Individual Economists

The Nerve! DNC Union Furious Over A Five-Day, In-Person Work-Week

Zero Hedge -

The Nerve! DNC Union Furious Over A Five-Day, In-Person Work-Week

Authored by Lincoln Brown via PJMedia.com,

I have been employed at one job or another since high school. My first “real” job was as a busboy in a department store restaurant. Times were tough, so I had to pick up a part-time job after school. I’d get home from school, put on a pair of black polyester pants and a white shirt, both of which reeked of cooked food, and go to work. I’d bus tables during the dinner shift, and during lunch and dinner on the weekends, and do my homework or, more often than not, watch a little MTV when my shift was over. 

Even after things got better for my family, I kept working because even as a teenage boy, I realized that money came in handy. As it turns out, girls appreciate a guy who can pay for dinner and a movie. And you can buy stuff like clothes. 

During my time in the workforce, there were two rules that I thought were pretty much givens.

Rule #1

If your employer schedules you for a shift or whatever it is you work, you show up on time and do what you’re told to do.

Rule #2

If you don’t like Rule #1, find another job. If you can.

That, apparently, is not SOP in the 21st century.

I submit to you the staffers at the Democratic National Committee.

They are currently affronted, insulted, traumatized, made to feel unsafe, victimized, and suffering from acute cases of out-of-joint noses and ruffled feathers because the DNC bosses told them that, henceforth, they would have to show up, in person, at their jobs for the entire five-day work week.

 As Col. Kurtz would say, “The horror. The horror.”

The Daily Caller reports that on Wednesday, DNC Chairman Ken Martin let the word go forth at a staff-wide meeting that as of February of next year, D.C. area employees would need to be back to work, full-time, at the DNC offices in Washington.

And the cries went up from both those who attended the meeting and those watching via Zoom. Citing the New York Times, the Caller said that “thumbs down emojis” began to flood the screen. The Employees International Union, which represents the DNC workers, said:

It was shocking to see the DNC chair disregard staff’s valid concerns on today’s team call.

DNC staff worked extremely hard to support historic wins for Democrats up and down the ballot last Tuesday, and this change feels especially callous considering the current economic conditions created by the Trump administration.

Oh, and the union also thinks that the decision is “callous.”  

One person groused that the party had won the 2020 presidential race with everyone working remotely, and that they should be allowed to work from home at least until 2028.

Of course, no one at the DNC wants to talk about 2024. Or maybe they do, which is why they are rounding everyone up and re-assigning cubicles or workspaces. Or whatever it is they use at the DNC. Maybe hammocks? Who knows?

Martin let the disgruntled team members know that if they felt they were not up to the task of working in person and showing up five days a week, they might want to spruce up their resumes and seek their fortunes elsewhere. And although I am no longer a Democrat, I would have to concur.

So the DNC staff members have until February, February, mind you, to find pants, shoes, a razor, and get a haircut and a shower before doing what millions of other Americans do every day. And they are still unhappy.

This, of course, is the end-product of letting people throw tantrums and make threats under the guise of feeling safe or living their truths. All I have to say to the DNC is you created this monster and now you get to live with it.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 15:40

The Nerve! DNC Union Furious Over A Five-Day, In-Person Work-Week

Zero Hedge -

The Nerve! DNC Union Furious Over A Five-Day, In-Person Work-Week

Authored by Lincoln Brown via PJMedia.com,

I have been employed at one job or another since high school. My first “real” job was as a busboy in a department store restaurant. Times were tough, so I had to pick up a part-time job after school. I’d get home from school, put on a pair of black polyester pants and a white shirt, both of which reeked of cooked food, and go to work. I’d bus tables during the dinner shift, and during lunch and dinner on the weekends, and do my homework or, more often than not, watch a little MTV when my shift was over. 

Even after things got better for my family, I kept working because even as a teenage boy, I realized that money came in handy. As it turns out, girls appreciate a guy who can pay for dinner and a movie. And you can buy stuff like clothes. 

During my time in the workforce, there were two rules that I thought were pretty much givens.

Rule #1

If your employer schedules you for a shift or whatever it is you work, you show up on time and do what you’re told to do.

Rule #2

If you don’t like Rule #1, find another job. If you can.

That, apparently, is not SOP in the 21st century.

I submit to you the staffers at the Democratic National Committee.

They are currently affronted, insulted, traumatized, made to feel unsafe, victimized, and suffering from acute cases of out-of-joint noses and ruffled feathers because the DNC bosses told them that, henceforth, they would have to show up, in person, at their jobs for the entire five-day work week.

 As Col. Kurtz would say, “The horror. The horror.”

The Daily Caller reports that on Wednesday, DNC Chairman Ken Martin let the word go forth at a staff-wide meeting that as of February of next year, D.C. area employees would need to be back to work, full-time, at the DNC offices in Washington.

And the cries went up from both those who attended the meeting and those watching via Zoom. Citing the New York Times, the Caller said that “thumbs down emojis” began to flood the screen. The Employees International Union, which represents the DNC workers, said:

It was shocking to see the DNC chair disregard staff’s valid concerns on today’s team call.

DNC staff worked extremely hard to support historic wins for Democrats up and down the ballot last Tuesday, and this change feels especially callous considering the current economic conditions created by the Trump administration.

Oh, and the union also thinks that the decision is “callous.”  

One person groused that the party had won the 2020 presidential race with everyone working remotely, and that they should be allowed to work from home at least until 2028.

Of course, no one at the DNC wants to talk about 2024. Or maybe they do, which is why they are rounding everyone up and re-assigning cubicles or workspaces. Or whatever it is they use at the DNC. Maybe hammocks? Who knows?

Martin let the disgruntled team members know that if they felt they were not up to the task of working in person and showing up five days a week, they might want to spruce up their resumes and seek their fortunes elsewhere. And although I am no longer a Democrat, I would have to concur.

So the DNC staff members have until February, February, mind you, to find pants, shoes, a razor, and get a haircut and a shower before doing what millions of other Americans do every day. And they are still unhappy.

This, of course, is the end-product of letting people throw tantrums and make threats under the guise of feeling safe or living their truths. All I have to say to the DNC is you created this monster and now you get to live with it.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 15:40

Trump Admin Rolls Back Biden-Era Restrictions On Alaska Oil And Gas Drilling

Zero Hedge -

Trump Admin Rolls Back Biden-Era Restrictions On Alaska Oil And Gas Drilling

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

The Trump administration said Nov. 13 that it has finalized a rule rescinding Biden-era restrictions on oil and gas drilling in Alaska as part of efforts to strengthen U.S. energy security.

The new rule, to be published in the Federal Register on Nov. 17, will revoke the measures imposed by the Biden administration that restricted drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve on the North Slope, according to the Interior Department (DOI).

The petroleum reserve in Alaska, spanning roughly 23 million acres, was designated in 1923. Last year, the Biden administration restricted oil and gas drilling on over 13 million acres of the area for environmental reasons.

The DOI stated that it aims to restore drilling in the area to strengthen energy supply and reduce U.S. reliance on foreign sources, following President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order that called for the expansion of natural resource development across federal and state lands in Alaska.

“By rescinding the 2024 rule, we are following the direction set by President Trump to unlock Alaska’s energy potential, create jobs for North Slope communities and strengthen American energy security,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a Nov. 13 statement.

“This action restores common-sense management and ensures responsible development benefits both Alaska and the nation.”

Voice of the Arctic Inupiat, a nonprofit representing North Slope communities in Alaska, said it supports the move, noting that it would help sustain power generation, education, and other services that rely on tax revenue from resource development infrastructure.

North Slope Borough Mayor Josiah Patkotak also voiced support, calling the move a “meaningful step toward restoring a federal process” that respects local leadership in Alaska.

“Good policy comes from good process, which requires hearing directly from the people who live, work, and hunt here,” Patkotak said in a statement issued by the nonprofit.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) opposed the move, claiming the DOI’s new rule disregards its obligation to protect the reserve.

“This rollback is nothing more than a giveaway to the oil and gas industry,” Bobby McEnaney, NRDC director of land conservation, said in a statement.

“Weakening protections is reckless, and it threatens to erase the very landscapes Congress sought to safeguard.”

This is not the first such Biden-era restriction that Trump has rolled back. Last month, the DOI announced that it would reopen the coastal plain of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas leasing and reissued permits for the 211-mile Ambler Road Project, which would allow access to cooper and cobalt deposits in the area.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 15:00

Trump Admin Rolls Back Biden-Era Restrictions On Alaska Oil And Gas Drilling

Zero Hedge -

Trump Admin Rolls Back Biden-Era Restrictions On Alaska Oil And Gas Drilling

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

The Trump administration said Nov. 13 that it has finalized a rule rescinding Biden-era restrictions on oil and gas drilling in Alaska as part of efforts to strengthen U.S. energy security.

The new rule, to be published in the Federal Register on Nov. 17, will revoke the measures imposed by the Biden administration that restricted drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve on the North Slope, according to the Interior Department (DOI).

The petroleum reserve in Alaska, spanning roughly 23 million acres, was designated in 1923. Last year, the Biden administration restricted oil and gas drilling on over 13 million acres of the area for environmental reasons.

The DOI stated that it aims to restore drilling in the area to strengthen energy supply and reduce U.S. reliance on foreign sources, following President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order that called for the expansion of natural resource development across federal and state lands in Alaska.

“By rescinding the 2024 rule, we are following the direction set by President Trump to unlock Alaska’s energy potential, create jobs for North Slope communities and strengthen American energy security,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a Nov. 13 statement.

“This action restores common-sense management and ensures responsible development benefits both Alaska and the nation.”

Voice of the Arctic Inupiat, a nonprofit representing North Slope communities in Alaska, said it supports the move, noting that it would help sustain power generation, education, and other services that rely on tax revenue from resource development infrastructure.

North Slope Borough Mayor Josiah Patkotak also voiced support, calling the move a “meaningful step toward restoring a federal process” that respects local leadership in Alaska.

“Good policy comes from good process, which requires hearing directly from the people who live, work, and hunt here,” Patkotak said in a statement issued by the nonprofit.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) opposed the move, claiming the DOI’s new rule disregards its obligation to protect the reserve.

“This rollback is nothing more than a giveaway to the oil and gas industry,” Bobby McEnaney, NRDC director of land conservation, said in a statement.

“Weakening protections is reckless, and it threatens to erase the very landscapes Congress sought to safeguard.”

This is not the first such Biden-era restriction that Trump has rolled back. Last month, the DOI announced that it would reopen the coastal plain of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas leasing and reissued permits for the 211-mile Ambler Road Project, which would allow access to cooper and cobalt deposits in the area.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 15:00

Democrats' Epstein Email Dump Backfires As Trump Sets DoJ On Clinton, Summers, Hoffman, Et Al.

Zero Hedge -

Democrats' Epstein Email Dump Backfires As Trump Sets DoJ On Clinton, Summers, Hoffman, Et Al.

Democratic political operatives initiated a coordinated propaganda attack centered on releasing Jeffrey Epstein's emails and promoting a range of narratives targeting President Trump, including claims that he and Epstein shared a Thanksgiving dinner in 2017. The Trump team has since responded, with the Department of Justice and the FBI set to begin investigations into "Epstein's involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, and Reid Hoffman."

Let's begin here: The email dump occurred on the same day Trump signed legislation ending the record-long government shutdown, a shutdown driven by the Democratic Party's decision to hold government funding hostage, triggering nationwide travel disruptions and SNAP funding outages.

What's clear is that the Democratic Party staked heavily on the Jeffrey Epstein email narrative. Bloomberg data shows that headlines mentioning "Epstein" were minimal throughout the shutdown, but as soon as Trump signed the bill to reopen the government, putting Democrats in a very unfavorable position and creating terrible optics in the news cycle, their propaganda cannon was fired. 

Western Journal's C. Douglas Golden describes the Democratic Party's maneuvering to control the news cycle after the government shutdown's damaging optics, highlighting how they cherry-picked Epstein emails to redirect attention.

On Wednesday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released three of Epstein's emails, which mentioned President Donald Trump in some vague way.

They redacted the name of one of his victims, who is said to be Virginia Giuffre; now deceased, the woman at the center of the scandal involving the former Prince Andrew was formerly employed at Mar-a-Lago but had repeatedly avouched, during her life, that she never witnessed Trump at any events where misbehavior was going on.

Later on Wednesday, the GOP members of the Oversight Committee decided to call foul on the cherry-picking and released over 20,000 pages of documents that paint a fuller picture of what's long been known: Trump and Epstein knew each other and broke in the early 2000s. The unredacted documents also seem to confirm the redacted victim was Giuffre.

Democrats, of course, were not happy. But the party had a new theory: OK, maybe the person in the email consistently stated that Trump didn't do anything wrong, but what about the fact that Epstein said he spent Thanksgiving of 2017 with Trump?

In a post on X, they said that's exactly what the "[d]ocuments show," noting that, "At the time, Trump was already president, and Epstein was already a convicted sex offender."

. . .

And, as conservative operative Greg Price noted, it wasn't verified "because it's an easily disprovable lie and the attempts to connect President Trump to Epstein's crimes are a giant hoax."

. . .

The post has since been deleted, since the Democrats figured out the smoking gun turned out to be an exploding cigar. But the internet is forever, as is evidence of what Trump was doing on Thanksgiving in 2017:

One of the claims - now a deleted X post, the Democratic Party's official account stated, "NEW: Documents show Donald Trump spent Thanksgiving with Jeffrey Epstein in 2017. At the time, Trump was already president, and Epstein was already a convicted sex offender." 

Now deleted post. 

For very obvious reasons. 

What's clear is that the info war launched by Democrats was intended to paper over the terrible optics surrounding the government shutdown.

However, the pendulum is now swinging the other way... 

Trump has asked Bondi, DoJ, and FBI to investigate "investigate Jeffrey Epstein's involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, J.P. Morgan, Chase, and many other people and institutions, to determine what was going on with them, and him." 

"Fatty at LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman" 

"This is another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats," the president noted. 

It appears the Democratic Party's social media desk, likely staffed by inexperienced Gen-Z operatives, didn't bother to verify anything. However, competence was never the point; the objective was to plant a headline and let it do maximum damage before anyone could check the facts. That's the nature of information warfare. And now it looks like the Trump team is preparing to hit back.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 14:40

Economic Reacceleration: A Contrarian View

Zero Hedge -

Economic Reacceleration: A Contrarian View

Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

Over the past two weeks, we’ve addressed a persistent question: if the data signals weakness, why hasn’t the recession arrived? In “Slowdown Signals: Are Leading Indicators Flashing Red?” we examined the cracks forming beneath the economy’s surface. From deteriorating leading indicators to credit stress and cooling employment metrics, the evidence supported a cautious stance. In the follow-up, “Promised Recession … So Where Is It?”, we explored the tension between these bearish signals and the market’s resilience. Economic risk has not disappeared, but the timeline for a downturn has stretched further than most expected.

Both articles’ tone was analytical but precise: the economy has not escaped danger. Leading economic indicators flash warning signs, from the Conference Board’s LEI to the ISM Manufacturing Index. Credit conditions remain tight with delinquencies on the rise, and employment trends, while stable on the surface, have started to weaken in rate-sensitive areas.

The consumer, long the backbone of the post-pandemic recovery, shows signs of fatigue. Excess savings have dwindled, credit card usage is climbing, and real wage gains have slowed. These are not signals of strength, but of late-cycle fragility.

Yet, despite these risks, the economy has not broken. The recession expected by most economists, strategists, and market commentators has yet to arrive. The S&P 500 continues to grind higher. Volatility remains muted. Consumer spending, while uneven, has not collapsed. And corporate earnings, though pressured in some sectors, have not cratered.

This divergence between bearish data and market behavior raises an important question: could the consensus be wrong? More specifically, what if the economy is not headed for contraction, but toward a renewed phase of expansion? That’s the contrarian view, an economic reacceleration, and it’s worth considering, not because it is guaranteed, but because few are prepared for it. In markets, surprises matter more than forecasts. If the surprise is upside growth, the implications for asset prices, portfolio strategy, and risk management could be substantial.

Let’s dig into it.

The Case for Economic Reacceleration

While consensus remains cautious, there is a case, however tenuous, for economic reacceleration. This isn’t about ignoring risks. It’s about acknowledging that conditions aligning could drive a shift from stagnation to renewed growth.

First, financial conditions have eased substantially since late last year. Despite the Fed maintaining higher policy rates, markets have pushed bond yields lower and credit spreads tighter. Equities have rallied, creating a wealth effect that supports consumption, at least within the top 10% of the population that owns 87% of the equity market. Furthermore, the top 40% of income earners currently account for 60% of total consumption.

Adding to that backdrop, the Chicago Fed National Financial Conditions Index has turned increasingly accommodative, suggesting that monetary policy’s grip on the economy is slipping. This eases the burden on consumers and businesses, setting the stage for renewed activity.

Third, fiscal support remains more robust than many acknowledge. Federal spending continues at a high level, with infrastructure outlays and industrial policy subsidies supporting investment in energy, manufacturing, and technology. These initiatives feed directly into corporate capital expenditures. The AI investment boom is a clear example of spending accelerating not just in “big tech,” but across the industrial supply chain. UBS has flagged this emerging capex cycle as a significant tailwind for mid-cycle expansion, which could offset a slowdown in consumer spending.

Fourth, labor market dynamics are more stable than the headlines suggest. While job openings have declined, layoffs remain low. Real disposable income has started to recover, supported by moderating inflation. This income stability allows consumers to maintain spending despite rising debt levels. Goldman Sachs has emphasized that consumption trends, particularly in services, remain strong enough to support growth in the near term. In the economically weighted ISM surveys, services (70% of the economy) are keeping the composite index in expansion territory.

Finally, there is the issue of data distortion. In recent months, significant revisions have been made to payrolls and GDP. Preliminary reports painted a picture of sharp deceleration, only for final data to show much more resilience. Goldman has warned that headline data may be underestimating actual activity. If that’s true, the economy may not need to rebound; it may already be stronger than it appears. We also see improvement in the Economic Composite Index, which comprises more than 100 data points, including manufacturing, services, leading indicators, and other economic factors.

Combined, these factors do not guarantee a reacceleration but offer a plausible case. They suggest the economy may be more resilient, supported, and responsive to easing conditions than the bearish narrative implies.

Supporting the Bull Market: Earnings and Valuation

If reacceleration gains traction, it becomes a fundamental driver of earnings growth. That’s the critical link. The equity rally has run ahead of fundamentals in some sectors. Valuations, particularly in technology and discretionary names, are stretched. Without earnings growth, they cannot be sustained. However, an economic reacceleration changes that dynamic. A pickup in nominal GDP would lift revenues. Stabilizing costs and improving operating leverage could support margins. As top-line growth returns, analysts would raise forward earnings estimates.

As UBS notes, they expect stronger earnings growth going into 2026, supported by stronger economic growth.

This path is especially relevant given the current market structure. Much of this year’s performance has been driven by a handful of mega-cap names; therefore, a broader earnings recovery, driven by an economic reacceleration, would allow the rally to widen. This is the theory, at least, and as breadth improves, volatility drops, and price-to-earnings multiples become more sustainable.

However, as we have noted previously, we had booming economic growth in 2020 and 2021, but the earnings growth remained confined to the largest companies. As shown in the chart above, earnings growth for the 493 remained weak. However, the expectation is that an improvement in economic growth, but not strong growth, will somehow allow the bottom 493 stocks to generate earnings growth as the Capex cycle for artificial intelligence engages. Maybe that is the case, but it remains a risk to investors. Nonetheless, the hope is that the economic reacceleration thesis, not a call for explosive expansion, will allow for durability in the current cycle, allowing the earnings tailwind to extend the bull market further than most expect.

Final Thoughts

For us, risk management remains essential. The case for economic reacceleration is certainly plausible, but it is also based on much “hope.” Hope that consumers will continue to consume at a strong pace, that AI Capex will offset declining savings risk, and that earnings will continue to sustain themselves well above long-term growth trends indefinitely to support current valuations. That seems to be a significant risk.

While there is certainly risk that “hopes” are disappointed, as investors, we must consider the possibility that an economic reacceleration comes to fruition. Such could leave overly defensive investors underexposed to equities, creating significant opportunity costs. Currently, many investors remain positioned for stagnation or slow deterioration. While that positioning aligns with the data, the yield curve, and historical patterns, the markets rarely reward consensus thinking. If reacceleration unfolds, it will catch many investors with an underweighted risk exposure.

Positioning for this shift does not require full conviction. But it does require readiness. Watch leading indicators for signs of stabilization. Monitor earnings revisions and forward guidance. Track credit spreads and yield curve behavior. These are the tells.

The opportunity lies in being early but not reckless. If growth is turning, earnings will follow, and earnings ultimately sustain bull markets.

Just something to consider.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 14:20

Noem Awards TSA Staff $10,000 Bonuses For Working During Shutdown

Zero Hedge -

Noem Awards TSA Staff $10,000 Bonuses For Working During Shutdown

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem handed out $10,000 bonus checks on Nov. 13 to thousands of frontline Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers who stayed on the job during the federal government shutdown.

About 47,000 agents who worked through the 43-day shutdown despite not getting paychecks will be awarded a bonus along with back pay, according to Noem.

“We are going to not only continue their paychecks like they should have received all along, but also they’re going to get a bonus check for stepping up, taking on extra shifts, for showing up each and every day, for serving the American people,” Noem said at a news conference at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

The officers were thanked for taking seriously every day the mission of the Department of Homeland Security, “and that’s keeping the American people safe while they go and commute across the country, and while they do their work and business and take care of their families,” Noem added.

A couple of the officers were singled out for their “exemplary” service and for taking on more hours and shifts during the shutdown.

“They were examples to the rest of the individuals that worked with them, and endured those hardships and continued to shine a light on what is special about America,” Noem said.

Noem added that she would be looking at all TSA officials who worked during the shutdown and would recognize their efforts with a bonus check to get them back on their feet.

She noted that TSA agents who missed work or called out sick were not necessarily exempt from receiving the bonus, saying that “people were not just inconvenienced but they were also damaged and harmed” by the government shutdown.

“What I’m so proud of today … is the outstanding patriotism and service of our TSA officers and officials that stepped up every single day,” Noem said.

She also recognized the public and private companies that stepped up during the shutdown.

“We still saw the best of America,” she added. “We saw people come together, support each other, take care of each other, and go above and beyond to make sure the mission of the Department of Homeland Security was fulfilled.”

The department worked late Wednesday night to complete administrative paperwork to start paying TSA agents the backpay they earned during the shutdown, Noem added.

TSA Precheck entry at San Diego International Airport on Oct. 26, 2024. Jane Yang/The Epoch Times

President Donald Trump Wednesday night signed a bill passed by Congress to fund the government until January, bringing an end to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

The Trump administration has implemented measures this year to help speed up TSA lanes in airports, including allowing passengers to leave their shoes on when going through the scanners.

The department also plans to implement veteran, military, and family lanes, according to Noem.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 13:40

Alibaba Falls After White House Memo Alleges Company Supports Chinese Military Targeting Of US

Zero Hedge -

Alibaba Falls After White House Memo Alleges Company Supports Chinese Military Targeting Of US

Shares of Alibaba fell in New York around 1 p.m. EST after the Financial Times reported a White House national-security memo detailing newly declassified intelligence alleging the Chinese tech giant has been providing technological support to the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC).

The memo claims that Alibaba provides the PLA and PRC with access to customer data, including IP addresses, Wi-Fi information, payment records, and various AI-related services. It also alleges that employees transferred knowledge about zero-day vulnerabilities (software flaws that hackers can exploit) to the PLA.

Alibaba strongly denied the report, saying:

"The claims purportedly based on US intelligence that was leaked by your source are complete nonsense. This is plainly an attempt to manipulate public opinion and malign Alibaba."

Shares of BABA are down 2.3%.

The White House memo was drafted immediately after the Trump-Xi meeting in South Korea last month, during which both leaders agreed to a temporary truce on trade restrictions. 

A US official confirmed to FT that the administration is actively working to mitigate risks posed by intrusions involving untrusted vendors. 

We can only wonder whether this posturing by the administration has anything to do with PRC state-sponsored hackers infiltrating U.S. telecommunications companies in an attack known as "Salt Typhoon" …

*Developing...

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 13:16

Iran's Elite IRGC Seizes Tanker In Strait Of Hormuz

Zero Hedge -

Iran's Elite IRGC Seizes Tanker In Strait Of Hormuz

After a long period of relative quiet, the Strait of Hormuz is flaring up again as on Friday Iranian forces are reported to have seized a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker.

This is a first in a long time, but the Iranians are saying it is a somewhat 'routine' instance of intercepting a ship for "smuggling fuel", according to state IRNA. The Iranians are now claiming to be acting within the laws of the Islamic Republic.

Illustrative: Getty Images

But it was clearly an international vessel, with a US official and a private maritime risk group saying it was forcibly diverted into Iranian territorial waters as it made its way through the narrow strait.

International reports have identified the tanker as the Talara, en route from Ajman in the United Arab Emirates to Singapore when it was intercepted.

Further, British maritime risk firm Vanguard has described that the vessel was seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) - which typically oversees such aggressive Iranian naval operations related to foreign vessels - and redirected toward Iranian waters.

Reports further say that three boats were observed approaching the Talara. Further AP reports that "A U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton drone had been circling above the area where the Talara was for hours on Friday observing the seizure," according to flight-tracking data.

Lloyd's List has written, "The vessel is owned by the Greece-based Coronis Family Group of Companies. The company has not responded to requests for comment."

The publication says, "Maritime security firm Ambrey issued a warning, saying that a Marshall Islands-flagged crude oil tanker that had previously been approached by three small boats while transiting southbound through the Strait of Hormuz was observed making a sudden course deviation at the same location."

Tensions have long been on edge in the region as Tehran has vowed retaliation for the prior June 12-day war, which saw Israel mount a surprise attack and the US bomb Iran's nuclear facilities.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 13:00

Boeing Union Workers Approve New Contract, Ending 3-Month Strike

Zero Hedge -

Boeing Union Workers Approve New Contract, Ending 3-Month Strike

Authored by Victoria Friedman via The Epoch Times,

Thousands of Midwestern machinists who assemble military aircraft voted on Nov. 13 to accept a new contract with Boeing, bringing to an end three months of industrial action.

The workforce had been on strike since Aug. 4 over demands for better wages and work schedules.

District 837 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) represents 3,200 machinists at facilities in St. Louis and St. Charles, Missouri, and Mascoutah, Illinois. Its members build and maintain the F-15, F/A-18, and advanced missile and defense systems for the U.S. military, according to the union.

In a statement, IAM District 837 thanked its bargaining committee for its efforts to negotiate a deal acceptable to members.

“We appreciate the unwavering support of our members, their families, the St. Louis community, our labor allies, and elected officials throughout this fight,” IAM District 837 said. “We’re proud of what our members have fought for together and are ready to get back to building the world’s most advanced military aircraft.”

Boeing confirmed in a statement that IAM 837 had ratified the new contract.

“We look forward to having our full team back at work,” Boeing said. “IAM 837-represented employees at all St. Louis-region sites are to report to work beginning with third shift on Nov. 16 at 11 p.m.”

Throughout negotiations, IAM District 837 had been calling for Boeing to agree to higher retirement plan contributions, stronger wage increases to keep up with inflation, and a larger ratification bonus, a one-time payment offered to union members after they vote to approve a new contract.

On Nov. 10, Boeing revised the proposed ratification bonus, increasing it from $3,000 to $6,000, but dropped the $1,000 annual retention bonus, which would have been paid yearly for four years. The rest of the offer was largely unchanged from earlier versions, which had been rejected by the union.

On Nov. 4, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote to Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, urging the company to “negotiate in good faith” and “quickly reach an agreement that the IAM 837 machinists can afford to accept.”

Hawley congratulated the workers in a Nov. 13 post on X.

“Congratulations to the 3000+ Missouri workers who today secured a new and better contract with Boeing,” Hawley said. “For months they have stood strong, and today they’re getting the raise they and their families deserve.”

Christy Williams greets people at the voting check-in table, where International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union members picked up their ballot to vote on a negotiated tentative labor agreement that would end their strike against Boeing Defense St. Louis regional operations. in Maryland Heights, Mo., on Sept. 12, 2025. David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP

Rep. Wesley Bell (D-Mo.) said in a statement that he was “glad to see IAM District 837 and Boeing reach a fair agreement that gets our highly skilled workers back on the job.”

“These workers deserve wages and benefits that reflect the true value of their work, and this agreement is a major victory for them, their families, and the entire St. Louis region,” Bell said. “Boeing has long been a cornerstone of our region’s economic success, and that success has always depended on the talent and dedication of its workforce.”

F-15EX Delivery Delays

The strike by about 3,200 machinists at facilities in the Greater St. Louis area was smaller in scale than last year’s action by workers at Boeing’s commercial airplane division in Washington and Oregon, which saw 33,000 machinists walk out.

While smaller in scale, the action had an impact on the deliveries of F-15EX fighters to the U.S. Air Force.

Ahead of an Oct. 9 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing for the nomination of Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach as the Air Force’s chief of staff, the four-star general said in submitted comments that delivery of the second lot of aircraft for the F-15EX program is “delayed due to the ongoing Boeing strikes with six of 12 F-15EX delivered to date.”

“These delays will impact F-15EX operations at Portland [Air National Guard Base],” as well as initial delays to deliveries of the third lot of aircraft overseas in 2026, said Wilsbach, who has since been confirmed and sworn in as 24th Air Force chief of staff. “While later than initially planned, aircraft deliveries and program milestone dates remain within the program’s acquisition baseline.”

Next-Generation Fighter Craft

On March 21, President Donald Trump announced that Boeing had been awarded the $20 billion contract to build the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation stealth fighter jet, designated the F-47.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said on Sept. 22 that the first of the craft should be ready to fly by 2028.

An artist rendering of the Air Force’s sixth-generation fighter, the F-47. Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force

The F-47—previously known as the Next-Generation Air Dominance platform—is envisioned to replace the F-22 Raptor as the centerpiece of the United States’ future air superiority fleet.

The program was briefly paused under the Biden administration but was revived under Trump.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 12:20

Peter Schiff: Printing Money Is Not the Cure for Cononavirus

Financial Armageddon -


Peter Schiff: Printing Money Is Not the Cure for Cononavirus



In his most recent podcast, Peter Schiff talked about coronavirus and the impact that it is having on the markets. Earlier this month, Peter said he thought the virus was just an excuse for stock market woes. At the time he believed the market was poised to fall anyway. But as it turns out, coronavirus has actually helped the US stock market because it has led central banks to pump even more liquidity into the world financial system. All this means more liquidity — central banks easing. In fact, that is exactly what has already happened, except the new easing is taking place, for now, outside the United States, particularly in China.” Although the new money is primarily being created in China, it is flowing into dollars — the dollar index is up — and into US stocks. Last week, US stock markets once again made all-time record highs. In fact, I think but for the coronavirus, the US stock market would still be selling off. But because of the central bank stimulus that has been the result of fears over the coronavirus, that actually benefitted not only the US dollar, but the US stock market.” In the midst of all this, Peter raises a really good question. The primary economic concern is that coronavirus will slow down output and ultimately stunt economic growth. Practically speaking, the world would produce less stuff. If the virus continues to spread, there would be fewer goods and services produced in a market that is hunkered down. Why would the Federal Reserve respond, or why would any central bank respond to that by printing money? How does printing more money solve that problem? It doesn’t. In fact, it actually exacerbates it. But you know, everybody looks at central bankers as if they’ve got the solution to every problem. They don’t. They don’t have the magic wand. They just have a printing press. And all that creates is inflation.” Sometimes the illusion inflation creates can look like a magic wand. Printing money can paper over problems. But none of this is going to fundamentally fix the economy. In fact, if central bankers were really going to do the right thing, the appropriate response would be to drain liquidity from the markets, not supply even more.” Peter explained how the Fed was originally intended to create an “elastic” money supply that would expand or contract along with economic output. Today, the money supply only goes in one direction — that’s up. The economy is strong, print money. The economy is weak, print even more money.” Of course, the asset that’s doing the best right now is gold. The yellow metal pushed above $1,600 yesterday. Gold is up 5.5% on the year in dollar terms and has set record highs in other currencies. Because gold is rising even in an environment where the dollar is strengthening against other fiat currencies, that shows you that there is an underlying weakness in the dollar that is right now not being reflected in the Forex markets, but is being reflected in the gold markets. Because after all, why are people buying gold more aggressively than they’re buying dollars or more aggressively than they’re buying US Treasuries? Because they know that things are not as good for the dollar or the US economy as everybody likes to believe. So, more people are seeking out refuge in a better safe-haven and that is gold.” Peter also talked about the debate between Trump and Obama over who gets credit for the booming economy – which of course, is not booming.






Dump the Dollar before Bank Runs start in America -- Economic Collapse 2020

Financial Armageddon -












We are living in crazy times. I have a hard time believing that most of the general public is not awake, but in reality, they are. We've never seen anything like this; I mean not even under Obama during the worst part of the Great Recession." Now the Fed is desperately trying to keep interest rates from rising. The problem is that it's a much bigger debt bubble this time around , and the Fed is going to have to blow a lot more air into it to keep it inflated. The difference is this time it's not going to work." It looks like the Fed did another $104.15 billion of Not Q.E. in a single day. The Fed claims it's only temporary. But that is precisely what Bernanke claimed when the Fed started QE1. Milton Freedman once said, "Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program." The same applies to Q.E., or whatever the Fed wants to pretend it's doing. Except this is not QE4, according to Powell. Right. Pumping so much money out, and they are accusing China of currency manipulation ? Wow! Seriously! Amazing! Dump the U.S. dollar while you still have a chance. Welcome to The Atlantis Report. And it is even worse than that, In addition to the $104.15 billion of "Not Q.E." this past Thursday; the FED added another $56.65 billion in liquidity to financial markets the next day on Friday. That's $160.8 billion in two days!!!! in just 48 hours. That is more than 2 TIMES the highest amount the FED has ever injected on a monthly basis under a Q.E. program (which was $80 billion per month) Since this isn't QE....it will be really scary on what they are going to call Q.E. Will it twice, three times, four times, five times what this injection per month ! It is going to be explosive since it takes about 60 to 90 days for prices to react to this, January should see significant inflation as prices soak up the excess liquidity. The question is, where will the inflation occur first . The spike in the repo rate might have a technical explanation: a misjudgment was made in the Fed's money market operations. Even so, two conclusions can be drawn: managing the money markets is becoming harder, and from now on, banks will be studying each other's creditworthiness to a greater degree than before. Those people, who struggle with the minutiae of money markets, and that includes most professionals, should focus on the causes and not the symptoms. Financial markets have recovered from each downturn since 1980 because interest rates have been cut to new lows. Post-2008, they were cut to near zero or below zero in all major economies. In response to a new financial crisis, they cannot go any lower. Central banks will look for new ways to replicate or broaden Q.E. (At some point, governments will simply see repression as an easier option). Then there is the problem of 'risk-free' assets becoming risky assets. Financial markets assume that the probability of major governments such as the U.S. or U.K. defaulting is zero. These governments are entering the next downturn with debt roughly twice the levels proportionate to GDP that was seen in 2008. The belief that the policy worked was completely predicated on the fact that it was temporary and that it was reversible, that the Fed was going to be able to normalize interest rates and shrink its balance sheet back down to pre-crisis levels. Well, when the balance sheet is five-trillion, six-trillion, seven-trillion when we're back at zero, when we're back in a recession, nobody is going to believe it is temporary. Nobody is going to believe that the Fed has this under control, that they can reverse this policy. And the dollar is going to crash. And when the dollar crashes, it's going to take the bond market with it, and we're going to have stagflation. We're going to have a deep recession with rising interest rates, and this whole thing is going to come imploding down. everything is temporary with the fed including remaining off the gold standard temporary in the Fed's eyes could mean at least 50 years This liquidity problem is a signal that trading desks are loaded up on inventory and can't get rid of it. Repo is done out of a need for cash. If you own all of your securities (i.e., a long-only, no leverage mutual fund) you have no need to "repo" your securities - you're earning interest every night so why would you want to 'repo' your securities where you are paying interest for that overnight loan (securities lending is another animal). So, it is those that 'lever-up' and need the cash for settlement purposes on securities they've bought with borrowed money that needs to utilize the repo desk. With this in mind, as we continue to see this need to obtain cash (again, needed to settle other securities purchases), it shows these firms don't have the capital to add more inventory to, what appears to be, a bloated inventory. Now comes the fun part: the Treasury is about to auction 3's, 10's, and 30-year bonds. If I am correct (again, I could be wrong), the Fed realizes securities firms don't have the shelf space to take down a good portion of these auctions. If there isn't enough retail/institutional demand, it will lead to not only a crappy sale but major concerns to the street that there is now no backstop, at all, to any sell-off. At which point, everyone will want to be the first one through the door and sell immediately, but to whom? If there isn't enough liquidity in the repo market to finance their positions, the firms would be unable to increase their inventory. We all saw repo shut down on the 2008 crisis. Wall St runs on money. . OVERNIGHT money. They lever up to inventory securities for trading. If they can't get overnight money, they can't purchase securities. And if they can't unload what they have, it means the buy-side isn't taking on more either. Accounts settle overnight. This includes things like payrolls and bill pay settlements. If a bank doesn't have enough cash to payout what its customers need to pay out, it borrows. At least one and probably more than one banks are insolvent. That's what's going on. First, it can't be one or two banks that are short. They'd simply call around until they found someone to lend. But they did that, and even at markedly elevated rates, still, NO ONE would lend them the money. That tells me that it's not a problem of a couple of borrowers, it's a problem of no lenders. And that means that there's no bank in the world left with any real liquidity. They are ALL maxed out. But as bad as that is, and that alone could be catastrophic, what it really signals is even worse. The lending rates are just the flip side of the coin of the value of the assets lent against. If the rates go up, the value goes down. And with rates spiking to 10%, how far does the value fall? Enormously! And if banks had to actually mark down the value of the assets to reflect 10% interest rates, then my god, every bank in the world is insolvent overnight. Everyone's capital ratios are in the toilet, and they'd have to liquidate. We're talking about the simultaneous insolvency of every bank on the planet. Bank runs. No money in ATMs, Branches closed. Safe deposit boxes confiscated. The whole nine yards, It's actually here. The scenario has tended to guide toward for years and years is actually happening RIGHT NOW! And people are still trying to say it's under control. Every bank in the world is currently insolvent. The only thing keeping it going is printing billions of dollars every day. Financial Armageddon isn't some far off future risk. It's here. Prepare accordingly. This fiat system has reached the end of the line, and it's not correct that fiat currencies fail by design. The problem is corruption and manipulation. It is corruption and cheating that erodes trust and faith until the entire system becomes a gigantic fraud. Banks and governments everywhere ARE the problem and simply have to be removed. They have lost all trust and respect, and all they have left is war and mayhem. As long as we continue to have a majority of braindead asleep imbeciles following orders from these psychopaths, nothing will change. Fiat currency is not just thievery. Fiat currency is SLAVERY. Ultimately the most harmful effect of using debt of undefined value as money (i.e., fiat currencies) is the de facto legalization of a caste system based on voluntary slavery. The bankers have a charter, or the legal *right*, to create money out of nothing. You, you don't. Therefore you and the bankers do not have the same standing before the law. The law of the land says that you will go to jail if you do the same thing (creating money out of thin air) that the banker does in full legality. You and the banker are not equal before the law. ALL the countries of the world; Islamic or secular, Jewish or Arab, democracy or dictatorship; all of them place the bankers ABOVE you. And all of you accept that only whining about fiat money going down in exchange value over time (price inflation which is not the same as monetary inflation). Actually, price inflation itself is mainly due to the greed and stupidity of the bankers who could keep fiat money's exchange value reasonably stable, only if they wanted to. Witness the crash of silver and gold prices which the bankers of the world; Russian, American, Chinese, Jewish, Indian, Arab, all of them collaborated to engineer through the suppression and stagnation of precious metals' prices to levels around the metals' production costs, or what it costs to dig gold and silver out of the ground. The bankers of the world could also collaborate to keep nominal prices steady (as they do in the case of the suppression of precious metals prices). After all, the ability to create fiat money and force its usage is a far more excellent source of power and wealth than that which is afforded simply by stealing it through inflation. The bankers' greed and stupidity blind them to this fact. They want it all, and they want it now. In conclusion, The bankers can create money out of nothing and buy your goods and services with this worthless fiat money, effectively for free. You, you can't. You, you have to lead miserable existences for the most of you and WORK in order to obtain that effectively nonexistent, worthless credit money (whose purchasing/exchange value is not even DEFINED thus rendering all contracts based on the null and void!) that the banker effortlessly creates out of thin air with a few strokes of the computer keyboard, and which he doesn't even bother to print on paper anymore, electing to keep it in its pure quantum uncertain form instead, as electrons whizzing about inside computer chips which will become mute and turn silent refusing to tell you how many fiat dollars or euros there are in which account, in the absence of electricity. No electricity, no fiat, nor crypto money. It would appear that trust is deteriorating as it did when Lehman blew up . Something really big happened that set off this chain reaction in the repo markets. Whatever that something is, we aren't be informed. They're trying to cover it up, paper it over with conjured cash injections, play it cool in front of the cameras while sweating profusely under the 5 thousands dollar suits. I'm guessing that the final high-speed plunge into global economic collapse has begun. All we see here is the ripples and whitewater churning the surface, but beneath the surface, there is an enormous beast thrashing desperately in its death throws. Now is probably the time to start tying up loose ends with the long-running prep projects, just saying. In other words, prepare accordingly, and Get your money out of the banks. I don't care if you don't believe me about Bitcoin. Get your money out of the banks. Don't keep any more money in a bank than you need to pay your bills and can afford to lose.











The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers , truthers and many more













The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers , truthers and many more

Hillary Clinton's Top Secret Files Revealed Here

Financial Armageddon -

The FBI released a summary of its file from the Hillary Clinton email investigation on Friday, showing details of Clinton's explanation of her use of a private email server to handle classified communications. The release comes nearly two months after FBI Director James Comey announced that although Clinton's handling of classified information was "extremely careless," it did not rise to the level of a prosecutable offense. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the next day that she would not pursue charges in the matter. "We are making these materials available to the public in the interest of transparency and in response to numerous Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests," the FBI noted in a statement sent to reporters with links to the documents. The documents include notes from Clinton's July 2 interview with agents, as well as a "factual summary of the FBI's investigation into this matter," according to the FBI release. Throughout her interview with agents, Clinton repeatedly said she relied on the career professionals she worked with to handle classified information correctly. The agents asked about a series of specific emails, and in each case Clinton said she wasn't worried about the particular material being discussed on a nonclassified channel.





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