We will present an exceptionally short column this morning because there are only a couple of stories worth focusing on. We’ve abandon the northeast liberal media’s promising “any day, now” for something of consequence in their Trumpquisition.
Nuclear war is a potential flashpoint now that Israel has definitive evidence that Iran Lied about their secret nuclear weapons development program.
If we didn’t have a corrupt, do-nothing congress, you’d be able to assume that ALL the Obama error intel types would be grilled about how stupidly wrong they got it. But, sadly, we do have a mostly do-nothing pile of slime on the Hill. Damn shame. Why not send Obama/Clinton the bill for sending all that money to Tehran? That helped fund their project. Is “dumb shits” too coarse? What were they thinking? How much nuclear materiel can you fund with $1.7-billion? Jeez…Turn Mueller loose on ’em…give him something real to do.
(Continues below)
And, speaking of the Hookers and Fishing expedition: House Republicans Close to President Trump Draft Articles of Impeachment Against Rod Rosenstein. Can you say glacial speed?
Fake news spoiler: ‘Total BS.’ John Kelly Responds to Reports He Called Trump an Idiot.
Sec State Pompeo’s Iran Statement
From the foggy bottom press release depot:
“For many years, the Iranian regime has insisted to the world that its nuclear program was peaceful. The documents obtained by Israel from inside of Iran show beyond any doubt that the Iranian regime was not telling the truth. I have personally reviewed many of the Iranian files. Our nonproliferation and intelligence officials have been analyzing tens of thousands of pages and translating them from Farsi. This analytical work will continue for many months. We assess that the documents we have reviewed are authentic.
The documents show that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons program for years. Iran sought to develop nuclear weapons and missile delivery systems. Iran hid a vast atomic archive from the world and from the IAEA — until today.
Among the flaws of the Iran nuclear deal was the whitewashing of Iran’s illicit activities related to its military nuclear program. Iran had many opportunities over the years to turn over its files to international inspectors from the IAEA and admit its nuclear weapons work. Instead, they lied to the IAEA repeatedly. They also lied about their program to the six nations who negotiated the Iran nuclear deal. What this means is the deal was not constructed on a foundation of good faith or transparency. It was built on Iran’s lies. Iran’s nuclear deception is inconsistent with Iran’s pledge in the nuclear deal “that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop, or acquire any nuclear weapons.”
Weasel wording, but Iran may have just screwed the pooch on this: Look for the Iran deal to be nixed and with Bibby no able to launch an attack on Iran on any serious threat. Pack welding goggles if you work in in the “missile east.”
Big Buck
The other big story of the day is equally simple: With the prospect of war on Iran to take out their nukes – because they not only threaten Israel, but also Europe, global investors are loading up on the “flight to safety currency” – the US dollar.
Here’s how markets work:
Stocks are prices in dollars.
If the dollar is seen as buying more (*purchasing power going up) it will take fewer dollars to buy stocks. It looks like stock prices are going down, but in Reality, they are roughly the same value all the time, except when earnings expectations change.
Were stock prices going up (in this constant value explanation) it would mean the dollar was becoming worth less (but not yet worthless).
Stocks go up, means dollar purchasing power is going down.
Stocks go down, purchasing power of the Buck going up.
Stocks aren’t the only things impacted.
Why is gold down another $10 bucks? Dollar’s going up. Pay attention!
Why is silver going down? Dollar’s going up. (You getting this, yet?)
Why is oil going down? Dollar’s going up. (Shall I go on?)
Why is palladium going down? Dollar’s going up.
OK, I have lots of examples, but if you read Urban, you’re not that stupid. (Wait!…Hmmm….)
Dollar goes positive for year before Fed meeting means stocks are going which way, again?
Markets
Much of Europe is closed for May Day/ Labour Day, see Coping section for details.
Fed meeting begins today, look for the decision on rates at 2 PM tomorrow afternoon.
Futures? About even…but more in Peoplenomics tomorrow.
We’ll also get to the core of Apple’s earnings as Investors look to Apple’s cash, services as iPhone sales seen stalling.
Useful News
A severe weather outbreak alert from the Gulf Coast to the Upper Midwest as spring arrives belatedly.
DOJ charges 11 possible caravan members with illegally entering the US …just 11?
Inventions
Noise cancelling device by NTU scientists halves noise pollution through open windows.
We have a different answer. Our team of crack engineers says “Just close the window!” Now, give them the pipe and the lighter back.
Confusing Headlines
We’re offering remedial biology training to the BBC for this one:
The people fighting pollution with plastic-free periods.
Huh?
One other item for this morning’s biology class: Brown widow male spiders prefer sex with older females likely to eat them afterwards.
PG-13? Here?
More? If you insist…..
We’ve told you for a long time that high levels of night time lighting has been associated with certain cancers. Now there’s more on the danger of not-quite dark sleeping: Effects of night-time light on internal body clock.
Back to work now…see you Thursday…
With respect, it seems to me that Israel (Netanyahu specifically) has been claiming Iran was years, months weeks away from getting the bomb since 1990. Back in 2005 didn’t the Israelis come up with a stolen Iranian laptop containing all kinds of nuclear plans (proven fake)? Again, with respect, I would take anything the Israelis claim with a few grains of salt. I would certainly let THEM act on any beliefs they have rather than let them force us into a shooting war. They have 200+ nukes of their own ready for use to defend themselves. If they feel so strongly I think they should take the lead in starting a war rather than playing us into doing it.
Just saying…
Well said, and no, I don’t think we should go in shooting.
We SHOULD get the money back, though. And a real inquisition for the perps of that…not a pass because of Obama… Mueller-like…know what I’m saying?
Speaking of getting the money back, what of the trillions that have disappeared down the federal government black hole as documented by Catherine Austin Fitts and others?
This needs to be publicized to those who only read the NY Times and Daily Noise. The theft of our treasure is unconscionable and treason of the highest order.
I’d love to see bulldozer Muller do something worthwhile to earn his keep. Meanwhile, I’ll take everything under advisement and trust nobody in DC or any other seat of power.
Get the money back? What the heck? What lemmings we have all become! The United States didn’t “gift” Iran any money. What??? The agreement called for the United States (and others) to unfreeze all of the Iranian assets it had wrongfully frozen (stolen)in a blatant attempt to force the sovereign country to comply (or else). Come on now! This should be a conversation about ethics, truth, and the Constitution…not $$$$$$$. Trump (and Netanyahu) are merely using the “bad deal” (money) as sleight of hand (relying upon Americans’ tendency to be self-referential and greedy). Aren’t we smarter than that? http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/49337.htm
Y0ou are swallowing the kool aid – shah money for weapons. Radicals take over and 0our home-grown radical organizer wants to repurpose the money to them… and what have they done with it? Read the Mossad intel.
I read somewhere that Israel stated that they will attack Iran directly if attacked through Syria or by Hezbollah (Iranian proxies). That would surely kick start WWIII.
Although everyone in the region gives Israel a large birth to do as it sees fit.
Probably because of the US and EU backing them.
Pass me the popcorn. Lol
I would think that if Israel does go after Iran that the whole region while become unstable and Pakistan and India may go at it again. Just a hunch.
Israel has one of the biggest undeclared nuclear arsenals in the world, with most of its “secrets” stolen from the United States. Israel has reportedly threatened to use nukes on Europe (Samson Option). 200 of its nuclear missiles are reportedly pointed at Iran as the Greater Israel project nears completion. Iran is standing in its way. Are we to completely believe Israel, the very same country that blew the U.S.S. Liberty into smithereens, then blamed the act on Egypt?
Do we believe presidents and advisers simply because they carry a Republican label?
https://www.veteranstoday.com/2018/04/30/iran-went-the-extra-mile-to-adhere-to-the-jcpoa-nuclear-deal-now-it-fears-that-was-a-mistake/
As this evidence from israel is presented,it strikes me as very very close to the 2003 disclosures. We do like the Acme bomb with fuse and all, thanks to wile e coyote, and thanks to Russia for mediating the goings on. In the meantime the Palestinians have other concerns.
I know the deficit is all Obama”s fault according to you Texas Republicans, but didn’t Slick Willy leave office with a surplus? And then the Texans took over. And still no weapons of mass destruction.
One of Clintons former advisors, George Stephanopolus (sp?)admitted in his book that their claims of “surplus” ignored SS and Medi-whatever.
And technically, the deficit is Congress’s fault as they control spending.
Once again Neti Yahow has what presented at just the right time evidence that the Iranians are just like the Israelis, United States, Briton, France shall I go on.
Wake up folks the US is still making Bio weapons against the dictates of multiple treaties.
This is SOS different day.
This may be wishful thinking or may actually happen. After Apple reports strong earning & maybe a buyback, the tech sector will take off on Wednesday.
I CLOSED MY SHORT POSTION THIS AM…great minds, eh?
I suspect earnings will disappoint and based on stories this week they are talking about a $300mm to $400mm package of a special dividend and more stock buybacks – basically if the do they are now bribing you to stay in the stock……. supposedly phone sale suck.
I should say I-phone sales will disappoint which is all AAPL really is – yes better earnings/repatriation/lower Tax rate/buybacks – they are a toy manufacturer and the supply chain has disappointed that is connected to the I-phone.
I am willing to take the bribe. I-Phoney is their biggest, but cult following is intact & they are on the forefront of the next generation of tech toys.
should have said Billions not millions on dividend and buyback….
Apple Stock is up. My iPhone X is safe. They aren’t going anywhere…In fact all TAN (Tesla, Apple, Nvidia) and FANG stocks are up.
Their cult following is losing some luster…. had three of them, lost the latest one for three weeks and temporarily replace it with a Samsung, because I found it and needed to save all the info off it to the cloud and not apples cloud.
“Sadam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction and ties to Alqueda”. Is the American psyche that impaired that the same deception can be played out again? What about the impact of $200 oil. Who benefits? How would that affect American families and businesses. Are there not significant IAEA verification and monitoring programs going on in Iran right now?
https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/iran
IAEA statement on Iran May 1st. This may explain what was stolen from the Iranian archives.
https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/statement-on-iran-by-the-iaea-spokesperson
Um, no, there are not. Having to give a 3-weeks notice of intent to inspect, then get Iran’s permission to conduct said inspection, ain’t exactly “significant.”
Why is what Iran is doing in the interior of their country any of our business in the U.S.? And I thought Netteryayho was under indictment for corruption? Sounds to me like he’s “wagging the dog”.
I am not sure why George thinks that ‘Israeli Intelligence’ would be any more honest than the lies cooked up by the US intelligence. Sorry George, as in the invasion of Iraq, the real liars are right in Tel Aviv and Washington. Yes, they are trying to get another war started, and it looks like many intelligent Americans are falling for it. I will go easy on George because even my late Father believed the WMD that supposedly justified the Iraq invasion. And my father was a WWII combat veteran who was no stranger to war. We all make mistakes in judgement.
It smells too convenient to me too with the deadline for Trump to respond days away and Bibi under the microscope at home.
The, now over 700 Iraq war veterans who’ve undergone treatment for chemical weapons poisoning, believe it, too…
Agreed! Never a more dishonest and aggressive bunch than Israel’s leaders. I am very skeptical of this story as NetanYahoo is being threatened with prosecution.
The allegations against Bebe are without basis (notice how I escaped trying to spell his last name… ;-)
IMHO what Iran does is Iran’s business… Unless they bring their business to someone else, and then it is their business, not ours.
Iran has had a successful space program since 1996. A launch vehicle requires but a change in payload to become an ICBM. They can hit anybody in the world, right now; but they can’t cause any significant damage. Also IMO, when they CAN cause damage, it is STILL their business, until and unless they choose to make it someone else’s.
Iran has a population of 82mln people, roughly 79mln of whom would like to see their nation return to being a modern, secular Western style sociopolitical entity. Unfortunately for them, that 79mln are also the ones without the guns, and will be the first to suffer and die, should there be a war between Iran and anyone else, Israel and the U.S. included.
And what about Israel lying about THEIR nuclear weapons? https://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnns-cuomo-grills-netanyahu-on-whether-israel-has-nukes-do-you-have-them-or-not/
THEY’re kosher! (I couldn’t help it. ‘-))
I’m a peaceful person, though most people are not. Because if they were peaceful we’d have not this kind of interchange. Just bring it on, the world needs MAYOR cleansing, IMHO.
Israel officially is ‘nuclear ambiguous,’ neither confirming nor denying they have a functional nuclear arsenal. Since definitive evidence is lacking, they’ve avoided UN sanctions and intrusive inspections. Many have speculated that Israel may have an arsenal of approximately 100-150 small yield 10-20 kilotons) weapons which provide them with a ‘Trump’ card should surrounding Arab nations decide to invade the Jewish nation. But it could just be a very well executed bluff, a bluff enemies of Israel seem not willing to call. So, Israel survives, while her enemies, chiefly Iran, plot her demise.
Jimmy Kimmel show being moved to Iran in sympathy of Iran being harassed by President Trump & in hope of getting some of that $10 billion. Of course this is fantasy, but to shut him & others like him up, let them experience personal freedom in Iran for a couple of years. That may stop the Kimmelites from spending all their time trying to ruin a free country. In, Russia, Kimmel would be doing 20 years hard labor in Siberia.
Didn’t Kimmel co-host the Man Show with Adam Carola, a show designed to humiliate women? I think he forgot about those days, but he is more than happy to dig up old dirt on President Trump. There should be a special council that investigates Kimmel for a year, & we can see what they find.
I just want to see Kimmel redux his “grab my crotch and tell me what you feel” routine on ABC’s parent channel…
Far as I’m concerned, Nutinyahoo is lying, again. These wars were all planned before 9/11 (as revealed to us by General Wesley Clark https://youtu.be/9RC1Mepk_Sw), with 9/11 the perfect excuse to begin our never-ending wars on terror. If I were Iran, I would definitely have nukes. Look what happens when countries agree to give them up (Iraq, Libya, Syria). If we break the Iran deal (and wasn’t that their money we gave back?) I wonder how it will affect any deal with N. Korea. Seems the US cannot be trusted to keep its word either.
He is pure comedy. If Israel hadn’t bought & paid for almost every politician in the US & Europe they’d laugh him back under the rock he came from. His 9/11 & his Iran bomb speech to the UN are gold. A gold old war should help him avoid impeachment. Very surprised at what I’m seeing from savvy George, does he really believe Bibi? I wonder if Bibi still believe that there are WMDs in Iraq & if Iraq will soon become a much better place sans-Sadaam, just like he claimed. What a clown.
Please consider the source. Wes Clark is brilliant, but not stable.
Neither Mr. Trump, nor anyone in Congress, is obliged to adhere to a “deal” which is illegal, because Mr. Obama had neither the legal, nor the moral authority to make it.
I agree with you though, about Iran.
I mentioned here, a couple years ago, that we won’t know Iran has nukes, until after they have a bunch of ’em…
As if it is the US job to keep the world in order. Remember, banks fund revolutions and wars. They fund both sides.
We are a waring nation. It’s what we do. Our economy depends on wars and skirmishes.
Everything’s s buisness model
Everything is a business model, and we need a new one. A way to thrive by doing and consuming less while gaining something of greater value for all. This is complicated by the fact that geopolitics and negotiations in general are a game of “Prisoner’s Dilemma”.
Economics is not called the “dismal science” for nothing.
“Turn Mueller loose on ’em…give him something real to do.” Right on!!
Problem is that we do live in a Democracy (of course NOT!), but our voices count sh!t. ;-((
History proves bullets or money speak louder than words; The real issue of gun control.
“If we didn’t have a corrupt, do-nothing congress, you’d be able to assume that ALL the Obama error intel types would be grilled about how stupidly wrong they got it. ”
Lol lol if I read it right just wait till the affects of the spending bill hit the 29% of the upper crust. They couldn’t toss the lower 80% they did that in 78
My question is how do these people sleep at night?
Or are they that stupid to buy the crap sold them? It’s probably why they refuse to read any of it. They can say heck I thought it was….
“Our team of crack engineers says “Just close the window!” Now, give them the pipe and the lighter back.”
I know right… kind of reminds me of the 50,000,000 spent for a study to see if they should buy a lamp to read with on the floor or the 25,000,000 spent to put a cab over the underground shuttle( basically a golf cart ) because the breeze from moving from the parking ramp was messing up their hair.. lol lol lol it just kills me lol lol lol
Did I mention that I wondered if a person could have a telethon to supply lobotomies for stupid people. Now which is more worthy..we the voters or those in office.
Probably we the voters.. we refuse to vote any of these public servants out of office. Or demand term limits or limit donations. Maybe give the donations to the state colleges who the member works for as free tuition
Cramer & Tim Cook on China
And, when asked about the impact of potential trade war escalation, Cook seemed surprisingly sanguine about the state of U.S.-China relations.
“I am pretty optimistic there,” Cook told CNBC. “I think that China and the U.S. have this unavoidable mutuality where the U.S. can only win if China wins, China can only win if U.S. wins and the world can only win if both win.”
“So if you look at what history tells us — that countries that are the most open and most diverse do the best, and the folks that are closed and least diverse, their citizens do the worst — … it tells us that again and again and again,” Cook continued. “And I think both countries know that.”
Yo G,
Have you considered the coming/pending 50wk MA vs 200 wk MA in the S&P? To my old tired eyes, the chart of S&P is looking like a Death Cross is pending. I can’t remember the Market action last time we had a death cross in the S&P. A question.. why take the risk in the stock market, rates should be rising again soon ala the fed, when T Bond/Note provide minuscule return and guaranteed return of principal?
Interesting side regarding Uraium 1 deal and Easily traceable nuclear material. Could that source material end up in Syria ? Got glass?
Peace.
G
The FED and CONgress will put an end to this country….no matter what you ‘invest’ in….ie. Zimbabwe
I think the brown male black widow spider has his timing / priorities reversed??
It’s long past time to cut israel loose to sink or swim on its’ own. They lie , cheat, steal, abuse, and use anyone stupid enough to allow their dual citizens into government.
I think they staged those supposed gassing events in Syria too.
It is not surprising that the war hawks in Israel are pushing their agenda; it’s not only for external consumption, but internal as there is a strong peace movement in that country. However, it doesn’t mean that our country needs to go along with that idea. Pushing the agenda of ‘war with Iran’ would mean that we would have to do ‘the heavy lifting’ with most of the ‘cost’ on our end. Should not the majority of the benefit be ours, too?
I don’t see that happening.
lol This planet needs an enema!
“…… because Mr. Obama had neither the legal, nor the moral authority to make it.”
Don’t they teach that at Harvard? I’m sure!
They used to teach it in every high-school in America. I’m not sure civics is even an option any more, and if it is, I’d doubt any teacher under 50 could teach it properly…