Los Angeles Times: Op-Ed: Russia’s got a point: The U.S. broke a NATO promise

Moscow solidified its hold on Crimea in April, outlawing the Tatar legislature that had opposed Russia’s annexation of the region since 2014. Together with Russian military provocations against NATO forces in and around the Baltic, this move seems to validate the observations of Western analysts who argue that under Vladimir Putin, an increasingly aggressive Russia … Read more

BLOOMBERG Energy and Commodities Columnist: Brent drops to $99 a barrel as the US makes clear it doesn’t plan to target Russian oil and gas

Brent drops to $99 a barrel as the US mades clear it doesn't plan to target Russian oil and gas | #OOTT https://t.co/pTRvphZS93 — Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) February 24, 2022 And this is confirmed: European utilities are set to buy tomorrow more Russian natural gas (from Gazprom) via Ukraine pipelines. Yes, you read that right: … Read more

Europe and Russia need each other…

Europe 🇪🇺 & Russia 🇷🇺 need each other pic.twitter.com/GcK1mlNNn2 — Win Smart, CFA (@WinfieldSmart) February 25, 2022 https://twitter.com/LizAnnSonders/status/1497194830660780033 European Central Bank chief economist Philip Lane told policymakers meeting in Paris the Ukraine conflict may reduce the euro zone's economic output by 0.3%-0.4% this year, sources told @Reuters #ecb #russia #ukraine #GDP #economy #centralbanks — Global … Read more

TRAVEL HELL: Man faces charges for urinating in SOUTHWEST cabin during flight…

ACalifornia man is in federal custody after allegedly urinating outside the restroom during a Southwest Airlines flight last week between Dallas and Burbank, forcing the crew to divert the plane to Albuquerque. Samson Hardridge, 33, of Lancaster, Calif. appeared in federal court Wednesday on a charge of interference with flight crew members and attendants, the U.S. … Read more

Our Financial System Is Optimized for Sociopaths and Exploitation

by Charles Hugh-Smith Let’s call this financial system what it really is: the MetaPerverse, a conjured world of self-serving cons. We live in a peculiar juncture of history in which truth has been banished as a threat to the maximization of private gain, i.e. the hyper-pursuit of self-interest. Evidence that supports a causal chain has been replaced by cherry-picked data that … Read more

Ahmaud Arbery Day Celebrated in Georgia

by Chris Black Can’t believe this is real. This is beyond the pale of what even I expect from the GOP. It’s not an exaggeration to say that modern America literally worships Black criminals. Feb. 23 is now Ahmaud Arbery Day in Georgia. The resolution marking the date of his murder also notes a new … Read more

News media telling us what is going to happen…

@Neloangelo314 Pushing RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA. How will Putin attack the West? Online banks and mobile phone reception will CUT OUT, nations will be hit by blackouts and the NHS will be crippled by hackers https://t.co/0iTC5MHQHs — Razor24 (@Razor2413) February 24, 2022 AC

Los Angeles is spending up to $837,000 to house a single homeless person…

A $1.2 billion program intended to quickly build housing for Los Angeles’ sprawling homeless population is moving too slowly while costs are spiking, with one project under development expected to hit as much as $837,000 for each housing unit, a city audit disclosed Wednesday. About 1,200 units have been completed since voters approved the spending … Read more

Most People Have No Idea How Much Stocks Are Likely To Crash

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com, Let’s discuss value investor Jeremy Grantham’s thesis on “super bubbles” and his target for the S&P 500. S&P 500 chart courtesy of StockCharts.Com, annotations by Mish with thanks to Jeremy Grantham. Fourth Super Bubble     For almost a half-century, value-investing icon Jeremy Grantham has been calling market bubbles. Now, … Read more

Nasdaq in bear market -20%… A year of gains are now gone in the Nasdaq…. Corrections don’t bottom when institutional and retail are doing nothing but buying.

$ndx in bear market -20% pic.twitter.com/4a0UMRwqNU — Álvaro Oviedo (@alvoviedo) February 24, 2022 A year of gains are now gone in the Nasdaq. pic.twitter.com/y08DRSbcn5 — Mac10 (@SuburbanDrone) February 24, 2022 Tech went green briefly, cyclicals getting smoked. A clear sign that hedge funds are deleveraging. Short Tech/long cyclicals is a consensus trade. Bears rising in … Read more

US New Home Sales Decline -19.3% YoY As Mortgage Rates Rise (Median Price Of New Home Sales UP 13.4% YoY)

by confoundedinterest17 US new home sales declined -19.3% YoY in January as mortgage rates have risen awfully fast. On a MoM basis, US housing starts declined -4.53% from December, but heck … its winter. The median price for new homes rose 7.03% from December. Median price of new home sales YoY is now 13.4% thanks to … Read more