A GoFundMe campaign launched by Equality Florida to help the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting has hit $2.4 million in one day.
Popular: Radical Islam in America | Graham Opposes Republican Leader | Guns in America
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Source: Orlando GoFundMe campaign sets record
Insurers are raising the premiums for the benchmark silver plan by 10%, on average, for 2017. That’s double the 2016 increase.
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Source: Insurers want to hike Obamacare premiums 10% for 2017
By Tyler Durden
Via German Economic News, translated by Eric Zuesse,
NATO prepares a veritable military buildup in Eastern Europe: German soldiers are operating in Lithuania, the British take over Estonia, and US soldiers move in to protect Latvia. The Canadians will be in Poland. Also in the Mediterranean, combat units are being increased. Russia perceives the activity as a threat, but hasn’t yet announced any countermeasures.
At the NATO summit during July 8th-9th in Warsaw, the Alliance will adopt a massive military presence along Russia’s border. Russia is classified by NATO as a threat. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recently said in Washington that the US and the EU have the right in the form of NATO to defend its territories on foreign soil. Critics of this strategy believe that it’s possible this upgrade will increase significantly the danger of a conflict between the superpowers. Wednesday in Brussels, the defense ministers want the military alliance to take decisions which will then be sealed by the leaders in Poland. NATO wants to strengthen its military presence on its eastern borders significantly, and to position foreign combat troops battalions in Poland and the three Baltic states. Germany is the core of the Association in Lithuania, the British in Estonia, and the United States is expected to be that in Latvia. What remains unclear, however, is who will be sending troops to Poland.
Maybe Canada will take on this task, it was last reported from Polish diplomatic sources as quoted by Reuters. “’The summit in Warsaw will be President Obama’s last (NATO summit) and the U.S. wants it to be a success. It will ensure that the fourth framework country is found, possibly by leaning on Canada,’ the source said. ‘Washington will bend over backwards here.’”
Germany wants to send at least 600 soldiers to Lithuania, which will constitute the core of the local battalion there with about 1,200 soldiers.
The battalions are to include around 1,000 soldiers each, and are not permanently stationed in the eastern countries, but replaced regularly. By means of this rotation, the military alliance wants to avoid a formal breach of the NATO-Russia Founding Act 1997, which prohibits the permanent stationing of a “substantial” number of combat troops in the east. What specifically “substantial” means, however, is controversial. [In other words: Obama wants to be more aggressive than the NATO-Russia Founding Act of 1997 might allow; he wants to violate the treaty in such a way that he’ll be able to say he’s not really breaking the treaty.]
Poland and the Baltic countries want to push NATO to be even more aggressive. They demand among other things, increased aerial surveillance by fighter jets of the alliance partners on the Baltic. Poland had in the past also repeatedly demanded the permanent stationing of NATO combat troops [which would clearly violate the NATO-Russia Founding Act]. The Baltic States and Poland have been feeling threatened since Russia’s March 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
NATO defense ministers will also discuss a …read more
Source: NATO Begins Encirclement Of Russia
Forex is a trader’s market. So many complex factors go into foreign exchange rates, it’s really impossible to conclude what will be the EUR/USD in 1 year, 10 years, or 50 years – as explained in Splitting Pennies. Investing in Forex is like betting on the weather. And frankly speaking, given the right climate, it can work. For example, during the post 9/11 global market, it was assumed that USD would go down, and it did – thus propping currencies like NZD, EUR, GBP, and others. Take a look at the monthly GBP/USD chart – interesting to ponder also because of possible Brexit looming:
It took the credit crisis of 2007 to reverse the trend. And in the end – looking back 15 years, what changed with the GBP/USD rate? Right back to where it was, 1.41 handle. With talk of Brexit, Bremain – what is a Forex investor to think? Flip a coin – you’ll have better odds. Psychological factors in Forex work against investors as well. Do you really have what it takes, to sit on a GBP/USD position for 6 years? From 2001 to 2007, it would have been without leverage, a 48% gain – with 10x leverage, or 10:1 – that’s 480% – plus the swap (which still would have been positive for a GBP/USD long in that time). So here’s a situation where the climate was ripe for long term Forex investment. Since then, such an opportunity hasn’t presented itself, with the majors. Maybe Brexit will be a new trend of GBP/USD – the start of a new super cycle. But it’s too complicated to bet on. There are other examples, such as the 4 decade long CHF bull run that ended with the SNB (Swiss National Bank) bending over for their US masters. Investors who bought CHF post Nixon shock, would have had without leverage 400% + return, since the recent super cycle top, and final meltdown and manipulation of the Swiss Franc.
Everyday, we wake up and check the markets – what’s the news? Even with a 24/7 dedicated analysis team, it’s difficult to even conclude what the market outcome will be, based on the facts. Market perception in Forex can be completely off. For example there are those that believe Brexit can be GBP positive post vote.
Investing in Forex requires years of experience, a crack analysis team, loads of investment capital to weather any short term storm, and nerves of steel.
Trading Forex
So, let’s explore ‘trading’ Forex – meaning – day trading, short term, to capture price movements, regardless of direction – as an investment strategy PER SE.
If anyone has ever tried trading Forex manually – it’s nearly impossible. Statistics about individual Forex traders can be misleading. Brokers are now required to publish statistics about accounts, how many are positive, and other data. …read more
Source: Decoupling FOREX investing from trading
By Tyler Durden
Authored by Paul Craig Roberts,
Some readers have asked for my take on the Orlando Shooting.
I don’t have one. Let’s see if together we can form a reasonable view.
Let’s start with the basic first question. Before there can be a murder declared, there must be a body. Has anyone seen on TV or in newspapers pictures of dead bodies? Bodies should be readily available if the reports are correct that fifty people were killed and 50 or more were wounded and in hospital.
I cannot bear the presstitute TV and print media. These are full-time propaganda organizations. Hopefully, some of you hold your nose and watch the news and can fill in the spaces. Has anything we have been told been confirmed by any real evidence?
Initially, I saw a CNN newscast and a RT report. The reports were heavy with verbiage of blood being all over the place, but the only visual evidence offered were three people, supposedly injured, being helped, not by medics or first responders, but by ordinary folks. A couple of people were helping a guy with tattoos in place of a shirt, but there was no sign of blood. Several people were helping people in police uniforms to carry a person who they dumped in the back of a pickup truck, not in the cab. About 6 people were carrying a person stretched out prone (no stretcher) down a street.
There was no blood and it looked like a crisis acting performance. Why prone? Is an injured person really able to keep his body stiff so that he can be carried along prone parallel to the ground? Where are they taking him? Is this just a camera walk-by? http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/06/12/orlando-nightclub-shooting-witness-sot.cnn/video/playlists/orlando-nightclub-shooting/ What has become of the protocol that untrained people are not to attempt to help injured people? When police arrive at a scene, they usually run off bystanders, not recruit them to assist their activities or allow them to carry away the wounded and dead.
Readers have noticed that the visual evidence does not match the verbal reports. Readers report that Fox “News” and MSNBC repeatedly show the same footage described above of bystanders carrying supposedly injured victims whose facial expressions are completely unstressed and show no pain, fear, or blood.
So has anyone seen any dead bodies? Any body bags? Any wounded taken to hospitals in ambulances? Any of the hospital wounded interviewed by TV reporters? Has any reporter checked with the morgue?
Allegedly, people inside the massacre location made cell phone calls and texted. But no one took photos or videos? Are there no security cameras? No doormen to notice a heavily armed person enter?
With 50 people killed and 50 or more wounded and reports of oceans of blood, there should be plenty of evidence Have any of you seen any of it?
As far as I know, dead bodies, other than those of the perpetrators themselves, seldom if ever emerge from the terrorist attacks. No dead bodies materialized from the Paris attacks except those of the alleged perpetrators. …read more
Source: Paul Craig Roberts’ Skeptical Take On The Orlando Shooting
While Donald Trump’s campaign is refusing to give press credentials to reporters from The Washington Post and several other news outlets, he says the ban will not remain in effect if he is elected.
…read more
Source: Trump: I won’t remove press from W.H. briefings
By Tyler Durden
![An Inconvenient Truth: How the Obama Administration Became Earth's Largest Arms Dealer [INFOGRAPHIC]](http://ammo.com/media/images/infographics/obama-admin-earths-largest-arms-dealer-infographic.jpg)
With the Obama presidency in its final year, there is one central element of his foreign policy that has received little attention – the dramatic acceleration of lethal weapons exports by the U.S. military and defense contractors. As Ammo.com details, the Obama administration has approved more lethal weapon sales to more foreign countries than any U.S. administration since World War II. Many billions more than G.W. Bush's administration, in fact. And some of these sales will likely result in unintended consequences i.e. “blowback” – especially as more than 60 percent of them have gone to the Middle East and Persian Gulf.
(After all, U.S. weapons supplied to the mujaheddin in Afghanistan to fight the Soviets were then used to help launch Al-Qaeda. Arms supplied to Iraqi security forces and Syrian rebels have been captured by ISIS. And “allies” from Bahrain to Egypt to Saudi Arabia have used U.S.-supplied weapons to defeat homegrown democracy movements.)
On May 23rd, President Obama announced at a press conference in Hanoi that the U.S. would be lifting its decades-long embargo on sales of lethal weapons to Vietnam. Such a reversal in U.S. foreign policy raises questions: How does the U.S. arms export market actually work? Which companies in the military-industrial complex profit from these sales? Who really ends up with U.S. weapons? And most importantly, how many of those weapons could eventually be used against us?
Source: Ammo.com
Source: An Inconvenient Truth: How The Obama Administration Became Earth’s Largest Arms Dealer
By Tyler Durden
By Michael Kruger of Bloomberg
How low can bond yields go? Every day seems to provide fresh evidence that we really don’t know. But whatever your answer, between the gravitational pull of central bank debt purchases and a slowing global economy, the reality is: probably lower.
Milestones include unprecedented 10-year yields in Germany, Japan and the U.K. British government debt has returned 8.1% this year and the spread between 10-year gilts and comparable Treasuries is at the widest since 2006 on concern the U.K. may vote to leave the EU.
It may seem crazy that 11 sovereigns have negative-yielding five-year debt. Hard though it is to accept, bondholders aren’t playing the greater fool. Central banks are primed to push yields lower until they get results.
“It’s a mad scramble for defensive positions,” said Jack McIntyre, a bond manager with Brandywine Global Investment Management. “We’re competing against the world’s central banks” for bonds.
Trends in consumer prices haven’t acted as a brake. Inflation in advanced economies fell to 0.3% last year, the least since 2009 and down from 1.4% in 2014, according to IMF data.
The U.K. vote has broader consequences. Recent polls have favored the Brexit camp, and should voters seek separation, others in the EU may try to follow. Should that happen, German 10-year yields could go more negative than -0.03%.
Gilts have rallied without BOE purchases. A decision to depart may force its hand in lowering rates or resuming bond acquisitions, boosting gains in the process.
McIntyre prefers Treasuries to gilts in either voting outcome. They’ll hold their value better should the U.K. remain, while Brexit may tarnish its standing as a top-tier issuer by introducing credit risk.
Source: How Low Can Bond Yields Go? Lower
By Tyler Durden
Henry Kravis, Co-founder of private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) sat down for a wide ranging interview with Bloomberg's Jason Kelly.
We encourage readers to read the full interview (here), however one item that caught our attention was that in explaining how KKR came into existence, Kravis also enlightened readers on how the “20” came to be in the 2-and-20 compensation model that is the industry standard today.
JK Take me back to 1976. How did the whole KKR experiment begin?
HK We started with $120,000. George and I each put up $10,000—that was all we had—and Jerry put up $100,000, because he was 20 years older. And then we went out to raise our first fund, a $25 million private equity fund. There was no such thing then, but the first people we talked with—mostly insurance companies we’d worked with at Bear—all liked what they heard. But the catch was they wanted to be the investment committee. Well, we’d just done that and had left Bear for a reason: to make our own mistakes and our own right decisions.
JK So no $25 million fund. What did you do?
HK George and I went to Joe and Rose Restaurant—there’s a picture of it right over there—and said, “Why don’t we go to eight individuals and ask them to put up $50,000 each for 5 years?” That would give us $400,000 a year. Then, if you’ve given us $50,000, in return you get the ability to come into any of our deals. But if you do invest, we want 20 percent of the profits.
JK How did you come up with 20 percent, which became the industry standard?
HK George’s father and my father were in the oil-and-gas business, and in those days there was something called “a third for a quarter.” If I had a lease and wanted to drill a well, I would go to the money person and say, “I’ll put up 25 percent of the cost, you put up 75 percent, and you’re going to get a two-thirds interest and I’m going to get a one-third interest for my 25 percent.” We thought 20 is close enough to 25. I’m often asked, “Why didn’t you pick 25 percent because that would have stuck and carried interest?” We were just trying to get started, so that was literally what we started from.
Interestingly, sometimes there are no complex mathematical formulas or deep thoughts for how things come to be, on occasion, it really is just that simple.
By Tyler Durden
Over the weekend, as details emerged about Omar Mateen's background, the biggest surprise was the identity of his employer: as we reported on Sunday, it was none other than UK-based G4S plc, the world's largest security company, where Mateen had worked ever since 2007. But what was even more surprising, is that as we had also noted several days earlier, it is the same G4S that according to a Judicial Watch investigation was implicated in transporting illegal immigrants from the Mexican border to Phoenix and “releasing them without proper processing or issuing court appearance documents.”
As we wrote at the time, the government classified this specific set of illegals as Other Than Mexican (OTM) and in just that specific week around 35 were transferred 116 miles north from Tucson to a Phoenix bus station where they went their separate way. Judicial Watch was present when one of the white vans carrying a group of OTMs arrived at the Phoenix Greyhound station on Buckeye Road.
Furthermore, one specific security company contracted by the U.S. government was driving the OTMs from the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector where they were in custody to Phoenix. The firm is the abovementioned G4S.
The involvement of Mateen with a company that was directly tasked with not only capturing and transporting illegal immigrants, but also had taken far broader liberties with its mandate and was seemingly unloading them at will, raised many eyebrows, and led to various questions, chief of which was the following: could Mateen have helped illegals immigrants and/or potential terrorists cross the border.
While we won't know the answer, a place to start is uncovering the specific tasks that G4S was mandated to execute. As Judicial Watch noted, it had filed a number of public records requests to get more information involving the arrangement between G4S and the government, specifically the transport of illegal immigrants from the Mexican border to other parts of the country.
Today, courtesy of the government's FedBizOpps website, and @cate_Long, we are happy to report that we have tracked down G4S' contract. The federal solicitations in question is “Southwest Border Transportation, Medical Escort and Guard Services”, Solicitation Number: HSBP1012R0020, posted by the Department of Homeland Security for the Customs and Border Protection Office, the same CBP which is described as follows:
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is responsible for protecting our Nation?s borders in order to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the U.S.
The total contract amount at time of posting: roughly $234 million. And, as the solicitation summary explains, G4S's task was (and is) effectively to outsource the US border patrol:
The Contractor shall provide performance-based transportation, medical escort and facilities guard services. Transportation services will include escort, guard, and transport services for detainees in DHS custody. Transportation services will also entail over-the-road transport services in vehicles of sufficient capacity to meet the performance standards, courtroom transportation, detention facility booking transportation, security services and other related transportation and guard duties. The medical escort and facilities guard services include escort and …read more
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