The transition to new media is full steam ahead after propaganda outlets MSNBC and CNN experienced a total collapse in viewership days after the presidential election.

What’s more, NBC-parent Comcast is reportedly mulling the sale of ‘declining cable networks‘ including MSNBC, while another round of layoffs at CNN is yet further evidence that their business model is broken – which has ‘elites’ such as Hillary Clinton & John Kerry in a panic.

Quite the sensitive bunch, Axios CEO Jim VandeHei had a total meltdown after Elon Musk told X users: “You are the media.”

On X, “Musk is proclaiming that ‘you are the media.’ No, you’re not. I mean, maybe you’re somebody who’s popping off on X, but it’s different than being a reporter… I could take your temperature… If you had a wound, I could put a bandaid on it. It doesn’t make me a fucking doctor.” 

On X, “Musk is proclaiming that ‘you are the media.’ No, you’re not. I mean, maybe you’re somebody who’s popping off on X, but it’s different than being a reporter… I could take your temperature… If you had a wound, I could put a bandaid on it. It doesn’t make me a fucking… https://t.co/Q3XNiN8cxF

— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) November 12, 2024

Meanwhile, “the media…”

And now they understand cause and effect.

Legacy media tried to destroy Trump. He destroyed them instead. https://t.co/PIIpwltnRw

— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) November 12, 2024

This leads us to the establishment mouthpiece, The Guardian, which appears to be digging itself into a deeper hole by explaining to readers on Wednseday that Guardian editorial accounts will stop posting on X because of rampant “far-right conspiracy theories and racism.”

Here’s more from the outlet: 

We wanted to let readers know that we will no longer post on any official Guardian editorial accounts on the social media site X (formerly Twitter). We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere.

This is something we have been considering for a while given the often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism. The US presidential election campaign served only to underline what we have considered for a long time: that X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse.

X users will still be able to share our articles, and the nature of live news reporting means we will still occasionally embed content from X within our article pages.

Our reporters will also be able to carry on using the site for news-gathering purposes, just as they use other social networks in which we do not officially engage.

Social media can be an important tool for news organisations and help us to reach new audiences but, at this point, X now plays a diminished role in promoting our work. Our journalism is available and open to all on our website and we would prefer people to come to theguardian.com and support our work there.

Thankfully, we can do this because our business model does not rely on viral content tailored to the whims of the social media giants’ algorithms – instead we’re funded directly by our readers. You can support the Guardian today from just £1/$1.

Of course fabricating a debunked story that Paul Manafort visited Julian Assange and other notable establishment propaganda is just fine!

NEW: The Guardian just announced they will no longer post on X because of “far-right conspiracy theories and racism” 🤡

Simultaneously, they ask for donations & claim they are funded by readers—with no mention of the $10+ million they’ve received from Bill Gates. pic.twitter.com/R4Tpmx6Q6Z

— Te𝕏asLindsay™ (@TexasLindsay_) November 13, 2024

They are a dying publication

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2024

this u https://t.co/vsogXEOtBn pic.twitter.com/s0VDUQBsNh

— pagliacci the hated 🌝 (@Slatzism) November 13, 2024

I wonder why the Guardian doesn’t want to stay on X…? 🤔 https://t.co/MlUjbmpT3g pic.twitter.com/6UFSRbSVck

— Andrew Doyle (@andrewdoyle_com) November 13, 2024

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!

Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Veteran homelessness in the United States has reached a record low, decreasing by 7.5 percent since 2023, according to an announcement by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH).

The 2024 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count revealed that 32,882 veterans were experiencing homelessness in January, a record since records began being kept in 2009. Last year’s count was the first time the percentage had risen in 12 years, with a rise of 7.4 percent to 35,574.

This year’s data, released on Nov. 12, represents an 11.7 percent reduction in veterans experiencing homelessness since 2020 and a 55.6 percent decrease since 2010.

The PIT Count, an annual assessment conducted every January, measures both sheltered and unsheltered individuals without stable housing across the nation.

According to the agency, sheltered persons are those living in emergency shelters and transitional housing, while unsheltered are those living on the street or in another place not meant for human habitation.

Of the Veterans counted, 13,851 were unsheltered—a 10.7 percent decrease in unsheltered veteran homelessness nationwide compared to last year.

“No Veteran should experience homelessness in this country they swore to defend,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said in a statement, adding that the agency was making “real progress” in the fight to end Veteran homelessness.

“We still have a long way to go, but we will not stop until every veteran has a safe, stable place to call home,” McDonough said.

Last month, the VA announced it had permanently housed nearly 48,000 homeless veterans during fiscal year 2024, surpassing its goal by over 16 percent and marking the largest number of veterans housed in a single year since 2019.

Since 2022, the VA has housed nearly 134,000 veterans nationwide.

“Far too many of our nation’s veterans experience homelessness each year, and that is why HUD is laser-focused on ensuring that every Veteran has a home,” said HUD Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman in a statement, according to a Nov. 12 press release.

USICH Director Jeff Olivet emphasized the effectiveness of coordinated efforts.

“This data show that with the right investments in housing and health care, and with strong leadership and coordination across government, homelessness is solvable,” Olivet said in the release. “The challenge now is to end veteran homelessness and use the lessons we learn to help all people without a home.”

The VA awarded more than $800 million in grants this year to assist veterans experiencing homelessness, according to the release.

USICH also released the federal government’s first-ever framework for homelessness prevention, and the HUD and the VA announced policy changes to help more veterans receive housing assistance under the HUD-VA Supportive Housing program.

The VA said their strategy is rooted in a “Housing First” approach, which prioritizes providing veterans with permanent housing before offering additional support services such as health care, job training, legal assistance, and education to ensure long-term stability.

The agency said this method has been instrumental in reducing the number of homeless veterans and preventing a return to homelessness for those who have been housed.

Significant progress has also been made in the Greater Los Angeles area, where the VA permanently housed 1,854 homeless veterans this fiscal year—the most of any city in the United States for the third consecutive year.

The PIT Count indicated a 22.9 percent reduction in veterans experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles between 2023 and 2024, exceeding the VA’s fiscal year goals for the region by 15.5 percent.

Veterans experiencing homelessness or at risk can call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-4AID-VET (877-424-3838) or visit VA.gov/homeless for assistance. These resources provide support and information on housing initiatives and programs designed to help veterans exit homelessness.

Authored by James Lalino via The Epoch Times,

In an effort to shield California from anticipated major policy changes from the incoming Trump administration, Gov. Gavin Newsom visited Washington this week to discuss zero-emissions policy and disaster relief with Biden administration officials.

Newsom also met with the California Democratic congressional delegation.

The governor is seeking federal approval for his state’s climate regulations, which he anticipates will be threatened under President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration. Newsom is also aiming for a $5.2 billion reimbursement for emergency COVID-19 funding and updates to the state’s Medicaid program.

Newsom’s press secretary Izzy Gardon told NTD in a statement that “the Governor will advocate for key priorities that advance the health and well-being of all Californians,” and that they are “building on the progress made since President Biden took office.”

Newsom is trying to move as quickly as he can before Democrats no longer control the executive branch after Jan. 20. He traveled to the nation’s capital on Monday and will be returning to Sacramento on Wednesday.

Following Trump’s victory last week over Vice President Kamala Harris, Newsom ordered an emergency special session of the California state legislature to begin Dec. 2, a move which, according to his X account, is intended “to safeguard the fundamental freedoms we all hold dear.”

California Assemblyman James Gallagher, the Republican Minority Leader in the state’s lower house, is critical of Newsom’s Washington trip, saying he thinks that the governor should be working to improve the state instead of seeking help from what he views as a failed federal administration.

“It would be nice if Newsom focused on improving things for Californians instead of doubling down on the same failed policies that cost Harris the election,” Gallagher told NTD News in a text message.

Commenting on Newsom’s responses to his election victory, Trump wrote on Nov. 8 on Truth Social that the governor was “stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again.’”

Despite losing the Golden State to Harris, Trump earned 38 percent of the vote in the state this time around, his highest total in the state out of three presidential contests.

Harris, who will be out of public office for the first time in decades come January, is a potential candidate to succeed Newsom, who is term-limited and will not be eligible for reelection when the next gubernatorial election is held in 2026. She was formerly the state’s attorney general and served as its junior U.S. Senator before she became Biden’s running mate in 2020.

If Harris decides to run, it would not be the first time a former vice president ran for California governor after losing a presidential election.

Then-Vice President Richard Nixon lost the 1962 race for California governor just 2 years after he was defeated by John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election. Nixon went on to mount a historic political comeback by winning the presidency in 1968. He was reelected in 1972, winning 49 out of 50 states.

Nixon resigned before his second term was finished, after his Republican colleagues on Capitol Hill signaled that they would no longer support him when it became apparent that his administration covered up illegal activity related to the infamous Watergate break-in.

Nearly a month ago highly classified US intelligence detailing Israeli plans for a retaliation attack against Iran appeared online. The pair of documents were prepared by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and the leak immediately kicked off a massive federal investigation and hunt for the leaker.

On Wednesday federal prosecutors have revealed an arrest, with the NY Times reporting that “The man, Asif W. Rahman, was indicted last week in federal court in Virginia with two counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information.” He had worked for the US government overseas, and is being charged with two counts of violating the Espionage Act. The Times has followed with an update identifying him as a CIA official.

Rahman was apprehended by the FBI in Cambodia on Tuesday, and has been brought to federal court in Guam where he’ll get charged in the case.

“Court documents said Mr. Rahman held a top secret security clearance with access to sensitive compartmentalized information, which is typical for many C.I.A. employees who handle classified materials.,” the Times continues.

It also remains unclear what he was doing in Cambodia at the time of this arrest – whether on the run or perhaps merely traveling abroad, or possibly for work.

The FBI previously said it was “working closely with our partners in the Department of Defense and intelligence community” to track down the leaker. From the start, federal investigators made clear that they believed it to be the result of an intelligence insider, and not the result of a foreign hacking operation.

More than a week after the leaks first appeared Israeli media indicated that national decision-makers had delayed the timing of the planned retaliatory attack on Iran due to the leak incident, given one of the docs detailed Israeli placements and movements of missiles and defensive assets.

“Israel is concerned the leak could help Iran predict certain patterns of attack,” The Times had written. “It has been forced to develop an alternative plan, one that requires detailed war gaming before any order is given, The Times understands.”

“The leak of the American documents delayed the attack due to the need to change certain strategies and components,” an intelligence source described as having knowledge of Israeli deliberations said.

Additionally there appeared in the leaks confirmation of Israel’s highly secretive nuclear weapons program, which on an official level it is not supposed to have.

Oh dear. Did someone at NGA leak Top Secret TALENT KEYHOLE FIVE EYES NO FOREIGN EYES intelligence about Israel’s nuclear weapons…on Twitter? pic.twitter.com/3lyKWFCmUw

— Eric Garland (@ericgarland) October 20, 2024

The pair of documents were classified TOP SECRET, with both marked NOFORN – which is among the highest classifications – given it indicates the specific intelligence cannot be shared with allied foreign intelligence agencies. But markings indicated they could be shared only among “Five Eyes” allies: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The investigation to find the leaker focused heavily on these Five Eyes allies, but the NY Times report is saying that the leak occurred in-house, via a US government employee of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Authored by Tom Luongo via Gold, Goats, ‘n Guns blog,

There’s a great moment in Mad Max: Fury Road where they roll up to a naked woman chained to a tower and Max utters one of his, like, fourteen lines in the movie, “That’s bait.”

This is a metaphor for literally the entire media landscape in the age of social media.

Since Trump’s victory last Tuesday the Usual Suspects have chummed the waters with every possible bad idea to dishearten and undermine that victory. It’s all bait.

We weren’t 24 hours removed from Kamala Harris’ concession speech, a carbon copy of the one Hillary Clinton gave in 2016, where she said, “Fight” 20 times, before the first big piece of red meat was thrown down in front of libertarians to virtue signal over… Ending the Fed.

FOMC Chair Jerome Powell was forced to field a question during the post-meeting presser about stepping down if asked to by President-Elect Trump.

Powell “closed the fucking door” on that with one word, “No.”

At which point everyone was shocked, shocked I say!, to find out that the Fed Chair cannot be removed because the President didn’t like him. The same goes for Supreme Court justices, for example. This is politics folks, not philosophy. I’m not endorsing this situation but I am pointing out that those who have been parroting “End the Fed” since Ron Paul ran in 2008 should have known this.

So, given this background, one has to conclude it’s the dirtiest of dirty politics designed to create divisions within the MAGA crowd at a time when we should be coming together on the right issues, staffing the new administration, discussing which departments to cut, how to finance the debt.

In other words, we should be setting the tempo, rather than responding to it by those most vulnerable to a US government and Federal Reserve in lock-step to defend US sovereignty.

For more than a year I told you there would be two big targets for the Democrats in this election cycle, Jerome Powell and Elon Musk.

Powell is Public Enemy #1 over his aggressively tight monetary policy which all Austrians should be rejoicing over rather than concocting ever more lurid arguments about ‘stealth QE.’ For systemic thinkers, having a one-level flow chart on something as important and germane as monetary policy is, frankly, a pretty lazy and pathetic look.

Musk has now challenged Powell for the top spot for exclusion from Davos’ Happy Holidays Card List because of how Twitter and Starlink have thrown sand in the gears of their narrative generation engine, as I wrote about last week.

Going back to Powell, since the March 2023 banking crisis, which he fomented for political reasons and raised interest rates in the middle of, just to make sure everyone who mattered got the fucking memo, I eventually stopped being sick of Elizabeth Warren’s HR nanny routine from atop the Senate Banking Committee and simply started laughing at her.

She issued stern letters demanding the Fed lower interest rates at seemingly every FOMC meeting, trying to gin up controversy over the Fed. And it wasn’t to give anyone relief, or for the children, it was to help Democrats win the election and loosen the death grip Powell’s ‘higher for longer’ policy had on European capital markets.

But thanks to this silly question by a junior staffer at Politico, now the ‘Woke Left’ and the ‘Woke Right’ are having their fee-fees stroked by the remnants of the old banking cartels they both believe they are fighting here.

If it wasn’t so gods-damned important I’d be chuckling in Collapsitarian.

A Buffett at the Waffle House

Next up was the bait thrown at trad conservatives over people like Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley. The biggest tell that Trump was likely to win in a landslide was the intelligence blob floating the rumor weeks ago that Trump still liked Pompeo and that Big Mike was sniffing around as either Secretary of State or Defense.

That’s chum, folks. And Trump put the hammer down on it after a couple of days letting it percolate. He should have quashed it sooner. But, who am I to give the Master of the Overton Window advice on such matters?

https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1855393067517559198

Haley was also a non-starter. He hates her. Her career now starts and ends every day with, “More Coffee?” and “Scattered, Smothered, and Chunked? Got it, hunny.”

In fact, you know Trump hates Marco Rubio as much as he does Haley because I believe the rumor about him becoming Secretary of State.

How else are you going to get RINO “Little Marco” and his really big Manila Envelope Quotient (MEQ) out of the Senate and replaced by someone who will actually work with Trump, rather than against him on the big legislation that needs to get passed in 2025?

Promote him, keep him on a short leash about reforming Foggy Bottom, and let him grandstand on CHY-Na. And if he doesn’t do what’s asked of him? “You’re Fired!”

And if I’m wrong and Rubio is just more Neocon bait, then Masal Tov! Oi vey.

That rumor about Mike Rogers to head the CIA and everything else you’ve seen… all bait. All lame attempts to flood the zone with bad information and drive wedges between Trump’s biggest supporters and him.

If you can’t pick up on crude attempts at British divide and rule at this stage of the game, maybe you just suck at the game.

It took the leaking of a secret ballot organized by outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to finally wake people up to the depths to which the bureaucratic immune system is fighting back against the chemotherapy Trump’s win represents.

If Marjorie Taylor Greene helps stop John Cornyn from becoming our leader in the Senate, I’ll take back most of the mean things I’ve said about her.

Most of them.

Schadenfreude in Berlin

Trump’s win caused a political earthquake in Berlin as the German government collapsed after Chancellor Olaf Scholz tried to meet a cash call to his creditors on Ukraine. FDP Finance Minister Christian Lindner refused to approve another 6 billion euros to Ukraine. But Germany is out of money this fiscal year and it needed to go to the Bundestag. So Scholz fired him and Lindner pulled the FDP out of the coalition.

Now the situation in Germany is in the kind of flux we usually only see in places being color revolution’d.

They are so desperate to hold onto power we’re now being regaled with the latest fantasy of the “Saxony Separatists,” all 3 of them, as the latest reason to ban Alternative for Germany (AfD) and keep them from participating in the upcoming snap elections.

Again, that’s bait for the German Boomers. Even if the ban doesn’t work, it will knock a couple of points off AfD’s national totals. But, they are just doing tactical retreats here. It’s not winning, it’s more trying to not lose immediately.

Because the cultural and demographic shift against this globalist insanity has already occurred.

We’re watching the old political order in Germany, held together previously by the iron fist of Angela “Stasi” Merkel, come apart at the seams. The idea that Germans would simply vote themselves out of existence because of their collective guilt was never really a starter.

At some point the German industrialist class would make their presence felt. Trump’s victory likely catalyzed this.

Davos’ whole project depended on using the generational imprint of everyone post-WWII to manufacture political realities at odds with the self-interests of those people. But that puts a time limit on the project. It had to happen before the generations that fought WWII and grew up in the rebuilding phase died off.

For example, for Germans it was their collective shame over Hitler. For Japan, it was the shame of being bombed by the Americans. For America it was stoking our self-reliance into self-righteousness.

As Howard Lutnick pointed out on CNBC a few months ago, we rebuilt these people through our dominance and allowing them to put tariffs on our goods to regenerate their local economies. Those tariffs are still in place and it’s time to remove them by negotiating much better deals for everyone.

But the demographic shift has happened. We saw it in the state elections in Germany this September, where AfD saw huge gains among the 18-29 year olds. The same thing has been happening in Greece in the aftermath of the German/EU strip-mining of the country after their multiple sovereign debt crises.

In the US the kids are moving away from the libertine Boomers. Even the Millennials are finally fulfilling their desires for authenticity, after now surviving three national bankruptcies during their lifetimes — Y2K, Lehman Bros. and COVID-19.

This allowed for Gen-X to finally come into their own and deliver the result the world needed.

So, please folks. Take the wins. Jack out of the Twitter spew for a few days. They want you anxious and afraid. It’s all they have left. Because we just told them we don’t want what they are offering or need what they’ve sold us.

Trust in the result you delivered just a little. This isn’t the same story as 2016.

Trust in media has not only collapsed, it’s now reached its terminal phase. We just broke The Wire, why on earth would we want to repair it by giving their crudity credibility?

Tl;dr: The inflation story is far from over… no matter what The Fed or The White House claims…

For the 53rd straight month, core consumer prices rose on a MoM basis in October with the YoY pace re-accelerating to +3.33%…

Source: Bloomberg

Services costs are starting to pick up again…

Source: Bloomberg

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in October, as it did in August and September.

• The shelter index increased 0.4 percent in October.

  • The index for owners’ equivalent rent rose 0.4 percent and the index for rent rose 0.3 percent over the month.

  • The lodging away from home index rose 0.4 percent in October, after falling 1.9 percent in September.

• The medical care index increased 0.3 percent over the month after increasing 0.4 percent in September.

  • The index for physicians’ services increased 0.5 percent in October and the prescription drugs index rose 0.2 percent over the month.

• The used cars and trucks index rose 2.7 percent in October, after rising 0.3 percent in the previous month.

• The index for airline fares rose 3.2 percent over the month and the index for recreation increased 0.4 percent.

• Other indexes that increased in October include personal care and education.

• The index for apparel fell 1.5 percent in October, following a 1.1-percent increase the preceding month.

• The communication index decreased 0.6 percent over the month, as it did in September.

• The index for household furnishings and operations and the index for motor vehicle insurance also declined in October.

• The new vehicles index was unchanged over the month.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.3 percent over the past 12 months.

• The shelter index increased 4.9 percent over the last year, accounting for over 65 percent of the total 12-month increase in the all items less food and energy index.

• Other indexes with notable increases over the last year include motor vehicle insurance (+14.0 percent), medical care (+3.3 percent), education (+3.8 percent), and personal care (+2.5 percent).

The headline CPI rose 0.2% MoM (as expected) which reaccelerated the YoY rise to +2.6% (as expected)…

Source: Bloomberg

Goods deflation ended on a MoM basis…

Source: Bloomberg

While Goods prices are still in deflation, they are re-acclerating and Services inflation remains extremely elevated…

Source: Bloomberg

Under the hood, the much-watched (for a while) SuperCore (Services Ex-Shelter) CPI remains stubbornly high…

Source: Bloomberg

The deflationary pressures are easing…

Source: Bloomberg

On a short-term basis, it’s energy’s deflation that is doing God’s work for Biden/Harris/Powell..

Source: Bloomberg

Overall, headline consumer prices are up 20.4% since Biden/Harris took over (that is almost three times the pace of price inflation that was seen under Trump’s first term)…

Source: Bloomberg

Is a resurgence in CPI already baked in the cake (as global money supply has been resurgent)?

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, could we really replay the ’70s once again?

Source: Bloomberg

Will that really be Powell’s legacy? Or will the timing of this resurgence in inflation be perfectly timed to coincide with Trump’s election victory… and offer a perfect patsy for who is to blame?

US equity futures, and global markets dropped for the second day in a row on Wednesday as rising yields and a stronger dollar dented the euphoric sentiment behind the Trump rally, and as investors awaited key US inflation data amid concerns that Trump’s proposed America-First policies will reignite price growth. As of 8:00am S&P500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.2% into the CPI print which is expected to rise for the fourth month (full preview here). Pre-mkt, Mag7 is mixed, and semis are lower; Banks, Energy, Industrials, and Healhcare are seeing a bid. Treasuries steadied after a renewed selloff Tuesday while the dollar was flat after earlier rising beyond 155 per dollar for the first time since July, raising the risk that Japan will intervene to slow the depreciation; the EURUSD briefly dropped to 1.0594 the lowest in a year. Commodities are higher led by Energy and Precious Metals. CPI and five Fed speakers are the macro focus for today as the earnings calendar thins out.

In premarket trading, Cava Group surged 15% after the Mediterranean restaurant chain increased its annual projections for comparable sales. Chegg tumbles 15% after the education technology company gave a fourth-quarter forecast that was weaker than expected. Tesla (TSLA) gains 1.6% and Roivant (ROIV) rises 3% after President-elect Donald Trump picked billionaire Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new department that will aim to make the government more efficient. Here are some other notable premarket movers:

• Dave Inc. (DAVE) rises 34% after the financial services firm boosted its full-year revenue outlook.
• Groupon (GRPN) tumbles 20% after the shopping deals website cut its adjusted Ebitda guidance for the full year.
• Instacart (CART) falls 7% after the online grocery delivery company gave a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter Ebitda forecast.
• Rivian (RIVN) rises 8% after Volkswagen raised investment plans in the electric-vehicle maker by $800 million.
• Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) jumps 24% after providing a 4Q revenue forecast that beat estimates, fueled by more Electron launches scheduled in November and December.
• Rocket Cos. (RKT) tumbles 13% after the mortgage lender issued a weaker-than-anticipated adjusted revenue forecast for the current quarter.
• Spirit Airlines (SAVE) slumps 70% as the company is closing in on a deal with creditors that would restructure its crushing debt load in bankruptcy court after discussions for a tie-up with rival Frontier Group Holdings fell apart.
• Spotify (SPOT) rise 8% after the audio-streaming company reported 3Q results that beat expectations on both margins and users.
• ZoomInfo Technologies (ZI) drops 14% after the infrastructure software company gave a revenue forecast that disappointed analysts.

According to Bloomberg, traders are adding inflation hedges and pricing in fewer interest-rate cuts next year amid the threat that Trump’s pro-growth agenda could unleash price pressures. Today’s US data is expected to show the overall consumer price index rose by 0.2% for a fourth month.

“We’ve been pouring our way into long-dated inflation linked bonds in the US where I see the inflation risk as the highest,” Freddie Lait, managing partner at Latitude Investment Management in London, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “I would look at the Trump win and think that became more likely.”

The president elect’s anti-trade stance is already taking a toll on assets in the developing world. An MSCI gauge of equities excluding the US is posting its worst day in three months, while an index of emerging market currencies is close to erasing this year’s gains. China’s yuan hit a three-month low Tuesday, forcing authorities to set the currency’s reference rate higher.

European stocks are flat in early trading Wednesday, pausing after a selloff in the previous session; the Stoxx 600 is flat at 502.01. Siemens Energy and Just Eat Takeaway both rose more than 20%. Smiths Group and Dowlais rallied by a similiar amount before paring the surge. Here are the biggest movers Wednesday:

• Siemens Energy surges as much as 21%, the most since 2020, taking the stock to a record high. The company increased its medium-term targets, boosted by demand in its grid tech business
• AstraZeneca shares gain as much as 3.2%, continuing a recovery into a fourth day following last week’s slump, after Nordea and Intron Health both upgrade their ratings to buy
• Just Eat Takeaway shares soar as much as 23% after the food delivery company announced it’s selling Grubhub to Marc Lore’s Wonder Group for an enterprise value of $650 million
• RWE jumps as much as 8.9%, the most in over two years, after the German energy company announced a €1.5 billion buyback, which Citi sees as the most positive element in today’s earnings
• Smiths Group briefly surged to a record high on Wednesday as the more than 150-year-old British engineering firm reported a strong quarter and increased its revenue guidance
• Dowlais shares rise as much as 21%, the most ever, after the British auto engineering specialist published results that were described as much better than feared by analysts at Jefferies
• SoftwareOne shares gain as much as 14% after the Swiss IT service provider announced a step-up in cost savings and gave investors a February deadline for its take-private discussions
• Babcock International shares jump as much as 19%, briefly touching their highest level since 2020, after the support services provider delivered stronger earnings growth than expected
• Lundbeck shares rise as much as 7.2%, the most in almost six months, after the Danish pharmaceuticals firm reported revenue and net income for 3Q that beat market expectations
• Ypsomed drops as much as 5.9% after the supplier of auto-injectors reported 1H Ebit which missed estimates. The company also said it has initiated the sale process of its diabetes care business
• Jenoptik drops as much as 6.1% after Hauck & Aufhaeuser downgrades the German optoelectronics firm to hold from buy and slashes its price target to a Street-low

Earlier in the session, Asian equities slumped again, headed for their lowest close since September, amid continued selling in the region’s technology stocks. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined as much as 1.3%, with TSMC and Samsung Electronics the biggest laggards. A guage of the region’s technology stocks fell as much as 1.4%. The region’s stocks tracked US peers lower after Treasury yields spiked ahead of data expected to show an uneven path of easing consumer price pressures. South Korea led losses in the region as global funds sold shares in companies that are vulnerable to Trump’s protectionist trade policy. Benchmarks in India, Japan, Australia and Taiwan also declined. Stocks in China were volatile before closing higher. The onshore CSI 300 index rose 0.6%, while a gauge of Chinese shares listed in Hong Kong erased a drop of as much as 1.3% to close little changed. Worries over an escalating trade war with the US and China’s unclear prospects for recovery remain as headwinds for investors.

In FX, a gauge of the dollar was little changed Wednesday near two-year highs. Dollar strength has pushed the yen beyond 155 per dollar for the first time since July, raising the risk that Japan will intervene to slow the depreciation. The EURUSD briefly dropped to a new one-year low below 1.06 before rebounding.

In rates, treasuries staged a minor rebound from Tuesday’s sharp selloff ahead of key US inflation data due later on Wednesday. US 10-year yields fall 1 bp to 4.41%. That’s put the brakes on the recent dollar rally with the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index near flat. Yields are 1bp-2bp richer on the day from belly to long-end with front-end little changed, flattening 2s10s spread by ~2bp; it steepened 3.5bp in Tuesday’s selloff. The 10-year yield around 4.42% is less than 2bp richer on the day, outperforming bunds and gilts in the sector by 4bp and 3bp. Treasuries have been pummeled by the prospect that Trump’s vowed policies, like tax cuts and tariffs, could fuel price pressures and force the Federal Reserve to keep rates elevated. Traders are pricing in just over a 50% chance of another quarter-point cut in December, after yields on two- and five-year Treasuries surged to their highest levels since July.

In commodities oil prices advance, with WTI rising 0.7% to $68.60 a barrel. Spot gold climbs $9 to $2,608/oz.

Bitcoin fell 1% after a chart-busting rally took the digital asset to almost $90,000.

Looking at today’s event calendar, US economic data calendar includes October CPI (8:30am) and federal budget balance (2pm). The Fed speaker slate includes Kashkari (8:30am), Williams (9:30am), Logan (9:45am), Musalem (1pm) and Schmid (1:30pm)

Market Snapshot

• S&P 500 futures little changed at 6,007.25
• STOXX Europe 600 little changed at 502.63
• MXAP down 1.0% to 183.07
• MXAPJ down 0.8% to 579.96
• Nikkei down 1.7% to 38,721.66
• Topix down 1.2% to 2,708.42
• Hang Seng Index down 0.1% to 19,823.45
• Shanghai Composite up 0.5% to 3,439.28
• Sensex down 1.4% to 77,555.88
• Australia S&P/ASX 200 down 0.8% to 8,193.36
• Kospi down 2.6% to 2,417.08
• German 10Y yield little changed at 2.36%
• Euro little changed at $1.0626
• Brent Futures up 0.8% to $72.50/bbl
• Gold spot up 0.5% to $2,610.45
• US Dollar Index little changed at 105.94

Top Overnight News

• China is relieved by Trump’s national security staffing decisions as Beijing feels they could have been worse. WSJ
• China needs more stimulus to revive domestic copper demand according to a major importer. BBG
• The PBOC signaled its unease with the yuan’s weakness by setting a stronger-than-expected reference rate. Separately, China’s securities regulator increased the frequency of its interactions with global banks, people familiar said. BBG
• The FTC under Trump could sustain Biden’s aggressive approach to tech regulations/enforcement based on the frontrunners to replace Lina Khan. FT
• Donald Trump picked John Ratcliffe for CIA Director and will nominate Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary, while it was also reported that Trump told allies he wants Robert Lighthizer as his trade czar.
• Donald Trump’s former trade chief, Robert Lighthizer, and those close to him are preparing to aggressively sell their plans for massive new tariffs on imports that will go far beyond anything seen in Trump’s first term. Politico
• Donald Trump picked Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency — DOGE — tasked with slashing bureaucracy, regulation and spending. The structure may allow Musk to avoid resigning from his companies. BBG
• Punchbowl News notes that the GOP is planning to pass a major tax bill in the first 100 days of the new Trump presidency. Sources add that conversations between Republicans from the House and Senate Budget Committees yesterday were largely a big-picture discussion about what Republicans are looking at for reconciliation.
• SoftBank will be the first to build a supercomputer with chips using Nvidia’s new Blackwell design. BBG
• Spirit Airlines is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection after failing to reach a merger deal w/ULCC (Frontier). WSJ

A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

APAC stocks were mostly subdued following the negative lead from the US amid higher yields and cautiousness ahead of US CPI data, while the region also digested a slew of earnings releases. ASX 200 was dragged lower by underperformance in the mining-related stocks and with the top-weighted financial industry also pressured in the aftermath of CBA’s earnings which posted a flat Y/Y cash profit of AUD 2.5bln for Q1. Nikkei 225 retreated following the hotter-than-expected PPI data, while losses were initially stemmed by recent currency weakness and with Sharp and Tokyo Electron among the best performers post-earnings, although selling eventually worsened. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed amid light catalysts and as participants await Chinese tech earnings, while US President-elect Trump’s first picks for his administration included China hawks such as Waltz, Rubio and Lighthizer, although he also named China-friendly Elon Musk to lead the department of government efficiency with Vivek Ramaswamy.

Top Asian News

• China cuts taxes for home purchases in fiscal support effective December 1st; MOF says tax cuts targets boosting the property market
• China is to release its homebuying tax cut plans soon and will likely cut taxes for home purchases by end-2024, according to China Securities Times.
• China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said in response to the TSMC (2330 TT) chip curbs that the US is playing the Taiwan card to raise tensions in the Taiwan Straits and these chip curbs ultimately undermine the interests of Taiwan’s companies, while it added that restrictions also cause Taiwan companies to miss further opportunities for industrial development.
• Tencent (700 HK) Q3 (CNY): Revenue 167.19bln (exp. 167.93bln). Net Income 53.23bln (exp. 45.33bln). EPS 5.6444 (prev. 3.752 Y/Y)
• Japan’s government is considering restarting electricity and gas price subsidies from Jan-March

European bourses, Stoxx 600 (+0.2%) initially opened very modestly lower across the board, in a continuation of the subdued price action seen in Asia overnight. However, sentiment soon improved just after the cash open to display a more positive picture in Europe. European sectors are mixed, having initially opened with a slight negative bias. Energy takes the top spot, lifted by significant gains in Siemens Energy after it raised its mid-term targets; gains in oil prices in recent trade may also be propping up the sector. Basic Resources follows closely behind, attempting to pare back some of the prior day’s losses. Tech is found at the foot of the pile. US Equity Futures are very modestly lower across the board, with price action tentative ahead of US CPI.

Top European News

• BoE’s Mann says headline CPI “is not telling us whether underlying inflation dynamics have been vanquished”. UK services inflation is pretty sticky. Energy prices are more likely to go up than down. Sees more volatility and upward bias to some inflation drivers. Will focus on how much UK financial conditions are affected by BoE actions vs moves in the US. Better for the BoE to lean against risk that inflation is higher than expected, than to wait and see. Ready to cut rates in bigger steps when inflation risks have gone. Still sees a desire from workers and firms to catch up on lost wages and margin caused by past high inflation. Some evidence that hospitality firms are finding it harder to pass on cost increases.
• ECB’s Villeroy says he expects more rate cuts. Regarding France, expects inflation to remain moderate and the unemployment rate to increase to ~8% before easing back down to 7%. US election result risks lifting inflation. Bitcoin remains a risky asset.
• ECB’s Kazaks says ECB should not deliberately set out to undershoot or overshoot its 2% inflation target, via Econostream. ECB’s best bet was therefore to aim strictly for 2% at all times, so, it should continue to follow its current cautious approach. ECB should proceed with a ‘measured pace, step by step’, avoiding ‘sharp moves’ but retaining ‘full optionality and flexibility. Economic activity was ‘still within the confines of the baseline scenario’. Kazaks said the analysis underlying the Governing Council’s monetary policy decision next month should more heavily weight what it projected would happen next year rather than in 2027, for which an initial set of projections would be unveiled.
• ECB’s Nagel says core inflation rate is still quite high; there is still noticeable price pressures, particularly in services. Trump’s proposed tariffs could cost Germany 1% in economic output
• UK grocery sales growth slows as consumers wait for Christmas and Black Friday, according to NIQ; says UK has a polarised consumer with half the households feeling pressure on personal finances.
• German Chemical Association VCI says in Q3, production rose 0.1% Y/Y or +3.3% without pharma; Q3 producer prices -0.3% amid weak demand and falling raw material costs

FX

• DXY started the session off on the front foot once again as the ramifications of a Trump Presidency remain at the forefront of investor sentiment, but is now flat and holding around 105.98. Focus ahead will no doubt be on US CPI, and then a slew of Fed speakers thereafter.
• EUR started the session on the backfoot vs. the USD and briefly made a fresh YTD low at 1.0594. The pair has since moved back onto a 1.06 handle. However, the ramifications of a Trump Presidency continue to act as a drag for the Eurozone outlook.
• JPY’s run of losses since the start of the week has continued with USD/JPY crossing the 155 threshold for the first time since 30th July (155.21 was the high that day); this may spark some further jawboning from Japanese officials.
• GBP steady vs. the USD and EUR with fresh macro drivers for the UK on the quiet side aside from commentary from MPC-hawk Mann. She kept her hawkish-tone and noted that inflation has “definitely not been vanquished”, adding that UK services inflation is pretty sticky.
• AUD/USD initially extended on its recent run of losses with sentiment surrounding China acting as a drag on the pair. NZD is steadier than its Antipodean peers vs. the USD and is currently caged within yesterday’s 0.5909-72 range.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1991 vs exp. 7.2305 (prev. 7.1927).

Fixed Income

• USTs are incrementally firmer. Specifics so far have been light with USTs coming under modest pressure overnight, to a 109-9 trough, on a soft 30yr JGB tap and above-forecast Japanese corporate good prices. Docket ahead is headline by CPI, after which we hear from numerous Fed speakers. USTs at a 109-17+ peak, resistance some way off at yesterday’s 110-04+ best before 110-07+ from Monday.
• Bunds are softer, printed a 131.62 base in the early European morning with drivers at the time light. Since, the benchmark has been gradually making its way off that trough but is struggling to make real ground above 132.00; current high 132.08. US CPI is the highlight, but for Germany specifically, Chancellor Scholz is set to speak at 12:00GMT, remarks which follow him seemingly accepting calls for an early confidence-vote with December 16th touted.
• Gilts are once again the underperformer. Gapped lower as the benchmark caught up with overnight UST action and then extended further below yesterday’s 93.30 trough to a 93.19 base. BoE’s Mann kept her hawkish-tone and noted that inflation has “definitely not been vanquished”, adding that UK services inflation is pretty sticky. This sparked some very modest pressure in Gilts. UK auction was well received, but had little impact on price action.
• UK sells GBP 4bln 4.375% 2028 Gilt Auction; b/c 3.12x, average yield 4.499%, tail 1.0bps.
• Italy sells EUR 8.25bln vs exp. EUR 7-8.25bln 2.70% 2027, 3.50% 2031, 2.50% 2032, 4.15% 2039 BTP Auction.
• Germany sells EUR 3.346bln vs exp. EUR 4bln 2.60% 2034 Bund: b/c 2.30x (prev. 2.30x), average yield 2.38% (prev. 2.31%) & retention 16.35% (prev. 17.43%)

Commodities

• Modest gains across the crude complex this morning after a relatively flat settlement on Tuesday as the initially heightened Middle East rhetoric was later offset by the broad Buck bid. Brent Jan trades towards the upper end of 71.78-72.63/bbl.
• Mild gains across precious metals as DXY pulls back from best levels (105.88-106.21 parameter) with newsflow light and with traders gearing up for US CPI. Spot gold resides in a current USD 2,597.72-2,613.28/oz range
• Copper futures hold a modest downward bias after lacking direction in APAC trade in a continuation of price action seen from the disappointing NPC Standing Committee announcement on Friday.
• Iran reportedly made plans to keep oil exports stable under a Trump presidency, according to local press Shana.
• Citi revised its 0-3M copper price target to USD 8,500/t (prev. USD 9,500/t); revised Q4 2024 average to USD 9,000/t (prev. USD 9,500/t)
• Oil output at Kazakhstan’s Tengiz field -21% since Oct 26th to 496,200 BPD, according to Reuters sources.
• Russia’s seaborne oil product exports in October -7% on the month, according to data and Reuters calculations.

Geopolitics: Middle East

• Lebanon is reportedly awaiting concrete ceasefire proposals, according to Reuters citing Parliamentary speaker Berri, after a senior US official said he saw a shot at a truce soon
• Israel conducted raids on the Haret Hreik and Lilaki areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut, according to Al Jazeera.
• US envoy to the UN told the Security Council that Israel has taken some important steps to address the undisputed humanitarian crisis in Gaza and that it is of urgent importance that Israel pause implementation of legislation targeting UNRWA, while the envoy added Israel must ensure its actions are fully implemented and improvements are sustained over time.Syrian media reported air strikes targeting the outskirts of the city of Albu Kamal on the Syrian-Iraqi border, while the US military later confirmed that it conducted strikes against an Iranian-backed militia group’s weapons storage facility in Syria.

Geopolitics: Other

• Chinese military organised naval and air forces to patrol the territorial waters and airspace of Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea and surrounding areas on November 13th.
• US sanctions agency OFAC conducts an inquiry into Russian clients UBS (UBSG SW) took over with Credit Suisse, according to Reuters sources.

S Event Calendar

• 07:00: Nov. MBA Mortgage Applications +0.5%, prior -10.8%
• 08:30: Oct. CPI MoM, est. 0.2%, prior 0.2%
  • Oct. CPI YoY, est. 2.6%, prior 2.4%
  • Oct. CPI Ex Food and Energy MoM, est. 0.3%, prior 0.3%
  • Oct. CPI Ex Food and Energy YoY, est. 3.3%, prior 3.3%
  • Oct. Real Avg Hourly Earning YoY, prior 1.5%, revised 1.4%
• Oct. Real Avg Weekly Earnings YoY, prior 0.9%, revised 1.1%
• 14:00: Oct. Federal Budget Balance, est. -$225b, prior $64.3b

Central Bank Speakers

• 08:30: Fed’s Kashkari Appears on Bloomberg Television
• 09:30: Fed’s Williams Gives Welcome Remarks
• 09:45: Fed’s Logan Gives Opening Remarks at Energy Conference
• 13:00: Fed’s Musalem Speaks on Economy, Monetary Policy
• 13:30: Fed’s Schmid Gives Keynote Remarks at Energy Conference

DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

The inspiration for the report is that we’re now within touching distance of completing the first quarter century (QC) of this millennium (assuming our definition), so we thought we’d review what’s happened since the end of 1999 and what we can learn from it across economic data, asset price returns, and crucial factors like demographics. Yesterday’s CoTD from the report showed how in early 2000 the CBO expected all US government debt to be paid back by 2013 at the latest with 2025 still having zero debt/GDP. We’ll start the new quarter century in 2025 with $28 trillion more debt than expected back then and nearer to 100% of GDP. It shows how quickly the narrative can change. See the full report for much, much more.

Talking of debt, Treasury yields surged yesterday as the market continues to try to come to terms with the implications of the US election result that was emerging exactly a week ago as I type. This is all ahead of today’s US CPI which will be a key factor in the Fed’s decision next month. That’s particularly important this time around, as there’s been speculation the Fed might skip this meeting and not cut at all, with futures only pricing in a 59% chance of another cut next month. However Minneapolis Fed’s Kashkari, one of the more hawkish FOMC voices, did suggest a still reasonably high bar for the Fed to pause next month, saying that “there’d have to be a surprise on the inflation front to change the outlook so dramatically”.

Nevertheless, the December 2025 Fed futures contract was up another +6.0bps to 3.88% yesterday. In turn, that led to a clear run-up in Treasury yields, and the 2yr yield (+8.7bps) reached its highest since July at 4.34%, whilst the 10yr yield was up +12.4bps to 4.44%. That repricing also led to a fresh move up for the dollar index (+0.46%), which closed at its highest level since June. But that meant it was a different story elsewhere, with the Euro down to a one-year low of $1.0607, and sterling fell to a 3-month low of $1.2733.

With regards to today’s US CPI, the backdrop is that last month’s core CPI print was the strongest in 6 months, at +0.31% so there may be another upside surprise from a pause in December. In terms of what to expect, our US economists think that core CPI will tick down a bit from last month to +0.26%, which would keep the year-on-year reading at 3.3%. For headline inflation, they expect that to be at +0.20%, with the year-on-year reading up a tenth to +2.5%. Click here for our economist’s full preview and how to register for their subsequent webinar.

Back to yesterday and while yields and the dollar resumed their march higher, several other “Trump trades” struggled. Tesla was down -6.10%, while Trump Media & Technology Group was itself down -8.80%. Small-caps struggled as the Russell 2000 (-1.77%) saw its weakest day in two months, while the KBW Bank index retreated by -0.52%. More broadly, the S&P 500 was down -0.29%, the first decline in six days, but the declines were fairly broad, and the equal-weighted version of the index was down by a larger -0.77%. Big tech helped limit the extent of the headline decline, as aside from Tesla’s reversal the Mag-7 saw average gains of nearly 1%, led by Nvidia (+2.10%).

Over in Europe, the main news came from Germany, where the political parties agreed to hold an early federal election on February 23. So Chancellor Scholz will table a confidence vote on December 16, and once that’s lost the President is able to hold early elections. That’s a change from the timetable that had previously been proposed, which was for a confidence vote on January 15, and then elections in March. As it stands, opinion polls have consistently placed the centre-right CDU/CSU group in the lead, with Politico’s polling average putting them on 32%. They’re followed by the far-right AfD on 17%, Chancellor Scholz’s centre-left SPD on 16%, the Greens on 10%, and the new far-left group BSW on 8%. Then behind them are the FDP on 4%, and the Left on 3%, both of whom are beneath the 5% hurdle required to enter the Bundestag.

Markets slumped across the continent, with the STOXX 600 (-1.98%) posting its worst daily performance since the market turmoil back in early August. The declines were very broad-based, and other indices posted even sharper losses, including the CAC 40 (-2.69%) and the DAX (-2.13%). External uncertainty weighed on sentiment with Stoxx luxury (-3.58%) and industrials (-2.68%) indices seeing sizeable declines, while materials stocks (-2.91%) also underperformed as the Bloomberg Industrial Metals index fell to its lowest since mid-September. Perhaps a weak session in China contributed. Moreover, there was little respite on the rates side, with yields on 10yr bunds (+3.5bps), OATs (+4.0bps) and BTPs (+4.6bps) all moving higher.

Meanwhile in the UK, gilts underperformed after data showed that wage growth was stronger than expected in September. For instance, average weekly earnings over the 3m to September were up +4.3% compared to the previous year (vs. +3.9% expected). That led investors to dial back the chance of rate cuts from the Bank of England, with just 51bps of cuts now priced in by the August 2025 meeting, down -8.6bps on the day. And in turn, yields on 10yr gilts were up +7.4bps to 4.50%, a larger rise compared to the rest of Europe.

Asian equity markets are continuing to decline overnight on the general uncertainty post the election.

The KOSPI (-2.22%) is the biggest underperformer, pulled lower by the index heavyweight Samsung Electronics (-3.40%) as it declines for the fourth consecutive session, reaching its lowest level in over four years. Elsewhere, the Nikkei (-1.84%) is also trading noticeably lower as wholesale inflation reached its highest level since August of last year (more below) with the Hang Seng (-0.91%) and the S&P/ASX 200 (-0.75%) also trading in negative territory. The Shanghai Composite (-0.14%) is outperforming.

Moving back to Japan, the producer price index (PPI) rose +3.4% from the same month last year (v/s +2.9% expected) as a spike in rice costs pushed up overall wholesale inflation. That compares to an upwardly revised +3.1% increase in September.
In FX, the Japanese yen (-0.15%) continues to remain on the backfoot for the third consecutive session, trading at 154.86 against the dollar, the lowest since July 29 amid growing market conviction that Japan’s political landscape could make it difficult for the BOJ to hike interest rates again. DB’s Francis Yared thinks the opposite and believes the US election result and domestic Japanese wages opens the door to higher front end Japanese rates than the market expects.

On the data front yesterday, the highlight in the US was the Fed’s quarterly Senior Loan Officer Survey (SLOOS), which showed aggregate bank credit conditions staying at around neutral levels. The SLOOS showed further normalisation of credit standards for CRE lending, while banks’ willingness to make consumer loans turned positive for the first time in two years. But the positive credit cycle read through was offset by a renewed decline in demand for C&I lending and a tightening in mortgage standards.

Looking at yesterday’s other data, the German ZEW survey came in beneath expectations, with the current situation down to -91.4 in November (vs. -85.0 expected). That’s the lowest reading since May 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, the expectations component fell back to 7.4 (vs. 13.2 expected). Otherwise, the NFIB’s small business optimism index was out in the US, which rose to 93.7 in October (vs. 92.0 expected).

To the day ahead, and the main data release will be the US CPI report for October. Otherwise, central bank speakers include the Fed’s Kashkari, Williams, Logan, Musalem and Schmid, along with the BoE’s Mann.

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

The Italian-Albanian agreement for the offshore processing of illegal migrants has been kicked into the long grass until at least next summer after a Rome court struck down an executive order from the Italian government and referred the case to the European Court of Justice.

Judges in the Italian capital on Monday ordered the return of seven migrants detained at a processing center in Albania and questioned the extent to which the Italian government had the power to declare certain countries of origin as “safe” territories for repatriation.

Several migrants originating from Egypt and Bangladesh were intercepted by the Italian Navy and transferred to a migration center in Albania’s Shëngjin port under a recent protocol between Rome and Tirana. However, an initial decision by the Rome court ruled in favor of their immediate return to Italy, citing a recent European Court of Justice decision questioning the safety of the nations concerned.

🇮🇹 Meloni’s €670 million migrant center in Albania is already closed for business.

All 16 migrants sent to the center will already be shipped to Italy.

Left-wing judges from Rome killed the whole project in a new ruling. 3,000 migrants were supposed to be sent there every… pic.twitter.com/MEsvbI9tCL

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 23, 2024

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attempted to circumvent the judge’s ruling by signing an executive order declaring several countries of origin as “safe” and insisting that national governments had the power to determine which countries migrants could be returned to.

However, the Rome court has fought back, citing “dubious compatibility” with EU law regarding safe-country designations and migrant detention, and referring aspects of the case to the European court for clarification.

As a result, the government’s hopes of speeding up deportations via Albanian centers face a significant delay, with transfers potentially being held up until a decision in the summer.

While left-wing politicians and NGOs hailed the move, the ruling drew sharp criticism from Italian ministers and some high-profile voices further afield.

Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini labeled the decision “a political sentence against Italians and their security.”

“Yet another decision by the judges that prevents illegal immigrants from being removed from Italian territory is not a slap in the face to the government, but rather a choice that endangers the safety and wallets of Italians,” he wrote on X.

L’ennesima decisione dei giudici che impedisce di allontanare i clandestini dal territorio italiano non è uno schiaffo al governo, bensì una scelta che mette in pericolo la sicurezza e il portafogli degli italiani.

— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) November 12, 2024

Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani argued that magistrates overstepping into government decisions “puts democracy at risk.”

“These judges need to go,” wrote billionaire Elon Musk on X.

These judges need to go

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 11, 2024

Meanwhile, Forza Italia Senator Maurizio Gasparri has demanded an inspection into judicial processes, alleging political motivations behind the judiciary’s actions.

Silvia Albano, a judge involved in the case and previously threatened over her stance on migration, has publicly condemned political figures, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, for creating a “campaign” against her and her colleagues.

Read more here…

Authored by Charles Kennedy via OilPrice.com,

The Norwegian government has agreed to buy from private companies the majority of the natural gas export network of Western Europe’s biggest oil and gas producer, the Energy Ministry said on Tuesday.

The government laid out plans in 2023 to take full ownership of the gas export network, which it considers an asset of national interest and importance.

The government launched talks last year with the private companies that hold interests in the three joint ventures operating the export network, Gassled, Nyhamna, and Polarled. Norway has sought to take full state ownership over the network before many concessions expire in 2028.

The government has now reached purchase agreements with seven companies to buy their interests in key parts of the infrastructure, for a combined $1.64 billion (18.1 billion Norwegian crowns).

The purchase is considered to be value-neutral for the state of Norway, the energy ministry said.

The government has reached agreements with Equinor, Shell, CapeOmega, Hav Energy, Silex Gas Norway, Orlen, and ConocoPhillips to buy their stakes in the Gassled, Nyhamna, and Polarled joint ventures.

However, agreements have not been reached with all owners in the system. North Sea Gas Infrastructure AS and M Vest Energy AS did not accept the state’s offer for their interests in Nyhamna and Polarled, respectively.

But Norway aims to have full ownership in Nyhamna JV and Polarled JV, too.

“The State aims to take over the remaining interests in these two joint ventures when the license periods expire or through an agreement prior to this,” the Energy Ministry said.

The government’s rationale for the takeover is that “Ensuring low tariffs, right capacity, and high regularity in the gas infrastructure best facilitates good resource management and high-value creation from the petroleum resources on the Norwegian continental shelf.”

Norway is now Europe’s single largest natural gas supplier after Russian deliveries collapsed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Via The Cradle

Iranian and Russian card payment systems were formally linked this week, coming as the two nations have been working together to circumvent economic sanctions imposed by Washington and the west. 

The announcement was made on Monday during a ceremony attended by the Governor of Iran’s Central Bank Mohammad-Reza Farzin. During the ceremony, “a previous agreement on the connection of Iran’s Shetab and Russia’s Mir card payment systems for electronic fund transfers took effect,” Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported. 

“The two domestic payment systems have been interconnected following the finalization of plans in the wake of a meeting with Russian Central Bank chief Elvira Nabiullina on the sidelines of the Financial Congress of the Bank of Russia in St. Petersburg in July,” Farzin said.

Travelers making visits between the two nations will be able to use their local debit cards for purchases. 

In the first phase, Iranian nationals visiting Russia will use Shetab cards to withdraw rubles under the Kahroba smart debit card system. Russian travelers will then be able to use their Mir cards in the Islamic Republic. 

Following this, Iranian citizens will be allowed to use Shetab cards at Point of Sale (POS) terminals across Russia.

Over the past two years, Moscow and Tehran have been pursuing efforts to circumvent western sanctions. Discussions on linking card payment systems have been ongoing since 2022. 

In January this year, Iran was among several countries that joined the BRICS group of emerging economies, which is quickly expanding as an alternative to the western economic system.

Defense cooperation between the two states has also surged. The linking of the payment systems comes a week after Donald Trump was announced as the winner of the 2024 US presidential election. During his first term as president years ago, Trump initiated a “maximum pressure” policy of harsh economic sanctions against Iran.

BREAKING: 🇮🇷🇷🇺

Russia and Iran have completed the integration of their national payment systems after US sanctions banned them from using the SWIFT system.

ATM cards from Iran and Russia are now accepted seamlessly in both countries and currencies.

HUGE! pic.twitter.com/eCE2BPFv8z

— Radar🚨 (@RadarHits) November 11, 2024

Trump plans to “drastically increase sanctions on Iran and throttle its oil sales as part of an aggressive strategy,” Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on 8 November.

“It’s going to be maximum pressure 2.0,” said Robert McNally, a former US energy official.