Baltic Dry Index. 1895 -28 Brent Crude 68.86
Spot Gold 5062 Spot Silver 81.31
US 2 Year Yield 3.48 -0.02
US Federal Debt. 38.667 trillion US GDP 31.141 trillion.
“Finance is the art of passing
currency from hand to hand until it finally disappears
Robert Sarnoff
Is the Trump Department of War again using the cover of talks, as they did last June, for a surprise joint US Israeli attack on Iran, possibly as soon as the end of this week?
II don’t know either, but it certainly looks to me that the US War Department has another Venezuela or worse planned.
Time to fill up the car just in case.
U.S. urges ships to stay ‘as far as possible’ from
Iran’s waters in Strait of Hormuz after boarding attempts
Published Mon, Feb 9 2026 8:39 PM EST
U.S.-flagged ships have been advised to
stay “as far as possible” from Iranian waters when navigating the Strait of
Hormuz as tensions between Washington and Tehran remain elevated.
In a notice issued Monday, the U.S. Maritime Administration
said ship captains should decline permission for Iranian forces to board U.S.
vessels.
Boarding attempts, including moves to
force commercial vessels into Iranian waters through small boats and
helicopters, have occured as recently as Feb. 3, the agency under the
Department of Transportation said.
Should Iranian forces board a U.S.-flagged
commercial vessel, crews were advised not to “forcibly resist the boarding
party,” the notice said. It added that refraining from forcible resistance does
not imply consent or agreement to that boarding.
The advisory recommended that ships
transiting eastbound in the Strait of Hormuz stay close to the Omani side of
the waterway.
The guidance followed a round of indirect
talks between the U.S. and Iran held in Oman on Friday, centered on how to
approach discussions over Tehran’s nuclear program. The meeting marked the
first talks between the two countries since U.S. bombers struck three Iranian
nuclear sites during a 12-day war with Iran last June.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian
described the talks as “a step forward,” while signaling they would be the
opening stage of a longer diplomatic process rather than a path to a quick
resolution. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also told state media that the talks were a “good start.”
President Donald Trump said the Oman talks
were “very
good” and that more sessions were planned, even as he warned Iran that
failure to reach a deal would carry “very steep” consequences for Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
is set to meet
Trump in Washington on Wednesday to discuss the U.S.-Iran talks.
Israel, a close U.S. ally, has lobbied Washington to dismantle
Iran’s nuclear program, curb its ballistic missile program and end its
support for militant groups in the region.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway
connecting the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, has returned to the spotlight
this year after Trump warned of possible military action against Tehran.
About 13 million barrels per day of crude
oil transited the Strait of Hormuz in 2025, according to data
from market intelligence Kpler, accounting for nearly a third of global
seaborne crude flows.
Any disruption to those flows would ripple
through global energy markets. Iran has in the past threatened
to close the Strait during past confrontations, raising the prospect
of higher oil prices.
U.S.
urges ships to stay 'as far as possible' from Iran's waters in Strait of Hormuz
At Least 112 USAF C-17 Aircraft Headed To Middle
East: 'Desert Storm Levels'
by Tyler Durden Sunday, Feb 08, 2026 - 05:15 PM
An eye-opening and massive number
of C-17 Globemaster military transport and cargo planes have been observed
heading to Europe and the Middle East, in what some monitors have forewarned
looks like the build-up to major war in Iran.
One regional watcher and pundit commented in
response: "112 C-17s are in or on their way to the Middle East. Guys,
that’s a lot. Like Desert Storm a lot. Stay tuned."
This as on Friday the prominent open
source account Armchair Admiral and
others used public flight tracking data to tally that the huge armada of US Air
Force C-17s and counting are en route - a trend since mid-January.
"A total of 112 U.S. Air Force
C-17's have now either arrived or are en route to the Middle East with a
further 17-18 in-progress flights, a number of Royal Air Force logistics
flights from RAF Marham to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, and movement on U.S. Air
Force CORONETs," the source said.
C-17s are massive, and can deliver huge
amounts of equipment or large numbers of troops in a single go. The US military
lists some of the following key capabilities:
- Payload
capacity of over 170,000 pounds
- Ability
to operate on short, austere runways as small as 3,500 feet
- Intercontinental
range, with in-flight refueling extending reach even further
- Rapid
load/unload design to keep missions moving under pressure
More
At
Least 112 USAF C-17 Aircraft Headed To Middle East: 'Desert Storm Levels'
| ZeroHedge
Trump and Netanyahu to meet for Iran discussions
8 February 2026
The US president and Israel's prime
minister will meet on Wednesday in Washington to discuss negotiations with
Iran, according to Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
On Friday, Iranian and US officials met in Muscat, Oman, to hold
indirect nuclear talks.
The talks came amid a continued American
naval build-up near Iran, which Donald Trump has described as an
"armada".
The US president has repeatedly threatened
to take military action since the Iranian regime launched a bloody crackdown
against protesters who took to the streets of cities across the country last
month.
Both sides said more talks are expected to
be held soon.
More
Trump
and Netanyahu to meet for Iran discussions
In ordinary news.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 nears record 58,000 level as
Asian stock markets mostly rise
Published Mon, Feb 9 2026 6:55 PM EST
Japan’s Nikkei 225 continued its
post-election rally and reached new highs on Tuesday, amid gains in the broader
Asian markets.
The Japanese market continues to ride the
“Takaichi
trade” in the wake of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s landslide victory in
the Lower House.
The Nikkei 225 rose 2.77%, within striking
distance of the 58,000 mark, while the Topix was up 2.07%, also pushing record
highs.
Shares of Softbank Group Corp spiked
as much as 11.95% on Tuesday after its subsidiary company upgraded its full-year forecasts for its financial
year ending March 31. This follows a 6.3% gain on Monday.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.24%, paring
some gains, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell into negative territory and was
1.16% lower.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.63%,
and mainland China’s CSI 300 was unchanged.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.16%,
extending gains to a third day.
Overnight in the U.S., tech stocks powered
the S&P 500 to
back-to-back gains, with the broad-based index rising 0.47%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was
marginally up to a record high of 50,135.87, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped
0.9%.
Japan's
Nikkei 225 nears record 58,000 level as Asian stock markets mostly rise
Gold and silver price swings are powering algo
traders and machine-learning funds
Published Mon, Feb 9 2026 1:04 AM EST
As gold and silver prices continue to
seesaw, one corner of the hedge-fund industry is mining an opportunity from the
huge swings in precious metals.
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs), also
known as trend-following or managed futures funds, are computer-driven
investment strategies that trade investment trends across different futures
markets, including equities, bonds, currencies, and commodities.
Such strategies use a complex mix of
statistical models, machine-learning algorithms, factors and other quantitative
signals to identify — and bet on — upward and downward moves in markets,
removing human emotion and biases from the investment process.
These systematic models pounced on the
upward price momentum in precious metals in recent months, helping
trend-following quant funds to recoup losses sustained in last year’s
‘Liberation Day’ turmoil.
And despite the sharp reversal in both
gold and silver, performance for the sector has held up.
Societe Generale’s SG CTA Index, the main
performance benchmark for the CTA sector, rose 5% in January. Meanwhile, the SG
Trend Index, a daily performance tracker of the 10 biggest trend-following
hedge funds, had advanced 6.9% by Jan. 29. That made January one of the best
months for the index since 2000.
Both benchmarks remain up more than 4%
year-to-date as of Feb. 4 — suggesting trend-following quant managers are
successfully navigating wild swings in gold and silver.
‘Nimble and flexible’
So how are they doing it?
“CTAs are nimble and flexible,” said
Andrew Beer, managing member at Dynamic Beta Investments. “The sharp reversal
in gold and silver last week will cause many to derisk, but most will still bet
on further moves upward,” Beer said. “CTAs were early, contrarian and right
about gold and precious metals. Last Friday’s reversal was merely giving back
some profits.”
Industry insiders explained how the
assortment of signals and models underpinning the algorithms are helping the
sector navigate precious metals’ wild ride. While short-term trading models —
which have smaller trading windows and chase shorter-lived trends — are
designed to enter and exit trades earlier, medium- and longer-term models are
often more responsive to larger, more meaningful moves — such as the falling
yen, the rise in gold, and the rotation into non-U.S. equities. That helps them
avoid sharper hits from sell-offs and boost returns.
Jon Caplis, founder and CEO of hedge fund
industry data provider PivotalPath, said medium-term trend followers, which
dominate its Managed Futures Index, have generated consistent performance
across several drivers, including long bets on precious metals.
“While gold and silver ended the month
with a significant selloff, gold still finished the month up 9.3% while silver
was up 11.2%,” Caplis told CNBC in an email. “In fact, most strategies have
been reducing precious metals positions since September as volatility continued
to increase, so benefited significantly on the way up while mitigating some of
the losses during the sudden reversals.”
More
Gold and silver
moves are powering machine-learning trading strategies
In other news.
Yen near 160, a record Nikkei 225, higher yields:
What experts expect after Sanae Takaichi’s landslide victory
Published Mon, Feb 9 2026 2:15 AM EST
A yen nearing 160 to the dollar, record
Japanese equities and higher Japanese government bond yields could be on the
table after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi romped to a landslide victory in the
country’s snap election Sunday.
Takaichi led the ruling Liberal Democratic
Party to a supermajority in the Lower House, securing 316 seats
in the
party’s largest election victory since World War Two.
The result gives her the power to override
any legislative veto from the Upper House, strengthening her ability to push
her agenda through Japan’s legislature.
‘Takaichi Trade’ returns
Analysts said that her victory will lead
to a revival of the so-called “Takaichi trade,” which typically involves a
weaker yen, rising equities, and higher long-dated Japanese government bond
yields. The trend reflects Takaichi’s dovish stance on monetary policy and
expectations of expanded fiscal stimulus.
Some early signs of these emerged Monday.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 soared past
the 57,000 mark to a record
high, while the broader Topix rose to an all-time peak of 3,825.67, exceeding
Citi analysts’ pre-election expectations.
“The strong LDP win is warming the hearts
of investors,” said Frederic Neumann, Chief Asia Economist at HSBC. “Equities,
in particular, are celebrating the surprising election result, re-loading the
‘Takaichi-trade.’”
“The hope is that the strong majority will give the LDP more leeway in pursuing
growth-friendly policies,” Neumann added.
This is echoed by Adrian Wong, global
market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, who said the victory would
lead to proactive fiscal measures, such as the two-year consumption tax cut, to
increased corporate investment and aggressive corporate reforms.
More
Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession
Watch.
Given
our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians,
inflation now needs an entire section of its own.
U.S. Treasury yields move higher as investors await busy week of
economic data
Published Mon, Feb 9 2026 3:29 AM EST
U.S. Treasury yields were up to begin the week as
investors looked ahead to a flurry of economic data, including the delayed
January jobs report.
At 2:48 a.m. ET, the 10-year Treasury yield
was up over 2 basis points to 4.231%, and the 30-year Treasury yield
was 1 basis point higher at 4.874%. The 2-year Treasury note
yield rose more than 1 basis point to 3.514%.
One basis point is equal to 0.01%, and yields and
prices move in opposite directions.
Investors are expecting a flurry of economic data
this week, much of which was delayed due to the partial U.S. government
shutdown. This includes the delayed
nonfarm payrolls report for January, which was initially
scheduled for last Friday, but which the Bureau of Labor Statistics will now
release on Wednesday morning.
The report is forecasted to show a gain of 60,000
jobs for the month, after a 50,000 increase in December, per economists
surveyed by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate is projected to hold steady at
4.4%.
The January consumer price index reading, also
delayed by the shutdown, is due out on Friday morning.
In addition to these reports, investors will await
retail sales for December on Tuesday and weekly initial jobless claims on
Thursday.
U.S. Treasury yields: investors
await busy week of economic data
Technology
Update.
With events happening fast in the
development of solar power and graphene, among other things, I’ve added this
section Updates as they get reported.
Another day, another battery fire.
Fire department urges caution after lithium ion battery starts
fire at London school
Sat, 7 February 2026 at 12:42 am GMT
The London Fire Department is warning
the public of the dangers of lithium ion batteries after a student's backpack
caught fire at Northridge Public School.
Fire crews responded to a call at the
northeast London elementary school around midday on Feb. 2, and arrived to find
there had been a fire on the second floor.
The cause had been a damaged portable
phone charger, which a student had placed unattended in a backpack, according
to Platoon Chief Jamie Britton.
"We're trying to put that safety
message out there that if you do have a lithium battery, to not charge them in
a backpack or leave them charging unattended," Britton said. "We do
have instances of this quite often."
Britton said the battery caused a
two-foot flame to come off the student's backpack, and the school's vice
principal was able to put it out with a fire extinguisher before firefighters
arrived.
No one was injured, but students were
evacuated until crews confirmed the fire was out and the smoke was contained to
the second floor of the building, he said.
"It's a good thing it was quickly
noticed by the teacher, and it was a very quick evacuation by the staff and
students."
Battery fires difficult to extinguish, says fire department
Lithium ion batteries have become
commonplace in households. They're found in many rechargeable items, including
phones, laptops, tablets, and portable chargers. They're also used in e-bikes
and electric vehicles.
They become dangerous when they get
damaged, overcharged or overheated and go into "thermal runaway,"
Britton said, a self-sustaining chain reaction in which the heat generated by
the battery exceeds dissipation, leading to a fire that is difficult to
extinguish.
Lithium ion batteries were blamed for an
aggressive fire in December at a hobby shop in Norfolk County that was housing
e-bikes and other battery-powered equipment. Twenty-five firefighters from four
different stations were called to the scene to fight the blaze.
"It's just the simple fact that
they do generate so much heat," Britton said. "It's just one of those
things that we're going to have to keep a very close eye on while they're being
charged."
If a battery has been impacted by a fall
or through overcharging, Britton recommends not keeping it inside the home,
putting it in a backback or leaving it anywhere unattended.
Even with a properly functioning
battery, take care not to leave it charging on soft surfaces, such as a bed,
couch or any other flammable surface, he added.
When getting rid of old or damaged
batteries, refrain from putting them in the garbage, and instead dispose of
them at one of London's four EnviroDepots,
or community drop-off containers.
Fire department urges caution after lithium ion battery starts fire at
London school - Yahoo News UK
Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt Clocks
(usdebtclock.org)
“It is not true that Congress spends money like a drunken
sailor. Drunken sailors spend their own money. Congress spends our money.”
Dr. Art Laffer
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