The “China is back to normal” narrative

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by lubujackson Much of bull confidence comes from looking at China where they “have the virus beat” and re-opened factories. But look closer. The state is mandating workers go to work. What do they do on the weekend? What do they do after work? Check out the the driving data from TomTom for the last … Read more

Leaked DHS Food Chain Task Force Document – 4/4/2020

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by dtrammel Does not look pretty. Expect shortages by the middle of May. WASHINGTON — The nation could begin to see food shortages for some products if the people working on the supply chain lack personal protective equipment, warns an internal Trump administration document obtained by Yahoo News. Empty supermarket shelves have become one of the … Read more

The government shuts down your business through no fault of your own, then suggests that you BORROW the money and assume all the risk entailed to cover it for them?

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by rexruther99 Let’s say your business was struggling after the slow season, but sound and fine before health and government authorities started advising people to distance themselves from each other. At the moment, it is mandated that your business be shut down. You were preparing for the final four in Atlanta, and it would have … Read more

Don’t Underestimate The Resilience Of U.S. Shale

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By Tsvetana Paraskova One of the biggest oil traders in the world, Mercuria Energy Group, sees U.S. shale as very resilient and refusing to shut production despite low crude prices. “In the United States, we are buying at levels close to zero but because of various pipeline, bank commitments they continue to sell. They keep … Read more

Why these 8 Republican governors are holding out on statewide stay-at-home orders

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(CNN)Just eight US governors have decided against issuing statewide directives urging their residents to stay at home as the outbreak of the coronavirus escalates and spreads across the country, the last holdouts in the nation. The governors, all of whom are Republican, have offered a variety of explanations for why they have not followed the … Read more

At least 205 million (real figures likely much higher) people are now out of work in China.

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As many as 205 million Chinese workers cannot find jobs or are unable to return to their previous posts, according to one analyst Debate over China’s unemployment reality amid coronavirus heats up, with holes picked in official government statistics Yu Zhixiang received his redundancy notice in early-March, while he was on sick leave, weeks after … Read more

Against all odds.

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by dylex31 I was terrified. Over two weeks ago, my dad began having the typical symptoms: fever, bodyaches, fatigue, etc. He immediately went to the VA hospital to get tested. Three days later, it came back positive, and he went to the hospital to begin treatment. From then on, it was downhill. His conditioned worsened gradually. … Read more

Fund Manager: The Collapse Of Comex Paper Gold Derivatives House Of Cards Has Begun

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by Dave Kranzler of Investment Research Dynamics The Comex Does Not Trade Gold Unequivocally, gold does not trade on the Comex. The Comex trades paper gold derivatives. It is a futures and options exchange on which a small amount of 100 oz. gold bars change ownership each contract month. The transfer of title is facilitated by the creation … Read more

The stimulus can’t come quickly enough for millions of Americans. Many state pensions were already on life support and now they face a $1 trillion shortfall due to the markets.

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Many state pensions were already on life support and now they face a $1 trillion shortfall due to the markets.https://t.co/kRUhUzFQBT — John Tuld (@BradHuston) April 5, 2020 For years, the country’s public pension plans have faced a yawning gap between what they owe and what they can pay. From the State of California’s public employees’ … Read more

TurboTax offers free tool to help Americans who don’t file taxes get stimulus payments

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Millions of Americans are slated to get $1,200 payments from the federal government to help them cope with the sudden economic downturn. Eligibility for those payments is largely based on prior tax returns, which leaves out individuals who typically do not file because they have little to no taxable income. Now TurboTax has coordinated with … Read more

Business Owner Perspective

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by llenders97 We have approximately 60 employees This is what we are doing/did: Implemented across the board salary cuts Negotiated extension with vendors in terms for AP Immediately applied for all government assistance as well as additional lines of credit Monitoring AR, especially watching for influx in late/no payments as well as AR ratio Immediately … Read more

Markets experience a junk tsunami

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Markets experience a junk tsunami: The pace of rating downgrades has materially accelerated over the past few weeks. Amount outstanding of newly minted fallen angel bonds has jumped to $149bn in Q1 2020, a higher amount than the previous peak reached in Q2 2009, Goldman says. pic.twitter.com/0BPS9s91zA — Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) April 4, 2020 https://twitter.com/psgrimm64/status/1246073669853593600 … Read more