Will the New Fed Get Rid of All its Mortgage-Backed Securities? That Seems to be the Plan

Wolf Richter wolfstreet.com, http://www.amazon.com/author/wolfrichter The Fed shouldn’t be getting into “allocating credit.” The new Fed has trouble taking shape. The seven-member Board of Governors, which is at the core of the policy setting FOMC, has four vacant slots. President Trump’s nominee for one of those slots, Marvin Goodfriend, has been hung up in the Senate … Read more

Argentina’s Crisis Gets Kicked Down the Road, but at What Cost?

Wolf Richter wolfstreet.com, http://www.amazon.com/author/wolfrichter The peso drops again, inflation surges, nothing is fixed. Argentina was able to refinance about $26 billion in maturing peso-denominated short-term government debt, called Lebacs, but at a huge cost, after asking the IMF for a bailout loan – a “high access stand-by arrangement” that will come with creditor-imposed conditions – … Read more

EU Migration Chief Say Euopre Will Continue to Take Refugees “For Decades to Come”

by Martin Armstrong The EU migration chief, Dimitris Avramopoulos, has demonstrated that politicians are just so out of touch with reality they are securing their own demise. Avramopoulos has made a speech that Europe is set to absorb massive waves of migration “for the decades to come” and that the EU will “never become a fortress” building walls to keep people … Read more

Euro Demise – The Crash of the Euro is Inevitable

by Martin Armstrong Naturally, the major had to be wrong that the dollar was in this inevitable bear market. These prognostications were typically those who kept cheering gold higher and ignore everything else on the silver plate of politics. The implications of the Italian elections have been ignored by so many. They were a major blow … Read more

This Oil Rally Could Have Much Further to Go

by Frank Holmes, CEO, U.S. Global Investors For more than a week now, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil has been trading north of $70 per barrel, a level we haven’t seen since November 2014. Gas prices are likewise trending up, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average … Read more

Report: John Brennan Worked ‘Pee Dossier’ into Obama’s Daily Briefing, Called Steele ‘Credible Source’

Brennan put some of the dossier material into the PDB [presidential daily briefing] for Obama and described it as coming from a ‘credible source,’ which is how they viewed Steele,” a source close to the House probe told Real Clear Investigations reporter Paul Sperry. “But they never corroborated his sources,” the source added. The allegations began … Read more

Dana Lyons: The VIX may struggle to move much lower than current levels – and may signal limitations to further stock market gains.

by Dana Lyons The following post was initially issued to TLS members on May 11, 2018. The VIX may struggle to move much lower than current levels — and may signal limitations to further stock market gains. Some folks argue that technical analysis cannot be applied — and therefore should not be attempted — on volatility markets. We actually … Read more

America’s elite piglets going for broke: Mass arrests of ‘dissidents’ being authorized by Congress

via truth-out.org: Sen. Bob Corker and Sen. Tim Kaine talk during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, March 11, 2015. Sens. Corker and Kaine have introduced a new Authorization of Military Force bill to Congress in April 2018. (Photo: Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call) Support from readers provides Truthout with vital funds to keep investigating … Read more

Many Americans struggle to pay basics

About 34 million — of households that live above the poverty line but cannot pay for ordinary expenses like phone bills, rent and child care. via axios: Now, a new study begins to show the scale of the problem: at a time of rock-bottom joblessness, high corporate profits and a booming stock market, more than 40% of U.S. households … Read more

33 scientists have concluded that squid and octopi could actually, really be extraterrestrial life that landed on Earth

The paper states: “The genome of the Octopus shows a staggering level of complexity with 33,000 protein-coding genes more than is present in Homo sapiens. “Its large brain and sophisticated nervous system, camera-like eyes, flexible bodies, instantaneous camouflage via the ability to switch colour and shape are just a few of the striking features that … Read more

SHOCK CLAIM: USA Has Spent $2.8 Trillion on Terrorism Fight… More than 2,000 Probes into Potential Suspects

U.S. Has Spent $2.8 Trillion on Terrorism Fight, Study Finds Figure includes spending on wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria WASHINGTON—The U.S. has spent as much as $2.8 trillion on the fight against terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a study published Wednesday. The report from the Washington-based Stimson Center think tank … Read more

WHAT DESPERATION LOOKS LIKE

via Twitter: At least give CNN some credit for honesty, making clear that Trump was talking about MS-13 while so many others pretend that he was talking about all immigrants. Weird how Trump’s “Fake New” mantra gets so much traction.   h/t GR

Update on Cyprus citizenship by investment program

Cyprus is an island state in the eastern Mediterranean Sea that is famous for its rich mineral deposits, excellent wines and beautiful natural sceneries. It is the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean.  The country has breathtakingly tall mountains, fertile valleys and vast beaches. Its culture, language and history have a … Read more

Is it Still Wise to Invest in Gold?

From buying gold coins to gold ornaments to gold biscuits, there are several different options for investing in this royal metal. However, what actually is the purpose of investing in gold? And, should investors bother investing in the gold market – are two main questions that have divided the opinions of the gold investors in … Read more

Yield Shock! Mortgage Rates Cross 5%

The average contract rate on the 30-year fixed will likely end the day as high as 4.875 percent for the highest creditworthy borrowers and 5 percent for the average borrower. Tuesday’s move follows positive economic data in retail sales, suggesting that newly imposed tariffs would not hit sales as hard as expected. The surge in rates … Read more