THROWING MUD’ ON POTENTIAL PEACE DEAL
China criticized the U.S. for attempting to throw “mud” on President Xi Jinping’s trip to Moscow this week to promote peace in Ukraine to keep the war going and escalate tension in hopes to leave Russia in shambles.
FEATURED TRENDS GUEST ARTICLE by Paul Craig Roberts
THE U.S. HAS THE WORLD SETUP FOR A WORSE FINANCIAL CRISIS THAN IN 2008
There are two main avenues to a potential U.S. financial crisis. Such a crisis, because of U.S. financial dominance and because of the interconnections of globalism, which was a huge mistake for humanity, would be international.
FEATURED TRENDS GUEST ARTICLE by Philip Giraldi
SEND IN THE CLOWNS
Sometimes I think that the script being used by the Biden Administration to manage its foreign and national security policies has been written by George Orwell, though I am not sure if it is based on 1984 or Animal Farm.
FEATURED TRENDS GUEST ARTICLE by Dr. Joseph Mercola
THE BIGGEST COVID QUESTION: WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN 10 YEARS?
So far, children have been largely unfazed by COVID-19 because their interferon pathway works really well. Interferon is an immune molecule that protects cells against invading pathogens.
TRENDS IN THE MARKETS by Gregory Mannarino
FINANCIAL SYSTEM: AND WE ALL FALL DOWN
Once again! The global financial system finds itself in crisis. Indeed, a new full-on worldwide financial system/banking crisis is upon us. (And it’s just getting started).
TRENDS IN TECHNOCRACY by Joe Doran
CARBON WAR “NET ZERO” WOULD STARVE HALF THE PLANET, EXPERTS SAY
That victory Dutch farmers just won in provincial elections might literally save the world.
FALSE EQUIVALENCE: CHATGPT DOESN’T LEARN CONTENT LIKE HUMANS, AND CRIES OUT FOR NEW IP LAWS
In trying to assess the enormous negative consequences and IP theft that generative AI systems like ChatGPT represent, some are making the argument that such systems should be held to existing standards that apply to humans.
THIS WEEK IN SURVEILLANCE
Next-level content creation censorship is now being rolled out to Microsoft 365 SaaS word processing, email, and other apps via a new ChatGPT feature called “Copilot.”
TRENDS IN CRYPTOS
WILL FEDNOW INSTANT PAYMENTS EASE FINANCIAL SYSTEM OR SPEED ITS CRASH?
The Federal Reserve announced that their beta FedNow instant payments system will go fully public in July.
MICROSOFT TESTING NATIVE CRYPTO WALLET FOR EDGE BROWSER
Microsoft may be seeking a new crypto “edge” for its web browser.
BLOCKCHAIN BATTLES
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), ranking member of the the House Committee on Financial Services, told Yahoo Finance that legislation regulating stablecoins could be passed in a matter of days, when Congress reconvenes this month.
TRENDS IN THE COVID WAR
FREEDOM OF SPEECH UPDATE: FEDERAL JUDGE REFUSES TO DISMISS “MISSOURI VS. BIDEN” CASE
Citing serious Federal government alleged abuse, a Federal judge on Monday rejected a Biden administration attempt to have the Missouri vs. Biden case (State of Missouri, et al. v. Joseph R. Biden, Jr., et al.) dismissed.
TRENDS IN GEOPOLITICS
TOP TREND 2023, NEW POLITICAL PARTIES: NETHERLANDS LEADER RUTTE GETS ROUTED AFTER FARM POWER-GRAB
The Farmer Citizen Movement, a pro-farmers party, clinched a major election win in the Netherlands in what was seen as a stinging rebuke for Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s administration and a major victory for rural voters and farmers opposed to the status quo.
MIDDLE EAST MELTDOWN: ISRAEL’S HARDLINE GOVERNMENT INCREASES THE PACE OF DESTROYING PALESTINIAN HOMES
Israel has increased its pace of tearing down Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem that do not have proper permits while Palestinians say it is nearly impossible to obtain the documents.
TOP TREND 2023, WWIII: U.S. ACCUSES RUSSIA OF MAJOR SPIKE IN AGGRESSIVE MILITARY FLIGHTS OVER SYRIA
A top U.S. general accused Russia’s military of increasing tensions in Syria after observing a “significant” increase in aggressive military flights over the country as tensions between Washington and Moscow remain high over the downed U.S. drone that was flying over the Black Sea.
MACRON FACES NEW PROTESTS AFTER FORCING THROUGH PENSION REFORMS
Tense protests broke out Friday across France to voice opposition to President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to force through his pension reform bill without a vote in the country’s Parliament.
NETANYAHU BENDS, MAKES AMENDMENTS TO JUDICIAL OVERHAUL
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, announced some amendments to his judicial overhaul plans after facing major protests and both domestic and international criticism for what critics see as an attack on democracy in the country by a hardline government.
WAR MACHINE RAMPING UP PRODUCTION AS U.S. RAMPS UP WARS
Citing what warmongers in Washington call the ever-growing threat of Russia and China, the Pentagon announced last week that the military-industrial complex is producing weapons of death at maximum capacity, which will be increased in the next few months.
TRENDS-EYE VIEW
TOP TREND 2023, AI WE OWN YOU: HUMAN ARTISTRY CAMPAIGN OUT TO PRESERVE RIGHTS OF HUMAN CREATIVES
Powerful creative industry groups are now coming together to advocate for intellectual property and other rights of human workers and creatives threatened by generative AI systems.
U.S. TECH COMPANIES ARE UP TO THEIR AI’S IN THE UKRAINE WAR
U.S. tech companies have been working so closely with the Pentagon on Ukraine War operations, they might as well be re-christened “Tech Force.”
THINK COVID WILL KILL YOU? DRINK ‘FOREVER CHEMICALS’ FROM YOUR TAP
The Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that it will force water utilities across the U.S. to put limits on the amount of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances—known as PFAS, or “forever chemicals”—that can be present in drinking water a year after scientists discovered it takes an even smaller amount of exposure to be detrimental to the public’s health.
YOUNG AMERICANS DITCH COLLEGE FOR APPRENTICESHIPS, FURTHER CEMENTING OUR TOP TREND
A college diploma was once considered a ticket to life comfortably placed in the middle class, but young Americans are taking another look at the cost-benefits of spending four years or more in university and spending tens of thousands compared to a well-placed apprenticeship.
THE AMERICAN WAY: FAT, DUMB, AND STUFFED WITH SANDWICHES
Health officials in the U.S. now blame sandwiches as one of the leading reasons waistlines across the country are expanding.
TRENDS IN HI-TECH SCIENCE by Ben Daviss
INJECTABLE BIOMATERIAL HEALS DAMAGED TISSUES FROM THE INSIDE
Heart attacks create scar tissue that can lead to congestive heart failure. High blood pressure thickens arteries and can cause heart attacks and strokes. Strokes leave damaged tissues in the brain.
“PALMLESS” PALM OIL CAN SAVE ECOSYSTEMS, AVOID HEALTH DAMAGE
Palm oil accounts for 40 percent of the plant-based oils used in the world, from cooking to cosmetics to food processing, according to the World Wildlife Fund, because it’s odorless, tasteless, colorless, unusually smooth, and works well even under high heat.
MAKE YOUR OLD CAR BATTERY PART OF THE ELECTRIC GRID
Your old battery might not have enough oomph to start your car but it probably has enough power left to still be of service, this time as part of the electric grid.