The Fog Of Oil

Authored by Matthew Piepenburg via VonGreyerz.gold,

War, oil and gold are making headlines of late for overlapping and independent reasons. Below, we avoid the guesswork, finger-pointing or sensationalism attendant to current headlines concerning Iran and stick to a theme which offers some clarity, namely the interplay of oil and gold.

The Fundamentals Stay the Same

For years, of course, we have tracked the fundamental drivers which impact the gold price (from DXY debates, inflation signals, and de-dollarization headlines to COMEX outflows).

All of these complex signals and themes ultimately boil down to a simple realization: Gold rises as debt-trapped nations debase their currencies to monetize their increasingly unloved IOUs.

This is pure fundamentalist thinking, and it works. Gold’s direction is easy, because the fall of paper currencies is now obvious.

In short, real money (gold and silver) historically gets the last say over paper money (USD), paper metals (COMEX) and paper promises (USTs).

Or stated even more simply: Rock openly beats paper.

Gold, as a Tier-1 preservation asset, is thus not a trade to enter or exit; it’s a leading strategic reserve asset, FX protagonist and superior store of value to be held, not speculated. One saves in precious metals and spends in fiat.

Fundamentals such as these make a now dispositive case for the long-term holding of gold.

Oil Headlines, Gold Tailwinds

Notwithstanding such fundamentals of gold ownership and future direction, there are nevertheless additional reasons, and tailwinds, to gold ownership, including: Oil.

The interplay between oil and the dollar, oil and gold, and oil and war are themes we have addressed numerous times in prior articles and years.

This is because, having long ago understood just how much gold matters, we have not forgotten that oil matters too…

No Coincidences

As the U.S. now finds itself once again in a military conflict with a major oil producer like Iran (think back as well to Libya, Iraq, or Venezuela), do any of us really think oil is not a central character to this current global plot twist?

I, of course, am not here to pick winners or losers, identify good actors from bad actors, or make military or political predictions in a fog of war, politics, media pundits and armchair military strategists.

Such matters are for others to opine upon.

But as market participants, we can look less to FOX news or the latest bombing strikes and look objectively at those flows, signals and correlations which we can use to our advantage.

By this, I am referring specifically to the data on money flows and the rhyming (instructive) history of gold’s movements relative to oil shocks, oil wars and oil price patterns.

Why?

Again, because in a modern, energy-centric world, oil matters. It really matters.

Oil & War

Wars, for example, are not only fought over oil, they end over oil—at least for those who have the least of it.

One of Japan’s primary motives behind its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, for example, was tied to protecting oil channels in the far east after a pre-December 7th America cut its critical oil imports.

And as for all the many reasons Germany lost that same war, much of it had to do with its oil reserves falling from 180,000 tons to 11,000 tons by 1945. Just ask Rommel’s tank commanders or any pilot flying for the Luftwaffe what oil meant to their plans…

Gold & Oil Supply Shocks

But not only does oil matter pre and post wars, its direct tie to gold pricing is equally confirmed by history, namely a history of oil supply shocks.

Many, for example, can remember OPEC’s 1973 oil embargo, which sent gold from $90 to $180 in 12 months. Six years later, during the 1979 revolution in Iran, the subsequent supply shock in oil took gold from $220 to $850 in a similar time frame.

Fast forward to the 1991 Gulf War, and gold rose by 10% in just weeks. Decades later, at the 2022 outbreak of war in the Ukraine, oil hit 130 and gold immediately broke a key, $2050 resistance line.

See any signals here? Any patterns?

In other words: Oil shocks send gold higher.

Current Headlines

What happens today or tomorrow in this latest conflict with Iran is beyond my crystal ball.

What we do know, however, is that 1/5 of the world’s oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, over which Iran can cause obvious problems on shipping – i.e. a “supply shock.”

This might explain why Lloyd’s of London cancelled its maritime insurance for this region, forcing the UK government to do the insuring itself.

An Honest Lighthouse

For gold investors who have always known gold’s longer-term price direction and larger, evolving and historical role as a monetary metal in a time of changing monetary order, the case for gold remains as obvious today as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow.

What we are now tracking as to gold’s behavior with oil headlines, markets and potential supply shocks simply adds greater dimension (and likely tail winds) to an asset already moving secularly forward on its own fundamental properties and merits.

This direction is entirely due to the embarrassing lack of merit for paper dollars and unloved sovereign IOUs, themes we’ve been addressing for years.

As we stand today in the fog of yet another war whose ripple effects and currents invite the usual and seemingly endless commentary and debate, there is some consolation in having at least one honest and golden lighthouse upon which can rely to navigate today’s noise and preserve our wealth into an uncertain tomorrow.

Tyler Durden Fri, 03/06/2026 - 16:20

Nearly 20,000 Americans Have Safely Returned Home From The Mid-East: State Dept

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Nearly 20,000 U.S. citizens have returned safely from the Middle East since Feb. 28, when the Iran conflict broke out, Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary at the Bureau of Global Public Affairs, said in a March 5 statement.

Smoke rises from a reported Iranian strike in the industrial district of Doha, Qatar, on March 1, 2026. Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images

“These figures do not include the many Americans who have safely relocated to other countries or those who have departed the Middle East but are still in transit back to the United States,” Johnson said. “At the direction of Secretary [Marco] Rubio, Department of State charter flight and ground transportation operations are underway and will continue to ramp up with additional flights and ground transports taking place today.”

“Through the State Department’s 24/7 Task Force, we have assisted over 10,000 Americans abroad, including offering security guidance and travel assistance. The State Department will continue to actively assist any American citizen abroad, who wishes to depart the Middle East, to do so.”

Johnson highlighted that the department has set up an online Crisis Intake form for Americans residing in Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Israel.

U.S. citizens completing the form will receive information about upcoming ground transportation and charter aviation options. Americans in the Middle East can contact the State Department at +1-202-501-4444 for assistance.

In a March 5 post on X, the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs said that in the UAE, limited commercial flights are currently operating out of international airports in the country.

“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport unless they hold a confirmed ticket and have been explicitly advised by their airline to do so. There are overland routes to Oman and Saudi Arabia where commercial options to depart the region are operating, but there are reports of congestion,” the bureau said.

In Qatar, the airspace and maritime routes remain closed, but the Salwa land border crossing into Saudi Arabia is currently open, the bureau said.

In Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, the Ben Gurion Airport was scheduled to reopen on March 5 for limited inbound flights, according to a post on X by the agency.

However, “we have no information yet on when outbound flights may become available,” it said. “There are overland routes to Taba, Egypt, where commercial options to depart the region are operating. Americans should strongly consider departing on one of these overland routes if they believe it is safe to do so.”

Americans in Oman should consider leaving as some flights are departing from the nation’s international airports, the bureau said.

According to data from aviation analytics company Cirium, almost 25,000 of the approximately 44,000 flights scheduled to fly in and out of the Middle East between Saturday and Thursday have been canceled.

Firepower to ‘Surge Dramatically’

The Iran conflict, now in its sixth day on Thursday, began after U.S. and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes against Tehran on Feb. 28.

Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, said Thursday that strikes on the Iranian Navy have “intensified.”

U.S. forces have, to date, sunk more than 30 of Iran’s ships, including “an Iranian drone carrier ship roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier,” Cooper said.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Thursday that firepower over Iran was about to “surge dramatically.”

“When we say more to come, it’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities,” Hegseth said. “And it’s more bomber pulses more frequently.”

In an update on the war, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Israeli army’s chief of the General Staff, said 60 percent of Iran’s missile launchers have been taken out, with 40 percent remaining intact. In addition, 80 percent of Tehran’s air defenses have also been neutralized.

“The threat has not yet been removed. Every missile is lethal and poses a danger,” Zamir said. “We are now moving to the next phase of the operation. In this phase, we will further dismantle the regime and its military capabilities. We have additional surprises ahead that I do not intend to disclose.”

On Thursday, a war powers resolution against Operation Epic Fury failed to pass the House by a vote of 212-219. The resolution aimed to impose guardrails on the United States’ ongoing military operations in Iran. On March 4, the measure failed to pass in the Senate.

After the House vote, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), speaker of the House, said the United States was conducting a “limited operation” in Iran that is “limited in scope and duration.”

“We are not at war. We have no intention of being at war,” Johnson said, adding that the U.S. mission against Iran was “nearly accomplished.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Fri, 03/06/2026 - 14:40

ASP Isotopes Signs MOU With Major Nuclear Operator

ASP Isotopes announced Thursday that its Quantum Leap Energy (QLE) subsidiary has entered “a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a large publicly traded U.S. energy company that operates nuclear power stations”.

Under the agreement, the utility will evaluate options to provide support and potential financing for QLE’s planned U.S. facilities focused on High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU), LEU+, uranium conversion and deconversion services. Discussions could also lead to long-term enriched uranium supply contracts, according to the press release. QLE’s CEO described the move as an important validation of the need for reliable domestic fuel sources ahead of the 2028 Russian uranium import ban.

We’ve been tracking ASPI’s growth closely. We spotlighted them as “The Next Nuclear Story Stock” last year after their Silicon-28 supply deal and U.S. radiopharmacy acquisition. November brought news of the QLE private placement backed by investors linked to Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. December even covered the regulatory green light for the Renergen acquisition in South Africa. We’ve also detailed the looming HALEU crunch and the 2028 ban in recent fuel-chain reports.

ASP Isotopes Jumps After Investment By Trump's Boys https://t.co/RJkYtG3MD1

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 7, 2025

QLE’s Texas footprint keeps expanding. The company established their global headquarters in Austin, advanced its joint-venture plans with Fermi America (co-founded by former Energy Secretary Rick Perry) for a HALEU research and production site at the 11 GW HyperGrid campus near Pantex, and continues working with TerraPower and South Africa’s NESCA. With a former Constellation Energy executive on the board (Ralph Hunter) and Vistra already scaling its Texas nuclear fleet for AI power demand, it's worth speculating that this partnership is in coordination with CEG or VST. 

We also just covered TerraPower receiving the first NRC construction permit for a commercial-scale advanced reactor in nearly a decade. The company also signed a major agreement with Meta in January for up to eight Natrium units. These milestones directly relate to QLE’s position through their 2025 agreements, under which TerraPower is providing financing for QLE’s planned HALEU enrichment facility in South Africa and committing to long-term offtake.

Despite the growing list of partnerships, QLE has yet to enrich any uranium or break ground on any facilities for research or commercial development in the US. The pieces are falling into place for a domestic nuclear fuel renaissance, but the sector still needs actual production, not just paper commitments.

Tyler Durden Fri, 03/06/2026 - 14:20

Did Trump Force China's Hand? Beijing Nears 500-Jet Boeing Deal Ahead Of Xi Summit

Boeing shares moved higher in late-afternoon trading in New York after Bloomberg News reported that the planemaker may be nearing one of the largest sales in its history, potentially to be unveiled during President Trump's trip to China later this month.

People familiar with the potential Boeing-China jet deal said it could be announced during President Trump's trip to Beijing from March 31 to April 2. They said the deal includes a 500-plane order for 737 Max jets, with additional talks covering approximately 100 widebody aircraft, including 787 Dreamliners and 777Xs.

Boeing aircraft have long been at the center of US-China trade talks, as well as tit-for-tat trade disputes. If the deal materializes, it would mark one of Boeing's biggest sales ever and end years of a Chinese jet sales drought.

Bloomberg offered a caveat:

There's a chance that the talks could reach an impasse and a deal not be completed, they cautioned. The nation's leaders were closing in on a similar agreement last year and in 2023. The two sides are still negotiating the specifics of the announcement, with the US pushing for a firm commitment and not just a headline-grabbing dollar value, said one of the people.

Shares of Boeing jumped about 2% on the news.

Bloomberg noted that Boeing declined to comment, while China's Ministry of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment. We caution that the report relies on unnamed sources.

Our view is that a headline like this appears highly unusual (the scale of the order suggest more than simply a gesture of goodwill), particularly as Trump has moved to squeeze Beijing's access to cheap crude from Venezuela and Iran.

Even with the risk of an energy shock, Beijing now appears to be on the verge of buying a record number of U.S. commercial jets, which suggests Trump may have gained some leverage (perhaps through his two-month crusade with America's military) ahead of the planned Trump-Xi meeting later this month.

Tyler Durden Fri, 03/06/2026 - 14:10

It Was All A Mirage: 2.5 Million Native-Born US Workers Were Just Revised Away

One of Donald Trump's core pre-election promises (along with cracking down on immigration and no more foreign wars) was to boost employment for local-born Americans at the expense of the record employment for foreign-born, mostly illegal, workers. And for a while it worked: four months ago, when discussing the September jobs report, we said that while the broader report was generally mixed, it was "indisputably strong when it comes to one thing: the rotation from foreign born workers to domestic ones. To wit: in September, the number of native-born workers surged by 676K (after the August drop of 561K), while foreign-born workers dropped by 70K."

The data showed that since Trump entered the White House "the number of foreign born workers has slumped from a record 33.7 million in March 2025 to 32.1 million, a drop of $1.6 million. This has been offset by a slow but consistent increase in native-born workers which had been unchanged for six years since 2019 until the start of 2025, at which point it started to rise again, and has increased from 131.2 million in March 2025 to a new record high of 133.2 million in September."

Why does this matter? Because today's job report, which was undeniably dismal and sparked added to the sharp selloff across the market, also updated the working age population calculations to reflect the latest US Census population count for 2025. The new controls led to a big change in the January estimate of various employment metrics. They

• Lowered the working-age population by 231k;
• Reduced the labor force by 1,417k;
• Cut the employment level by around 1,432k;
• Lowered the labor-force participation rate by 0.46 percentage point and the employment-to-population ratio by 0.47 ppt.

But perhaps the most important revision is that the entire boom in native-born employment was fake news: a statistical mirage spawned by some overzealous BLS staffer's excel model. 

Presenting exhibit A: the monthly change in native and foreign-born workers. It shows that while the number of native-born workers in February did post a solid rise of 877K - using the revised data - this was only after the January data was revised comprehensively to wipe out a record 2.5 million (exactly) native born workers.

And here is what it looks like over the longer-term: at just under 131 million, the number of native born workers is back to where it was in 2019.

Which means that what some consider the greatest accomplishment of the Trump admin was nothing more than statistical fake news. The silver lining: at least there is the Iran war to keep everyone distracted. 

 

Tyler Durden Fri, 03/06/2026 - 13:40

"Most Dangerous Geopolitical Blitz Since Bretton Woods": Trump Says Cuba's Communist Regime Is Next To Fall

"We've got plenty of time, but Cuba's ready," President Trump told CNN in an interview on Friday morning. The president told CNN reporter Dana Bash that Havana will "fall pretty soon" and that he will "place Marco over there." 

2/7 ON CUBA: President Trump said, "Cuba is gonna fall pretty soon." He said he's going to "put Marco over there" and "we've got plenty of time, but Cuba's ready."

— Dana Bash (@DanaBashCNN) March 6, 2026

The Trump administration has communicated for months about toppling the Communist regime in Havana as power blackouts across the Caribbean island nation worsen this week. 

Trump's fuel blockade on Cuba has led some analysts to warn that the Cuban government will exhaust all fuel reserves by mid- to late March, bringing the island into complete paralysis.

Marco Rubio looking forward to what March brings with Cuba. pic.twitter.com/tBYM7pyKU7

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) March 1, 2026

It's clear that Trump has tasked Secretary of State Marco Rubio with leading the talks on a "friendly" takeover of the island. 

"They want to make a deal so badly, you have no idea," Trump said at the White House on Thursday.  

Making sense of the world seemingly in a fiery mess is Graham Cooke, founder of Brava (brava.xyz), an automated stablecoin yield platform, who wrote on X, "Trump is running the most dangerous geopolitical blitz since Bretton Woods. And the endgame isn't a trade war."

Cooke continued, "There's a theory circulating that Trump is running a far more ambitious play -- one designed to collapse BRICS, force China's hand, and lock in dollar dominance for decades." 

Trump is running the most dangerous geopolitical blitz since Bretton Woods.

And the endgame isn't a trade war.

There's a theory circulating that Trump is running a far more ambitious play -- one designed to collapse BRICS, force China's hand, and lock in dollar dominance for… pic.twitter.com/Z5IrGSrfzZ

— GC Cooke (@Gccooke) March 5, 2026

Over the last two months, the Trump administration has increased pressure on Beijing. The timeline is very notable: Maduro's removal effectively shut Venezuelan crude flows to China; the U.S. then tightened Cuba's fuel position to position the island towards collapse to rid the communists from Havana; Panama eliminated Chinese-linked ports at the canal; and now, nearly a week into Trump's Operation Epic Fury against Iran, China's access to cheap Iranian crude and gas has been severed. All of this comes before Trump heads to China later this month, holding multiple new leverage cards in one absolutely insane chess game to play in the midterm election cycle. 

Tyler Durden Fri, 03/06/2026 - 13:20

Virginia Democrats Move To Require Teaching Jan. 6th As An "Insurrection"

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

Virginia Democrats are moving to require teachers to tell students that Jan. 6th was an “insurrection” and effectively bar them from referencing “peaceful protests” or election irregularities. The characterization of the riot as an insurrection is historically and legally false. However, any parents who want to send their children to Virginia public schools would have to accept this form of indoctrination as part of their children’s education.

In the last election, Democrats campaigned as moderates, including Abigail Spanberger.

Once in control of the Governor’s mansion and the legislature, however, they have moved quickly to the far left in a flurry of measures. Democratic legislators just voted themselves almost a 300% increase in salaries.  They will need it. They are moving to increase taxes on ride shares, concerts, counseling, leaf blowers, Amazon deliveries, DoorDash, Uber Eats, ammunition, and other areas.

However, HB 333, drafted by Del. Dan I. Helmer of Fairfax, raises serious concerns over academic freedom and free speech.

The summary of the bill mandates “a program of instruction on or relating to the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the United States Capitol” and further:

“prohibits any such program of instruction, any accompanying curriculum or instructional materials, or any instruction provided by a teacher as a part of such program of instruction from (i) describing, portraying, or presenting as credible a description or portrayal of the actions precipitating or involved in the January 6, 2021, insurrection as peaceful protest or (ii) stating, suggesting, or presenting as credible a statement or suggestion that there was extensive election fraud that could have changed or actually changed the results of the 2020 presidential election. The bill requires any such program of instruction, any accompanying curriculum or instructional materials, or any instruction provided by a teacher as a part of such program of instruction to describe the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the United States Capitol as an unprecedented, violent attack on U.S. democratic institutions, infrastructure, and representatives for the purpose of overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election.”

Soon after Jan. 6th, I condemned the riot but rejected the argument that this was an insurrection. However, it soon became part of an orthodoxy in politics and academia despite the fact that the public rejected it. As former House Speaker Pelosi declared, “It is essential that we preserve the narrative of January 6th.”

Yet, “insurrection” and “sedition” are legal terms. They have a meaning. The FBI investigated thousands after January 6th and charged hundreds. Not one was charged with insurrection or conspiracy to overthrow the country. The vast majority are charged with relatively minor offenses of trespass or unlawful entry or property damage- the type of charges that are common in protests and riots.

Indeed, the Supreme Court effectively reduced many of the charges to mere trespass in later litigation, rejecting obstruction claims.

Faced with a collapsing historical and legal narrative, Democrats are now moving to simply indoctrinate students that this was an “insurrection.”

Notably, Helmer is running again for Congress after Democrats, with the support of Gov. Spanberger, moved to reduce Republicans in the state (which is divided down the middle between the parties) to just one of eleven districts through gerrymandering.

Helmer is running in one of the most notorious new districts, called the “lobster” or the “scorpion,” because it runs from the Potomac River in Arlington southwestward, then splits into two “claws” toward the West Virginia line near Rawley Springs and Goochland and Powhatan.

In my book, Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution, I discuss the radicalization of the American left. While many on the left advocate censoring “disinformation,” they are far less circumspect in promulgating their own disinformation.

Likewise, where Democrats have objected to the pressure put on universities for greater diversity of viewpoints as an attack on academic freedom, these Democrats see no problem in mandating the teaching of positions that are demonstrably false.

Here, Rep. Helmer and other Democrats are mandating the teaching of a false narrative to children rather than simply relying on public debate. The reason is that they are losing the debate over the characterization of this riot as an actual insurrection.

This, and other moves on the left, will only accelerate the exodus of families from public education. Notably, Fairfax County (which Helmer represents) has seen a sharp fall in enrollments in recent years.

Tyler Durden Fri, 03/06/2026 - 13:00

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.

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

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.