DNC Official Reveals Obama, Pelosi “Did Not Want” Kamala Harris Authored by Julianna Frieman via Headline USA, Lindy Li, a member of the Democratic National Committee’s finance committee, revealed Sunday that former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opposed Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the 2024 presidential nominee. Referencing friends from Obama’s circle and her personal friendship […]

Stoli Vodka Files For Bankruptcy Amid Legal Feud With Russia The maker of iconic Stolichnaya vodka filed for bankruptcy following a crippling cyber attack in September and an ongoing legal feud with Russia over who owns the brand. As reported by the Post, the Stoli Group USA filed for Chapter 11 in US Bankruptcy Court in Dallas last week after a “malicious cyber-attack” forced the company to operate its global business manually […]

County In Washington State Cannot Block ICE Deportation Flights, Appeals Court Rules Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), A federal appeals court has ruled that an order in King County, Washington, barring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from using a Seattle-area airport to deport illegal immigrants from the country is unlawful, affirming a lower court’s summary judgment and clearing the way […]

Mysterious ‘Car-Sized Drones’ Over New Jersey Prompt FBI Investigation Several weeks of mysterious drone swarms over the skies of one New Jersey county near the military research and manufacturing facility Picatinny Arsenal have sparked concerns among residents and prompted an FBI investigation.   “It’s kind of unsettling,” Mike Walsh, a Morris County resident who has spotted the drones on numerous occasions, told local media […]

Warning Shot: China Bans Exports Of Gallium, Germanium To US As Tit-For-Tat Chip War Escalates The Biden administration’s new restrictions on China’s semiconductor industry have triggered a tit-for-tat response from Beijing, which announced an export ban on gallium, germanium, antimony, and other critical minerals with potential military applications to the US.  Bloomberg reports that the Chinese Commerce Ministry announced the […]

‘Then They Fight You…’ – Bitcoin & The US’ Fiscal Crossroads Authored Avik Roy via BitcoinMagazine.com, In this chapter from The Satoshi Papers, Avik Roy explores the U.S. government’s looming fiscal crisis and presents three potential responses from the United States: restriction, paralysis, or assimilation. Could Bitcoin emerge as a solution—or spark further conflict? Introduction Scholars dispute whether it was […]

Tesla’s China Sales Fall 4.3% In November As BYD Sales Surge Just hours after Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen McCormick ruled against Elon Musk’s record (but “deeply flawed” according to her) $56 billion performance-based compensation package, Tesla reported sales numbers out of China that didn’t offer any respite for its stock. According to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), Tesla’s sales of China-made […]

Leverage And Speculation Are At Extremes Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, Financial markets often move in cycles where enthusiasm drives prices higher, sometimes far beyond what fundamentals justify. As discussed in last week’s #BullBearReport, leverage and speculation are at the heart of many such cycles. These two powerful forces support the amplification of gains during upswings but can accelerate […]

South Korea Ends Shortest Martial Law In History Watch Live:  AP News:  Reuters: *   *   *  Update (1115ET):  After the South Korean parliament rejected the short-lived martial law declared by President Yoon Suk Yeol, protests erupted in the streets of Seoul outside government buildings. NEW: Protests are breaking out in South Korea with citizens calling for the arrest of President Yoon Suk Yeol. “Arrest Yoon Suk […]

Lebanon Ceasefire On Brink Of Collapse As Tit-For-Tat Fire Intensifies The Lebanon ceasefire which went into effect on November 27 is now hanging by a thread, amid an increasing intensity of of tit-for-tat exchanges of gunfire between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah. In response to reports of Israeli fire, Hezbollah on Monday fired back as a “warning” shot into northern Israel, causing no casualties, according to […]

Trump Team Refutes Reports Claiming He Will Immediately Discharge Transgender Military Troops Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), President-elect Donald Trump’s team refuted anonymously sourced reports claiming that he would immediately discharge all transgender-identifying people from the military upon taking office. President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Nov. 13, 2024. Saul Loeb/AFP via […]

Job Opening Unexpectedly Surge With Biggest Increase in 14 Months; Quits Also Soar After last month’s catastrophic JOLTS report, which was a disaster across the board, and which was meant to give the Fed a green light to cut rates more after Biden won the election (which he didn’t, but the Fed still had to cut even if Trump is now in control), some speculated that Biden’s Department of Labor will do everything in its power to […]

WallerISMs By Benjamin Picton, Senior Macro Strategist at Rabobank WallerISMs Political instability in France again takes center stage today as markets continue to price in the seemingly inevitable collapse of Michel Barnier’s government. Marine Le Pen’s RN party vowed to side with left-wing parties to pass a vote of no confidence in Barnier’s administration this week after the Prime Minister used constitutional powers to […]

NVDA Doubles AAPL, Trump Blows Up The Dollar, & The End Of OPEC: Saxo’s Outrageous Predictions For 2025 It’s that time of year again… Saxo’s Outrageous Predictions are not exactly news and not exactly real – at least not yet. And while they don’t know which stories will drive the global economy in the coming year, their 2025 predictions, from Nvidia trouncing its Mag 7 peers to the fall of OPEC, from a bold bet on […]

California Bill Would Prioritize Descendants Of Slaves In University Admissions Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), A California lawmaker introduced a bill on Monday that would give the descendants of slaves priority admissions into the University of California and California State University schools, the state’s two public university systems. A student walks toward Royce Hall on the campus of […]

Cyber Weekend Sales Rise 9% As Cyber Monday Fades Into Oblivion Cyber Weekend e-commerce sales grew 9% in the US this year, up from 6% in 2023, according to data from Salesforce. The growth took place even as the average discount in the US shrank by 2% from last year, to 28%. Cyber Weekend, the Saturday and Sunday sandwiched between Black Friday, which is the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, and Cyber Monday, have […]

BBC Includes Male ‘Trans Woman’ On Top 100 Women List Via dailysceptic.org, The BBC has included a male ‘trans woman’ Colombian scientist in its annual list of 100 inspiring women, just days after sparking controversy over its choice for women’s footballer of the year. The Telegraph has the story: Every year, the broadcaster compiles a list of women who have achieved great things in public life. Its nominees include […]

The End Of Fake News? MSNBC Hits New Low In Ratings Authored by Luis Cornelio via Headline USA, The leftist “news” channel MSNBC is facing a ratings crisis, with some of its advertiser-coveted viewership dropping to a two-decade low, according to Nielsen data reviewed by Fox News.  During the week of Nov. 6, MSNBC averaged just 38,000 viewers among adults 25-54, its lowest-rated non-holiday weekday since July 19, 2004. […]

Futures Gain, S&P On Pace For 55th Record Closing High Of 2024 US equity futures are flat as the yield curve sees slight steepening; for once, the US is not benefiting from the risk-on rally seen in EU/APAC. As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures are fractionally in the green reversing earlier losses as traders await a busy line-up of Fed speakers and data releases after the index notched its 54th closing high of the year on Monday; […]

Telecoms Cable Between Sweden & Finland Damaged In Two Separate Places  A land-based fiber-optics cable running across the border between Sweden and Finland was damaged in two separate locations on Monday. This incident comes weeks after EU investigators probed a Chinese-flagged vessel suspected of sabotaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea.  Internet provider Global Connect told AP News that the telecommunications […]

“Already Pretty Far Down The Line”: The Container Store Could File For Bankruptcy As Soon As Next Year As the retail apocalypse that started with Amazon and e-commerce continues, the latest victim is The Container Store. The retail giant could file for bankruptcy as soon as next year, according to the New York Post, who said the retailer is blaming its recent descent on “a weak housing market and inflated prices” hurting sales. […]

As Many As 200,000 Ukrainian Soldiers Have Deserted: Lawmaker Authored by Kyle Anzalone via The Libertarian Institute, Ukrainian soldiers refusing to report for duty or walking away from their front-line positions are becoming an increasing problem for Kiev. One Ukrainian lawmaker said that there have been as many as 200,000 desertions.  Ukrainian officials and soldiers told the AP that “Facing every imaginable shortage, tens […]

These Are The Fastest-Growing European Economies In 2024 European countries have faced significant challenges recently, including shrinking business activity and the euro hitting its lowest level against the dollar since 2022. Additionally, the threat of potential tariffs from a Donald Trump presidency in the U.S. has further weighed on the region. Despite these headwinds, some nations have demonstrated robust economic growth in […]

Panama Delists 6 Flagged Ships Over UK Russia Sanctions By Alex Kimani of OilPrice.com Panama said it will cancel the registration of six ships sailing under its flag after they were sanctioned by the UK last week. The delisting comes after Panama’s maritime authority in October pledged to penalize vessels sanctioned by the U.S., European Union, UK and United Nations. “Safeguarding the prestige of our flag is a top priority […]

Visualizing Ukraine’s Collapsing Front Lines Amid The Steady Russian Onslaught  As we detailed earlier, the White House is currently overseeing a ‘massive surge’ in arms to Ukraine with just 50 days left before President-elect Trump enters office. The US is also this week announcing $725 million in more aid, which is the latest defense package for Ukraine drawn directly from US inventories. It will include a second shipment of […]