Trump is Done. Epstein Files Overwhelmingly Destructive to Trump, Congress, and America

Fearless Rick reporting.

Above is the latest - and extremely lame and insulting - "truth" from President Trump concerning the Epstein matter, which, for whatever reason, he would like to simply disappear into some vast voided chasm, never to be seen or heard again.

Unfortunately for the president who campaigned on releasing the "Epstein files" on numerous occasions, this story will not go away, despite his protestations. The worst part of the president's latest rambling, nearly-incoherent message on the topic is his purposeful abandonment of his base, the people who supported him, who elected him.

This is a slap in the face of millions of proud, patriotic Americans, many of whom will not take it, including myself. I supported Donald Trump from the very moment he rode down the Trump Tower elevator and announced his candidacy in 2015. I like to say, "I voted for him all three times he won," sarcastically supporting the fact that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

NO MORE.

My message to President Trump is a simple one. If you no longer want my support, fine with me. You're on your own. Best of luck. And, by the way, go F--- yourself. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Honestly, I don't know what happened to Mr. Trump, but I do know this: Whatever is in those files is so important, so revealing, so dreadful, people more powerful than Trump do not want them released to the public. Like the JFK files. Like 9-11. Like all the other disturbing, disgusting things the U.S. government has done over the years and hidden from the general public.

I am an American. I will remain an American. I can handle the truth.

Apparently, Mr. Trump, you cannot, which is extremely un-American.

I have long been convinced that the current "leadership" in the United States is the most corrupt ever to wield power in the history of the world. The depth of their depravity is profound and deeply disturbing. At this point, does it matter to anybody whether stocks go up or down, whether or not Amazon beats the street? While Americans will likely never know the truth, because even though Ghislaine Maxwell is purportedly agreeing to testify to congress, how does anybody know whether whatever she has to say is truthful? There is a multitude of reasons why she would be willing to testify, very few of them involve spilling the actual beans.

The coverup will continue. America, maybe not.

We're all sick and tired of the lies.

One final caveat: There's a very good chance that the sick, twisted, neocon tribe that has control of the country would like nothing more than a civil war or violent revolution, which would give them free reign to impose martial law and continue ramping up their efforts to "thin the herd." Don't fall for it. The fight is not left versus right or Democrat versus Republican. The fight is the people against the government. Never forget that.

At the Close, Wednesday, July 16, 2025:
Dow: 44,254.78, +231.49 (+0.53%)
NASDAQ: 20,730.49, +52.69 (+0.25%)
S&P 500: 6,263.70, +19.94 (+0.32%)
NYSE Composite: 20,485.74, +111.36 (+0.55%)

The Disposable Indispensible Nation and Reserve Currency Problem; Earnings Split, with ASML Hardest Hit

It's likely to be a rude shock when Americans finally realize that the world’s ”indispensable nation" is actually completely disposable. The world doesn't need the United States any more than it needs Israel, endless wars, constant in-fighting and bickering over political turf and censored, compliant media propaganda. The U.S. consumes more than its fair share of resources, with which it starts a lot of wars, spreads loads of propaganda and meddle in everyone's business, but actually produces little that anyone, or any country, really needs.

With President Trump's tariff tactics now almost perfectly aligned with neocon-inspired sanctions against just about every nation associated with Russia, China, or Iran, the tariff regime is likely to fail just as badly as have the sanctions. Eventually, many countries will see doing business with the United States as unnecessary and costly.

The 50% tariffs imposed recently are a case in point. America actually has a trade surplus with Brazil, so imposing high tariffs on the country - purportedly to meddle in their judicial matter of Trump's friend, Jair Bolsonaro - is tantamount to shooting oneself in the foot.

Brazilian president Lula’s response has been measured, but firm: “Brazil’s trade with the U.S. makes up just 1.7% of our GDP. You can’t call these figures vital. We will look for other partners.“

In other words, Lula essentially told Trump to shove his tariffs where the sun don't shine. Other countries are likely to do the same. No country is totally reliant upon the U.S. for export revenue. If trading with other, friendlier countries is better for business, the U.S. will become a pariah, shut out of international trade altogether.

An example of how this works in practice can be compared to how electric utility companies bill their customers a monthly "customer charge" ranging from $25 to $50 a month. No wattage is delivered for that money spent. It's only a fee charged for the privilege of being a "customer" of the utility. That's all well and good when electricity is difficult to produce on one's own, but take it from the growing number of off-grid preppers who derive all of their electricity from solar, wind, small hydro, or propane-driven generators.

If the utility is charging $40 a month, that comes to $480 a year. Taken over the life of solar panels - roughly 15-20 years - it adds up quickly. And that's just the customer charge. It doesn't take a math whiz to understand that if one can provide one's own electricity for an initial investment of $10,000 or less (actually a lot less for small households) and the system will be operational at almost no continuing cost for at least 10 years, saying bye-bye to the utility company is not a flight of fancy. Many off-gridders have already done the math and live well without a monthly utility bill. The same is true for wood-burning or coal-burning stoves for heat. Who needs natural gas when all the logs out in the woods can heat a home just as well.

The United States, via its proposed tariffs of 10%, 20%, 30% and more, will be viewed as excessive by many businesses located in countries from which they are exporting. Many will cease exporting to the United States. Those that continue, and pay the tariffs, are likely to pass the added cost along in higher prices or sub-standard goods. Either way, the American public is going to pay while the government collects. It's as if the federal government sees taxpayers as dollar mules, useful only to fund the rapacious, capricious wishes of the almighty federal government of "we the people."

It's not going to work. While the government may collect more revenue, does anybody expect them to stop overspending and balance their own budget? Not in this lifetime. The government, from the President and Congress down to the massive bureaucracy is not about to downsize itself. Anybody thinking that Trump's campaign promises - most of which he's already broken - are going to be upheld by congress and the deep state is simply naive.

The ultimate disaster of runaway hyper-inflation, followed by a deep depression, is bearing down upon the American people, most of whom cannot or refuse to see it coming.

As far as today's economic events are concerned, transporter J.B. Hunt (JBHT) saw earnings per share of $1.31 and revenue of $2.93 billion in its 2Q report delivered after the bell Tuesday. While roughly flat from a year ago ($1.32, $2.83 billion), both were a bit higher than anticipated and the stock is higher by about 1.5% mid-afternoon.

Pinnacle Financial (PNFP), reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.09. Shares are up more than one percent on Wednesday.

Financial giants Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Morgan Stanley (MS) reported before the open. Bank of America missed on the bottom line, the stock down slightly. Goldman Sachs (GS) unsurprisingly said they made a ton of money on their trading desks, and the stock is rallying, though up only a half percent. Morgan Stanley (MS) had a solid second quarter, but is being punished, down two percent, as expectations may have been too high.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) non-GAAP EPS of $2.77 beat by $0.09; revenue of $23.7B beat by $840M, but it was their forward guidance and hefty dividend that has led to a massive six percent spike on the day, helping to lift the Dow Industrials.

ASML (ASML), the Dutch chip-making equipment manufacturer delivered a solid quarter but its guidance has left Wall Street agape. The stock is trading down more than eight percent mid-afternoon Wednesday, as tariff issues cloud future growth potential.

PPI was largely a non-event prior to the open. In June, a 0.3-percent advance in prices for final demand goods offset a 0.1-percent decrease in the index for final demand services. After all, these are American producers being gauged, a group which has little to nothing to do with tariff policies. If anything, input costs should be rising as tariffs become more prevalent. Inability to source materials at reasonable prices may become more difficult as tariffs take their tolls on foreign providers.

Look for PPI to rise over coming months, fueling even more inflationary fears.

Stocks are doing their usual melt-up on nothing, because there’s so much money just sloshing around within the financial community.

At the Close, Tuesday, July 15, 2025:
Dow: 44,023.29, -436.36 (-0.98%)
NASDAQ: 20,677.80, +37.47 (+0.18%)
S&P 500: 6,243.76, -24.80 (-0.40%)
NYSE Composite: 20,374.38, -207.07 (-1.01%)

Drive-by Post: Stock Futures Split Ahead of PPI

Editor's Note: Due to unavoidable scheduling conflicts, Money Daily's usual pre-market post will be only a place-holder this morning. Later today, July 16, a more complete posting will be made, likely mid-afternoon. Reporting after Tuesday's close: J.B. Hunt (JBHT), Pinnacle Financial (PNFP). Wednesday (before open) Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), PNC Bank (PNC), ASML (ASML); (after close) Synovus (SNV), Alcoa (AA), Kinder Morgan (KMI), United Airlines (UAL). Futures are spolit, with Dow up, NASDAQ and S&P lower awaiting release of June PPI from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) at 8:30 am ET. At the Close, Tuesday, July 15, 2025: Dow: 44,023.29, -436.36 (-0.98%) NASDAQ: 20,677.80, +37.47 (+0.18%) S&P 500: 6,243.76, -24.80 (-0.40%) NYSE Composite: 20,374.38, -207.07 (-1.01%)

China Infrastructure Puts America's to Shame; CPI at 2.9% is Not Close to Fed Target of 2.0%. Inflation Is Returning, Not Defeated

Why do American politicians want to go to war with China?

Possibly, part of the answer lays in just how badly Chinese technology is beating U.S. technology, especially when it comes to infrastructure. Bear in mind that in November, 2021, Joe Biden signed into law a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Faster trains? Better roads? High speed rural broadband access? Rebuilt bridges? Mostly no.

Excessive graft, kickbacks, and congress lining their own pockets? Yep.

In China, travelers can ride a the world's fastest train from Beijing to Shanghai (or vice versa) at speeds of up to and beyond 350 km/h (217 mph), making the 1,302 km (809 mi) trip in roughly four-and-a-half hours, at a cost of $135 - $150.

Comparably, a train trip of nearly 800 miles - New York City to Chicago, Illinois - takes about 20 hours by train (usually more) and costs over $300.

So, should we bomb China just for being so much more technologically advanced and cheaper? Not really. If anything, the U.S. should copy their successes, but that would run counter to the usual political argument that they're evil commies. Seriously, U.S. politicians have sold out their constituents to special interests with bribes, kickbacks, and worse, otherwise known as campaign contributions.

This kind of comparison is something that should trouble all Americans, and there are certainly many more, and not just with China. Many other countries - mostly in Asia or the Pacific Rim - have better infrastructure than the United States, by far. From cheap, fast broadband in Malaysia to bullet trains in Japan, the U.S. fails on many levels, yet Americans are told by politicians and the mainstream media that they live in the best, most-advanced, most free country in the world. The level of hubris and propaganda is disturbing, to say the least.

Tuesday morning in America brings second quarter earnings reports from some of the nation's biggest banks including JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), Wells Fargo (WFC), BlackRock (BLK), State Street (STT), and Bank of New York Mellon (BK).

Also reporting Tuesday morning are chain grocer, Albertsons (ACI), and electronics firm, Ericsson (ERIC).

Analysts are mixed on JP Morgan's results. Excluding one-off costs, JP Morgan earned $4.96 per share, compared with the $4.48 per share that analysts were expecting, according to estimates compiled by LSEG. Provision for credit losses was $2.85 billion, compared with $3.05 billion a year earlier.

There should be little argument about the direction of this company. Year-ago EPS was $6.12. First quarter EPS was $5.07. FAIL.

Citigroup (C) reported 2Q earnings of $1.96, against last quarter's $1.99 and year-ago, $1.57. Shares are marginally higher, up less than one percent.

Wells Fargo reported earnings, excluding one-time costs, of $1.54 per share on revenue of $20.8 billion for the second quarter, beating Wall Street estimates for profit of $1.41 and revenue of $20.7 billion. Comparisons to year-ago ($1.34) and prior quarter ($1.28) were positive, but the stock is lower by more than two percent before the bell due to reducing its provision for credit losses to $1.01 billion in the quarter from $1.24 billion a year ago, which aided the earnings number.

BlackRock (BLK) reported record AUM of $12.53 trillion, but missed on the top line (revenue). Despite glowing media reports, shares are lower heading toward the open.

State Street (STT) showed non-GAAP 2Q EPS of $2.53, topping estimates of $2.36. Year-ago was $2.15. Prior quarter EPS was $2.04. Shares are flat.

Bank of New York Mellon (BK) non-GAAP EPS was $1.94. EPS from 2024 2Q was $1.51. First quarter EPS, $1.58, but those figures, like State Street's were GAAP-compliant. Why are two of the largest funding banks in the country using non-GAAP accounting, usually reserved for startups and penny stocks? Obviously, there's something wrong there. BK is down three percent in pre-market trading.

Albertson's and Ericsson are both lower in pre-market trading.

All of these earnings reports preceded the release of June CPI from the BLS. Their press release was sobering:

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in June, after rising 0.1 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.7 percent before seasonal adjustment.

The index for shelter rose 0.2 percent in June and was the primary factor in the all items monthly increase. The energy index rose 0.9 percent in June as the gasoline index increased 1.0 percent over the month. The index for food increased 0.3 percent as the index for food at home rose 0.3 percent and the index for food away from home rose 0.4 percent in June.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in June, following a 0.1-percent increase in May. Indexes that increased over the month include household furnishings and operations, medical care, recreation, apparel, and personal care. The indexes for used cars and trucks, new vehicles, and airline fares were among the major indexes that decreased in June.

The all items index rose 2.7 percent for the 12 months ending June, after rising 2.4 percent over the 12 months ending May. The all items less food and energy index rose 2.9 percent over the last 12 months. The energy index
decreased 0.8 percent for the 12 months ending June. The food index increased 3.0 percent over the last year.

As Money Daily anticipated, June CPI showed inflation re-emerging. Anybody who shops for food or dines out knows that prices have been increasing again, which is on top of the high price hikes from 2023 and 2024. With this information in hand, there's little chance of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates at their next meeting, July 29-30. Will President Trump still be haranguing Chairman Powell to cut rates? He may, because, for all his education and training in economics (Wharton), he's committed to Keynesian policies and getting bad advice from his economic team.

Despite headline CPI year-over-year the hottest since February, stock futures shot higher on the release. Apparently, monthly core CPI printing below expectations (+0.1% vs. +0.2% MoM expected) is a win, as opposed to the year-over-year rise of +2.9%. Once the initial knee-jerk higher response on stock futures was in the books, they began to come down, though the S&P and NASDAQ were still positive at 9:00 am ET.

As some are asking, Is it just me or does 2.9% sound a whole lot more like 3 than 2?

While the Fed might want everybody to believe they've completely wiped out inflation, there's absolutely no truth to that statement. Inflation is nowhere near their target of two percent annually. It has remained closer to three percent since they stopped raising rates in July 2023 at 5.25-5.50%, then lowered them a full percent in September, November, and December 2024 with cuts of 0.50%, 0.25%. and 0.25%, respectively.

In case anybody hasn't noticed. Prices most most things - and especially food and energy - have not come down much in the past year. Defeating inflation should be represented by CPI in the red on a monthly basis, not these piddling +0.1, +0.2, +0.3 percent gains that have become common. At two percent inflation, the purchasing power is halved in 30 years. At three percent, it's cut in half in just 20.

Anybody who has the capability should be looking to move to other countries, preferably ones that aren't run by central bank and political sociopaths.

America is doomed and its failings have become obvious to the rest of the world. Prepare for hyper-inflation within two years. Weimar America is within reach!

At the Close, Monday, July 14, 2025:
Dow: 44,459.65, +88.14 (+0.20%)
NASDAQ: 20,640.33, +54.80 (+0.27%)
S&P 500: 6,268.56, +8.81 (+0.14%)
NYSE Composite: 20,581.45, +33.78 (+0.16%)

WEEKEND WRAP: BRICS and Tariffs; Epstein Files, Silver Gains Dominated the Week; June CPI, PPI, Retail Sales, 2Q Bank Earnings on Deck

Three things happened over the past week that are likely to have ongoing impacts to finances.

The first was the Trump administration abruptly ending the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. Above is a post by President Trump from Saturday, urging his MAGA followers to just forget about the whole, sordid, mess of pedophilia and human trafficking and move on. Ain't gonna happen. Shutting down the investigation with no findings of blackmail, no lists of clients, and the absurd contention that Epstein committed suicide in prison is going to stick with this administration - and Mr. Trump in particular - for the rest of his term. Support for the America First agenda, MAGA, and all th patriotic bullshit is fading rapidly. If the administration doesn't come clean on this, nobody will ever trust them again.

After four years of Biden idiocy, the American public is in no mood to bear more lies and deflections from the federal government. People are fed up with government in general and many - in and out of the MAGA movement, on the right and the left - are quietly disengaging. The government is too deeply intertwined into people's lives and there are actions being taken by individuals at various levels of engagement to free themselves from what they consider to be a rogue, criminal operation, run by a uniparty with hidden agendas.

Stonewalling the Epstein affair pushes the truly patriotic followers further away from Trump, who has broken promises made during the campaign, and the government in general. People on the left and the right are now in agreement on many issues. The potential for widespread civil disobedience, civil war, or outright revolution is growing. It's possible that the government would like nothing more than civil war or rebellion, which would give them all the more rationale to impose martial law and stomp the population into jackboot submission. Smart Americans are unlikely to give them that opportunity, preferring quiet actions over violence.

Number two on the week's big events is actually a combination of two disparate occurrences: the BRICS Summit in Brazil and Trump tariffs, round two. They dovetail because Trump threatened BRICS countries with addition 10% tariffs, and also socked Brazil with a destructive, mendacious 50% tariff. Tariffs will prove to be the ruin of the U.S. economy. The government will prosper at the expense of consumers, who will see either higher prices (already happening), lower quality products from exporters to the U.S., or empty shelves if enough countries disengage from U.S. trade.

Meanwhile, BRICS are moving on, promoting international trade using their own currencies, bypassing the U.S. dollar completely. BRICS countries and those aligned with them will eventually isolate the United States as the bi-polar East-West split accelerates.

Third, and maybe the most important development, was the rapid price advance of silver, which over the course of just two days - Thursday and Friday - posted a gain of 6.5%, from $36.69 to $39.08 on the COMEX.

Gains like that don't happen in a vacuum. They are part and parcel of bigger agendas, larger trends and developments. Silver is a key industrial element and has thousands of years of history as money. Recent gains - outpacing every asset except the phony blockchain Ponzi scheme of bitcoin and other crypto frauds - are part of a larger movement, freeing silver and gold from the fiat currency monopoly.

Notice that none of these events have anything to do with stocks or bonds, the paper promises promoted by Western governments that are not only wildly overvalued, but ultimately subject to extreme volatility and manipulation. Every market is manipulated, but none as severely as stocks and fixed income (bonds).

The world is moving away from U.S. dominance toward a more free, equitable, honest future. The time is short.

Stocks

All of the majors ended the week on the downside, with the exception of the 20 stocks comprising the Dow Jones Transportation Average, which was up 1.01% for the week.

As the week just past offered little in the way of economic data or earnings, the upcoming week will be loaded, and especially front-loaded with bank and financial stocks, with a liberal dose of Dow components added in for flavor.

Stocks reporting second quarter earnings this week:

Monday (before open) Fastenal (FAST); (after close) FirstBank (FBK)

Tuesday (before open) JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), Wells Fargo (WFC), BlackRock (BLK), State Street (STT), Bank of New York Mellon (BK) Albertsons (ACI), Ericsson (ERIC); (after close) J.B. Hunt (JBHT), Pinnacle Financial (PNFP)

Wednesday (before open) Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), PNC Bank (PNC, ASML (ASML); (after close) Synovus (SNV), Alcoa (AA), Kinder Morgan (KMI), United Airlines (UAL)

Thursday (before open) Taiwan Semi (TSMC), Cintas (CTAS), US Bancorp (USB), Fifth Third Bank (FITB), Travelers (TRV), Abbot Labs (ABT), Pepsico (PEP); (after close) Simmons Bank (SFNC), Bank of the Ozarks (OZK), Netflix (NFLX), Interactive Brokers (IBKR)

Friday (before open) Huntington Bank (HBAN), Truist Financial (TFC), American Express (AXP), Ally Bank (ALLY), 3M (MMM), Regions Bank (RF), Charles Schwab (SCHW), Comerica (CMA).

Highlighting the data front will be June CPI and PPI, Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Capacity Utilization and Industrial Production for June is also out on Wednesday. June Retail Sales appear Thursday morning, along with the Philly Fed and the NAHB Housing Market Index.

If you think June's CPI data being released on the same morning as second quarter earnings from JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, BlackRock, State Street, and Bank of New York Mellon, is just a coincidence, you just don't get it. Look for the banks to report massive profits and the CPI to edge up slightly, so "investors" will focus on bank stocks and ignore the re-ignition of inflation.

Treasury Yield Curve Rates

Date	1 Mo	1.5 mo	2 Mo	3 Mo	4 Mo	6 Mo	1 Yr
06/06/2025	4.28	4.31	4.35	4.43	4.38	4.31	4.14
06/13/2025	4.23	4.32	4.48	4.45	4.40	4.30	4.09
06/20/2025	4.20	4.38	4.55	4.39	4.40	4.29	4.07
06/27/2025	4.19	4.43	4.49	4.39	4.36	4.26	3.97
07/03/2025	4.35	4.43	4.50	4.42	4.41	4.34	4.07
07/11/2025	4.37	4.39	4.47	4.41	4.42	4.31	4.09

Date	2 Yr	3 Yr	5 Yr	7 Yr	10 Yr	20 Yr	30 Yr
06/06/2025	4.04	4.02	4.13	4.31	4.51	4.99	4.97
06/13/2025	3.96	3.90	4.02	4.20	4.41	4.93	4.90
06/20/2025	3.90	3.86	3.96	4.16	4.38	4.90	4.89
06/27/2025	3.73	3.72	3.83	4.03	4.29	4.85	4.85
07/03/2025	3.88	3.84	3.94	4.12	4.35	4.87	4.86
07/11/2025	3.90	3.86	3.99	4.19	4.43	4.96	4.96

Notice how interest rates crept up on the week, with the bulk of yield gain coming on Friday, the same day stocks were down. In other words, instead of rushing into the safety of fixed income as stocks were being somewhat clobbered (especially the DOW), bonds were being sold off as well. Where did the money go? Cash, gold, silver.

The 10-year note was up eight basis points and the 30-year bond up 10 on Friday. This is no coincidence. This is an early warning sign of an upcoming financial crisis. Everybody knows that a financial crisis will occur - it's only a matter of time - the question is when and what will be the cause. Speculation is that the repo market will explode again or that some banks might be found to be undercapitalized and overly aggressive in their treasury distribution.

The current narrative that inflation is under control, approaching two percent (meaning your money devalues by half in 30 years, instead of 20 years at three percent) annually, is about to change. Inflation has never been under control. Prices have been rising, especially lately, as in the past few months. Those who do grocery shopping understand this all too well.

Instead of cutting rates, the Fed should be raising them. Will they? Probably not. They are more likely to cut rates to stave off a recession (can't have those!) than raise them to shut down inflation.

Full spectrum spread fom 30 days out to 30 years remains elevated at +59. 2s-10s are back to April highs, at +53.

Be on guard for the 30-year bond to hit five percent and higher, and the 10-year note to exceed a yield of 4.5%. The Treasury market is under severe stress, from lack of foreign buying to unease over economic conditions caused by continuing deficits and lack of capital formation.

Spreads:

2s-10s
9/15/2023: -69
9/22/2023: -66
9/29/2023: -44
10/06/2023: -30
10/13/2023: -41
10/20/2023: -14
10/27/2023: -15
11/03/2023: -26
11/10/2023: -43
11/17/2023: -44
11/24/2023: -45
12/01/2023: -34
12/08/2023: -48
12/15/2023: -53
12/22/2023: -41
12/29/2023: -35
1/5/2024: -35
1/12/2024: -18
1/19/2024: -24
1/26/2024: -19
2/2/2024: -33
2/9: -31
2/16: -34
2/23: -41
3/1: -35
3/8: -39
3/15: -41
3/22: -37
3/28: -39
4/5: -34
4/12: -38
4/19: -35
4/26: -29
5/3: -31
5/10: -37
5/17: -39
5/24: -47
5/31: -38
6/7: -44
6/14: -47
6/21: -45
6/28: -35
7/5: -32
7/12: -27
7/19: -24
7/26: -16
8/2: -08
8/9: -11
8/16: -17
8/23: -09
8/30: 00
9/6: +06
9/13: +09
9/20: +18
9/27: +20
10/4: +5
10/11: +13
10/18: +13
10/25: +14
11/1: +16
11/8: +5
11/15: +12
11/22: +4
11/29: +5
12/6: +5
12/13: +15
12/20: +22
12/27: +31
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

Full Spectrum (30-days - 30-years)
9/15/2023: -109
9/22/2023: -99
9/29/2023: -82
10/06/2023: -64
10/13/2023: -82
10/20/2023: -47
10/27/2023: -54
11/03/2023: -76
11/10/2023: -80
11/17/2023: -93
11/24/2023: -95
12/01/2023: -105
12/08/2023: -123
12/15/2023: -154
12/22/2023: -149
12/29/2023: -157
1/5/2024: -133
1/12/2024: -135
1/19/2024: -118
1/26/2024: -116
2/2/2024: -127
2/9: -117
2/16: -103
2/23: -112
3/1: -121
3/8: -125
3/15: -109
3/22: -112
3/28: -115
4/5: -93
4/12: -87
4/19: -77
4/26: -70
5/3: -85
5/10: -87
5/17: -94
5/24: -99
5/31: -83
6/7: -92
6/14: -113
6/21: -103
6/28: -96
7/5: -101
7/12: -108
7/19: -103
7/26: -104
8/2: -143
8/9: -131
8/16: -138
8/23: -141
8/30: -121
9/6: -125
9/13: -117
9/20: -80
9/27: -80
10/4: -75
10/11: -58
10/18: -54
10/25: -38
11/1: -18
11/8: -23
11/15: -10
11/22: -12
11/29: -40
12/6: -23
12/13: +18
12/20: +29
12/27: +38
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

Oil/Gas

WTI crude oil closed out the week at $67.35, a $2.20 increase from last Friday's $65.15. The gain was largely synthetic, with traders adjusting after the major downdraft at the end of June. Call it a knee-jerk reaction to much lower pricing which will probably prove to be both short-lived and wrong-footed.

Gas prices have followed oil's path lower in general.

Gasbuddy.com is reporting the national average for a gallon of unleaded regular gas at the pump at $3.13, a two-cent gain from last week, mostly insignificant.

The highest prices in the country were in California, as usual, at $4.50, down four cents on the week.

Prices at the traditional low end have settled, but were mostly higher, led by Mississippi ($2.68), Oklahoma ($2.71), Alabama and Louisiana ($2.75). Other states in the Southeast are all between $2.76 (South Carolina, Texas) and $2.79 (Arkansas), with the notable exceptions of Georgia ($2.87), North Carolina ($2.88), and Florida ($2.91). 12 states under the 42nd parallel are below $3.00, including New Mexico.

The Northeast continues to be led on the high side by Pennsylvania ($3.25), down six cents. All other New England and East coast states remained above $3.00, ranging from Massachusetts at $3.02 to New York at $3.15, except for New Hampshire ($2.98).

Midwest states are topped by Illinois ($3.47), the price up six cents on the week. Nebraska ($2.82)is lowest in the region, followed by Kansas ($2.87), North Dakota ($2.88), and Missouri ($2.89). Along with Illinois, Wisconsin ($3.01), Ohio ($3.05), Indiana and Minnesota ($3.06), and Michigan ($3.27) are all back above $3.00.

Along with California, Washington ($4.40) is the only other one above $4, as Oregon checks in at $3.98. Nevada ($3.70) dropped two cents. Arizona ($3.17) is still priced at a premium to neighboring New Mexico, a relative bargain, at $2.84. Idaho ($3.44) was up a nickel, and Utah ($3.27) was unchanged.

Sub-$3.00 gas can be found in one fewer state this week than last, with now 21 making the grade. Prices could go either way. It's political.

Bitcoin

This week: $119,022.00
Last week: $108,808.00
2 weeks ago: $108,168.60
6 months ago: $95,099.77
One year ago: $59,477.68
Five years ago: $9,177.39

New highs. Bitcoin is the gateway drug to controllable, programmable, government digital currency, CBDC, so good luck with your crypto fantasy.

Precious Metals

Gold:Silver Ratio: 86.24; last week: 90.13

Per COMEX continuous contracts:

Gold price 6/13: $3,452.60
Gold price 6/20: $3,384.40
Gold price 6/27: $3,286.10
Gold price 7/3: $3,346.50
Gold price 7/11: $3,370.30

Silver price 6/13: $36.37
Silver price 6/20: $35.95
Silver price 6/27: $36.17
Silver price 7/3: $37.13
Silver price 7/11: $39.08

Both gold and silver were bid on the week, but the big story was silver, closing above $39.00 an ounce on the COMEX, with spot at $38.34. What triggered silver's rise was likely related to U.S. President Trump calling for a 50% tariff on copper. A good portion of silver mined around the world is as a by-product of other mining, copper being prominent.

The gains on silver, which many believe to be long overdue come at a time when there are more than ample numbers of catalysts, main among them being the silver shortfall in production, mining not keeping pace with demand for what appears to be a fifth straight year, according to the Silver Institute.

On a more technical level, the recent gold:silver ratio bounding over 100 was a certain buy signal for metals dealers, stackers, and investors. It was so far out of whack that it prompted silver sales to outpace supplies and now, the restocking of inventory is pushing the price even higher, so much so that the GSR checks in this week at a more rational 86.24.

As always, when gold rises, silver usually catches up and then exceeds in percentage terms, which is now the case. Gold is up 27.38% year-to-date, while silver has passed it by, up 33.24%. On a five-year scale, silver is up 97.17%, gold, 85.86%, These are the kinds of numbers that should put some of the whining about silver's poor performance to rest. It's even outpacing the S&P 500 over the past five years (94.12%). Not bad for an assets without counter-party risk that has been accepted as MONEY for millennia.

The narrative promoted by central banks since the so-called "Crime of '73" when the U.S. demonetized the metal, disallowing the U.S. Mint from turning citizen silver into silver coinage.

In 1965, silver was taken further out of circulation with the Coinage Act of 1965, eliminating silver dimes and quarters and reducing the content of silver in the half dollar from 90% to 40% (Kennedy halves).

Readers of Money Daily are likely to be acutely aware of silver's constitutional status as money in the United States. Sooner or later, there's going to be a crisis that will force the hand of government to default on the Federal Reserve's fiat currency. Whether it restores the U.S. to honest money remains a mystery, but, rest assured, the rest of the world is not going to wait around for the United States. Central banks around the world have been buying up gold hand over fist, and now some are going to be looking seriously at silver as a strategic asset and possibly a basis for currency. Peru and Mexico would be prime candidates for a re-monetizing of silver as both countries mine massive amounts of it a year.

In 2024, again, using Silver Institute figures, four of the top five silver-producing countries are in South America and five of the top 10. Here's the breakdown for 2024 production in millions of ounces:

Mexico: 185.7
China: 110.1
Peru: 108.0
Bolivia: 47.8
Chile: 43.2
Poland: 42.5
Russia: 41.0
Australia: 38.8
United States: 36.2
Argntina: 24.9

Also of note, Russia formally announced adding silver to its central bank holdings more than a year ago, and China's position at #2 in terms of production adds more speculation towards silver's role in the BRICS and the emerging global, multi-polar financial framework. Simply put, gold could be the vehicle for trade settlement between nations; silver the choice for individuals and small businesses. Could happen, but probably not overnight.

In the meantime, keep stacking.

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

Item/Price	Low	High	Average	Median
1 oz silver coin:	39.00	52.50	45.34	44.98
1 oz silver bar:	41.01	49.95	45.35	45.00
1 oz gold coin:	3,451.10	3,633.43	3,517.89	3,517.23
1 oz gold bar:	3,500.92	3,533.53	3,515.58	3,513.72

The Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) rose dramatically this week, to $45.17, an improvement of $1.61 from the June 29 price of $43.56 per troy ounce.

WEEKEND WRAP

Money Daily is gradually moving toward a non-U.S.-centric approach to coverage of the global economy. While it's clear that enormous changes are underway, they are generally very slow to develop. The U.S. and the West are not becoming irrelevant, it's just that the systems they employ have broken down and their governments and central bankers execute a daily ongoing scramble to keep those systems operational.

On the other side of the ledger, so to speak, are BRICS and countries aligned to them, which are in the process of building what they propose as a better system. Ultimately, the use of gold as backing for currencies will be essential, but not without a lot of pain and suffering - mostly by innocent people - first.

Sound financial management is moving West to East. South America and Africa are likely to be key battlegrounds in economics over the coming years.

At the Close, Friday, July 11, 2025:
Dow: 44,371.51, -279.13 (-0.63%)
NASDAQ: 20,585.53, -45.17 (-0.22%)
S&P 500: 6,259.75, -20.71 (-0.33%)
NYSE Composite: 20,547.67, -130.43 (-0.63%)

For the Week:
Dow: -457.02 (-1.02%)
NASDAQ: -15.57 (-0.08%)
S&P 500: -19.60 (-0.31%)
NYSE Composite: -178.12 (-0.86%)
Dow Transports: +162.03 (+1.01%)

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.

Weaponized Tariffs More Resemble Sanctions Than Trade Equalizers; Government Actions Seem Unsuitable for "America First" Agenda

President Trump's announcement Wednesday of 50% tariffs on Brazil, ostensibly in protest over the South American country's criminal trial against its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been met with skepticism in the U.S. and revulsion in Brazil.

Current president Lula da Silva said Thursday that he would impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States if President Trump follows through on a pledge to boost import taxes by 50% on August 1st. Bolsonaro's trial is based on charges he attempted to interfere with the 2022 election, won by da Silva, though, just as in the U.S. during the 2020 elections, many observers considered the result rigged, as Bolsonaro had been leading da Silva in most polls.

Whatever the truth behind election irregularities over the past decade happens to be, Trump's use of tariffs to "punish" Brazil make little sense from an economic perspective.

First, the United States actually runs a trade surplus with Brazil, so tacking on tariffs would amount to undermining one of the few trade relationships that favors America. Second, 50% tariffs are prima facia unreasonable, amounting to sanction-level punishment, a favorite tactic of the U.S. geared more towards political aims than evening the trade playing field.

Trump's recent flurry of tariff threats make him - and, by extension, the United States - look like a bully, using hard-line tactics to put trading partners at significant disadvantages. Between broken promises on Ukraine, the Epstein matter, balancing the budget, and other matters, Trump's base support is being severely eroded, endangering the Republican party in next year's midterm elections. Beyond the political implications, the economic realities appear to be headed very much in the wrong direction.

Whichever way economists want to twist the math on tariffs, goods coming into the United States become either more expensive, of inferior quality, or the profit margins of exporting companies get squeezed if they decide to "eat" the import duties. The effects are overall inflationary, coming at a time in which the average consumer is being stretched by higher prices on just about everything. The Fed and government number crunchers continue to insist that inflation is coming down, but regular people just aren't buying their narrative.

The other alternative is empty shelves, if enough countries determine that doing business with the United States isn’t worth the effort.

Beef prices, in particular, are through the roof and largely unaffordable for most families. Tacking on extra charges to Brazilian imports - a good portion of it food, and, especially, beef - makes little sense from an "America First" perspective. It has a better chance of being more destructive than productive.

Standing back for a "big picture" perspective, everything Trump has proposed or accomplished over the past few months seems designed to harm America rather than help it. There aren't many people worldwide that he hasn't pissed off of late. The forever wars appear to be back on the table. Government spending will continue to overrun revenue via his big, beautiful bill. The Middle East is far from being settled. Trump continues to attack Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, calling for lower interest rates, a purely inflationary suggestion. The dollar is weaker, and, while it does make American exports more competitive, it makes imports more expensive. By shutting down the Epstein investigation without anyone being charged with anything, Trump's message to his base was clear. He doesn't care to keep campaign promises. After all, he can't run for president again. He's a lame duck already. MAGA loyalists can GF themselves.

It's almost as if the government, now firmly back in the grip of the neocon deep state, wants the American people angry, tired, hungry, drugged, broke, and on the verge of rebellion. Those in charge - now including Trump - seem to want either runaway inflation, a depression, a civil war, or revolution, or a combination of all in order to impose martial law and put everybody under the jackboot of corporatism.

Just a thought.

In any case, the U.S. stock market seems to like most of what's being fed them, at least until today. The NASDAQ and S&P made new highs on Thursday, and the Dow continues to hover near record territory.

Stocks weren't the only things being bought on Thursday. Bitcoin traded at a record-high price and this morning surpassed $118,000. Gold was only marginally higher, but is up nearly $40 Friday morning, at $3,365. Silver has screamed higher, breaking through $37 on Thursday and trading as high as $38.60 Friday morning, prices not seen since 2011.

Stock futures are lower across the board. Whether that plays out in the cash market to close out the week remains to be seen, but there certainly is more than ample stress in financial markets for something not to break soon.

At the Close, Thursday, July 10, 2025:
Dow: 44,650.64, +192.34 (+0.43%)
NASDAQ: 20,630.66, +19.33 (+0.09%)
S&P 500: 6,280.46, +17.20 (+0.27%)
NYSE Composite: 20,678.11, +69.88 (+0.34%)

U.S. Failure in Ukraine is Certain; BlackRock shuts down "Recovery" fund as Russia Steamrolls and Outpaces NATO in Armaments

As Money Daily transitions to a greater level of coverage of markets outside the Western sphere of influence, it's still a good idea to keep tabs on the floundering, mismanaged economies in the U.S. and Europe.

One area in which the West is stumbling and fumbling is in military readiness, as evidenced by their abject failure in Ukraine. Coverage begins with the story from Bloomberg over the weekend on BlackRock's cancellation of their highly-touted Ukraine Recovery Fund. Make note of the time and date of the article, posted innocuously at 3:00 am on Saturday, in the middle of a three-day U.S. holiday weekend. Obviously, Bloomberg didn't want to embarrass its sponsor, BlackRock or its meritorious leader, the obnoxious - and aptly named - Larry Fink.

This is done ZeroHedge, style, i.e., cribbing the entire article.

BlackRock Halted Ukraine Fund Talks After Trump’s Election Win

By Jenny Leonard, Donato Paolo Mancini, and Leonard Kehnscherper
July 5, 2025 at 3:00 AM EDT

BlackRock Inc. halted its search for investors to back a multibillion-dollar Ukraine recovery fund earlier this year after Donald Trump’s election victory saw the US sour on the eastern European country, people familiar with the discussions said.

The fund, meant to be unveiled at next week’s Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, was close to securing initial support from entities backed by the governments of Germany, Italy and Poland, the people said, declining to be identified discussing private information.

However, in January, BlackRock decided to pause talks with institutional investors due to a lack of interest amid increased uncertainty over Ukraine’s future.

Donald Trump ran his reelection campaign on a promise to immediately end the war in Ukraine and bring the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin together for peace talks.

Since his inauguration at the start of the year, the US president has clashed with both men and issued inconsistent proposals for a path forward, while indicating an end to US military support for Ukraine.

The US government was a notable absence from the fund’s backers in December.
Reconstruction Funding

The Ukraine Development Fund was on track to secure at least $500 million from countries, development banks and other grant providers, along with $2 billion from private investors, Philipp Hildebrand, vice chairman of BlackRock who was among the financiers leading the discussions, said last year.

At the time, Hildebrand said that could bring together a consortium of equity and debt investors who could finance at least $15 billion of reconstruction work in Ukraine. The total bill to rebuild Ukraine following Russia’s invasion was estimated at more than $500 billion by the World Bank and others in February.

A BlackRock spokesperson said the firm completed its pro-bono advisory work on the Ukraine Development Fund in 2024 and is currently not engaged in “any active mandate” with the Ukrainian government. “The only conversations that drive our decision-making are those with our clients,” the spokesperson added.

BlackRock was set to unveil the fund in Italy, some of the people said, during the Ukraine Recovery Conference on July 10-11 that Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Ukraine’s Zelenskiy are set to attend, though the timeline was never made public.

Spokespeople for Prime Minister Meloni and the foreign ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment.

France has been working on a fund proposal to replace the canceled BlackRock initiative but it’s not clear how effective the new plan will be without US backing, the people said.

— With assistance from Daryna Krasnolutska, Harry Wilson, Joe Deaux, Silla Brush, and Katherine Griffiths

What a joke. It took eight people to put together this 200-word story. Overpaid.

Next up, a snippet from Simplicius over at Substack.

SITREP 7/8/25: Trump Flips on Ammo (Again?), as Russian Steamroller Bursts into Zaporozhye

Simplicius / Jul 08, 2025

This week brings us news that Trump has reversed on his weapons aid suspension to Ukraine—but is there more to this than meet’s the eye?

I believe so: everyone has jumped to conclusions assuming it means full resumption, when in reality Trump never specified what weapons—he merely said we’ll have to send them ‘some’ weapons, and defensive ones at that. It’s likely this could include just a few more Patriots and little else, more as performative gesture to once again appease neocons and relieve pressure from himself. That’s not to mention it’s not any new congressionally-approved weapons packages, but rather trickling resumption of the already dwindling Biden-inked deal.

Finally, here's Alex Cristoforou and Alexander Mercouris discussing - and laughing at - the disastrous policies of the U.S., UK, and EU, as their leaders "fail forward."

Good luck, Western dogs.

Face It, America, It's Over. Trump Has Broken Too Many Campaign Promises; Congress is a Laughing Stock; Wall Street Thoroughly Corrupt

Following four years of absolute chaos and disgrace on the world stage, a large segment of the American public thought they were voting for change and salvation in electing Donald J. Trump as the 47th president of the country, and, in the beginning of his term, starting with DOGE and expulsion of illegal immigrants, it appeared that possibly, America could get back on a positive track.

Since the fateful "liberation day" fiasco upon which President Trump announced punishing tariffs on countries around the world, sending the stock market reeling into bear market territory, many Americans who supported and voted for the president have been abandoning him in large numbers, but Monday's announcement by the Department of Justice, in collaboration with the FBI, that the Jeffrey Epstein investigation was closed with no evidence of a large-scale blackmailing operation or a client list, and, concluding that Epstein committed suicide, appears to have been the last straw.

Because of the unsigned statement issued by the DoJ, and the embarrassing follow-up denial by Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi featured in the clip below, supporters of the president and the MAGA movement are abandoning this administration in droves.

Notably, the question, Trump's quizzical response, and, especially, Pam Bondi's detailed, unprompted response concerning her prior statements, the missing minute from the prison tapes, and the allegation of "child porn downloaded by that disgusting Jeffrey Epstein" appear to have been completely pre-rehearsed and scripted.

Furor over the failed - and likely covered-up - investigation into Epstein's affairs is growing and likely to tear the country further apart, though further downside for the government comes in the form of former MAGA loyalists now siding with far-left Trump-haters who have derided the administration's policies from day one.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk, the former Trump adviser, posted Tuesday on his X platform, “How can people be expected to have faith in Trump if he won’t release the Epstein files?”

Burying of the Epstein files and video tapes, which likely implicate many members of congress, former president Bill Clinton and possibly President Trump himself, along with other high-ranking politicians, judges, Hollywood movie stars, producers, and tech billionaires (Bill Gates), are almost certain to prove the undoing of Trump, his administration, the whole of government, and the social contract with the American people.

It is the touchstone - the black swan - which could trigger mayhem and violence, some almost certain to be the product of deep state operatives and false flags. Shading of the truth, denial to come clean with the American public on matters of extreme importance - many of which the president campaigned on - will prove to be the undoing of the American experience, sadly, on the cusp of the country's 250th anniversary. America will be lucky to avoid civil war.

The Epstein matter isn't the only fumble by the administration. After month's of tireless work by Elon Musk and his DOGE team to uncover waste, fraud, and abuse in government, nearly none of it was codified by congress in their "big, beautiful bill", the continuing resolution passed recently and signed by Trump on July 4. The bill itself is chock full of pork, over-spending, higher deficits, and perks for billionaires and congress, when the president and members of congress - mostly Republicans - had promised to reduce government and begin a process to balance the budget. Really can’t blame all Democrats for voting against it, albeit for all the wrong reasons. Both parties - now essentially a uniparty - are equally corrupt and complicit in crimes against the American people and humanity in general.

While Trump has effectively closed the U.S. southern border, deportations have been slow to materialize. It's largely being suggested by political junkies on the left and the right, that most of the estimated 30-40 million illegals still residing in the United States will be offered amnesty and a path to citizenship rather than rightfully being sent back to their countries of origin.

Other failures by President Trump include not halting arms and financial aid to Ukraine, which would have ended the war immediately as he promised during the campaign. Further support for Israel in its genocide in Gaza and endless warring against Iran and most of the Arab world is a sore point for almost everybody, from leftists to pacifists, to former right-wing supporters.

Trump's tariff back-and-forth posturing is cause for alarm. His recent post on Truth Social of imposing an additional 10 percent tariff on BRICS nations or those aligned with their (in Trump's words) "anti-American" policies, was a backhand to countries representing more than 60% of world commerce. Rather than any attempt at conciliation with the rest of the world, Trump, congress, and their supporters are continuing with sanctions, tariffs, and other forms of punishment that will only serve to alienate the United States further.

President Trump has made no mention of giving back the money stolen from Russia at the onset of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. There is still roughly $300 to $400 billion in Russian assets frozen by the U.S., UK, and EU, that should rightfully be returned.

There's no investigation into the affairs of the Bidens, nor into any of the countless numbers of congresspeople and senators who made trips to Ukraine and received $$$ millions in kickbacks and bribes. There's been no audit of how the money and arms sent to Ukraine were dispersed. The list of failures, mostly of doing nothing in the face of obvious corruption at the highest levels of government and business, grows longer and longer with each passing day.

As far as Wall Street is concerned, the party rages on no matter the circumstance. When Wall Street bankers plead for a poor employment report so that the Federal Reserve will have reason to cut interest rates and the BLS non-farm payroll is revealed as positive, that serves as cause for celebration and a continuance of the rally.

It doesn't take a stock market genius to observe patterns of fraud in stocks and manipulation of the bond markets. How many times do the S&P and NASDAQ have to finish close to unchanged before people realize the depth of corruption and rigging in U.S. markets by the rich and powerful? Vanguard and BlackRock own most of the shares of stock in the most important companies. They can move markets in whichever way they please.

The rest of the world looks upon the United States with a growing sense of tragedy. Europe, for what it's worth, is already finished, their formerly homogenous populations now polluted with migrants from the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and other foreign locales, the immigrants given free reign over the native populations in countries ranging from Sweden, to France, to Germany, Spain, and beyond. Great Britain is no longer great, or even British. They're completely finished as a country and a government.

When people lose faith in institutions of the government, the ability to govern is severely impaired, eventually to a point at which the general population becomes ungovernable. Given rates of inflation, the continued debasement of the nearly-worthless U.S. dollar, now amplified by backward-thinking trade policies that will only exacerbate the situation, the average consumer is squeezed, not only by higher prices, but higher taxes at the state and local levels, more extreme government regulations and denial of basic rights of free speech, assembly, and importantly, a free, critical press. America is very far a breaking point.

From all indications, America is circling the drain of failed empires like many before it. The country is no longer capable of projecting military power. China and Russia have exceeded the U.S. capacity both in terms of quantity and quality. U.S. posturing as a military force with which to be reckoned is at best a bluffing tactic. Rather than seek peace - as Trump promised - the decades old practice of bombing opponents into submission is now the preferred tactic.

Standards of living in the United States continue to decline. The wealth gap continues to grow. Arrogance and hubris by the federal government is unceasing. All of these things, and more, point in only one direction.

249 years. It was a good run, America. But now, it's over.

Henceforth, Money Daily will strive to focus on the economies of the rest of the world, especially BRICS and the Global South, where cooperation and inclusion are fostered and economies are growing as they move away from dollar hegemony. The U.S. and its Western allies are failed states, grasping at economic and political straws like drowning people. Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East are bustling with activity, growth, cooperation, and prosperity.

Regards,

Fearless Rick

At the Close, Tuesday, July 8, 2025:
Dow: 44,240.76, -165.60 (-0.37%)
NASDAQ: 20,418.46, +5.9 (+0.03%)
S&P 500: 6,225.52, -4.46 (-0.07%)
NYSE Composite: 20,541.96, -3.64 (-0.02%)

Trump Tariff Trauma Returns, Sends Stocks Reeling; BRIC Wrap up Summit in Brazil; Gold, Silver Continue to Tease Upside

With the 90-day negotiation window closing on President Trump's threatened tariffs on most of America's trading partners and news of letters going out to various countries, including South Korea and Japan, taking the lion's share of headlines, the administration figured it was the perfect time to close the Epstein case, trotting out representatives from the FBI and Justice Department early Monday morning.

Investigators, after months of tireless sleuthing and sifting through more than 500 gigabytes of data and volumes of documents, found that infamous pedophile and human-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein maintained no client list and definitely committed suicide while awaiting trial in a New York City prison. Therefore, there will be no further investigation, no charges brought against sitting or former politicians, judges, or other famous people and the case is closed, the files flushed down the rabbit hole.

This is the same FBI and Department of Justice which must months ago promised transparency and honesty in its dealing with the American public. Allegedly, Americans are supposed to believe in the existence of unicorns, leprechauns, the Easter Bunny, tooth fairy, and that JFK was killed by Cubans, Elvis Presley is still alive, two planes took down the Twin Towers in New York and another 47-story building on 9/11/2001, and that U.S. astronauts walked on the moon in 1969.

Every day it becomes more and more difficult to keep faith in Ameircan institutions and the people running the government in Washington, D.C. Levels of propaganda and gas-lighting have never been as high as under the current regime.

With another major scandal now discarded and swept under the rug, the uniparty, ensconced neatly in the District of Columbia that rules over the great expanse of the United States, has free reign over the governments finances and operations, including raising the debt ceiling by $5 trillion and other provisions in the big, beautiful continuing resolution passed by both houses of congress and signed into law by Presiident Trump on July 4.

The grifting and draining of the U.S. Treasury shall continue, non-stop.

Early Monday morning, President Trump announced that letters were being sent to heads of state of various countries with which the U.S. does business. Some of the proposed tariffs, set to take affect on August 1, are of 25% on Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Tunisia, South Africa (30%), Laos (40%), Myanmar (40%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (30%), Indonesia (32%), Bangladesh (35%), Serbia (35%), Cambodia (36%), and Thailand (36%).

Trump also took aim at the BRICS, the organization wrapping up its annual summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday. Posting on his social media platform, Truth Social, the president sent out the following:

“Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

While the administration was busy alienating 60% of the global economies, Wall Street was even busier, selling stocks with heightened alarm.

There's more detail on the Money Page of the July issue of idleguy.com.

Approaching Tuesday's opening bell, stock futures are mixed with Dow futures down around 58 points, S&P futures up 5, and NASDAQ futures ahead by 50.

Gold was smacked down Monday, but recovered throughout to day to finish positively. as of this writing, gold is trading at $3,338.00 on the COMEX with silver tickling $37 ($36.95) where all the short stops are located.

Enjoy the chains.

At the Close, Monday, July 7, 2025:
Dow: 44,406.36, -422.17 (-0.94%)
NASDAQ: 20,412.52, -188.59 (-0.92%)
S&P 500: 6,229.98, -49.37 (-0.79%)
NYSE Composite: 20,545.60, -180.19 (-0.87%)

WEEKEND WRAP: Post Independence Day, Peace, Prosperity, Tariffs, BRICS, Higher Stock Prices, Lower Oil and Gas Prices Are on the Agenda

The Shiiller PE closed out on July 3rd at 38.31, just 0.37 from the second-highest reading ever, 38.58, from October 2021, in the aftermath of the plandemic. Given the current momentum, it would surprise exactly nobody if it exceeded that level within weeks, if not days.

Thus, to say that stocks are overvalued would be an extreme understatement. Some of it is because of the dollar's recent decline, from a high on the Dollar Index of 109.96 on January 13, to the current 96.99, a drop of 11.80% in just six months - that's huge in terms of the world's reserve currency. Alternately, the other reserves in central bank coffers - euros and gold - are both appreciating.

Gains in the stock market are proxies for the debasement of the backing currency. All said and done, equity investors are still losing. The Dow is up 5.37%; NASDAQ, up 6.68%; S&P, up 6.76% year-to-date, so, more dip-buying, adding to winning positions, and staking out speculative positions within the framework of buybacks and a declining dollar remains the near term outlook.

Signed by President Trump on Independence Day, passage of the big, beautiful continuing resolution assures inflation will remain unleashed until something breaks, ostensibly, that being the U.S. consumer.

Stocks

Higher. Longer. On the shortened week which ended with a half session Thursday the Dow closed within spitting distance of its all-time high (45,014.04, Dec. 4, 2024). There is a nearly 100% certainty that it will exceed that number in the week ahead.

The Dow and other majors put in reasonable gains for the week, though the best performance was on the Transportation Average, up 3.56%.

The week ahead will feature a few early second quarter earnings reports, the most impactful possibly being Delta Airlines (DAL) which will be releasing on Thursday before the opening bell. Also that morning, Helen of Troy (HELE) and agricultural giant Conagra (CAG) report. After the close on Thursday, WD-40 (WDFC) and Levi's (LEVI) release.

There won't be much to ponder on the data front, with the week ahead focused on two somewhat parallel events: the BRICS Summit in Brasil Monday and Tuesday (July 5, 6) and the expiration of the 90-day grace period on Trump's tariffs on Wednesday, the 7th.

What develops in both scenarios will likely go a long way towards determining the future of international trade and finance.

Treasury Yield Curve Rates

Date	1 Mo	1.5 mo	2 Mo	3 Mo	4 Mo	6 Mo	1 Yr
05/30/2025	4.33	4.35	4.35	4.36	4.39	4.36	4.11
06/06/2025	4.28	4.31	4.35	4.43	4.38	4.31	4.14
06/13/2025	4.23	4.32	4.48	4.45	4.40	4.30	4.09
06/20/2025	4.20	4.38	4.55	4.39	4.40	4.29	4.07
06/27/2025	4.19	4.43	4.49	4.39	4.36	4.26	3.97
07/03/2025	4.35	4.43	4.50	4.42	4.41	4.34	4.07

Date	2 Yr	3 Yr	5 Yr	7 Yr	10 Yr	20 Yr	30 Yr
05/30/2025	3.89	3.87	3.96	4.18	4.41	4.93	4.92
06/06/2025	4.04	4.02	4.13	4.31	4.51	4.99	4.97
06/13/2025	3.96	3.90	4.02	4.20	4.41	4.93	4.90
06/20/2025	3.90	3.86	3.96	4.16	4.38	4.90	4.89
06/27/2025	3.73	3.72	3.83	4.03	4.29	4.85	4.85
07/03/2025	3.88	3.84	3.94	4.12	4.35	4.87	4.86

Yields were elevated at the low end of the curve through the middle, tapering with the longer maturities (10-year note, +6 basis points; 30-year bond, +1 basis point).

The indication is higher rates at the low end, especially after the June non-farm payroll report exceeded estimates, with 147,000 new jobs gained during the month. The effect of the solid jobs data pushed 1-month yields to their highest in more than a month, suggesting that the Fed will be unable to justify any cut to the federal funds rate at the July 29-30 FOMC meeting.

Spreads were spanked down, with 2s-10s dropped nine basis points to +47 and full spectrum at +51, both down substantially, which, as opposed to the most recent condition, is optimistic. There is a growing perception in fixed income markets that some stability and possible agreement between the fiscal and monetary sides of the U.S. economy may be emergent. The combination of passage of the latest continuing resolution (the big, beautiful one) and Thursday's positive jobs report favors expansion and a backing off from near-crisis conditions in the banking sector.

Spreads:

2s-10s
9/15/2023: -69
9/22/2023: -66
9/29/2023: -44
10/06/2023: -30
10/13/2023: -41
10/20/2023: -14
10/27/2023: -15
11/03/2023: -26
11/10/2023: -43
11/17/2023: -44
11/24/2023: -45
12/01/2023: -34
12/08/2023: -48
12/15/2023: -53
12/22/2023: -41
12/29/2023: -35
1/5/2024: -35
1/12/2024: -18
1/19/2024: -24
1/26/2024: -19
2/2/2024: -33
2/9: -31
2/16: -34
2/23: -41
3/1: -35
3/8: -39
3/15: -41
3/22: -37
3/28: -39
4/5: -34
4/12: -38
4/19: -35
4/26: -29
5/3: -31
5/10: -37
5/17: -39
5/24: -47
5/31: -38
6/7: -44
6/14: -47
6/21: -45
6/28: -35
7/5: -32
7/12: -27
7/19: -24
7/26: -16
8/2: -08
8/9: -11
8/16: -17
8/23: -09
8/30: 00
9/6: +06
9/13: +09
9/20: +18
9/27: +20
10/4: +5
10/11: +13
10/18: +13
10/25: +14
11/1: +16
11/8: +5
11/15: +12
11/22: +4
11/29: +5
12/6: +5
12/13: +15
12/20: +22
12/27: +31
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

Full Spectrum (30-days - 30-years)
9/15/2023: -109
9/22/2023: -99
9/29/2023: -82
10/06/2023: -64
10/13/2023: -82
10/20/2023: -47
10/27/2023: -54
11/03/2023: -76
11/10/2023: -80
11/17/2023: -93
11/24/2023: -95
12/01/2023: -105
12/08/2023: -123
12/15/2023: -154
12/22/2023: -149
12/29/2023: -157
1/5/2024: -133
1/12/2024: -135
1/19/2024: -118
1/26/2024: -116
2/2/2024: -127
2/9: -117
2/16: -103
2/23: -112
3/1: -121
3/8: -125
3/15: -109
3/22: -112
3/28: -115
4/5: -93
4/12: -87
4/19: -77
4/26: -70
5/3: -85
5/10: -87
5/17: -94
5/24: -99
5/31: -83
6/7: -92
6/14: -113
6/21: -103
6/28: -96
7/5: -101
7/12: -108
7/19: -103
7/26: -104
8/2: -143
8/9: -131
8/16: -138
8/23: -141
8/30: -121
9/6: -125
9/13: -117
9/20: -80
9/27: -80
10/4: -75
10/11: -58
10/18: -54
10/25: -38
11/1: -18
11/8: -23
11/15: -10
11/22: -12
11/29: -40
12/6: -23
12/13: +18
12/20: +29
12/27: +38
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

Oil/Gas

Edward Dowd of Phinance Technologies believes WTI crude could go as low as $30/barrel within the context of a deep recession in the near to medium term (6-12 months), which he also believes is of high probability.

Whether or not Mr. Dowd is eventually proven correct over time, WTI crude oil closed out the week at $65.15, just pennies ahead of last week's (6/27) close of $65.07 and a far cry from the $74.04 two weeks past (6/20). Price erosion is possible depending on global affairs and the stability of various developed economies. No doubt, the temporary peace between Israel and Iran will contribute to keeping oil prices deflated.

Gas prices have followed oil's path.

Gasbuddy.com is reporting the national average for a gallon of unleaded regular gas at the pump at $3.11, a six-cent drop from last week, and that over a busy three-day weekend.

The highest prices in the country remained in California, at $4.54, down three cents on the week.

Prices at the traditional low end are dropping quickly, led by Oklahoma ($2.64), Texas ($2.66) and Mississippi ($2.67). Other states in the Southeast were also down over the course of the week. Tennessee ($2.72), Louisiana and South Carolina ($2.73), Alabama and Arkansas ($2.74) are all down by at least five cents from last week. Georgia dropped from $2.91 to $2.87, though Florida punched back up to $3.06. North Carolina dropped nine cents to $2.83.

The Northeast is still led on the high side by Pennsylvania ($3.31), down seven cents. All other New England and East coast states remained above $3,00, though New Hampshire and Rhode Island came in at $3.01. Maryland follows Pennsylvania on the high side, at $3.18.

Midwest states are topped by Illinois ($3.41), though the price is down seven cents. Kentucky ($2.82) is the lowest in the region, followed by Ohio ($2.84), Missouri ($2.87), Kansas ($2.88) Nebraska and North Dakota ($2.89), leaving just Illinois, Indiana ($3.11), and Michigan ($3.12) above $3.00.

Along with California, Washington ($4.40) are the only ones above $4, as Oregon checks in at an even $4.00. Nevada ($3.72) dropped three cents. Arizona ($3.21) is still priced at a premium to neighboring New Mexico, a relative bargain, at $2.81. Idaho ($3.39), and Utah ($3.27) each saw prices drop.

Sub-$3.00 gas can be found in two more states this week than last, with now 22 making the grade. If the Middle East situation remains relatively peaceful and there's no significant turmoil from BRICS or the end of Trump's 90-day tariff grace period, prices should continue to come down through summer into fall.

Bitcoin

This week: $108,808.00
Last week: $108,168.60
2 weeks ago: $102,703.00
6 months ago: $101,731.00
One year ago: $58,088.72
Five years ago: $9,710.92

All of crypto is a massive fraud. With the U.S. and Europe (Western powers) increasingly leaning toward crypto assets like stablecoins and CBDCs, people around the world may soon be faced with a currency crisis in which they will be largely forced to choose between crypto and gold-backed currencies. Ought to be a no-brainer, but, the world being led largely by sociopaths who push their narratives through a highly-propagandized media, the choices will be presented as difficult.

Precious Metals

Gold:Silver Ratio: 90.13; last week: 90.85

Per COMEX continuous contracts:

Gold price 6/6: $3,331.00
Gold price 6/13: $3,452.60
Gold price 6/20: $3,384.40
Gold price 6/27: $3,286.10
Gold price 7/3: $3,346.50

Silver price 6/6: $36.13
Silver price 6/13: $36.37
Silver price 6/20: $35.95
Silver price 6/27: $36.17
Silver price 7/3: $37.13

Silver's close above $37/ounce was the first since late 2011, and, at that time, the price was going down. This time actually IS different.

The Financial Times reports that China has made at least 10 mining acquisitions in 2024, underpinning the country's need for raw materials, in addition to its voracious appetite for gold and silver. China has been actively seeking foreign partnerships for a chain of gold vaults throughout the Global South. Details of this ongoing development can be found on the money page of the July issue of idleguy.com, along with additional speculation over the developing multi-polar economic storm.

It's becoming quite clear that gold will play a role in the future of global finance and economics. July 1 marked the adoption of gold as a Tier 1 Asset for American banks, which have shifted their positions in favor of precious metals after decades of being willing participants in various gold suppression schemes, especially on the COMEX and through mechanisms such as the U.S. Exchange Stabilization Fund.

As U.S. hegemony continues to wane, true money - gold - is replacing U.S. Treasury bills, notes, and bonds as the preferred reserve asset at most central banks. The era of price suppression is coming to an abrupt end. The gold price may appreciate at a more rapid pace shortly, though that is still largely dependent on geo-politics and the intentions of the global banking cartel. A severe clash between the West and BRICS-aligned nations could result in an expansion of the developing economic war into a kinetic, military confrontation.

Cooler heads may eventually prevail. Insight can be gained from developments in the Middle East and Ukraine. If those conflicts are soon resolved, there is a chance that President Trump's wish to be remembered as a "peace president" may be fulfilled. Naturally, resistance will come from neocons and the MIC in Europe and the United States.

The main question regarding global politics may come down to a "Who's the Boss?" condition between militants and economists, mostly of the Austrian kind.

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

Item/Price	Low	High	Average	Median
1 oz silver coin:	38.11	49.00	42.31	42.53
1 oz silver bar:	39.00	49.99	44.52	44.88
1 oz gold coin:	3,445.53	3,570.48	3,502.54	3,494.40
1 oz gold bar:	3,464.93	3,553.61	3,501.08	3,496.62

The Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) fell marginally this week, to $43.56, a decline of 14 cents from the June 29 price of $43.70 per troy ounce.

WEEKEND WRAP

Well, next year will make the grand 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America. While it is likely to be a stick image of what the original Fouding Fathers had envisioned, there's still a very good chance that it will still rank as one of the more prosperous and free countries in the world.

We shall see.

At the Close, Thursday, July 3, 2025:
Dow: 44,828.53, +344.11 (+0.77%)
NASDAQ: 20,601.10, +208.00 (+1.02%)
S&P 500: 6,279.35, +51.93 (+0.83%)
NYSE Composite: 20,725.79, +128.89 (+0.63%)

For the Week:
Dow: +1009.26 (+2.30%)
NASDAQ: +327.64 (+1.62%)
S&P 500: +106.28 (+1.72%)
NYSE Composite: +387.38 (+1.90%)
Dow Transports: +552.29 (+3.56%)

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.

BLS Says Job Gains Were +147,000 in June; House Appears Ready to Advance Big, Beautiful Bill for President's Signature

With anxious investors awaiting June's Non-farm Payroll data prior to getting away for the three-day 4th of July weekend, the BLS settled everybody’s nerves by announcing job gains of 147,000 for the month.

From the press release:

Total non-farm payroll employment increased by 147,000 in June, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in state government and health care. Federal government continued to lose jobs.

Both the unemployment rate, at 4.1 percent, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.0 million, changed little in June. The unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range of 4.0 percent to 4.2 percent since May 2024.

The BLS figures ran counter to Wednesday's ADP report of -33,000 jobs in the private sector during June. As usual, Wall Street celebrated, sending futures shooting higher immediately upon the release.

Just after 8:30 am, Dow futures were up 95 points, S&P futures gained 15, and NASDAQ futures were up 75.

Also, in response to the employment numbers, the criminals at the COMEX managed to send gold lower by nearly $40, to $3,322.10, as if a normal U.S. job report equated to negativity towards gold.

Meanwhile, in the nation's capital, the House of Representatives was in a lather, feverishly arranging votes on the big, beautiful continuing resolution which cleared the Senate on Tuesday.

"We have the votes," speaker Mike Johnson told reporters at about 3:00 am ET.

The House voted 219-213 a few minutes later to begin formal debate on the measure with only one Republican - Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania - voting no. Speaker Johnson managed to secure votes from the Freedom Caucus, members of which had voiced concerns over various parts of the bill. There were also some holdouts in moderate camps, but they seem to have been convinced to pass the bill and move on, as all Democrats are expected to vote against the measure.

It now appears that Wall Street will get all its Christmas in July wishes fulfilled and send stocks to more record highs ahead of Independence Day. MAGA, everybody, MAGA.

Happy 4th of July.

At the Close, Wednesday, July 2, 2025:
Dow: 44,484.42, -10.52 (-0.02%)
NASDAQ: 20,393.13, +190.24 (+0.94%)
S&P 500: 6,227.42, +29.41 (+0.47%)
NYSE Composite: 20,596.93, +55.56 (+0.27%)

Big, Beautiful Bill Clears Senate, Heads to House; Passage Certain; ADP Reports (oh, no!) 33,000 Jobs Lost in June (where did they go?)

The Dow Jones Industrials tacked on 400 points on Tuesday because, as anyone following U.S. stocks knows, all major indices MUST make new all-time highs on a regular basis. It's written into the algorithms and assisted by AI, so it's not even debatable.

45,014.04 is the Dow's all-time high, accomplished on December 4, 2024, leaving just more than a one percent gap between Tuesday's close and another record. With the S&P, NASDAQ, and NYSE Composite already making new ATHs, the Dow needs to catch up, but there seems to be a disturbance in the Wall Street farce, a fly in the stock grease ointment, sand in the gears of commerce.

Maybe it's anxiety over the big, beautiful bill the Senate passed on Tuesday and is now headed back to the House for final consideration and reconciliation, or it might be this morning's ADP National Employment Report that posted a -33,000 jobs for June.

The nerve of those private economists and number-fumblers! The U.S. can't be losing jobs. We are strong. We are growing. We are, well, AI bots are replacing human job-holders at an alarming rate. Sooner or later, there won't be many jobs for humans, though, with illegals being deported at a quickening pace, the non-farm payrolls due out tomorrow (Thursday) may want to start checking on those farms, because there are openings galore for cherry-pickers, cotton-pickers, hayseeds, slaughterhouse hands and anything other position that requires human bending, stooping, using hands - things AI bots cannot do.

One solution to this problem of the loss of human jobs would be to start counting the jobs filled by robots and bots. Those numbers should be awesome for the foreseeable future, assuring that the fudgers over at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) can keep the human jobs for a while longer. That is, until they are replaced by AI.

No matter what, tomorrow's NFP report is likely to be a real stinker, though, given the assembled brain power of the Wall Street trading elite, there is likely to be a way to report that as a positive development, which, essentially would be that the loss of human jobs at such a breakneck pace should encourage Fed Chairman Powell and his cadre of FOMC voters to lower interest rates, at least by 25 basis points. In case the jobs number is deeply negative, like a million jobs lost (we know the BLS is capable of that degree of dissembling), the Fed may just take the extraordinary step of doing an emergency cut, maybe a full percent, or even more.

It's this kind of disaster management that keeps U.S. stocks elevated. Wall Street's interpretation of economic data is second to none when it comes to turning negatives into positives. There should be a massive rally prepared for the day before the 4th of July celebration so that all those folks with 401k accounts loaded with tech stocks, blue chips and assorted high-leverage penny stocks can enjoy the three-day weekend, secure in the knowledge that, no matter how bad things may look on the surface, Wall Street and the Fed has a response ready to counter any ill will.

That, at least, is how it appears to be going. The House should just get on with reconciliation, pass the big and the beautiful (there's a soap opera plot in there somewhere) and head home for the holiday.

Big, Beautiful, Zero jobs. Christmas in July! What could go wrong?

At the Close, Tuesday, July 1, 2025:
Dow: 44,494.94, +400.17 (+0.91%)
NASDAQ: 20,202.89, -166.85 (-0.82%)
S&P 500: 6,198.01, -6.94 (-0.11%)
NYSE Composite: 20,541.37, +111.82 (+0.55%)

Scam 2nd Quarter Ends With Healthy Gains for Stocks; Big Game Commences into 3rd

There's a growing body of evidence that suggests complete control by the deep state with all members of congress, the Supreme Court, and even President Trump compromised and forced to do the bidding of the Federal Reserve, neocon-led intelligence faction that has - very likely - been in control of the government since the assassination of President Kennedy back in November of 1963.

Stocks made impressive gains over the quarter. Those with either the foresight or inside information to have sold near the end of the first quarter (late March) and bought back in after the Trump Tariff Trauma™ on April 2nd, handily beat these second quarter numbers:

Dow: +4.98%
NASDAQ: +17.75%
S&P 500: +10.57%
NYSE Composite: +5.33%

It's not as though there wasn't advance warning or plausible deniability for those Senators and House members who made a killing. The president was talking up the tariffs well prior to the big reveal the day after April Fool's Day.

Ironically, April 2nd was the greater fool's day, the tariff announcement a complete clown show at the White House Rose Garden, with extremely punishing numbers presented by the administration, designed to "level the playing field" with U.S. trading partners. As it turns out, it was more fiction than fact, because, just a week later, President Trump announced a 90-day hold-off on imposition of the tariffs, ostensibly giving the nations that export to the United States time to negotiate more reasonable deals.

Those 90 days are nearly up. Whatever tariffs have been negotiated should begin being implemented early next week. However, like clockwork, just as the second quarter begins, this morning has Trump reconsidering the tariffs again, opting for "mini-deals" as opposed to big, beautiful ones. Clown show, part deux, mon ami.

This twist in the narrative stems from an article in the Financial Times (behind a paywall, of course), the slashing left arm of the banking cartel.

The tariff turbulence is only one of the various signals being sent out of Washington, D.C. suggesting that most of what gets passed off as news or truth is really little more than further pushing the desired narrative.

The first inkling of things gone amiss was likely the Trump meme coins - $TRUMP and $MELANIA - that popped up on the crypto radar just before the inauguration. The vapid public snatched them up at ridiculous prices as Trump took the oath, then watched them evaporate, like so many crypto scams before them. Those who bought in the 20s and 30s are pure rubes. $TRUMP traded as high as $44. Today it's eight bucks. Suckers.

While it's entirely possible that the president made a small fortune on this particular scam, there were no screams about the emoluments clause from the usual suspects. Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer said nothing. They were probably memoed in on the deal.

Other signs that what you see on TV and read on the internet include the recent bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities, over which the president has taken victory laps over their complete destruction while various other reports - including from the intelligence community - have made claims that the Iranians moved their stockpiles of enriched Uranium before the strikes and that the facilities were only superficially damaged. Other reports suggest that Israel suffered tremendous blows from Iran's missile assaults, their "Iron Dome" failing badly against the Persian hypersonics. Little mention is made of Israel's damage in the mainstream.

Finally, there's the issue of the U.S. Treasury, the GENIUS Act, and the stablecoin Tether, which all combines to facilitate a deep fake in the world's largest market. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently (June 3) bought back $10 billion worth of bonds from various note-holders of nearly $23 billion offered.

The idea is that by buying these issues back prior to maturity, the Treasury would save money on interest, which is true, and all well and good, but it also amounts to a somewhat backhanded way of monetizing the $37 trillion debt pile the U.S. has built up over the years. Enter congress and the GENIUS act, which purports to offer "guardrails" for stablecoins like Tether, which now boasts owning over $100 billion worth of treasuries.

Stablecoins get their name because they are valued at the same price as the item they represent. In Tether's case, that is the U.S. dollar, so one Tether ($UST) equals one dollar ($USD) and is backed by dollars, or, as they purport, U.S. Treasuries. Tether now holds more U.S. Treasuries than Germany or Spain and congress has just passed legislation that will allow them even more access, claiming that the GENIUS Act will make provide the U.S. Treasury market with more liquidity, via stablecoins.

In effect, the worthless paper issued by the U.S. Treasury will be increasingly bought by a shell company (with just 13 employees) and turned into tokens. It's bizarre, and a strong sign that the U.S. hegemonic treasury complex is being ravaged by de-dollarization by BRICS and countries in the Global South who no longer wish to do business with the United States or at least conduct trade in U.S. dollars.

Add in the failure to release the Epstein files, which have been, according to AG Pam Bondi, "on her desk", for months, the quiet about auditing the gold in Fort Knox, the Trump-Musk feud, all of Europe (except Spain) happily agreeing to spend 5% of their budgets on defense, and there should be ample suspicion over the reality being presented to the general public by an overbearing federal government.

Some may disagree, saying that stocks are up, so there's been no screwing of the public. In response, the deep state just nods, because they could care less if the "little people" make money in stocks, real estate, business or just about anything other than gold or silver, because, at the end of the day, the U.S. government is a tax and spend and spend and spend skimming operation. The more money you make, the more money they take.

It's as simple as that, so, play along if you like, but the end result is likely to be a completely gutted financial system, led by a corrupt congress and Wall Street boosters, operating in the shadows to the benefit of an elite uber-class of billionaires (and, even deeper, trillionaires).

The third quarter starts today. Let the games begin.

At the Close, Monday, June 30, 2025:
Dow: 44,094.77, +275.50 (+0.63%)
NASDAQ: 20,369.73, +96.28 (+0.47%)
S&P 500: 6,204.95, +31.88 (+0.52%)
NYSE Composite: 20,429.55, +91.14 (+0.45%)