WEEKEND WRAP: Government Shutdown Persists, Day 33; Fed Delivers Rate Cut with No Promises; SNAP Benefits in Limbo

The stock market managed to escape what is traditionally the month for crashes - October - unscathed.

Stocks closed out the last week of the month with the usual upside drift, though end of session Friday was a little frightful (it was Halloween, after all), as the major indices were down more than 50% from the day's highs.

The Dow was particularly amusing, making the high of the session 15 minutes before the close, 47,718.38, only to finish about 150 points lower, 47,562.87, for a paltry gain of just 40 points.

Now that it's November and Daylight Savings Time has been turned off, clocks surrendering an hour to the will of the government and nature, the Fed rate cut in the books, and no food stamps for some 40-42 million Americans (former president Obama, who apparently wishes more of a welfare state, put the number at 47 million. Math not his strong suit).

Riots and looting haven't begun in earnest, or, at least the mainstream media isn't reporting any. Hungry people can become angry people pretty quickly, but, nobody's actually run out of food yet. Food pantries and other charitable types have stepped in to fill the void... and the stomachs. Congress refuses to move on the issue, two courts demand that the Trump administration release emergency funds to recharge the EBT cards, and the president cynically asked the court for specifics.

Somewhere along the line, there's likely to be a scapegoat uttering something along the lines of Marie Antoinette's infamous expression of disdain for common folk, "let them eat cake." It's probably going to be Senate Democrats, who refuse to pass a continuing resolution already approved by the House, though it could be Senate Republicans, who refuse to end the filibuster rule that requires a 60-vote majority for cloture, and pass the CR without Democrat votes. It could even be President Trump.

There is going to be pain, blowback, and eventually, though it could take years and come in odd ways, retribution.

In any case, the government remains on shutdown, now into its 33rd day, soon to become the longest of government shutdowns. There is a loud chorus of anarchists hoping it remains closed permanently, though that is unlikely to happen. Sooner or later, the congress will come to the realization that they can't adequately hurt American citizens and loot the treasury without some kind of formal legislation. They will pass some kind of funding bill, but, their reputation already in tatters, will be irreparably damaged, the public certain they are nothing more than well-attired scoundrels and thugs.

Stocks

Stocks went up. Nothing new about that. The Shiller PE (CAPE) ended the week at 40.88, not quite the highest ever (44.19, November 1999).

The week ahead will feature another basket of earnings reports from widely held companies. Here's a partial list:

Monday, November 3: (before open) Fubo (FUBO), FreshPet (FRPT), Cipher Mining (CIFR); (after close) Palantir (PLTR), hims hers (HIMS), Clorox (CLX), Goodyear Tire (GT)

Tuesday, November 4: (before open) Pfizer (PFE), British Petroeum (BP) Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCLH), Spotify (SPOT), Shopify (SHOP), Uber (UBER); (after close) Pinterest (PINS), Astera Labs (ALAB), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Beyond Meat (BYND)

Wednesday, November 5: (before open)Humana (HUM), Brinks (BCO), Novo Nordisk (NVO), Mcdonald's (MCD) ; (after close) AMC (AMC), Dutch Bros. (BROS), Snap Inc. (SNAP), Robinhood (HOOD), Applovin (APP), Qualcomm (QCOM)

Thursday, November 6: (before open) ConocoPhillips (COP), AstraZeneca (AZN), Moderna (MRNA), Warner Brothers Discovery ((WBD); (after close) Opendoor (OPEN), Draft Kings (DKNG), Air B&B (ABNB)

Friday, November 7: (before open) Wedny's (WEN), Fluor (FLR), Six Flags (FUN), Duke Energy (DUK), Constellation (CEG)

As it always does, Berkshire Hathaway jumped the shark with it's earnings release on Saturday. Warren Buffett's holding company continues to eschew buybacks of its own stock, remains a net seller of stocks and increased its cash position to more than $382 billion while improving profits for the third quarter, beating estimates.

Treasury Yield Curve Rates

Date	1 Mo	1.5 mo	2 Mo	3 Mo	4 Mo	6 Mo	1 Yr
09/26/2025	4.22	4.20	4.17	4.02	4.00	3.83	3.67
10/03/2025	4.24	4.17	4.11	4.03	3.96	3.82	3.64
10/10/2025	4.19	4.16	4.10	4.02	3.96	3.81	3.60
10/17/2025	4.18	4.15	4.08	4.00	3.95	3.79	3.56
10/24/2025	4.11	4.06	4.02	3.93	3.89	3.76	3.58
10/31/2025	4.06	4.02	4.04	3.89	3.87	3.79	3.70

Date	2 Yr	3 Yr	5 Yr	7 Yr	10 Yr	20 Yr	30 Yr
09/26/2025	3.63	3.66	3.76	3.96	4.20	4.74	4.77
10/03/2025	3.58	3.59	3.72	3.90	4.13	4.69	4.71
10/10/2025	3.52	3.52	3.65	3.83	4.05	4.60	4.63
10/17/2025	3.46	3.47	3.59	3.78	4.02	4.58	4.60
10/24/2025	3.48	3.49	3.61	3.79	4.02	4.56	4.59
10/31/2025	3.60	3.60	3.71	3.89	4.11	4.65	4.67

The Fed delivered on the 0.25% cut to the federal funds target rate, though Chairman Powell refused to confirm another such cut in December, which sent the major indices into a temporary nose-dive. As has happened in the past, while short-term bills witnessed yield declines, longer maturities were higher, with the 10-year up nine basis points and the 30-year bond yield up eight. Two year yields were up 12 basis points, though the yield curve, as a whole, is proceeding to steepen, a positive development.

2s-10s spreads dropped to +51 while full spectrum roared up to +61, the highest since July. Demand for treasuries was shaky.

Spreads:

2s-10s
2025
1/3: +32
1/10: +37
1/17: +34
1/24: +36
1/31: +36
2/7: +20
2/14: +21
2/21: +23
2/28: +25
3/7: +33
3/14: +29
3/21: +31
3/28: +38
4/4: +33
4/11: +52
4/17: +53
4/25: +55
5/2: +50
5/9: +49
5/16: +45
5/23: +51
5/30: +52
6/6: +48
6/13: +45
6/20: +48
6/27: +56
7/3: +47
7/11: +53
7/18: +56
7/25: +49
8/1: +54
8/8: +51
8/15: +58
8/22: +58
8/29: +64
9/5: +59
9/12: +50
9/19: +57
9/26: +57
10/3: +45
10/10: +53
10/17: +56
10/24: +54
10/31: +51

Full Spectrum (30-days - 30-years)
2025
1/3: +38
1/10: +54
1/17: +41
1/24: +40
1/31: +36
2/7: +32
2/14: +32
2/21: +31
2/28: +13
3/7: +24
3/14: +25
3/21: +23
3/28: +26
4/4: +5
4/11: +38
4/17: +44
4/25: +40
5/2: +41
5/9: +46
5/16: +52
5/23: +68
5/30: +59
6/6: +69
6/13: +67
6/20: +69
6/27: +66
7/3: +51
7/11: +59
7/18: +65
7/25: +55
8/1: +32
8/8: +37
8/15: +44
8/22: +41
8/29: +51
9/5: +49
9/12: +40
9/19: +54
9/26: +55
10/3: +47
10/10: +43
10/17: +42
10/24: +48
10/31: +61

Oil/Gas

President Trump and Europe's sanctions on Russian oil will prove to be completely ineffective, as WTI crude closed out the week at $60.88, after rallying to $61.44 the week prior. There simply isn't anything the U.S. or E.U. can do about an oil glut and BRICS countries - especially India and China - will continue to buy Russian oil regardless of potential penalties or knuckle-thumping by the West.

The temporary rise in oil prices had little effect at the pump, with the U.S. national average down a penny, at $3.02, according to Gasbuddy.com.

California remains the priciest, at $4.66 per gallon, up seven cents, followed by Washington ($4.29), lower by six cents on the week. Oregon ($3.85), was down another eight cents on the week, after a flirtation with $4.00. The lowest prices remain in the Southeast, with Oklahoma ($2.50) the lowest, followed by Texas ($2.51), Mississippi and Arkansas both at $2.56. Louisiana ($2.57) and Alabama ($2.62) follow. The remaining Southeast states are all below $2.75 (Georgia), with Florida the exception, at $2.95, up a nickel.

Relief continued in the Northeast, where most states were under $3.00, except for Pennsylvania ($3.21), New York ($3.08) and Vermont ($3.07), and Maine ($3.01).

Illinois ($3.20) was the only Midwest state above $3.00. Kentucky was lowest, at $2.67.

Sub-$3.00 gas can be found in 35 states, up three from last week.

Bitcoin (fake)

This week: $110,406.10
Last week: $113,471.40
2 weeks ago: $106,748.23
6 months ago: $96,432.45
One year ago: $68,434.65
Five years ago: $16,078.98

Bitcoin, which was supposed to rally to $200,000, $400,000 and beyond, was down for the week. The charts say $70,000 or lower in the near term.

Precious Metals

Gold:Silver Ratio: 82.16; last week: 84.54

Per COMEX continuous contracts:

Gold price 10/3: $3,912.10
Gold price 10/10: $4,035.50
Gold price 10/17: $4,267.90
Gold price 10/24: $4,126.90
Gold price 10/31: $4,013.40

Silver price 10/3: $47.97
Silver price 10/10: $47.51
Silver price 10/17: $50.63
Silver price 10/24: $48.41
Silver price 10/31: $48.25

SPOT:
(stockcharts.com)
Gold 10/17: $4250.59
Gold 10/24: $4110.63
Gold 10/31: $3997.10

Silver 10/17: $51.88
Silver 10/24: $48.59
Silver 10/31: $48.65

(Kitko)
Gold 10/19: Bid: $4,250.80; Ask: $4,252.80
Gold 10/26: Bid: $4,111.20; Ask: $4,113.20
Gold 10/31: Bid: $4001.10; Ask: $4,003.10

Silver 10/19: Bid: $51.86; Ask: $51.98
Silver 10/26: Bid: $48.53; Ask: $48.65
Silver 10/31: Bid: $48.60; Ask: $48.72

Gold and silver were under pressure, though not as significantly as the week prior. Prices for precious metals are back to where they were three weeks ago - and slightly above in the case of silver - indicating that the short-term suppression measures were very weak-handed.

Here are the most recent prices for common one ounce gold and silver items sold on eBay (free shipping included, numismatics excluded):

Item/Price	Low	High	Average	Median
1 oz silver coin:	49.88	60.00	55.78	55.99
1 oz silver bar:	50.69	64.99	55.98	56.98
1 oz gold coin:	4,080.22	4,457.50	4,309.57	4,287.50
1 oz gold bar:	4,079.00	4,277.50	4,221.20	4,233.30

The Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) gained slightly over the week, to $56.18, a a gain of six cents from the October 26 price of $56.12 per troy ounce. The small-denomination, physical market continues to add premia to spot.

WEEKEND WRAP

Go get some food while its still available.

At the Close, Friday, October 31, 2025:
Dow: 47,562.87, +40.75 (+0.09%)
NASDAQ: 23,724.96, +143.81 (+0.61)
S&P 500: 6,840.20, +17.86 (+0.26%)
NYSE Composite: 21,459.58, +8.58 (+0.04%)

For the Week:
Dow: +355.75 (+0.75%)
NASDAQ: +520.09 (+2.24%)
S&P 500: +48.51 (+0.71%)
NYSE Composite: -238.48 (-1.10%)
Dow Transports: +435.51 (+2.82%)

Disclaimer: Information disseminated on this site should not be construed as investment advice. Downtown Magazine Inc., Money Daily and it's owners, affiliates and/or employees are not investment advisors and do not offer specific investment advice. All investments have risk. You should consult a professional investment advisor or stock broker or use your individual judgement when making investment decisions. By viewing this site, you hold harmless Downtown Magazine Inc., Money Daily, its owners, affiliates and employees against any and all liability. Copyright 2025, Downtown Magazine Inc., all rights reserved.

America Comes Unglued

As the month of October comes to an end, the United States of America, which prides itself in many ways as being all-powerful, self-important, and essential to the welfare of the entire planet, has become a woeful laughingstock, its federal government unable to fund itself, a president who boasts of deals with foreign nations that purport to solve issues he created, and, with funding for SNAP, otherwise known as food stamps, expired, 40 million of its citizens are about to go hungry in a country that has an abundance of food.

The problems with which America has saddled itself are completely self-made, manufactured, and entirely avoidable. The federal government can borrow as much money as it wants from the Federal Reserve, which conjures it up out of thin air. The Senate simply does not want the government funded at present. They would rather pretend to be arguing over which party is screwing the taxpayers the most than doing the jobs they were elected to do. They have failed, as too, the president.

A government that cannot balance its books and at the same time cannot agree to legislation to keep itself operating is one not worth having. Should the Senate fail to agree, over the next few days, on a package to at least fund itself for a few months time, the effects will be immediate; the repercussions will be felt for years. The continuous wrangling and bickering over short-term solutions - a practice that has been ongoing for decades - is significant in showing the rest of the world how utterly incompetent, petty, and uncaring the elected officials of the United States really are.

There's nothing good about the now month-long government shutdown except possibly serving as a wake-up call to the people of America. The drama in Washington serves no useful purpose. Should the shutdown continue into November and possibly longer, chaos and anarchy will ensue, and then, what? Martial law? Is that the ultimate purpose of the fakery and foolery at the highest levels of government?

It may be so. America and the world is about to find out.

The conditions extant in the United States are horrific. The currency is a mirage. The government a circus. The media all propaganda. The system of checks and balances overwrought. The constitution, having been trampled upon by countless presidents, legislators, and members of the judiciary for decades, a sad remnant from better days.

While much of the country is anxious over the developments - or lack thereof - in the nation's capital, the denizens of lower Manhattan rejoice in the supremely high valuations of publicly-held corporations, their gizmos, inventions, products, and services the envy of the world. Of course, Wall Street itself is something of a fantasy, with indices and stock prices gerrymandered by big banks and brokerages, up, down, and every other which way, as they please.

The month of October, 2025 will be remembered, if Americans are lucky, as the month in which the government ceased to exist and Wall Street threw a party to celebrate its demise.

Good luck out there. You're going to need it.

At the Close, Thursday, October 30, 2025:
Dow: 47,522.12, -109.88 (-0.23%)
NASDAQ: 23,581.14, -377.33 (-1.57%)
S&P 500: 6,822.34, -68.25 (-0.99%)
NYSE Composite: 21,451.00, -74.93 (-0.35%)

TACO Thursday: Trump Rolls Back Tariffs on Asian Promises, Frameworks; Fed Cuts rates 0.25%; Government Shutdown Nears One Month

Via its FOMC, the Fed, as expected, cut the federal funds target rate by 25 basis points, from 4.00-4.25% to 3.75-4.00%.

Markets didn't respond significantly until Chairman Jerome Powell mentioned at his press conference that another 0.25% cut in December wasn't a sure bet. Stocks slumped on his comments, but immediately began to rise once he stopped talking.

Later in the evening - which was morning in South Korea - President Trump met with China's President, Xi Jinping, for about 90 minutes, both coming away looking somewhat satisfied. Trump left immediately afterwards on Air Force One, heading back to Washington.

On the plane trip, trump characterized the meeting as a "12" on a scale of 1 to 10. That's all well and good, but what actually was accomplished by his four-day trip to the Far East was mere posturing and posing without any concrete agreements.

The president made a boatload of comments about how well things were going (everybody's used to the braggadocio by now), but the trip produced little more than memorandums of understanding, frameworks, vague commitments with a swath of countries on a variety of issues - from rare earth deals to tariffs - lots of promises devoid of details.

Even the heavily-publicized meeting with Xi on Thursday produced little in the way of concrete solutions. Essentially, China agreed to slow their roll on rare earth mineral regulations, the U.S. agreed to knock general tariffs back to 47% from 57%, and there was some kind of understanding about China slowing the flow of fentanyl precursors and buying some soybeans from U.S. farmers.

It was all fairly vague and nebulous. Trump could have accomplished as much by phone, or, he might as well have never started his whole tariff regime in the first place, since he promised to roll back most of them during his trip. Essentially, China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia paid the president extensive lip service.

Notably, Trump did not meet with anybody from either India or Indonesia, two BRIICS members. Indonesia joined BRICS earlier this year (January 7) and is a major miner and refiner of rare earth minerals. North Korea's Kim Jong Un didn't even want to talk to him. Meanwhile, Russia continues to pound Ukraine into dust. Putin and Trump aren't talking. The Alaska Summit? Poof. It's gone, having produced nothing, just like, it's suspected, this Asian jaunt.

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

-- William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5

In card-playing terms, Trump bluffed and nobody blinked. The "trillions" the U.S. was expecting to rake in from tariffs will subsequently be reduced to "billions" and Americans will end up paying more for everything imported. Thank you, Mr. President. Now do India, Brazil, and Canada. And, while you're demonstrating your incredible negotiating skills, how about opening up the government that's been shut down for nearly a month. In case you haven't noticed, that's your government, the United States government, the one behind the "America First" agenda.

It was sure enough a TACO Thursday for Trump. His tariff policies have produced some revenue - the government collected some $151 billion through the end of September, with expectations of $3 trillion over the next ten years. While that sounds good, even great, one has to consider the overlaying context that federal expenditures will top $7 trillion this year and the deficit is expected to be north of $2 trillion. If tariffs produce $500 billion (they likely won't) in revenue in fiscal 2026, that's all well and good, but hardly sufficient. Americans will pay more for most goods and services, making them poorer, decreasing the amount of taxes that they pay.

Looks like a wash, almost. And, that's if the Supreme Court doesn't rule against Trump's tariffs later in November.

As Money Daily has been saying for the past few weeks, Trump's bombastic style is all for show. It's about how great America is, when it's actually been in decline for decades. Trump's tariffs and "re-shoring" plans for increasing domestic manufacturing aren't going to solve most of its basic problems: inflation, inflation, and inflation. The tariffs, along with the Fed lowering interest rates, actually stoke inflation.

For all the talk, the country is going in reverse.

America First is a complete sham, a meme, a bumper-sticker talking point for the government, the media, and Wall Street.

At the Close, Wednesday, October 30, 2025:
Dow: 47,632.00, -74.37 (-0.16%)
NASDAQ: 23,958.47, +130.98 (+0.55%)
S&P 500: 6,890.59, -0.30 (-0.00%)
NYSE Composite: 21,525.93, -163.62 (-0.75%)

Trump Trade Deals Reside on Sandy Foundations, False Hopes and Dreams; China Deal Awaits; Senate Says "No Chips for You" to 40 Million Americans

Bombastic as ever, President Trump has had so much success at making deals during his whirlwind trip to the Far East, one marvels at his brilliance while wondering why he took so long to secure these monumental pacts on the international trading platform.

"We did reach a deal on trade," Trump told reporters at a dinner in South Korea. No additional details about the agreement were provided, and neither the White House nor South Korean officials have issued an official statement outlining the terms.

Trump called his meetings with South Korea "tremendous" and said he had "pretty much finalized a trade deal," adding, "I think we came to a conclusion on a lot of very important items."

Well, perhaps, as concrete goes, all of these "deals" are still in the mixing state, the sand and water more or less a slurried mush at present and the Thai, Malay, Viet, and Korean officials are snickering behind Mr Big's back. That's likely the case, as all this posturing and posing and taking pictures of foreign leaders with Trump stationed in the middle of them - despite the fact that he doesn't even belong in a group of "Southeast Asians" or even just plain "Asians" - is all for the benefit of the usual unsuspecting, fawning, MAGA crowd who hangs on every utterance of the pulchritudinous, porcine president.

Scrupulous examination of the struck deals over the past few days indicate a nearly absence of substance, the words on the official-looking proclamations barely worth the fine linen papers upon which they're written. But, with a few deft strokes of the presidential pen - most likely a Sharpie™ that Trumps' sons, Eric and Don Jr. will sell on eBay or some crypto exchange as an NFT for millions - the public is assuaged and Wall Street assured that the American enterprise will continue to grow and prosper under the inspired leadership of the greatest president since, well, George Washington, as Mr. Trump like to fashion himself.

It's almost over. The Far East fantasy tour finishes on Thursday with the highly-anticipated deal Mr. Trump will make with China, all of China. Not just the coastal areas, or the shipping ports, but the entire land mass which occupies a rather enormous portion of Asia will succumb to Trump’s desire for world domination.

Mr. Trump's mission impossible - which will self-destruct only moments after the invisible ink dries on whatever papers are signed by him and whatever representatives of China's ruling party are designated - is to convince President Xi Jinping to stop sending precursor chemicals for fentanyl to America, stop buying oil from Russia, make life easier of U.S. enterprises doing business in China, accept 15-45% tariffs on anything they export to America, buy shiploads of soybeans from American farmers, and sell the U.S. copious amounts of refined rare earth minerals with which the U.S. military can make weapons by which to obliterate China and its BRICS allies.

If those requirements seem a bit over the top, it's best to be cognizant of the president's uncanny, almost spiritual ability to make the sharpest "America First" deals with every country on the planet (or, at least talk like he does). Trump will return to the United States triumphant, trade wars averted or won, the mantle of success and victory upon his broad shoulders.

At the same time, his government, back home in Washington D.C., can't even keep the lights on, the whole institution burdened by no less than $38 trillion in unpayable debts, shut down for more than four full weeks, and about to deny some 41 or 42 million Americans their monthly allowance for potato and corn chips, salsa, sodas, cookies, ice cream and maybe a couple of lobster tails and steaks.

Some 700,000 federal employees have been working without pay for a month. In some circles, that's known as slavery. In America, it's called paying it forward, or, as the case may be, just putting it on the government's tab.

Considering that Mr. Trump attends their conference with this kind of background baggage, China's diplomats and officials will no doubt acquiesce to his every demand.

But, before Trump's triumphant trade tour concludes, the Federal Reserve, which is not federal in any sense nor does it have any reserves - only debts - is set to issue its policy statement, assuredly to lower the federal funds target rate from 4.00-4.25% to a range of 3.75-4.00% at 2:00 pm ET today. That, of course, will send stocks soaring, along with gold and silver, especially since the pair of precious metals have been sufficiently beaten down over the past two weeks. Not so for the stock market, which has run up a string of advances befitting assets that actually have value, of which, as we know from the current reading of the Shiller PE at 41.18, stocks are significantly stretched.

BTW: the Shiller PE (CAPE) is closing in fast toward the record of 44.19, set back in the halcyon days of the dotcom boom, in December 1999.

Wealth and prosperity, so easily come by, can just as quickly disappear. But, having learned nothing from booms and busts of the 1920s and 30s, and as recently as 2000-01 and 2008-09, investors are blindsided and blinkered, praying for the best and hoping the worst of their fears remain unrealized.

The show goes on. Get more popcorn.

At the Close, Tuesday, October 28, 2025:
Dow: 47,706.37, +161.78 (+0.34%)
NASDAQ: 23,827.49, +190.04 (+0.80%)
S&P 500: 6,890.89, +15.73 (+0.23%)
NYSE Composite: 21,689.55, -100.08 (-0.46%)

Trump, U.S. Government, Wall Street, Media Gaslighting Americans Over Trade, Shutdown, SNAP, and Crypto; China Has Not Formally Agreed to Meet

Americans are being gaslit as never before by the president, congress and the mainstream and financial media over the continuing trade disputes with China and the government shutdown, which is nearing a critical period, now having reached four weeks.

Everyone in Washington - and especially the Trump administration - was caught off-guard when China imposed restrictions on rare earth exports last month. China has the world's largest reserves of rare earth minerals and accounts for 90% of worldwide processing of the various metals that are significant in the production of automobiles, military weaponry, and electronics.

President Trump, his aides and administration, along with the mainstream media continue to promote the narrative that the president is going to meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping "on the sidelines of the APEC" summit in South Korea. That's according to the president and his staff. China has made no formal statement that the two leaders are to meet this week or at any other time. If there was going to be an actual meeting of the minds, China would have arranged much more carefully-planned engagement than a “sideline” meeting between Xi and Trump.

Even if there is a meeting, it will have little to no lasting value and settle nothing between the world’s two largest economies.

There's the real possibility that China's leadership will not agree to a meeting with President Trump, by Xi or any other high-ranking officials. Treasury Secretary Bessent made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows, spouting off about "progress" and a "framework" for negotiations over trade policies, though nothing even remotely substantial has been announced.

At the ASEAN summit in Malaysia this weekend, Trump signed a variety of "deals" with various coutnries from Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Prime Minister Modi of India made a point of not attending the conference in person, expressly to avoid meeting with Trump.

These summits - ASEAN and APEC - are meetings of Asian countries. The United States is a sideshow. They were no doubt invited, but the U.S. plays no pivotal role in any trade relationship with any of these countries, other then the imposition of tariffs and sanctions against any number of them.

Asia and the BRICS have turned completely away from the West. Germany's foreign minister was told not to come to China, as there was nothing to discuss, according to Chinese authorities. A similar message is being telegraphed to Trump and the United States. Even North Korean president Kim has not extended any invitation to Trump.

Trump has also been falsely claiming that India has agreed to reduce the amount of oil it imports from Russia in response to recent sanctions placed on Russia’s two largest oil producers. Nothing could be further from the truth. He’s also suggested that China will be importing less Russian oil, though China has said no such thing.

Wall Street has been adding points and percentages to all-time highs on all of the major indices, pushing the narrative of a trade "deal" soon to be worked out between China and the U.S., despite evidence to the contrary. Meanwhile, congress has allowed the government shutdown to extend to the second-longest on record. Beginning November 1, funds for SNAP, or food stamps, will run out, shutting off roughly 42 million Americans from the program. This will affect every state, yet congress continues to drag its feet on the issue and others, such as pay for the military, air-traffic controllers and about 700,000 federal employees who have been working without pay since the shutdown began, October 1st. It's grandstanding at a high level, without any hint of being resolved.

Since Trump has been busily arranging "deals" on rare earth minerals with every country - including Australia - that he can find, Money Daily asked Bing's AI bot, co-pilot:

How long does it take to develop rare earth mines and develop processing facilities?

Here's what AI said:

Typical timelines — short answer:

Mine development: 7–15 years from discovery to first commercial production.

Processing facility (commercial scale): 3–10 years from permitting to full-rate operations.

Pilot or demonstration plant: 1–3 years to build and commission, used to de-risk commercial scale decisions.

Stages and typical duration

Exploration and resource definition: 1–5 years; includes drilling, assays, and resource modeling.

Pre-feasibility and feasibility studies: 1–3 years; engineering, metallurgy, and economic modeling.

Permitting and environmental review: 2–6+ years; dependent on jurisdiction, complexity of tailings/waste treatment, and consultation needs.

Financing and off-take/partnership agreements: 1–3 years; often runs in parallel with engineering and permitting.

Detailed engineering and construction: 2–4 years for a mine or processing plant; larger, more complex hydrometallurgical plants can take longer.

Commissioning and ramp-up to commercial production: 6–18 months for initial output; up to several years to reach steady-state recovery and product quality.

Major factors that lengthen or shorten timelines

Regulatory environment and permitting complexity — stricter regimes and lengthy environmental review add years.

Metallurgical complexity of the ore — unusual mineralogy or need for complex separations increases testing, pilot work, and design time.

Availability of capital and partnerships — secured financing and industrial partners accelerate schedules.

Local infrastructure and supply chain — remote sites without roads, power, or water require added construction time.

Community engagement and Indigenous consultation — meaningful consultation and agreements can extend timelines but are critical to project viability.

Policy support and defense/strategic programs — government incentives or strategic prioritization can compress timelines through funding and fast-track permitting

Benchmarks and recent examples

Pilot processing plants to re-establish domestic capability have been built and commissioned in roughly 1–3 years in the U.S. context.

National and regional strategies to create full processing hubs show multi-year to decade-long timeframes from project start to operational domestic supply chains.

Practical implications for planning

Budget for multi-year lead times and staged investments that move from lab tests → pilot plant → commercial plant.

Prioritize early metallurgical test work and pilot validation to reduce technical risk and accelerate permitting and financing.

Engage regulators, communities, and potential customers early to shorten non-technical delays.

Sources:

Center For Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)

Rare Eart Exchanges

National Defense Magazine

Essentially, Money Daily is calling BS on all of this, in addition to the recent slaughter in gold and silver markets, just as both precious metals had advanced to record levels, out-pacing every other asset. While gold and silver have been slapped down, bitcoin and crypto are being heavily promoted in the media and online, with many of the usual carnival barkers, including President Trump's sons, Don Jr. and Eric touting their own crypto endeavors.

The U.S., $38 trillion in debt, hopes to repair the damage its done to itself by paying off the interest with stablecoins or some other form of crypto-currency while the rest of the world heads inexorably to money backed by gold and possibly, silver.

Stocks have been on a tear recently, and, with earnings season in full swing, gains on the S&P, Dow, and NASDAQ are heading for nose-bleed levels.

There will be hell to pay when no deal is made with China and 42 million Americans are deprived of benefits they've been receiving for years, in order to EAT.

The government is playing with marked cards. Americans will pay a heavy price for a government that has no concrete plans and politicians whose main focus is on enriching themselves and getting re-elected.

At the Close, Monday, October 27, 2025:
Dow: 47,544.59, +337.47 (+0.71%)
NASDAQ: 23,637.46, +432.59 (+1.86%)
S&P 500: 6,875.16, +83.47 (+1.23%)
NYSE Composite: 21,789.63, +91.57 (+0.42%)