TRENDS ON THE ECONOMIC AND MARKET FRONT
ECONOMIC UPDATE – MARKET OVERVIEW
The big news on The Street is that after yesterday’s collapse of First Republic Bank, the second largest bank failure in U.S. history which followed the third largest bank failure in U.S. history when Silicon Valley Bank went bust on 10 March—two days before the fourth largest bank failure in U.S. history when Signature Bank went under—is that Happy Days are Here again... and everything is just fine.
BANKRUPTCIES INCREASING AMONG SPAC-MERGED COMPANIES
Merging with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) was a speedy route to the stock market for hundreds of eager start-ups in 2021 and 2022.
POWELL PUNKED BY CALL FROM ZELENSKY IMPERSONATOR
In January, U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell had a phone conversation with a man he believed—incorrectly—to be Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
TOP TREND 2022, DRAGFLATION: U.S. ECONOMY GROWS AT A SLUGGISH 1.1 PERCENT IN FIRST QUARTER
U.S. economic growth slowed to 1.1 percent in this year’s first quarter, bogged down by business’s reluctance to invest amid stubborn inflation, rising interest rates, and a cloudy economic future, Bloomberg reported.
WAGES AND PRICES BOTH INCREASE, PRESSURING FED TO HIKE RATE
During this year’s first quarter, wages and benefits paid to workers rose 1.2 percent, according to the U.S. labor department’s Employment Cost Index.
FASCISM: LIGHTS, CAMERA, TAX INCENTIVES FOR MOVIE MAKERS
Fascism, according to Benito Mussolini, is the merger of state and corporate powers.
LAYOFFS SURGE AMONG HIGH-INCOME EARNERS
Americans earning $200,000 a year or more filed 113,796 claims for unemployment benefits in recent weeks, the highest rate since the COVID War began to wane, according to Fundstrat Global Advisors.
FED’S EMERGENCY BANK LOANS TOP $155 BILLION
As of 26 April, the U.S. Federal Reserve had made $155.2 billion in emergency loans to banks as the industry continued to wobble following the simultaneous collapse of Signature and Silicon Valley banks in mid-March.
U.S. MEGABANKS WRITE OFF $3.4 BILLION IN BAD LOANS
Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo Bank collectively wrote off $3.4 billion in loans gone sour during this year’s first quarter, 73 percent more than in the same period in 2022, Bloomberg reported.
NEW HOME SALES ON THE RISE, NAR SAYS
The number of newly built homes will increase this year by 4.5 percent compared to 2022, rising to 670,000 this year and 750,00 next year, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has predicted.
PROFITS ON HOME SALES FALL TO TWO-YEAR LOW
Homeowners who sold their residences in this year’s first quarter averaged a 44.2-percent profit, compared to 48.7 percent the quarter before, marking the third consecutive quarterly decline as well as a two-year low, according to ATTOM, a real estate data service.
HALF OF NEW YORK CITY HOUSEHOLDS UNABLE TO AFFORD TO LIVE THERE
Fully 50 percent of New York City households lack the income to pay rent, buy enough food, afford health care, and to pay the costs of transport around the city, according to a report released 25 April by the nonprofit Fund for the City of New York and the United Way of New York City.
TRENDS ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC FRONT
SPOTLIGHT: OFFICE BUILDING BUST
The combination of the remote-work revolution and rising interest rates “could be worse than anything corporate landlords have experienced before,” The New York Times said in a 26 April analysis.
WHEN THE ECONOMY FALLS JOBS GO WITH IT: AI WILL MAKE IT WORSE
The layoff binge continues to escalate. This is week 37 of our reporting the long trend-line of layoffs that signal recession in a country near you. And now, with The Street betting that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates 25 basis points tomorrow, the economy will slow down and the job cuts will increase.
CORPORATE DEFAULTS RISING
In this year’s first quarter, 33 corporations tracked by Moody’s Analytics defaulted on debts, the largest number since 47 failed to pay in the final quarter of 2020.
DRAGFLATION TREND: EU EKES OUT SMALL GROWTH IN FIRST QUARTER
The European Union’s (EU’s) economy managed to grow by 0.3 percent in this year’s first quarter, even though Germany’s – Europe’s largest economy – flatlined for the period, showing neither growth nor contraction, the Financial Times reported.
EXXONMOBIL, CHEVRON POST HIGHEST PROFITS IN 15 YEARS
On 28 April, ExxonMobil posted its highest quarterly net income ever, reaching $11.4 billion after new U.S. and coastal South American wells produced more robustly than had been expected.
SOUTH KOREA’S EXPORTS CONTINUE THREE-YEAR LOSING STREAK
In April, South Korea's exports declined 14.2 percent, year on year, for the seventh consecutive month, their longest slide since the beginning of the COVID War, Reuters reported.
SPOTLIGHT: BYE BYE BUCKS – DEATH OF THE DOLLAR
China’s yuan, not the dollar, was the most-used currency in China’s international trade at the end of March, Business Insider reported.
SPOTLIGHT: CHINA
China’s manufacturing economy slumped in April, with the purchasing managers index (PMI) for the sector slipping from 51.9 in March to 49.2 last month.
UKRAINE WAR TREND UPDATE
TOP GERMAN MILITARY OFFICIAL: RAMP UP UKRAINE WAR, BOMBS AWAY OVER RUSSIA
Boris Pistorius, the German defense minister, said last week that Berlin will continue to provide Ukraine with weapons to keep the war with Russia going and gave the public approval for Kyiv to carry out attacks on Russian territory that he called “completely normal.”
UKRAINIAN WAR ESCALATES: KYIV PLANS TO TAKE OVER CRIMEA. BLOWS UP RUSSIAN OIL DEPOT.
Posted on Facebook this past Sunday, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council secretary Oleksiy Danilov listed Kyiv’s 12-point plan to recapture Crimea and drive Russia out of its main port in Sevastopol on the Black Sea that it has had for the past 200 years.
WWIII: U.S. PREPARES FOR POSSIBLE NUCLEAR STRIKE BY RUSSIA IN UKRAINE
The Biden administration has begun wiring Ukraine with radiation sensors so it will be better able to identify the culprit behind a nuclear blast or dirty bomb, according to a report.
FEATURED TRENDS GUEST ARTICLE by Dr. Joseph Mercola
WHO PREPARES GLOBAL TAKEOVER
The World Health Organization is seeking to cement its control over global health through amendments to the international health regulations (IHR) and its pandemic treaty.
FEATURED TRENDS GUEST ARTICLE By John & Nisha Whitehead
RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REIN IN THE IRS’ UNCONSTITUTIONAL POWER GRABS, WARRANTLESS SEARCHES OF INNOCENT TAXPAYERS’ BANK ACCOUNTS
Warning against unconstitutional power grabs and overreaches by the IRS, The Rutherford Institute has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to restrict the tax agency’s authority to carry out warrantless searches of innocent taxpayers’ bank accounts and financial records as part of its efforts to identify and pursue the funds of associated family members and friends with delinquent taxes.
FEATURED TRENDS GUEST ARTICLE by Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D., The Defender
U.S. INVESTS $1.5 BILLION TO SPUR 5G ROLLOUT DESPITE NEW EVIDENCE OF ‘DEVASTATING’ HEALTH ISSUES
A new study from Sweden showed that a previously healthy woman developed symptoms of “microwave syndrome” shortly after a 5G cell tower was installed nearly 200 feet from her apartment.
TRENDS IN THE MARKETS by Gregory Mannarino
SOMETHING WILL GIVE: THE ENTIRE SYSTEM IS BREAKING
Yes, the current monumental disconnect between the world economy and global equity/stock markets is today-off the Richter Scale. But that is just the tip of the iceberg.
TRENDS IN TECHNOCRACY by Joe Doran
PRIVACY, PROPERTY AND FREEDOM: A TALK WITH WATCHMAN PRIVACY PODCAST’S GABRIEL CUSTODIET
I recently had the pleasure of appearing on an episode of the Watchman Privacy Podcast with Gabriel Custodiet (“Leaving Humanity: The Technocratic Worldview with Joe Doran,” episode 65.)
THIS WEEK IN SURVEILLANCE
Warrantless searches on American citizens by U.S. intelligence agencies have reached epidemic proportions.
TRENDS IN CRYPTOS
FROM TOR PROTOCOL TO TOR BROWSER TO ATOR: A TOR BASED CRYPTO NETWORK
The recent ETH Denver 2023 crypto conference was the most successful in its six-year history, turning a profit for the first time.
BLOCKCHAIN BATTLES
Bitcoin has been in the midst of a significant turnaround, arguably spurred by major world events including widespread inflation, political instability, war, and misguided policies by misguided U.S. regulators.
TRENDS IN THE COVID WAR
PFIZER KNEW BY APRIL 2021 THAT ITS mRNA TREATMENTS WERE HAVING SECOND-HAND ADVERSE EVENTS ON INFANTS
New research making headlines confirms that Pfizer, responsible for one of the primary mRNA-based COVID treatments deceptively marketed as no different than traditional vaccines, knew early on that their vaccines were hurting infants.
COVID PROFITEERS, MEET TEXAS AG
Will the obscene profiteering and financial plays of Big Pharma execs finally get democratic government pushback on behalf of citizens?
TRENDS IN GEOPOLITICS
AS EUROPEAN HOUSEHOLDS SUFFER ECONOMIC PAIN, ‘ARMED CAMP’ EU DRAMATICALLY INCREASES MILITARY SPENDING
As with the United States where some 74 percent of the plantation workers of Slavelandia are living paycheck-to-paycheck, across Europe—thanks to their governments fighting the COVID War which destroyed the lives and livelihoods of countless millions and the sanctions they imposed on Russia—households are suffering from the worst cost of living crisis since World War II.
U.S. BETS ON THE WRONG HORSE IN VENEZUELA AS GUAIDÓ FLEES TO MIAMI
Americans and Europeans don’t have a clue about this. It was “news” when we wrote about it. Juan Guaidó, the boy who would be king in Venezuela if the U.S. had its way, was forced to flee the country last week, just months after his so-called “interim government” was disbanded.
ISRAEL INCHES TOWARD CIVIL WAR: PRO-GOVERNMENT PROTESTERS ORGANIZE
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been targeted in widespread protests across the country over his judicial reform plans, said for weeks that his government is making good on its campaign promise of overhauling the country’s judiciary that critics say has become too left-leaning.
U.S., SOUTH KOREA RAMP UP NUKE THREAT AS WASHINGTON PUSHES FOR MORE POWER IN THE PACIFIC
Nothing says it’s time to party quite like a new nuclear weapons deal.
U.S. SAYS RUSSIAN JETS ARE GRINDING FOR A FIGHT OVER SYRIA
The U.S. military said last week that Russia is intentionally increasing tensions in the skies over Syria with aggressive flights that could lead to a “miscalculation.”
MIDDLE EAST MELTDOWN HEATING UP: U.S. SENDS BUNKER BUSTING BOMBS TO ‘DETER’ IRAN
The U.S. is sending 250-pound bombs to the Middle East to put on its A-10 Warthogs to thwart Iran’s military influence in the region, according to a report.
DUH-MOCK-RACY: GIVE THE FRENCH PRESIDENT THE FINGER, GET FINED AND GO TO JAIL
It’s a sick joke. The great NATO government and the United States who launch wars across the globe, invade and occupy foreign nations and spend trillions to kill millions in the name of bringing freedom and democracy have—as we have greatly detailed in The Trends Journal—stolen it from its people.
MIDDLE EAST MELTDOWN: ISRAELI AIR RAIDS TARGETS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN SYRIA
Israel launched another round of air strikes against civilian airports in Syria on Tuesday, killing at least one Syrian soldier at the Aleppo International Airport, leaving the facility “out of service.”
TRENDS-EYE VIEW
U.S. DUH-MOCK-RACY: BILLIONAIRES BACK BIDEN. NO MONEY, NO CHANCE OF GETTING ELECTED
With the Presidential Reality Show now officially started, the money junkies of Amerika have whipped out their checkbooks to keep the game rigged.
U.S. DUH-MOCK-RACY: IRS ON HIRING SPREE, MUST BE WILLING TO SHOOT TO KILL
The Internal Revenue Service plans to be locked and loaded.
“DON’T THINK FOR YOURSELF” ABC NEWS NETWORK CENSORS RFK JR.
The Presstitutes at ABC News edited out portions of an interview with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that included his statements about the COVID-19 vaccine that the network identified as “false claims” about the drugs.
GET FAT, TAKE DRUGS: WEIGHT-LOSS PILL BONANZA, JENNY CRAIG DEALS WITH INDUSTRY HEADWINDS
Eli Lilly, the Indianapolis-based drug maker, announced that its type 2 diabetes drug called Tirzepatide was an effective weight-loss drug for people who were overweight or obese and will ask the Food and Drug Administration to fast-track approval for its use in the U.S.
CRISPR GENE EDITING FOR FOOD, UNFORESEEN MUTATIONS INCLUDED
Few people are aware of just how much bioengineering and gene editing is transforming the entire food industry.
“GODFATHER” OF AI QUITS OUT OF CONCERN FOR WHAT HIS LIFE’S WORK MEANS FOR HUMANITY
One of the foremost AI innovators of the modern age has quit his life’s work, saying he’s concerned about the threats the technology poses to humanity.
TRENDS IN HI-TECH SCIENCE by Ben Daviss
BATTERY SWAP STATIONS DOUBLE AS VIRTUAL POWER PLANT
Gogoro, the Taiwanese maker of electric motor scooters, has deployed more than 2,000 battery-swap racks around the island nation so people riding its scooters—as well as people riding electric motorcycles—need not fear of being far away from a new supply of power.
SCIENTISTS FIND MICROBES THAT EAT CARBON DIOXIDE
Data shows that the amount of carbon dioxide in our air is increasing year by year, faster than plants can reprocess it into oxygen.
AI-POWERED ROBOT WORKS AUTONOMOUSLY TO INVENT NEW MATERIALS
Computers have suggested around 150,000 promising new materials that could improve everything from battery electrodes to fabrics.