Europe just legislated the end of financial freedom and nobody noticed.
January 2027: Every euro above €10,000 becomes illegal tender. Every Bitcoin needs government permission. Every transaction becomes a datapoint in Brussels’ surveillance grid.
Every month, the U.S. Treasury releases data on the federal budget, including the current deficit or surplus. The following contains budget data for September 2025, the final month of fiscal year (FY) 2025…
…The federal government reported a surplus of $198 billion in the month of September 2025, an increase of $118 billion from the $80 billion surplus recorded in September 2024. However, September 1 fell on a weekend in 2024 and 2025, causing certain payments to be shifted into the respective previous months. That accounting quirk reduced the reported September outlays for both years. Adjusting for those timing shifts, the September 2025 surplus would have been $110 billion more than the same month in the previous year.
A banker for all seasons: the life and times of John Exter – champion of sound money
The following is an introduction to a series of essays GoldMoney will be publishing, written by John Butler and Barry Downs, looking at the life and times of John Exter – leader in the fight against Richard Nixon, Alan Greenspan and the debasement of the US dollar. The source material for these essays includes John Exter’s collected papers and works; the personal experiences, diary entries and recollections of the author; and interviews with former colleagues, friends and family of John Exter’s.
INTRODUCTION
It was a fine spring day in Washington, DC. John Exter was in town on private business, advising a wealthy client as to her substantial investments. When his friend and former New York Fed colleague Paul Volcker, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, learned that John was in the neighborhood he dropped everything in his diary that day and requested that John come by his office. John agreed and later that afternoon arrived at Volcker’s office for a three-hour chat.
OMG I’m dead.. If you voted for Mamdani you will get covered income.. it’s kinda like a socialist Ponzi scheme.. Lyle Culpeepper is a genius. Lmao.😂 pic.twitter.com/2icASCuJZw
Housing director confirms administration ‘working on’ 50-year mortgage after Trump hint
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte on Saturday said the Trump administration is “working on” a plan to introduce 50-year mortgage terms for home buyers.
“Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50 year Mortgage – a complete game changer,” Pulte wrote in a statement on the social platform X.
It followed a Truth Social post by President Trump earlier in the day where he shared a graphic juxtaposing an image of him next to one of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The administration that oversaw the New Deal established the 30-year mortgage standard to help citizens recover from the Great Depression.
I’m seeing this a lot, more and more Americans are choosing to live in Hotels
The price of rent has gotten so out of control in America it’s now half the monthly price to just live in a hotel and have all utilities, water, WiFi and everthing included
This woman says the quiet part out loud and speaks an uncomfortable truth. Say it louder for the people in the back!
“If the Government feeds you, it can starve you. If the Government houses you, it can evict you. If the Government pays your utilities, it can turn them off. If… pic.twitter.com/6f4vEECc8s
Ilhan Omar Is Trying To ‘Bully’ Education Department Over Unpaid Student Loans, Watchdog Reveals
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) should garnish leftist Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) taxpayer-funded salary to keep her up to date on her student loan payments, a watchdog said Thursday.
Omar has fallen behind on her student loan payments and has attempted to “bully” federal officials over her debts, the American Accountability Foundation (AAF) alleged in a Thursday letter to Johnson. In his letter, AAF President Tom Jones asked Johnson to impound Omar’s Congressional salary to pay her student loans.
“We are writing today to share serious concerns about abuse of office and abuse of government loans by a member of the House of Representatives, Representative Ilhan Omar,” Jones wrote on Thursday in a letter shared with The Daily Wire. “It has come to AAF’s attention that Representative Omar is in collection proceedings on her federally guaranteed student loans.”
“Debt, debt, debt…. debt is everywhere! But what happens when interest rates go up? …and they will.”
Short-Term Debt, Long-Term Impact: Treasury’s Strategy in Focus
The White House wants cheaper debt while the bond market wants clarity. This morning, we get both…
Since taking office in January, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has pursued one clear goal: lower the yield on U.S. Treasurys. He keeps emphasizing the point that cheaper yields mean lower borrowing costs for households and businesses. After all, Treasury rates anchor everything from mortgages to auto loans. The White House, he says, is committed to using every tool at its disposal to bring yields down.
At first, Bessent assumed the Federal Reserve would lend a hand by cutting interest rates. But the White House’s tariff policies stirred fresh uncertainty around growth and inflation, leaving Fed officials hesitant until recently. So, Bessent turned to other levers.
China Introduces New Exports Controls On Antimony, Tungsten And Silver
According to Trump, his big achievement a week ago when he announced the trade truce with China, was getting Beijing to agree to remove export limitations on rare earth minerals, which as most now know are so critical for US companies to make everything from cell phones, to cars, and military equipment. And yet, as discussed on a few occasions this week, it feels like the cracks in this latest trade deal are already starting to show, whether it is Beijing ordering Trump what he can’t talk about, or quietly ring-fencing its domestic data center by banning US AI chips.
And now, it appears that while China granted Trump a 1 year reprieve on rare earths, it is quietly tightening the export noose on other, just as important minerals.
According to the Global Times, China has introduced new export controls on silver, antimony, and tungsten.
Look at UPS and Amazon….right before the holidays!
I can hear the printing presses at the Fed warming up. Layoffs in the last month: IBM: 3000 layoffs, META: 600 layoffs, AMAT: 1400, Charter: 1,200, Kroger: 1000, Comcast: 400, UPS: 48,000, Rivian: 600, Paycom: 500, Oracle: 450, Amazon: 30,000, Target: 1,800, Accenture: 11,000, Salesforce: 4,000, Nestle: 16,000, Microsoft: 7,000, Intel: 24,000, Ford: 11,000, GM: 1,700, Starbucks: 900, International Paper: 1,100, Duke University: 600, Alaska Air: 252, PGE: 300, PWC: 5,600, Paramount: 2,000, Novo: 9,000
Bill is interviewed by Triangle Investor (Also posted under Interviews)
Bill’s Commentary:
“Ah Silver!”
Disagreements Emerge Over US-China Rare Earth Deal, As US Adds Uranium, Silver To Critical Minerals List
Two days ago, when discussing China’s surprising announcement that Trump should not cross four “red lines” (including i)Taiwan, ii) democracy and human rights, iii) China’s political system, and iv) development rights) or risk a collapse of the trade truce, we said that “ever since the recent “truce” in the trade war between the US and China was signed in Korea one week ago – the latest of many such ceasefires meant to be broken – skeptics have been patiently counting down until this latest ceasefire is torn up, and tensions between the two superpowers flare up once more.”
Needless to say, China telling Trump what the US president can and can not say is one of those things that the generally “sanguine and quite calm” US president tends to not be too excited about, and which leads to occasional bursts of outrage which then restart trade wars.
“Government statistics have not yet alerted us of this yet?”
Freightwaves CEO: "Well, we should be worried. The goods economy, certain portions of the goods economy are collapsing right now. So, year over year trucking volumes, this is really predominance of freight that moves across the United States, is down 17%". "But when you look at… pic.twitter.com/DuCIgJNjWS
“Hypersonic, if you can’t catch it… you can’t kill it!”
Russian Official Threatens to Send Hypersonic Missile to Venezuela: ‘Americans May Be in for Some Surprises’
Russia opened the door to sending hypersonic missiles to Venezuela with a defense official warning that Americans “may be in for some surprises.”
Alexei Zhuravlyov, Russia’s parliamentary defense committee’s deputy chairman, told Russian media that he sees “no obstacles” in providing Oreshnik or Kalibr missiles to Venezuela, a “friendly country” to Russia.
“I see no obstacles to supplying a friendly country with new developments such as the Oreshnik or, let’s say, the well-proven Kalibr missiles,” Zhuravlyov told Russian website Gazeta.Ru, according to The Telegraph.
“Please show me where in The Constitution there are presidential powers for this?”
Trump Set to Strike Venezuela Military Installations ‘at Any Moment’: Miami Herald
President Donald Trump has decided to strike multiple Venezuela military installations, according to a new report from the Miami Herald.
Sources familiar with the situation told the Herald that the strikes “could come at any moment.”
An attack would mark a major escalation in an already-tense situation, with the president already approving deadly strikes on boats from Venezuela that he and other officials claim are a direct threat to the U.S. as they are allegedly carrying drugs and bringing them into the country.
BillHolter.com 