Author: Author1

Assessment: After passing more than $3 trillion in spending over and above what it takes to run the country, Joe Manchin saved the Democrats the embarrassment of of another spike higher in inflation …

The White House issued a condemnation of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on Sunday after the senator said he would not vote for the Build Back Better bill, effectively killing it in its current form.

“If his comments on FOX and written statement indicate an end to that effort, they represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the President and the Senator’s colleagues in the House and Senate,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement released on Sunday after Manchin appeared on Fox News to announce his final position.

Democrats are trying to pass the bill using budget reconciliation, which requires every Senate Democrat to support the measure in order to pass.

Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance Proverbs 1:5

Manchin said he was deeply concerned about the bill, which he described as “mammoth” and warned about its effects on the United States economy through inflation and increased debt.

“I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation,” Manchin said on Fox News Sunday. “I just can’t.”

Read More @ Breitbart HERE

Stock futures were lower in early morning trading Monday following a losing week as investors continued to grapple with the resurgence of Covid cases and an upcoming shift in the Federal Reserve’s easy monetary policy.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 455 points, or 1.29%. S&P 500 futures dipped 1.39% and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 1.28%.

The major averages are coming off a negative week, with the S&P 500 declining 1.9%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped nearly 3% last week as investors dumped high-flying growth stocks on the prospect of higher interest rates, while the Dow slipped 1.7%.

Some investors are hoping for a Santa Claus rally into the year-end, which calls for positive market performance in the last five trading days of the year and first two trading days of January,

Read More @ CNBC HERE

Assessment: Venezuela, Lebanon and now Turkey are modern day examples government and central bank overreach. Revelation 6:5-6 brings hyperinflation on a global scale …

Another day, another collapse in the Turkish lira, only this time there was a twist: as the hyperinflating currency implodes, Erdogan has finally had enough of the relentless pummeling, and is starting to shut down Turkey’s markets.

Third Seal: Scarcity on Earth

^“When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

But first, let’s back up: heading into Friday, the lira accelerated its historic descent, weakening past the 16 per-dollar mark for the first time ever, as the central bank’s pledge to end a four-month cycle of interest rate cuts on Thursday failed to convince investors that inflation can be brought to heel. That was just the start however, and the currency plunge only accelerated crashing as low as 17.14 just hours later, bringing declines this week to 17%. YTD the currency has lost more than half of its value!

As a reminder, the central bank yesterday cut its benchmark one-week repo rate by a further 100 basis points to 14%, its fourth reduction since September spurred by demands from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to lower borrowing costs in the face of surging consumer prices as part of his batshit insane monetary policy Erdoganomics whose only possible outcome is the collapse of Turkey’s economy and hyperinflation. The resulting sell-off accelerated a 54% plunge in the currency so far this year as real rates fall further below zero with inflation now standing at an annual 21.3%.

Erdogan then responded to the economic pain caused by rising prices by ordering a 50% increase in the minimum wage next year, guaranteeing even more inflation as it will increase production costs that will see inflation accelerate by a further 2% to 8% next year, Erkin Isik, chief economist at QNB Finansbank, wrote in a note to clients.

In any case, once the lira plunged to 17, the central bank spent another billion or so intervening, its 5th intervention just in December. Needless to say, this intervention like all those preceding it, had a half-life of just a few minutes, and shortly after the USDTRY was trading back at just shy of all time highs.

And this is what the realization that hyperinflation has arrived and may not be good for stocks looks like.

Read More @ Zero Hedge HERE

The Fed’s hawkish statement and Powell’s modest ‘good cop’ effort left rate-hike odds all higher on the week with May 2022 now the most likely ‘liftoff’ for rates…

While stocks knee jerked higher on Wednesday, this hawkish shift ended up dragging markets lower on the week. Nasdaq was the week’s biggest loser; The Dow was the least ugly horse in the glue factory…

Defensive sectors dominated the week with Energy, Tech, and Discretionary the most hated…

Read More @ Zero Hedge HERE