**Not The "Net Zero" Americans Were Promised**
Not The "Net Zero" Americans Were Promised
While the latest IMF forecasts were mostly lost in the din surrounding the start of earnings season, besides the now standard cuts to global growth forecasts (https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/risk-harder-landing-imf-cuts-global-gdp-outlook-warns-heavy-downside-risks-due-banking), there was one standout item.
As National Bank of Canada points out, the IMF's projections forecast US net debt to rise from 95% of GDP in 2023 to 110% by 2028, which actually is a conservative estimate when comparing a similar, if even more concerning longer-term forecast from the Congressional Budget Office, which effectively projects hyperinflation.
> US to add $19TN in debt over next decade according to the CBO's conservative estimate and debt as % of GDP will double by 2053 to 195%.
>
> Congrats MMT, you won. pic.twitter.com/MvoJwxz6Cf (https://t.co/MvoJwxz6Cf)
>
> — zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 15, 2023 (https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1625971703208615936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
But while the fate of US debt/GDP in 2050 may feel like someone else's problem to most Americans, NBC warns that a far more pressing issue may emerge as soon as a decade from today. That's because unless Washington raises taxes more or slashes benefits (an unlikely outcome), the Social Security fund will hit net zero - i.e., will be exhausted - in just 10 years.
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And as US social security becomes a pay as you go system, sovereign debt issuance will increase at an accelerated rate to offset the statutory decline in the social security fund balance. That, combined with the global "Net Zero" cost forecast of $150 trillion over the next 30 years (https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/here-hidden-150-trillion-agenda-behind-crusade-against-climate-change)\- or some _**$5 trillion per year**_ \- most if not all of it courtesy of the Federal Reserve...
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... means that in the very near future, the Fed will be drawn back in to monetize debt (read restart QE) at a pace that has never been seen before. The only question is which crisis will get us there first.
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 04/24/2023 - 06:55
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/not-net-zero-americans-were-promised
**Why Gold May Be On The Cusp Of Another Major Bull Market**
Why Gold May Be On The Cusp Of Another Major Bull Market
_Authored by Jesse Felder via TheFelderReport.com,_ (https://thefelderreport.com/2023/04/19/got-gold-7/)
Last week, the Treasury Department revealed that the federal deficit hit $1.1 trillion (https://twitter.com/jessefelder/status/1646875098975203329) in the first half of the fiscal year ending in March, $432 billion larger than the same period a year earlier.
**Moreover, most of this expansion came in the month of March, as spending rose 36% year-over-year (https://twitter.com/McClellanOsc/status/1646219215710601217)** (not in small part due to rapidly rising interest costs). Longer-term, there is a clear widening trend that began back in 2015 that appears to now have resumed after some pandemic-inspired gyrations. And, if history is any guide, this deteriorating fiscal trend should represent a structurally bearish influence for the dollar in the months and years to come.
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**Moreover, if history is any guide, the best protection against a deteriorating fiscal situation (mathematically guaranteed by rapidly growing social security and medicare spending (https://twitter.com/Brian_Riedl/status/1626032982426353664)) is gold.**
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The last time the deficit reversed from a narrowing trend and began a major widening trend, back in the early-2000’s, it coincided with a major top in the dollar index which evolved into a major bear market for the greenback (inverted in the chart below) that lasted roughly a decade.
**This was one of the primary catalysts for a major bull market in the price of gold which rose from a low of $250 in 2001 to a high of nearly $2,000 a decade later.**
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**Currently, investors have little to no interest in owning gold (which is a bullish contrarian sign in my book).**
As my friend Callum Thomas (https://twitter.com/Callum_Thomas/status/1647321147724427265) recently pointed out, assets in gold ETFs like GLD are a tiny fraction of those invested in equity ETFs like SPY.
**However, there’s a good chance that the deteriorating fiscal situation will over time light a fire under investor appetites for precious metals relative to financial assets, just as it did two decades ago.**
And that’s exactly the sort of thing that could power another major bull market (https://thefelderreport.com/2023/02/22/gold-is-knocking-on-the-door-of-new-record-highs/) for the precious metal.
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_**Got gold?**_
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 04/24/2023 - 06:30
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/why-gold-may-be-cusp-another-major-bull-market
**Visualizing The S&P 500 In 2023 So Far**
Visualizing The S&P 500 In 2023 So Far
With one quarter of 2023 in the books, how has the S&P 500 performed so far?
The index had a tumultuous 2022, ending the year down 18%, its worst performance since 2008. But so far, despite dealing with tight monetary conditions and an unexpected banking crisis, the S&P 500 has promptly started to rebound.
The animation below from **Visual Capitalist's Jan Varsava** (https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/visualizing-the-sp-500s-performance-in-2023-so-far/) shows the stock performance of each company on the S&P 500 (https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/index-family/equity/us-equity/sp-sectors/#indices), categorized by sector.
Biggest Gainers on the S&P 500
The S&P 500 increased 7.5% during the first quarter of 2023. Though it was led by a few big outperformers, more than half of the stocks on the index closed above their end-of-December prices.
Here are the top 30 biggest gainers on the index from January 1 to March 31, 2023.
RankCompany3-Month Return1Nvidia90.1%2Meta (Facebook)76.1%3Tesla68.4%4Warner Bros. Discovery59.3%5Align Technology58.4%6AMD51.3%7Salesforce50.7%8West Pharmaceuticals47.3%9General Electric46.3%10Catalent46.0%11First Solar45.2%12Monolithic Power Systems41.8%13MarketAxess Holdings40.6%14GE Healthcare Tech40.5%15Arista Networks38.3%16ANSYS Inc.37.8%17Fortinet Inc.35.9%18Wynn Resorts35.7%19Paramount Global33.8%20FedEx Corp32.7%21MGM Resorts32.5%22Royal Caribbean Group32.1%23ON Semiconductor Corp32.0%24Booking Holdings31.6%25Cadence Design Systems30.8%26Skyworks Solutions30.2%27Pulte Group28.4%28Seagate Technology27.1%29Apple27.1%30Lam Research26.6%
**Nvidia** shares gained the most of all the companies on the S&P 500 in Q1 2023, posting a staggering 90% return over three months.
As the world’s largest chipmaker by market cap, Nvidia gained from both strong earnings and semiconductor industry performance. It also benefited from the rising prevalence of artificial intelligence (https://www.visualcapitalist.com/generative-ai-explained-by-ai/) (AI) through software like ChatGPT.
Meanwhile, other tech giants **Apple** and **Microsoft** gained 27% and 21% respectively over the same time period.
Tech Leads Returns by Sector
The technology sector as a whole was the best performing sectoral index thanks to these big moves, up 21.7% at the end of March.
Sector3-Month ReturnTechnology21.65%Consumer Services21.27%Consumer Discretionary16.60%Materials4.29%Industrials3.47%Real Estate1.95%Consumer Staples0.72%Utilities-3.24%Health Care-4.31%Energy-4.37%Financials-5.56%S&P 5007.5%
Shares of other tech-adjacent companies like Meta (formerly Facebook (https://www.visualcapitalist.com/saying-bye-to-facebook-why-companies-change-their-name/)) and Tesla—listed on the S&P 500 under the categories of communication services and consumer discretionary—also had a strong start to the year and lifted their respective sectors.
Meta in particular is **up 76%** in Q1 2023, continuing its rebound after falling to an eight-year low in November 2022 on the back of better-than-expected fourth quarter results (https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/01/facebook-parent-meta-earnings-q4-2022.html) and share buybacks.
Biggest Losers on the S&P 500
On the other side of the S&P 500, the financial sector was rocked by sudden collapses (https://www.visualcapitalist.com/largest-bank-failures-modern-history/).
**Signature Bank** and **Silicon Valley Financial Group** shares lost the most ground in the first quarter, after both banks collapsed, shedding nearly all of their value in a matter of 30 days.
In fact, seven of the 10 worst performers on the index to start 2023 are banks or financial companies. The visualization shows the ripple effect on the market after the collapse of regional banks in March, and the ensuing rout driving the entire sector down 5.6% year-to-date.
Here are the top 30 biggest losers on the index from January 1 to March 31, 2023.
RankCompany3-Month Return1Signature Bank-99.8%2Silicon Valley Financial Group-99.6%3First Republic Bank-88.5%4Lumen Technologies-49.2%5Zions Bancorporation-38.6%6Charles Schwab Corp-36.9%7Comerica Incorporated-33.9%8DISH Network-33.5%9KeyCorp-27.3%10Lincoln National Corp-25.8%11Centene Corporation-22.9%12Cigna Group-22.5%13APA Corporation-22.3%14Citizens Financial Group-22.1%15Enphase Energy Inc.-20.6%16Baxter International Inc.-19.9%17Truist Financial Corporation-19.9%18American International Group-19.8%19CVS Health Corporation-19.7%20Pfizer-19.6%21Gen Digital-19.5%22MetLife-19.4%23Huntington Bancshares-19.4%24Fidelity National-19.3%25Halliburton Company-19.2%26Molina Healthcare-19.0%27PNC Financial Services-18.8%28Boston Properties-18.4%29Fifth Third Bancorp-17.8%30Allstate Corporation-17.7%
Despite the tight monetary landscape, traditionally defensive sectors like energy, consumer staples, and healthcare also underperformed the broader index. This is a reversal from marke…
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/visualizing-sp-500-2023-so-far
**It's A "Defund-The-Global-Police" Moment, Jen Says De-Dollarization Is Happening At A "Stunning" Pace**
It's A "Defund-The-Global-Police" Moment, Jen Says De-Dollarization Is Happening At A "Stunning" Pace
Over the last few weeks, it has seemed you can't turn a page, blink at a pixel, or hear a news report without some form of **de-dollarization** headline shrieking at you. From Brazil to Saudi Arabia, and from India to Argentina, and increasing number of nations are 'reportedly' shifting away from the dollar hegemon.
Some recent headlines:
- "No Reason" For Malaysia To Rely On US Dollar, PM Warns As Yuan Influence Grows (https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/no-reason-malaysia-rely-us-dollar-pm-warns-yuan-influence-grows)
- De-Dollarization Just Got Real (https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/de-dollarization-just-got-real)
- Here Are 7 Signs That Global De-Dollarization Has Just Shifted Into Overdrive (https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/here-are-7-signs-global-de-dollarization-has-just-shifted-overdrive)
- De-Dollarization Has Begun (https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/de-dollarization-has-begun)
Eyeballing the Dollar Index (or some other broad index of fiat relativity) drops modest hints but the nature of the relationship of one un-backed currency against another makes that comparison worthless in the longer-term.
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But below the surface, the dollar's fecal matter is striking rotating objects at an increasing pace and Stephen Jen - infamous for his coining of the 'dollar smile' while at Morgan Stanley (https://www.eurizonsljcapital.com/dollar-smile/) which posits that the US Dollar tends to do well when the economy is soaring or slumping - recently quantified just how rapidly the de-dollarization is ocurring.
Jen, who now runs money at Eurizon SLJ (https://www.eurizonsljcapital.com/), warned in a recent briefing note, that **the dollar is losing its reserve status at a faster pace than generally accepted,** as many analysts have failed to account for last year’s frantic swings in exchange rates.
> _“The **dollar suffered a stunning collapse in 2022** in its market share as a reserve currency, presumably due to its muscular use of sanctions,” Jen and his colleague Joana Freire wrote._
>
> _“Exceptional actions taken by the US and its allies against Russia have startled large reserve-holding countries,” most of which are emerging economies from the so-called Global South (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-18/g-7-vows-to-back-ukraine-indefinitely-seeks-stable-china-ties), they said._
As The FT reports (https://www.ft.com/content/72c27c26-f1d6-4a4b-be50-d6bf70c3546f), Jen estimates that if you adjust for price changes the dollar’s share of official global reserve currencies has gone from about 73 per cent in 2001 to around 55 per cent in 2021.
**Then, last year, it fell to 47 percent of total global reserves.**
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_Source: Eurizon SLJ Capital_
Jen and Freire go on to ominously explain that **the USD is losing its market share as a reserve currency at a much faster rate than is commonly believed.**
> _"After steady declines in its global market share for the past two decades, in 2022 the dollar lost market share at a pace 10 times as rapidly. Analysts have failed to detect this big change because they calculate the nominal value of the world’s central banks’ dollar holdings without considering the changes in the price of the dollar. Adjusting for these price changes, the dollar, we calculate, has lost some 11 percent of its market share since 2016 and double that amount since 2008._
>
> _**This erosion in the USD’s reserve currency status has accelerated precipitously since the start of the war in Ukraine.** Exceptional actions taken by the US and its allies against Russia have startled large reserve-holding countries, most of which are from the Global South._
>
> _...Without the need for us to take sides in this debate on Ukraine, it seems reasonable to speculate that the main driver of the collapse in USD’s reserve status in 2022 may have reflected a panicked reaction to property rights being jeopardised. **What we witnessed in 2022 was sort of a ‘defund-the-global-police’ moment, whereby many reserve managers in the world disagreed with the conduct of both Russia and the US**."_
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This is suddenly serious, as Je…
**The Most Dangerous International Treaty Ever Proposed**
The Most Dangerous International Treaty Ever Proposed
_Authored by Molly Kingsley via The Brownstone Institute,_ (https://brownstone.org/articles/most-dangerous-international-treaty-ever-proposed/)
**Human history is a story of forgotten lessons.** Despite the catastrophic collapse of European democracy in the 1930s, it appears that the tale of the twentieth century – in which citizens, cowed by existential threats, acquiesced in the rejection of liberty and truth in favour of obedience and propaganda, whilst allowing despotic leaders to seize ever more absolutist powers – is perilously close to being forgotten.
**Nowhere is this more evident than in relation to the apparent nonchalance which has greeted two international legal agreements currently working their way through the World Health Organisation:** a new pandemic treaty, and amendments to the 2005 International Health Regulations, both due to be put before the governing body of the WHO, the World Health Assembly, in May next year.
As concerned scholars (https://brownstone.org/articles/amendments-who-ihr-annotated-guide/) and jurists (https://opiniojuris.org/2023/02/27/the-proposed-amendments-to-the-international-health-regulations-an-analysis/) have detailed, **these agreements threaten to fundamentally reshape the relationship between the WHO, national governments, and individuals.**
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They would **hardwire into international law a top-down supranational approach to public health** in which the WHO, acting in some cases via the sole discretion of one individual, its Director General (DG), would be empowered to impose sweeping, legally binding directions on member states and their citizens, ranging from mandating financial contributions by individual states; to requiring the manufacture and international sharing of vaccines and other health products; to requiring the surrender of intellectual property rights; overriding national safety approval processes for vaccines, gene-based therapies, medical devices and diagnostics; and imposing national, regional and global quarantines preventing citizens from traveling and mandating medical examinations and treatments.
**A global system for digital ‘health certificates’ for verification of vaccine status or test results would be routinised, and a bio-surveillance network whose purpose would be to identify viruses and variants of concern – and to monitor national compliance with WHO policy directives in the event of them – would be embedded and expanded.**
For any of these sweeping powers to be invoked, there would be no requirement for an “actual” health emergency in which people are suffering measurable harm; instead it would be sufficient for the DG, acting on his or her discretion, to have identified the mere “potential” for such an event.
**It is hard to overstate the impact of these proposals on Member States’ sovereignty, individual human rights, foundational principles of medical ethics, and child welfare.** As currently drafted, these proposals would deny UK sovereignty and governmental autonomy over health and social policies and, through the indirect impacts of forced lockdowns and quarantines and because each Member State would be required to commit a staggering minimum of 5 percent of national health budgets and an as yet unspecified percentage of GDP towards the WHO’s pandemic prevention and response, also over critical aspects of economic policy.
The proposed new powers would cut across not only the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. They would signal a new watershed in our understanding of cornerstone human rights: an express amendment to the IHR deletes language currently reading “\[t\]he implementation of these Regulations shall be with full respect for the dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons” to replace it with a nebulous confirmation that “\[t\]he implementation of these Regulations shall be based on the principles of equity, inclusivity, coherence…”.
Provisions _requiring_(my emphasis) – in particular – the WHO to develop fast-tracked regulatory guidelines for the “rapid” (aka relaxed) approval of a broad range of health products including vaccines, gene-based therapies, medical devices and diagnostics threatens, in the view of legal jurists, “ _long fought-for standards of medical law aiming to__ensure safety_ (https://opiniojuris.org/2023/02/27/the-proposed-amendments-to-the-international-health-regulations-an-analysis/) _and efficacy of medical products,_” and should be of particular concern for parents.
Indeed, nothing in these documents would oblige the WHO to differentiate …
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/most-dangerous-international-treaty-ever-proposed
**Musk Might Be "Entering Endgame" Due To Excessive Leverage, CNBC's Dan Nathan Says**
Musk Might Be "Entering Endgame" Due To Excessive Leverage, CNBC's Dan Nathan Says
If there's one prediction that set social media ablaze late last week, it was ARK Invest's newest $2,000 per share price target for Tesla, which manager Cathie Wood and her team released late in the week.
Responding to the target along with numerous skeptics on Twitter, (https://twitter.com/ChrisBloomstran/status/1649901236089413632?s=20) CNBC's Dan Nathan, who was permanently banned from Twitter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0w6s4kQeZU) for playing an April Fool's joke on Elon Musk earlier this month, had some choice words for Tesla late last week on his show, _Fast Money._
On Thursday, Nathan offered up a scathing analysis of Elon Musk's empire after the company posted earnings that disappointed Wall Street earlier in the week. Musk referred to Nathan (https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1619061178046771200?s=20) as a "doofus" back in January 2023.
Nathan's main concerns - highlighted by Mediaite (https://www.mediaite.com/news/cnbc-stock-analyst-drops-brutal-rant-on-elon-musks-business-problems-hes-entering-the-endgame/) \- were about Musk taking on too much debt and what the consequences could be if Tesla's stock price continued to slide lower. The stock finished the week down more than 10%, but still about 60% higher than lows it plumbed in late 2022.
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“I actually think it’s going probably break 100, which is where I was in January, and my price target is 69 to the downside. That might seem a little aggressive on 4/20 on a day that it was just Elon day here,” Nathan said. He then called into question the economics of Musk spreading himself thin between his three companies:
> _We know that he had been selling Tesla shares all year last year to fund his purchase of Twitter. We know that SpaceX has been for sale. He’s been looking to raise capital that way. You know, if this stock were to continue to go lower, if they are pushing out a manned trip to the moon, and that’s what the whole idea of this rocket launch was today on Twitter, they just marked down from $44 billion to $20 billion, got $13 billion._
>
> _This is not a generally very liquid person. He used to be able to get whatever lines that he wanted to, but now he’s got all these banks on the hook for this debt that he can’t service based on Twitter’s businesses. So to me, he might be entering the endgame here a little bit for being the CEO of all of these companies and being that levered._
>
> _And now when you look at this stock right here, it’s broken. The fundamentals have shifted. Not a single analyst on the street downgraded the stock. Okay. There’s plenty of price target downgrades._
>
> _They will be downgrading the stock lower. I’m just telling you that people over the next 3 to 6 months or so and that’s when you have a situation where, you know, who knows if he’s going to be in control of this company in the not so distant future, because it doesn’t seem like the “Elon (https://www.mediaite.com/politics/chinese-iranian-and-russian-state-propaganda-outlets-lose-state-affiliated-warning-label-in-latest-musk-twitter-changes/) aura” is playing out right now, the three biggest companies._
“I think there’s a demand issue and I think there’s a competition issue in China. And I think that if you’re looking at the prices of an average price point of $45,000 for your car and you’ve just seen margins go from 25% last year down to 19% and likely going lower,” he told his co-hosts.
“They have a big fundamental problem that I didn’t hear a single analyst talk about this, there’s this guy, Gary Black, and he was on Max’s, he was on _Last Call_ last night. He’s like the biggest bull ever on Twitter. He’s always talking about Tesla. He’s seen to have turned on this story. He’s lowering his estimates. So earnings estimates are coming down. Margin estimates are coming down, Delivery estimates are coming down, backlogs coming down and inventory inventories going up. Does that sound like a good fundamental situation for you?”
"I don't have something against Elon, I just don't trust him," Nathan had said (https://twitter.com/teslaownersSV/status/1618817224248291329?s=20) in a January 2023 discussion about Tesla and Musk.
You can watch the full 5 minute clip of Nathan's rant on Mediaite here (https://www.mediaite.com/news/cnbc-stock-analyst-drops-brutal-rant-on-elon-musks-business-problems-hes-entering-the-endgame/).
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 04/24/2023 - 02:45
**Germany's Green Energy Delusion Has An Enormous Environmental & Economic Price-Tag**
Germany's Green Energy Delusion Has An Enormous Environmental & Economic Price-Tag
_Authored by Magyar Nemzet's Gergely Kiss via Remix News,_ (https://rmx.news/germany/germanys-green-energy-delusion-has-an-enormous-environmental-and-economic-price-tag/)
With the closure of Germany’s last three (https://rmx.news/germany/germany-closes-its-last-3-nuclear-plants-ending-an-era-of-cheap-and-stable-energy/) nuclear power plants, **the country’s 60-year era of nuclear power generation has come to an end.** The move was originally planned for the end of last year. However, due to uncertainty over energy supplies in the wake of the Russian-Ukrainian war and sanctions, the coalition government extended the deadline until after winter.
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**For a long time, nuclear energy has been one of the most divisive areas of energy policy in the EU’s supply.** The technology offers stable energy supplies and has positive environmental and economic indicators, but the radical Green parties of Europe have worked hard to convince many that these plants should be closed.
This has been achieved mainly in Germany and Austria. Downsizing has begun and further investment has become impossible. Reality, however, has shown that this ideology-driven energy policy comes at a heavy price. It was not by chance that energy policy expert Oliver Hortay recently recalled an estimate by a Berkeley University researcher that the social cost of German nuclear plant closures had already reached $12 billion a year.
**The threat of energy shortages (https://rmx.news/article/germany-could-go-from-an-industrial-country-to-an-industrial-museum-due-to-worsening-energy-crisis/) in Europe has led to a change in the perception of nuclear power among EU citizens.**
In Germany, for example, the percentage of people who oppose nuclear power has fallen from 65 to 20 percent. But it seems that the will of the electorate does not matter.
> _**“It’s a black day for climate protection in Germany,”**_ Jens Spahn, a conservative member of the CDU, told RTL television the other day.
It is hard to talk about a green transition when carbon emissions are rising.
**The huge expansion of solar and wind capacity in Germany is no guarantee of security of supply.** The country is increasingly using coal instead of Russian gas. In fact, mines that had previously been closed down have had to be reopened, and a German energy company has even started to dismantle a wind farm to allow for the expansion of a neighboring coal mine.
On average, 30,000 tons of coal are transported daily by trains from North Sea ports to large power stations across Germany. Last year, the war caused the country to increase its coal imports by 8 percent to 44.4 million tons. These are the hard facts.
**The Greens went after gas boilers, too.** They will now be banned in German homes from 2024.
Greens say they cannot meet their climate commitments otherwise.
However, it is coal-fired power stations, not residential gas boilers, that threaten climate targets.
Péter Szijjártó, **the Hungarian minister of foreign affairs and trade, often warns that it is impossible to supply the economy with gas or oil,** or even to heat houses and apartments, with ideology or political statements instead of actual supply chains.
In other words, the Hungarian government continues to treat energy security (https://rmx.news/hungary/political-statements-cant-provide-heating-hungarian-foreign-minister-explains-why-hungary-needs-russian-energy/) as a physical and not an ideological issue. That means it is not willing to give up working, proven and reliable sources.
**An ideology-driven energy policy is very expensive, has harmful consequences, and in the future, could even end with us freezing in our homes if an especially cold winter hits Europe.**
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 04/24/2023 - 02:00
**The Garland, Blinken, And Morell Morass**
The Garland, Blinken, And Morell Morass
_Authored by Roger Kimball via AmGreatness.com,_ (https://amgreatness.com/2023/04/22/the-garland-blinken-and-morell-morass/)
**Doubtless your mother used to tell you to count your blessings.** It was good advice.
Your situation may be bad. In the case of the United States, things indisputably are bad, and worsening. You know that. But look on the bright side.
**Sure Merrick Garland, the first American Gothic attorney general (
/1920px-Grant_Wood_-_American_Gothic_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg) of the United States, is a partisan horror show**, withholding real protection from Supreme Court justices (https://thehill.com/opinion/3523807-pavlich-merrick-garlands-dereliction-of-duty/) who are threatened by violent criminals even as he stigmatizes as “domestic terrorists (https://thespectator.com/topic/beginning-democrats-biden-defeat-merrick-garland-critical-race-theory/)” parents who criticize their local school boards and orders the FBI to conduct dawn raids (https://www.newswars.com/22-lawmakers-demand-mehttps://www.newswars.com/22-lawmakers-demand-merrick-garland-explain-alleged-fbi-swat-raid-on-catholic-pro-life-activist-mark-houck/rrick-garland-explain-alleged-fbi-swat-raid-on-catholic-pro-life-activist-mark-houck) on critics of the regime. He is a horrible man and a dangerous partisan hack, the very instantiation of the two-tier application of the law that has made such a mockery of justice during Biden’s tenure.
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**But again, look on the bright side. Garland will soon be gone. And remember, he almost made it to the Supreme Court.** Obama nominated him in the waning days of his administration. But Donald Trump had other ideas and—let’s give credit where credit is due—Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made sure that Garland’s nomination got lost when Republicans held the majority. I am no fan of McConnell’s, but I try to remember to say a little prayer for him whenever I list my intentions. By scotching Garland’s ascension to the Court, McConnell did the country a huge favor.
I say Garland will “soon” be gone. Most of my readers will assume I mean on or about January 20, 2025, when the next Republican president assumes office.
It might take that long. But recent developments have me wondering whether he might make his _congé_ even earlier _._
A few days ago, it was reported that an unnamed, senior IRS special agent was seeking whistle-blower status in connection with the ongoing investigation of First Son Hunter Biden, who has serious tax problems (https://thespectator.com/topic/hunter-biden-tax-investigation/).
According to a letter from the agent’s lawyer to several House and Senate committees, **the agent laid out multiple examples of “preferential treatment and politics improperly infecting decisions and protocols that would normally be followed by career law enforcement professionals in similar circumstances if the subject \[i.e., Hunter Biden\] were not politically connected.”**
The agent’s allegations also “contradict sworn testimony to Congress by a senior political appointee” and “involve failure to mitigate clear conflicts of interest in the ultimate disposition of the case” against Hunter Biden.
**An “unnamed senior political appointee,” eh?** Well, that unnamed status didn’t last long. On Thursday, the _New York Post_ reported (https://nypost.com/2023/04/20/merrick-garland-at-center-of-hunter-biden-whistleblower-claim/) that the international man of mystery was none other than Merrick Garland himself.
Back in March, Garland had insisted to Congress (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/garland-insists-charges-hunter-biden-brought-outside-delaware) that the investigation into Hunter Biden’s extracurricular activities was free from political interference. David Weiss, the U.S. Attorney investigating the case, had full autonomy, Garland said. Quoth Garland, “The U.S. attorney has been advised that he has full authority to make kind of those referrals you’re talking about or to bring cases in other jurisdictions if he feels it is necessary, and I will assure that if he does, then he will be able to do that.”
It was not reported whether that claim was greeted with titters. I assume that the echoing claim from the White House, that the investigation would be “free from any political interference by the White House,” was greeted by at least restrained and incredulous laughter.
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https://www.zerohedge.com/political/garland-blinken-and-morell-morass
**Bush, Clinton And Obama NGO Teams Up With AmEx Global To Fly Migrants Into The US**
Bush, Clinton And Obama NGO Teams Up With AmEx Global To Fly Migrants Into The US
A new nongovernmental organization (NGO) launched by former Presidents Obama, Clinton and George W. Bush, Miles4Migrants, **is teaming up with American Express Global Business Travel** (AmEx GBT) **and Welcome.US,** in order to fly migrants to communities throughout the United States, according to _Breitbart_ (https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/04/20/bush-obama-clinton-team-up-american-express-fly-migrants-into-american-communities/).
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Welcome.US was originally intended to facilitate the resettlement of some of the 85,000 Afghans who fled to the US in 2021 and 2022 following the Biden administration's disastrous pullout from the country. The organization (surprise!) has ties to George Soros' Open Society Foundation through several board members who sit on their "National Welcome Council."
> _Now, the NGO is teaming up (https://miles4migrants.org/welcome-connect-travel/) with the open borders group Miles4Migrants as well as American Express Global Business Travel **to fund flights to American communities for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Nicaragua**. -Breitbart_
"Donations are needed to fund the flights for newcomers to travel to the United States," the website (https://welcome.us/connect-travel) for the initiative states.
> Those forced to flee often leave behind all but what they can carry, and the costs of international travel can be prohibitive. **Welcome Connect Travel removes the cost of travel as a barrier for both sponsors in the United States and the displaced families** they are supporting through humanitarian sponsorship. \[Emphasis added\]
>
> **With the average cost of a single flight at $1,600, public donations through our partner Miles4Migrants will help provide a lifeline to newcomers**, giving them the opportunity to safely travel to their new communities. Donate below to help newcomers access safe travel. \[Emphasis added\]
Last week Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) said that **close to five million illegal migrants have entered the Untied States** since Biden took office in early 2021, a figure **which doesn't include those released into the US interior, those who got away, and migrants who were never caught in the first place**.
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Sun, 04/23/2023 - 23:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/bush-clinton-and-obama-launch-ngo-fly-migrants-us
**It's Not That The Capital Doesn't Exist, It’s Just Trapped In A Different Time... Which Means Inflation Will Be Far Worse**
It's Not That The Capital Doesn't Exist, It’s Just Trapped In A Different Time... Which Means Inflation Will Be Far Worse
_By Eric Peters, CIO of One River Asset Management_
**Time Travelers:**
“I like sci-fi, but prefer time travel stories to dystopian superintelligence ones,” said Lindsay Politi, our inflation portfolio manager, early one morning, our Bloomberg’s aglow. “Maybe that’s why I still think the better sci-fi tale playing out in real time is happening in the financial markets, not in Silicon Valley with its latest AI advances. Interest rates are the price of time, so, in a way, last decade’s monetary policy experiment was really a time distortion experiment. Crossing the zero bound in interest rates, like exceeding the speed of light with matter, causes our sense of time to become unfixed. **Future values and present values converged and became indistinguishable. Time became irrelevant**,” said Lindsay.
“Financial valuation, at its core, is about valuing future cash flows,” continued Lindsay. “Taking interest rates near or below zero across almost all-time horizons completely distorted the idea of time in that cash flow valuation process. It compressed present values and future values to the point of being nearly identical. Being able to pretend that time doesn’t matter is alluring but completely unhinged from reality. **Distorting the pricing of time doesn’t make time irrelevant, even if it seemed that way for a while,** and having to consider time again as an extremely relevant variable is destabilizing for today’s markets, quite literally.”
“Now that time matters again, we’re starting to realize that a lot of money we thought was on hand is trapped in the future,” said Lindsay. “You hear it all the time from the house you no longer want to sell because the mortgage rate is too low, to the PE deal you’re holding longer than you anticipated. Good or bad, people have all kinds of financial holdings they thought they’d be trading in the present but it’s now too expensive not to hold well into the future. It is creating all kinds of unexpected illiquidity and distortions **. It’s not that the capital doesn’t exist. It’s just that it exists in a different time than we thought it did. And inflation is a catalyst that exposes these time distortions.”**
**“All this trapped capital means inflation will be worse than most think,”** said Lindsay. “There are supply issues, capital investment is needed to resolve them, but that capital is locked up in investments that we now realize are much longer term than originally anticipated. **Negative and zero interest rates are so distorting that even a slight move away from that was always going to create a substantial shift towards value of the present -- liquidity, cash, current cash flow, etc.** Inflation itself is all about time preference for the present, wanting the ability to buy today before it’s more expensive tomorrow. This natural shift towards wanting assets and consumption in the present creates an inherent inflationary push that’s hard to anticipate **. It means that prices rebound more quickly on dips than we expect.”**
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Sun, 04/23/2023 - 22:30
**'X-Files-Like Mystery' In Texas As Cattle Found Dead With Missing Tongues**
'X-Files-Like Mystery' In Texas As Cattle Found Dead With Missing Tongues
Authorities in Texas are investigating the mysterious deaths of six cattle found with their tongues "completely removed" by precision "clean cuts."
Ranchers in Madison County, about 100 miles southeast of Waco, found the mutilated remains of a 6-year-old longhorn-cross cow lying on her side at their ranch.
Madison County Sheriff's Office said, "A straight, clean cut, with apparent precision, had been made to remove the hide around the cow's mouth on one side, leaving the meat under the removed hide untouched. The tongue was also completely removed from the body with no blood spill."
"It was noted there were no signs of struggle and the grass around the cow was undisturbed," investigators from the sheriff's office said.
Investigators added: "No footprints or tire tracks were noted in the area."
Ranchers also reported five similar cases involving four adult cows and one yearling in Brazos and Robertson counties.
The exact cause of death of the six livestock is unknown; each was found the same way, with "face cut along the jaw line and the tongue removed" in "straight, clean cut, with apparent precision," the sheriff's office said.
One commenter on the Facebook post wrote, _"This is just to dristraxt of from how high inflation is."_
The discovery of the cattle resembles a storyline from an episode of "The X-Files."
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Sun, 04/23/2023 - 22:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/x-files-mystery-texas-cattle-found-dead-missing
**Washington Legislature Passes Semi-Automatic Rifle Ban**
Washington Legislature Passes Semi-Automatic Rifle Ban
_Authored by Elizabeth Dowell via The Epoch Times (https://www.theepochtimes.com/washington-legislature-passes-semi-automatic-rifle-ban_5209628.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=ZeroHedge&src_src=partner&src_cmp=ZeroHedge) (emphasis ours),_
**Another gun control restriction has been passed by Washington state legislatures, implementing a ban on dozens of models of semi-automatic rifles on Wednesday.**
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_Semi-automatic rifles fill a wall at a gun shop in Lynnwood, Wash., on Oct 2, 2018. (Elaine Thompson/AP)_ (
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Democrat Gov. Jay Inslee is expected to sign the bill (HB 1240 (https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1240&Year=2023)) into law and posted his reaction to this latest effort to stop the growing list of mass shootings in the United States.
“ **WA does not and will not accept gun violence as normal.** Banning the sale of assault weapons, our bill to enact training requirements and a waiting period, and the bill to improve the accountability of manufacturers and retailers will save lives,” the governor posted on Twitter (https://twitter.com/GovInslee/status/1648806248878608385) in response to the bill’s approval.
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_Washington Gov. Jay Inslee speaks during the Presidential Gun Sense Forum in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 10, 2019. (Scott Morgan/Reuters)_ (
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The Washington law would block the sale, distribution, manufacture, and importation of more than 50 gun models, including AR-15s, AK-47s, and similar-style rifles. Some exemptions are included for sales to law enforcement agencies and the military in Washington. The measure does not bar the possession of weapons by people who already have them.
Republican state lawmakers opposed the ban, with some contending school shootings should be addressed by remodeling buildings to make them less appealing as targets and others saying it infringes on people’s right to defend themselves.
“ **HB 1240 clearly violates our state and federal constitutions, which is why it will end up in court immediately,**” state Sen. Lynda Wilson of Vancouver said in a statement (https://apnews.com/article/semiautomatic-rifle-ban-washington-adbbc5bc0d3b92da0122a91d42bcd4f6).
President Joe Biden called (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/14/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-new-actions-to-reduce-gun-violence-and-make-our-communities-safer/) for stronger gun control laws during a visit to Monterey Park, California, in March, where he met the families of the mass shooting that claimed 11 lives and injured nine others in January 2023.
“I’m here on behalf of the American people, to mourn with you, to pray with you. To let you know you’re loved and not alone. Every case is different. But I know what it’s like. I know what that’s like to get that call,” Biden said in his speech (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-honors-monterey-park-shooting-victims-rolling-executive/story?id=97860369).
Requirements should be enforced more effectively before an individual can buy a firearm.
“ **It’s just common sense to check whether someone is a felon, a domestic abuser before they buy a gun,**” Biden added.
Gun manufacturing CEOs Marty Daniel of Daniel Defense and Christopher Killoy of Sturm, Ruger & Co. both testified last year before Congress and denied any responsibility in connection to America’s mass shootings over the decade.
“I believe that these murders are a local problem that has to be solved locally,” Daniel said in a statement (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/top-gun-ceos-testifying-capitol-hill-wake-mass/story?id=87485548). “These acts are committed by murderers. The murderers are responsible.”
Killoy, the CEO of the largest manufacturer of rifles in the United States, said blaming an “inanimate object” for deaths caused by murderers isn’t accurate.
“We firmly believe that it is wrong to deprive citizens of their constitutional right to purchase a lawful firearm they desire because of the criminal acts of wicked people,” Killoy said in a statement (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/27/ceos-gun-manufacturers-testify-before-congress). “A firearm, any firearm, can be used for good or for evil. The difference is in the intent of the individual possessing it, which we respectfully submit, should be the focus of any investigation into the root causes of criminal violence involving firearms.”
Texas Gov. Greg A…
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/washington-legislature-passes-semi-automatic-rifle-ban
**Watch: Ohio Senate Candidate Floats Reparations For White People**
Watch: Ohio Senate Candidate Floats Reparations For White People
An Ohio candidate for US Senator, Bernie Moreno, **has suggested that the white descendants of northern Civil War soldiers should receive some type of reparations**.
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_Bernie Moreno. (File Photo)_ (
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"We stand at the shoulders of giants, don’t we? We stand on shoulders of people like John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington. That this group of people took on the largest empire in history. They said no, we will not stand for this. And won," Moreno told supporters at a campaign event last week.
"That same group of people later, white people, died to free black people. It’s never happened in human history before, but it happened here in America. That’s not taught a lot in schools much is it?" continued Moreno, who's looking to challenge US Senator Sherrod Brown.
> Ohio GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno proposes reparations for white people: "You know, they talk about reparations. Where are the reparations for the people in the North who died to save the lives of Black people?" pic.twitter.com/50wsfmWYdV (https://t.co/50wsfmWYdV)
>
> — Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) April 21, 2023 (https://twitter.com/HeartlandSignal/status/1649465645895917583?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
" **They make it sound like America is a racist, broken country.** You name a country that did that: that freed slaves, died to do that. You know, they talk about reparations. **Where are the reparations for the people in the North who died to save the lives of black people?**"
> _**Moreno, a business owner, is the second GOP candidate to jump into the race and faces a primary from Ohio State Senator Matt Dolan.** The 2024 Ohio Senate race is a top target for Republicans looking to reclaim the upper chamber._
>
> _Though Ohio has a long history as a battleground, it has trended red in recent years. Incumbent Brown is the last major elected statewide Democrat. Ohio strongly backed former president Trump in 2016 and 2020 and sent his preferred candidate, J.D. Vance, to the Senate last year. -NY Post (https://nypost.com/2023/04/22/ohio-senate-candidate-floats-reparations-for-white-people/)_
According to a spokesman for Moreno, Conor McGuinness, the point about reparations had everything to do with political correctness.
"Bernie was right when he said political correctness is killing our country, and the crocodile tears from the left expose the Democrat hypocrisy he was referring to in the clip," said McGuinness. "However, it’s unsurprising that the liberal media missed his point, since they’ve been complicit with the identity politics charade for years."
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Sun, 04/23/2023 - 21:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/watch-ohio-senate-candidate-floats-reparations-white-people
**Republicans Help Democrats Advance Biden’s Judicial Nominees Amid Feinstein’s Absence**
Republicans Help Democrats Advance Biden’s Judicial Nominees Amid Feinstein’s Absence
_Authored by Zachary Steiber via The Epoch Times (https://www.theepochtimes.com/republicans-help-democrats-advance-bidens-judicial-nominees-amid-feinsteins-absence_5212853.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=ZeroHedge&src_src=partner&src_cmp=ZeroHedge) (emphasis ours),_
**Republican senators joined Democrat colleagues in advancing multiple judicial nominees from a Senate panel after a weekslong pause due to the absence of a Democrat senator.**
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_Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in Washington on May 25, 2022. (Ting Shen/Pool/Getty Images)_ (
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The Senate Judiciary Committee discharged seven nominees from President Joe Biden on April 20 as at least one Republican joined all remaining Democrats on the panel.
GOP senators helped advance Jeffrey Cummings and LaShonda Hunt, nominated as U.S. District Court judges for the Northern District of Illinois; Orelia Merchant, nominated as U.S. District Court judge for the Eastern District of New York; Michael Farbiarz and Robert Kirsch, nominated as U.S. District Court judges for the District of New Jersey; and Monica Almadani and Wesley Hsu, nominated as U.S. District Court judges for Central District of California.
Democrats control the Senate, giving them the chair and a majority on each committee. Democrats have 11 members, including Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), on the judiciary panel. Republicans have 10 members. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has been absent since February as she deals with shingles. Feinstein asked to be temporarily replaced, but Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) blocked that bid (https://www.theepochtimes.com/graham-blocks-schumers-attempt-to-temporarily-replace-feinstein-on-judiciary-committee-by-unanimous-consent_5204561.html).
Durbin, though, said he’d spoken to Graham and had chosen to hold the first hearing in weeks to vote on the nominees.
“ **Our agenda includes a number of judicial nominees who have been sitting on the agenda for some time.** Some have bipartisan support. There’s nothing to prevent us from calling and voting on these nominees today even in Sen. Feinstein’s absence,” he said. “I understand we now have agreement to vote on several of them. I’ve spoken to Sen. Graham.”
“Today I’m going to do my part, and my colleagues will vote the way they think is best, to keep the committee moving forward,” Graham said.
Both Graham and Durbin said they wished Feinstein well and hope she returns soon.
Without Republican support, Democrats cannot advance nominees to the full Senate. The judiciary panel is charged with considering nominees offered by Biden. Feinstein voted by proxy for each nominee, but proxy votes are only allowed under committee rules if they are not the deciding vote, CNN reported.
Graham was the only Republican to vote for three of the nominees. Multiple Republicans, such as Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), voted for others.
Durbin held back other appointees, including Kato Crews, indicating they may not have had any Republican support.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the Senate floor recently that nominees “who are mainstream and qualified” would get bipartisan support but that Feinstein’s absence would mean “that Democrats aren’t able to push through a small fraction of their nominees who are so extreme and so unqualified that they cannot win a single Republican vote in committee.”
_Read more **here...** (https://www.theepochtimes.com/republicans-help-democrats-advance-bidens-judicial-nominees-amid-feinsteins-absence_5212853.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=ZeroHedge&src_src=partner&src_cmp=ZeroHedge)_
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Sun, 04/23/2023 - 20:30
**Tesla Market Share In California Tumbles To 59.6% From 72.7%**
Tesla Market Share In California Tumbles To 59.6% From 72.7%
It looks like the bad news could only be getting started for Tesla.
The EV maker, which tumbled nearly 10% to end the week after reporting disappointing earnings and margins that failed to impress the street, is now also starting to lose its stronghold in the state of California, Reuters reported (https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/teslas-california-market-share-tumbles-despite-aggressive-price-cuts-3062011?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=official_account) Saturday morning.
The report shows that the company controlled just 59.6% of the battery electric market in California in Q1 2023, which is down from 72.7% in the year prior period. _**It's also the lowest market share Tesla has had in California since 2017.**_
Reuters made the calculation using data from the California Energy Commission and found that legacy automakers like Volkswagen, General Motors, Chevy and Kia all expanded their market share in the state, despite still sitting in the single digits, far behind Tesla.
Last year, sales in California accounted for 16% of the company's global deliveries, the report says. It'll be no surprise that the West Coast state is also the largest in the U.S. for zero emission vehicles, making it a necessary stronghold for those who want to compete in EVs in the United States.
Tesla, meanwhile, has been in a back-and-forth with raising and lowering the prices of its vehicles (https://cms.zerohedge.com/markets/tesla-raises-model-x-and-model-s-prices-hours-after-missing-margin-estimates-q1-earnings), ostensibly trying to find a "sweet spot" between being able to stoke demand, while not destroying margins any further than it did last quarter.
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We noted on Friday that Tesla is now _increasing_ the prices of both versions of its Model S and X electric vehicles. The Model S Plaid and Model X Plaid now cost $107,490 from $104,990 earlier, Reuters wrote. They also said the regular Model X is at $97,940, which marks about a 2.6% rise, and the Model S is at $87,490, marking a rise of about 2.9%.
Shares of the EV maker plunged Thursday (https://cms.zerohedge.com/markets/tesla-slides-raging-price-war-leads-revenue-earnings-miss-margin-drop) after reporting earnings that disappointed Wall Street on Wednesday after market. Among the topics of discussions were the company's poor margins, occurring as a result of Tesla slashing prices consistently since the beginning of 2023. Total GAAP margin for the quarter was 19.3%, missing estimates of 21.2% and down 977 bps from 29.1% just one year ago.
Tesla closed its first quarter with record deliveries hitting over 423,000 units worldwide, but that’s still less than what the automaker produced. Tesla has used price cuts throughout the quarter, aiming to reach more of the mass market, and as Bloomberg calculated earlier this week, the latest price cut makes the Tesla Model Y nearly a third cheaper than it was at the start of the year, in part due to the introduction of a new lowest level trim.
The most recent cuts (https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/tesla-cuts-model-s-and-x-prices-stoke-us-demand-amid-ev-price-war-threats) to Model X and Model S prices came on March 6, a little more than a month ago, when the company reduced the starting prices for the S and X in the US by 5.3% and 9.1%, respectively, to $89,990 and $99,990. Additionally, the higher-performance Plaid version of the Model S and X had been lowered by 4.3% and 8.3%.
Back in March, Musk claimed that demand for Teslas was nearly unlimited and would increase significantly as the company made its vehicles more affordable. The recent price reductions at the time implied that these vehicles may not have had experienced the same boost in demand as the rest of the lineup when the company reduced prices earlier this year. That appeared to be the case when the company reported deliveries at the beginning of April.
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Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Sun, 04/23/2023 - 20:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/tesla-market-share-california-plunges-596-727
**"We Scrambled, And Spoke With Well Over 100 Banks. Not One Will Provide Financing"**
"We Scrambled, And Spoke With Well Over 100 Banks. Not One Will Provide Financing"
_By Eric Peters, CIO of One River Asset Management_
“Credit started tightening six to nine months ago,” said the developer, a close friend, entrepreneur, with large residential projects across the nation. “It started with the money center banks,” he continued. “This pushed us to regional banks for our latest projects, but then SVB happened.” The market froze.
“The lender for our latest 30-story project in a tier-one city backed out, **so we scrambled, and spoke with well over 100 banks. Not one will provide financing.”** His firm is a leader in their market niche. A strong track record.
**“The Fed is going to have to inject liquidity and slash rates to break this financing freeze on new construction.”** Not only have higher rates failed to push home prices down materially, but they are now reducing new supply.
“And here’s something I’ve never seen. When we start a new project, we take out a construction loan. We rush to finish the project, start renting the apartments, repay the loan, and refinance at a lower rate.” The new loans typically have less risk and thus a lower rate than the original construction loans, which are structured with 3yr maturities plus an option to extend for 2yrs.
“But now, we have legacy construction loans with a 4.0%-4.5% interest rate, and we’ll extend those out for the full five-year term even though the projects are complete. **If we paid them back and refinanced with permanent debt, the rates would probably be 6.5% fixed with no pre-pay option or 8.5%-9.0% floating.** There’s no way anyone is going to pay back those low-rate loans that were originated before the hiking cycle.”
This is a new dynamic for banks. Their low-rate loans are being extended at the same time their deposit base is shrinking.
“We developed properties right through the 2008 cycle. What’s unfolding now is something else, new construction is going to hit the **wall. The dramatic pace of interest rate increases has flipped everyone upside down,”** he said, well positioned. “Happy to sit on vacant lots. I can be patient.”
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Sun, 04/23/2023 - 19:30
**Florida Instacart Drivers Shot At After Driving To Wrong Address**
Florida Instacart Drivers Shot At After Driving To Wrong Address
A pair of Instacart drivers in Florida's Broward County say **someone shot at them after they ended up at the wrong address** trying to deliver groceries.
Waldes Thomas told _NBC_ affiliate _WTVJ (https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/couple-delivering-instacart-groceries-says-car-was-shot-at-after-they-drove-to-wrong-address/3019269/)_ that he and his girlfriend, Diamond D'arville were on the phone with the customer trying to find the delivery address, when they ended up at the wrong home. They say they saw a flashlight as they were about to drive off the property.
" **He’s like, ‘Who are you?**’ and we’re saying we’re with Instacart," D'arville told the news station, adding that the man then got into his truck and **pulled up behind them**.
"I had seen him pull out a gun and that’s when I said, ‘We got to go, we got to go,'" said D'arvile, adding "I was scared, I’m not going to lie."
> _D’arville said her car was hit several times. The couple said they decided to pull over about a block away from the home and called Davie police._
>
> _“We were there for Instacart, we were trying to tell him, and he went about it the wrong way — instead of just calling police, saying ‘I have trespassers on my lawn,’ he decided to shoot,” Thomas said._
>
> _Davie police told WTVJ that a gun did go off at a home on Southwest 178th Avenue but no injuries were reported. -WFLA (https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/florida-couple-delivering-instacart-groceries-shot-at-after-driving-to-wrong-address/)_
"(A detective) asked if we wanted to prosecute and we agreed to do that, but he said since they didn’t break any laws or do anything unlawful, they couldn’t do anything because we were on their property," said D'arville, who says he wants the man who shot to be held accountable.
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_WTVJ_ (
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"It’s just not right — even if you have a gun, I understand you’re trying to protect your family, but you don’t come outside shooting," he said. "We’re telling you what we’re here, we’re trying to leave and you’re blocking us in, it could’ve just been on our way and they made it bigger than what it was."
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Sun, 04/23/2023 - 18:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/florida-instacart-drivers-shot-after-driving-wrong-address
**Gov. Ivey Replaces Alabama Education Director Over 'Woke' Training Book**
Gov. Ivey Replaces Alabama Education Director Over 'Woke' Training Book
_Authored by Mimi Nguyen Ly via The Epoch Times,_ (https://www.theepochtimes.com/gov-ivey-replaces-alabama-education-director-over-woke-training-book_5213988.html)
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced Friday she replaced the state’s director of early childhood education, due to the use of a teacher training book that Ivey said teaches “woke concepts.”
> _“The education of Alabama’s children is my top priority as governor, and there is absolutely no room to distract or take away from this mission,” Ivey said in a statement._
>
> **_“Let me be crystal clear: Woke concepts that have zero to do with a proper education and that are divisive at the core have no place in Alabama classrooms at any age level, let alone with our youngest learners.”_**
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**The book of concern is the 881-page Developmentally Appropriate Practice Book (https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/books/dap-fourth-edition),** 4th edition, developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
The book is a guide for early childhood educators but is not a curriculum taught to children.
Ivey spokesperson Gina Maiola said **she understands that the books have been removed from the state classrooms.**
According to a release from Ivey’s office, the governor directed Dr. Barbara Cooper, the secretary of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education (ADECE), to send a memo to disavow the book and discontinue its use after being alerted of concerning content in the book last week.
Ivey also decided to change leadership at the department, and accepted Cooper’s resignation “immediately,” the release stated. Meanwhile, Dr. Jane Hume has been appointed the interim secretary of the ADECE, pending Ivey’s decision about who will be the new department head.
Cooper was elected (https://children.alabama.gov/11667/secretary-barbara-cooper-elected-to-national-board-of-directors/) to the NAEYC’s national governing board in 2022. Her term ends in 2026.
“Governor Ivey remains appreciative for her service to the state and passion for early childhood education. In addition to expanding service to the number of four-year-olds, Dr. Cooper has helped put an increased focus on students in lower-performing areas and has even been a champion for computer science education in the state,” according to the release from Ivey’s office.
“However, Governor Ivey strongly believes that woke concepts have no place at any level of education in the state of Alabama and should not be taking away from the overall mission of improving educational outcomes for students.”
‘Woke Agenda’
Ivey’s office said that the governor is concerned about a “woke agenda” because the book “invokes ideas for teachers that there are ‘larger systemic forces that perpetuate systems of White privilege.'” It also promotes the idea that “the United States is built on systemic and structural racism.”
“Also included for four-year-olds to learn is that ‘LGBTQIA+ need to hear and see messages that promote equality, dignity, and worth,'” Ivey’s office stated.
“The glossary includes equally disturbing concepts that the Ivey Administration and the people of Alabama in no way, shape or form believe should be used to influence school children, let alone four-year-olds.“
Ivey’s office stated she “does not stand for these concepts.”
“For as long as she is governor, Alabama will be focused on ensuring our students are receiving a quality education.”
The NAEYC told multiple outlets that the book is a research-based resource for teachers.
“While not a curriculum, it is a responsive, educator-developed, educator-informed, and research-based resource that has been honed over multiple generations to support teachers in helping all children thrive and reach their full potential,” the NAEYC statement said.
According to a copy of the 881-page book obtained by The Associated Press, the book states: “Early childhood programs also serve and welcome families that represent many compositions. Children from all families (e.g., single parent, grandparent-led, foster, LGBTQIA+) need to hear and see messages that promote equality, dignity, and worth.”
It further states: “systemic and structural racism … has permeated every institution and system through policies and practices that position people of color in oppressive, repressive, and menial positions. The early education system is not immune to these forces.”
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Sun, 04/23/2023 - 17:30
**'Why Aren't Black Celebrities Talking About That?' - Bill Maher Asks Why Black People Are Killing Each Other In Cities Like Chicago**
'Why Aren't Black Celebrities Talking About That?' - Bill Maher Asks Why Black People Are Killing Each Other In Cities Like Chicago
HBO host Bill Maher has done it again, asking the third rail questions and saying the quiet part out loud.
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The comedian and self-professed liberal said blasted Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson during his most recent show, saying that **Johnson was "excusing horrific behavior"** in a speech he delivered following several shootings in Chicagoland last week.
Maher talked about crime with Brown University economist Glenn Loury and international relations scholar Daniel Bessner in the context of Chicago electing a soft-on-crime mayor and shoplifting in New York City (https://dailycaller.com/2023/04/19/reaction-same-people-commit-most-nyc-shoplifting/).
> _**"Most of the shootings \[in Chicago\] are young black men killing other young black men. Is that not correct?"** Maher asked._
_"Yeah that's correct," guest Glenn Loury responded._
> _"Okay, much more than what the cops do. Why doesn't anybody talk about that? **Why aren't there a hundred giant black celebrities who would have the respect of those people saying what are you doing to yourselves? Why are you killing each other?**" Maher asked._
Loury, a black Chicago native and longtime commentator on racial issues, **advocated for tougher prosecution and enabling cops to do their jobs**.
> _"... **it’s no way to live, this dishonors our community**, come on, we’re better than this," Loury said._
Bessner disagreed and said **material wealth redistribution would be needed to reduce incarceration rates** without condoning individual criminal behavior.
Maher responded to Bessner's claims that giving people more money would reduce crime
> _"One in three children in America can not read at a basic level of comprehension. 85% of black students lack proficiency in reading skills. **We already spent a lot of money on schools. So are you going to keep telling me that more money will fix this because I feel like this is much more connected to the problems of people who can't read.** Yes, they're going to have problems with gainful employment and it seems like, you know, a lot of times the solutions that come from the left seem symbolic. They don't seem like we're addressing what really needs to be done which is get kids learning, get them reading, get them to have a job," Maher said._
>
> _**"It doesn't seem like the money is getting to this problem if 85% of black students lack proficiency in reading skills,"** he said._
Watch the full discussion below:
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Sun, 04/23/2023 - 17:00
**Bovard: Spy Letter About Hunter Biden Shows How Dems Are Undermining Democracy**
Bovard: Spy Letter About Hunter Biden Shows How Dems Are Undermining Democracy
_Authored by James Bovard,_ (https://jimbovard.com/blog/2023/04/21/n-y-post-spy-letter-about-hunter-biden-shows-how-dems-are-undermining-democracy/)
In the closing address at last month’s Summit for Democracy, Secretary of State Antony Blinken (https://nypost.com/2023/04/21/state-dept-silent-on-blinken-role-in-spies-who-lie-letter/) piously proclaimed, **“As President Biden (https://nypost.com/2023/04/20/biden-to-launch-2024-re-election-campaign-next-week-reports/) has said, democracy doesn’t happen by accident...** _**It requires constant effort.”**_
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**Or in the case of the 2020 election, it required deceiving American voters.**
The House Judiciary Committee revealed that Blinken, then a top Biden adviser, orchestrated the letter from 51 top intelligence officials claiming that Hunter Biden’s laptop (https://nypost.com/2023/04/21/hunter-biden-laptop-letter-was-the-real-disinformation-all-along/) was nothing but a Russian disinformation campaign.
Blinken contacted former acting CIA chief Mike Morell, who swayed scores of other former top officials — including three ex-CIA chiefs — to sign that letter to debunk the biggest threat to the Biden presidential campaign.
**In the final presidential debate on Oct. 22, Joe Biden invoked that letter from former intelligence officials to deflect Donald Trump’s attacks on Biden family corruption (https://nypost.com/2023/02/11/trump-says-suppression-of-hunter-biden-cost-him-2020-election/).**
Polls show that Biden would have lost the election if the media had accurately reported the contents of that laptop.
Biden pretended that letter arose spontaneously from the patriotic sentiments of former officials.
**But the letter was “triggered” by Blinken’s call to Morell, who then contacted his former colleagues.**
Blinken’s ploy may have swayed Biden to appoint him secretary of state.
**The media are mostly ignoring or downplaying the revelations of Blinken’s machinations.**
If the roles were reversed, cable news and front-page headlines would be screaming about a villainous Trump operative pulling official strings to whitewash the Donald.
MSNBC would be howling about the death of democracy, and CNN hosts would be sobbing hysterically about the dirty deal.
**But when Team Biden does it: nothing to see here, move along.**
How many presidential elections can Democrats seek to dishonestly rig without suffering any penalty flags from media scorekeepers?
Shortly before the 2016 election, senior Hillary Clinton adviser Jake Sullivan peddled false claims linking the Trump Organization to Russia.
The Federal Election Commission last month levied a $113,000 fine on the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign (https://nypost.com/2016/12/09/hillary-clintons-losing-campaign-cost-a-record-1-2b/) for their deceptive funding to cover up their role in the Steele dossier (https://nypost.com/2023/02/23/steele-dossier-firm-fusion-gps-tied-to-bogus-rape-report-against-billionaire/).
The FBI, which was apparently willing to pay any price to defeat Trump, offered former British spy Christopher Steele $1 million in cash if he could prove the charges in that dossier before the 2016 election.
There was no proof — but that didn’t stop the FBI from using the dossier to get warrants to spy on Trump campaign officials from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
Jake Sullivan is now Biden’s national security adviser.
Did he get that gig in part because of his willingness to lie for Democratic kingpins?
Avril Haines is Biden’s director of national intelligence.
Did signing the Hunter laptop letter help her snare that plum job?
**The letter Blinken finagled would not have been so influential if journalists were not shamelessly docile to federal job titles.**
**Inside the Beltway, former intelligence kingpins are viewed like royalty or at least second-tier aristocracy.**
But the CIA has a long record of secretly intervening in dozens of foreign elections.
In 2019, former CIA director Mike Pompeo (https://nypost.com/2023/04/14/mike-pompeo-will-not-run-for-president-in-2024/) summarized his agency’s motif: “We lied, we cheated, we stole. It was like we had entire training courses.”
**Former CIA chief James Woolsey insisted in 2018 that the CIA intervenes in elections “only for a very good cause in the interests of democracy.”**
Yet the letter from former spooks was instantly revered by journalists as if it were handed down from Mt. Sinai.
For the Washington political elite, defeating Donald Trump was the ultimate good …