- Credit Suisse Mulls Lawsuit Against SoftBank Over Greensill Collapse
Credit Suisse Mulls Lawsuit Against SoftBank Over Greensill Collapse
Desperate to appease furious clients who have threatened to walk away from Credit Suisse after losing billions of dollars invested with Greensill’s trade finianf Switzerland’s second-largest bank by assets is reportedly preparing to sue the Japanese telecoms giant.
As for why? well, the decision harkens back to SoftBank’s abuse of Credit Suisse’s trade-finance business, which ended up imploding right before the bank’s eyes, saddling it and many of its most valuable clients, with losses.
Certain SoftBank portfolio companies, including Katerra, the Softbank-backed construction startup that shut down on Wednesday, were financed by the trade finance funds. As we first reported back in 2019, in some cases, SoftBank portfolio companies like Katerra were being financed by the fund, while SoftBank also invested in the fund alongside other clients. But this conflict of interest wasn’t disclosed to other investors, or CS.
Now, the Swiss banking giant is preparing to sue SoftBank as it scrambles to find money to appease some of the firm’s most high-profile customers (including sovereign wealth funds and others) who are threatening to walk after being suckered out of billions of dollars after CS gated its trade finance fund following the collapse of Greensilll.
Before they collapsed, the funds ballooned to $10 billion before the bank suspended them in March, helping precipitate Greensill’s collapse
Furthermore: The Financial Times earlier this year revealed that when SoftBank agreed to provide an emergency cash injection into Greensill in November 2020 to cover Katerra’s debts, the money never made it to Credit Suisse.
“The question is, what did SoftBank know?” said a person with knowledge of the Swiss bank’s plans. “[The dispute] could potentially end up in the courts.”
Over the weekend, the WSJ reported that Gov. Jim Justice had also borrowed from Greensill, and still owes more than $700MM thanks to the firm’s collapse.
Should CS follow through, this would likely create one of the biggest publicity battles between American firms
CS has so far returned $4.8 billion and plans a further repayment in the coming days. However, it has flagged that $2.3 billion of fund assets will be hard to recover, including $440MM from Katerra, $1.2 billion from UK industrialist Sanjeev Gupta and $690 Million from Bluestone Resources, a US coal mining business owned by West Virginia governor Jim Justice.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 06/03/2021 – 02:45 - Ukraine Between Biden And A Hard Place
Ukraine Between Biden And A Hard Place
Submitted by South Front,
Joe Biden’s extensive interest in Ukraine during his tenure as Obama’s vice president meant that US attention towards the country would instantly be elevated once the new administration came into power. The Burisma scandal which implicated Hunter Biden and which became a problem for Joe Biden on the campaign trail, combined with Biden’s own apparent frailty and avoidance of extensive public engagements, have meant that Biden himself is in fact yet to have a telephone conversation with Zelensky. However, whether he deliberately chose to outsource Ukraine policy to his trusted advisors or they are taking initiative in order to fill the vacuum of power left by their boss’ incapacity, US Ukraine policy has taken a number of new twists and turns in the less than two months of the Biden Administration.
The Biden Administration’s actions so far indicate a certain degree of impatience with the goings-on in Kiev which is behaving in an all too independent fashion on many issues. Kiev’s decision to nationalize Motor Sich, an aircraft engine manufacturer whose purchase was sought by Chinese investors thus robbing Ukraine of a significant influx of badly needed hard currency, took place after Washington had expressed displeasure at Chinese companies’ foothold in Ukraine which moreover brings with it access to Soviet-era technologies attractive to China’s aerospace industries. This action was taken in spite of the considerable risk of Chinese retaliation, which indeed occurred in the form of China’s Foreign Ministry informing its Ukrainian counterpart that it would no longer respect their wishes concerning economic activities in the Crimea, something that Chinese firms have thus far shied away from. The US Embassy in Kiev’s instant endorsement of Zelensky’s shutdown of three opposition TV stations and the placement of sanctions, in violation of Ukraine’s own laws, on one of Ukraine’s opposition leaders Medvedchuk on the grounds that these were involved in spreading so-called “Russian disinformation” suggests that Washington was at the very least aware of the move and may even have prompted it. US sanctioning of Igor Kolomoysky on the basis of his corrupting Ukraine’s politics indicates that Zelensky had not gone far enough in fulfilling Washington’s wishes. In doing this Washington demonstrated it is willing to publicly humiliate Zelensky should he fail to display appropriate deference to their wishes. The question at this point becomes, in which direction will Washington push Zelensky? How far, what means will Washington use to get its way, and to what extent will Zelensky resist?
The greatest service that Ukraine could render Biden’s administration is to launch an all-out assault on Novorossia. A pitched battle between Ukrainian and DPR/LPR forces would instantly create the appropriate headlines and provide the necessary additional pretexts to condemn Russia and introduce more economic sanctions. It would then deliver the outcome that no amount of phony poisonings of Navalny could, namely the suspension or even shut-down of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which has become such a thorn in the side of the Anglo-Saxon powers. A major military campaign involving several brigades supported by airpower and the now-operational Bayraktar TB-2 drones in an effort to replicate Azerbaijan’s success against Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh would place Moscow before the unenviable choice of abandoning the Donbass to its fate or committing its regular military forces to battle in Novorossia’s defense.
Whether Ukraine’s political leadership is willing to undertake such a desperate measure, in a country whose president suffers from a 20% approval rating and which has seen extensive protests against the recent sharp increase in utility costs, is another question. On the one hand, Ukrainian troop movements near the Donbass have generated considerable attention, and exchanges of fire between Ukrainian and Novorossian forces appear to have continued at an elevated pace over the past several weeks. At the same time, no extraordinary measures such as the recall of reservists or closure of borders in order to prevent military-age males from leaving the country have been observed. While Ukraine’s Rada is considering laws making draft evasion more harshly punishable, these laws will not have an immediate impact, and appear to be a reaction to the failure to build up a professional army of volunteers or even to give the draftees a positive reason to serve. It has even been pointed out that the Ukrainian troop movements have been so ostentatious and lacking in even elementary efforts to preserve concealment and surprise that they represent a “war of nerves”, an exercise in brinksmanship, and possibly an effort to simulate action for the benefit of Washington, rather than genuine preparations for an offensive. A train carrying a reinforced tank company that had been spotted slowly passing three different railroad crossings in eastern Ukraine over the course of several days looks much like an operation staged for the benefit of ubiquitous smart phone cameras.
Therefore the likelihood of the Ukrainian military opting for a large-scale offensive remains low due to the fear of heavy and pointless losses which might cause Ukraine’s military morale to collapse, with unpredictable consequences. Small-scale raids to capture select positions, shelling of Novorossia’s towns and cities, even a staged atrocity, remain more plausible and attractive from the political point of view. Ukraine’s most dangerous military capability is represented by Bayraktar drones, cruise missiles like the Neptun, and short-range ballistic missiles currently in service and being developed, because their use would not entail the danger of major Ukrainian personnel losses. Moreover, Novorossia’s forces would be hard pressed to retaliate in kind against such strikes and Russian efforts to do so would be highly provocative internationally and would carry the risk of causing Ukrainian civilian casualties. Fortunately for Novorossia, the drone park remains fairly small and the drones themselves are vulnerable to Novorossia’s air defenses, while the cruise and ballistic missiles are still years from large-scale operational deployment. The sort of missile bombardment that would represent a genuine threat to Novorossia’s unrecognized republics is still years away. By the time such a serious threat could materialize, Novorossia’s forces would likely have their own means of retaliation in the form of barrage munitions, also referred to as “suicide drones” that could be produced on the spot in Donetsk and Lugansk. However, Ukraine’s current capabilities are sufficient to launch provocations, including the bombardment of civilian targets as was the case in Mariupol in 2014.
That Ukraine’s military is unwilling to risk another misadventure against Novorossia is evident enough, as is Zelensky’s reluctance to go down in history as the president who destroyed Ukraine. These considerations are unlikely to be salient for decisionmakers in Washington, who need Ukraine to advance US interests and are rather less concerned about the US advancing Ukraine’s interests. But the lengths to which Washington is willing to go to pressure Zelensky are still unclear, though the possibility of outright blackmail raised its head when a prominent Maidan propagandist Dmitry Gordon announced that on March 15, the “Ides of March” immortalized by the assassination of Julius Caesar, Ukraine would face a trial of historic proportions once a certain bombshell news story was revealed. While March 15 came and went with no bombshells or even duds, Gordon did reveal that the event consisted of a Bellingcat “investigation” into the SBU plot to lure Wagner PMC contractors into Ukraine in order to have them put on trial. The “bombshell” aspect of the Bellingcat effort is that the plot failed because of a highly placed source in Zelensky’s own presidential cabinet, who leaked it to Russian intelligence services. Considering Bellingcat’s reputation as a firm which does info-warfare “hits” on designated targets and Gordon’s hyping of the potential impact of the film once it becomes public, one has to consider the possibility that Bellingcat is part of a campaign to blackmail or even oust Zelensky from office should he fail to satisfy Washington’s demands.
As noted previously, Zelensky has taken a dim view of Washington’s meddling in Ukraine’s affairs, though it remains to be seen whether he is able to stand up to even his own national security officials who ostensibly are subordinate to him but in reality take orders from Washington. Lacking the independent power base that allowed Poroshenko to resist Washington’s initiatives for “reforming” Ukraine’s economy, Zelensky may yet prove the ideal president from Washington’s perspective, if not Ukraine’s.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 06/03/2021 – 02:00 - Fulton County Election Officials Sure Are Acting Like They Have Something To Hide
Fulton County Election Officials Sure Are Acting Like They Have Something To Hide
Authored by ‘ShipwreckedCrew’ via RedState.com,
Last week, I reported on the developments in post-election litigation underway in Fulton County, Georgia, in which plaintiffs had obtained an order from a Georgia State Court judge giving them the authorization to inspect copies of 145,000 mailed-in absentee ballots from the November 2020 election.
Judge Amero has ordered that high-resolution copies be made of the 145,000 absentee ballots, while the originals will remain in the custody of election officials. But the copies should allow the plaintiffs to look for certain kinds of possible irregularities such as whether any ballots were machine marked and then copied in large numbers. Mailed-in absentee ballots should all be hand-marked by the voter.
The lawsuits are being opposed by officials of Fulton County, but Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — who professed over and over again that the outcome of the Georgia Presidential election was was free of fraud — applauded Judge Amero’s decision.
In a statement, Raffensperger cited “a longstanding history of election mismanagement” in Fulton County.
“From day one I have encouraged Georgians with legitimate concerns about the election in their counties to pursue those claims through legal avenues,” Raffensperger said. “Fulton County has a longstanding history of election mismanagement that has understandably weakened voters’ faith in its system. Allowing this audit provides another layer of transparency and citizen engagement.”
A little more than a week has now passed since Judge Amero’s order, and some disconcerting events have transpired during that time.
Judge Amero’s order specified that the plaintiffs would be allowed to inspect high-resolution copies of the 145,000 ballots, but that the original ballots would remain in a secured county facility. The details of the copying and inspection were to be worked out between the parties and the court. In granting the motion to inspect the ballots, Judge Amero noted that no party had asked that the complaint be dismissed.
But after Judge Amero’s Order, on May 26 Fulton County filed a motion to dismiss the complaint. In addition to claiming that Fulton County itself should not be subject to the complaint since the elections were run by the County Board of Elections, Fulton County also alleged the plaintiffs failed to comply with the statutory requirements for filing an “election contest,” and on that basis, the complaint should be dismissed.
Judge Amero had scheduled a meeting at the ballot storage warehouse to take place on May 27. In response to the motions filed on May 26, Judge Amero postponed the meeting. He stated that the motions must be resolved prior to the court granting access and inspection to the ballots.
That is where the court proceedings stood as of last Friday.
But that isn’t all that happened.
On Saturday, May 29, at approximately 4:30, an alarm went off at the warehouse facility where the original ballots are stored in a locked room. Security responded – more on that below – and found the warehouse door unlocked and open. The storage location is at 1365 English Street, in Atlanta, which is the address for the “Fulton County Election Preparation Center.”
According to the website CreativeDestructionMedia.com, it conducted an interview with the attorney for the plaintiffs, Robert Cheeley regarding the events leading up to the alarm on Saturday.
Back on May 21, not confident in the security provided by Fulton County, Cheeley had arranged for off-duty police to sit in police vehicles and watch over the storage location. Cheeley claims Fulton County attorneys complained to Judge Amero that the off-duty police officers were “intimidating” Fulton County Election Board workers because they were parked in the parking lot of the county building. He claimed the Fulton County officials told the judge they might arrest the off-duty officers for “trespassing”.
To end the petty squabble, Judge Amero asked Cheeley to have his off-duty security park on the public street in front of the facility and not park in the parking lot.
Starting on May 25, Fulton County began to have two on-duty Fulton County Sheriff’s Deputies provide security for the storage location pursuant to Judge Amero’s order that they provide 24/7 security of the ballots until they were copied and inspected.
But on Saturday, May 29, both vehicles left the parking lot at 4:00 p.m. and were gone for two hours. At 4:30, the alarm went off.
The alarm was noticed by the off-duty private security sitting in their car on the street. They went to investigate and found the door unlocked and open.
This is a picture is that the attorney provided of the door left open at the supposedly secure building were the ballots are being kept. pic.twitter.com/jfqJ2zkdtt
— Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) May 30, 2021
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According to Cheeley, it wasn’t until 8:00 pm that a Fulton County official arrived that the location to lock the door — a key was required to do so.
Cheeley received an email from an individual named Bob Ferguson, who seems to be connected to Fulton County or the Sheriff’s Office based on the contents of the email:
Two Fulton County deputies who were assigned to watch the secure building where the ballots were being kept appear to have the left the building 20 minutes before the alarm went off. pic.twitter.com/5B9Ej5nyul
— Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) May 31, 2021
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[h/t to Emerald Robinson and Newsmax who have been on this story since it first broke on Saturday].
May 22 and May 29 were both Saturdays, and the alarm went off both days. If you look closely at pictures of the door, you can see there is no knob or handle on the inside, with only a deadbolt knob above the handle area of the door. There is likely only a handle on the outside, without a latching mechanism, and the deadbolt on the outside is turned with a key. If the deadbolt is not turned to the locked position, the door can simply be pulled open.
Cheeley said in his interview that he intends to file motions for contempt of court this week with respect to the County’s failure to comply with the Court’s order that the ballots be kept in a secured location. Whether or not anything actually happened with regard to the ballots stored inside is likely a question that won’t be answered until the motions filed by the County are resolved.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 06/03/2021 – 00:05 - These Are The World's 25 Richest Millennial Billionaires
These Are The World’s 25 Richest Millennial Billionaires
There are 2,755 billionaires globally – and combined, they are worth over $13 trillion.
Of these ultra wealthy individuals, Visual Capitalist’s Avery Koop notes that just over 100 are millennials, born between the years 1981 and 1996. This young generation represents around 3.8% of all billionaires on a global basis with a combined net worth of $573.1 billion.
This visualization, using data from Forbes, ranks the richest 25 millennial billionaires and details their source of wealth, total net worth, nationality, and age.
Note: Forbes categorized billionaires by current age (2021). For those slightly over or under the age range of Millennials, meaning those who are currently 24 or 40 years old (i.e. they could have been born in either 1996/1997 or 1980/1981), if their birth year could not be accurately determined, they were left out of this ranking.
Who are the Millennial Billionaires?
The oldest millennials will be turning 40 in 2021, while the youngest are just turning 25. This means that millennial billionaires are generally the youngest billionaires in the world, save two Gen Zers: Wang Zelong of China, 24, and Kevin David Lehmann of Germany, 18.
The U.S. is home to the most millennial billionaires at 33 total, with China coming in second at 23—most other countries fall far behind.
In the U.S., millennial billionaires are often associated with notable tech companies like Snapchat, Airbnb, and Facebook. Others are heirs of massive family fortunes like Lukas Walton—grandson of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart and the original head of America’s richest family.
In China, some millennial billionaires really stand out, like Relx founder, Kate Wang. The 39-year-old started her e-cigarette and vape company only three years ago, at age 36, and is expected to soon be vying for the title of richest woman in China.
Billionaire Growth
Overall, billionaires were up $8 trillion in combined net worth compared to 2020 with around 493 new people added to the list in 2021.
In fact, 86% of all billionaires are richer than a year ago. But let’s look at how wealth changed for the millennials in the billionaires club. Here’s a look at the difference in net worth from 2020 to 2021 for the top five richest millennials:
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Mark Zuckerberg: +$35 Billion
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Zhang Yiming: +$19.4 Billion
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Yang Huiyan: +$9.3 Billion
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Dustin Moskovitz: +$8.5 Billion
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Su Hua: +$14.9 Billion
For each of the top 25 millennial billionaires, net worth either increased or was unchanged (or they were new to the title of billionaire). This is true for all except one person—Lukas Walton, whose net worth decreased by almost $3 billion from 2020 to 2021.
The Average Millennial
While there are around 106 millennial billionaires worldwide, their combined net worth is only a fraction of total billionaire wealth. So how much economic power and influence does this generation really hold?
When looking at the average American millennial’s wealth, the Generational Power Index has determined that this young generation only holds 9.6% of economic power in the U.S. Here’s a quick look at millennial wealth metrics in the U.S.:
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Millennials only make up 7% of American business leaders
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They own $73 billion in equities and mutual fund shares
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They represent 13% of small business leaders
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They make up 7% of American billionaire wealth
Globally, there are an estimated 1.8 billion millennials. Among that cohort, there are just over 100 people worth billions—and given that many are still in the early part of their careers, there is likely to be many millennial billionaires yet to come.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 06/02/2021 – 23:45 -
- Tesla Establishes Data Center In China, With All Data To Be Kept In China
Tesla Establishes Data Center In China, With All Data To Be Kept In China
Authored by Jessica Mao via The Epoch Times,
Tesla has established a data center in China, the company said last week, and data generated by all cars sold in the country will be stored domestically.
A May 25 post on the Weibo social media site said that the data center has already been built and the company plans on expanding its data network in China.
Tesla also said they want to start a platform where Tesla owners can make inquiries regarding their cars, and focus their efforts on ensuring the smooth operation of their databases as well as safeguarding customer data.
The column Daily Car Watch on Chinese news portal Sohu wrote on May 26 that these data centers are a response to the Chinese regime’s agencies blocking Tesla from operating in China. They are also addressing incidents of data loss that led to car owners complaining the cars’ brakes were malfunctioning.
According to Reuters, citing anonymous sources, employees in various Chinese Communist Party (CCP) departments were not allowed to park their Tesla cars in the vicinity of the regime’s offices due to the security risks presented by the cameras installed in Tesla vehicles. Despite many other cars also having similar technology installed in them, the ban only applies to Tesla, according to Reuters.
The data centers also stirred up conversation among netizens in China.
NeochaEDGE, which is recognized as one of the top 10 most influential Weibo accounts reporting on the digital world, said that Tesla is becoming another Guizhou-Cloud Big Data.
Guizhou-Cloud Big Data refers to when Apple handed all of the data from its Chinese iCloud users over to Guizhou-Cloud Big Data for management and operation. The Guizhou State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission is the largest shareholder in Guizhou-Cloud Big Data. This move not only made the data of Chinese iCloud users vulnerable, but also involuntarily violated the freedom and safety of Chinese citizens.
One Chinese netizen said that it was clear who was pushing for Tesla’s move behind the scenes, attempting to obtain control over Tesla’s data.
Another netizen said that Tesla’s actions were inevitable and how leaving their data in China under CCP control was the company’s ticket into the Chinese market.
On May 12, the CCP’s digital office issued “Provisions on the Management of Automobile Data Security (Draft for Solicitation of Comments)” that set the boundaries for automobile data security.
Article two of the provision says how in the “process of design, production, sales, operation, maintenance, and management of automobiles within the territory of the People’s Republic of China, operators shall collect, analyze, store, transmit, query, utilize, delete, and provide (hereinafter collectively referred to as process) personal information or important data overseas in compliance with relevant laws and regulations and the requirements of this regulation.”
Tesla reposted the regulation on its official Weibo account and stated, “We support this decision.”
Tyler Durden
Wed, 06/02/2021 – 23:25 - Baltimore City Homicide Rate Surpasses 2020 Rates Amid Rash Of Gun Violence
Baltimore City Homicide Rate Surpasses 2020 Rates Amid Rash Of Gun Violence
Baltimore City continues to slide into a socio-economic mess, with wealth inequality at record highs and violent crime surging.
Local news WJZ 13 reports Baltimore’s homicide rate is outpacing the 2020 rate. As of June 2, the city has reported 138 homicides, compared to 130 this time last year. Non-fatal shootings have also been on the rise, 269 so far, compared to 230 this time last year.
After a bloody weekend, newly elected Mayor Brandon Scott issued a statement:
“The gun violence witnessed this weekend shows us that there are cowards among us who are willing to take a life, no matter how small or insignificant the beef. We must hold them accountable and rid our streets of the weapons they use to take our daughters and sons away from us. I will be meeting with Commissioner Harrison to discuss what changes need to happen for the Baltimore Police Department to have a greater immediate impact on this violence. I will also be determining what other agencies can bring to the table to bolster these efforts.”
This all comes as Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby halted prosecuting minor traffic violations, prostitution, drug possession, and other minor offenses during the virus pandemic. In March, she held a press conference to declare rough policing doesn’t work to prevent more violent crimes.
But months later, perhaps Mosby’s grand experiment is failing as Baltimore’s spending board approves police funding hikes.
If the pace of homicides continues, the metro area will experience more than 300 homicides by the end of the year. Shooting deaths have been elevated since the police killing of Freddie Gray in 2015.
Notice homicides by cause of death are primarily shootings and increase during warmer months.
Scott and Mosby might need a better policing plan as the liberal-run city, like many others across the country, descend into chaos.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 06/02/2021 – 23:05 - Teacher Uses Concealed Gun To Stop Alleged Schoolyard Kidnapping Of Utah Girl
Teacher Uses Concealed Gun To Stop Alleged Schoolyard Kidnapping Of Utah Girl
Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
A school teacher in Ogden, Utah has been hailed a hero for preventing the alleged kidnapping of an 11-year-old girl from a school playground by using his concealed firearm.
An instructor shows a holster at a gun concealed carry permit class put on by “USA Firearms Training” in Provo, Utah. on Dec. 19, 2015. (George Frey/Getty Images) Lt. Brian Eynon of the Ogden City Police Department described the incident to ABC4.
“An employee was watching the kids from the inside and observed the suspect walk up to this 11-year-old girl [on the playground] and put his hands on her in an attempt to take her,” Lt. Eynon said. “He ran outside, the employee did, and confronted the suspect. At that same time, the girl had the ability to pull away from the suspect.”
According to ABC4, the teacher got all 20 students away from the playground and into the school, which the suspect then tried to force his way into.
After approaching the building, the suspect, 41-year-old Ira Cox-Berry, punched on the window trying to get through—that’s when the teacher reportedly produced a firearm and held the suspect off while calling 911.
The teacher was a concealed carry permit holder.
However, as of May 5, people over 21 who may legally possess a firearm are no longer required to have a concealed carry permit after the state legislature passed HB0060.
Lt. Eynon thinks the actions of the “heroic employee” saved a life or at least prevented injury.
“This employee is protected under the Second Amendment,” Lt. Eynon said. “He followed all policy and procedure at the school, and in this particular case, did everything that he should have done to protect the innocent lives of the children at the school.”
Police took Cox-Berry, who they said was high on some type of narcotics, into custody after a brief struggle, ABC4 reported.
Investigators say there is no link between Cox-Berry and the young girl.
“This teacher, in particular, was very prepared emotionally to confront a suspect he didn’t know, that was most likely on drugs, could be dangerous, could have been armed, and he took it upon himself to protect and be a hero, frankly, for the children who were on scene there when this went down,” Lt. Eynon said.
Ogden School District’s Jer Bates told ABC4 the teacher was “a hero” for keeping the students and staff safe.
“A teacher intervened when there was a situation that threatened students’ safety,” Bates said. “This teacher, this school employee, is a hero.”
“Yes, it was a very scary situation, something we take very seriously, but it came out with a good ending, meaning no students were physically harmed, no adults were physically harmed, that this was an incident where our emergency response protocols were acted out,” he added.
The school district has provided counselors to help the students deal with the trauma, and Bates said the 11-year-old girl was “coping quite well considering the very traumatic experience that they endured.”
Cox-Berry is in Weber County Jail on one count of child kidnapping, a first-degree felony. Police say more charges are pending.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 06/02/2021 – 22:45 - More Workers Are Quitting Their Jobs Instead Of Returning To The Office
More Workers Are Quitting Their Jobs Instead Of Returning To The Office
A few hours ago, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, a longtime member on the FOMC (though he doesn’t have a vote this year), told the FT that the American labor market is tighter than it appears, and that he was “starting to advocate” for the Fed to look at “other measures of job market tightness”.
As the market braces for the next monthly jobs number (the first since April’s historic miss on expectations), Bloomberg News has just published another post reminding investors that what motivates workers isn’t always straightforward, or the same for everyone, and that a surprising number of white collar workers are quitting their jobs instead of returning to the office. The takeaway from the post is that many workers who were hired with the promise that they remain 100% remote are bucking when they’re suddenly being pressured to return to the office.
That could be bad news for JP Morgan and other banks who have pledged to keep workers coming into the office, especially as more tech firms embrace the ‘work from anywhere’ ethic.
A six-minute meeting drove Portia Twidt to quit her job.
She’d taken the position as a research compliance specialist in February, enticed by promises of remote work. Then came the prodding to go into the office. Meeting invites piled up.
The final straw came a few weeks ago: the request for an in-person gathering, scheduled for all of 360 seconds. Twidt got dressed, dropped her two kids at daycare, drove to the office, had the brief chat and decided she was done.
“I had just had it,” said Twidt, 33, who lives in Marietta, Georgia.
With the coronavirus pandemic receding for every vaccine that reaches an arm, the push by some employers to get people back into offices is clashing with workers who’ve embraced remote work as the new normal.
Some workers told Bloomberg that they’re worried mostly about the type of intensely hands-on management styles preferred by some bosses who, incidentally, are probably among the most vocal proponents of returning to the office.
With the coronavirus pandemic receding for every vaccine that reaches an arm, the push by some employers to get people back into offices is clashing with workers who’ve embraced remote work as the new normal.
Right now, it’s too early to tell how many workers are actually going to return to the office. It’s still too early to say how the post-pandemic work environment will look. Only about 28% of US office workers have returned to their buildings, according to an index of 10 metro areas compiled by security company Kastle Systems.
JPM has already recalled most of its white collar workforce back to the office, but other banks and other firms, including tech giants like Google, are looking at allowing their workers to continue on remotely.
For older workers, especially those with kids, the time that they save from not commuting has been critical. The lack of commutes, and associated cost savings are the top benefits of remote work, according to a FlexJobs survey of 2,100 people released in April. More than one-third of the respondents said they save at least $5K per year by working remotely.
Source: Bloomberg
Another worker who spoke with Bloomberg is, like many others, using the time they saved to work on a small business.
Jimme Hendrix, a 30-year-old software developer in the Netherlands, quit his job in December as the web-application company he worked for was gearing up to bring employees back to the office in February.
“During Covid I really started to see how much I enjoyed working from home,” Hendrix said.
Now he does freelance work and helps his girlfriend grow her art business. He used to spend two hours each day commuting; now the couple is considering selling their car and instead relying on bikes.
One of the main benefits, he says, is more control over his own time: “I can just do whatever I want around the house, like a quick chore didn’t have to wait until like 8 p.m. anymore, or I can go for a quick walk.”
Bosses who take a hard stance on remote work should prepare to lose workers, especially those with more marketable skills. According to a Jan. 12 PwC survey of 133 executives, fewer than 20% said they wanted to go back to pre-pandemic routines. But only 13% were prepared to abandon the office for good.
Source: Bloomberg
One previously anonymous IT worker set off a firestorm on Twitter when he commented that his colleagues “started quitting” when the bosses started talking about a return to the office. Gene Garland, 24, told Bloomberg that two of his colleagues handed in their resignation letters almost immediately.
Bro, they said no more teleworking and my co-workers started QUITTING
— Genie 🍎🦉🗽 (@GenieShinobi) May 3, 2021
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Twidt, the young woman who quit after being pushed to attend a brief in-person meeting said she quickly found a new all-remote position. When she asked the recruiter who approached her about being 100% remote, the recruiter replied: “We can do that for you immediately”.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 06/02/2021 – 22:25 - China's "Artificial Sun" Sets World Record Running At 120 Million Degrees For 101 Seconds
China’s “Artificial Sun” Sets World Record Running At 120 Million Degrees For 101 Seconds
Authored by Elias Marat via TheMindUnleashed.com,
China’s goal is to develop clean energy sources through next-generation nuclear fusion technology.
Chinese researchers have achieved a new world record after scientists developing an “artificial sun” ran the device on Friday at a record-shattering temperature of 120 million degrees Celsius for over 100 seconds.
The experiment was held at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP) in Hefei, China.
The exercise is a part of the China’s efforts to develop new clean energy sources through the development of next-generation nuclear fusion reactor technology.
Known as the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), the “Chinese artificial sun” managed to generate plasma temperatures of 120 million degrees Celsius for 101 seconds before scientists also realized a temperature of 160 million degrees Celsius for an additional 20 seconds.
The goal of EAST is to create Sun-like energy using deuterium, a hydrogen isotope that is plentiful in the ocean and can provide a steady flow of clean energy. According to estimates, one liter of seawater contains enough deuterium to produce energy equivalent to 300 liters of gasoline.
China hopes that it can replace fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas with the fusion energy in order to achieve carbon neutrality and a more ecological society.
“It’s a huge achievement in China’s physics and engineering fields. The experiment’s success lays the foundation for China to build its own nuclear fusion energy station,” ASIPP director Song Yuntao said, according to People’s Daily.
The EAST artificial sun is also part of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, a joint effort by global scientists that includes the input of scientists from China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States.
Experts hope that if development proceeds at the current rate, successful nuclear fusion could be achieved within three decades.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 06/02/2021 – 22:05 - "That Was A Lie": Tucker Carlson Levels Fauci After FOIA Emails Connect The Dots
“That Was A Lie”: Tucker Carlson Levels Fauci After FOIA Emails Connect The Dots
Fox News’ Tucker Carlson ripped “the utter fraudulence of Tony Fauci” Wednesday night, after BuzzFeed and the Washington Post obtained thousands of pages of emails through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, revealing that the nation’s top virologist was telling the public one thing, while furiously working on damage control and narrative-shaping as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded.
According to Carlson, Americans assumed “that the man in charge of protecting the US from COVID must be rational and impressive,” adding “We also assumed he must be honest. But we were wrong.
“It soon became clear that Tony Fauci was just another sleazy federal bureaucrat – deeply political and often dishonest. More shocking than that we then learned that Fauci himself was implicated in the very pandemic he’d been charged with fighting.”
“Fauci supported the grotesque and dangerous experiments that appeared to have made COVID possible.” -Tucker Carlson
Fauci’s emails collectively show that “from the beginning, Tony Fauci was worried that the public might conclude COVID had originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”
“Why would he be concerned that Americans would conclude that?” Tucker asked. “Possibly because Tony Fauci knew that he had funded gain-of-function experiments at that very same laboratory.“
“The emails prove that Fauci lied about this under oath,” said Tucker, who highlighted an email from scientist Christian G. Anderson to Fauci, saying that he and his fellow scientists felt the virus looked ‘potentially’ engineered, and that members of his team “all find the genome inconsistent with expectations from evolutionary theory.”
Fauci then sent an urgent email to his deputy – Hugh Auchincloss – with the subject “IMPORTANT,” and which read “Hugh, it is essential that we speak this AM. Keep your cell phone on … You will have tasks today that must be done.”
BREAKING: Early Fauci emails from Feb 2020 about gain of function experiments ‘abroad’ #FauciLeaks pic.twitter.com/MwZ0DWaEOf
— AntifaBook.com (@JackPosobiec) June 2, 2021
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Attached to that email was a document titled “Baric, Shi et al – Nature medicine – SARS Gain of function.pdf” referring to Dr. Ralph Baric, a US-based virologist who collaborated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology under Dr. Shi Zhengly (“Bat lady”) known for manipulating bat coronaviruses to better-infect humans.
Tucker then shows a clip of Fauci denying that Baric had conducted gain-of-function research, under oath.
“In retrospect, that looks a lot like perjury,” said Carlson, adding that early last year a lot of people at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were worried that COVID-19 had not occurred naturally, and were concerned that it had been manipulated in a lab in China – facts they were ‘determined’ to hide from the Public.
Tucker then notes that a group of top-level virologists were told to keep the contents of a teleconference discussion “in total confidence” and not to share information until next steps are agreed upon.
Screenshot “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Carlson then mentioned Zero Hedge, after UK virologist Jeremy Farrar passed along an article in which we suggested COVID-19 was man-made.
“We now know that’s a more plausible explanation than the one we believed at first, and were told by the media – which is that corona came from a pangolin. And yet for the crime of saying that out loud, a more plausible explanation, Zero Hedge was banned from social media platforms. Until recently you were not allowed to suggest that COVID might be man-made. Why couldn’t you suggest that? The fact-checkers wouldn’t allow it. Why wouldn’t they? Because Tony Fauci assured the tech monopolies that the coronavirus could not have been man-made. And so the tech monopolies shut down the topic.” -Tucker Carlson
Carlson then showed an April 17 press conference in which Fauci told the American public that COVID-19 was “totally consistent with a jump of a species from an animal to a human.
“At that point, what Tony Fauci just asserted as known, could not conclusively have been known. That was a lie.”
Watch:
Tyler Durden
Wed, 06/02/2021 – 21:45 - New York City Paid 114,000 Highly-Compensated Public Employees Earning $100,000+
New York City Paid 114,000 Highly-Compensated Public Employees Earning $100,000+
Authored by Adam Andrzejewski via RealClear Policy (emphasis ours),
New York City had more than 114,000 municipal workers earning $100,000 or more in 2019. That is up sharply from 76,166 employees with pay exceeding $100,000 in 2016.
Data comes a year before the pandemic hit and is the latest year available.
These were not just high-level employees like agency commissioners or deputy mayors. NYC employees included thermostat repairmen making up to $198,630; regular laborers hauling away $213,169; electricians taking home $253,132; and plumbers pocketing up to $286,245.
The cost of benefits would be additional and is not included in these figures.
These large paychecks are only sustainable because Congress bailed out New York City for $4.3 billion in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The federal bailout more than covered the overstated deficits of the city.
City officials estimated a $5.5 billion gap, but actual revenues came in $2.7 billion higher. Using $1.2 billion from reserves, and finding $1 billion in unspecified labor savings, among other things closed the budget gap.
Therefore, the federal money now exists for extra spending.
In December, Fitch Ratings downgraded New York City’s bond rating and issued a negative outlook. That was after Moody’s Investors Service lowered the credit ratings of both the state and city in October.
The #WasteOfTheDay is presented by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 06/02/2021 – 21:26 - West Virginia Offers Gun, Trucks, & Piles Of Cash To Encourage Vaccinations
West Virginia Offers Gun, Trucks, & Piles Of Cash To Encourage Vaccinations
A handful of states, including California, Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, and Ohio, offer vaccine incentive programs as subtle ways to encourage reluctant adults to get vaccinated. The latest is West Virginia, offering residents who get immunized the chance to win a tricked-out truck, hunting rifle, college scholarship, and the opportunity to win a $1.588 million grand prize, according to CNN.
“The faster we get people across the finish line, the more lives we save. That’s all there is to it,” Gov. Jim Justice said on Tuesday. “If the tab just keeps running, the cost is enormous. The hospitalizations are enormous. We have to get all of our folks across the finish line.”
“You could win something that would be phenomenal,” he said.
The vaccination program, funded by federal pandemic relief funds, begins on June 20 through Aug. 4. As the state reports, 51.1% of its residents are vaccinated, peak levels of vaccine demand have already arrived.
What better way to get West Virginians out of the house and jabbed with a vaccine than to offer them a chance to win free trucks and guns. We’re surprised ammo isn’t on the list.
The vaccine incentive scheme also offers a $588,000-second prize, lifetime hunting, and fishing licenses, and weekend vacations to state parks. Justice hopes this will drive vaccination rates in the state higher as President Biden aims to vaccinate at least 70% of the US population by July 4.
As we mentioned above, California, Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, and Ohio are offering handouts and prizes to incentivize more vaccinations. These whacky programs come as peak vaccination rates were observed in late April.
Source: Bloomberg According to Bloomberg, “the latest vaccination rate is 1,230,767 doses per day, on average. At this pace, it will take another 5 months to cover 75% of the population.”
So it’s plausible President Biden misses his July 4 vaccination target unless more states offer free money and prizes using federal funds.
Of course, what Biden, Fauci, and their big pharma friends are afraid to admit is that (as Johns Hopkins’ Dr. Marty Makary notes) around half of the unvaccinated have natural immunity from previous infection – and thus we are much closer to herd immunity than the bureaucrats would care to admit.
Furthermore, as Dr. Harvey Risch of Yale and Dr. Peter McCullough of Texas A&M discuss with Fox’s Laura Ingraham, many Americans now have long-lasting natural immunity to COVID (and expose the needlessness and danger of vaccinating those with natural immunity, and mask mandates for children).
As Makary noted in a recent op-ed, “Don’t buy the fearmongering: The COVID-19 threat is waning.”
Tyler Durden
Wed, 06/02/2021 – 21:05 - Drivers Of The New UFO Narrative Keep Absurdly Saying They Could Be Dangerous ETs
Drivers Of The New UFO Narrative Keep Absurdly Saying They Could Be Dangerous ETs
Authored by Caitlin Johnstone via Medium.com,
I’ve been learning as much as I can about the new UFO narrative the political/media class have been pushing in conjunction with the US military to prepare for the Senate report that’s due to be released this month.
One of the disconcerting things I’ve been seeing again and again from all the major players in this new narrative like Lue Elizondo and Christopher Mellon is the absurd assertion that not only is it entirely possible that the unknown phenomena allegedly being regularly witnessed by military personnel are extraterrestrial in origin, but that if they are extraterrestrial they may want to hurt us.
Mellon, the former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence who helped get the ball rolling on UFOs entering mainstream attention back in 2017 when he leaked three Pentagon videos to The New York Times, has stated that he sees extraterrestrial origin as an entirely possible explanation for these phenomena.
“We don’t even understand how you could do something like that,” Mellon said in a recent interview with CTV News of the inexplicable maneuvers and features these aircraft supposedly demonstrate.
“We don’t even understand the science behind it. Not like somebody’s a couple generations of fighter jet behind us; I mean this is a whole difference of kind, not degree.”
In this new interview with CTV of Canada I had the opportunity to clarify my views on some of the current #UAP issues: https://t.co/zKxCGWi4NS
— Christopher K. Mellon (@ChristopherKMe4) May 27, 2021
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Asked why the pilots of mysterious aircraft with incomprehensible scientific advancement might want to monitor the US military, Mellon said the following:
“Well probably for the same reason we do: to understand what kind of threat we could pose to them. Should a conflict arise they want to be able to engage us effectively, defeat us rapidly, at minimum cost of life and treasure, just as we would on the other side. We do similar kinds of things; we don’t have vehicles quite like this, but we’re certainly very actively monitoring military forces of other countries.”
The notion that UFOs could pose a threat to humans whether their alleged operators are from our own world or from another is being promoted by the main drivers of this strange new plotline, and it is being enthusiastically lapped up by many UFO enthusiasts who see framing these phenomena as a national security threat as the best way to get mainstream power structures to take them seriously and disclose information to the public.
This is bothersome for a couple of separate reasons.
Firstly, it is of course bothersome because one ought to be bothered any time military and intelligence insiders make unsubstantiated claims that there’s a foreign threat to US security. The added notion that this foreign threat could be from another world carries all kinds of implications for what kinds of unprecedentedly radical policy and funding adjustments would have to be made in order to counter this supposed threat, and it would take an appalling amount of gullibility to believe that those adjustments would be made for that reason at this point in time instead of the very obvious reason that the US is in a new and escalating cold war with both Russia and China.
Everything Keeps Getting Weirder And Weirder
The Pentagon did not spontaneously evolve an interest in radical transparency, and it is not coincidental that this UFO stuff is coming out as we hurtle into a new cold war and a race to weaponize space.https://t.co/01PskO6yA6
— Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ (@caitoz) May 22, 2021
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Secondly, it’s bothersome because it just says so much about human madness that people believe UFOs could simultaneously be the product of an immensely advanced extraterrestrial civilization, and also be a threat. They could be one or the other, but not both.
Just in our own tiny blip of recorded history, humanity has matured mentally and emotionally during our time on this planet. We no longer accept it as normal for our governments to torture someone to death in the town square, for example, and owning another human being as property is now seen as reprehensible. We’ve still got a mountain of inner demons to conquer, but you also can’t deny that we’ve created a much more conscious and peaceful world for ourselves than the one we used to live in.
Imagine how much further an intelligent life form would have progressed if it began maturing millions of years earlier than ours. Imagine how emotionally and intellectually developed a civilization would have to be to make it past all the self-imposed dangers its own intelligence posed to it like the dangers human intelligence poses to us now, if it had passed the great test and cleared that hurdle in its maturation process, and then gone on maturing for thousands or millions of years past the point we’re at now.
When I bring this up online people tell me, “Well look at what the Europeans did when they met indigenous populations! That’s what happens when a more advanced civilization meets a less advanced one.”
You see this ridiculous notion pushed everywhere, including by supposedly smart people like Stephen Hawking, that Europeans meeting the indigenous people of Africa, Australia and the Americas is a good model for what we could expect from an encounter with a civilization millions of years more advanced than our own. This reveals a fallacious assumption that genocidal Europeans were in fact “more advanced” than the other humans they met around the world; they were a bit more technologically advanced, but any research on the horrific things they did to those people will show you that they were emotionally infantile by today’s standards. It also looks at humans who began developing on the same planet at the same time as comparable to extraterrestrials who would have begun developing long before us.
Beyond the fact that we have seen in our own experience that an intelligent consciousness will keep expanding its consciousness over time, the most glaring piece of evidence that UFOs could pose no threat to us if they are extraterrestrial is that if they did, they would have taken us out long ago. UFO encounters have been documented for generations; there is nothing humans could do to stop a sentient species that is orders of magnitude technologically superior to us, no matter what the movies say.
If extraterrestrials are here they clearly don’t want to hurt us, and why would they? What could we possibly have that they’d want? In the unlikely event that there is some kind of element or resource here that they need, there’s no reason to believe they couldn’t get it elsewhere, or indeed that they couldn’t create it themselves at the level of scientific understanding they’d necessarily be operating from.
The idea that a civilization could attain a level of advancement comparable to ours, successfully learn to share resources and collaborate enough to avoid wiping itself out, continue maturing for a very long time, master interstellar, intergalactic, and/or interdimensional travel, create aircraft that can operate in the way people who encounter them describe, and then fly across the universe to go kill a bunch of barely-evolved primates for some reason is just absurd on its face, and even if such a thing could happen it would have happened already. This is humans projecting their own particular madness onto a hypothetical species far more mature than our own, myopically assuming that our collective insanity is some kind of immutable quality of consciousness itself.
I’ve sat through so much video footage on this subject, and I just get so frustrated listening to all these military-minded men talking about the need to know what the “capabilities” of these things are and how to prevent them from posing a threat to “national security”. If we are in fact not alone in this universe and are in fact being visited by other civilizations, these are the absolute stupidest questions we could possibly be asking ourselves about them. Not how can we contact them, not is it possible to communicate with them, not what could we learn from them, not where are they from and what is their story, but how can we kill them if we need to.
I have no idea if we are being visited by ETs, but if we are the US military is literally the worst thing our species could possibly use to relate to them.
* * *
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Tyler Durden
Wed, 06/02/2021 – 20:45 - Landlords Hosed After Appeals Court Tosses Bid To Resume Evictions
Landlords Hosed After Appeals Court Tosses Bid To Resume Evictions
Landlords across the country, the least-pitied group of Americans, were handed a loss on Wednesday after a federal appeals court in Washington DC denied a request to resume evictions amid a contentious dispute over a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) moratorium during the pandemic.
To recap, last month US District Judge Dabney Friedrich struck down the CDC moratorium on evictions, finding that the agency had overstepped its authority – yet agreeing to block her own ruling from taking immediate affect in order for the Biden administration to launch an appeal, according to The Hill.
In response, the plaintiffs – which includes the Alabama Association of Realtors and several co-plaintiffs – asked the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to lift Freidrich’s stay, which was denied on Wednesday in an unsigned order. The court added that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had “made a strong showing that it is likely to succeed” in its appeal.
“HHS has demonstrated that lifting the national moratorium will exacerbate the significant public health risks identified by the CDC because, even with increased vaccinations, COVID-19 continues to spread and infect persons, and new variants are emerging,” wrote the court.
Enacted in September as a public health measure, the CDC order was designed to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus by helping cash-strapped tenants avoid homeless shelters or other crowded living spaces. The eviction pause was later extended through June.
Renters can demonstrate their eligibility for CDC eviction protections by signing a sworn declaration under penalty of perjury, attesting that they would face overcrowded conditions if evicted and certifying that they have made partial rent payments to the best of their ability.
A number of other judges across the country have ruled on the eviction ban’s lawfulness, with landlords holding a slight advantage in their win-loss record against the federal government. -The Hill
Over 56,000 eviction actions have been filed since the pause took effect last September – almost half of which were filed this year according to a study by the Private Equity Stakeholder Project of seven states.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 06/02/2021 – 20:25 - Biden & 'The 1-Percent'
Biden & ‘The 1-Percent’
Authored by Andy Puzder via RealClearPolitics.com,
In a speech last week introducing his proposed $6 trillion 2022 budget, President Biden claimed that the benefits of the Republican Party’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act “went to the wealthiest 1% of America.”
It’s not the first time he’s made this claim.
In his first speech to a joint session of Congress, Biden described the TCJA as a “huge windfall” for “those at the very top.”
To right that wrong, he proposes getting rid of loopholes and raising the top tax rate from its current 37% to 39.6%.
Why? So that “the wealthiest 1% of Americans” will “pay their fair share,” a phrase that the president and his fellow Democrats repeat with abandon.
But there’s a big problem with Biden’s claims: They are simply untrue. It’s time Republicans started more aggressively pointing that out.
Let’s start with that supposedly “huge windfall” that went to the “wealthiest 1%” of America.
While the TCJA reduced effective income tax rates for all income groups in 2018, the top 1% experienced no windfall. Rather, according to the most recent IRS income tax data, the top 1% of taxpayers paid $616 billion in 2018, roughly the same amount they paid in 2017. But the bottom 99% paid $65 billion less. Some “windfall.” If the TCJA was a tax cut for the rich, it was the weirdest one in the history of tax cuts for the rich.
But did those evil 1-percenters pay their fair share? Turns out they did – and certainly a larger share than when tax rates were last at Biden’s proposed 39.6%.
In 2018, while the top 1%’s share of adjusted gross income declined slightly to 20.9% (from 21.0% in 2017), its share of the income tax burden increased to 40.1% from 38.5%. “Fair” is in the eye of the beholder, but consider: The top 1%’s share of taxes paid nearly doubles its share of income. For more “fair share” perspective, consider that in 2018, the top 1% paid more in income taxes than the bottom 90% of taxpayers – combined.
Biden also might be surprised to learn that the top 1% actually paid a higher percentage of income taxes in 2018 under the TCJA than in any year since at least 2001 – when it paid 33.2%. That includes each of the five years from 2013 to 2017 following the Obama tax hikes, when the top rate last stood at 39.6% – the rate Biden is currently proposing.
You read that right. The highest earners paid a greater share of income taxes after the Republicans’ 2017 tax cuts than they paid after the Democrats’ 2013 tax increase. But how can that be if the top tax rate in 2018 was only 37%?
Well, the TCJA increased taxable income for wealthier Americans by reducing the itemized deductions they could claim. High earners generally benefit more from itemizing deductions. Lower earners generally benefit more from the standard deduction. The TCJA increased the standard deduction and limited itemized deductions.
According to IRS data, following the TCJA, the amount taxpayers claimed for itemized deductions dropped by 55%, from about $1.46 trillion in 2017 to about $650 billion in 2018. That’s over $800 billion that was taxed in 2018 but not in 2017.
The TCJA’s capping the deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) at $10,000 was responsible for $480 billion of that decrease – a whopping 59%. But Biden supports restoring the SALT deduction even though that deduction benefits mostly the upper-income taxpayers he so desperately wants to tax. Why would he want to do that?
Well, the SALT deduction primarily benefits high earners in high-tax blue states. So Biden is not alone is seeking to restore it. Repealing the cap President Trump put on the SALT deduction is a top tax priority for Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who want either to increase or eliminate the $10,000 cap as part of Biden’s infrastructure bill.
Like Biden, these legislators also claim to favor closing tax loopholes for the wealthy – just not for their wealthy supporters. “Do you want to give the wealthiest people in America another tax cut?” Biden asked in his budget introduction speech. Apparently for the Democratic leadership, the answer is: Yes, we do.
So, the TCJA was not a windfall for the rich, and it did not result in the rich paying less than their fair share of income taxes. It closed loopholes – the largest of which Democrat leadership would like to restore – that primarily benefit wealthy taxpayers. Raising the top tax rate to 39.6% under Obama resulted in the rich paying a smaller share of income taxes than they paid in 2018 under the TCJA. There is certainly no guarantee that they would pay a larger share if Biden repeated Obama’s tax-increase error – particularly if the Democrats start restoring tax loopholes for their wealthy backers.
Republicans have the better part of this argument. They need to start making it.
* * *
Andy Puzder is the former CEO of CKE Restaurants, a board member of the Job Creators Network, and the author of “The Capitalist Comeback: The Trump Boom and the Left’s Plot to Stop It.”
Tyler Durden
Wed, 06/02/2021 – 20:05 - SoftBank-Backed Construction-Industry-"Transforming" Company Katerra Collapses After Billions In Investment
SoftBank-Backed Construction-Industry-“Transforming” Company Katerra Collapses After Billions In Investment
Oh how the mighty continue to fall.
Katerra, the construction giant that was backed by SoftBank, has officially told its employees that it is shutting down its operations. Katerra “had promised to shake up the construction industry with its efficient factories, prefab parts and modular construction units,” Bloomberg had reported on the company in the past.
But now the only thing it’s shaking up are the lives of the 8,000 employees it had globally, as of last year, according to TechCrunch, who pointed out that the company had already struggled “to find a viable business in cheaply building properties for real estate developers”.
The company was then beset by climbing labor and material costs associated with the pandemic (and perhaps now, the hyperinflation that’s succeeding the pandemic).
“So, you guys use a lot of lumber, or no?” SoftBank tried to bail out the struggling company, offering $200 million on top of the billions it had already invested in the company, to buy a majority stake. But, not unlike the WeWork IPO, Katerra couldn’t be saved.
Bloomberg reports that the company is now likely going to walk away from “dozens” of projects it has already committed to.
Among those being laid off are 117 workers in Seattle, according to The Seattle Times. The losses are expected to take effect on June 4.
CEO Masayoshi Son had called Katerra one of his “regrets” in an interview with Barron’s last month. The company had raised more than $2 billion since its founding in 2015.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 06/02/2021 – 19:45 - Chamber Of Commerce Confirms US Labor Shortage Is A "National Economic Crisis"
Chamber Of Commerce Confirms US Labor Shortage Is A “National Economic Crisis”
Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,
A report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned that a recent labor shortage plaguing businesses nationwide is worsening, describing the situation as a “national economic crisis.”
The Chamber’s report released Tuesday found that the United States had a record 8.1 million vacant job openings in March—the last month where data was available—noting it was an increase of 600,000 from February.
But, the Chamber stressed that there “are approximately half as many available workers for every open job,” or 1.4 available workers per job opening, across the country “and the ratio continues to fall.” Compared with the previous 20 years, there were 2.8 available workers per job opening, according to the organization.
“In several states and several industries, including hard-hit sectors like education and health services as well as professional and business services, there are currently fewer available workers than the total number of jobs open,” the report found, adding that more than 90 percent of local Chambers of Commerce have reported that worker shortages are hurting their economies.
The report also pointed to an underwhelming April jobs report released by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, which found that just 266,000 jobs were created. Analysts had expected that more than 1 million would be created.
“Even with 9.7 million unemployed at the beginning of April, workers’ reluctance to return to work and fill open positions was one reason for the lackluster job creation,” the Chamber of Commerce wrote.
“Another could be that employees know just how easy it is to get a new job—the percent voluntarily leaving their current job is now above pre-pandemic levels.”
The states with the lowest worker availability rate include Vermont, Nebraska, and South Dakota, the organization found. All three states had a ratio of less than 1.
In the past several weeks, around two dozen GOP-led states have decided to opt out of the federal unemployment program that provided $300 per week during the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans have criticized the provision, which was first introduced in the March 2020 CARES Act and was extended several times in subsequent bills, as creating an incentive for people not to work.
The issue was perhaps crystallized in April when a McDonald’s franchise owner in Tampa, Florida, authorized paying people $50 just to show up for job interviews but was still struggling to find employees.
According to reports, Arizona, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma have authorized a return-to-work bonus between $500 and $2,000.
“We’re going to use federal money to encourage people to work instead of paying people not to work,” Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said in May.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 06/02/2021 – 19:25 - FBI Identifies Hacker Groups Behind JBS Ransomware Attack
FBI Identifies Hacker Groups Behind JBS Ransomware Attack
Update (1917): The FBI confirms Russian-linked “REvil and Sodinokibi” are behind the ransomware attack on JBS meat processing facilities. Here’s the complete statement:
As the lead federal investigative agency fighting cyber threats, combating cybercrime is one of the FBI’s highest priorities. We have attributed the JBS attack to REvil and Sodinokibi and are working diligently to bring the threat actors to justice. We continue to focus our efforts on imposing risk and consequences and holding the responsible cyber actors accountable. Our private sector partnerships are essential to responding quickly when a cyber intrusion occurs and providing support to victims affected by our cyber adversaries. A cyber attack on one is an attack on us all. We encourage any entity that is the victim of a cyber attack to immediately notify the FBI through one of our 56 field offices.
Despite JBS stating Tuesday night that “our systems are coming back online,” the world’s largest meat producer remains silent on the progress Wednesday.
* * *
JBS SA, the world’s largest meat producer, released a statement in the overnight session stating “significant progress” has been made to resolve a ransomware attack that paralyzed its US operations and some plants in other countries.
“Our systems are coming back online, and we are not sparing any resources to fight this threat,” JBS USA CEO Andre Nogueira said in a statement.
“Given the progress, our IT professionals and plant teams have made in the last 24 hours, the vast majority of our beef, pork, poultry and prepared foods plants will be operational Wednesday“, Nogueira said.
The cyberattack forced the shutdown of all JBS’ US beef plants, which account for almost a quarter of American supplies.
“On Sunday, 30 May, JBS USA determined that it was the target of an organized cybersecurity attack, affecting some of the servers supporting its North American and Australian IT systems”, JBS said at the time.
JBS Facilities
The shuttering raises concern about food security as hackers increasingly target critical commodity-linked companies.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that the hacking group behind the attack is “likely” based in Russia.”
“The White House is engaging directly with the Russian government on this matter, and delivering the message that responsible states do not harbor ransomware criminals,” she said.
Three weeks ago, another ransomware attack brought down Colonial Pipeline Co., operator of fuel pipelines on the East Coast. It was targeted by a group called “DarkSide.”
While JBS soothes fears of potential meat shortages and soaring food prices – there has yet to be a statement released by the company indicating all systems are operational.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 06/02/2021 – 19:19 - Housing Hubris: Mortgage Apps Plunge Despite Homebuilder Euphoria
Housing Hubris: Mortgage Apps Plunge Despite Homebuilder Euphoria
After a brief pause, mortgage applications tumbled again last week (-4.0% WoW after falling 4.2% WoW the prior week), to their lowest level since February 2020.
Source: Bloomberg
And while refis have now stagnated, home purchase applications have plunge to a new post-pandemic low as the ‘dopamine of collective euphoria’ in the housing market wears off…
Source: Bloomberg
As Kara Cox recently wrote at WolfStreet.com, having lived both in the Bay Area during the dotcom explosion and NYC during the MBS explosion, I know a thing or two about financial bubbles. Or at least how they feel in the moment: akin to being at a frat party at 2 am. Everyone is spewing garbage but thinks they are a genius, and the only way to make sense of it all is to drink up or take yourself home.
That’s bubbles.
And while homebuilders remain euphorically optimistic, homebuyers (according to the latest sentiment surveys from UMich and The Conference Board) have hardly ever been more gloomy in their buying attitudes…
Source: Bloomberg
As prices continue to roar ever higher on a bed of renewed lower mortgage rates and helicopter money…
Source: Bloomberg
As Christophe Barraud wrote earlier in the week, coupled with a shortage of homes for sale, low mortgage rates are supporting housing prices. On Tuesday, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index (20-City Composite) soared 13.27 percent in March (up from 12 percent in February). In the meantime, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index of national property values climbed 13.19 percent YoY, the biggest jump since December 2005. Furthermore, the FHFA (Federal Housing Finance Agency) purchase-only price index rose 13.9 percent YoY in March, the largest jump on record.
Even though housing prices growth will slow this summer (due to unfavourable base effects, a rebound in inventory, the end of foreclosure moratorium and mortgage forbearance), the trend will gain traction in the short term. According to my proxies, the S&P Corelogic index for April — that will be released on June 29th — should increase by more then 14 percent on a YoY basis.
Focusing on monetary, the debate concerning MBS purchases from the Fed will gather more attention in the coming months. It will likely result in tapering before year-end… and go back up to the first chart above to see what happened then.
As Kara Cox concludes so poignantly, it is only in retrospect in which everyone saw it coming, knew it couldn’t last, etc. We didn’t, for the most part. It is easy to look back with derision about the Dutch and their bout with overpriced tulips, but is that so much different than what happened with Pets.com? Or when folks rushed to own homes in 2005?
Tyler Durden
Wed, 06/02/2021 – 19:05
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