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Bill’s commentary:
“Janet Yellen pretty much admits they make up the rules as they go?”
Bill’s commentary:
“WOW, here’s a real shocker!”
At the same time that Department of Justice officials were using spying and corruption statutes to aggressively pursue Donald Trump’s allies based on what turned out to be rumor and innuendo, they declined to use those same laws to investigate evidence of wrongdoing involving Biden family members and one of their corrupt Chinese business partners, DOJ documents and federal court records reveal.
In 2016-2017, the evidence shows, the FBI raided the offices and intercepted the communications of Chi Ping “Patrick” Ho, a Chinese national suspected of espionage even as he was negotiating business deals with former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter and brother James.
Bill’s commentary:
“Does she cause a mass exodus (otherwise known as a bank run) on the smaller banks? Is this the plan to consolidate all the small banks into the larger ones prior to issuance of the CBDC?”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sought to reassure markets and lawmakers on Thursday that the federal government is committed to protecting U.S. bank deposits following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank over the weekend.
“Our banking system remains sound and Americans can feel confident that their deposits will be there when they need them,” Yellen said in testimony before the Senate Finance Committee.
Bill’s commentary:
“Don’t believe the title!”
Bill’s commentary:
“Does she cause a mass exodus (otherwise known as a bank run) on the smaller banks? Is this the plan to consolidate all the small banks into the larger ones prior to issuance of the CBDC?”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sought to reassure markets and lawmakers on Thursday that the federal government is committed to protecting U.S. bank deposits following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank over the weekend.
“Our banking system remains sound and Americans can feel confident that their deposits will be there when they need them,” Yellen said.
Bill’s commentary:
“Already larger than 2008? But the party only just started?”
Banks borrowed a combined $164.8 billion from two Federal Reserve backstop facilities in the most recent week, a sign of escalated funding strains in the aftermath of Silicon Valley Bank’s failure.
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen finds herself in a very dubious position. Under the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation of 2010, the U.S. Treasury Secretary was given increased powers to oversee financial stability in the U.S. banking system. This increase in power came in response to the 2008 financial crisis – the worst financial collapse since the Great Depression. The legislation made the Treasury Secretary the Chair of the newly created Financial Stability Oversight Council (F-SOC), whose meetings include the heads of all of the federal agencies that supervise banks and trading on Wall Street. The legislation also required the Treasury Secretary’s authorization before the Federal Reserve could create any more of those $29 trillion emergency bailout programs for the mega banks – which had tethered themselves to casino trading on Wall Street since the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999.
Bill’s commentary:
“WOW, this is even better than ‘a chicken in every pot’!!!”
Payments of $5 million to every eligible Black adult, the elimination of personal debt and tax burdens, guaranteed annual incomes of at least $97,000 for 250 years and homes in San Francisco for just $1 a family.
Bill’s commentary:
“Some hardcore Erik for you.”
Bill’s commentary:
“Some unbelievable charts for your perusal!”
‘Paper is poverty; it is only the ghost of money, and not money itself.’ Thomas Jefferson. (1743-1826).
Reading Aid:
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Bill’s commentary:
“As a result of a failed auction, the US Treasury was forced Sunday night/Monday morning to put its own hollowed out balance sheet on the line. Maybe SVB does get sold, but one must wonder now about the Treasury itself and its pledge to back stop the entire Western world?”
US banking regulators have been placed in a challenging situation following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, as they are now responsible for protecting depositors and preventing further bank runs. Regulators are now facing the daunting task of attempting to auction off the failed bank for a second time, but this time have sought the assistance of an investment bank to explore potential options.
Regulators at the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) tapped advisors at the investment bank Piper Sandler Companies to relaunch a failed auction of SVB, according to Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter.
Officials from the FDIC seized SVB last Friday after $42 billion of deposit withdrawals one day prior caused the bank to fail. A weekend auction of the bank to top institutions proved to be unsuccessful.
Bill’s frightful commentary:
“Hopefully you have your crash helmuts on! There is much out there and all on a collision course. The banks, the Bidens, Russia/China, vaxidents/gain of function/biolabs and more.
First, it is becoming common knowledge that if you took the vax, you made a mistake. And each booster you took was a bigger mistake …as in you killed yourself. I personally have spoken to many people who did take the vax and now have buyers remorse. The knowledge is spreading and the anger, finally, is starting to grow. There are also several lawsuits begun which will surely be followed by more. The “legal shield” seems to have some cracks in it. Do not be surprised when Russia offers proof of biolabs in Ukraine. The media may not report it but I assure you, if a tree falls in the woods where there is no one around …IT DOES MAKE SOUND!
Russia/China have been hard at work, their latest task was brokering a deal between the Saudis and Iran. Previously considered an impossible task. Please keep in mind, the Saudis have said publicly they will take payment in funds other than dollars. Kiss the petrodollar goodbye. Also, it has been reported that The Kremlin has publicly thanked the US for cutting them off from SWIFT, as they now do not need to worry about US banks.
The banks; the entire US banking system has been downgraded, let that sink in! The SVB “auction” over the weekend looks like it failed. I have heard two reports that there were no bidders, and another where there was only one. No difference, the same thing. I believe this to be true as the Treasury announced Monday morning they would backstop the entire system. Think about this for a moment. The US Treasury, sitting with (on books only) of $31 trillion or 125% of GDP and must borrow over $1 trillion per year just to keep the doors open …will backstop $17 trillion in deposits. Do you see how bad this is? A bankrupt entity is guaranteeing your savings in entities that would already have collapsed were it not for the Treasury declaration. In no way can the Treasury backstop anything …and to add some humor, they are already up against the debt ceiling …whatever that is? Basically, a shitfaced drunk trying to hold up another drunk, quite a sight to see!
Lastly “the Biden’s”. We have all known about the grift and theft but now it’s getting serious. Apparently there are 150 “suspicious activity” reports filed (ignored) until now. Do they choose now to release them to add to the above party favors? Do they release them now to create even more havoc? Do they let a cackling hyena captain the USS Titanic to her final demise?
It does look to me like much of this is coordinated. If not, quite the coincidence but truly ugly if you live in the Western world, particularly the US. Get ready for your world to change drastically …and certainly not in any good way at all!”
Standing watch,
Bill Holter
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Bill’s commentary:
“Some truly ugly charts fro our pal down under, Dismal Dave.”
‘If you don’t read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.’ Mark Twain. (1835-1910).
Bill’s commentary:
“Pastor Stanely with more for us. I would simply ask why there is ANY need for FDIC since the Treasury now says they back EVERYTHING???”
Last night, just after the futures markets opened, the Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC issued a ‘joint press release’ to inform the world of their method of salvation for the banking system:
…’the Federal Reserve Board on Sunday announced it will make available additional funding to eligible depository institutions to help assure banks have the ability to meet the needs of all their depositors.’…
Bill’s commentary:
“Is this true? If so, I guess the question is, how do you catch a hypersonic missile …if you are not yet hypersonic?”
In the last several days, multiple sources have published information regarding the Kiev regime’s usage of a number of NATO weapons and munitions, including the JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) bombs. JDAMs are standard unguided freefall/gravity bombs (so-called “dumb bombs”) equipped with a guidance kit that converts them into all-weather PGMs (precision-guided munitions). Guided by an integrated inertial guidance system combined with a GPS receiver, JDAMs have a declared range of up to 30 km, although this has been extended with newer versions, such as the JDAM-ER (up to 70 km). Precisely this type was given to the Neo-Nazi junta in recent weeks, according to the US Air Force Europe (USAFE) command.
Bill’s commentary:
“I have never had a high opinion of Cramer, and he does not disappoint with his “solution”. If I read this correctly, he is suggesting the solution to bank runs is to prevent money, ALL money from moving? Would it really be YOUR money, if you could not “move it” and thus use it? Am I missing something?”
CNBC’s Jim Cramer treaded lightly before the Wall Street opening bell with his commentary on what might be in store for the market Monday after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in California and Signature Bank in New York.
Cramer, who has come under scrutiny for hyping SVB before it failed, was on Squawk on the Street to talk about the bank run that caused its collapse. Financial observers have been concerned that the bank’s failure could spark runs on other smaller regional banks, which could send the economy into a freefall.
After suggesting that Silicon Valley Bank’s examiners should be called into question, Cramer said that “what I’m concerned about is that when you see where all these banks are trading, you may need to have more assurance than we’re getting right now.
Bill’s commentary:
“I’m not sure, but if she said “I apologize for acting like a tyrant” might have better?”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) admitted on Sunday that her administration’s pandemic-era lockdown policies went too far, such as her April 2020 executive order barring most stores from selling gardening supplies, including seeds and plants, to Americans who anted to grow their own fruits and vegetables.
Bill’s commentary:
“Dave sends us the scoop by Wall St. on Parade”
If you want to genuinely understand why Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failed and why Jerome Powell’s Fed led the effort yesterday to make sure $150 billion of the bank’s uninsured depositors’ money would be treated as FDIC insured and available today, you need to take a look at how the bank defined itself right up until it blew up on Friday. (That history is still available at the Internet Archives’ Wayback Machine at this link. Give the page time to load.)
This was a financial institution deployed to facilitate the goals of powerful venture capital and private equity operators, by financing tech and pharmaceutical startups until they could raise millions or billions of dollars in a Wall Street Initial Public Offering (IPO). The bank was also involved in managing the wealth of those startup millionaires or billionaires once they struck it big in an IPO.
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Bill’s commentary:
“A thinking person might ask now that it was sold for $1 (Mortimer), what was it valued at on the books last week?”
LONDON — Silicon Valley Bank UK is being acquired by HSBC in a £1 deal that will protect deposits, the United Kingdom’s chancellor and HSBC said on Monday.
“This morning, the Government and the Bank of England facilitated a private sale of Silicon Valley Bank UK to HSBC,” Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said on Twitter. “Deposits will be protected, with no taxpayer support.”
Bill’s commentary:
“Gold nor silver can go bankrupt…the end.”
‘No asset is safe now. The only choice to hedge risks is to hold hard currency, as in gold.’ Zhang Jianhua, Peoples Bank of China.
Bill’s commentary:
“He’s got that right!”
Bill’s commentary:
“Interesting link?”
Please file this under ‘you just can’t make this stuff up: Joseph Gentile who has served as Chief Administrative Officer at the recently caput Silicon Valley Bank since 2007 was, prior to joining SVP, CFO for Lehman Brothers’ Global Investment Bank, Fixed Income Division.
Just because SVB and Lehman collapsed where he was a leading player doesn’t necessarily make this man the ‘harbinger’ of doom. Perhaps this is just a guy that you wouldn’t want to have wish you ‘luck’. Perhaps…
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Bill’s commentary:
“What will happen? We will all soon see in real time …!”
Financial podcasts have been featuring ominous headlines lately along the lines of “Your Bank Can Legally Seize Your Money” and “Banks Can STEAL Your Money?! Here’s How!” The reference is to “bail-ins:” the provision under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act allowing Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs, basically the biggest banks) to bail in or expropriate their creditors’ money in the event of insolvency. The problem is that depositors are classed as “creditors.” So how big is the risk to your deposit account? Part I of this two part article will review the bail-in issue. Part II will look at the derivatives risk that could trigger the next global financial crisis.
Bill’s commentary:
“You had to know this was coming if any part of your brain was functioning.”
Whenever the national news mentions cities demolished by the riots, Portland is always on the list. Committee to Unleash Prosperity ran the headline, “What Happens When the Last Business in Portland Leaves the City?”
Portland riots were one of the worst in the nation, but businesses might have recovered if government hadn’t spired them on and nourished the destruction. Riots led to permission, to defunding police to no convictions resulting in more shoplifting, harassment, destruction of property to canceled liability insurance followed by increased taxes and closures.
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Bill’s commentary:
“I would question that it is only half the country?”
“They say half the country.” JB
Six of the 12 Federal Reserve districts reported little or no change in economic activity through the end of February, according to the Federal Reserve latest Beige Book survey of conditions.
The other six districts indicated growth expanded at a modest pace, the report said.
As a result, nationwide activity increased only slightly, the Fed report concluded.
That fits with the forecast of a slight 0.4% decline in first quarter GDP from S&P Global Market Intelligence, a leading forecasting firm. The government data won’t be released until the end of April.
The Beige Book is a collection of anecdotal data designed to give central bank officials a feel for conditions on the ground as they meet to plot interest-rate policy later this month.
It is a companion to the secret Green Book of economic data that Fed officials receive from the Fed staff as they prepare for their monetary policy discussions. These reports are only made public after five years.
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Bill’s commentary:
“Our pal Manny checks in with a good question.”
According to Taiwanese authorities, on Feb. 2, a Chinese fishing boat damaged an undersea communications cable that connects Taiwan’s main island to Matsu Islands. About one week later, a Chinese cargo ship severed another cable.
Located approximately 30 miles off the coast of China, the tiny island of Dongyin has quickly established a backup communication system, as reported by the WSJ. The new system uses a high-powered microwave radio to transmit data to Taipei. WSJ described the disruption as a “wartime scenario” and “in a potential preview of a Chinese attack.”
Bill’s commentary:
“They have raised rates from zero to 5% in roughly 15 months. The largest and fastest hiking cycle in US history …and of course with absolute and ratio’d debt levels never before seen! What could possibly go wrong?”
The latest spike in bond yields was enough to spook the stock market into a sell-off Tuesday, but there’s a silver lining for fixed income investors: Short-term Treasurys are now touting a risk-free return of 5%.
The latest action follows comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who said Tuesday that interest rates are “likely to be higher” than previously expected. “If the totality of the data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted, we would be prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes,” he said.
Bill’s commentary:
“Trapped” is a VERY polite word indeed!”
To know how to wait. It is the great secret to success.’ Joseph de Maistre. (1753-1821).
BTW, you may have noticed that occasionally I issue your reading matter after a 3-day gap. This is usually caused by a news-poor week-end.
It also gives me some time for a decent AA* session!
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*: the Alderley Arms; my local, fine, pub!
Bill’s commentary:
“Maybe ‘they knew’ because they planned it and then carried out the plan?”
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Bill’s commentary:
“This is SO SO BAD, yet the sheeple sleep on…”
There will be catastrophic consequences if the US fails to “hit the brakes” and allows the relationship with China to continue to go downhill, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang warned on Tuesday.
His comments, during his first press conference in his new role, left many observers with the impression that hopes for a quick rapprochement between the two global powers were fading.
“One side is not trying to run its best, but always trying to trip the other side, and even wants to push the other side to compete in the Paralympics instead,” Qin said.
“Then it would not be a fair competition, but a malicious confrontation.”
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Bill’s commentary:
“As our pal Dave would say, dead men tell no tales?”
The complaint makes devastating and detailed charges. It charges that the bank sat on a pile of evidence that Jeffrey Epstein was running a child sex trafficking ring as it continued to keep him as a client; accept his lucrative referrals of wealthy clients; and provided him with large sums of cash and wire transfers to pay off victims – one of whom was a “14-year old sex slave.”
Bill’s commentary:
“Do you notice the charts all begin to look way different since 2020?”
‘Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.’ attrib. Niels Bohr. (1885-1962).
PS. Apols. for so much reading matter today; there’s a whole lotta shaking going on! (Something Wicked This Way Comes!)
PPS. There’ll be a little exam tomorrow. Reading aid….
Brought to you from your eye in the sky…
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Welcome To Bill Holter 