Dec 02

Today’s News 2nd December 2024

  • The Nuclear Energy World Awaits Trump
    The Nuclear Energy World Awaits Trump

    Authored by Nathan Worcester via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    America’s nuclear energy industry has something special going for it.

    “Nuclear energy is one of the few issues that receives bipartisan support across the country,” Maria Korsnick, the president and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, told The Epoch Times in a statement.

    The then former U.S. President Donald Trump and Republican presidential nominee, speaks at a campaign rally at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, Ga., on Oct. 28, 2024. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

    Democrat-aligned billionaires like Bill Gates have invested heavily in advanced nuclear, as have Republican-aligned billionaires like John Catsimatidis. Meanwhile, sustained, large-scale opposition to nuclear power from the left has mostly dissipated, at least in the United States. Environmentalists increasingly see it as an attractive source of carbon-free baseload power.

    Physicist James Walker, CEO of the microreactor firm Nano Nuclear Energy Inc., pointed out that the ADVANCE Act of 2024, key legislation for the deployment of new reactor technologies, was backed by Republicans and Democrats alike. As part of the Fire Grants and Safety Act, it gained overwhelming support from both parties in the House of Representatives, where it passed 393 to 13, and in the Senate, where it passed 88 to 2.

    A Nov. 12 policy blueprint from the Biden White House outlines a plan to triple the country’s nuclear energy capacity over the next quarter century.

    It certainly appears that the outgoing administration and Democrat-led Senate are pro-nuclear. Yet, with Donald Trump’s reelection, “there also might be additional benefit,” Walker told The Epoch Times.

    He hopes the new administration will spur domestic production of a fuel used by advanced nuclear reactors. Russia and China dominate the supply chain for that fuel, which is called high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU).

    Earlier this year, the U.S. banned the importation of Russian uranium, with any waivers set to expire by 2028. In October, the Department of Energy awarded six companies contracts for HALEU production.

    “I can’t see, even under the new administration, that relationship being remedied enough that we can go back to sourcing Russian weapons-grade material,” Walker said.

    At a Nov. 21 Heritage Foundation roundtable on nuclear energy, Constellation Energy’s David Brown said that American firms involved in producing low-enriched uranium, also supplied by Russia and other countries, have generally set the end of this decade as their launch date, but progress has been slow.

    Even amid the bipartisan push for advanced reactors, some scientists and activists worry HALEU is far more easily weaponized than low-enriched uranium, which has become more of a concern recently as the possibility of nuclear war lurches back into public discourse.

    “The risk of nuclear war is currently higher than it has been since the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Matthew Bunn, a nuclear and energy policy analyst at the Harvard Kennedy School, told The Epoch Times via email.

    “The acute issue is Iran, which is now closer to the edge of a nuclear weapons capability than ever before.”

    ‘We Need to Revolutionize How We Think’

    Trump’s vision includes a new National Energy Council that, in his words, will cover “all forms of American energy” and blaze a trail to American energy dominance. Its prospective members include his pick for energy secretary, fracking innovator Chris Wright. Wright sits on the board of directors of a fission reactor company, Oklo Inc.

    Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. CEO Chris Wright on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Jan. 12, 2018. Lucas Jackson/Reuters

    The council’s chair, likely Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, would also be part of the National Security Council.

    Trump’s planned Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, will be led in part by businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. During his own presidential run, Ramaswamy called to eradicate the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or NRC.

    He described the agency as “the damper on the revival of nuclear energy in the United States of America.”

    Some other insiders have shared similar frustrations with the regulatory status quo.

    “We need to revolutionize how we think, how we regulate,” said Jack Spencer, an energy and environmental policy researcher at the Heritage Foundation, during the Nov. 21 nuclear energy roundtable.

    Doug Bernauer, the CEO of microreactor startup Radiant Nuclear, objected to the pace of reactor licensing in a Nov. 20 post on X.

    “No new nuclear reactor design has been licensed in over 50 years in the US. … Will DOGE fix nuclear?” Bernauer wrote.

    Mixed Reactions From Industry to DOGE

    Some in the nuclear industry have reservations about DOGE.

    John Kutsch, the leader of the Thorium Energy Alliance, hopes the administration makes its cuts carefully.

    “There’s actual useful things the Department of Energy does,” he told The Epoch Times, citing the agency’s role in nuclear weapons management.

    Kutsch believes the closure of the Bureau of Mines during the 1990s was a mistake that ultimately hampered American mining. He said he doesn’t want to see something similar happen again.

    “We don’t have critical materials readily available in this country because we can’t open up a mine to save our lives,” he said.

    Walker also sounded a note of caution about possible cuts.

    “Downsizing something like the NRC might not inherently make it better, because they still will need a lot of people to do a lot of work,” the nuclear industry entrepreneur said.

    Walker was cheerier about the prospect of using artificial intelligence to speed up licensing of new reactor designs, at least if such an approach proves technologically feasible.

    “You could probably reduce the number of people by an order of magnitude,” he said.

    Walker hopes that the administration can develop a better approach to regulating advanced reactors. The current framework, he said, is adapted to the large, light-water reactors currently operating on the U.S. grid.

    Nuclear power plant Vogtle Unit 3 and 4 sites are under construction near Waynesboro, Ga., in February 2017. Georgia Power/Handout via Reuters

    DoE Destruction of Uranium-233 Worries Thorium Advocates

    While Kutsch defended some aspects of the Department of Energy, he’s not happy with its approach to uranium-233, a uranium isotope that can be used in thorium-based nuclear energy production.

    “This is what gets me mad about bureaucracies,” said Kutsch, whose organization in 2023 signed a memorandum of understanding with El Salvador.

    Kirk Sorensen of Flibe Energy, a molten salt reactor company exploring thorium in one of its designs, described uranium-233 as “a marvelous pre-fuel” during the Heritage roundtable with Spencer and Brown.

    The Department of Energy has started eliminating the U-233 stored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

    “Originally created in the 1950s and 1960s for potential use in reactors, U-233 proved to be an unviable fuel source,” the Department of Energy stated in a June post on its disposition project webpage.

    An aerial view of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory campus in a file photo. Oak Ridge National Laboratory via The Department of Energy

    Sorensen said the department’s U-233 disposition “should be stopped immediately.”

    Kutsch said much of that stored U-233 could be used in thorium-based molten salt reactors or in nuclear medicine.

    Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) proposed bill, the Thorium Energy Security Act of 2022, aimed to facilitate U-233 storage and mandate reports on China’s thorium-based reactor research. It never moved out of committee.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 23:20

  • Seattle Sees First Net Increase In Police Officers In 4 Years
    Seattle Sees First Net Increase In Police Officers In 4 Years

    Don’t call it a comeback…days after President Trump has been re-elected, Seattle has announced it has seen its first net increase in police officers in four years, according to an exclusive new report from KIRO.

    The Seattle Police Department reported its first net increase in officers in four years, adding five to seven in the last quarter, reversing losses since 2020.

    Council President Sarah Nelson attributed the earlier decline to a 2020 pledge by most council members to halve police funding, which led to officer departures and reduced the force to about 900, well below the 1,400 target.

    Nelson said: “Morale was significantly impacted when officers felt their jobs were at risk. However, this recent net positive is a step in the right direction.”

    KIRO reported that as the city council reviews its budget, the focus is on addressing underspending and ensuring effective allocation of funds. Council President Sarah Nelson stressed the need for transparency and accountability, particularly in public safety and social services.

    The 2025-2026 budget includes key investments: $3.2 million to sustain 300 shelter beds, $3.5 million for 23 new CARE positions, and $14.5 million for health initiatives. Nelson underscored the importance of measurable performance metrics to evaluate the impact of these expenditures.

    She added: “We need to see the big picture by knowing exactly what we’re spending right now. Transparency is absolutely key.”

    Nelson highlighted additional ongoing efforts to address public safety and budget challenges, emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability in spending. Initiatives include maintaining the Storefront Repair Fund to assist small businesses, boosting police hiring with competitive wages, and investing in addiction treatment to tackle the fentanyl crisis and homelessness.

    Nelson called for improved oversight of departmental budgets and nonprofit grants to ensure funds align with policy goals, alongside performance reviews for programs like affordable housing and emergency response. She remains hopeful these measures will enhance public safety and fiscal efficiency.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 22:45

  • China Would Be Taking A Major Risk If It Deployed PMCs To Myanmar To Protect BRI Projects
    China Would Be Taking A Major Risk If It Deployed PMCs To Myanmar To Protect BRI Projects

    Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

    The US could do to China in Myanmar what it’s currently doing to Russia in Ukraine…

    The latest phase of Myanmar’s nearly four-year-long conflict, which is part of the world’s longest-running civil war that first began in 1948, has seen the military (locally known as the Tatmadaw) retreat from the minority-majority and resource-rich periphery since October 2023’s Operation 1027. They now only control less than half of the country’s territory. Here are some background briefings over the past year to bring unaware readers up to speed about this worsening conflict and its military-strategic dynamics:

    * 8 February: “Myanmar’s Three-Year-Long Conflict Isn’t As Simple As It Seems At First Glance”

    * 23 February: “America Is Preconditioning The Public For More Meddling In Myanmar”

    * 5 March: “American Meddling Could Disrupt Myanmar’s Fragile Chinese-Mediated Peace Process”

    * 18 March: “Myanmar’s Rebels & Their Foreign Supporters Really Dislike Thailand’s Four-Point Plan”

    * 28 March: “TASS’ Interview With Myanmar’s Leader Had An Interesting Connectivity Tidbit”

    * 5 April: “The West Is Returning To The Rohingya Issue In An Attempt To Divide & Rule This Part Of Asia”

    * 27 May: “Bangladesh Warned About A Western Plot To Carve Out A Christian Proxy State In The Region”

    * 2 June: “There’s A New Coordinated Push For More Western Meddling In Myanmar”

    * 7 August: “Russia Has Limited Means For Helping Myanmar Wage Its War On Terror”

    What’s most important for casual observers to know is that China has ties with the “Three Brotherhood Alliance” (3BA) that’s behind Operation 1027. The People’s Republic relied on some of their members for facilitating trade with the rest of Myanmar in prior years but then pivoted to supporting last year’s offensive so as to punish the Tatmadaw. China was angry about its past fling with the US as well as its alleged refusal to crack down on cross-border cybercrime and human trafficking rings.

    At the same time, the US has also been backing the 3BA and other armed anti-state militias from the get-go since it considers them to be its best chance for carrying out regime change in this geostrategically positioned country at the crossroads of East, South, and Southeast Asia. The US also wants to threaten China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) projects there that are part of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), which includes pipelines, a port at Kyaukphyu in the Bay of Bengal, and a planned railroad.

    The 3BA’s unexpected military success, which was facilitated by Beijing’s tacit support and refusal to punish them by cutting off their economic lifelines in the People’s Republic, threw China into a dilemma. It can either let events unfold at the risk of losing all influence in Myanmar after the US superceded its own over the 3BA, possibly leading to CMEC’s cancellation or it falling under the US’ proxy control, or it can intervene with private military contractors (PMC) like the latest reports claim that it’s planning:

    * 15 November: “Myanmar Junta Planning Joint Security Firm with China”

    * 20 November: “China’s joint security proposal sparks controversy in Myanmar”

    * 21 November: “Are Chinese private armies entering the fray in Myanmar?”

    * 23 November: “What happens when China puts boots on the ground in Myanmar?”

    * 26 November: “Myanmar: How far will China go to keep junta afloat?”

    None of these reports have been confirmed by China or the Tatmadaw so readers should be cautious, but in the event that there’s any truth to them, they’d represent an unprecedented escalation of the conflict. China’s latest call for peace talks might fall flat just like the ceasefire that it mediated earlier this year so it might feel compelled to unconventionally intervene via PMCs so as to safeguard its investments and influence there out of desperation.

    That fateful move would entail the following risks:

    1. From Mission Creep To Quagmire

    Chinese PMCs might only be authorized to defend BRI projects at first, but this could easily evolve into providing logistical, intelligence, and eventually battlefield support to the Tatmadaw, thus raising the chances of a larger intervention that might even become a formal one with time just like Vietnam did. They might even get trapped in a quagmire due to the ethno-regional complexity of the world’s longest-running conflict as well as the mountainous and jungled geography in which it’s being fought.

    2. China’s PMCs Lack Experience

    There are no credible reports indicating that China’s PMCs have anywhere near the level of experience that American, other Western, and Russian ones do. Their possibly creeping involvement in this potential quagmire might therefore prove disastrous since they’ll either be defending or advancing against militants with literally decades-worth of experience on their home turf. The Chinese state and its people might also have less of a tolerance for high casualties than their aforesaid counterparts do.

    3. Hastening The US’ Return To Asia

    Trump 2.0 is already expected to “Pivot (back) to Asia” upon the inevitable end of the Ukrainian Conflict, whenever that might be and regardless of the terms, but they’ll have an even greater incentive to accelerate this process if China unconventionally intervenes in Myanmar. That development would predictably be spun as “aiding a genocidal military dictatorship” in order to justify this move, which could also lead to increased American involvement in the conflict as their proxy war there intensifies.

    4. Falling Into A Brzezinski-Esque Trap

    The above risk directly leads to the next one of the US having possibly planned this entire time to set a Brzezinski-esque trap for China in Myanmar along the lines of what that late National Security Advisor set for the erstwhile USSR in Afghanistan. The purpose is to draw it ever deeper into this seemingly intractable series of ethno-reginal conflicts in order to bleed it dry, establish the pretext for more sanctions, and rally a growing number of countries across the world against it.

    5. Cross-Border Proxy Attacks

    Just like the US uses Ukraine to launch cross-border artillery attacks and even raids against Russia, including the now-infamous invasion of Kursk that still hasn’t been pushed back one-quarter of a year since it started, so too might the US use the 3BA or other anti-state militias against China. The purpose would be to humiliate the People’s Republic and provoke an overreaction like more mission creep or an outmatched response that’s exploited to rally even more countries against it.

    China is certainly aware of the risks that any unconventional PMC intervention in the Myanmarese Conflict would entail, but the military-strategic dynamics have changed so much over the past year that it might be willing to throw caution to the wind. That would be uncharacteristic of China, however, so it might ultimately not happen. If it does go through with this, then it might become as much of a game-changer as Russia’s special operation has been, for better or for worse depending on how it unfolds.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 22:10

  • The Top 5 States Americans Are Leaving
    The Top 5 States Americans Are Leaving

    Americans are constantly on the move, with many leaving their home states in search of better opportunities, lower living costs, or a change in scenery. Some states see more departures than others, raising the question of what’s driving people to pack up and leave.

    This visualization, via Visual Capitalist’s Kayla Zhu, shows the top five states that American residents moved away from in 2023 and their migration outflows, with the top three states where people from those states moved to labeled.

    State-by-state migration flow data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau and is updated as of August 2024. Only residents aged one year and older were included and the data includes Puerto Rico but does not include U.S. island territories.

    Which States Did Americans Move Away From in 2023?

    Below, we show the top five states that Americans moved away from in 2023, with each states’ total number of residents who left, and the number of residents who went to the top three outbound states.

    The average American moves about 11 times throughout their life, according to Steinway Moving and Storage. U.S. Census Bureau data shows that in 2023, 12% of Americans moved to a different residence within the country.

    Some stayed close to home and moved within their home state, while others embarked on cross-country relocations. Out of those who moved to a different residence in 2023, 80% moved within their state and 20% moved to a different state.

    Interestingly, three out of the top five states Americans are moving away from–Florida, Texas, and California–are also seeing the highest number of new residents from other states.

    These states experience high migration turnover due to factors like job opportunities, housing affordability, tax policies, and lifestyle preferences such as weather and urban amenities.

    New Yorkers Have Been Leaving In Droves

    New York has also seen high levels of domestic out-migration since 2012, primarily due to job transfers, family reasons, or wanting to own a new home.

    As one of the most expensive states to live in, it’s no surprise that many people are leaving New York due to affordability concerns and a desire for better quality of life.

    Additionally, the pandemic-driven shift to remote work led to significant workforce losses in major metropolitans like New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

    To learn more about American domestic migration check out this graphic which shows the top five states Americans are moving to.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 21:35

  • Study Finds Plant-Based Food Additive Associated With Increased Insulin Resistance
    Study Finds Plant-Based Food Additive Associated With Increased Insulin Resistance

    Authored by George Citroner via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    A new study suggests potential health risks associated with carrageenan (derived from red seaweed), a common food additive used as a thickener and found in everything from ice cream to plant-based milk.

    Hanna Lepisto/Shutterstock

    Researchers found that overweight people who ate foods with the additive became more insulin resistant and had more inflammation.

    “In overweight participants, carrageenan exposure resulted in lower whole body and hepatic insulin sensitivity,” the study authors wrote, highlighting the need for further investigation into food additives that consumers might consider harmless.

    Carrageenan Linked to Reduced Insulin Sensitivity, Inflammation

    The research, published in BMC Medicine on Tuesday, was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 20 young, healthy male participants who received either 250 milligrams of carrageenan or a placebo twice daily over two weeks.

    Key outcomes of the study included the measurement of insulin sensitivity through various tests, including the oral glucose tolerance test. Although no significant differences in overall insulin sensitivity were observed among all participants, interactions between participants’ body mass index (BMI) and their exposure to carrageenan or the placebo were notable.

    In overweight people, carrageenan led to lower insulin sensitivity, increased brain inflammation, and higher levels of inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein and interleukin-6).

    Additionally, carrageenan was linked to increased intestinal permeability, suggesting the participants’ digestive systems might allow substances to enter the bloodstream more easily. The study also showed immune cell activation and increased pro-inflammatory proteins released from white blood cells after carrageenan exposure. This supports the theory that the additive may influence insulin sensitivity by fostering inflammation.

    While existing research demonstrates carrageenan’s correlation with heightened metabolic risks, inflammation, and gut disruption, the precise molecular mechanisms driving these adverse effects remain unclear.

    While previous animal studies had suggested that carrageenan could induce glucose intolerance and worsen the adverse effects of high-fat diets, the new study represents one of the first clinical investigations into the additive’s effects on human glycemic response.

    The researchers called for further research into the long-term health impacts of carrageenan and similar food additives, particularly in populations at higher risk for developing Type 2 diabetes.

    Cutting Out Carrageenan

    Carrageenan is fairly common in highly processed foods, dairy products such as chocolate milk and ice cream, and plant milks, Stephanie Schiff, a registered dietician and certified diabetes care and education specialist at Huntingdon Hospital, a part of Northwell Health in New York, told The Epoch Times.

    The additive can be easily avoided if you’re eating a diet based on whole foods that are as close to their natural state as possible, she noted.

    “If a food is made in a factory and has ingredients that are not familiar or are difficult to pronounce, it is likely highly processed and may contain carrageenan,” Schiff said. “If you’re eating a packaged good that is creamy or thick, check the label; it may contain carrageenan.” Although carrageenan is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Schiff noted that it has no nutritional value.

    Schiff also recommended a whole-food, plant-focused diet to circumvent carrageenan and other unhealthy additives. Alternatives such as gellan, locust bean, guar, and xanthan gums can be used in place of carrageenan without the associated health risks. However, she cautioned that buying organic does not guarantee a product is free from carrageenan.

    The amount of carrageenan in a typical Western diet can range from 250 milligrams to 2 to 4 grams per person per day. Carrageenan is the fourth-most commonly consumed food additive in pediatric patients with Crohn’s disease, according to research.

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently allows carrageenan in organic food, despite opposition from the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), a federal advisory board that makes recommendations on organic food and products.

    Carrageenan Isn’t the Only Additive of Concern

    According to Schiff, people should be aware of other additives commonly found in processed foods, including:

    • Sodium Nitrite: Found in processed meats, nitrites have been linked to a higher risk of several types of cancer when heated.
    • High-Fructose Corn Syrup: This sweetener is associated with weight gain, diabetes, and inflammation.
    • Trans Fats: Present in hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, these fats can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
    • Monosodium Glutamate (MSG): MSG can cause sweating, flushing, numbness, palpitations, and tingling in sensitive individuals.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 21:00

  • Turkish Intelligence Directing Extremist Offensive In Northwest Syria: AFP
    Turkish Intelligence Directing Extremist Offensive In Northwest Syria: AFP

    Via The Cradle

    Militants from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) currently invading Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, are taking orders from Turkish intelligence, French news agency AFP has reported.

    HTS, formerly known as the Nusra Front, launched a lightning offensive from the group’s stronghold in Idlib Governorate on Wednesday. Its fighters took over numerous villages in the Aleppo countryside before taking control of large parts of Aleppo City on Saturday, including the ancient citadel. AFP writes that “Opposition sources in touch with Turkish intelligence said Turkey had given a green light to the offensive.”

    An AFP correspondent in HTS-held Idlib further reported that “The jihadists and their Turkey-backed allies took orders from a joint operations command.” During the US-backed covert war on Syria that began in 2011, the CIA and allied intelligence agencies established joint operations rooms in southern Turkey and Amman, Jordan, to direct the activities of their extremist proxies fighting the Syrian government.

    Image source: AFP

    Izvestia reported that the current HTS attack on Aleppo was coordinated between Turkish, Ukrainian, and French intelligence, with Israeli support and US approval.

    The Russian newspaper said the assault was originally planned for March but was launched early in response to events in Lebanon. On Wednesday, a ceasefire took effect to halt 66 days of brutal fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli army in Lebanon.

    Just as the ceasefire began, Israel turned its sights on Syria by bombing Lebanese-Syrian border crossings in an effort to prevent weapons transfers from Syria to Hezbollah.

    Syrian army sources said on Saturday that Israel was also backing the extremists attacking Aleppo and areas on the Idlib front. In the past, Israel has kept its support for Al-Qaeda groups in Syria covert so as not to damage their credibility in the eyes of Arabs and Sunni Muslims.

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a special security discussion Friday evening with the heads of the defense establishment to discuss the current fighting in Syria.

    According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Israeli officials view the Turkish-backed extremist advance on Aleppo as an opportunity to weaken Syria, which is a key ally of Hezbollah and Iran in the Axis of Resistance.

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    An unnamed Israeli official told the Hebrew newspaper that the fighting “is something we need to closely monitor and see how it develops.'”

    “It doesn’t necessarily affect us, especially not in the short term, but any erosion of stability in a neighboring country could also impact us. It seems here that there are also opportunities for change,” the official said.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 19:50

  • Hunter's Lawyer Moves To Dismiss Indictment After Pardon
    Hunter’s Lawyer Moves To Dismiss Indictment After Pardon

    Update (2257ET): And of course, Hunter Biden’s lawyer has moved to dismiss his indictment based on his pardon.

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    President Joe Biden is pardoning his son Hunter, despite Biden and the White House repeatedly denying he would do so.

    The pardon comes ahead of Hunter’s Dec. 12 sentencing for his conviction on federal gun charges, as well as an upcoming Dec. 16 sentencing in a separate criminal case in which he pleaded guilty on federal tax evasion charges.

    The pardon, which is “Full and Unconditional,” is expected to cover both the gun conviction and the guilty plea, and covers offenses “which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in” over a nearly 11-year period from Jan. 1, 2014 through Dec. 1, 2024. Including this, which Donald Trump was impeached for asking about.

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    In a statement, Biden said Hunter was “treated differently” by his own Justice Department, adding that the charges only came about “after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election.”

    “In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me,” Biden continued, adding “Enough is enough.“

    Wow…

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    In recent months Biden has said he wouldn’t pardon Hunter…

    “I will not pardon him,” Biden said in June. However, according to NBC News, Biden has been discussing a pardon with his closest aides since Hunter’s June conviction, adding that the decision was made at the time for the president to lie and say he wouldn’t pardon him.

    In November, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated that Joe’s position hadn’t changed.

    “We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands which is ‘no,’” she said.

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    And when asked on Monday if Biden is still committed to not pardoning Hunter, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said “The president has spoken to this.”

    Jill Biden also said Hunter wouldn’t receive a pardon.

    “Joe and I both respect the judicial system, and that’s the bottom line,” she told NBC News in June.

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    And remember…

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    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 19:41

  • "This Is Nuts": NYC Pays Pakistani-Owned Roosevelt Hotel $220 Million To House Illegal Aliens 
    “This Is Nuts”: NYC Pays Pakistani-Owned Roosevelt Hotel $220 Million To House Illegal Aliens 

    Americans should be outraged by New York City’s $220 million sweetheart deal with Pakistan to lease the prestigious Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan as a luxury shelter for illegal aliens. The most alarming issue is that NYC paid a foreign government to help house the migrants.

    X user John LeFevre resurfaced a 2023 news story, first published by The Economic Times, regarding Pakistan’s decision to lease the iconic Roosevelt Hotel to the local government, sympathetic to globalist policies, such as open borders. 

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    For some context, Pakistan has owned the Roosevelt Hotel since 1979. State-owned Pakistan International Airlines acquired the trophy property through its investment arm, PIA Investments Limited. 

    According to the 2023 report, the lease agreement spans three years, during which NYC stuffed thousands of illegal aliens into the 1,250-room hotel like cattle—funded entirely by taxpayers. This arrangement has sparked outrage about how NYC paid a foreign gov’t to help support the invasion of the third world into a first-world city.

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    “The hotel is owned by the government of Pakistan, and the deal was part of a $1.1 billion IMF bailout package to help Pakistan avoid defaulting on their international debt,” LeFevre wrote on X. 

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    According to the public records website The Org, Najeeb Samie is a director at Roosevelt Hotel Corporation, as well as a director at Habib Bank and board member and managing director at PIA Investments.

    Samie’s connection with Habib Bank is alarming, given that in 2017, the New York State Department of Financial Services fined the Pakistani bank $225 million and surrendered its license to operate in the US over compliance failures in its New York branch, such as weaknesses in monitoring transactions for potential links to terrorism financing and sanctions evasion. 

    Meanwhile, the Department of Government Efficiency, aka DOGE’s Vivek Ramaswamy (also led by Elon Musk), is livid over NYC funding a foreign gov’t entity with taxpayer dollars in supporting the migrant invasion. He called the migrant housing scheme totally “nuts”:

    “A taxpayer-funded hotel for illegal migrants is owned by the Pakistani government which means NYC taxpayers are effectively paying a foreign government to house illegals in our own country. This is nuts.

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    Musk also chimed in, calling it “Crazy.”

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    Here’s what X users had to say: 

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    What in the actual!

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 19:15

  • AOC May Launch 2028 Bid In Likely Redux Of Kamala Blunder
    AOC May Launch 2028 Bid In Likely Redux Of Kamala Blunder

    Authored by Luis Cornelio via Headline USA,

    Leftist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is rumored to be a candidate in the 2028 presidential election, immediately drawing laughter and mockery from critics on social media. 

    Ocasio-Cortez’s name “always bubbles to the top” when Democrats discuss the party’s future, The Hill noted Friday in a compilation list of potential presidential contenders. 

    One leftist strategist claimed the congresswoman has impressed Democrats by cutting “through the BS and telling it like it is.” This positive characterization sharply contrasted with online comments from users on X. 

    Former Rep. Matt Gaetz reacted to the news by jesting, “Alex has told people she’s running in 2028 since 2019.” 

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    This comment appears to reference the suggestion made by some Democrats in 2020 that Ocasio-Cortez would have been a presidential “front-runner” had she not been so young. 

    One user shared Ocasio-Cortez’s infamous crying photo at the southern border, with a Trump-Vance sign photoshopped into the image.

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    Another user shared an AI-generated image of Ocasio-Cortez as a swamp-like comic villain, with incoming Vice President JD Vance’s face photoshopped onto a Captain America costume in the image. 

    “Think of the memes!” the second user said, predicting that an Ocasio-Cortez candidacy would invite mockery. 

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    Podcast host and author Alec Lace mocked Ocasio-Cortez by recalling how her endorsement of outgoing Rep. Jamaal Bowman failed to save him from losing his Democratic primary. 

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    A second Democratic strategist told The Hill that Ocasio-Cortez and her leftist “Squad” are deemed too controversial. 

    “She and the ‘squad’ started pushing too hard, too fast,” the Democrat said. “D.C. doesn’t work that way. And our party doesn’t work that way. We need to get back to the basics.” 

    A potential Ocasio-Cortez candidacy could mirror outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris’s first presidential bid in 2020. 

    Harris launched her campaign as a progressive leader but ultimately failed to make it to the primaries.

    Her campaign was plagued by controversy, wasteful spending and ineffective staff. Four years later, Harris would renounce most of her leftist policies in a failed bid to appear moderate. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 18:40

  • Thanksgiving 5-Day US Box Office Sets Record At $420M; AMC CEO Calls Moviegoer Surge A "National Phenomenon" 
    Thanksgiving 5-Day US Box Office Sets Record At $420M; AMC CEO Calls Moviegoer Surge A “National Phenomenon” 

    Paul Dergarabedian, a media analyst for Comscore, revealed on X on Sunday afternoon that US domestic box offices set a record, raking in $420 million over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday period. According to Deadline, Disney’s Moana sequel was the most popular movie, attracting 17.4 million admissions,  Universal’s Wicked with 8.7 million viewers, and Paramount’s Gladiator II drew 3.3 million from Wednesday through Sunday. 

    Dergarabedian said Comscore reports “a monumental Thanksgiving weekend (and week) for movie theatres!”

    He noted that “this weekend’s overall total estimated 3-day Domestic box office is around $272M (5-day at an estimated $420M) & YTD 2024 (now at $7.781B through Sunday) is down now just 6.4% vs. 2023, Note: a week ago Sunday the YTD deficit was at 10.6%!” 

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    X user Tony Denaro posted that the top ten grossing flicks for the five-day period hit new records.

    “Press reporting that Americans are pouring into movie theatres this holiday weekend for Moana 2, Wicked and Gladiator II,” AMC Entertainment Holdings CEO Adam Aron wrote on X. 

    He noted, “So many appealing movies in theatres. Smaller titles too like Red One, Conclave and Juror #2. Be part of a national phenomenon.” 

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    For nearly a week, we have reported on the surge of moviegoers attending AMC’s theaters nationwide…

    Shares of AMC closed around the $5 handle on Friday. 

    Bloomberg data shows 13.3% of the float is short, or about 49.8 million shares. 

    Going to the theaters is apparently back. 

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    Any AMC rally on this news should be approached with caution, as the company is burdened by $4 billion in long-term debt and hefty interest payments. This may only suggest that CEO Aron might hit equity markets on any significant pop.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 18:05

  • Death Toll From Islamist Assault On Aleppo Nears 500 As Iran Says 'Firmly Supports' Assad
    Death Toll From Islamist Assault On Aleppo Nears 500 As Iran Says ‘Firmly Supports’ Assad

    President Bashar al-Assad has reportedly sent large reinforcements to the southern Aleppo area after Al-Qaeda linked insurgents’ shock offensive which captured the city. Assad said he will defend Syria’s stability and territorial integrity.

    The London-based political opposition group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday that the total death toll from the fighting is over 400 people on both sides. The tally includes the deaths of 214 members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied factions which launched the assault.

    Associated Press: Islamist insurgents captured a Syrian army tank in the town of Maarat al-Numan, southwest from Aleppo, Syria, Saturday.

    And at least 137 pro-government forces and 61 civilians have been killed. The AFP has described that the military campaign launched out of Idlib is being coordinated from an operations room in Turkey.

    AFP wrote on Friday that “Opposition sources in touch with Turkish intelligence said Turkey had given a green light to the offensive.” AFPs correspondent in HTS/AQ-held Idlib additionally reported that “The jihadists and their Turkey-backed allies took orders from a joint operations command.”

    A fresh report in Israeli media has acknowledged that this is all about weakening the ‘Iran axis’:

    But the primary reason for the success of the rebel offensive and the collapse of the regime forces is the effectiveness of Israel’s military operations against Hezbollah and Iran since October 8, 2023.

    HTS had been building up its military capabilities for years in preparation for such an offensive.

    “The group operates a professionally staffed military academy run by defectors from the Syrian military, and it has restructured its armed wing into a conventional armed force structure,” wrote Charles Lister, Syria expert at the Middle East Institute. “In recent years, it has also developed ‘special forces’ units dedicated to covert operations, lightning raids behind enemy lines, and nighttime operations.”

    In prior years, any time an air and artillery campaign against Al-Qaeda held Idlib would ramp up, there would be an outcry from the West, and more condemnation of Damascus and Moscow, urging their militaries to halt efforts to take back Idlib.

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    According to more on the Israeli and Sunni Islamists’ efforts to roll back the pro-Tehran axis:

    “The timing is not coincidental,” Carmit Valensi, head of the Northern Arena Program at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, told The Times of Israel.

    “They identify well the critical, even historical, weakness that the ‘Resistance Axis,’ primarily Hezbollah and Iran, find themselves in,” she continued.

    As for Iran, it says that it firmly supports Assad in a new statement. Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi said Sunday he will soon arrive in Damascus to deliver a strong message of support for Syria’s government and military, Iranian state media has said.

    “I am going to Damascus to convey the message of the Islamic Republic to the Syrian government,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. He pledged that Iran will “firmly support the Syrian government and army,” IRNA news agency said.

    Iran is pointing the finger at Washington and Tel Aviv for this new jihadist offensive:

    Araghchi again called the surprise rebel offensive a plot by the United States and Israel.

    “The Syrian army will once again beat these terrorist groups as in the past,” the foreign minister added.

    In the past couple days of Aleppo fighting, not only has the Islamic Republic’s consulate in the major northern city come under attack, but there have been reports that an Iranian general may have been killed.

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    The HTS-led coalition is attacking Kurdish groups in the environs of northern Aleppo as well. Currently there are reports the militants are reinforcing their positions near Hama, possibly poised to attack the central city next.

    After years and years of crippling sanctions, the Syrian Army remains in a precarious position in terms of resources and logistics. “Outside the city of Hama, Syrian government military vehicles could be seen all over the roads, apparently abandoned by fleeing government troops after they ran out of fuel,” The New York Times writes Sunday.

    * * *

    As a reminder, amid this renewed conflict the United States still occupied large portions of Syria, and curiously the HTS/AQ militant groups are not attacking these US-occupied areas…

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    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 16:55

  • Cruising Into Year End?
    Cruising Into Year End?

    By Peter Tchir, chief strategist of Academy Securities

    For the record, I am not advocating cruising into year-end. I think there will be potential opportunities to be captured by diligent asset managers and corporations. We will focus on yields and credit spreads today. But let’s start by hoping that you all had a great Thanksgiving! Last weekend’s An Amazing Country (with some questions) hopefully helped you navigate through some holiday meal discussions (or more likely, work discussions), and it remains relevant today, as does 3D Chess or 52-Card Pickup.

    In fact, now that “consensus” has become that everything President-elect Trump does is “just a start” to his bargaining, I’m a little concerned that the market has become a little too complacent. Yes, we were arguing for this view, but it is surprising how quickly it seems to have morphed into a consensus trade.

    Around the World with Academy Securities

    In case you missed our Around The World report on Wednesday, it covers the usual suspects, but with some different twists and turns.

    Sierpinski Triangle

    As there is a lot of chatter about “chaos” (along with our analysis of 3D Chess versus 52-Card Pickup), I’ve been thinking a lot about the Sierpinski Triangle. You start with any type of triangle. Then, you start rolling the dice and moving from your current position in the triangle to one halfway to the corner “selected” by the die. Once you’ve gone a couple of turns to “seed” the solution, you mark the points and repeat ad infinitum. What seems random, creates, with 100% certainty, an elaborate pattern that I cannot believe many people would have guessed to be the output of this exercise (it is often one of the early chapters on anything about chaos theory).

    So, as we watch the machinations coming out of D.C., we are still left wondering whether an elaborate pattern will emerge from the current selection process.

    It does seem that the market went from doubting all the moves out of D.C. (which seemed too pessimistic) to suddenly seeing order (or at least no major stumbling blocks) from D.C. – which might be too optimistic.

    Expect Some Chaos

    Okay, chaos is probably too strong of a word, but I do think that the market should be prepared for some setbacks, as not every negotiation or appointment will go smoothly. It is the nature of President-elect Trump’s style – from his old real estate days to his first term as president – he will push, he will be aggressive, and there will be some confusion.

    Inflation

    Inflation might be the trickiest variable to estimate right now. Over time, we could see the economy turn one way or the other, and we could see the jobs situation change, but inflation, in my view, has  the widest range of possible outcomes in the coming months.

    • Tariffs, as discussed last week, could push inflation higher. That is not our base case (and is not consensus), but there is some risk here.

    • Immigration issues could impact inflation quite dramatically. Again, we covered this last week, and our base case is that Trump will go after some high profile wins and listen to some of his constituents, who don’t want wholesale deportations that would disrupt the labor force. Again, consensus seems to have moved in this direction as well, but our conviction on this base case is medium (at best) and there could be risks that are not being priced in appropriately.

    • The natural ebbs and flows of supply and demand. We were in the camp that believed inflation was under control, but not tamed (call it, settling into a 1.75% to 2.75% range). As businesses are allegedly pulling forward purchases to avoid potential tariffs, as China continues to try to stimulate its economy, and as we see policy to promote “onshoring,” there are some risks of inflation moving back to the high end of our range, which would likely make the Fed (and bond markets) uncomfortable.

    • Commodity prices should help the inflation story if we really are going to see a “Drill Baby Drill” mentality. Or, as discussed in detail last weekend (yes, I’m referring to that fairly often, but it forms the building blocks for much of our current work), we could see a pushback against “Not In My Backyard”, but commodity prices should remain under control (while commodity related companies can do very well with increased production).

    Rates

    Positioning has been and will continue to be a factor.

    I’ve been pointed to the “Commitment of Traders” report: there is a lot of short interest by speculators, especially in the 10-year part of the curve. It apparently has been coming down, but if traders remain short, it will continue to help support bond prices. TLT, a 20+ year ETF, has been seeing outflows even as yields went higher – another potential indicator that positioning remains “underweight” bonds.

    The negative buzz around the deficit and bond yields seems to have dissipated. In a quick note on Friday to our capital markets team and via Bloomberg to the clients I’m in IB chats with, we reduced our bullish outlook on bonds at 4.19% on 10s.
    We actually saw buying right up to the last minute on Friday’s trading, but I think with the “index extension” trade over and back to full days to trade bonds, it will be difficult for the rally to continue Our target was 4.1% to 4.2%, and while we are at the high end of our range, the rally has been almost too ferocious of late to be truly believable. The fears around tariffs, immigration, and the deficit (which were overdone), have now been replaced with a degree of complacency that doesn’t seem deserved.

    China TIC data showed China holding $772 billion of Treasuries at the end of September. That number has been between $780 billion and $767 billion (a very narrow range) since February. There is no obvious reason for China to grow their holdings, and if anything, as they continue their efforts to stimulate their economy and gird for potential tough negotiations with Trump, we could see them lowering the amount held in the coming months. Not a big problem for markets, but not helpful as we have a lot of bonds to auction in the coming months.

    The Fed:

    • 1 cut in the next two meetings, probably this one.

    • A terminal rate of 3.875% next year, a bit above the 3.45% priced in for December 2025 (according to the Bloomberg WIRP function).

    Bond Yields:

    • Expect the 10-year to inch a touch higher, pushing back towards 4.3%, with a lot of difficulty getting back to 4%.

    Should be a good “range trading” environment, with a much greater risk of 50 bps higher than 50 bps lower from here, for the long end.

    Credit

    It has been almost six months since we devoted serious attention to the credit markets.

    Back in June, we published How Tight Can Credit Spreads Go?, and were unequivocally and unapologetically bullish on credit. We listed trends like private credit, banks competing for lending (to grow their net interest margin), and how much the high yield bond market has changed as reasons why fretting over old charts makes little sense. We dragged out our old standbys – Maslow’s Hierarchy of a Credit Bubble, The 5 Circles of Bond Investor Hell, and a picture of one of the remaining IG 200 hats! If you lived through the GFC and traded CDX indices, you likely remember the hats.

    While CDX didn’t get to 20 bps, it has traded very well, as has any measure of corporate bond spreads.

    While I remain very comfortable with credit, it is more difficult to sit here near the lows and continue to add to credit. It might not take much to “upset” the apple cart here, at least a little. While the arguments for liking credit so much (at what already seemed like tight levels back in June) largely remain in place, they are all a bit worn here. Just like that favorite shirt that is still up there on your list, but you can tell that it is getting dated.

    If you go back two years, we are still at, or near, the lowest average yield for the corporate bond index (it varies with time, depending on the type of issuance, maturity, rating, etc.). We’ve seen a brief reprieve on the rates side, but even though I’m bullish credit (kind of) and bullish rates (but not really at this moment), the Bloomberg League Tables show $1.58 trillion issued this year and $1.2 trillion issued last year.

    The number of scenarios that are likely to play out, ending with higher average yields on this index, are more numerous and plausible than those scenarios that drive this average yield lower.

    • Much lower Treasury yields. I don’t see how we get to much lower Treasury yields from here, without some sort of a problem facing the economy. Something that we’re trying to do could backfire, but I find it difficult to believe that credit spreads will remain tight if we see Treasuries rally significantly from here. Sure, we can get back to 4%, but the scenario for a “benign” move back to 3.7% doesn’t seem plausible to me. I’m recalling a longtime client once telling me that the best interest rate hedge, if you own high-yield bonds, is to own Treasuries. It sounds backwards, but works surprising well in times of stress – which is what would have to be occurring to push yields lower now.

    • Much higher Treasury yields. This risk seems much greater than getting much lower yields (especially as the opposite view becomes consensus). It is extremely difficult for spreads to keep up with bond yields. It just becomes difficult for spreads to move even 10 bps tighter from these levels, if bond yields move 25 bps higher. So yes, higher Treasury yields will likely be accompanied by tighter spreads, but all-in yields will be higher.

    Sure, Goldilocks could make an appearance and let overall yields go lower, but Goldilocks tends to be a better acquaintance of equity traders than fixed income traders!

    Bottom Line

    If you are a fixed income asset manager, you can switch to moderately underweight duration here. If you are a corporate bond manager, I think it’s time to get back down to a normal, rather than overweight, position. Maybe even inch towards underweight/short. While it is anathema for hedge funds to think about running IG credit without rate hedges, I think betting on overall yields going higher is the right move, as scenarios with significantly lower overall yields seem unlikely.

    If you are an issuer, do the opposite and look for opportunities to sell debt at reasonable yields. While some people will be on vacation, coupon payments, maturing debt, and the pressure to match indices do not take time off in December. There will be cash coming into the market, and in this day and age, even desks that are half-staffed can process a LOT of bonds! I’d rather take advantage of what I think will turn out to be a decent overall yield, relative to what we might see in January.

    If you are an equity investor, nothing has really changed – be nimble, trade the ranges, and be overweight sectors that are catching up. Seasonality should still be helpful, but since people have been talking about (and presumably positioning for) seasonality since September, I’m a bit skeptical it will be overwhelmingly strong, at least at the start of the month.

    Be long on risks that benefit from a push to extract and refine commodities, if not domestically, much closer to home (and further away from China). Be wary of big tech at these valuations and watch carefully for China’s attempts to push their brands globally, especially into emerging markets – that is a risk that still seems largely dismissed, even as it is occurring.

    Everything that comes across my stream in terms of CRE scares me, which the contrarian in me finds even more tempting. The exact opposite is occurring with crypto, but watch out for a rug pull there. Hopefully you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend and a fun holiday season, but I suspect that the market will create multiple opportunities to adjust portfolios as D.C. will remain front and center.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 16:20

  • "It's Illegal": Canadian Media Sues OpenAI For 'Scraping Large Swaths Of Content' To Train Chatbot
    “It’s Illegal”: Canadian Media Sues OpenAI For ‘Scraping Large Swaths Of Content’ To Train Chatbot

    Five Canadian media companies are suing OpenAI, alleging that the ChatGPT creator has breached copyright and online terms of use in order to train the popular chatbot.

    The joint lawsuit, filed on Friday in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, follows similar suits brought against OpenAI and Microsoft in 2023 by the New York Times, which claimed copyright infringement of news content related to AI systems.

    The Canadian outlets – which include the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), are seeking what could amount to billions of dollars in damages, as they have demanded 20,000 Canadian dollars (US$14,700) for each article they claim was illegally scraped and used to train ChatGPT.

    “OpenAI is capitalizing and profiting from the use of this content, without getting permission or compensating content owners,” the group said in a Friday statement, adding that they’re responsible for the “bulk of Canada’s journalistic content.”

    The plaintiffs are also seeking a share of OpenAI’s profits, as well as a halt to the use of future content.

    “OpenAI regularly breaches copyright and online terms of use by scraping large swaths of content from Canadian media to help develop its products, such as ChatGPT,” the group said in a statement.

    “OpenAI’s public statements that it is somehow fair or in the public interest for them to use other companies’ intellectual property for their own commercial gain is wrong,” they added. “Journalism is in the public interest. OpenAI using other companies’ journalism for their own commercial gain is not. It’s illegal.”

    The lawsuit claims that OpenAI circumvented specific technological and legal tools – such as the Robot Exclusion Protocol, copyright disclaimers and paywalls, which exist in part to prevent scraping or other types of unauthorized use of their published content.

    In the NYT vs. OpenAI and Microsoft case, which is currently in discovery, the Times claims the company similarly broke laws to train ChatGPT, as well as provide search results.

    The Canadian case has a narrower focus – scraping data for training – not search results, and does not name Microsoft.

    “We believe we have a strong case related to the training of the models. The training of the models is the core of the problem,” said Sana Halwani, a partner at the Canadian law firm Lenczner Slaght, which represents the media organizations in the lawsuit, in a statement to the NYT.

    The Canadian publishers could find some of their claims easier to prove than others, with copyright infringement being the toughest, according to Lisa Macklem, a lecturer King’s University College at Western University in Ontario, who is an expert in copyright and media law. -NYT

    “While it seems obvious that OpenAI is infringing copyright, it is technically very difficult to prove, and this underscores the immediate and pressing need to have regulations put in place, demanding, at the very least, transparency on what is in the training data of generative AI,” said Macklem.

    OpenAI’s problems don’t end there. Over the summer, Elon Musk – who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left in 2018 under bad circumstances, sued OpenAI, claiming that two of its founders, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, breached the company’s founding contract by putting commercial interests ahead of the public good.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 15:45

  • America's First 24-Hour Stock Exchange Gets Operational Approval
    America’s First 24-Hour Stock Exchange Gets Operational Approval

    Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    U.S. regulators have approved a nonstop stock exchange to begin operations in the country, which is expected to boost overnight liquidity available to traders.

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington on Sept. 18, 2008. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    “24 Exchange announced today that it has received approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to operate 24X National Exchange as the first national securities exchange in the U.S. that allows trading of U.S. securities 23 hours each workday,” the company said in a Nov. 27 statement.

    The exchange will be launched in two steps. In the first stage, it will operate between 4 a.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET on weekdays beginning in the second half of next year.

    In the second stage, trading will be offered between 8 p.m. ET on Sunday through 7 p.m. ET on Friday. Every trading day will have a one-hour operational pause aimed at allowing the company to conduct tests and upgrades.

    Dmitri Galinov, the founder and CEO of 24 Exchange, called the SEC approval a “thrilling development.”

    “With this historic SEC approval in place, we will build and operate a customer-driven Exchange that can rapidly align with market demands and adapt quickly to client feedback,” he said.

    Galinov pointed out that traders are often at risk when markets remain closed at their geographical location. Traders are not able to quit positions when major and sudden events unfold.

    The 24X National Exchange seeks to solve this issue by offering around-the-clock trading, he noted. Initially, the exchange will seek to boost overnight liquidity for American equities by tapping into trading volumes from the Asia Pacific region.

    Some procedures are pending, including making additional filings with the SEC, before the 24-hour trading is activated, the company said.

    Benjamin Schiffrin, the director of securities policy at market advocacy group Better Markets, criticized the SEC approval of 24X National Exchange, warning that this harms investors and damages markets.

    Allowing overnight trading subjects retail investors to new risks, he said. “Retail investors trading during an overnight session will be trading in a market where there are few buyers and sellers, and where prices will be more volatile and less favorable than during normal hours.”

    “This means that, during overnight sessions, retail investors will only get the best prices in a bad market, thereby losing money if they had traded during normal business hours,” he said.

    Risky Behaviors

    Schiffrin noted that people tend to engage in “riskier behaviors” during nighttime.

    Trading platforms may send notifications and prompts at night when traders are “particularly susceptible” to inducements and allow people to easily trade with just a simple push of a button.

    He provided an example of legalized sports betting that entices people to bet with ease, thus leading to a “gambling addiction crisis.” The financial industry could use similar tactics to hook investors into trading that can have “potentially serious consequences,” Schiffrin said.

    In comments submitted to the SEC, two researchers from the University of Washington and Stanford University suggested that increasing trading hours could reduce net gains made by retail investors.

    They said that during pre-market and post-market sessions, liquidity tends to be low, volatility high, and prices “arguably less informationally efficient.”

    “Our research indicates that retail investors systematically underperform during these types of conditions,” they said.

    “While attracting more volume to these sessions is presumably the intention of 24X Exchange, the majority of trading activity will likely remain in the daily market session, meaning these issues will remain salient for out-of-hours retail traders.”

    24X National Exchange’s approval comes as the NYSE revealed in October that it plans on extending weekday trading time at its Arca equities exchange to 22 hours per day.

    With this update, trading during weekdays will operate between 1:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. ET. The fully electronic exchange will offer all stocks, ETFs, and closed-end funds listed in the United States for trading.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 15:10

  • Northern Druzhba Pipeline Springs Possible 'Leak', While Terror Threats Plague Southern Stretch
    Northern Druzhba Pipeline Springs Possible ‘Leak’, While Terror Threats Plague Southern Stretch

    The Druzhba Pipeline, also known as the “Friendship Pipeline,” is one of the world’s largest and most critical oil pipeline systems. It transports crude oil from Russia to several European nations, including Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

    A report of a potential leak along the northern stretch (in Poland) of the pipeline emerged from Bloomberg on Sunday morning. At the same time, in a separate report, concerns are mounting over terrorist attempts to sabotage the southern part of the pipeline.

    Bloomberg provides additional details on the unfolding incident:

    Emergency workers secured the area around the pipeline near Pniewy, western Poland, after receiving information about a possible leak at around 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, Martin Halasz, a spokesman for the firefighters, said by phone. He was confirming an earlier report by the PAP newswire.

    Representatives of pipeline operator PERN SA are on site and closed crude flows from east to west, according to Halasz. The pipeline supplies the Leuna and Schwedt refineries in Germany, which buy oil via the Polish Baltic Sea port of Gdansk. Schwedt also buys from Kazakhstan.

    Russian crude on the northern stretch of the pipeline supplies Leuna and Schwedt refineries in Germany, and the southern stretch supplies Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic refineries. 

    Separate from Bloomberg’s reporting, Russian media agency Tass News cited Slovakian interior minister Matus Sutaj Estok, who warned that an organized group in the area could be preparing for possible terrorist acts in the area where the Druzhba oil pipeline runs. 

    “The activity that can be associated with the possible preparation of a terrorist act against the critical infrastructure [of the republic] was registered in the east of Slovakia,” Estok said, adding, activity of the group was observed in Slovakia and Hungary. 

    Several weeks ago, S&P Global Commodity Insight analysts noted, “Although most European refiners supplied by the 1 million b/d Druzhba network have already stopped buying Russian crude in response to the Ukraine war, the southern branch had still been pumping around 300,000 b/d of Urals crude to three plants.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 14:35

  • Doc Drops COVID Truth Bombs: "Everything Was A Lie From The Beginning…"
    Doc Drops COVID Truth Bombs: “Everything Was A Lie From The Beginning…”

    Via The Burning Platform,

    Dr. Richard Urso shares some truth bombs about COVID-19, vaccines, lockdowns, masks…

    “Everything was a lie from the beginning. The asymptomatic people don’t transmit. Kids were not harbingers of the disease. They don’t actually, they’re like a break on the disease. Lockdowns were a farce. Masks don’t work.”

    “I tell people, I joke sometimes I say masks do work. A lot like bathing suits work to keep pee out of the pool. They’re not very effective. So that’s one of those things that, you know, it was a farce. Pretty much everything they said was a farce. I know we’re still recovering from it. Just yesterday we walked into a pharmacy and they were advertising COVID-19 vaccines.”

    “Well if you want to destroy your immune system, take a COVID-19 vaccine. It will destroy your immune system. It distributes widely in your body. It can’t be broken down because it’s a genetically modified RNA. There are contaminants, process related impurities, what I usually call them, but contaminants for most people, that they haven’t gotten out of the vaccines.”

    “The drug that I invented took eight years for us to get the process related impurities out. It’s hard to do and I knew this would be a problem early on when they were trying to push this so fast because nobody had ever made these vaccines in anything bigger than a blender. What we had is found is even worse.”

    “They put an SV40 promoter in the vaccine, Pfizer did, that actually well known for the last five decades to bind P53 to Guardian the genome and cause cancers. They know that. We just kept them in the head of the Human Genome Project did this discovery with a few other molecular biologists.”

    “This is really big news because the contaminants and the impurities in the vaccine are very dangerous and there’s design flaws like I just pointed out. Wide distribution to the brain, the bone marrow, the ovaries, the testes and long term production six months or more in the last study that we did. So there’s a lot to talk about. Do not get the vaccines unless you just want a crummy immune system. ”

    “I think the main thing is these vaccines are dangerous. They have process related impurities. They cause cancer, strokes, heart attacks. The data is in 40% more deaths in 2021 between 18 to 64. This is just data we can’t ignore, so please stay away from the vaccines.”

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    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 14:00

  • Trudeau Bends The Knee To Trump At Mar-a-Lago After Tariff Pledge
    Trudeau Bends The Knee To Trump At Mar-a-Lago After Tariff Pledge

    Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Was pictured meeting with president-elect Trump and his team at Mar-a-Lago over Thanksgiving, as it emerged that he has made an agreement to crack down on drug trafficking.

    The meeting came following Trump’s announcement of a 25% tariff on all products coming from Mexico and Canada until they agree to secure their borders.

    In a Truth Social post earlier this week, Trump wrote “On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders.”

    “This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” Trump added.

    He continued, “Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem. We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!”

    Fast forward four days and Trudeau was seen sitting with Trump, Elon Musk, and the rest of his team.

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    In a further post after the meeting, Trump explained, “I just had a very productive meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, where we discussed many important topics that will require both Countries to work together to address, like the Fentanyl and Drug Crisis that has decimated so many lives as a result of Illegal Immigration, Fair Trade Deals that do not jeopardize American Workers, and the massive Trade Deficit the U.S. has with Canada.”

    “I made it very clear that the United States will no longer sit idly by as our Citizens become victims to the scourge of this Drug Epidemic, caused mainly by the Drug Cartels, and Fentanyl pouring in from China. Too much death and hardship!” Trump continued.

    “Prime Minister Trudeau has made a commitment to work with us to end this terrible devastation of U.S. Families,” Trump further added, noting “We also spoke about many other important topics like Energy, Trade, and the Arctic. All are vital issues that I will be addressing on my first days back in Office, and before.”

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    Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 13:25

  • Searches For 'Cords Of Wood' Hit Record As Cold Blast Chills Lower 48
    Searches For ‘Cords Of Wood’ Hit Record As Cold Blast Chills Lower 48

    While residents in parts of the Great Lakes region dig out after feet of snow, much of the eastern US faces bitter Arctic air over the next few days. This cold snap has reminded cash-strapped households of the importance of stockpiling cords of wood as Old Man Winter comes knocking.

    Brr… 

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    It’s that time of year in the Northern Hemisphere when winter roars across the Lower 48, and search trends on Google for “cords of wood near me” or “how much does a cord of wood cost” surge.

    Google search trends data shows that interest in burning firewood has hit a record high this year—perhaps because low- and middle-income households are in dire financial straits. Many have depleted their personal savings and racked up insurmountable credit card debt just to survive the inflation storm triggered by failed Bidenomics.

    Search trends for “cost of a cord of wood” just hit a new record high. 

    Households are increasingly worried about power bill inflation, as this is the time of year when heating bills soar.

    Take a look at the CPI for electricity—this is the first time in a generation that electricity prices have seen a three-year rate of change greater than any period since the inflation storm of the 1970s and early 1980s, even outpacing the commodity price surge leading up to 2008.

    It’s no wonder households are loading up on cords of wood this year—power prices have gone bonkers. Goldman unveiled this alarming trend in a report for Mid-Atlantic households several months ago… 

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    According to Angie’s List, the average price for a cord of wood topped $300 this fall. The cost of the cord ranges from $150 to $500, depending on many factors, including type of wood and geographical location.

    Angie’s List expert René Bennett breaks down the costs of hardwood versus softwood.

    Most importantly, Bennett provides a state-by-state analysis of the average cost of a cord of wood.

    For some folks, why pay for firewood when they own property?

    All they need to do is fire up their Polaris Ranger or any other UTV with a bed, grab a Stihl 2-stroke chainsaw, and scour their land for fallen or standing dead trees.

    Or the easier way…

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    Become ungovernable—live off the land.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 12:50

  • Key Dates In Lead Up To Trump's Inauguration
    Key Dates In Lead Up To Trump’s Inauguration

    Authored by Stacy Robinson via The Epoch Times,

    After a rocky election season marked by two assassination attempts, President Joe Biden leaving the race just ahead of their convention, and a decisive victory by the Republican candidate, the swearing-in date for the new president is on the horizon.

    Here are a few key dates before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

    Dec. 11: States Certify Election Results

    Six days before the state electors officially cast their votes reflecting the election results from Nov. 5, according to federal law, “the executive of each State shall issue a certificate of ascertainment of appointment of electors.”

    In this case, the “executive” is the state governor, and the certificate names the residents appointed as the electors for each state. Although the process changes from state to state, electors are usually nominated and chosen by each political party at their convention.

    Dec. 17: Electoral Colleges Vote

    On Dec. 17, the electors will meet at a designated location, usually the state capitol, to cast their votes for the president. Normally, their votes reflect the decision of that state’s residents, but occasionally, the electors go rogue and pick a different candidate.

    This happened in 2016 when three electors from Washington voted, in protest, for Gen. Colin Powell instead of for Hillary Clinton.

    Dec. 20: Government Funding Expires

    The funding of the government tends to be a sticky process as both sides of the aisle seek cash for their issue areas in 2025. The process often results in numerous “band-aid” spending bills, with Congress passing a final omnibus bill at the last minute.

    House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wants to avoid this by passing one more temporary funding package—known as a continuing resolution—that will carry on into 2025 and give the new Congress and Trump a free hand to shape the government.

    The Farm Bill, which funds the SNAP food stamp program, will be at the top of the list—this year’s bill is expected to be around $1.5 trillion.

    Biden has also asked Congress to provide another $100 million in disaster relief funding, with $40 million slated to go to FEMA to shore up relief efforts after hurricanes Helene and Milton.

    Jan. 3: New Session of  Congress Begins

    The 119th session of Congress kicks off on Jan. 3, and Republicans have maintained control of the House of Representatives.

    This year’s election also saw the GOP retake control of the Senate, which means that the chamber of Congress will have a new majority leader. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will step down as the leader of Senate Republicans, and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) will take his place.

    Although Thune and Trump have been at odds in the past, they expressed a willingness to cooperate following the South Dakota senator’s elevation to majority leader on Nov. 13.

    “We are ready to get to work with unified Republican leadership to implement President Trump’s agenda,” Thune said on X on Nov. 14.

    Jan. 6: Congress Certifies the Election

    In a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, members of the House and Senate will certify their state’s electoral votes. The final certification will come from the president of the Senate—Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump on Nov. 5.

    Jan. 20: President, Vice President Inaugurated

    On Jan. 20 the inauguration will occur with Vice-President-elect J.D. Vance being sworn in first at noon.

    Trump will then take the oath of office to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

    A military procession and a parade down Pennsylvania Ave will follow the inauguration.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/01/2024 – 12:15

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