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JPM Joins “Overheating” Bandwagon: Sees 6.4% GDP As Stimulus Forecast Doubles To $1.7TN

Zero Hedge” Just a week after Goldman unleashed a wave of worry about tighter financial conditions with its revised forecast boosting 2021 and 2022 GDP up by 0.2% each year, to 6.8% and 4.5%respectively, as a result of a far bigger stimulus than its had originally expected ($1.5 trillion vs $1.1 trillion originally), which set the US economy directly on collision course with overheating (and prompted Goldman to pull forward its first rate hike estimate to H1 2022), other banks have started jumping on the overheating bandwagon, and today JPMorgan became the latest bank to nearly double its Covid stimulus forecast, which led the bank to aggressively boost its 2021 and 2022 GDP estimates as well.

In a note to clients, JPM’s chief economist Michael Feroli made the following forecast revisions:

  • We now look for a $1.7 trillion fiscal stimulus package (up from $900 billion) to be passed in March
  • Even before that kicks in, growth appears to be on firmer footing at the start of the year
  • All told we now expect 6.4% (4Q/4Q) GDP growth this year and 2.8% next year
  • We see the labor market getting back to full employment, or around 4% unemployment, by 2Q22…
  • …and expect core PCE inflation to reach 2.0% by 4Q22, with balanced risks around the outlook
  • While the outlooks for growth and inflation are moving up, Fed rhetoric appears to be getting more dovish Read More

Facebook’s Ban on News in Australia Is Waking People Up

PJ Media: Facebook has gone nuclear in its long-running battle with the Australian government over news content. Australia is considering legislation that would require Facebook to pay to link to Australian news stories. In response, Facebook has announced a wide-ranging ban on users linking Australian news content.

The ban means that Facebook users in Australia can no longer make posts that link to news articles—either in the Australian media or internationally. Meanwhile, users outside of Australia can’t post links to Australian news sources. The ban has already gone into effect, as I discovered when I tried to post a link to The Sydney Morning Herald on Facebook:…

In a blog post, Facebook argued that this proposal “fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers who use it to share news content.” Facebook argues news sites benefit from the traffic Facebook sends them far more than Facebook benefits by linking to news sites. Facebook says that last year it sent 5.1 billion free referrals to Australian publishers—traffic the company estimates is worth AU$407 million ($315 million).

It’s become a tug-of-war between the giants. Naturally, as Bugs Bunny famously said, this means war. ‘”We will not be intimidated’: [Australian] PM takes Facebook fight to India and the world,” bannered the Sydney Morning Herald. Joe Biden is now watching two pillars of the China-containment quad alliance lock horns with his own social media allies. Read More

Homeowners hit with electric bills as high as $17K amid Texas winter storm

New York Post:

(Texas wind turbine)

Texans say energy companies are on a power trip.

Electric bills in the Lone Star State skyrocketed to as high as $17,000 per month after a historic storm and power outage sparked a high demand for heat, according to reports Friday.

Dallas-area resident Ty Williams was hit with sticker shock when his monthly bill soared from $600 last month to nearly $17,000 so far this  month, according to the local station WFAA.

“How in the world can anyone pay that? I mean you go from a couple hundred dollars a month…there’s absolutely no way‚ it makes no sense,” Williams, who said he received the bill from the energy firm Griddy.

The price of power in Texas spiked from $50 to $9,000 per Megawatt in some cases due to the supply and demand disaster, according to the station. Read More

Bitcoin hits $1 trillion in market value as cryptocurrency surge continues

CNBC: Bitcoin’s market value surpassed $1 trillion on Friday, according to Coindesk.

The digital currency was trading at just under $54,000 per coin Friday as it hit the new level, and rose above $55,000 later in the session for a daily gain of more than 6%, according to Coin Metrics. The price of bitcoin has now gained about 360% over the past six months. Before the recent surge, the digital asset has never traded above $20,000.

Bitcoin traded at around $10,000 per coin a year ago.

The move has been fueled in part by increased adoption of bitcoin by major investors and companies. The oldest bank in the United States, the Bank of New York Mellon, announced earlier this month that it was moving into the space. Elon Musk’s Tesla converted some of its balance sheet cash into bitcoin earlier this year and said it would start accepting the digital tokens as payment.

PA Ministry of Religious Affairs top dog: Jews ‘descendants of the apes and pigs’

Jihad Watch: Al-Ilah is no “extremist.”

“And when we made a covenant with you and caused the mountain to tower above you, hold fast to what we have given you, and remember what is in it, so that you may fear Allah. Then, even after that, you turned away, and if it had not been for the grace of Allah and his mercy, you would have been among the losers. And you know about those among you who broke the Sabbath, how we said to them, Be apes, despised and hated.” (Qur’an 2:63-5)

“Say, O people of the book, do you blame us for anything other than the fact that we believe in Allah and in what is revealed to us and what was revealed previously, and because most of you are transgressors? Shall I tell you of a worse case than theirs for retribution with Allah? He whom Allah has cursed, on whom his wrath has fallen, and of whose sort, Allah has turned some into apes and pigs, and slave of taghut. Such people are in a worse condition and farther astray from the sound path.” (Qur’an 5:59-60)

“So when they took pride in what they had been forbidden, we said to them, Be apes, despised and hated.” (Qur’an 7:166)

Good thing Biden’s handlers are going to start sending these good people billions of taxpayer dollars, eh?

Read More

Israel announces ‘technological leap forward’ in new Arrow interceptor

Arutz Sheva: Israel said on Thursday it is developing a new ballistic missile shield, the Arrow-4, with the United States, another layer in a defensive system built with an eye towards Iran.

Israel’s Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 interceptors are already operational as part of a multi-layered system to destroy incoming missiles in the atmosphere and in space.

“The development of Arrow-4 together with our American partners will result in a technological and operational leap forward, preparing us for the future battlefield and evolving threats in the Middle East and beyond,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement.

Israeli leaders have described Iran’s ballistic missile program as a threat to Israel and the world. Iran says its missile development is defensive and aimed at deterring attacks. Read More

US officially rejoins Paris Climate Accord

New York Post: The US officially rejoined the Paris Climate Accord on Friday — almost a month after President Biden declared that the US again accepted the agreement’s terms.

Former President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the accord. He said it was ineffective because it allows countries to voluntarily restrain their own pollution and seeks to hold the US and other industrialized countries to a higher standard.

Although Trump said in 2017 the US was pulling out, the move was largely symbolic and it didn’t actually happen until last year following a one-year notification period to the United Nations.

UN officials cheered the return of the US — even though Biden’s climate team, led by John Kerry, is angling to help craft a more ambitious pact at a meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, in November. Read More

Iran Snubs Biden Overture For Nuclear Talks: “LIFT Sanctions, We WILL Respond”

Zero Hedge: Iran has snubbed the White House’s signaling on Thursday that it’s ready to sit down for EU-sponsored talks toward restoring the 2015 nuclear deal. For the first time in the Biden administration a senior US official said “We are ready to show up if such a meeting were to take place” – in what’s clearly an invitation for Iran to signal the same. But Tehran has slapped it down, sticking with its line that Washington must begin dialing back sanctions first.

Bloomberg reports on the latest Friday after a flurry of statements out of the US administration which appeared to belatedly extend an open hand: “Iran said the U.S. must first return to the 2015 nuclear deal and lift sanctions if it wants talks with the Islamic Republic, appearing to snub an effort by the Biden administration to begin direct discussions before officially rejoining the accord.”

Iran’s foreign ministry then took the opportunity to remind the world that there was a perfectly good nuclear deal in place to which Iran was in full compliance but that “Trump left the room and tried to blow it up” – in reference to the US pulling out of the deal in May 2018. Read More

Vatican says Employees who Refuse Covid-19 Vaccine Could Lose their Jobs

Infowars: The Vatican has effectively made Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for its employees, warning those who decline to receive the shot that they could face dismissal.

In a seven-page decree, Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, head of the commission governing Vatican City State, said that getting the jab was “the responsible choice” and that those who refuse to do so could risk termination. The guideline points to a 2011 law which stipulates that employees who refuse “preventive measures” could be disciplined. Read More

 

Treasury Secretary Yellen Pushes For More Stimulus

CNBC: Yellen told CNBC Thursday after the bell that more stimulus is necessary even as some economic data suggested a swift rebound. She added a $1.9 trillion stimulus deal could help the U.S. get back to full employment in a year.

“We think it’s very important to have a big package [that] addresses the pain this has caused – 15 million Americans behind on their rent, 24 million adults and 12 million children who don’t have enough to eat, small businesses failing,” Yellen told CNBC’s Sara Eisen during a “Closing Bell” interview.

“I think the price of doing too little is much higher than the price of doing something big. We think that the benefits will far outweigh the costs in the longer run,” she added. Read More