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FOMC Minutes Expose Fractured Fed; "Many" See No Tariff Inflation, "Several" Fear Disorderly Drop In Stocks

Zero Hedge -

FOMC Minutes Expose Fractured Fed; "Many" See No Tariff Inflation, "Several" Fear Disorderly Drop In Stocks

Since the last FOMC meeting (Oct 29th), gold is the best performing asset (along with the dollar) as bonds, stocks, and oil are all down notably...

Source: Bloomberg

Rate-cut odds for the December meeting continued to tumble after Powell's hawkish comments (and the follow-up FedSpeak). Today saw BLS confirm no more payrolls data before the next Fed meeting and that pushed expectations even more hawkishly lower...

Source: Bloomberg

As a reminder, The Fed cut rates by 25bps in the October meeting to 3.75-4.00%, with two dissenters: 1 hawkish (Schmid) and 1 dovish (Miran). Other non-voters have been out recently suggesting they did not support a cut.

While markets have made up their minds on the rate-cut decision, as we noted earlier, we'll be watching for color on the hawk/dove split; but, most eyes will be on discussions around The Fed's balance sheet (the end of QT) and the level of reserves being somewhere between 'abundant' and 'ample'.

So, what does The Fed want us to know it was thinking during the meeting?

On the rate-cut decision, there is a hawkish bias ('Several' is less than 'many')

  • *FED: `SEVERAL' SAID DECEMBER CUT `COULD WELL BE' APPROPRIATE

    • Several participants said another cut in December “could well be appropriate in December if the economy evolved about as they expected” before the next meeting.

  • *FED: `MANY' SAW DECEMBER RATE CUT AS LIKELY NOT APPROPRIATE

    • Many participants suggested that, under their economic outlooks, it would likely be appropriate to keep the target range unchanged for the rest of the year,” the minutes said.

The doves are doing God's work on the jobs market...

"Most participants suggested that, in moving to a more neutral policy stance, the Committee was helping forestall the possibility of a major deterioration in labor market conditions."

But... the hawks are there too to warn you off...

"Most participants noted that, against a backdrop of elevated inflation readings and a very gradual cooling of labor market conditions, further policy rate reductions could add to the risk of higher inflation becoming entrenched or could be misinterpreted as implying a lack of policymaker commitment to the 2 percent inflation objective."

AI/Valuations are in the back of their minds...

Some participants commented on stretched asset valuations in financial markets, with several of these participants highlighting the possibility of a disorderly fall in equity prices, especially in the event of an abrupt reassessment of the possibilities of AI-related technology.

A couple of participants cited risks associated with high levels of corporate borrowing.

Finally, and perhaps the most notable line was with regard to inflation...

Simply put, the Minutes suggest that tariff inflation is no longer a pressing concern...

"Many of these participants also judged that, with more evidence having accumulated that the effect on overall inflation of this year’s higher tariffs would likely be limited, it was appropriate for the Committee to ease its policy stance in response to downside risks to employment."

...which helps explain why so "many" of The Fed are increasingly focused on jobs.

Full Breakdown:

On current outlook:

  • Participants generally judged that upside risks to inflation remained elevated and that downside risks to employment were elevated and had increased since the first half of the year.

  • Many participants agreed that the Committee should be deliberate in its policy decisions against the backdrop of these two-sided risks and reduced availability of key economic data.

  • Most participants suggested that, in moving to a more neutral policy stance, the Committee was helping forestall the possibility of a major deterioration in labor market conditions.

  • Many of these participants also judged that, with more evidence having accumulated that the effect on overall inflation of this year’s higher tariffs would likely be limited, it was appropriate for the Committee to ease its policy stance in response to downside risks to employment.

  • Most participants noted that, against a backdrop of elevated inflation readings and a very gradual cooling of labor market conditions, further policy rate reductions could add to the risk of higher inflation becoming entrenched or could be misinterpreted as implying a lack of policymaker commitment to the 2 percent inflation objective.

  • Participants judged that a careful balancing of risks was required and agreed on the importance of well-anchored longer-term inflation expectations in achieving the Committee’s dual-mandate objectives.

On the neutral rate and financial conditions

  • Some said policy would remain restrictive even after a 0.25ppt cut.

  • Some, citing resilient activity, supportive conditions or real-rate estimates, said policy was not clearly restrictive.

  • Some remarked that financial conditions we re supportive of activity.

On Inflation

  • Participants noted inflation had moved up and remained somewhat above target; core inflation stayed elevated.

  • Several said inflation excluding tariff effects was close to target.

  • Many said inflation had been above target for some time with little sign of timely return to 2%.

  • Most noted further rate cuts could add to risk of higher inflation becoming entrenched or could be misinterpreted as lack of commitment to 2% inflation objective

  • Several cited persistent core non-housing services inflation as keeping inflation above 2%.

  • Many expected further pickup in core goods inflation from tariff pass-through.

  • Several highlighted uncertainty around tariff effects and firms' delayed pricing.

  • Several reported businesses planned gradual price increases due to higher tariff-related input costs.

  • A few said productivity gains via automation or AI could limit pass-through.

  • A few said a softer labor market would restrain pressures.

  • A couple said lower immigration would lessen housing demand and strengthen housing disinflation.

  • Many noted risks that prolonged above-target inflation could raise longer-term expectations.

Labor market & growth

  • Participants observed slowed job gains and a higher unemployment rate before the shutdown.

  • Participants saw indicators showing gradual softening without sharp deterioration.

  • Many attributed the slowdown to reduced labour supply and less labour demand amid uncertainty.

  • Many said structural factors, including Al-related investment, were dampening labor demand.

  • Participants generally expected further gradual softening with less dynamism.

  • Several warned low turnover and hiring hesitancy posed downside risks.

  • A few saw rising unemployment in sensitive groups or concentrated job gains as signalling broader weakness.

  • Some noted persistent divergence between subdued job growth and moderate GDP growth, possibly due to productivity gains and demographic constraints.

  • Participants noted moderate activity; many reported firmer consumer spending.

  • Many highlighted divergence across income groups, with high-income households supporting consumption and lower-income households showing price sensitivity.

  • A couple warned that reliance on high-income spending created vulnerability.

  • A couple noted continued housing-market weakness despite some stabilisation.

  • Many highlighted strong technology and Al-related investment.

  • A few said lower business taxes or regulatory easing would support activity.

  • Some remarked that financial conditions we re supportive.

  • A few cited ongoing agricultural headwinds from low crop prices, high input costs and weak foreign demand.

Balance sheet & QT & liquidity

  • Almost all said it was appropriate to conclude runoff on 1 December or could support doing so.

  • Most participants favored a fed portfolio matching the composition of treasuries outstanding

Asset prices:

  • Several participants highlighted possibility of disorderly fall in stock prices, especially in event of abrupt reassessment of ai- related prospects.

Housing market and real estate commentary

  • A couple noted continued housing-market weakness and affordability constraints.

Agricultural commentary

  • A few cited headwinds from low crop prices, elevated input costs and weaker foreign demand.

Discussions of Artificial Intelligence

  • A few participants suggested that potential recent productivity gains achieved through automation and AI may help businesses support their profit margins and limit the extent to which cost increases are passed on to consumers

  • Many participants remarked that structural factors such as investment related to AI and other productivity-enhancing technologies may be contributing to softer labor demand.

  • Some participants noted the apparent divergence between subdued job growth and moderate GDP growth, with several suggesting that this pattern might persist over time as advances in AI boost productivity growth while demographic factors constrain labor supply.

  • Regarding the business sector, many participants highlighted strong investment in technology, particularly spending related to AI and data centers. Some participants suggested that those investments could boost productivity and thus aggregate supply.

  • Broad equity indexes continued to rise over the period, with the largest technology companies performing strongly on market participants’ optimism about artificial intelligence (AI). The manager noted that rising stock prices were consistent with expectations for continued robust growth in earnings.

Read the full Minutes below:

Tyler Durden Wed, 11/19/2025 - 15:00

"This Is A National Emergency" - US Govt To Buy 10 Large, New Nuclear Reactors

Zero Hedge -

"This Is A National Emergency" - US Govt To Buy 10 Large, New Nuclear Reactors

Hot on the heels of news that it will invest "hundreds of billions" in loans to the nuclear power industry, including one already disbursed loan for $1BN to restart Three Mile Island, Bloomberg reported that the US government also plans to buy and own as many as 10 new, large nuclear reactors that could be paid for using Japan’s $550BN funding pledge, part of the Trump admin's existential push to meet surging demand for electricity

The Energy Department’s chief of staff, Carl Coe, made comments today detailing the unusual arrangement related to the $550 billion in funding for US projects announced by Japan, Bloomberg reports.

“The role of having the government involved in private markets is sacrosanct — you just don’t do it,” Coe said at an energy conference hosted by the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council. “But this is a national emergency.”

The announcement sparked speculation which companies would benefit from the federal government's upcoming purchases, which as we said yesterday, would amount to a flood of capital for the nuclear sector. 

It is still unclear whether the funding commitments made by Japan, announced last month as part of a trade deal framework with the US, will come to fruition. In all, Japan has agreed to invest some $332 billion for energy projects in the United States, according to the White House. That pledge, in addition to Westinghouse’s new AP1000 reactors, include a new breed of smaller nuclear reactors, as well new power plants, electric transmission projects and pipelines. 

Below we list some of the most likely beneficiaries:

  • Cameco, CCJ - Currently a 49% owner of Westinghouse. They, along with Brookfield Asset Management, are already coordinating with the US government for building out the only large reactor design currently in discussion – the 1,100 MWe AP1000. The only other large reactor with a partially US-owned design is the boiling water reactor from GE-Hitachi. Those reactor designs haven't been marketed for development by GE Venova for years, while the company has instead focused on their 300 MWe design, the BWRX-300.

  • BWX Technologies, BWXT - While this company doesn’t currently have much involvement with the construction of AP1000 reactors, due to this new project being federally driven, there could be an increased role for the US government’s primary nuclear contractor for heavy fabrication or manufacturing.

  • Mirion Technologies MIR - They are one of the leaders in radiation safety and monitoring equipment, and are one of Westinghouse’s primary contractors for reactor instrumentation. Their recent acquisition of Paragon adds to the suite of monitoring equipment they have to offer for new plants.

  • Flowserve, FLS - While still a comparatively small portion of their overall revenue, Flowserve is the leading provider of critical pumps and valves for nuclear primary and secondary systems. In their lastest earning report, they pointed to a potential $10 billion revenue stream of nuclear contracts for which they think they are one of the leading competitors.

  • Centrus Energy, LEU - They are on the cusp of finally commencing their Low Enriched Uranium (LEU), typically used by large commercial reactors like the AP1000, and High-Assay LEU (HALEU), used by most small advanced reactors, capacity expansion projects after multiple pledges for support made by South Korea and the US government. Additional task orders under the DOE’s uranium enrichment programs are also anticipated in the coming weeks.

  • Silex Systems, SILXY (SLX.ASX) - Silex owns 51% of Global Laser Enrichment, a company using lasers to enrich uranium at a test facility in North Carolina, with a fuel facility license currently under review for a commercial plan in Kentucky. They are actively producing hundreds of kilograms of LEU for the calendar year at their facility in North Carolina, and have deep integration with the DOE to produce additional quantities of uranium for additional enrichment.

  • Domestically owned and operated uranium mining companies, UEC, EU, URG, UUUU - The four major American uranium companies stand to benefit from the federal effort to expand domestic mining of uranium, not just for a commercial fleet expansion effort, but for defense purposes, as uranium mined in the United States is the only ore that can be used for use in nuclear weapons and US Navy reactors.

As we have discussed extensively in recent weeks, and as the Trump admin has picked up, there are now flashing red alerts about a shortage of electricity needed for energy-hungry data centers that power artificial intelligence and for a potential resurgence of domestic manufacturing. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump declared an energy emergency, unlocking new domestic powers to fast-track pipelines, expand power grids and save struggling coal plants.

It has been more than a decade since the US last broke ground on a large-scale nuclear power plant that came online. Most of America’s energy industry wrote off for dead the notoriously expensive projects after Southern Co., the last utility to build a new plant, went $16 billion over budget and seven years behind schedule building its Vogtle project.

Still, the AI boom has created new life for the big plants. Earlier this year, Xcel Chief Executive Officer Bob Frenzel raised the idea that the projects could come back in vogue.

It is still unclear whether the funding commitments made by Japan, announced last month as part of a trade deal framework with the US, will come to fruition. In all, Japan has agreed to invest some $332 billion for energy projects in the United States, according to the White House. That pledge, in addition to Westinghouse’s new AP1000 reactors, include a new breed of smaller nuclear reactors, as well new power plants, electric transmission projects and pipelines.

The problem, as anyone who is familiar with Japan's sovereign debt and chronic budget deficits, is that the country simply does not have this money, which likely means that while the Trump admin will use Tokyo as a smokescreen for money purposes, the actual funds - tens if not hundreds of billions of them - will come from Uncle Sam's own treasury in the coming years. 

The Energy Department didn’t immediately respond to a Bloomberg request for more details. Coe, in his remarks at the conference, said lots of details remained to be decided, but expressed confidence the nuclear reactors would come through.

“We’re trying to decide where to put them,” Coe said.

Tyler Durden Wed, 11/19/2025 - 14:45

Trump Urges Adoption Of Single Federal Standard On AI Regulation

Zero Hedge -

Trump Urges Adoption Of Single Federal Standard On AI Regulation

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump said the United States should adopt one federal standard for governing artificial intelligence (AI), saying it’s important for the United States to stay ahead of China in the race for AI dominance.

In a Truth Social post on Nov. 18, Trump said the United States needs a single AI standard rather than “a patchwork of 50 state regulatory regimes,” warning that state-level rules are stifling the country’s AI growth.

“Investment in AI is helping to make the U.S. Economy the ‘HOTTEST’ in the World, but overregulation by the States is threatening to undermine this Major Growth ‘Engine’,” he wrote.

Trump said some states tried to “embed DEI ideology into AI models,” producing what he described as “woke AI.” DEI refers to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“If we don’t, then China will easily catch us in the AI race. Put it in the NDAA, or pass a separate Bill, and nobody will ever be able to compete with America,” he stated, referring to the National Defense Authorization Act.

His statement came amid reports that House Republican leaders were planning to include language in the NDAA that would prevent states from regulating AI.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has opposed the plan, saying that stripping states of AI regulatory power would be “a subsidy to Big Tech” and would block states from “protecting against online censorship of political speech, predatory applications that target children, violations of intellectual property rights, and data center intrusions on power/water resources.”

“The rise of AI is the most significant economic and cultural shift occurring at the moment; denying the people the ability to channel these technologies in a productive way via self-government constitutes federal government overreach and lets technology companies run wild. Not acceptable,” DeSantis stated on X.

AI Dominance Pursued

Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has pursued policies aimed at securing U.S. dominance in AI development, including efforts to remove regulatory barriers on AI developers.

Story continues below advertisement

The White House’s “AI Action Plan,” released in July, states that the country seeks to build “the most powerful AI systems in the world,” and recommends that the federal government block AI-related funding to states with AI regulations.

“AI is too far important to smother in bureaucracy at this early stage, whether at the state or Federal level. The Federal government should not allow AI-related Federal funding to be directed toward states with burdensome AI regulations that waste these funds, but should also not interfere with states’ rights to pass prudent laws that are not unduly restrictive to innovation,” it stated.

In July, Trump signed an executive order targeting what he called “woke AI.” The order directs federal agencies to procure only large language models that are “truth-seeking” and politically neutral—AI models that the administration deems “do not manipulate responses in favor of ideological dogmas such as DEI.”

Tyler Durden Wed, 11/19/2025 - 14:25

Army Announces Next Steps On Janus Program For Next-Generation Nuclear Energy

Zero Hedge -

Army Announces Next Steps On Janus Program For Next-Generation Nuclear Energy

As part of next steps for the Janus Program, the Department of Army said that it has selected nine installations for consideration in which to site microreactor power plants, and the Defense Innovation Unit released an Area of Interest to solicit commercial solutions for advanced nuclear power technologies.

The Janus Program, the Army’s next-generation nuclear power program, aims to deliver secure, resilient, and reliable energy to support national defense installations and critical missions in accordance with EO 14299 Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security. In partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), the program will build commercial microreactors through a milestone-based contracting model to accelerate delivery of advanced energy solutions to the warfighters.

Janus Program Site Selection

The Army identified nine sites through comprehensive analysis and on-site assessment to identify optimal locations for initial deployment. The process evaluated mission critical installations, energy requirements and resiliency gaps, power infrastructure, environmental and technical considerations. These sites mark the first step in expanding national energy resilience through next-generation nuclear technology. Listed in alphabetical order, the selected sites are:

  1. Fort Benning
  2. Fort Bragg
  3. Fort Campbell
  4. Fort Drum
  5. Fort Hood
  6. Fort Wainwright
  7. Holston Army Ammunition Plant
  8. Joint Base Lewis-McChord
  9. Redstone Arsenal

While the final number and location for these microreactors on Army installations will be determined as part of the acquisition process, the Army is committed to maximizing the number of sites based on technical feasibility, site suitability, and available resources.

“These early site selections align with the Department of War’s goal of accelerating the pace of deploying on-site nuclear generation at our installations,” said HON Jordan Gillis, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. “Through the use of the Army’s unique nuclear regulatory authorities, we are deploying a resilient, secure, and reliable energy supply for critical defense operations and in support of the most lethal land-based fighting force in the world.”

Microreactor power plants represent a significant technological advancement, in safety, security and waste management. They are safe by design, not by intervention protocols. The Janus Program is leveraging the Department of Energy and its network of National Labs to ensure the appropriate expertise is applied to the evaluation of proposed designs, operational plans, and emergency preparedness plans.

The rollout of Janus technology will occur in stages as the Army validates lessons learned and ensures safe, efficient implementation. These projects will be self-contained and protected appropriately. All projects will comply with the applicable federal, state, and local regulations, and leverage the safety features inherent in next-generation reactor designs. We do not anticipate any significant impact to installation land use.

The Army shares a commitment to public safety and transparency with our host communities and recognizes that the communities surrounding these installations have vested interest in their operations. Specific timelines for each location will be announced in future updates, as the team cooperates with military installations, residents, and the surrounding communities to keep all stakeholders informed. The Army is committed to providing transparent information throughout the planning process and welcomes public engagement and feedback.

Defense Innovation Unit Area of Interest

The Army has executed a Memorandum of Agreement with the DIU to utilize its Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) process and Other Transaction Authority (OTA) to begin the solicitation process which will result in awarding select vendors Other Transactions (OTs) to execute on the Janus Program goals. An Area of Interest (AOI) notification has been released via DIU’s website https://www.diu.mil/work-with-us/open-solicitations to solicit industry concepts for deployment of advanced nuclear technologies. The AOI will gather technical and operational information from industry regarding deployment and use of microreactors on military installations to begin the CSO process.

"We’ve established a great partnership with the U.S. Army. DIU is ready and excited to leverage our rapid CSO process to execute the Janus Program in collaboration with our government and industry partners,” said DIU Energy Portfolio Director, Dr. Andrew Higier. “This collaboration will deliver advanced nuclear energy to Army installations, ensuring their most critical missions always have resilient and ready power."

“The Janus Program is taking its first step toward pairing specific nuclear reactor designs to specific U.S. Army installations,” said Dr. Jeff Waksman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. “We will move to bending metal as quickly as possible, leveraging the enormous amount of technical talent gathered to execute this program.”

The release of the AOI and site selection demonstrate the Janus Program’s accelerated pace for the revitalization of American industrial capacity and technological leadership. By prioritizing the optimal installations to initially support microreactor power plants and working with industry to efficiently deploy next generation nuclear capabilities on our installations, these initiatives represent a substantial investment in the future of energy security for the Army and the Nation.

Tyler Durden Wed, 11/19/2025 - 13:45

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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