Economic sanctions against Russia hit a snag as Moscow's new SWIFT alternative has nations lined up to participate

6:56 PM banks, dollar, economic sanctions, russia, spfs, swift, tariffs No Comments

Tariffs and economic sanctions... these are the primary weapons that America has left in their arsenal as their influence over other foreign powers declines.  But unlike the consensus that Europe and the West willingly provided Washington over the past several decades, even this is beginning to erode as new controllers over global finance begin to rise.

In fact this new paradigm shift has not emerged from a single country, but from a partnership of equals that have the resources and military might to not only take on the U.S. and dollar hegemony, but to quite possibly even usurp it.

Russia's SWIFT alternative open for business

Banks based in several states are planning to participate in the Russian-developed money transfer network that serves as an alternative to the traditional SWIFT system, according to the head of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). 

“It is open for external connection, we are developing it for our trade partners if they want to join. This work is already ongoing and banks of several countries are going to join, test connections already exist,” Elvira Nabiullina said at the first EU-Russia Student Conference in Moscow on Saturday. “We think it will be developing.” 

Moscow started working on its own payment service, which is dubbed the SPFS (System for Transfer of Financial Messages), amid threats that it could be disconnected from the internationally recognized SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) system back in 2014. – Russia Today

Approximately 100 years ago, President Calvin Coolidge stated that the business of America is business.  But in the 21st century that slogan appears to have been passed onto two other regions of the world, where it is quickly being picked up by the growing financial centers of Moscow and Beijing.

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Hey Bernie, AOC, and all Democratic candidates... high school Valedictorian shows why government run socialism never works

1:18 PM aoc, bernie sanders, bureaucracy, education, healthcare, jospeh stalin, school system, socialism No Comments

With nearly all the primary Democratic candidates for President trying to push America full bore into authoritative Socialism, the one thing supporters of the economic model fail to realize is that programs and processes are not run by the figureheads, but by people and bureaucracies that in many cases are flawed and corrupt.

And in a wonderful example of how a small and local bureaucracy nicely hamstrung the best student in a California High School, a speech given by the Valedictorian laid out exactly why any and every form of Socialism fails.

Buhr began by unloading on her counselor, to whom she said: "Thanks for teaching me to fend for myself: You were always unavailable to my parents and I, despite appointments. ... You expressed to me your joy in knowing that one of your students was valedictorian, when you had absolutely no role in my achievements. 

She then slammed the office staff, saying "Thank you for teaching me how to be resourceful. Your negligence to inform me of several scholarships until the day before they were due potentially caused me to miss out on thousands of dollars. 

When applying for a work permit, you repeatedly turned me away, despite confirming with my employer and my parents that all of my paperwork was filled out correctly. I’ve had to escalate issues with staff to an assistant principal various times to reach any sort of solution." 

And finally - "To the teacher that was regularly intoxicated during class this year, thank you for using yourself to teach these students about the dangers of alcoholism. Being escorted out of school left a lasting impression," said Buhr, receiving applause from the audience.  

"I hope that future students and staff learn from these examples," she said in conclusion. - Zerohedge

When Lenin triumphed in overthrowing the Tsar of Russia back in 1918, it wasn't until his successor Joseph Stalin took power that the Revolution was able to achieve full authority over the land and people.  And the reason for this was because Stalin was trained as an administrator... a bureaucrat, and used his skills of organization to create a a system where the state thrived and the people lived in poverty and bondage.

Once power was in Bolshevik hands, the party leadership gladly left to Stalin tasks involving the dry details of party and state administration. In the power struggle that followed Vladimir Lenin’s death in 1924, the intellectual sophistication and charismatic appeal of Stalin’s rivals proved no match for the actual power he had consolidated from positions of direct control of the party machinery. By 1929 his major opponents were defeated; and Stalinist policies, which had undergone several shifts during the power struggle, became stabilized. Stalin’s doctrine of the monolithic party emerged during the battle for power. – Encyclopedia Brittanica

School systems today, along with most of the government, are built on many of the same bureaucracies originally forged out of Stalinism.  In this, there is to be no dissent, no one is allowed to be special or individual, and the bureaucracy is 'above the law' in that they cannot be held responsible for their actions.  And even beyond the education system we are seeing this today in full view of the FBI, the VA, and in nearly all other government agencies.

Today in Britain the bureaucracy that makes up their National Health System (NHS) has led to thousands of deaths per year as officials either ignore or conduct negligence under their Socialist based system.  And with all these current examples above occurring without nations even actually being labeled as Socialist, imagine how much worse it will be if the Marxists running for President have their way in not only bankrupting America, but in putting the people under a system that saw tens of millions die in both China, and the former Soviet Union.

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Bitcoin's latest rise to $9000 shows that value investing is dead and that Americans are simply sheep running to the newest momentum trade

12:23 PM bitcoin, cryptocurrency, investing, momentum trading, momo, value trading 1 Comment

It was only about 18 months ago when cryptocurrency mania had driven up the price of Bitcoin to over $20,000 before market and sovereign interventions subsequently killed the asset class by more than 70%.  However as Chinese elites recently began using the crypto as a means to get their money out of the Yuan currency over the past two months, suddenly Bitcoin has become popular again as seen by the latest numbers in Google Trends.

It's hard to believe that Bitcoin has recently become more popular on Google than President Trump, Tesla, and Kim Kardashian, reported ConsenSys, a blockchain software technology company. - Zerohedge

Sadly, those who bought into the new hype have already lost nearly 13% as the price has fallen down below $8000, and on some days as low as $7400.  And even worse still is the fact that only once since December of 2017 has the price of Bitcoin reached half ($10,000) of its all time high from 18 months ago.

At the bottom of this re-emergence of interest in Bitcoin is the fact that Americans today are momentum traders rather than buyers of value.  And no greater example of this can be seen in how silver, which is a vastly important metal in the production of everything from Smartphones to Solar Panels, is at a historic low in the gold to silver ratio, and is the only, and I repeat only asset who's current price is below it's 1980 price.

There is a reason why the rich stay rich and why the average person does very well if they are able simply to just break even.  And that is because very few have the emotional fortitude or the diligence of learning to invest in what the wealthy do when the wealthy do, and instead relegate themselves to chasing momentum long after the smart money bought when there was formerly blood in the streets.

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Last week's St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) solidified that America is fighting a 2 on 1 Cold War for global supremacy

11:46 AM china, cold war 2.0, multi-polar world, russia, spief, st. petersburg international economic forum, uni-polar world No Comments

For years, both Davos and Bilderberg were considered the forms in which the world's highest elite determined the future for economies and governments.  But with the re-emergence of both China and Russia from the ashes of their former empires, neither of these Western confabs can hold a candle to a new forum that hails from St. Petersburg.

Last week marked the 22nd year of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), and the 2019 version saw a major geopolitical event take place which fell under the radar for most of the media.  That is because the event that happened was the un-official, but very publicly implied partnership between Russia and China against the hegemony of the United States.

And as one of the more highly touted economic and geopolitical analysts Pepe Escobar stated, the Unipolar world is now over.

Something extraordinary began with a short walk in St. Petersburg last Friday. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping was the guest of honor of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was Xi’s eighth trip to Russia since 2013, when he announced the New Silk Roads, or Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 

In his St. Petersburg speech, Xi outlined the “comprehensive strategic partnership”. He stressed that China and Russia were both committed to green, low carbon sustainable development. He linked the expansion of BRI as “consistent with the UN agenda of sustainable development” and praised the interconnection of BRI projects with the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU). He emphasized how all that was consistent with Putin’s idea of a Great Eurasian Partnership. He praised the “synergetic effect” of BRI linked to South-South cooperation. 

And crucially, Xi stressed that China “won’t seek development to the expense of environment”; China “will implement the Paris climate agreement”; and China is “ready to share 5G technology with all partners” on the way towards a pivotal change in the model of economic growth. 

It was obvious this was slowly brewing for the past five to six years. Now the deal is in the open. The Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership is thriving; not as an allied treaty, but as a consistent road map towards Eurasia integration and the consolidation of the multipolar world. – Consortium News

Well President Trump... the ball is now in your court.  And with your European partners in the West edging ever closer to the side of Eurasia and the Pacific Rim, are President's Putin and Jinping the 'great friends' you continuously say they are?

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Iran finally discovers the key to U.S. hegemony and calls for the world to eliminate use of the dollar

10:39 AM de-dollarization, dollar, economic sanctions, economic terrorism, iran, u.s. president trump No Comments

Terrorism can come in many forms, but undoubtedly the most powerful one is economic.  And that is because where a simple attack from extremists on a people, property, or symbol might be fleeting and even cause populations to rise up in retaliation, financial terrorism as in the form of economic sanctions can be very lasting.

Back in 2006, the UN imposed economic sanctions against the nation of Iran in regards to their alleged nuclear program, and these sanctions would last only 10 years thanks in part to a highly controversial deal known as the JCPOA.  However with the election of Donald Trump as President, that 'deal' was scuttled on the U.S. side and Washington once again began the process of ever increasing sanctions in order to try to force Iran to capitulate to what most would call 'spurious' demands.

Interestingly, Iran never quite called what the UN did to them economic terrorism because their sanctions were directed at a clear issue tied to Tehran's nuclear program.  However on June 9, Iran's Foreign Minister publicly has now officially called out the U.S. as a agent of terrorism for the economic sanctions they have imposed upon them via the Trump Administration.

"It amounts, by definition, to economic terrorism because the United States is putting pressure in terms of what its president calls warfare on normal ordinary Iranians in order to change the policies of their government", he told reporters on the side-lines of the event. - Sputnik News

And in an attempt to fight this 'terrorism', the Foreign Minister specifically called out America's control over the global reserve currency as the foundation for their rogue actions, and is calling on the rest of the world to join him in rejecting the dollar and dollar hegemony.

"America’s power rests on the dollar; a great part of America’s economic power will go away if countries eliminate the dollar from their economic systems", the minister said.

Fortunately for Iran, and perhaps not so fortunate for the U.S. is the fact that de-dollarization is an ongoing reality that began to really take shape around the end of 2013.  But like with any empire that stands on the cusp of disintegration, the world will experience much more chaos and turmoil before a paradigm shift occurs just as it did for nearly empires of the past.

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FDIC closes first U.S. bank failure since 2017

7:00 PM bank closure, bank failure, enloe state bank, fdic, texas No Comments

On May 31, the FDIC closed down Enloe State Bank in Cooper, Texas making it the first bank failure in the United States since December of 2017.

The Enloe State Bank, Cooper, Texas, was closed today by the Texas Department of Banking, which then appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Legend Bank, N.A., Bowie, Texas, to assume the insured deposits of The Enloe State Bank. - FDIC

The DIF (Deposit Insurance Fund) cost to the public is expected to be around $27 million.

For those who were banking at Enloe State Bank, your deposits are not located with Legend Bank N.A..

2018 was the first year in more than a decade where the U.S. had zero bank failures.

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Hollywood hypocrisy: Outraged over their industry's sexual predators but in lock-step supporting the aborting and killing of babies

12:43 PM abortion, disney, georgia, hollywood, netflix, pedophiles, sexual predators 1 Comment

Ever since its inception, Hollywood has been a petri dish of infidelity, sexual perversions, and even pedophilia.  However despite the mock outrage that has come from some members of the industry who suddenly 'grew a conscience' when the #metoo movement uncovered a number of their secrets, abuse of children either born or unborn still remains high on their agenda.

And perhaps there is no better example of this in how many members of the film industry are publicly going against the will of the people in choosing to stand up for a program that has seen over 60 million babies aborted over the past 46 years.

Over the last several decades, Georgia has become known as the Hollywood of the South. It’s become one of America’s top movie and TV locations, thanks to generous tax incentives; in 2017, it surpassedCalifornia as a shooting site for the highest-grossing domestic films, and it’s also the backdrop for many TV shows, including Netflix’s Stranger Things and Ozark, AMC’s The Walking Dead, and the forthcoming HBO series Watchmen. But on May 7, when Georgia governor Brian Kemp signed into law an extreme “fetal heartbeat” bill that bans women in the state from having abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, the film community’s many liberal denizens began questioning the industry’s future in the state. 

A handful of Hollywood producers and production outfits such as David Simon,Killer Films (First Reformed), Color Force (Crazy Rich Asians), and Mark Duplassvowed to boycott the state in the wake of the law. “Don’t give your business to Georgia,” Duplass tweeted last week. “Will you pledge with me not to film anything in Georgia until they reverse this backwards legislation?” Actress Zoe Kazan joined in, tweeting, "Actors, producers, directors: refuse to film in georgia & alabama. call the governors, tell them why." – Vanity Fair

Netflix:

In response to Georgia’s new law prohibiting aborting babies with a detectable heartbeat, Netflix said that the company may "rethink" filming in Georgia if the law goes into effect. In response, some conservatives are saying they will consider boycotting Netflix if they follow through on the Georgia boycott. – Daily Wire

Disney:

Disney CEO Bob Iger said on Wednesday that if Georgia carries out the state's strict new abortion laws, telling Reuters that it would be "very difficult" for the company to continue filming in the state because "many people who work for us will not want to work there, and we will have to heed their wishes in that regard."  - Zerohedge

For the most part, corporations have one single responsibility under the law, and that is their fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders.  This is why pharmaceutical companies are rarely held criminally liable for selling toxic products, or why many decisions within companies are made primarily by beancounters versus moral advocates.  But what is most interesting in the current debate between Hollywood and the states which choose to legislate according their their constituents will is that a potential boycott of the state of Georgia has nothing to do with money, but with the political ideologies of a craven and sexually deviant industry.

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China expanding internationalization of their RMB currency as Portugal becomes first Eurozone nation to sell Yuan denominated bonds

8:47 AM bi-lateral trade, china, de-dollarization, debt, dollar, Eurozone, portugal, rmb, yuan, yuan internationalization No Comments

While China is in the process of expanding their currency through one side of the equation, that of bi-lateral trade, financial systems elsewhere are also helping them along by issuing Yuan denominated bonds on their exchanges.  And in a first for the Eurozone, Portugal on May 29 officially kicked off Chinese debt issuance through their selling of RMB denominated bonds.

Portugal has become the first euro-area country to tap the Chinese bond market. Lisbon announced last week its intention to sell 2 billion yuan ($289 million) worth of bonds with a maturity of three years. 

The sale of the so-called ‘Panda’ bonds or yuan-denominated debt issued by a non-Chinese entity took place Wednesday and Thursday. 

Portugal’s Finance Minister Mario Centeno told CNBC that the issuance is a “positive step in managing Portugal’s external debt in the medium term.” He said the sale will allow Portugal to expand its investor base. 

Placing ‘Panda’ bonds is an opportunity that Lisbon could not miss, according to the head of Portugal's debt agency IGCP, Cristina Casalinho. She said earlier: “Today we crucially depend on the investor base we have and what we know is that investors that, for example, buy German debt do not invest in higher risk debt.” 

She went on, saying that “It is important especially if we take a long-term perspective… China has been diagnosed as one of the countries with the highest savings in the world, and that it could be... a big operator or a big intervener in financial markets.”

To be a major player in the global currency game one must be able to sell bonds denominated in one's own currency in order to allow nations to hold it as a reserve in their banking systems.  And while China has over the past decade expanded global use of the RMB from around 9% in 2012 to over 14% here at the end of the decade, they still have a long ways to go to be considered on par with the dollar, euro, yen, and pound.

Mutual use of the RMB by a growing number of nations through bi-lateral trade has helped China to establish itself as a viable player in the currency game as even OPEC countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia are now accepted the Yuan in lieu of dollars.  And as the world rushes headlong into de-dollarization through their fears of potential sanctions and other U.S. aggressions, this policy shift has opened the door for China to expand their influence, even in the realm of RMB internationalization.

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Central bank gold buying goes beyond just major economies as Serbia and the Philippines join in the fun

8:02 AM bis, central bank, dollar, gold, gold standard, philippines, reserves, serbia No Comments

Whether it was the Bank of International Settlement's (BIS) new policy shift that now acknowledges physical gold as a Tier 1 reserve asset, or the fact that global de-dollarization is occurring in full swing, gold buying by central banks is at its highest levels in over 40 years.

And in a report out on May 30, it appears that accumulating gold is no longer limited to major economies as both Serbia and the Philippines have gotten into the mix.

In a major turn of events, Serbia and the Philippines have decided to join the global bullion-buying spree amid similar efforts by world central banks.
According to Vecernje Novosti, Serbia will increase its gold reserves from 20 to 30 tonnes by the end of 2019, and then up to 50 tonnes over the next year as a safety measure.
The decision was reportedly made following the meeting of the country's president, Aleksandar Vucic, with an IMF delegation, where the fund's representatives told him that they'd approve of Belgrade's gold-buying if it fit into Serbia's strategy of beefing up foreign exchange reserves.
The current data of the National Bank of Serbia suggest that the nation's foreign exchange reserves are presently worth 11 billion euros.
As for the Philippines, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has announced that a law has been passed exempting gold sales by small-scale miners to the central bank from excise and income taxes to boost the country's foreign exchange reserves and prevent smuggling. - Sputnik News

While talk of returning to a global 'gold standard' in some form or fashion has resurfaced in recent years due to the rise of China and the advent of dollar rejection, for now the precious metal is being seen as an important part of a nation's attempt to remain solvent in a world saturated by debt.  And smaller economies like Serbia and the Philippines are not he only ones jumping onto the bandwagon as we saw the nation of Kyrgyzstan start their own gold accumulation going back to 2016.

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Hints of gold returning as sound money as Trump readies new Gold Standard Fed Governor while Congressman submits bill to audit gold supply

9:27 AM audit the fed, bis, central bank, dollar, dollar hegemony, fed, gold, gold audit, gold standard, judy shelton No Comments

With two of President Trump's primary picks to fill vacant slots on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors having dropped out in recent weeks, rumors of his newest pick could very well send shockwaves through the central bank.  And that is because according to Mish Shedlock in an article published on May 12, Trump appears to be readying Gold Standard advocate Judy Shelton as his next nominee.

Economist Judy Shelton, a Trump economic advisor and a gold standard advocate is rumored to be Trump's next Fed pick. 

Bloomberg reports White House Considers Economist Judy Shelton for Fed BoardThe White House is considering conservative economist Judy Shelton to fill one of the two vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors that President Donald Trump has struggled to fill. 

She’s currently U.S. executive director for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and previously worked for the Sound Money Project, which was founded to promote awareness about monetary stability and financial privacy. – Money Mavin

Judy Shelton had been a strong pick early on in President Trump's plans for the Federal Reserve before moving into the role as an adviser and administration financier.

Yet this news of bringing Shelton onto the Fed Board of Governors is not the only gold based news to arrive at the government's doors as just last week, Congressman Alex Mooney submitted a bill before the House to call for a full and complete audit of the nation's gold supply.

U.S. Representative Alex Mooney (R-WV) introduced legislation this week to provide for the first audit of United States gold reserves since the Eisenhower Administration. 

The Gold Reserve Transparency Act (H.R. 2559) – backed by the Sound Money Defense League and government accountability advocates – directs the Comptroller of the United States to conduct a “full assay, inventory, and audit of all gold reserves, including any gold in ‘deep storage,’ of the United States at the place or places where such reserves are kept.” 

HR 2559 requires more than just a physical assay, inventory, and audit, however. Even if all United States gold can be physically accounted for, it may nevertheless be encumbered with third-party obligations – or otherwise be impaired by bank financialization. – EIN Presswire

With the BIS making the sudden and urgent shift to allow physical gold to become a Tier 1 reserve asset for the central banks, perhaps we should not be surprised that President Trump and his allies in Congress are trying to prepare the way for a return of the Gold Standard in some form, especially as the dollar continues to lose its hegemony on the world stage.

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