Mario’s Hell

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by northmantrader Oh dear. I don’t envy Mario Draghi right now. But he’s doubled the ECB balance sheet to over 41% of Eurozone GDP since 2014 and he’s kept interest rates at -0.4% since March 16, 2016 and has been advertising an end to QE by the end of 2018. Problem for Mario and the ECB: Growth and … Read more

Washington Post: campaign to pay $375,000 fine for campaign finance violations – among the largest penalties in the agency’s history

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by KOS Washington Post: Obama campaign to pay $375,000 fine for campaign finance violations – among the largest penalties in the agency’s history The $375,000 fine is the largest collected by the FEC in the past five years. It ranks within the top 15 fines since 1980, according to a list on the agency’s Web … Read more

China, Corporate debt and profits, Bank credit, Japan, Leveraged loans

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by WARREN MOSLER China exports falling with tariffs: China’s November export, import growth shrinks, showing weak demand US exports turning south as well? The deceleration that started with the collapse of oil capex in Dec 2014 took a brief zig up late in 2017, and subsequently continued lower: Likewise the ability to generate gross profits … Read more

Wall Street sees risks everywhere

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From the Wall Street Journal: When a trade war broke out between the world’s two largest economies in June, investors barely blinked. After the Federal Reserve raised interest rates — often a reason for investors to sell stocks — the markets kept climbing. As some of the world’s largest economies began to slow down, American markets … Read more

A New Wrinkle in the U.S.-China Trade Dispute

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by Shaun Richards Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) parliamentary intelligence forum in Washington, D.C. More than 200 members of parliaments from as many as 60 European countries joined us to hear from such dignitaries as Congressmen Robert Pittenger (R-NC) and Mike McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the Homeland … Read more

Project Veritas Can Now Legally Conduct Undercover Investigations in Massachusetts!

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via projectveritas: Massachusetts Law Prohibiting Secret Recording of Public Officials Deemed Unconstitutional US District Court for the District of Massachusetts Rules in Veritas’ Favor “[T]he Court holds that [Massachusetts law] may not constitutionally prohibit the secret audio recording of government officials…” Secretly Recording Government Officials in Public Places Now Protected by First Amendment   (Boston) Project Veritas … Read more

French President Macron Declares “Social and Economic” State of Emergency….

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by sundance With massive civil unrest overwhelming many parts of French society, President Emmanuel Macron made a televised speech to the nation attempting to calm the anger. Macron declared a social and economic state of emergency and attempted to stop the ongoing Yellow Vest protests by announcing a special year-end bonus. In addition to the year-end … Read more

AI Researchers Closing In On Being Able To Read Your Thoughts Through Something Called ‘Brain Transparency’

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by Geoffrey Grider Reading someone’s mind is not possible, or is it? Recent advances in AI technology have made the living human brain transparent and is already now able to link patterns of brain activity to thoughts. The futurist sci-fi movie ‘Minority Report‘ is on the verge of becoming a documentary as advances in science and … Read more

Here we go…Japan to block use of Huawei, ZTE

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via nationmultimedia: THE JAPANESE government intends to effectively ban products of two major Chinese telecommunications equipment makers – Huawei Technologies Co and ZTE Corp – from telecommunications devices at government ministries and agencies, the Self-Defence Forces and other entities, as their products have been described as posing a national security risk, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. … Read more

Gold to Benefit if Fed Rethinks its Policy

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From Birch Gold Group This week, Your News to Know rounds up the latest stories involving precious metals and the overall economy. Stories include: Gold prices to jump as Fed rethinks path, silver ready to take the spotlight from its peers, and rare gold coins found in Israeli city of Caesarea. Gold prices will jump as Fed rethinks … Read more

58% Adults NEVER Do Muscle-Strengthening… 8 In 10 Lie To Doctors About Their Health

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The Big Number: 58 percent of U.S. adults never do muscle-strengthening exercise at all It’s not just getting moving that is important for better health. Health experts say people should have a muscle-strengthening component to their exercise, too. Yet 58 percent of American adults don’t do any muscle-strengthening exercise, according to research. Among the activities … Read more

Patent Wars: Who is Winning the Battle for Tech Innovation Supremacy?

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via visualcapitalist: In the technology industry, the imperative to innovate is never-ending. After all, the speed of technological change is exponential – and if a company like Microsoft or Google misses one important trend, it can drastically alter the direction of future prospects. For the above reasons, both tech giants and unicorns are laser-focused on hiring the best … Read more