**Futures Flat In Quiet Session As Attention Turns To Company Earnings**

Futures Flat In Quiet Session As Attention Turns To Company Earnings

US stock futures are off to a muted start to the week as investor focus turns to first-quarter earnings for clues on the health of corporate America amid the Fed's own admission it is hoping to trigger a recession in the coming months. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 were both up a modest 0.1% following Friday's drop despite better-than-expected quarterly reports from the big banks as markets were unnerved by Fed Governor Christopher Waller’s hawkish comments favoring further policy tightening. His views caused investors to ramp up bets on another rate rise in June, following one in May, and also to scale back expectations for rate cuts later in the year.  In Europe too, the Stoxx 600 Index erased an earlier gain.

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Among notable premarket movers, Chinese EV maker XPeng soared after the firm unveiled a plan to cut manufacturing costs at the Shanghai International Auto Show. Other US-listed Chinese stocks also rise, rebounding from last week’s slump. **Prometheus Biosciences shares surged as much 71% in US premarket trading after Merck struck a deal to buy the biotech company for around $10.8 billion,** though traded slightly below the $200/share offer. Analysts were positive on the deal despite its 75% premium to Prometheus’s closing price last Friday, saying that it will help Merck to diversify away from its traditional focus on oncology, while brokers saw no obstacles to the transaction going through. Here are the most notable pre-market movers:

- Alphabet fell as much as 2% in premarket trading on Monday after a report said Microsoft’s Bing might replace Alphabet’s Google as the default search service on Samsung Electronics devices.

- Cryptocurrency-exposed stocks fall in US premarket trading as Bitcoin dips below the $30,000 mark, with the digital token remaining in a range after breaching the closely watched level. Cipher Mining -3.8%, Riot Platforms -5.2%.

US stocks have swung around in a tight range in April after a strong rally in the first quarter as investors veered between worries about a recession and bets that cooling inflation would prompt the Federal Reserve to stop rate hikes soon. Corporate earnings will provide the next clue about the impact of slowing growth, with analysts expecting the biggest year-on-year decline since 2020.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said market participants have remained cautious despite the strong showing from the big banks as economic data suggest the Fed could hike rates again at its next meeting.  Recent data points to inflation and employment markets steadily softening, encouraging some equity bulls. First-quarter earnings from JPMorgan and Citigroup also outpaced expectations on Friday.

“After the data last week, there is a less pressing need to hike rates, plus there is an apparent easing in banking tensions,” said Peter Kinsella, head of FX strategy at Swiss asset manager UBP. “If we get a Fed rate hike in May, I think it will be one and done.”

Despite this, Kinsella predicts headwinds for equity markets from share valuations that remain expensive, especially in relation to a slowing economy. Investors are preferring to park their cash in money-market funds, he noted.

“The current season’s earnings profile is rather opaque,” Kinsella added. “The banks last week did better than expected, but we have to see what the reporting season will be like from everyone else. But the S&P is expensive at current levels so you have to ask yourself if there is really much material upside from here.”

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson once again - and for the 6th month running - said profit expectations were still too high even as that has been long factored into prices. The strategist also warned - as per usual -  that the S&P 500 was at risk of further declines as the percentage of stocks outperforming the index on a three-month rolling basis was at a record low. Wilson sees the biggest risk to the rally in technology stocks if bond yields rise. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100’s so-called MACD momentum — which shows the relationship between two moving averages of a security’s price — is now weakening, Bloomberg noted while Goldman's Prime Brokerage notes that "franchise flows have shifted to local selling of tech this week and **Nasdaq is only up in two of the past ten sessions (also note that it stands exactly where it stood in ... the spring of 2021)."**

European stocks are on course to extend their winning streak to six sessions as investors turn their attention to earnings season…

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/futures-flat-quiet-session-attention-turns-company-earnings

**Alphabet Shares Slide On Report Samsung Abandoning Google For Bing**

Alphabet Shares Slide On Report Samsung Abandoning Google For Bing

Shares of Alphabet slid during premarket trading in New York on Monday following a New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/16/technology/google-search-engine-ai.html) report on Sunday that revealed South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung was considering replacing Google with Microsoft's Bing as the default search engine on its devices.

NYT said Google's employees were "shocked" when they heard about the news in March. Internal memos obtained by the newspaper reveal Google has been in "panic" mode because if Samsung were to switch search engines on its devices to Bing, that would cost them $3 billion in annual revenues. Google also has about $20 billion at stake in Apple contracts up for renewal this year.

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Microsoft turbocharged Bing by integrating OpenAI's ChatGPT technology, transforming the search engine into something capable of carrying on a conversation. This new type of search engine is one of the most serious threats to Google's search business empire. As a result, Google has been racing to build an all-new search engine powered by AI. NYT said internal documents show Google is upgrading the existing search engine with AI.

> _The Samsung threat represented the first potential crack in Google's seemingly impregnable search business, which was worth $162 billion last year. Although it was not clear whether Microsoft's work with AI was the main reason Samsung was considering a change after the last 12 years, that was the assumption inside Google. The contract is under negotiation, and Samsung could stick with Google._

>

> _But the idea that Samsung, which makes hundreds of millions of smartphones with Google's Android software every year, would even consider switching search engines shocked Google's employees. -NYT_

As a result of the report, Alphabet shares slid as much as 3%, while Microsoft was up around 1.5%.

?itok=4b2XNqTm (?itok=4b2XNqTm)

So now Google is scrambling to compete with Microsoft's Bing after ChatGPT integration. Did Google get lazy because they thought their search empire was impenetrable?

Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 04/17/2023 - 07:45

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/alphabet-shares-slide-report-samsung-abandoning-google-bing

**Retail Sector One Of Best Ways To Hedge A Recession**

Retail Sector One Of Best Ways To Hedge A Recession

_Authored by Simon White, Bloomberg macro strategist,_

**The US retail sector will be an effective portfolio hedge for a recession.**

We got a check in on how the consumer is doing on Friday with March’s retail sales data (https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/retail-sales-tumble-more-expected-grow-weakest-annual-pace-june-2020). Emblematic of the weakening economic backdrop, **consumers’ retail spending is falling sharply from the surge it saw as pandemic restrictions were eased.**

Leading data anticipate that this sharp fall will continue. In the short term, higher-frequency data, such as the weekly Redbook index, points to a weaker retail-sales print today.

**Longer term - over the rest of this year and into next - discretionary spending will continue to suffer as essential costs, such as energy and mortgages, keep rising.** The sharp fall in homebuyer affordability is a bad omen for retail sales.

?itok=aGG4LY8U (?itok=aGG4LY8U)

Furthermore, even though the retail sector has worked inventories lower from the glut incurred after Covid, sales-to-inventory levels are barely back to pre-pandemic levels, while a recession would knock them lower again.

**The US economy is beginning to look very recessionary,**with some signs that one could already be here, (https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/continuing-claims-data-suggests-recession-may-almost-be-upon-us)or very close to starting.

That would, historically, lead to a further decline in equities. That may end up happening, but **this is an odd cycle.**At least one rare and reliable technical signal for the S&P recently triggered, (https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/rare-buy-signal-hints-worst-over-stocks) telling us that price action is pointing to a constructive picture for stocks over the longer term.

**Therefore shorting the overall index or even buying downside protection may not be the most efficient way to hedge for a recession.**

However, retail is primed to be one of the most underperforming sectors in any recession.

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Firstly, it is highly cyclical. Indeed, currently, it is the most cyclical of the GICS Level 2 sectors, based on variability of earnings. Cyclical stocks underperform in downturns.

**Secondly, looking at past recessions, the retail sector has on average fallen by the most in the six months after a recession starts.**

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Retail has only slightly underperformed the index this year, but if the runes are correct and a recession is almost upon us, this underperformance will intensify.

**The semis sector should also see significant underperformance in a recession,** with the added benefit it has also outperformed more than most sectors this year.

Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 04/17/2023 - 07:20

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/retail-sector-one-best-ways-hedge-recession

**Recession Risk Grows After Money Supply Shrinks At Fastest Pace Since Great Depression**

Recession Risk Grows After Money Supply Shrinks At Fastest Pace Since Great Depression

_Authored by Andrew Moran via The Epoch Times,_ (https://www.theepochtimes.com/recession-risk-grows-after-money-supply-shrinks-at-fastest-pace-since-great-depression_5187430.html)

**The U.S. money supply contracted for the third consecutive month, and is declining at the fastest pace since the Great Depression, new Federal Reserve data show.**

In February, the M2 money supply (https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WM2NS#0) \- a benchmark for how much cash, bills, bank deposits, coins, and money market funds are circulating throughout the national economy - tumbled 2.24 percent from the same time a year ago, down from negative 1.7 percent in January. This represented the third straight month of a contracting money supply.

**Early indicators point to another contraction in March, as the M2 money supply tumbled 3.13 percent year over year for the week ending March 6.**

**?itok=6jUDyOlZ (?itok=6jUDyOlZ)**

In total, the U.S. money supply stood at $21.099 trillion at the end of February.

**Between 1929 and 1933, the money supply plummeted (https://www.econlib.org/the-factors-in-the-drastic-money-supply-drop-from-1929-to-1933/) by 28 percent.**

Despite the year-over-year percentage decline, the money supply remains nearly 38 percent above the pre-pandemic level.

The downward trend, which started in February 2021, resulted from the central bank reversing its pandemic-era liquidity injections, the Fed reducing the enormous balance sheet, and sliding bank deposits.

**Across the globe, many economies are reporting slowing or contracting M1 money supply growth.**

In the European Union, the M1 annual growth rate contracted by 2.7 percent (https://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/reports.do?node=1000005717) in February, down from negative 0.8 percent in January. The United Kingdom’s M1 slowed (https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MANMM101GBM189S) to 1.55 percent in January. The M1 for Canada fell (https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MANMM101CAM189S#0) for three straight months to close out 2022, tumbling 3.57 percent in December.

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Recession Confirmed?

So, does this point to a recession? Some economists warn that the collapse in money supply growth in the United States and other countries is a warning of an economic downturn.

> _“We have not seen money supply declines like this since the Great Depression,” said (https://twitter.com/MishGEA/status/1642954188199174144) Mike Shedlock, an economist and registered investment advisor for SitkaPacific Capital Management._

>

> _“The contrarian position isn’t that a recession will come later, but rather that it’s already started.”_

According to Steve Hanke, the professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University and a senior fellow at the Independent Institute, thinks “a U.S. recession is baked in the cake.”

> _“Due to the Fed’s monetary mismanagement, the M2 money supply is falling at its fastest rate since the 1930s,” he stated (https://twitter.com/steve_hanke/status/1642210215327326208)._

>

> _“The QUANTITY THEORY OF MONEY tells us that, w/ a 6-18 month lag after M2 drops, economic activity will slump.”_

But others, like Fed Chair Jerome Powell, do not believe the money supply impacts the economy.

“When you and I studied economics a million years ago, M2 and monetary aggregates seemed to have a relationship to economic growth,” Powell told (https://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/page1-econ/2021/09/17/teaching-the-linkage-between-banks-and-the-fed-r-i-p-money-multiplier) Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) during his semiannual monetary policy report to Congress in 2021. “Right now … M2 … does not really have important implications. It is something we have to unlearn I guess.”

?itok=p5cscYvq (?itok=p5cscYvq)

_Federal Reserve Board chairman Jerome Powell speaks during an interview at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Julia Nikhinson/Getty Images)_

**Meanwhile, many leading recession indicators have been flashing red again.**

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The six-month average of the Conference Board Leading Economic …

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/recession-risk-grows-after-money-supply-shrinks-fastest-pace-great-depression

**EU Condemns 'Unilateral' Ban On Ukrainian Grain By Poland & Hungary**

EU Condemns 'Unilateral' Ban On Ukrainian Grain By Poland & Hungary

This weekend Poland and Hungary both took the drastic step of banning Ukrainian grain and other food product imports after cheap goods have flooded both countries.

The Polish prime minister’s office called the drastic action a necessary measure **"to protect the Polish agricultural market against destabilization."** Hungarian Agriculture Minister István Nagy also announced a temporary ban on import of grain and oil seeds, along with other foods, which he said is needed "in the absence of meaningful EU measures."

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_Via AP_ (?itok=a9uU2Y_W)

In the wake of Ukrainian ports being blocked for many months prior to the UN-brokered rain export deal, Ukrainian grain to Africa and the Middle East was largely halted.

While much of it flowed into neighboring Poland, the majority tended to remain stuck in the country, which **severely impacted Polish farmers given collapsing prices** that resulted.

The government of Ukraine immediately said it "regrets the decision of its Polish counterparts" following the weekend announcement.

The European Union on Sunday blasted the Polish and Hungarian measures, per The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/16/world/europe/hungary-poland-grain-imports-ukraine.html):

> _The European Union has criticized bans by Poland and Hungary on imports of Ukrainian grain and other foods over the weekend, saying the **unilateral moves were "unacceptable."**_

>

> _The bloc, of which Poland and Hungary are member states, lifted tariffs on Ukrainian grain last year to help transport it to the rest of the world amid Russia’s invasion, but the exports have led to a glut of produce in Europe. As a result, farmers in Poland, Hungary and other nations (https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/eu-may-need-reintroduce-tariffs-ukrainian-grain-pms-say-2023-03-31/) have seen their incomes plummet._

Bulgaria is now also said to be mulling a similar measure. According to more from EU officials:

> _A spokesperson for the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, said in an email on Sunday that such a trade policy was a matter of "E.U. exclusive competence," meaning that only the bloc could adopt legally binding decisions._

The crisis could escalate, with the EU concerned over a continued domino effect of individual nations implementing their own policies, given Moscow has of late expressed doubts over its continuing participation in the UN grain deal which is monitored from Turkey, which is a mere weeks away from expiring.

Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 04/17/2023 - 05:45

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/eu-condemns-unilateral-ban-ukrainian-grain-poland-hungary

**A Costly De-Globalization Is Underway, It Just Doesn't Look Like It Yet**

A Costly De-Globalization Is Underway, It Just Doesn't Look Like It Yet

_Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,_ (https://mishtalk.com/economics/a-costly-de-globalization-is-underway-it-just-doesnt-look-like-it-yet)

_**We have gone from just in time manufacturing to just in case hoarding.** Or have we?_

_If so, at what cost?_

_And what about China?_

?itok=E33pkmpG (?itok=E33pkmpG)

**Is De-Globalization Happening?**

> For all the talks of “de-coupling” or “de-globalization”, which I too thought was a distinct inflationary factor in my presentation last year, the concept remains so far well only a hypothesis. If anything trade deficits with China accelerated in both the EU and the U.S.. pic.twitter.com/RYmHoVCUbH (https://t.co/RYmHoVCUbH)

>

> — Steve Hou (“CONSUME LESS!”) (@stevehouf) April 6, 2023 (https://twitter.com/stevehouf/status/1643947920700452867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

**De-Globalization Transition?**

> „The question is whether we are in transition to a new world order: a trend towards disintegration and de-globalization with potentially serious political and economic consequences”, writes K. Regling, former ESM MD, in his latest article: https://t.co/GIUzqCtzz1 (https://t.co/GIUzqCtzz1)@OxResServ (https://twitter.com/OxResServ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

>

> — Juliana Dahl (@juliana\_dahl) April 12, 2023 (https://twitter.com/juliana_dahl/status/1646068050028789762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

**The Cost?**

> “If trust drove globalization, and globalization drove “The Great Moderation”, distrust will drive de-globalization, and de-globalization “The Great Reflation”…

>

> What will be the economic consequences of mistrust?"

>

> Zoltan Pozsar

>

> — Ronnie Stoeferle (@RonStoeferle) April 5, 2023 (https://twitter.com/RonStoeferle/status/1643525064791404545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

The correct answer follows.

**Three Stages of De-Globalization**

Please consider the Three Stages of De-Globalization (https://www.eurointelligence.com/).

> It is true that you cannot see de-globalization in the data, but there is a problem with this argument: today's trade is the result of decisions taken a long time ago. Last year, German companies invested €11.5bn in China, the highest ever. Trade volumes with China are also near record levels. The WTO's chief economist, Ralph Ossa, now warns that political decisions taken today will eventually be reflected in data on trade and investment.

>

> He told FAZ that **_de-globalization takes place in three stages. Stage one is complete. It is a change in narrative. The second is protectionism, like the US inflation reduction act, and various measures now taken by all countries, the EU included, to subject trade and investment to geopolitical considerations. The third stage is an actual fall in trade and investment. That has not happened yet. But it is only a question of time_.**

>

> Ossa put the cost of global de-fragmentation in terms of a fall in global national income at 5.4%. He puts the total opportunity cost at 8.6% of national income if one includes the gains that would have been possible through tariff reductions. There are similarities to the debate on the economic consequences of Brexit. Fragmentation has a cost. A single country can offset this cost, for example by switching the economic model. The world, as a whole, cannot do that. This is going to be a real loss in income due to negative network effects.

>

> _We see global fragmentation as the biggest of the foreseeable structural economic risks the world economy is facing right now._ Ossa's is the first numeric estimate we have seen of the total cost. We saw similar predictions ahead of Brexit. But there is one big difference. In the case of the UK, an electorate decided that it was ready to pay this cost. The world is now sleepwalking in a similar direction.

**Stage Two**

I discussed stage two, several times already.

- November 30, 2022: The EU is Very Worried About Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) (https://mishtalk.com/economics/the-eu-is-very-worried-about-bidens-inflation-reduction-act-ira)

- December 6, 2022: Biden's Climate Change War Picks Up Steam In More Ways Than One (https://mishtalk.com/economics/bidens-climate-change-war-picks-up-steam-in-more-ways-than-one)

- December 19, 2022: EU Imposes the World's Largest Carbon Tax Scheme, Inflationary Madness Sets In (https://mishtalk.com/economics/eu-imposes-the-worlds-largest-carbon-tax-scheme-inflationary-madness-sets-in)

- January 16, 2023: "America First", Biden and Trump Both Guilty of Sponsoring Inflation (https://mishtalk.com/economics/america-first-biden-and-trump-both-guilty-of-sponsoring-inflation)

**Stage three is not that far off.**

\*  \*…

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/costly-de-globalization-underway-it-just-doesnt-look-it-yet

**UK PM Sunak: 100% Of Women Don't Have Penises**

UK PM Sunak: 100% Of Women Don't Have Penises

With a general election looming in 2024, the subject of gender ideology has become controversial.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has emphasized his belief in biological sex, putting him **in opposition to the leader of the Labour Party who has said that “99.9 percent of women do not have a penis” as Britain debates gender laws.**

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When asked earlier this week by right-leaning website, ConservativeHome (https://conservativehome.com/2023/04/14/newslinks-for-friday-14th-april-2023/), what percentage of women have a penis, Sunak agreed with the statement that **“of course” 100 percent of women do not have a penis**, reaffirming his view that _**“biological sex is vitally, fundamentally important to these questions.”**_

> _“We should always have compassion and understanding and tolerance for those who are thinking about changing their gender. Of course we should,” said Sunak._

As The Epoch Times' Owen Evans reported earlier this week, (https://www.theepochtimes.com/sunak-says-biological-sex-is-fundamentally-important_5194252.html) according to a poll by Unherd (https://election.unherd.com/gender/), **38 percent agreed and 30 percent disagreed with the statement, “It is acceptable for adolescent children to make their own decisions about their gender identity.”**

The poll also found that the subject “cuts across party lines and income groups,” while whole swathes of rural England are “deeply skeptical” and concentrated urban centres “feel very differently.”

There is renewed controversy surrounding the issue following the Scottish government’s decision to seek a judicial review after UK ministers intervened to prevent the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, passed by MSPs in December, from gaining royal assent.

The Scottish bill—championed by then-First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon—would have **allowed anyone over the age of 16 to self-ID via a statutory declaration to obtain a new birth certificate, which changes the recording of their registered sex at birth to their chosen gender.**

There would also be no requirement for an applicant to undergo surgery or hormone therapy, and the process to change sex on birth certificates would have been simplified.

‘Adverse Impact’

**But the UK government blocked the bill in January, citing its “adverse impact” on UK-wide equalities protection.**

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_Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner at the launch of of Labour’s 2022 local election campaign at The Brown Cow, Burrs Country Park, Bury, Greater Manchester, England, on March 31, 2022. (Danny Lawson/PA)_

After Starmer’s assertion in a Sunday Times interview in April (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/keir-starmer-trans-rights-cant-override-womens-rights-m70dw55dp) that “99.9 percent of women” do not have a penis, the Labour leader faced criticism from his own party.

> **_“For 99.9 percent of women, it is completely biological … and of course they haven’t got a penis,” said Starmer._**

Rosie Duffield MP, who has been outspoken about women’s single-sex spaces (https://www.theepochtimes.com/childrens-safety-compromised-over-spread-of-extreme-gender-ideology-in-most-schools-report_5159963.html) and gender ideology and has criticised Scotland’s Gender Reform Bill wrote on Twitter:

> _“There’s no ‘somehow’ or ‘could’ about the rolling back of women’s rights. It’s already a reality, one that huge numbers of women are frightened and furious about. Sir Keir could take a look at the 2,500 livid comments under his Sunday Times piece.”_

Sunak's 'science-based' comments have been fiercely criticized by the human-rights group Liberty, which said that his comments are grounded in “transphobic assumptions” and were a means for politicians to use the lives of transgender people as a “pawn in the culture wars.”

Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 04/17/2023 - 04:15

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/uk-pm-sunak-100-women-dont-have-penises

**Before We Send Any More Money To Ukraine - Can We Find Out Where The Rest Of Our Cash Went?**

Before We Send Any More Money To Ukraine - Can We Find Out Where The Rest Of Our Cash Went?

_Authored by Sam Faddis via AND Magazine,_ (https://andmagazine.substack.com/p/before-we-send-any-more-money-to)

Back during the days of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, **we gave our allies, the mujaheddin, a whole bunch of man-portable ground-to-air missiles called Stingers (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-23-mn-16026-story.html).** They used them to great effect against the Russians.

**They also sold a bunch of them on the black market.** We then spent a great deal of time wandering all over the world, making deals with black-market arms dealers and buying back our own missiles so they would not be used to shoot down commercial airliners by terrorist groups. Needless to say, we paid top dollar to get the missiles back.

**This is the way the world works.** If you pass out money and weapons to people around the world you don’t always know in advance the ramifications. You can guarantee, however, that along the way some folks with less than honorable intentions will line their own pockets.

**Which brings us to Zelensky and Ukraine.**

> .@JoeBiden (https://twitter.com/JoeBiden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) As you throw billions in money and military equipment into .@Ukraine (https://twitter.com/Ukraine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) our southern border remains open, Mexican cartels are running with impunity along the border making money from drugs, human & sex trafficking. What's your % from the Ukraine? @MinnesotaMiners (https://twitter.com/MinnesotaMiners?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)pic.twitter.com/bYwUTic7np (https://t.co/bYwUTic7np)

>

> — Minnesota Miners (@MinnesotaMiners) March 12, 2023 (https://twitter.com/MinnesotaMiners/status/1634920188322762754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

Seymour Hersh is reporting (https://www.firstpost.com/world/cia-aware-of-widespread-corruption-in-ukraine-embezzlement-of-us-aid-claims-seymour-hersh-12448952.html) that the Ukrainians have embezzled **at least $400 million** of the money given them by the United States. Zelensky was confronted with the evidence of the embezzlement by CIA Director Burns and reportedly responded by dismissing a handful of officials but taking no serious action.

> _Seymour Hersh (https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/trading-with-the-enemy?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web): TRADING WITH THE ENEMY (https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/trading-with-the-enemy?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web)_

>

> _The Ukraine government, headed by Volodymyr Zelensky, has been using American taxpayers’ funds to pay dearly for the vitally needed diesel fuel that is keeping the Ukrainian army on the move in its war with Russia. It is unknown how much the Zelensky government is paying per gallon for the fuel, but the Pentagon was paying as much as $400 per gallon to transport gasoline from a port in Pakistan, via truck or parachute, into Afghanistan during the decades-long American war there…_

>

> _Read more (https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/trading-with-the-enemy?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web)_

**None of this should be particularly surprising. Putin may be a thug, but Ukraine is one of the world’s most corrupt nations, and it has been for a very long time.**

A 2016 report by the watchdog group _Transparency International_ found that between 38 percent to 42 percent of Ukrainian households said they paid bribes just to access basic public services. The only nation in Europe considered more corrupt than Ukraine is Russia.

This is not even the first documented case of corruption involving funding for the ongoing conflict. Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) reported recently that it had uncovered an embezzlement scheme in which money for food for the Ukrainian military was being siphoned off and ending up in the pockets of unscrupulous contractors. Per the SBU, officials from one ministry department made agreements with the heads of two commercial enterprises regarding the wholesale supply of food to locations where the military is deployed. Funds from the ministry's budget were then transferred to the accounts of firms that "lacked a production base and technological equipment" to provide the relevant services.

_**"Instead of supplying the armed forces with the agreed quantities of food products, the participants in the fraudulent mechanism diverted the funds through a number of affiliated shadow companies,"**_ the statement (https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-defense-ministry-embezzlement-food-sbu/32254492.html) said.

> NEW: Veteran reporter Seymour Hersh has uncovered a massive embezzlement of YOUR money, in Ukraine, which is funding BOTH sides of the war. READ: https://t.co/6x31ca0sSm (https://t.co/6x31ca0sSm)

>

> — The National Pulse (@TheNatPulse) April 13, 2023 (https://twitter.com/TheNa…

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/we-send-any-more-money-ukraine-can-we-find-out-where-rest-our-cash-went

**Russia, Ukraine Conduct "Great Easter Exchange" Of Prisoners**

Russia, Ukraine Conduct "Great Easter Exchange" Of Prisoners

This weekend marked the most important holiday of the Orthodox Christian calendar: Easter, also called Pascha, is widely celebrated in Orthodox churches across Ukraine and Russia.

Both countries on Sunday declared **a "great Easter exchange" of prisoners**, which included the Russian side releasing **some 130 Ukrainian prisoners of war**. It's unclear how many Russians were freed in exchange, but it's likely a similar or greater number.

> 130 Ukrainian soldiers were released from captivity and have returned to #Ukraine (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ukraine?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) following a likely deal with #Russia (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Russia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) on the occasion of Easter. pic.twitter.com/No0LigwHyO (https://t.co/No0LigwHyO)

>

> — Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) April 16, 2023 (https://twitter.com/michaelh992/status/1647520152265605120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

_Reuters_ notes that "The exchange was the second large prisoner swap in the past week" after last Monday there was a swap with 106 Russian prisoners in exchange for 100 Ukrainians.

There have been semi-regular such exchanges along the front lines of the conflict, but which aren't always widely reported.

Russia's mercenary firm Wagner Group is believed to have held the majority of Ukrainian prisoners freed (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/16/an-easter-exhange-130-ukrainian-prisoners-of-war-freed):

> _"The lives of our people are the highest value for us," Yermak said, adding that Kyiv’s goal was to bring back all remaining prisoners of war (POWs)._

>

> _The prisoners appear to have been held by Russia’s powerful Wagner Group of mercenaries._

>

> _The group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was shown telling the prisoners that they would be passed back to Ukrainian forces to mark Orthodox Easter in a video posted on Telegram by his press service._

>

> _**"I hope you don’t fall back into our hands,"** an armed Wagner soldier was heard telling the Ukrainian prisoners before they were ordered into a truck, some loading packs of water bottles._

In Ukrainian cities or regions engulfed by fighting, Easter service were limited (https://www.voanews.com/a/latest-in-ukraine-russia-ukraine-exchange-more-prisoners-on-orthodox-easter-/7052737.html):

> _**Orthodox Easter celebrations in Ukraine were muted, with curfews barring the faithful from customary all-night services**, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus in the Christian faith._

>

> _Russian President Vladimir Putin attended Easter services Saturday in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral. He crossed himself several times during the midnight service, known as the Divine Liturgy. When Patriarch Kirill announced, "Christ has risen," Putin, along with other members of the congregation, replied, "Truly he is risen."_

?itok=H20_C9Td\

_Orthodox Christians light candles during a Pascha Sunday service in Kyiv, via AP._ (?itok=H20_C9Td)

As for Ukraine's President Zelensky (who is Jewish), he issued an Easter address to the nation, given the majority of the country's population identifies as Orthodox Christian. In the video address, he said Russia’s all-out war "cannot erase us".

"Belief in it unites us all. Always, but especially today – on Easter, which has always been a family holiday for Ukrainians, a day of warmth, hope and great unity. The war could not erase us, our values, our traditions, our holidays, and the most important things they symbolize," Zelensky said.

Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 04/17/2023 - 02:45

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russia-ukraine-conduct-great-easter-exchange-prisoners

**Italy's Meloni Declares 'State Of Emergency' As Illegal Immigration Quadruples**

Italy's Meloni Declares 'State Of Emergency' As Illegal Immigration Quadruples

_Authored by John Cody via Remix News,_ (https://rmx.news/italy/meloni-declares-state-of-emergency-as-illegal-migration-quadruples-experts-warn-of-50000-new-arrivals-a-month/)

**_Italy could see up to 50,000 migrants arriving a month if current trends hold..._**

?itok=1-oZzhhR (?itok=1-oZzhhR)

_Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced emergency measures to combat a surge in illegal immigration. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)_

Italy is responding to the number of illegal boat migrants quadrupling by declaring a nationwide state of emergency, with the government of Giorgia Meloni hoping it will help Italy cope with the growing immigration surge. However, experts are warning that if current trends hold, Italy could see up to 50,000 new arrivals a month in the summer months.

The new measures, which are initially limited to six months, are intended to free up additional resources and money to deal with the crisis. Over Easter alone, around 2,000 people landed in several boats on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa (https://rmx.news/article/italy-lampedusa-faces-growing-migration-wave/).

In addition to emergency aid totaling €5 million, which will flow into the most affected regions of the country, the state of emergency will also see the construction of additional migrant shelters.

?itok=vcLFkX7R (?itok=vcLFkX7R)

_Migrants disembark from a ship in the Sicilian port of Catania, Wednesday, April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)_

So far this year, the Italian Interior Ministry has registered over 31,000 illegal entries by sea. In the same period last year, their number was 7,900. **However, the real fear is that in the coming months with warmer weather, an unprecedented number of migrants could be arriving.**

> _“Italy risks seeing something like 50,000 people arrive on its shores a month, i.e., just under 2,000 migrants a day. In March alone, landings exceeded 13,000 units and you don’t need a calculator to project this figure into the summer when sea conditions will be optimal for a greater number of days. If these figures are projected to the end of the year, Italy runs the risk of having over 250,000 migrants as of December 31,” writes Frances Gallici for Il Giornale (https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/governo/bomba-migranti-nei-prossimi-mesi-litalia-rischia-50mila-2137154.html) newspaper._

**Meloni is under pressure over immigration.** Despite campaign pledges to reduce migrant flows, Italy has done little to tackle the crisis and has seen illegal immigration numbers rise dramatically. In fact, she has personally greeted migrants rescued from the sea in a photo op, leaving many conservatives questioning whether she has any appetite to tackle the issue. **Her coalition partner, Matteo Salvini, is calling for stricter measures, such as the ones he instituted while serving as interior minister in 2019, which saw illegal immigration plummet.**

Salvini, who now serves as deputy prime minister, is not keeping quiet about the issue either. From Udine, he underlined that Europe “has been chatting for years, but has never lifted a finger. It’s time to demonstrate that there is a union and solidarity is not only the responsibility of Italy, Spain, Greece or Malta, because we are unable to support a thousand arrivals a day economically, culturally and socially.”

Salvini’s League party has introduced 21 amendments to existing immigration laws that the party says will help speed up repatriations and serve as a deterrent to new arrivals.

A government statement regarding the emergency measures announces “new structures, suitable both for sheltering as well as for the processing and repatriation of migrants who don’t have the requisites to stay” in Italy. However, building new migrant shelters may improve congestion, but it is unlikely to reduce numbers overall.

According to the Italian Interior Ministry, the most common countries of origin for illegal immigrants are **Ivory Coast (17 percent), Guinea (13 percent), Pakistan (11 percent), Egypt and Tunisia (8 percent each), Bangladesh (7 percent), Cameroon (5 percent) and Syria (4 percent)**. Another 22 percent are from other countries or have unclear status.

Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 04/17/2023 - 02:00

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/italys-meloni-declares-state-emergency-illegal-immigtration-quadruples

**Escobar: All Roads Lead To Beijing**

Escobar: All Roads Lead To Beijing

_Authored by Pepe Escobar,_ (https://strategic-culture.org/news/2023/04/15/all-roads-lead-to-beijing/)

_**This is the tale of two pilgrims following the road that really matters in the young 21st century; one coming from NATOstan and another one from BRICS.**_

?itok=SOrtgu81 (?itok=SOrtgu81)

**Let’s start with Le Petit Roi, Emmanuel Macron.** Picture him with a plastic grin in his face strolling alongside Xi Jinping in Guangzhou. Following the – long and gentle – sound of classic “High Mountain and Flowing Water”, they enter the Baiyun Hall (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTCRyxWg8xw) to listen to it played by the 1000-year-old Guqin (a beautiful instrument). They taste the fragrance of 1000-year-old tea – and muse on the rise and fall of great powers in the new millennium.

**And what does Xi tell Le Petit Roi?** He explains that when you hear this eternal music played by this eternal instrument, you expect to be in the company of a bosom friend; you are in synch as much as the high mountain and the flowing water. That’s the deeper meaning of the ancient tale of musicians Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi, 25 centuries ago in the Kingdom of Chu: bosom friendship. Only bosom friends can understand the music.

And with that, as Chinese scholars explained, Xi brought up the concept of Zhiyin. After Zhong Ziqi died, Yu Boya broke his Guqin: he thought that no one else could understand his music. Their story imprinted the term “Zhiyin”: someone who understands music, with the added meaning of close friends that can completely understand each other.

**All bets are off on whether a narcissist puppet like Macron would ever be cultured enough to understand Xi’s subtle, sophisticated message: those that get it are true soul mates.** Moreover, Macron was not dispatched to Beijing and Guangzhou by his masters to do soul mating, but to try to bend Xi towards NATO on Russia/Ukraine.

His body language is a dead giveaway – complete with crossing his arms demonstrating boredom. He may at first have been impervious to the notion that true friendship requires mutual understanding and appreciation.

But then something extraordinary happened. **Xi’s message may have touched a key spot in the tortured inner depths of the narcissist Petit Roi.** What if, in international relations, mutual understanding and appreciation is the key for nations to find common ground and work together towards common goals?

**What a revolutionary notion; not exactly the Hegemon-imposed “rules-based international order”.**

**Are you a true Sovereign?**

By inviting Le Petit Roi to China, and personally spending no less than 6 hours with his guest, Xi enacted millenniums-old diplomacy at its best. He reminded his guest of the turbulent history between France and the Anglo-Saxon powers; and he talked about sovereignty.

**The key subtle sub-plot: “Europe” better think hard about being subservient to the Hegemon and minimize as best as possible the massive economic turbulence when Confrontation Day with the U.S. arrives. Implied is Beijing’s priority of breaking up growing U.S. attempts to encircle China.**

So Xi treated France as a potential true Sovereign even under the EU; or somewhat splitting from EU dogma.

Of course another key message was implied under this Confucian invitation to epistemological growth. For those not willing to be friendly to China because of complex geopolitical layers, it will never be too late for Beijing to show the less “friendly” side of the Chinese state – if the situation arises.

**Translation: if the West goes for Total Machiavelli, China will apply Total Sun Tzu.** Even if Beijing would rather go for international relations under the aegis of Beauty, Goodness and Truth rather than “you’re with us or against us”, war _of_ terror and sanctions dementia.

So did Petit Roi have a “road to Damascus” moment? The verdict is open. He literally freaked the Hegemon out with his outburst (https://www.politico.eu/article/emmanuel-macron-china-america-pressure-interview/) that Europe must resist pressure to become “America’s followers”. That’s pretty much in synch with the 51 points (https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/fra/zxxx/202304/t20230407_11056282.html) agreed upon by Beijing and Paris, with emphasis on “legitimate security concerns of all parties”.

**The Americans got even more spooked when Macron asserted that Europe should become an independent “third superpower”. Le Petit Roi even advanced some baby steps in favor of de-dollarization (certainly under supervision of his financial masters) and not in favor of Forever Wars.**

So the Americans, in panic, had to send German 5th column Annalena “360 Degree…

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/escobar-all-roads-lead-beijing

**"Newly Discovered Seafloor Seep" Off Oregon Coast On Fault Line May Be Harbinger To Major Quake**

"Newly Discovered Seafloor Seep" Off Oregon Coast On Fault Line May Be Harbinger To Major Quake

"Chemically distinct liquid shooting up from the seafloor" has been detected by researchers on a stretch of a 600-mile-long fault line in the Pacific Ocean, which is situated only 50 miles away from the Oregon coast, and could potentially trigger a catastrophic earthquake in the Pacific Northwest.

?itok=lt1CviNC\

_Pythia’s Oasis is located on the midcontinental slope ~80 km west of Newport, Oregon_ (?itok=lt1CviNC)

"Pythia's Oasis is a newly discovered seafloor seep on the Central Oregon segment of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, where focused venting emits highly altered fluids ~9°C above the background temperature. The seep fluid chemistry is unique for Cascadia and includes extreme enrichment of boron and lithium and depletion of chloride, potassium, and magnesium. We conclude that the fluids are sourced from pore water compaction and mineral dehydration reactions with minimum source temperatures of 150° to 250°C, placing the source at or near the plate boundary offshore Central Oregon," researchers at the University of Washington (https://www.washington.edu/news/2023/04/10/warm-liquid-spewing-from-oregon-seafloor-comes-from-cascadia-fault-could-offer-clues-to-earthquake-hazards/) wrote in a study.

?itok=V0jsKwFB\

_This sonar image of the Pythias Oasis site shows bubbles rising from the seafloor about two-thirds of a mile deep and 50 miles off Newport, Oregon. These bubbles are a byproduct of a unique site where warm, chemically distinct fluid gushes from the seafloor. Researchers believe this fluid comes directly from the Cascadia megathrust zone, or plate boundary, and helps control stress buildup between the two plates. Philip et al./Science Advances_ (?itok=V0jsKwFB)

Researchers said the seep is nearly a mile below the surface of the ocean at the plate boundary and was first observed in 2015. They fear the leak could be a sign of future earthquake activity:

> _"The megathrust fault zone is like an air hockey table._

>

> _"If the fluid pressure is high, it's like the air is turned on, meaning there's less friction and the two plates can slip. If the fluid pressure is lower, the two plates will lock – that's when stress can build up," co-author Evan Solomon, a University of Washington associate professor of oceanography who studies seafloor geology, wrote._

Video of an underwater drone surveying the seafloor seeps.

The Cascadia Subduction Zone parrels several major West Coast cities, including Seattle and Portland, Oregon, as well as Northern California and Vancouver Island in Canada. And researchers fear the seismically quiet fault line could be awakened and "unleash a magnitude-9 earthquake in the Pacific Northwest."

Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Sun, 04/16/2023 - 23:00

https://www.zerohedge.com/weather/newly-discovered-seafloor-seep-oregon-coast-fault-line-may-be-harbinger-major-quake

**10 Years On - The Boston Bombing Backstory**

10 Years On - The Boston Bombing Backstory

_Authored by Lloyd Billlingsley via AmGreatness.com,_ (https://amgreatness.com/2023/04/14/boston-bombing-backstory/)

_**Local police, not the FBI, are the true warriors against terrorism...**_

?itok=n3ZeQKws (?itok=n3ZeQKws)

**Ten years ago, at the April 15, 2013 running of the Boston Marathon, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev planted pressure-cooker bombs that wounded more than 250 and killedLingzi Lu (https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2015/03/11/linzi-lu-tsarnaev-trial/), 23,Krystle Campbell (https://www.tbf.org/donors/forms/krystle-campbell-memorial-fund), 29, andMartin Richard (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3018235/Jurors-sob-hear-Boston-bombing-victims-Martin-Richard-Lingzi-Lu-painfully-died.html), only eight years old.**

The 2016 film“Patriots Day (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4572514/)” dramatizes the story but doesn’t start at the beginning.

**A year and a half before the bombing, theFBI ignored warnings (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-explosions-boston-congress/russia-warned-u-s-about-boston-marathon-bomb-suspect-tsarnaev-report-idUSBREA2P02Q20140326) from Russia about the Tsarnaevs’ terrorist connections.** In the film, Kevin Bacon plays special agent Richard DesLauriers, in charge of the “counterterrorism investigation (https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/boston/press-releases/2013/fbi-boston-division-announces-retirement-of-special-agent-in-charge-richard-deslauriers),” after the fact.

**Local police, not the FBI, go after the bombers and manage to take down Tamerlan.** Dzhokhar hid in a boat and suffered several wounds, including one to the mouth thatmay have been self-inflicted (https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/08/20/213778483/shot-through-mouth-was-bombing-suspects-most-severe-injury).

The brothers had murdered MIT police officer Sean Collier, as U.S. Attorney William Weinreb explained, “shooting him in the head at point-blank range twice in the side of the head and once right between the eyes (https://abcnews.go.com/US/images-show-sean-collier-murder-scene-boston-marathon/story?id=29556597).”

**That brought the death toll to four. As they buried their dead, Bostonians had cause to wonder why the FBI failed to learn from previous bombings.**

In 1993, the FBI failed to prevent Islamic terrorists from detonating approximately1,200 pounds of explosives (https://www.911memorial.org/connect/commemoration/February26-1993) at the World Trade Center. The blast claimed the lives of John DiGiovanni, Robert Kirkpatrick, Stephen Knapp, William Macko, Wilfredo Mercado, and Monica Rodriguez Smith. The blast wounded more than 1,000, including 88 firefighters, 35 police officers, and a medical worker.

Three years later, at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, the FBI failed to stopEric Robert Rudolph (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/olympic-park-bomber-eric-rudolph-agrees-to-plead-guilty) from planting a bomb, packed with nails, that killedAlice Hawthorne (https://www.ajc.com/news/daughter-olympic-bombing-victim-was-terrible-terrible-day/vlm1jhRaWjblxYCh1gDo5H/) of Albany, Georgia. Turkish cameraman Melih Unzonyol suffered a fatal heart attack and the bomb wounded more than 100 others.

The FBI then tried to frame security guardRichard Jewell (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3513548/), subject of the eponymous Clint Eastwood film, who tried to evacuate the area before the blast. For his part, Rudolph had an example to follow.

Back in 1978 Ted Kaczynskimailed a bomb (https://amgreatness.com/2022/10/02/when-billy-met-teddy/) that wounded Northwestern University professor Buckley Crist. Kaczynski’s bombs also wounded United Airlines president Percy Wood, Vanderbilt University secretary Janet Smith, UC Berkeley electrical engineering professor Diogenes Angelakos, engineering student John Hauser, University of Michigan professor James McConnell, his assistant Nicklaus Suino, and computer store owner Gary Wright.

Kaczinski’s explosive devices maimed renowned computer scientist David Gelernter in 1993 and killed computer store owner Hugh Scrutton, advertising executive Thomas Mosser and lobbyist Gilbert Murray, in 1994. The so-called Unabomber had been active for 17 years, during the administrations of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton—all without detection by the FBI.

Only with the aid of Kaczynski’s brother, who identified the bomber through his public manifesto, was the FBI able to track down Ted. He pleaded guilty in 1998 and was sentenced to life without parole.

Three years later, the FBI failed to prevent the attack of September 11, 2001, with 3,000 casualties, billions in damages, and suffering that endures to this day. It remain…

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/10-years-boston-bombing-backstory

**These Are The Largest Bond Markets In The World**

These Are The Largest Bond Markets In The World

In 2022, the global bond market totaled **$133 trillion**.

**As one of the world’s largest capital markets, debt securities have grown sevenfold over the last 40 years**. As Visual Capitalists Dorothy Neufeld details below (https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-largest-bond-markets-in-the-world/), government and corporate debt sales across major economies and emerging markets have fueled this dramatic growth. Over the last three years, China’s bond market has grown 13% annually.

Based on estimates from the Bank for International Statements (https://stats.bis.org/statx/srs/table/c1?f=pdf), this graphic shows the largest bond markets in the world.

?itok=YJfybgVe (?itok=YJfybgVe)

_Total debt numbers here include both **domestic** and **international debt securities** in each particular country or region. BIS notes that international debt securities are issued outside the local market of the country where the borrower resides and cover eurobonds as well as foreign bonds, but exclude negotiable loans._

Ranked: The World’s Top Bond Markets

Valued at over **$51 trillion**, the U.S. has the largest bond market globally.

Government bonds made up the majority of its debt market, with over $26 trillion in securities outstanding. In 2022, the Federal government paid $534 billion in interest on this debt.

China is second, at 16% of the global total. Local commercial banks hold the greatest share of its outstanding bonds, while foreign ownership remains fairly low. Foreign interest in China’s bonds slowed in 2022 amid geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and lower yields.\

?itok=7fl4TmUX (?itok=7fl4TmUX)

_\*Represent countries where total debt securities were not reported by national authorities. These figures are the sum of domestic debt securities reported by national authorities and/or international debt securities compiled by BIS._

_Data as of Q3 2022._

As the above table shows, Japan has the third biggest debt market. Japan’s central bank owns a massive share of its government bonds. Central bank ownership hit a record 50% as it tweaked its yield curve control policy that was introduced in 2016. The policy was designed to help boost inflation and prevent interest rates from falling. As inflation began to rise in 2022 (https://advisor.visualcapitalist.com/2023-inflation-forecasts-by-country/) and bond investors began selling, it had to increase its yield to spur demand and liquidity. The adjustment sent shockwaves through financial markets.

In Europe, France is home to the largest bond market at **$4.4 trillion** in total debt, surpassing the United Kingdom by roughly $150 billion.

Banks: A Major Buyer in Bond Markets

Like central banks around the world, commercial banks are key players in bond markets.

In fact, commercial banks are among the top three buyers of U.S. government debt. This is because commercial banks will reinvest client deposits into interest-bearing securities. These often include U.S. Treasuries, which are highly liquid and one of the safest assets globally.

As we can see in the chart below, the banking sector often surpasses an economy’s total GDP.

?itok=g-fUeGE4 (?itok=g-fUeGE4)

As interest rates have risen sharply since 2022, the price of bonds has been pushed down, given their inverse relationship. This has raised questions about what type of bonds banks hold.

In the U.S., commercial banks hold **$4.2 trillion** in Treasury bonds and other government securities. For large U.S. banks, these holdings account for almost 24% of assets on average. They make up an average 15% of assets for small banks in 2023. Since mid-2022, small banks have reduced their bond holdings due to interest rate increases.

As higher rates reverberate across the banking system and wider economy, it may expose further strains on global bond markets which have expanded rapidly in an era of dovish monetary policy (https://advisor.visualcapitalist.com/financial-conditions-index/) and ultra-low interest rates.

Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Sun, 04/16/2023 - 22:00

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/these-are-largest-bond-markets-world

**Anheuser-Busch Transitions Into Damage Control Mode - And People Aren't Buying It**

Anheuser-Busch Transitions Into Damage Control Mode - And People Aren't Buying It

After rolling out a Bud Light ad campaign featuring flamboyant transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney - whose ditzy caricature of a woman mocks decades of actual progress by feminists (who have apparently been wokeshamed into silence), **Anheuser-Busch's damage control team kicked into action on Friday** after the Mulvaney ad sparked **a massive backlash (https://www.zerohedge.com/political/bar-owner-says-customers-have-stopped-ordering-bud-light-after-trangender-ad-campaign).**

**?itok=JZU9jWs4 (?itok=JZU9jWs4)**

"We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people," said Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Brendan Whitworth in a carefully crafted, heavily focus-grouped press release (https://www.anheuser-busch.com/newsroom/our-responsibility-to-america) which failed to mention Mulvaney, Bud Light, or transgender issues. "We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer."

" **I care deeply about this country, this company, our brands and our partners.** I spend much of my time traveling across America, listening to and learning from our customers, distributors and others," the statement continued. "Moving forward, I will continue to work tirelessly to bring great beers to consumers across our nation."

Translation: Let's all forget about this over a beer.

The company then went with a 'hey fellow beer drinkers' ad campaign, tweeting "TGIF" along with a picture of a Bud Light can. It was received about as well as one would imagine... with a **massive ratio** of people commenting vs. 'liking' it.

?itok=9Aq3NAub (?itok=9Aq3NAub)

The campaign was mocked mercilessly.

> This is the beer can we wanted pic.twitter.com/MBKMEsgK7P (https://t.co/MBKMEsgK7P)

>

> — Mostly Peaceful Memes (@MostlyPeacefull) April 15, 2023 (https://twitter.com/MostlyPeacefull/status/1647072631433334784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

> Waiting for a REAL apology from Bud Light, along with an announcement that they have fired their marketing team.

>

> — The Gay Republican (@GayRepublicSwag) April 15, 2023 (https://twitter.com/GayRepublicSwag/status/1647056199085326341?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

> New sponsor for Pisswater Light pic.twitter.com/YjOrjLTjIT (https://t.co/YjOrjLTjIT)

>

> — Big Ray Hernandez (@BigRayHernandez) April 14, 2023 (https://twitter.com/BigRayHernandez/status/1646999498470866947?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

More via _The Epoch Times_ (https://www.theepochtimes.com/anheuser-busch-ceo-breaks-silence-after-bud-light-dylan-mulvaney-controversy_5196111.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=ZeroHedge&src_src=partner&src_cmp=ZeroHedge) (emphasis ours),

Brand Damage

Some analysts and investors said that the damage likely won’t sink Anheuser-Busch, but the damage has been done to the Bud Light brand.

?itok=YLY0zFAP\

_The logo of Anheuser-Busch InBev pictured outside the brewer’s headquarters in Leuven, Belgium, on Feb. 28, 2019. (Francois Lenoir/Reuters)_ (?itok=YLY0zFAP)

“I simply don’t understand why they hired the person who was doing the marketing,” Oxygen Financial CEO Ted Jenkin told Fox News Thursday. “I mean, **if your target customer is Kid Rock, and then all of a sudden you decide to go to RuPaul, that just doesn’t make any sense at all.**”

**Because Bud Light generally targets “blue-collar workers and younger adults that are 25 to 29 years old,” the campaign should be problematic for the firm.** “So, I don’t think that this one campaign is going to colossally destroy the brand,” it said.

“But certainly short term, it puts doubt into their loyal drinkers of Bud Light to say, ‘Do I want to continue to be drinking Bud Light based upon who they’re showing representing Bud Light?’” he asked. “Anytime a company puts on a national spokesperson that has backlash, it certainly can affect your business.”

A research fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research wrote this week that Anheuser-Busch is owned by InBev, a multinational conglomerate worth tens of billions of dollars. One product, he wrote, won’t do a huge amount of damage to the brand or value.

“ **But that seems like a plausible result.** The Venn diagram of people interested in drinking Bud Light and those eager to support the issue at the sharp edge of the wokis…

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/anheuser-busch-transitions-damage-control-mode-and-people-arent-buying-it

**Is Free Speech Killing Us? FDA Commissioner Declares "Misinformation" A Medical Risk**

Is Free Speech Killing Us? FDA Commissioner Declares "Misinformation" A Medical Risk

_Authored by Jonathan Turley,_ (https://jonathanturley.org/2023/04/15/is-free-speech-killing-us-fda-commissioner-declares-misinformation-a-medical-risk/)

Last year, we discussed (https://jonathanturley.org/2022/01/28/who-head-tedros-supports-corporate-censorship-to-combat-the-infodemic/) the declaration of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus that censorship was needed to combat what he called the “infodemic.” It was a jarring position given the censorship of experts and scientists who have now been vindicated in raising questions over mask protection to natural immunities to school closings to the origins of Covid 19. Nevertheless, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf added his own voice to call for censorship. Califf declared that life expectancy rates are being suppressed due to “misinformation.” His call for action against ill-defined “disinformation” or “misinformation” is being echoed throughout the Biden Administration.

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In a CNBC interview, (https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/11/us-life-expectancy-hurt-by-misinformation-fda-commissioner-robert-califf.html)  Califf lashed out at “health misinformation” which he said was one of his top priorities to address through “specific authorities at FDA, FTC and other areas.”

Califf noted:

> “You think about the impact of a single person reaching a billion people on the internet all over the world, we just weren’t prepared for that. We don’t have societal rules that are adjudicating it quite right, and I think it’s impacting our health in very detrimental ways.”

**He does not elaborate on what would be those “societal rules” for “adjudication” of access to information. However, it holds a familiar ring for free speech advocates.**

In recent months, the Twitter Files revealed an extensive and secret effort by the FBI and other agencies (https://jonathanturley.org/2023/03/06/more-trout-than-milk-twitter-releases-more-evidence-of-government-censorship-operations/) to censor citizens on social media. I testified (https://jonathanturley.org/2023/02/09/turley-testifies-on-censorship-before-house-select-subcommittee/) on that effort. New emails (https://jonathanturley.org/2023/03/26/new-documents-expose-government-censorship-efforts-at-facebook-and-whatsapp/) uncovered in the ongoing _Missouri v. Biden_ litigation reportedly show that the Biden Administration’s censorship efforts extended to Facebook to censor private communications on its WhatsApp messaging service.

**We also know of backchannel communications with the CDC (https://jonathanturley.org/2022/08/24/twitters-tricky-timing-problem-lawsuit-reveals-back-cdc-channel-to-coordinate-censorship/) and other agencies.**

As officials like Califf call for continued crackdowns, there is no recognition of how the government worked to silence opposing views that have been vindicated in recent months.

**For years, scientists faced censorship for even raising the lab theory as a possible explanation for the virus.** Their reputations and careers were shredded by a media flash mob. The Washington Post declared this a “debunked” coronavirus “conspiracy theory (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/media-interested-now-in-covid-19-theory-they-said-couldnt-possibly-be-true__;!!F0Stn7g!CNp1B8Kpm5wLo4ddcSRS2-NCy3iqoum8Z1dF8BgV0QzqumAWyghGdgRgCUp1vIgSiQ6I2pjK90l3ad5aifs$).” The New York Times’ Science and Health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli was calling any mention of the lab theory “racist.” (https://jonathanturley.org/2021/05/28/please-dont-write-about-it-new-york-times-science-reporter-declares-lab-leak-theory-racist/)

When a Chinese researcher told Fox News that this was man-made, the network was attacked and the left-leaning _PolitiFact_ slammed her (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/politifact-retracts-wuhan-lab-theory-fact-check__;!!F0Stn7g!CNp1B8Kpm5wLo4ddcSRS2-NCy3iqoum8Z1dF8BgV0QzqumAWyghGdgRgCUp1vIgSiQ6I2pjK90l3VtHGGZE$) a “pants on fire rating.”

The mask mandate and other pandemic measures like the closing of schools are now cited as fueling emotional and developmental problems in children. The closing of schools and businesses (https://jonathanturley.org/2022/02/02/study-lockdowns-did-little-to-combat-covid-mortality/) was challenged by some critics as unnecessary. Many of those critics were also censored. It now appears that they may have been right. Many countries did not close schools and did not experience increases in Covid. However, we are n…

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/free-speech-killing-us-fda-commissioner-declares-misinformation-medical-risk

**FAA Grants SpaceX Launch License For Starship Orbital Flight**

FAA Grants SpaceX Launch License For Starship Orbital Flight

The Federal Aviation Administration granted SpaceX final regulatory approval to launch the world's biggest rocket on Monday morning.

> _"After a comprehensive license evaluation process, the FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental, policy, payload, airspace integration, and financial responsibility requirements," the FAA said in a statement, adding, "The license is valid for five years."_

Elon Musk's SpaceX said the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster are ready for launch at its facility in Boca Chica, Texas, beginning at 0700 CT for a 150-minute window.

SpaceX explained this Starship launch is the first "integrated flight test." This means it's the first time the Super Heavy rocket and Starship will have taken off together.

If the launch is successful, the Super Heavy booster will attempt landing at SpaceX's base, while Starship will attempt a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

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SpaceX developed Starship to haul people and cargo to the moon, Mars, and deep space.

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Over the weekend, Musk retweeted images of the Starship rocket on the launch pad.

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The billionaire recently said the Starship test has a 50% chance of succeeding on its first orbital flight.

Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Sun, 04/16/2023 - 21:00

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/faa-grants-spacex-launch-license-starship-orbital-test

**"Nowhere Else In The World Was Such Open Dissent Amongst Appointed Leaders On Display"**

"Nowhere Else In The World Was Such Open Dissent Amongst Appointed Leaders On Display"

_By Eric Peters, CIO of One River Asset Management_

“Rather than embracing the promise of new technology as we have done in the past, here we propose to embrace stagnation, force centralization, urge expatriation, and welcome extinction of new technology,” said SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce, a registered Republican, first nominated to the SEC by Obama in 2015, appointed by Trump in 2017, and will serve through 2025.

“Accordingly, I dissent,” she said, directly to Chairman Gensler and the three additional Commissioners who collectively lead the SEC.

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“No longer does this Commission consider the real-world effects of its exercise of authority. No longer does this Commission think creatively about regulatory alternatives that advance the Commission’s mission while preserving space for potentially disruptive innovation. No longer does this Commission worry that regulatory bullheadedness often produces absurd consequences,” said Hester, a courageous public servant in a world short of inspired leaders, determined to call things as she sees them.

“Rather, today’s Commission aggressively expands its regulatory reach to solve problems that do not exist. Today’s Commission treats its basic approach to exchange regulation as something that must not - indeed cannot - be altered to allow room for new technologies or for new ways of doing business,” she said.

“The release sends a message that we are uninterested in facilitating innovation and competition in the financial markets and instead seek to protect incumbents. Accordingly, although I am generally supportive of reopening comment periods where it is clear that the Commission will benefit from further good faith engagement with the public, I cannot support what the Commission is doing in this release,” said Hester.

Nowhere else in the world was such open dissent amongst appointed leaders on display. And it doesn’t matter whether you agree or not with Pierce’s position on the matter of distributed ledger technological innovation, it is the spirit and substance of her public stand that reminds us of what makes America great.

_For the complete SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce speech \[click here (https://info.oneriveram.com/e/937233/rendering-inovation-2023-04-12/5wsy69/400088408?h=FXeuoCDw5gncbncj7j7m1HvKkQ4YwrgaCzQobwGM70w)\]._

Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Sun, 04/16/2023 - 20:30

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/nowhere-else-world-was-such-open-dissent-amongst-appointed-leaders-display

**CVS 'Gender Transition' Guide Requires Use Of Preferred Pronouns, Sharing Bathrooms**

CVS 'Gender Transition' Guide Requires Use Of Preferred Pronouns, Sharing Bathrooms

CVS has issued 'gender transition guidelines' which put employees on notice that **people must be addressed by their preferred pronouns** **and names**, and that they may use whichever restroom or locker room they wish, whether or not they identify as transgender, _Fox Business_ (https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/cvs-gender-transition-guide-employees-preferred-pronouns-bathroom-reflecting-identity) reports.

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According to the guidelines, **employees are notified that they may be entitled to medial leave** "under the Family and Medical Leave Act, state law, and/or CVS Health policy," while transitioning employees are encouraged to tell their immediate supervisor about their decision so that the company "can provide support and to make your transition as smooth as possible."

"You may also wish to have appropriate medical care to support your transition, including treatments such as hormone replacement therapy and/or gender confirmation surgery," the guide continues.

"During and after the transition has occurred, CVS Health encourages you to continue to partner with your Leader and your Advice & Counsel representative, and to immediately report any issues that you might have with your employment, your work environment, and/or your Leader, co-workers, clients, and customers."

> _**In a section titled, "Guidelines for Supporting a Colleague who is Transitioning,"** the guide encourages employees to **be an ally** by asking colleagues to let them know if they say or do anything that makes them uncomfortable. It also urges employees to not make assumptions about a person's gender._

>

> _**It says employees should become an ally to make a positive impact on a co-worker's life,** become an inclusive leader, champion and celebrate all aspects of diversity and to show compliance with the CVS Health Equal Employment, Affirmative Action, AntiDiscrimination, Anti-Harassment, and Anti-Retaliation Policy. -Fox Business_

According to the company's Affirmative Action, AntiDiscrimination, Anti-Harassment, and Anti-Retaliation Policy, the company is "committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity and takes affirmative action to recruit, hire, employ, develop, compensate, promote and advance in employment based on an individual’s job-related qualifications, abilities, and job performance," and prohibits discrimination and harassment.

**Transgender CVS employees are encouraged to include their preferred pronouns** in email signatures, and let people know during meeting introductions. After this is done, co-workers **are instructed not to refer to the individual by other pronouns or their previous name**.

"People use different terms to refer to themselves, but some terms are universally considered disrespectful and violate CVS’s policy against discrimination and harassment," states the guide. "Terms like transgender, trans-male/trans-female, non-binary or ‘male’ or ‘female’ should be used."

What's more, **according to company policy, all workers "should determine the most appropriate" bathroom and locker room** based on their gender identity.

"Any colleague, customer, or patient—transgender or otherwise--may choose to use the restroom and/or locker room that is appropriate to the gender they identify with," according to the guide, which adds that transgender employees have "Any colleague, customer, or patient—transgender or otherwise--may choose to use the restroom and/or locker room that is appropriate to the gender they identify with."

Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Sun, 04/16/2023 - 20:00

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/cvs-gender-transition-guide-requires-use-preferred-pronouns-sharing-bathrooms

**US Appeals Court Judge Rejects ProPublica Story On Justice Clarence Thomas**

US Appeals Court Judge Rejects ProPublica Story On Justice Clarence Thomas

_Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (https://www.theepochtimes.com/us-appeals-court-judge-rejects-propublica-story-on-justice-clarence-thomas_5195478.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=ZeroHedge&src_src=partner&src_cmp=ZeroHedge) (emphasis ours),_

**Two appeals court judges recently weighed in on reporting around Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and that he and his wife were gifted with trips and vacations from a billionaire friend for decades.**

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_Associate Justice Clarence Thomas sits during a group photograph of the justices at the Supreme Court in Washington on April 23, 2021. (Erin Schaff/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)_ (?itok=P6L0vlUf)

Judge Thomas Hardiman of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit **dismissed the notion of a “scandal”** surrounding Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Last week, left-wing outlet ProPublica published (https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow) an article in which “experts,” some unnamed, argue Justice Thomas violated disclosure obligations by neglecting to report luxury gifts he received from billionaire friend Harlan Crow.

“The thing that I thought was weird about the Justice Thomas thing is the ‘scandal,’ to use your word, **there was no intimation at any time, ever, that his billionaire friend ever had any business before the Supreme Court.** So, how’s he helping his friend? He’s not even in a position to help his friend because his friend had exactly zero cases in the Supreme Court,” Judge Hardiman said (https://www.nationalreview.com/news/u-s-appeals-court-judge-dismisses-propublica-story-on-justice-thomas/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20thing%20that%20I%20thought,business%20before%20the%20Supreme%20Court.) in response to a question asked by an undergraduate during this week’s event, according to the National Review (https://www.nationalreview.com/news/u-s-appeals-court-judge-dismisses-propublica-story-on-justice-thomas/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20thing%20that%20I%20thought,business%20before%20the%20Supreme%20Court.).

He was making reference to a ProPublica article published earlier this month that cited several unnamed experts who claimed that Thomas violated disclosure obligations by not reporting luxury gifts he received from billionaire Harlan Crow, a friend of his. The move prompted some Democratic lawmakers—namely Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—to propose impeaching (https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3937388-ocasio-cortez-calls-for-thomas-impeachment-after-report-of-undisclosed-gifts-from-gop-donor/) Thomas.

“You know, I decide cases involving lawyers in Pittsburgh. And I know these lawyers, some of them are former law partners of mine. I belong to organizations with them, I go to lunch with them. Should I not hear their cases? If you have such suspicion about our integrity, **you could really end up in a situation where judges can’t even do their jobs because at some point you’re attached to everybody,**” Hardiman continued.

“ **If someone wanted to make me look bad and I happened to rule in favor of a client in an immigration case that was argued by my former law clerk, oh, there would be a big exposé, ‘oh, Hardiman chose partiality to his law clerk,**’” Hardiman then said.

The judge then gave an example:  “I’ve had my former law clerks stand up in court and argue cases. And I don’t think they’ve ever won a case. And it’s not because they’re not brilliant lawyers. They are. But usually they’re doing pro bono immigration cases, and sadly, for the immigrants, those cases can be very difficult to win.”

Judge James Ho of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said that there is a difference between “an actual instance of corruption” and “the mere perception” during remarks he made during the event. “I think the appearance issue is absolutely important” as “the judiciary basically rests on its credibility,” he said, according to the National Review.

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_Judge Thomas Hardiman, a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is seen in Washington, on Nov. 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)_ (?itok=_71orPYX)

“ **The judiciary, like any human institution, isn’t perfect, because none of us are perfect,” Ho** added.

Earlier in the month, a report published by nonprofit news org…

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/us-appeals-court-judge-rejects-propublica-story-justice-clarence-thomas