Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

Let’s not pretend that RussiaGate was ever anything but a “treasonous conspiracy” and a “years’ long coup” as bluntly labeled by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on Friday. The election prank launched by Hillary Clinton’s campaign turned into an overt sedition op led by President Barack Obama to overthrow his elected successor, Donald Trump. DNI Tulsi Gabbard went even further and proffered criminal referrals on all this to the US Attorney General.

If you think this is not extremely serious, you are not paying attention.

The New York Times was not paying attention in its Sunday edition. Not a word about this historic action on the paper’s website landing page. So now you know why the Harvard law professors, the Martha’s Vineyard chardonnay widows, and all the creative class hipsters of Brooklyn persist in their personal globes of political delusion. Instead, The Times dwelt on the Epstein business, still haplessly hoping to catch the Golden Golem in its golem trap. (Mr. Trump’s lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize committee for rewarding the Time’s RussiaGate coverage is still pending, by the way.)

Meanwhile, DNI Gabbard went on Maria Bartiromo’s Sunday confab and warned of more info releases coming this week. Sooner or later AG Pam Bondi will have to announce that a case based on that referral is under construction. My guess is that this is exactly what Kash Patel’s FBI has been preoccupied with for months with no leaking — you can imagine severe penalties against that. You might also note that there are no higher crimes under our law than treason, as explicitly spelled out in the DNI report.

The DNI also stated flatly on Sunday, “There must be indictments.”

If you think DNI Gabbard went forward without consulting some crack constitutional lawyers, you’ll be disappointed.

And also meanwhile, Deputy AG Todd Blanche has applied for release of the sealed grand jury transcripts on the 2019 Epstein case from the DOJ’s Manhattan outpost (SDNY). And consider: all that info was completely segregated from the Epstein files that former FBI Director Christopher Wray controlled for years and years, meaning it was not subject to editing and manipulation. You may finally get to see the difference between the “hoax” elements of the story and the actual evidence.

The Russian meddling and collusion story might have seemed like “a thing” to many in the early January days of 2017 before Mr. Trump’s first inauguration. But when they went after the newly appointed National Security Advisor, General Mike Flynn, for having a conversation with the Russian ambassador, you had had to know that something sketchy was afoot. As this blog asked at the time: why are ambassadors from foreign lands here, if not to speak with our government officials? The story was preposterous but, of course, the news media helped run Gen. Flynn out of office and then led the cheering for the DOJ’s malicious prosecution of him afterward in Judge Emmet G. Sullivan’s DC district court.

You also have to wonder if anyone in the news media might be subject to indictment above and beyond the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of the press. Is there a line between that and acting as an accessory to treason? What did New York Times editor (at the time) Dean Baquet think he was doing, publishing all that patent garbage? Or the producers of CNN and other network news?

The DNI called these activities a “treasonous conspiracy” for a reason. A conspiracy charge that encompasses a skein of persons in a continuous series of crimes extends the statute of limitations to the latest criminal act for all involved. You might also wonder how wide a net the DOJ could cast. Will it include such obvious players as Senator Mark Warner, who schemed to play along on RussiaGate as Vice-chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence? Or then-Congressman Adam Schiff on the House Intel Committee when, for years, he pretended to have “proof” of (i.e., lied about) Trump-Russia collusion? Or FBI Director Wray, who hid evidence, might have tampered with evidence, and apparently lied to Congress about many of these connected matters? Or Andrew Weissmann, who virtually ran the phony Mueller Investigation as a RussiaGate cover-up op because Robert Mueller was mentally infirm? Or Lawfare Ninjas Marc Elias, Norm Eisen, and Mary McCord who appear liable for 2020 election hackery and the Jan 6 “insurrection” op (including the House J6 Committee fakery afterward) along with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi? Or former AG William Barr, who sat on the Hunter Biden laptop during Trump Impeachment No. 1, when the device was stuffed with exculpatory evidence withheld from Mr. Trump’s lawyers? Or CIA agent Eric Ciaramella, Lt. Col Alex Vindman, and Intel Inspector General Michael Atkinson, who conspired with Rep. Adam Schiff on the “Ukraine phone call” operation that was the basis of impeachment No. 1? Or DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who botched his investigation (on purpose?) of FISA court criminal irregularities, or Judge James Boasberg who presided over those criminal irregularities and issued many of them? Or Special Counsel John Durham who took years to overlook the salient elements of the RussiaGate coup? Or many other figures involved one way or another. . . McCabe, Stzrok, Page, Pientka, Thibault, Baker, Rice, Yates, Rummler, Halper, Pompeo, Haines, Bruce and Nellie Ohr. . . .

Are they all rounded-up and sent to court together, like a Nuremberg proceding? Or do they get their own separate cases? Or will the DOJ only go after the top dogs: Obama, Brennan, Clapper, and Comey?

Finally, consider this: demonizing Vladimir Putin set the stage for the Ukraine War — which was initially kicked off in 2014 under President Obama and his State Department / CIA group led by Victoria Nuland orchestrating the Maidan revolt.

The official disclosures now by the DNI should make it clear that Mr. Putin did not deserve the treatment he got for years on end, and that the overall effect of it has been catastrophic for world peace.

Half the people in the USA still believing all the manufactured bullshit about Mr. Putin has made it extremely difficult for President Trump to end the war in Ukraine that has killed millions.

RussiaGate had the gravest consequences, and now there can be consequences for the merry pranksters who started it and kept it going, one way or another, for a decade.

It might be the most prominent cultural theme of 2025 – Progressive Black Americans with a victim complex relocating overseas. They think they’re escaping oppression only to discover that most of the world has zero tolerance for them and that the US is a far better place than they initially thought. 

Francine Villa left the US for Russia in 2020, declaring America “discriminatory” and asserting that she feels much safer in her new home.  In a 2020 documentary called “Black in the USSR” produced by Russia Today, Villa criticized the racial evils of America and praised Russia as a “safe place for her to walk the streets”.  

The expat is not a stranger to the East; her great-grandfather moved from Virginia to work as an agriculturist in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, and her family has lived in Russia ever since.  She was born there, but at a young age, her mother moved her to the United States. 

Five years after moving back, Villa is ready to leave.  She took to Instagram this week, bloody and battered and calling for help after an argument with her Russian neighbors ended in a beating.  Villa claims her young child who was present was also injured during the altercation. 

Her post is interlaced with clips of the incident, though, she has suspiciously avoided posting the entire unedited video.

📍She Fled “Racist” America for Russia… And Got Beat Down.

Sometimes reality smacks you in the face—literally.

Meet Francine Villa, a black woman who left the U.S. in 2019 because she believed the media narrative: America is systemically racist, and Russia is safer.

🇷🇺 She… pic.twitter.com/cGwBVMhXVQ

— 🥷🦅Austin Petersen 🇺🇲🥋 (@AP4Liberty) July 17, 2025

The clips do show Villa’s neighbors complaining about her leaving items in their hallway.  It is not clear in her video what started the argument or if her neighbors were actually motivated by “racism”.  Western media outlets are taking Villa’s word for it and decrying the incident as an example of the discrimination inherent in Russia; similar to how the Kremlin controlled media used Villa in 2020 to make the US look discriminatory. 

Critics suggest that Villa is not being completely honest in her account of the attack, noting that nothing her neighbors say in her Instagram clips is racist.  It’s important to remember that in most countries sticking a cell phone camera in people’s faces is considered rude, and these places do not have stringently enforced laws against assault like the US.    

Around the world, most altercations tend to be settled with intimidation or violence and there are no authorities available to help.  First world western societies are highly coddled in this regard.  Camera’s are not a shield against fists and it’s prudent to learn the habits of a culture and assimilate to avoid tensions. 

Villa said that she’s taken the matter to the police, who have done nothing so far to address it.  The irony is hard to miss, of course.  Commenters question why Villa moved to one of the “whitest countries in the world” if she thought she was escaping white racism?  Others ask why she didn’t just “move to Africa”. 

Many black Americans have tried that and met with disappointment, finding that they are still treated like aliens even in places where black people are the majority. 

This raises the obvious question:  Is the world racist against black Americans, or, are aspects of their culture and behavior annoying and insulting to everyone they encounter?       

Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

Retail speculation is once again gripping the markets. A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted how the latest retail gambling vehicle—zero-days-to-expiration (0DTE) options—has exploded in popularity. According to CBOE, trading volumes in these contracts have surged nearly sixfold over the past five years, with retail traders now accounting for more than half of all transactions. This rapid rise in speculative options trading has intensified since 2020.

This is more than a quirky market statistic. It’s a glaring warning sign of rising risk-taking behavior among retail investors. History consistently shows that markets peak when the average investor starts chasing lottery-like returns. Options, by design, are speculative instruments used to hedge risk or make directional bets. However, the explosion in 0DTE options points to a significant behavioral shift from investing to outright gambling.

One of the most visible examples of this shift is Robinhood. The brokerage earns four times more revenue from options trading than traditional stock commissions, while its stock price has soared over 300% in the past year. The speculative fervor isn’t limited to options; we continue to see it in meme stocks, cryptocurrencies, and high-flying tech names. The appeal is easy to understand—0DTE options offer the illusion of life-changing returns for a small upfront cost. Unfortunately, the reality is far harsher. Most retail traders lose money, often spectacularly. While market makers like Citadel Securities collect billions in profits, the average investor learns, too late, that leverage cuts both ways.

Retail Speculation & the Perils of Leverage

This cycle of retail speculation is nothing new. In early 2021, just months before the market corrected in 2022, we noted how inexperienced retail investors were rushing into markets. In a piece titled “Long On Confidence And Short On Experience,” we highlighted how retail traders exhibited high confidence without the experience to manage risk appropriately. Online searches for terms like “how to trade stocks” surged, echoing similar speculative periods of the late 1990s and mid-2000s.

“In a “market mania,” retail investors are generally “long confidence” and “short experience” as the bubble inflates. While we often believe each ‘time’ is different, it rarely is. It is only the outcomes that are inevitably the same. A recent UBS survey revealed some fascinating insights about retail traders and the current speculation level in the market. The number of individuals searching “google” for how to “trade stocks has spiked since the pandemic lows.”

For anyone who has lived through two “real” bear markets, the imagery of people trying to learn how to “daytrade” their way to riches is familiar. From E*Trade commercials to “day trading companies,” people left their jobs to trade stocks.

From the dot-com bubble to the meme stock mania, the behavior has remained the same. Retail traders feel invincible in rising markets, convincing themselves that the more risk they take, the more money they’ll make. As we noted then, young investors were even taking on personal debt to invest, a behavior not seen since the tech bubble of 1999, when traders used credit cards and home equity loans to speculate on stocks. Of course, these episodes ended similarly, with many small investors wiped out when markets corrected.

Speculation in risky stocks is one thing, but speculation combined with leverage turns ordinary pullbacks into major corrections. Today, we see excessive leverage building up across markets. Margin debt is again climbing toward record highs, and free cash balances among investors have fallen deep into negative territory.

This is a dangerous setup. When investors run out of disposable income, they borrow to buy more stock. Margin debt relative to disposable personal income has historically peaked before major market downturns. Adding to the risk, many investors are piling into 2x and 3x leveraged ETFs while speculative call options massively outweigh protective puts. These dynamics create a fragile market structure. Rising prices fuel more leveraged buying, which pushes markets higher in a feedback loop. But when selling starts, the loop reverses—margin calls kick in, forced selling accelerates, and liquidity evaporates, causing sharp market downturns.

We’ve seen this happen repeatedly: the Volmageddon crash in 2018, the COVID selloff in 2020, and the meme stock blow-up in 2021. Now, we may be setting up for another sharp unwind centered around the zero-day options mania.

Complacency and Overconfidence Among Retail Investors

Greed and complacency have always been notable contrarian indicators for markets. Unfortunately, they are frequently ignored until it’s too late. Despite the growing risks, complacency has returned in full force. The Volatility Index (VIX) has collapsed to multi-year lows over the past three months, while credit spreads and other risk indicators remain near their most complacent levels in years.

Beneath this surface calm, the market is loaded with speculative leverage, narrow leadership in a handful of mega-cap stocks, and weak underlying breadth. At the same time, retail options activity remains at record levels, creating the perfect conditions for a market correction. Historically, markets are most vulnerable to sharp reversals when everyone expects calm.

Investors are once again convincing themselves that “this time is different.” Yet history shows the cycle of retail speculation and market corrections never really changes. Every bull market ends similarly, with euphoric excess by inexperienced investors, followed by painful corrections. The late 1990s tech bubble saw retail investors flooding into IPOs and call options before the Nasdaq fell 80%. In the mid-2000s, retail investors leveraged up on housing and stocks before the S&P 500 crashed by more than 50%. The 2021 meme stock mania ended in disaster, with GameStop and AMC round-tripping their gains. Each cycle has a different narrative, but the outcome is always the same.

Today, the story is driven by artificial intelligence, zero-day options, and massive concentration in the largest market-capitalization stocks. But the warning signs are no different: extreme retail optimism, widespread leverage, and complete complacency about risk.

What Investors Should Do to Manage Risk

One of the most concerning developments is the growing divergence between professional and retail investors. Institutional investors have quietly reduced risk, shifting toward defensive sectors and fixed income, while retail traders continue chasing speculative trades. Sentiment surveys confirm this imbalance, showing extreme bullishness among small traders, especially in options markets.

With these risks building under the surface, prudent investors should proactively protect their portfolios. No one can predict precisely when the market will correct, but the ingredients for a sharp downturn are clearly in place. Savvy investors should use this period of complacency to reduce risk exposure before the cycle turns.

Here are six practical steps investors should consider:

• Rebalancing portfolios to reduce overweight exposure to technology and speculative growth names.

• Increasing cash allocations to provide flexibility during periods of volatility.

• Rotating into more defensive sectors like healthcare, consumer staples, and utilities that tend to outperform during corrections.

• Reducing exposure to leverage by avoiding margin debt and leveraged ETFs.

• Using options prudently—not for gambling, but for protecting portfolios through longer-dated puts on broad market indexes.

• Focusing on companies with strong balance sheets, stable earnings, and reasonable valuations.

The explosion of zero-day options trading is not a sign of a healthy market. It is a symptom of an unhealthy market increasingly driven by speculation rather than investment discipline. Retail traders have moved from investing to gambling, chasing fast profits while ignoring the mounting risks. Greed is rampant, leverage is extreme, and complacency is near record levels.

Markets can remain irrational longer than expected, but history tells us these speculative periods always end in a painful correction.

Bull markets do not die quietly; they end with euphoric retail excess followed by painful corrections.

Investors who recognize the signs early will avoid the worst of the fallout and be positioned to capitalize when value opportunities return.

Hunter Biden, the scandal-plagued son of former President Joe Biden, launched into an unhinged, expletive-filled meltdown during a recent interview, attacking his own party’s elite establishment while defending illegal immigration and making shocking admissions about his drug-fueled past.

In what can only be described as an unglued performance on Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan, the younger Biden lashed out at top Democrats, calling George Clooney a “fucking brand” rather than an actor, dismissing James Carville as irrelevant, and exposing the Pod Save America hosts as grifting “junior fucking speech writers” who have been “making millions” off their Obama connections.

Hunter Biden just went off on the Democratic Party:

“Fuck him and everybody around him… George Clooney is not a fucking an actor. He’s a brand.”

“James Carville hasn’t won a race in 40 fucking years.”

“David Axelrod had one success in his political life and that was Barack… pic.twitter.com/Cdk9t29gwZ

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 21, 2025

Obama advisor David Axelrod wasn’t spared either, with Biden dismissing his entire career: “David Axelrod had one success in his political life and that was Barack Obama and that was because of Barack Obama.“

Biden even turned his venom on powerful Democrat consultant Anita Dunn, revealing the stunning amounts of money these political parasites have extracted from the party: “Anita Dunn has made $40-$50 million off the Democratic Party.”

And in a final insult to the failing mainstream media, Biden called out CNN host Jake Tapper over his poor ratings. “What influence does Jake Tapper have over anything? He has the smallest audience on cable news,” he said.

The disgraced Biden son also unleashed a barrage of F-bombs while ranting about illegal immigration and taking direct aim at hardworking Americans who support border security.

“All these Democrats say, ‘you have to talk about and realize that people are really upset about illegal immigration‘,” Biden said. “Fuck you. How do you think your hotel room gets cleaned? How do you think you have food on your fucking table? Who do you think washes your dishes? Who do you think does your fucking garden? Who do you think is hear by the fucking sheer fucking, just, grit and will that they figured out a way to get here because they thought that they could give thereselfses and there family a better chance?”

NEW – Hunter Biden crashes out over whites and migrants: “White men in America are 45 more times likely to commit a fucking violent crime than an immigrant… I say fuck you!” pic.twitter.com/vBEe6cktBG

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) July 21, 2025

The disgraced Biden son didn’t stop there, launching an attack on President Donald Trump’s common-sense approach to immigration enforcement. “He’s somehow conviced all of us that these people are the fucking criminals?” the former president’s son fumed.

Perhaps most disturbing were Biden’s casual admissions about his drug-manufacturing activities. In a stunning revelation that raises serious questions about what the Biden family was really up to, Hunter described in chilling detail how he became his own drug dealer.

“Places that you can go get it are some of the most dangerous places in whatever location you happen to be in. And it’s everywhere,” Biden said. “Mainly for that reason, I learned how to make my own.”

This bombshell admission reveals the depths of depravity the Biden family has sunk to, with the president’s son openly bragging about manufacturing illegal narcotics while his father occupied the nation’s highest office.

Despite claiming sobriety since June 2019, Biden flew into a rage when confronted about the cocaine scandal that rocked the Biden White House, desperately trying to distance himself from the drugs found in the West Wing.

“They’ve convinced themselves it had to be me,” he said. “I have been clean and sober since June of 2019 and I have not touched a drop of alcohol or a drug and I’m incredibly proud of that. And why would you bring cocaine to the White House? Why would I bring it to the White House and stick it into a cubby outside the situation room in the West Wing?”

The Biden crime family’s legal troubles are well known. Hunter was convicted by a Delaware jury in June 2024 for illegally purchasing and possessing a firearm while strung out on drugs – charges directly related to his well-documented substance abuse problems. In a brazen display of the two-tiered justice system, Joe Biden immediately pardoned his corrupt son, proving once again that Democrats believe they’re above the law.

Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times,

The U.S. Department of Transportation imposed new restrictions on flight operations from Mexico to the United States on July 19 in response to flight restrictions Mexico previously levied against the United States.

Under the new restrictions, Mexico will have to file schedules with the U.S. Transportation Department for all U.S. operations and obtain department approval to operate large passenger or cargo charter flights between Mexico and the United States.

In a July 19 statement, the U.S. Transportation Department said Mexico, since 2022, has not been in compliance with the Air Transport Agreement enacted between the two countries in 2015. Specifically, the department stated that Mexico had rescinded flight slots for three American, Delta, and United flights through the Benito Juarez International Airport and ordered U.S. cargo flights to relocate their operations.

“Mexico claimed it was to allow for construction to alleviate congestion at Benito Juarez International Airport (MEX) that has yet to materialize three years later,” the department stated.

“By restricting slots and mandating that all-cargo operations move out of MEX, Mexico has broken its promise, disrupted the market, and left American businesses holding the bag for millions in increased costs.”

The U.S. Transportation Department also issued an order that could lead to the revocation of an antitrust immunity agreement that had allowed Delta and Aeromexico to operate a joint venture.

“Let these actions serve as a warning to any country who thinks it can take advantage of the U.S., our carriers, and our market. America First means fighting for the fundamental principle of fairness,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on July 19.

The Epoch Times reached out to Mexico’s Secretariat of Foreign Affairs for comment about the latest action from the U.S. government but did not receive a response before publication time.

Amid the broader dispute over Mexico’s compliance with the 2015 Air Transport Agreement, Delta and Aeromexico have sought to preserve their joint venture, arguing that they should not have to lose out as part of the U.S. retaliation over the Mexican government’s actions. A cancellation of the Delta/Aeromexico joint venture could jeopardize nearly two dozen routes and $800 million in economic benefits for both countries, according to the airlines.

“The U.S. Department of Transportation’s tentative proposal to terminate its approval of the strategic and pro-competitive partnership between Delta and Aeromexico would cause significant harm to consumers traveling between the U.S. and Mexico, as well as U.S. jobs, communities, and transborder competition,” Delta said in a statement responding to the U.S. Transportation Department’s recent actions.

Aeromexico’s press team stated that it was reviewing the order and planned to coordinate with Delta to present a joint response in the coming days.

Last week saw President Trump kinda sorta deny reported plans to fire Fed Chair Jay Powell:

“We’re not planning on doing it,” he said Wednesday at the White House. 

“I don’t rule out anything,” he added, “but I think it’s highly unlikely, unless he has to leave for fraud.”

But now, that latter comment is coming into play as Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., refers Powell to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal charges, accusing him of two specific instances of lying under oath.

Luna is accusing Powell of perjury on two occasions, according to a letter to the DOJ first obtained by Fox News Digital.

“On June 25, 2025, Chairman Powell provided testimony under oath before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs regarding the renovation of the Federal Reserve’s Eccles Building. In his statements, he made several materially false claims,” Luna’s letter said.

Specifically, she accused him of lying about lavish amenities at the Federal Reserve’s Eccles Building and misrepresenting its state of maintenance.

“Separately, in a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, Chairman Powell characterized the changes that escalated the cost of the project from $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion as minor. However, documents reviewed by congressional investigators indicate that the scope and cost overruns of this project were neither minor in nature nor in substance,” Luna wrote.

She claimed his statement that the cost increase was to simplify construction and avoid further delays was false.

“It is contradicted by the Federal Reserve’s final submission to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) and by the assertions made in Director Vought’s own original letter to Chairman Powell,” Luna wrote.

“According to those records, the revised plan includes a VIP private dining room, premium marble finishes, modernized elevators, water features, and a roof terrace garden—features that Powell publicly denied existed. While Powell presented the changes as simplifications, the actual project plans suggest the opposite.”

Trade outlet Mortgage Professional reported that Powell denied all accusations of perjury and has directed a formal watchdog probe into renovation project costs of the Eccles Building.

She first announced she would be referring Powell last week on X.

Perjury can be punishable by up to five years in prison in addition to fines.

While Trump and his allies would clearly like to see a Fed Chair cut rates, there are unintended consequences they could be missing here. Firing and replacing Powell would make investors nervous about the stability of the Fed and its ability to deliver low and stable price inflation.

This could push longer-term interest rates up – the opposite of Trump’s goal.

Authored by Steve Watson via modernity.news,

President Trump has spurred a flurry of activity by posting an AI generated video of Barack Obama being arrested, handcuffed and put in jail.

Trump posted the video to Truth Social following the massive revelations this weekend from DNI Tulsi Gabbard, highlighting how Obama was intimately involved in a “treasonous conspiracy” as he and his national security team laid the groundwork for what would become the years-long Trump-Russia collusion hoax.

“These documents detail a treasonous conspiracy by officials at the highest levels of the Obama White House to subvert the will of the American people and try to usurp the President from fulfilling his mandate,” Gabbard announced.

“A Treasonous Conspiracy” – DNI Gabbard Exposes Obama At Center Of Trump ‘Russia Hoax’

Gabbard also indicated Sunday that more is coming, noting “We will be releasing more detailed information about how exactly this took place, and the extent to which this information was sought to be hidden from the American people, hidden from officials who would be in a position to do something about it.”

Gabbard To Release More Obama Russiagate Files

Trump responded by praising Gabbard and White House spokesman Harrison Fields who called out Obama in a Fox News appearance.

JUST IN — President Trump praises Special Assistant to the President Harrison Fields for perfectly articulating how the Obama administration orchestrated the Russia hoax, and Trump implies he wants everyone prosecuted, including the 44th President of the United States.

Trump… pic.twitter.com/MYXj0BOeY6

— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) July 20, 2025

Trump also suggested that Obama and the deep state “thugs” involved could be prosecuted.

Writing on Truth Social, the President noted “Great job by young and talented Harrison Fields on FoxNews. The Panel was fantastic on prosecuting Obama and the “thugs” who have just been unequivocally exposed on highest level Election Fraud. Congratulations to Tulsi Gabbard. Keep it coming!!!”

Then on Sunday, he posted this…

Trump has been going full 4Chan over on Truth Social.

He is sharing AI videos of Obama being arrested and thrown in prison.

Is Trump just trolling? Or is this soft disclosure?

Are we being primed for arrests? pic.twitter.com/Gc23g44Olq

— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) July 21, 2025

And this…

Leftists are freaking out about it.

Trump posted an AI video of Obama being arrested on his knees, in the Oval Office, to the tune of YMCA. This is fucking unhinged.

I would like to point out that 18 U.S. Code § 879 prohibits knowingly and willfully threatening to kill,inflict bodily harm upon former Presidents. pic.twitter.com/diG7UtXVMP

— Zen (@Stillfighting11) July 21, 2025

Trump is now posting AI deepfakes of Obama being arrested — because in the real world, he’s the one facing 91 felony charges.
Projection is the only thing he’s good at.

— خالد (@kkhlidalharbi) July 20, 2025

For a guy who allegedly hates “lawfare,” he sure devotes a lot of bandwidth to fantasizing about imprisoning his political enemies.

— Amygator 🐊 *not an actual alligator (@AmyA1A) July 21, 2025

Others have suggested its a distraction from the Epstein saga.

Donald Trump just posted a video of former President Obama getting arrested.

Anything to distract from the Epstein files…
pic.twitter.com/To58NfRkii

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) July 20, 2025

Somebody should do one where the Epstein files drop

— chorx (@chorx) July 21, 2025

Hey that’s cool. Anyway where are those Epstein files?

— shdw.gallery (@shdw_gallery) July 21, 2025

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

As discussed earlier, this week is pretty quiet in terms of planned economic and macro events… although as Jim Reid notes, this year has been as busy as he can remember outside of a crisis in terms of unplanned events so the first part of this sentence will likely be proved to be meaningless. 

In terms of the known highlights, we have the global flash PMIs on Thursday alongside what is universally accepted to be an ECB on hold meeting. With the Fed on their blackout ahead of next week’s FOMC, the only noise will come from how hard Trump wants to continue to push on with criticizing Powell (on a daily basis). Powell does open a regulatory conference tomorrow but won’t discuss monetary policy given the blackout. 

The key US data are some regional manufacturing surveys tomorrow, existing home sales on Wednesday, new home sales, jobless claims and the Chicago Fed survey on Thursday, and then durable goods on Friday. 

In Europe, the key to the ECB meeting this Thursday is how long they’re expected to pause. The central bank will also release its bank lending survey tomorrow.

In terms of economic data, other sentiment indicators out in the region will include consumer confidence in Germany (Thursday), the UK, France and Italy (Friday). The German Ifo survey is out on Friday.

It’s certainly busier on the earnings side as we start to see Q2 earnings get fleshed out a little more this week with 135 S&P 500 and 189 Stoxx 600 companies reporting. Two of the Magnificent 7, Alphabet and Tesla, will report on Wednesday. Other tech firms releasing results this week include IBM, ServiceNow and Intel. Defence firms including RTX, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman also report.

In Europe, earnings will be due from the region’s largest company, SAP tomorrow. Three others from the top 10 by market cap – LVMH, Roche and Nestle – also report, along with several European banks. See the full day-by-day calendar of events as usual at the end 

Courtesy of DB, here is a day-by-day calendar of events

Monday July 21

• Data: US June leading index, China 1-yr and 5-yr loan prime rates, Canada June industrial product price index, raw materials price index
• Central banks: BoC Q2 business outlook survey
• Earnings: Verizon, Roper, NXP Semiconductors, Ryanair, Domino’s Pizza

Tuesday July 22

• Data: US July Philadelphia Fed non-manufacturing activity, Richmond Fed manufacturing index, Richmond Fed business conditions, UK June public finances, France June retail sales
• Central banks: Fed’s Powell speaks, ECB’s bank lending survey, BoE’s Bailey speaks, RBA minutes of the July meeting
• Earnings: SAP, Coca-Cola, RTX, Texas Instruments, Intuitive Surgical, Danaher, Capital One Financial, Chubb,
• Lockheed Martin, Sherwin-Williams, Northrop Grumman, General Motors, MSCI, Givaudan, EQT, Equifax, Halliburton, Sartorius

Wednesday July 23

• Data: US June existing home sales, Eurozone July consumer confidence
• Central banks: BoJ’s Uchida speaks
• Earnings: Alphabet, Tesla, IBM, T-Mobile US, ServiceNow, AT&T, Thermo Fisher Scientific, NextEra Energy, Boston Scientific, GE Vernova, Amphenol, Iberdrola, UniCredit, Fiserv, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Equinor, Hilton, Freeport-McMoRan, CSX, Thales, Moncler 
• Auctions: US 20-yr Bond (reopening, $13bn)

Thursday July 24

• Data: US, UK, Japan, Germany, France and the Eurozone flash July PMIs, US June Chicago Fed national activity index, new home sales, July Kansas City Fed manufacturing activity, initial jobless claims, Germany August GfK consumer confidence, France July business confidence, EU27 June new car registrations, Canada May retail sales
• Central banks: ECB decision
• Earnings: LVMH, Roche, Nestle, Blackstone, SK Hynix, Honeywell, TotalEnergies, Union Pacific, Intel, BNP Paribas, Newmont, Lloyds, Digital Realty Trust, Deutsche Boerse, Dassault Systemes, L3Harris, Keurig Dr Pepper, Galderma, Nokia, BT, MTU Aero Engines, Southwest Airlines, Dow, Sabadell, Repsol, Deckers Outdoor, Carrefour, American Airlines, Wizz Air
• Auctions: US 10-yr TIPS ($21bn)

Friday July 25

• Data: US June durable goods orders, July Kansas City Fed services activity, UK July GfK consumer confidence, June retail sales, Japan July Tokyo CPI, June PPI services, Germany July Ifo survey, France July consumer confidence, Italy July consumer and manufacturing confidence, Eurozone June M3
• Central banks: ECB’s survey of professional forecasters
• Earnings: HCA Healthcare, Charter Communications, Volkswagen, NatWest, Eni

Looking at just the US, the major economic data release this week is the durable goods report on Friday. Fed officials are not expected to comment on monetary policy this week, reflecting the blackout period ahead of the July FOMC meeting. 

Monday, July 21 

• There are no major economic data releases scheduled. 

Tuesday, July 22 

• There are no major economic data releases scheduled.

Wednesday, July 23 

• 10:00 AM Existing home sales, June (GS +2.0%, consensus -0.7%, last +0.8%)

Thursday, July 24 

• 08:30 AM Initial jobless claims, week ended July 19 (GS 231k, consensus 230k, last 221k); Continuing jobless claims, week ended July 12 (consensus 1,960k, last 1,956k)
• 09:45 AM S&P Global US manufacturing PMI, July preliminary (consensus 52.7, last 52.9): S&P Global US services PMI, July preliminary (consensus 53.1, last 52.9)
• 10:00 AM New home sales, June (GS +3.1%, consensus +4.3%, last -13.7%)

Friday, July 25 

• 08:30 AM Durable goods orders, June preliminary (GS -9.0%, consensus -10.8%, last +16.4%); Durable goods orders ex-transportation, June preliminary (GS -0.1%, consensus +0.1%, last +0.5%); Core capital goods orders, June preliminary (GS -0.2%, consensus +0.2%, last +1.7%); Core capital goods shipments, June preliminary (GS +0.3%, consensus +0.2%, last +0.4%): We estimate that durable goods orders retrenched 9% in the preliminary June report (month-over-month, seasonally adjusted), reflecting a partial normalization in commercial aircraft orders after last month’s spike. We forecast a 0.2% decline in core capital goods orders—reflecting contractionary new orders readings for manufacturing surveys in June and payback for the prior month’s outsized increase—and a 0.3% increase in core capital goods shipments—reflecting the increase in orders over the prior month.

Source: DB, Goldman

Just days after the DoJ and CFTC dropped their investigations into Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market has struck a deal that could herald the company’s official return to the US market.

As Bloomberg reports, the predictions marketplace is buying a little-known derivatives exchange called QCX, that will allow Polymarket to legally re-enter the US, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Polymarket will pay $112 million to acquire QCX, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public.

QCX applied for CFTC licensing in 2022 and only got the regulator’s blessing to operate on July 9.

A spokesperson for Polymarket confirmed the acquisition.

The move will formally open the betting site to US users after its surging popularity in 2024 when users placed millions of dollars of wagers on President Trump returning to office.

Just this week they launched their first look at 2028 Presidential Odds