Baltic Dry Index. 777 +12
LIR Gold Target in 2019: $30,000. Revised due to QE programs.
"I
just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about
peace."
George
W Bush --Washington, D.C. June 18, 2002
Today, the start of blowback in the new trade war
to somehow bailout America’s botched illegal coup in Kiev, that by now should
have deposed Putin in Russian an Lukashenko in Belarus, allowing the west to
slice and dice up most of EurAsia for its mineral wealth, isolate China, before
eventually slicing and dicing up the non Han parts of China.
As Continental Europe struggles with youth
unemployment of over 50% in many places, stagnant economies, and looks all too much
like it’s relapsing back into recession, into this vast American War Party insane
overreach, the first casualties look to be continental European milk and cheese
producers, apple and pear producers, fruit and vegetable producers, luxury car
makers, construction equipment manufacturers, plus American ranchers and toxic
chicken suppliers to Russia.
And Russia hasn’t really started retaliating yet.
Just wait until the west commercial planes get charged double Asia’s fees to
overfly Russia to reach Asian destinations. Just wait until Russian tourists
drop the EU as a winter vacation destination. Just wait until Azeri oil can’t
reach Ceyhan Turkey for onward delivery. If things are this chilly in August,
just wait until we hit November, December, January and February.
Below, the insane march towards World War Three.
"You
know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on
terror."
George
W Bush --interview with CBS News' Katie Couric, Sept. 6, 2006
Lagging France is 'threat to eurozone'
France could push the eurozone to "breaking point" if politicians do not follow through on reforms, says Centre for Economics and Business Research
France's glacial pace of reform
could push the eurozone to "breaking point" if another crisis hits
the 18-nation bloc, a leading think tank has warned.
The Centre for Economics and
Business Research (CEBR) said that although the rest of the eurozone –
including peripheral economies of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain –
was heading towards a tentative recovery, France's big budget deficit,
stubbornly high unemployment and chronic competitiveness problem meant Europe's
second-largest economy was at risk of being plunged into another crisis, with
grave consequences for the rest of the currency area.
"The risk that the French
economy will lag behind its neighbours in enacting reforms is not a trivial
one," said Danae Kyriakopoulou, an economist at the CEBR, and co-author of
the new report. "Though the troubles of the region's periphery have so far
proved manageable, a crisis in [France] could have dramatic consequences for
the viability of the currency union and push the eurozone to breaking point."
French president François
Hollande has introduced a sweeping package of supply side reforms aimed at
boosting productivity and reviving growth. Earlier this year, he announced a
multi-billion euro package of spending cuts he said would pave the way for a
reduction in business taxes.
However, his popularity has
plummeted since his election two years ago amid record joblessness, with 3.4m
people now unemployed. Meanwhile, the budget deficit, at 4.3pc of gross
domestic product, remains well above the European Union limit of 3pc.
More
Aberdeen chief warns on Ukraine crisis risks
Martin Gilbert, boss of Aberdeen Asset Management, says that investors have overlooked geopolitical risks
Escalating international tensions
around Russian involvement in the Ukraine crisis have the potential to wreak
much more damage to global stock markets, one of Britain’s top fund management
executives has claimed.
Martin Gilbert, co-founder and
chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management, said in an
interview with The Daily Telegraph that he finds the comparative
indifference of stock markets to the crisis unsettling.
“The thing that does worry me is
that everyone is too relaxed and shrugs off global events like what’s happening
in the Ukraine as if they hadn’t happened,” he said.
“When the Malaysia Airlines MH17
plane went down, I was sitting there thinking: ‘Jesus, this is how world wars
start’.
“I’m pretty sure it was
unintended but the unintended consequences of this unintended act could have
been fairly dramatic and yet all that really happened in stock markets was that
the price of gold went up. We didn’t see equity markets collapsing.
More
Finland's Valio to Put 800 Staff on Unpaid Leave due to Russia's Import Ban - Reports
MOSCOW, August 8 (RIA Novosti) - Finland's leading dairy company Valio may put 800 of its staff on unpaid leave as part of the reorganization plan after Russia imposed an import ban on the food products from Europe, the Yle television reported Friday.The talks on the reorganization mainly touch upon four Valio plants out of 15. The four plants employ about 800 people, some of whom will be put on unpaid leave for an unspecified period, while others may not get their contracts extended. The company does not, however, plan any layoffs.
"Everything is caused by the situation with Russia. The talks were not a complete surprise, something of this sort was expected," a representative of the Valio Haapavesi plant said.
Russia’s move to ban agricultural imports from countries that have imposed sanctions against Moscow could cost the Finnish dairy industry 400 million euros ($534.1million), the Yle radio station reported earlier.
About 25 percent of Finnish food exports reach Russia, Finnish Food and Drink Industries' Federation (ETL) Director Heikki Juutinen said as quoted by Yle. Processed foods make most of the exports, two-thirds are dairy products such as butter, cheese and yogurt.
More
Italy counts cost of sanctions as Russia spurns pears, Grana Padano
Rome — Reuters Published Friday, Aug. 08 2014,
3:01 PM EDT
Last updated Friday, Aug. 08 2014, 5:15 PM EDT
Russia has sent entire shipments
of Grana Padano cheese back to Italy and cancelled exports of pears from Modena
under a food import ban which could cost Italy at least €200-million
($270-million U.S.), an agriculture group said on Friday.
Russia’s ban on imports of
specific foods from countries that have imposed sanctions over the Ukraine
crisis puts at risk exports which were worth about €228-million in 2013, the
Coldiretti group said.
“We are facing a worrying
escalation of the conflict, with a trade war that confirms that food is
strategic above all in times of recession,” Coldiretti president Roberto
Moncalvo said in a statement.
On Thursday, Moscow announced a
one-year proscription on imports of meat, fish, dairy, fruit and vegetables
from the United States, European Union, Canada, Australia and Norway.
Italy, home of Parmesan cheese
and Prosecco wine, is proud of its rich culture of cooking, eating and
drinking. Coldiretti says food and drink exports made €34-billion in 2013, as
the wider Italian economy struggled to emerge from a recession to which it
returned in the second quarter of this year.
Italian exports of food and drink
to Russia were worth a record €706-million in 2013, Coldiretti said, and rose a
further one per cent in the first four months of 2014 despite conflict in the
ex-Soviet region.
----In 2013, Russia
bought Italian fruit and vegetables worth €72-million, meat worth €61-million,
dairy products worth €72-million and pasta worth €50-million, Coldiretti said,
adding that the possibility of surplus foreign food arriving in Italy could
translate into further losses for producers.
France asks EU for help with fallout from Russia food ban
Saturday, 09 August 2014 00:25
PARIS: France has asked the
European Commission to take "appropriate" measures to deal with the
fallout from a Russian ban on food imports from Europe, the French presidency
announced on Friday.
The request came as President
Francois Hollande met with French food producers concerned about the impact of
the ban.
Noting the "importance of
European and French food exports to Russia," a statement from the French
presidency said talks were underway with the European Commission so that the
"consequences of the embargo are accurately assessed and measures
appropriate to the situation are taken."
"Special attention will be
paid to producers of fruits and vegetables, and farmers who are already facing
difficulties in the market," the statement said.
It added that an approach to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) should also be considered.
More
Brazil poultry exporters ready to replace US on Russian market
August 07, 8:14 UTC+4
The Brazilian capacities allow supplying additional 150,000 tonnes of chicken to Russia to fully make up for the U.S. quota
The Brazilian capacities allow supplying additional 150,000 tonnes of chicken to Russia to fully make up for the U.S. quota
RIO
DE JANERO, August 7 (Itar-Tass) - Brazil poultry farms quite easily can meet
the demand for chicken on the Russian market in connection with the Russian
decision to halt agriculture imports from some countries, Brazilian Animal
Protein Association President Francisco Turra said on Wednesday.
The Brazilian capacities allow
supplying additional 150,000 tonnes of chicken to Russia to fully make up for
the U.S. quota. The 150,000 tonnes may be Brazilian, Turra said.
Brazil supplied 60,000 tonnes of
chicken to Russia last year, and the South American country have exported a
total of more than 300,000 tonnes to Russia, the association president said.
Recently, the Russian veterinary
control service permitted 20 chicken suppliers in Brazil to enter the Russian
market, he added.
By increasing supplies to Russia,
Brazil already this year may reach the level of four million tonnes, a record
for it, the vice-president and the head of the poultry sector of the
association, Ricardo Santin, said.
More
Europe Dreads America's Chlorinated Chickens
Caroline WinterAugust 08, 2014
Europeans
have long been suspicious of U.S. poultry. American birds, they complain, are
bathed in a chlorine solution before they’re brought to market. That’s why EU
leaders are currently fighting to uphold
a ban
on imports of what is popularly referred to as “Chicken
in Chlorine Sauce.”
“There will be no imports of chlorinated chicken from the U.S.,” Angela Merkel insisted during the European elections earlier this year. “I have prevented those imports for years, and I will continue to prevent them. No question.”
This isn’t some kind of snobbish disdain for all-American poultry. Chlorinated chicken is real. Many American farmers treat plucked, eviscerated birds with chemicals, including chlorine, to “help meet targeted salmonella and campylobacter reductions,” according to the Department of Agriculture. In Europe, meanwhile, chicken producers tend to decontaminate birds using only cold air.
“Here in Europe we say chlorine is very bad for people, so let’s forbid it,” says Frans Fransen, owner of IFT Poultry, a poultry industry consultancy based in Belgium. He adds: “Chlorine removes the superficial bacteria, not what’s hidden in the meat.” That’s why all chicken, even chemically treated chicken, must be thoroughly cooked.
The fear of chlorinated chicken from the U.S. is particularly widespread in Germany. “The phrase Chlorhuehnchen, or chlorine chicken, has entered the parlance of everyone from taxi drivers to housewives since [global] trade negotiations began a year ago,” Reuters found. “An Internet search for the term generates thousands of results, bringing up cartoons of animals dumped in vats of chemicals and stabbed with needles.”
Europe’s concerns aren’t totally unfounded. Last year Washington Post reporter Kimberly Kindy published a disturbing look at the possible human toll of heavy chemical use at U.S. poultry factories:
“In interviews, more than two
dozen USDA inspectors and poultry industry employees described a range of
ailments they attributed to chemical exposure, including asthma and other
severe respiratory problems, burns, rashes, irritated eyes, and sinus ulcers
and other sinus problems.”
It has also been argued that
chemical cleansing encourages faster, sloppier practices on the slaughter line.
Citing government sources and documents, Kindy writes: “To keep speeds up, the
new regulations ‘would allow visibly contaminated poultry carcasses to remain
online for treatment’—rather than being discarded or removed for off-line
cleaning, as is now common practice,” she writes. “The proposed rules say ‘all
carcasses’ on the line would be treated with antimicrobial chemicals ‘whether
they are contaminated or not.’”
----Poultry is
America’s sixth-most-important agricultural export, with shipments worth more
than $4.7 billion sent to nearly 100 countries last year, according to the National Chicken
Council.
That makes the U.S. the world’s second-biggest chicken exporter, behind Brazil.
More
Poland plans new canal to by-pass Russia
Poland plans a new canal to link Vistula Lagoon with the Baltic Sea
By Matthew Day 3:41PM BST 10 Aug
2014
Poland plans to construct a new
canal to bypass a stretch of coastline controlled by Russia, as the country
tries to rid itself of dependence on its neighbour.
Costing an estimated £167
million, the planned canal will link the Vistula Lagoon in the north east of
Poland with the Baltic Sea. Currently, all sea traffic from the lagoon and the
flourishing port of Elblag has to travel through Russian waters to get to the
Baltic. The canal will cut through a narrow strip of land separating the lagoon
from the sea.
The approval of its construction
marks an about-turn for Poland's centre-right government led by Donald Tusk,
the prime minister. A year ago he rejected plans for the canal, but the war in
eastern Ukraine and Russia's apparent willingness to meddle in the affairs of
its neighbours appear to have changed the government's mind.
----Poland has a
five-year deal with Russia on navigation rights from the lagoon to the sea that
expires this year, and there are fears Moscow may not extend the agreement.
Warsaw has been one of the Kremlin's harshest critics during the Ukraine crisis
and has led calls for the EU to take a hard line with Moscow.
More
Elsewhere, China’s real estate boom starts to look
like USA 2007.
"Do
you have blacks, too?"
George
W Bush --to Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso, Washington, D.C., Nov. 8,
2001
Property Defaults Seen as Financing Stresses Mount: China Credit
Aug 11, 2014 2:47 AM GMT
China’s slumping property
market is fueling speculation the industry is set for a shakeout as small
developers face difficulty raising funds to pay off debt. Yield premiums on Chinese real-estate bonds denominated in dollars have jumped 35 basis points this month to 582 basis points over Treasuries, the sharpest increase among emerging Asian countries, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes. That compares with a 19 basis-point advance for Indonesian builders. Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s said some smaller Chinese developers may default in the second half amid falling sales and shrinking access to credit.
China’s
real-estate industry poses the biggest near-term risk to growth in the world’s
second-largest economy after new home prices dropped in the most cities in two
years in June, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. While government steps to
ease property curbs helped builder bonds rally in July, they’re giving up those
gains ahead of housing-price data due next week.
More
"I
would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound largemouth bass
in my lake."
George
W Bush --on his best moment in office, interview with the German newspaper Bild
am Sonntag, May 7, 2006
At the Comex silver depositories Friday final figures were: Registered 59.83 Moz,
Eligible 115.49 Moz, Total 175.32 Moz.
Crooks and Scoundrels Corner
The bent, the seriously bent, and the totally
doubled over.
Today, more on our new lawless age. The world now
waits to see if the USA will prosecute anyone for using illegal Nazi style
World War Two torture.
“The Germans [your nation here] outside
looked from America to Russia, and from Russia to America, and from America to Russia
again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”
With apologies to George Orwell and
Animal Farm.
CIA waterboarding is torture: International Red Cross
The International Committee of
the Red Cross has broken its silence on the use of waterboarding employed by
the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on terror suspects, calling it torture
and violation of the Geneva Conventions.
It was the first time that the
Red Cross, based in Geneva, Switzerland, has publicly declared that a specific
interrogation technique constitutes torture.
"The definition of torture
is any technique that causes severe pain or suffering, whether physical or
mental, inflicted for a purpose, such as obtaining information or a confession,
exerting pressure, intimidation or humiliation," Anna Nelson, the Red
Cross spokeswoman in Washington, said on Friday.
"Waterboarding fits into
this category and therefore qualifies as torture" under US and
international law, she added.
Nelson said the recent public
defense of waterboarding in the US prompted the Red Cross, which historically
hasn't commented publicly on specific detention practices, to break its
traditional silence.
"Given that this debate has
been going on for years and continues to come up, we do not want our silence to
be misconstrued as tacitly condoning this technique as permissible," she
said.
Many human rights activists and
legal scholars have long maintained that waterboarding and other cruel
techniques inflicted on detainees during the George W. Bush administration were
torture, which is prohibited by US federal law.
"There is no way any
competent and knowledgeable attorney can say that waterboarding is legal under
the Geneva Conventions, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, or the Convention
Against Torture," said retired Major General Thomas Romig, a former US
Army judge advocate general.
The new condemnation over the
CIA’s cruel techniques comes amid renewed US debate over the spy agency’s
practices after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which included waterboarding
several detainees at so-called secret black sites overseas. The CIA and US
lawmakers have been fighting over publication of parts of an extensive Senate
Intelligence Committee report that is critical of the spy agency's conduct.
Last Friday, President Barack
Obama said at a news conference the coming CIA report would show some terrorism
suspects suffered techniques "any fair-minded person would believe were
torture."
"I
wish you'd have given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan
for it...I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this
press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with answer, but
it hadn't yet...I don't want to sound like I have made no mistakes. I'm
confident I have. I just haven't -- you just put me under the spot here, and
maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one."
George
W Bush --after being asked to name the biggest mistake he had made, Washington,
D.C., April 3, 2004
The monthly Coppock Indicators finished July.
DJIA: +157 Down. NASDAQ: +318 Down. SP500: +232 Down. The Fed’s final bubble has taken on a
very scary wobble, but this is nothing compared to the return of real interest
rates at some point ahead.
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