ty B
morning
Morning look at yerp/middle east
let's start with the AFSOC heading west from Belfast then head down to Egypt
NORA78 USAFSOC C-32B heading wn from Belfast Int'l after about 1h45min on the ground-inbound from Malta-it arrived at Malta on 0322 from Manchester, UK overnight
84-00158 US Army Beech Super King Air ne out of Cairo-about 6 hpurs on the ground-from Tel Aviv. Looks like returning to Tel Aviv
Israeli AF 4X981G550 Nachshon Aitma ISR ne from Nevatim AB
RAF RRR6639 C-17 Globemaster nw from Cyprus-Akrotiri AB
German AF GAF906 A400M back to Bucharest after tracking just north
NCHO222 USAF CD-10 extender setting up over Romania
Croatian AF ACRO9 CL60 se from Brussels
Hungarian AF HUAF183 A319 se from Brussels
Polish AF PLF1005 G5 east from Brussels
RRAF RRR7230 Rivet Joing on the tack eastern Poland with JAKE12 USAF Rivet Joint in close quarters
Dutch AF MMF19 MRTT tanker just west of those two
French AF FAF902 E-3 Sentry ACWACS east towards Polish Border
RAF RRR9914 MRTT KC-3 Voyager Tanker just west of the two Rivet Joints
DUKE61 US Amry Beech Super King Air sw from Lielvardes, Latvia
YANK02 US Army RC-12X Guardrail "flying antenna farm' over Lithunaia
Here is what is left of Not AF1 Joe's schedule for today
Posted last night at some point
all times local
greets with European Council President Charles Michel (4:20 PM Local)
holds a bilateral meeting with European Council President Charles Michel (4:30 PM Local)
joins and delivers remarks at a European Council Summit to discuss our shared concerns about Ukraine, including transatlantic efforts to impose economic costs on Russia, provide humanitarian support to those affected by the violence, and address other challenges related to the conflict (5:00 PM Local)holds a press conference (8:00 PM Local)
https://factba.se/biden/calendar
Mkt Fag: Morning after the latest round of shorts loaded up and were promptly shown the door edition'''
Worked a charm yesterday so still same dynamic going on here: lather,rinse, repeat of anyone dumb enough to take a short position. You can tell they (the dumb money) still haz no idea wut to do based on the choppiness of the trade-but they habs to do something so....they do. Dollar had a 'pop' but is working that off nao-cap #3. Metals with a nice pop but we'll stick to Ag since it's the most manipulated of all-cap #4 +0.66 +2.63% . Not doing BofA ANY good here) or the rest the the same cast of characters in this "arena". Looking a bit tired here d'oh.
Here is the "headline" used as today's excuse...cause they always have to have something that is easily explainable
Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Decrease to 187,000; Lowest Since 1969
In the week ending March 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 187,000, a decrease of 28,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since September 6, 1969 when it was 182,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 214,000 to 215,000. The 4-week moving average was 211,750, a decrease of 11,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 223,000 to 223,250.
https://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2022/03/weekly-initial-unemployment-claims_24.html
and just so we keep this "rally" in perspective to what and how it affects us plebs-see Cap #5 10 yr T-Note-you can see it's ascent starting earlier this month and since now "they expect" a 50 bp rise at muh next FOMC meeting the bond marlet habbily complies by already doing it for them. 7 year still outperforms 10 year by 5bp......and the 5 year by 2bp
U.S. Mortgage Rates Surge to 4.42%, Highest Since January 2019
Mortgage rates in the U.S continued their rapid rise, reaching a level not seen in more than three years. The average for a 30-year loan was 4.42%, up from 4.16% last week and the highest since January 2019, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday. Borrowing costs tracked another jump in 10-year Treasury yields. The Federal Reserve lifted the benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point last week, with more hikes possible in the coming months. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has roiled supply chains and financial markets, raising the stakes of the Fed’s fight to tame inflation
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/u-s-mortgage-rates-surge-to-4-42-highest-since-january-2019-1.1742411
https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/dxy
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5EDJI
https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/bond/tmubmusd10y
a little moar color on the yield curve inversion "issue" and does a much better job than I 'splainin it
The Battle Of The Yield Curves
It's not just Wall Street's increasingly less shrill army of legacy permabulls that has dismissed the collapsing 2s10s yield curve in favor of other, less relevant alternatives when it comes to timing the next recession: during Monday's speech by Jerome Powell, the Fed chair did so too, because as DB's Jim Reid explains, the Fed has "long preferred measures like the spread between the 18m forward 3m yield and the 3m yield which as our CoTD shows is now the steepest since on record with data going back to 1996." This has profound implications, the biggest one being that the Fed won’t see a 2s10s inversion as a reason to slow down rate hikes and that on their measure they have a record level of steepness in their curve to play with before the curve gets to a flat enough level to worry them.
In other words, the Fed won't realize that the US is in a full-blown until as much as 9-12 months after the fact-hey this is exactly why they always say "we din't see it coming-no surprise dhere. For his part, Jim Reid writes that "I can’t help but smile when I think that only a year ago the FOMC’s median dot indicated there’d be no rate hikes until at least 2024, and now Fed Funds futures are pricing in nearly 200bps more in 2022... in addition to the 25bps we saw last week.
That said, since the Fed is always wrong about pretty much everything and since Wall Street's permabulls are among the most clueless animals in the world, we certainly agree with Reid that the 2s10s is a far better lead indicator since we can go back with a successful track record over far more cycles than the Fed’s preferred measure but in any case, it’s fair to say the record difference between the measures is now stark and worth debating.
While this is a topic we will certainly revisit frequently in the coming weeks as the US slides into stagflationary recession, Reid reminds us that it’s worth noting that around the time of the last few inversions there was always a chorus of “this time is different”. A good example was in March 2006 when Bernanke said "I would not interpret the currently very flat yield curve as indicating a significant economic slowdown to come, for several reasons. First, in previous episodes when an inverted yield curve was followed by recession, the level of interest rates was quite high, consistent with considerable financial restraint. This time, both short- and long-term interest ratesin nominal and real termsare relatively low by historical standards. Second, as I have already discussed, to the extent that the flattening or inversion of the yield curve is the result of a smaller term premium, the implications for future economic activity are positive rather than negative. Finally, the yield curve is only one of the financial indicators that researchers have found useful in predicting swings in economic activity.”
Sound familiar? Get ready for the battle of the yield curve and the economy over the next 12-18 months.
Meanwhile, just three additional data points - as we showed last week when we laid out the details of every Fed hiking cycle over the last 70 years alongside the time to recession, none of the US recessions in the modern era have occurred until the 2s10s has inverted. And while on average it takes 12-18 months from inversion to recession during a hiking cycle, the Fed has never before started a rate hiking cycle when inflation was already 7.9%. Expect a much faster recession onset this time.
Point #2: the 2Y fwd 2s10s curve just inverted..... putting to rest any discussion, however contrived and artificial, that the US is about to enter a recession... which, incidentally, is just what the Fed wants.
Third and final - and indisputably most concerning point - every Fed hiking cycle in the fiat high debt era, has led to some kind of financial crisis somewhere across the world
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/battle-yield-curves
morning W
the blahs..dats wuzzup.
Roid reaction-helluva a lot different than oral so dealing wif dhat.-why I vanished yesterday.
moving around the appts on the "game board"
can't eben take a breath mang
some anecdotal info...and not a big deal but worth mentioning.
Y/T has removed any option of National news in the left hand column of "choices"-all that is available in "news" column is local stuffs
Not that I ever used it for anything other than entertainment purposes.
>we need lenience for pedofiles and sex offenders cause after all it's not their fault, it's genetic and we must deal humanely with them
and that just passes right on by
Why I waste zero time
I did finally see the "biologist" exchange.
So all these programs for woman owned bizs, Title 9....doze ok but let's not define it.
This always a waste of time cause it was always gonna be like for like no matter who the choice is/wuz.
SAM649 USAF G5 heading for Wright-Patterson AFB from it's JBA depart
High Level Belgian AF BAF72 Falcon 7X returning to Brussels after an overnight at Tallinn, Estonia
Dis one was in Phoenix (Sky Harbor) on Sunday for about 90 minutes-returned to JBA then back to Brussels on Tuesday
way less than most single Co's do with own equity-look how much Berkshire has bought back ($2.6B just this qtr alone and it not even over) and continues to do so but that ok..VP bad....:I
thought it would be moar tbh
and really wut were you expecting?
The Martens get financial stuff but when they try to combine it wif political analysis they fail.
in only because of the #'s
Putin "Invades" Moscow Stock Exchange with $10.3 Billion in Buybacks; 33 Stocks Trade for Four Hours; Aeroflot Sinks by 16.44 Percent
With U.S. President Joe Biden arriving in Brussels today for three summits with NATO, the G7 and the European Union, Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to put on a big show of normalcy for the citizens of Russia by reopening the Moscow Stock Exchange for stock trading after a month’s closure. The exchange, known as the MOEX, shuttered stock trading after the trading session on February 25, the day after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
On February 24, the day of the Ukraine invasion, the MOEX index had plunged by as much as 45 percent before paring the losses to 33 percent by the close. After the MOEX shuttered trading, many of the Russian companies were trading for pennies on the London Stock Exchange before it also suspended trading in Russian companies.
The reopening of the MOEX today for stock trading was hardly an exercise in price discovery. The Russian government had previously announced on March 1 that its Finance Ministry would use up to $10.3 billion from the National Wealth Fund to prop up share prices of Russian companies by buying up shares. It is highly likely that this figure is a vast understatement if the Moscow Stock Exchange is to remain open, even for partial trading sessions each day. When we say the trading was stage-managed, we’re not engaging in hyperbole-and how different is that than here??? The trading was shortened to just a four-hour session, lasting from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Moscow time. Foreigners were not allowed to sell their shares. Only 33 companies were allowed to trade or about 15 percent of listed shares. Short-selling was banned. (Short-selling means betting on a decline in price.)
It was evident by the trading today on the MOEX that the major beneficiaries of that $10.3 billion largess from the National Wealth Fund were the largest state-owned energy companies in Russia. Rosneft closed up 16.97 percent while Gazprom closed with a gain of 13.38 percent. Other Russian shares weren’t getting so much love. Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, closed with a gain of just 3.90 percent while VTB Bank lost 5.52 percent by the close, after being down double digits earlier in the session. The Russian airline, Aeroflot, lost a whopping 16.44 percent by the close after losing 20.5 percent during intraday trading. Another loser was Mobile TeleSystems, which closed down 5.47 percent. Severstal, a Russian steel and mining company, gave up 2.66 percent. Foreign fund managers have little reason to want to do anything but sell Russian stocks. The global index provider, MSCI, declared the market “uninvestable” after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and removed Russian stocks from its global indices. More than 400 corporations, including many of the most famous brands in the world, have announced that they are severing business ties with Russia, or closing their stores there, or suspending shipments of products to Russia. (See graphic below.)
The fact that there was far more selling pressure occurring today than buying was evidenced by the fact that the MOEX index was initially up as much as 10 percent before fading into the close to post a gain of just 4.37 percent. If that’s all it can muster with government funds of $10.3 billion propping up share prices, it will be interesting to see what tomorrow brings. Markets, in the best of times, are jittery on a Friday, not knowing what major news might break over the weekend closure. But with the U.S. suggesting Putin could roll out chemical or nuclear weapons in Ukraine at any time, it’s going to be tough for the Moscow Stock Exchange to sustain even a tepid rally for any significant period of time.
https://wallstreetonparade.com/2022/03/putins-invades-moscow-stock-exchange-with-10-3-billion-in-buybacks-33-stocks-trade-for-four-hours-aeroflot-sinks-by-16-44-percent/
Morgan Stanley Replaces Executive Tied to Block-Trade Probe
Morgan Stanley tapped Arnaud Blanchard to replace Pawan Passi, the executive put on leave amid a sweeping U.S. probe into how Wall Street handles big stock trades. Blanchard, who joined the firm in 2004, was named head of Americas equity syndicate, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News. In appointing Blanchard, who has been chief operating officer of the firm’s global capital markets business since 2018, Morgan Stanley is filling the role with an executive who was charged with running the day-to-day operational functions and executing business strategy for the unit.
A representative for Morgan Stanley didn’t immediately comment. Passi was placed on leave in November as U.S. authorities examined his involvement in block trades as part of an investigation into whether banks improperly alerted certain clients to market-moving transactions, Bloomberg News reported.
Morgan Stanley disclosed last month that regulators and prosecutors are investigating various aspects of its block-trading business, acknowledging the firm itself is under scrutiny. Passi, who led the firm’s communications with investors for equity transactions, is among a number of individuals whose activities are under review.
U.S. authorities haven’t accused Passi of any wrongdoing.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/morgan-stanley-replaces-executive-tied-to-block-trade-probe-1.1742507
Dis was the sitch where Credit Suisse decided to disgorge information on this.
>>128331 Credit Suisse Tries to Aid U.S. in Block-Trading Probe of Rivals
>>131229 pb Blythe on the BoD of CS among other thangs...kek
SAM646 USAF G5 departing JBA to the nw-let ya know later where dis goes-prolly Peterson AFB unless it gonna follow SAM649 to Wright Pat >>131410
This was SAMFOX yesterday (used in the past for foreign VIPS and also da mascot of the 99th Airlift Squad-cap #2)
Went to Scott AFB yesterday for about 90 minutes then east to JFK Int'l for about 60 minutes and back to JBA
JASDF JF001 777 PM Kishida departing Brussels to the se-took the long way 'round on it's inbound as never fly over China and nao Russia "bad"-westerly approach still visible from JF002s arrival-on the ground at Brussels
JF002 777 should be departing shortly
North Korea test fires banned intercontinental missile; ‘unforgivable recklessness’, says Japan PM Kishida
https://www.firstpost.com/world/north-korea-test-fires-banned-intercontinental-missile-unforgivable-recklessness-says-japan-pm-kishida-10486251.html
'''Mkt Fag: NATO meetings and "peace breaks out.....sorta...again"-edition
These shorts mang...wut to say..we'll let cap #2 and 3 do the talking as this has been wut pepe has been saying for weeks nao. The headlines read one way however the ijits in Brussels are on a completely different track. We've already talked about inversion of the yield curve and since that is getting so much 'press'-they like to talk about shit happeneing and then mechnically reverse it (mostly with technical trading patterns or candlestick patterns) but this is much harder to do in the so much bigger than equities bond market. Someone or some thing came in at exactly 1pm EST on the DOW-cap#2 with the biggest volume spike outside of the open and close and appears as if they were actually trying to be sly about it. Don't think it was shorts covering but most likely that "hidden hand" (shorts in volume like that were active upon that first dip this morning-at least the ones who acted on what they saw...notice how the word smart is absent as anyone shorting these markets-unless you have VERY long dated way out of the money puts-is insane. They habs turned the SP500 decidedly up from it's 50DMA and are working on the DOW (why you saw that amount of volume at 1pm EST imo.) DOW bouncing off it's 50DMA https://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui
The dollar is taking some exhaustive-see red line in cap#4 (and looking very labored) steps upwards as it had been clubbed relenetlessly last week (right after pepe warned too)-just to point out: this is not an ego thing-if I can see it...they can too.."they" just don't like to point it out. Bonds are getting dumped on a YUGE scale-why you see the Yields increasing in the way they are-remember the Reverse-Repo process?? I betcha do and what did they get in exchange for all dat "cash"...I'll let you figure that one out.
Oil continues its "peace is breaking out" run lower-cap #5....better hurry up Mr Abdullaziz (Aramco)
Gold last: $1956.90 Silver last: $25.495 (of note when you start to see .XXX in most commodities-they are shorting it)
Some Headlines
Russia’s Latest Bond Payment Begins Showing Up for Some Holders
Some holders of a $3 billion Russia bond received an overdue interest payment, signaling that the heavily sanctioned nation will once again sidestep a default. The $66 million interest payment started showing up in accounts on Thursday, according to two international bondholders, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The payment was in dollars, one of the people said. A third bondholder reached Thursday said they had yet to see the payment. It’s the third Eurobond coupon payment that Russia is set to complete in the past week, a relief to investors who feared that it would neither be able nor willing to navigate the plethora of sanctions to meet its debt obligations.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/russia-s-latest-bond-payment-begins-showing-up-for-some-holders-1.1742675
LME Bans Orders Outside Daily Price Limits After Nickel Mayhem
The London Metal Exchange banned traders from placing orders outside its newly-introduced daily price limits, in an apparent effort to address a series of large but unexecutable electronic orders in the nickel market.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/lme-bans-orders-outside-daily-price-limits-after-nickel-mayhem-1.1742655
Trafigura closes $2.3 billion loan raised to tackle commodities rally
Commodities trader Trafigura Group on Wednesday said it has closed the syndication of its multi-currency revolving credit facility totaling $2.3 billion, a significant increase from the initial underwritten amount of $1.2 billion.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/trafigura-closes-23-billion-loan-raised-tackle-commodities-rally-2581266
and a reminder from March 16th
>>130640 pb
Trafigura Seeks PE Funding as Commodity Surge Triggers Margin Calls
*Trader discussed $2 billion to $3 billion deal with Blackstone
*Company faced multibillion-dollar margin calls last week
Trafigura Group, one of the world’s top oil and metals traders, has been holding talks with private equity groups to secure additional financing as soaring prices trigger giant margin calls across the commodities industry.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-15/trafigura-seeks-funding-from-private-equity-as-commodities-soar
The margin call feedback loop triggered and will only intensify as the system tries to bang all these down for the qtr close in two weeks-hedging is a bitch when it goes parabolic on you-so if JP Morgans case they just have the trades busted and steal the legitimate traders profits who were just quietly going long. Stocks up Good...Commodities up BAD (when the big boys have huge short positions).
https://www.macrotrends.net/2566/crude-oil-prices-today-live-chart
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5EDJI
https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/dxy
>Bonds are getting dumped on a YUGE scale-why you see the Yields increasing in the way they are-remember the Reverse-Repo process?? I betcha do and what did they get in exchange for all dat "cash"...I'll let you figure that one out.
Historic Treasury Front-End Selloff Approaching Peak As 2Y Notes Trade Below "Fails Charge"
It has been a harrowing month for rates traders, with 2-Year TSY yields blowing out by more than 17bps on two occasions in the past three weeks, representing two of the three biggest one-day selloffs since 2009 driven by the Fed's historic hawkish pivot which now sees at least one rate hike on every FOMC meeting for the rest of 2022 and with banks such as Goldman and Morgan Stanley expecting two 50bps rate hikes in May and June.
The unprecedented liquidation in the front-end has led to a massive pile up of shorts in bills and 2Y notes. As Curvature's Scott Skyrm notes overnight, the market sell-off led to massive short positions across the short-end of the curve (as a reminder, when investors short the market they need to physically have possession of the securities to do so; if they don’t own the securities, they have to borrow them and for Treasuries they do so in the repo market, where the greater the negative repo rate on a given Treasury, the stronger the shorting pressure is). As shown in the chart below, two bills and 2 Year Note are trading at or below the Fail Charge (-2.75%); bills maturing on 6/23 averaged at -2.55% on Tuesday and -3.10% yesterday, while year bills (2/23/23) averaged at -3.20% two days ago and -0.95% on Wednesday, and even July 12 bills trading slightly Special averaging at -0.50% yesterday. Worse, 2 Year Notes were clearing over the past few days, but some failed yesterday, closing at -3.00% amid an unprecedented front-end shorting frenzy. Why would someone cover a short below the Fail Charge, Skyrm asks rhetorically and answers that "some firms have internal rules that require their Repo traders to cover, no matter what the rate is!" So as an epic pile up of shorts keep accumulating and pushing 2Y yields ever higher, so high that even Goldman now expects the 2s10s to invert as soon as next quarter when the 2Y hits 2.60%.
... some are taking the other side, and in a note published overnight from Bloomberg's Ven Ram, the Markets Live commentator writes that "we may be fast approaching its zenith for this year as bond traders are probably in the last lap of pricing the Federal Reserve’s intent to raise rates aggressively."
According to Ram's calculations, two-year yields have surged about 145 basis points this quarter, roughly equivalent to about 205 basis points of Fed tightening based on historical correlations. And with the Fed’s dot plot pointing to about 10 hikes between this year and next, the two-year yield may reach a peak at 2.51% and settle around a 2.18%-2.26% range
In an outlier scenario, it is conceivable that two-year yields go higher than the peak mentioned if the markets price in tightening on a scale seen in 1994. That cycle is “the best analogy” to what the Fed aims to do now, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said this week. Back then, the monetary authority doubled its benchmark to 6% in just more than a year.
In other words, that would mean the market factoring in even more hikes than what the Fed has penciled in, though that scenario would necessarily involve inflation prints remaining stubbornly high past the first half of the year, by which time the Fed would have already raised rates by 75 basis points to 100 basis points.
Looking back, Ram notes that in November, when the two-year yield was around 0.42% (and when the dot plot hinted at just a handful of hikes in 2022), he suggested that front-end Treasuries represented an "accident waiting to happen", and warned that the yield was in danger of breaching 1.75% based on the dot plot then. However, with the Fed having revised its median view of rates to factor in a much more aggressive path, the selloff has extended beyond that level.
So fast forward to this week when Chair Jerome Powell sent bond yields spiraling when he remarked that the Fed was open to raising rates by 50 basis points in May should the data warrant such a response. He also outlined the Fed’s intent to start its balance sheet run-off sooner than in the previous cycle, which may sap sentiment more than usual, though that would pose bigger issues for longer-duration maturities.
The selloff after his remarks has exacerbated fault lines in the market, with the Bloomberg Treasury Index having declined 5.93% through Tuesday, making it the worst quarter for U.S. bonds in data going back to 1973. At the same time, the Bloomberg Global Bond Aggregate Index is suffering its biggest drawdown on record.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/historic-treasury-front-end-selloff-approaching-peak-2y-notes-trade-below-fails-charge-repo
Morgan Stanley Flags EV Demand Destruction as Lithium Soars
Electric vehicle battery makers will need to raise prices by almost 25% due to soaring lithium carbonate prices, leading to crimped margins and possibly demand destruction*, according to Morgan Stanley. Lithium carbonate prices have surged as demand from car-makers has outstripped supply, highlighting how the energy transition may be slowed by a shortage of materials and refining capacity. China’s top lithium producers Ganfeng Lithium Co. and Tianqi Lithium Corp. reported a surge in preliminary revenue in the first two months of the year on the back of the rally.
Most battery manufacturers in China which dominates the lithium-ion battery industry buy the material on the spot market, rather than though long-term contracts, Morgan Stanley said. However, big companies like Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd. may be able to get some discount, it said.
Despite the rising prices, Morgan Stanley is overweight on Tesla Inc., with a price target of $1,300 per share, about 30% higher than its current level. There’s scope for “profound” long-term changes in the battery industry, and Tesla’s scale, technology and vertical integration make it best placed to address the challenges relative to other EV manufacturers, it said.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/morgan-stanley-flags-ev-demand-destruction-as-lithium-soars-1.1742768
Of course the King of BS Morgan Stanley tells you that input prices will rise for Tesla-thus requiring higher prices for the vehicles it sells but yet remains 'overweight' on it's equity..at a price 30% higher than it's current price.
*Prices have dropped a little but that is solely based on buyers reluctance to purchase it at these higher prices-demand destruction
It doesn't require a hedge in most cases so it won't be like nickel
China ramps up arms exports to Pakistan, aiming to squeeze India
From the sale of stealth fighters to submarines, China is accelerating its defense cooperation with Pakistan in a bid to exert pressure on India, a rival in border disputes with both.
China is believed to want to expand its influence in South Asia while the U.S. and Europe are focused on the war in Ukraine. Beijing "stands ready to provide assistance within its capacity for Pakistan to overcome difficulties and recover its economy," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in a Tuesday meeting, according to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Khan expressed hopes for joint achievements and cooperation "in all fields," the ministry said. Ukraine was among the other topics discussed.
China this month delivered six J-10CE fighter jets to Pakistan, the Communist Party-affiliated Global Times has reported. An update to China's homegrown J-10s, they are a key part of the Chinese air force and often fly into Taiwan's air defense identification zone. The J-10CE is a so-called 4.5-generation fighter, placing it somewhere between the F-15s used widely by Japan and the U.S. and F-35 stealth fighters in terms of capability. The delivered jets later took part in a military parade in Pakistan. Pakistan this month is also adding 50 new JF-17 fighters, which were developed jointly with China. They do not match the performance of the J-10CE but do come with near-stealth capability. India recently deployed the Russian S-400 missile defense system with an eye toward Pakistan. China looks to bolster its response to potential Indian air operations through greater cooperation with Pakistan.
China is actively contributing to improvements in Pakistan's navy as well, concerned that the Indian military could wield greater clout in key Indo-Pacific sea lanes. Pakistan in January inducted a Chinese-built Type 054 frigate, which is designed for anti-surface, anti-air and anti-submarine warfare.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/China-ramps-up-arms-exports-to-Pakistan-aiming-to-squeeze-India
and this earlier today
US Congress Members Condemn Pak PM Imran Khan's Moscow Visit On Day Russia Invaded Ukraine
excerpt
Imran Khan's ill-timed visit to Russia
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Russia on February 23 for a two-day visit, the first by a Pakistani Prime Minister in almost two decades, hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a special military action against Ukraine, despite last-minute requests and warnings from the West.
Khan's travel to Moscow on the eve of Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been heavily panned both internationally and domestically, with some pundits even going so far as to term the visit "ill-timed" and "foolhardy." According to a media source, Pakistani security specialists suspects Khan went to Moscow without any plan in mind, frozen out as he was diplomatically by major countries. He was the first head of state of any country to attend a photoshoot with the Russian President after the war began.
https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/russia-ukraine-crisis/us-congress-members-condemn-pak-pm-imran-khans-moscow-visit-on-day-russia-invaded-ukraine-articleshow.html
Not AF1 Joe on 82-80000 on ground at Rzesow Airport Poland with escort AC 09-0016 USAF C-32A at same. Shows that both are still on final but they have been on ground for a little moar than and hour
Also no schedule posted for today, Friday March 25 as of yet. Thursdays still shows
This visit to Rzesow not mentioned or listed in any article regarding this weeks visit. Only Brussels and Warsaw-which it should go to after this visit at Rzesow
https://factba.se/biden/calendar
NATO01 USAF E-3 Sentry AWACS on the track just ne of Rzesow
Dutch AF MMF18 MRTT (Multi Role Transport Tanker) on filling station dooty
Coupla SAMs departed Amman, Jordan
SAM179 and SAM610 USAF G5s departed Amman Jordan nw
HOMER51 USAF RC-135 Rivet Joint heading south back to Souda Bay Crete after runs over Romania
JASDF JF002 777 departed Brussels Int'l almost a full day after JF001 -PM Kishida left
The usual suspects AC -wise are up over Yerp
YOUNG59 USAF E-4B Nightwatch is switched "on" at RAF Mildenhall-arrived as GRIM99 on 0323 from JBA depart
Doesn't look like it is going anywhere soon-just "on" and noticed because of call sign swith
Since we've had plenty of movies referenced with the Nightwatch call signs in the past the best I can come up with for this one is "The Young Philadelphians"released in 1959
or one of the personas
Mkt Fag" Morning report the "our 'models' don't account for this kinda shit" Edition
DOW led higher by the financials-total joke and BTW we should be getting the OCC Derivatives report for Q4 2021 soon if not already released-will habs that and all the changes later if already released or after it is. The T-note massacre continues (selling) and touched 2.50% cap #3- gee wonder where those are coming from (reverse repo process-stopped counting at $70t or so) and also when I looked at the CUSIP #'s they started out as being YUGE chunks of 5 and 7 year ones. Swaps traders have "priced in" 200bp of rises for the remainder of the year. But watch the Fin MSM scramble to tell you" this doesn't mean a reccession"....hahahahahahah-been in one. Even Larry Fink thinks inflation is looming but he has to say that cause it's never "habbening" when it does. NAS is approaching J-J-J-Janet level and the choppy BS that indicates "we just can't figure it out" but they need to try. Continues to drop.....come on Janet where are ya?-sez the on own without any "help" stock jockeys watching.
Oil got a pop-no surprise...tick-tock Mr Abdulaziz or demand destruction gonna fuq up yer next chunk of Armaco at the pricce you really want to shove it out the door at.
The Yen is now is now reeeeally close to "oh Fuq we need to intervene" to stop it's freefall moment. The recent surge in dollar-yen has been fueled in large part by the widening yield gap between the U.S. and Japan-herro BOJ and them NOT raising rates EVER-unless they get some sort of "message" ala Fukushima in 2011. Yen is down 6% against the USD this year alone...see cap#4
They will probably let in continue to depreciate but since the BOJ "owns da chiefs"-the bulk of the Japanese Equity markets and debt who knows what they will do-they certainly are indicating they will just allow it to depreciate and continue to the be the outlier swimming naked against all over central baks raising.
The sheep being led...
U.S. equity funds post biggest weekly inflow in six weeks
U.S. equity funds witnessed big inflows in the week to March 23 as markets focused on a Federal Reserve rate hike and Russia's avoidance of a bond default. U.S. investors purchased equity funds of $13.88 billion, which was their biggest weekly net buying since Feb. 9, Refinitiv Lipper data showed. The S&P 500 index (.SPX) gained 6.2% last week, marking its tallest surge since Nov. 2020.-in 4 trading days..totally not a "hidden hand" dhere /s U.S. large-cap funds attracted $9.39 billion in net buying after facing outflows of $2.5 billion in the previous week, mid-cap funds received $98 million, and small caps saw outflows of $440 million. U.S. growth funds regained inflows, amounting $3.38 billion after six consecutive weeks of outflows, while value funds faced small outflows of $82 million after purchases of $1.41 billion in the previous week. U.S. health care and tech funds, both attracted over $1 billion in net buying, and financials sector funds received a net $637 million. Meanwhile, investors sold U.S. bond funds for a 11th straight week as they disposed of funds worth $1.17 billion, although outflows were 84% lower than the preceding week-cause the 10 year is now approaching 2.50%-another "organic" event. U.S. municipal bond funds lost $1.67 billion in a sixth consecutive week of outflow, but taxable bond funds gained inflows of $495 million after two weeks of outflows. Investors sold U.S. short/intermediate investment-grade funds of over $2.78 billion in an eleventh straight week of net selling, while high yield funds faced outflows of $2.32 billion. Meanwhile, U.S. general domestic taxable fixed income funds and loan participation funds secured $2.13 billion and $1.34 billion respectively in net buying.
https://www.reuters.com/business/us-equity-funds-post-biggest-weekly-inflow-six-weeks-2022-03-25/
and the ramifications of real inflation on the housing market (i.e higher rates)-even perpetual cheerleaders and hopium peddlers the NAR can't spin this one any other way than uh-oh..and this is the start of the strong season. Gonna suck whe you can't get any qualified buyers at these (value) levels
NAR: Pending Home Sales Decreased 4.1% in February
https://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2022/03/nar-pending-home-sales-decreased-41-in.html
And that nasty consumer sentiment survey from the U of Michigan
UMich Sentiment Slumps Further In March, Inflation Expectations At 41-Year High
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/umich-sentiment-slumps-further-march-inflation-expectations-41-year-high
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5EIXIC
https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/bond/tmubmusd10y
Am "impressed" by the propping and the disconnect seemingly going unnoticed by the "professionals".
Eventually the Fin MSM will slip and start to produce rants about it.
At least in 2006/7/8 you had enough reality present and they had to artificially depress Put pricing to keep it all "looking ok"
Don't habs that luxury nao
always knew dat (fin) was soooo deep.
Convincing others that it took 1000s of peeps to keep it going like that (ignore) was a different story.
It was always "no way...impossibruh"
People like paychecks and, moar importantly, like to live so they went along
Oil Jumps As Massive Fire Engulfs Saudi Aramco Facility In Jeddah Following Houthi Missile Strike
up to $113.42 and looking like dat about it (for now)
(Update 11:30am): as Energy Intel's Amena Bakr notes, it appears that Houthi rebels will - as widely expected - take the claim for the attack on the Aramco facility in Jeddah:
Looks like the Houthis will claim the attack on the aramco facility in Jeddah #OOTT https://t.co/xf8yv5z57S — Amena Bakr (@Amena__Bakr) March 25, 2022
Oil has spiked to session highs, slamming the Nasdaq down to session lows)...after breaking reports of a major fire burning uncontrollably at a Saudi Aramco facility in the port city of Jeddah. According to unconfirmed reports, a Houthi missile or possible drone strike hit the facility from Yemen. The Saudi Press Agency tweeted that a projectile fell on a power distribution station in Samtah, causing a fire; No casulties have been reported. Meanwhile, Al-Arabiya reported that a strike hit the tanks of the National Water Company in Dhahran Al-Janoub, adding that civilian vehicles and residential houses were also hit.Today's alleged attack follows a series of recent attacks from Yemen on various Saudi sites, including a last Sunday drone and missile attack also on Jeddah.
While social media videos appear to confirm the inferno, there has not yet been an official confirmation of the reported missile strike.
cap #1
https://twitter.com/AuroraIntel/status/1507370050222759944
Formula One haz a race in Jeddah this weekend too
https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2022/Saudi_Arabia.html
Russian Central Bank Starts Buying Gold
A day after Biden and his pals in Brussels discussed ways to stop Russia utilizing its gold reserves to maintain some stability in an increasingly chaotic economy, the Bank of Russia has just announced plans to begin buying gold from its banks at a fixed price. This could serve two purposes: 1) provide a path to liquidity for SWIFT-constrained banks, and 2) centralize more of the nation's gold as Putin accelerates his de-dollarization plans-see cap #3 for the real start of that in 2011 and accelerated in 2018
Full Bank of Russia statement:
*In order to balance supply and demand in the domestic precious metals market, the Bank of Russia will buy gold from credit institutions at a fixed price from March 28, 2022.
*The price from March 28 to June 30, 2022 inclusive will be 5,000 rubles per 1 gram.
*The established price level makes it possible to ensure a stable supply of gold and the smooth functioning of the gold mining industry in the current year.
*After the specified period, the purchase price of gold can be adjusted taking into account the emerging balance of supply and demand in the domestic market.
The buying price,cap #2 is significantly below the current market price. This implies Bank of Russia believes the Ruble should be higher relative to the dollar.
https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/russian-central-bank-starts-buying-gold
Several steps ahead as usual....
SAM633 USAF G5 east from Scott AFB after arriving from JFK Int'l (second high level G5 in and outta JFK in last 48 hours) >>131416
it departed JBA and went to JFK for an overnight and heading back to JBA-on descent nao
On ground at Scott for about 45 minutes.
B
you haz cheek at all?
take me a little longer than usual
you watch gen
I'll do this
it's friday.....expected after being quiet for several days
gotta habs something ta bitch about as usual
#887
>>131392>>131393 New General Flynn-telegram
>>131394, >>131398, >>131400, >>131410, >>131414, >>131416, >>131417, >>131420, >>131471, >>131477, >>131478, >>131513 pf reports Thursday into Friday Yerp/CONUS and Not AF1 Joe/SAMs etc
>>131397 Mkt Fag: Morning after the latest round of shorts loaded up and were promptly shown the door edition-Mar 24th
>>131399, >>131401 Snowflake loses it-mp4
>>131402 Mkt Fag: The Battle Of The Yield Curves-zh
>>131412 Putin "Invades" Moscow Stock Exchange with $10.3 Billion in Buybacks; 33 Stocks Trade for Four Hours; Aeroflot Sinks by 16.44 Percent Mar 24 wallstonparade
>>131415 Morgan Stanley Replaces Executive Tied to Block-Trade Probe-bnnBBerg and some background on who started it, cough Credit Suisse..
>>131417 North Korea test fires banned intercontinental missile; ‘unforgivable recklessness’, says Japan PM Kishida-firstpost Mar 24
>>131419, >>131421, >>131422, >>131423, >>131439 45 file RICO charges against the usual suspects
>>131424 ''Mkt Fag: NATO meetings and "peace breaks out.....sorta...again"-edition-mar 24
>>131427, >>131432, >>131434 BlackRock CEO says Russia-Ukraine conflict will have us rethink globalization + "larry's" equity sales since 2007
>>131436 Mkt Fag: Historic Treasury Front-End Selloff Approaching Peak As 2Y Notes Trade Below "Fails Charge"-zh
>>131437, >>131438 Zelensky wardrobe "accessories"
>>131443 ‘The unipolar world has come to an end,’ Russia’s former president says-rt
>>131445 Morgan Stanley Flags EV Demand Destruction as Lithium Soars-bnnBBerg
>>131446 China ramps up arms exports to Pakistan, aiming to squeeze India + US Congress Members Condemn Pak PM Imran Khan's Moscow Visit On Day Russia Invaded Ukraine nikkei and republicworld
>>131448 Liz Harrington Retweeted: "🚨2012 Sentencing Commission transcript revealed Judge Jackson stated she “mistakenly assumed” child pornography offenders are not pedophiles"-soc media
>>131462, >>131464 "oh wow Ketanji Brown Jackson was the Pizzagate judge"-soc. media
>>131483 Justice Thomas was released from the hospital today, Supreme Court says.-soc. media
>>131503, >>131504, >>131505, >>131506, >>131509 Mkt Fag" Morning report the "our 'models' don't account for this kinda shit" Edition-Mar 25 plus some comments
>>131511 Oil Jumps As Massive Fire Engulfs Saudi Aramco Facility In Jeddah Following Houthi Missile Strike-zh
>>131512 Russian Central Bank Starts Buying Gold + historical de-dollarization chart for when it really started graphic from 2018-zh
>>131518, >>131519, >>131520 The Troops are AGHAST that this BAFOON is "the president"-soc media-several examples
>>131521 Grenell Twat "They aren’t even standing. They know."-soc media
#887
>>131392, >>131393 New General Flynn-telegram
>>131394>>131398,>>131400, >>131410, >>131414, >>131416, >>131417, >>131420, >>131471, >>131477, >>131478, >>131513 pf reports Thursday into Friday
>>131397 Mkt Fag: Morning after the latest round of shorts loaded up and were promptly shown the door edition-Mar 24th
>>131399, >>131401 Snowflake loses it-mp4
>>131402 Mkt Fag: The Battle Of The Yield Curves-zh
>>131412 Putin "Invades" Moscow Stock Exchange with $10.3 Billion in Buybacks; 33 Stocks Trade for Four Hours; Aeroflot Sinks by 16.44 Percent Mar 24 wallstonparade
>>131415 Morgan Stanley Replaces Executive Tied to Block-Trade Probe-bnnBBerg and some background on who started it, cough Credit Suisse..
>>131417 North Korea test fires banned intercontinental missile; ‘unforgivable recklessness’, says Japan PM Kishida-firstpost Mar 24
>>131419, >>131421, >>131422, >>131423, >>131439 45 file RICO charges against the usual suspects
>>131424 ''Mkt Fag: NATO meetings and "peace breaks out.....sorta...again"-edition-mar 24
>>131427, >>131432, >>131434 BlackRock CEO says Russia-Ukraine conflict will have us rethink globalization + "larry's" equity sales since 2007
>>131436 Mkt Fag: Historic Treasury Front-End Selloff Approaching Peak As 2Y Notes Trade Below "Fails Charge"-zh
>>131437, >>131438 Zelensky wardrobe "accessories"
>>131443 ‘The unipolar world has come to an end,’ Russia’s former president says-rt
>>131445 Morgan Stanley Flags EV Demand Destruction as Lithium Soars-bnnBBerg
>>131446 China ramps up arms exports to Pakistan, aiming to squeeze India + US Congress Members Condemn Pak PM Imran Khan's Moscow Visit On Day Russia Invaded Ukraine nikkei and republicworld
>>131448 Liz Harrington Retweeted: "🚨2012 Sentencing Commission transcript revealed Judge Jackson stated she “mistakenly assumed” child pornography offenders are not pedophiles"-soc media
>>131462, >>131464 "oh wow Ketanji Brown Jackson was the Pizzagate judge"-soc. media
>>131483 Justice Thomas was released from the hospital today, Supreme Court says.-soc. media
>>131503, >>131504, >>131505, >>131506, >>131509 Mkt Fag" Morning report the "our 'models' don't account for this kinda shit" Edition-Mar 25 plus some comments
>>131511 Oil Jumps As Massive Fire Engulfs Saudi Aramco Facility In Jeddah Following Houthi Missile Strike-zh
>>131512 Russian Central Bank Starts Buying Gold + historical de-dollarization chart for when it really started graphic from 2018-zh
>>131518, >>131519, >>131520 The Troops are AGHAST that this BAFOON is "the president"-soc media-several examples
>>131521 Grenell Twat "They aren’t even standing. They know."-soc media
#887
>>131392, >>131393 New General Flynn-telegram
>>131394, >>131398, >>131400, >>131410, >>131414, >>131416, >>131417, >>131420, >>131471, >>131477, >>131478, >>131513 pf reports Thursday into Friday
>>131397 Mkt Fag: Morning after the latest round of shorts loaded up and were promptly shown the door edition-Mar 24th
>>131399, >>131401 Snowflake loses it-mp4
>>131402 Mkt Fag: The Battle Of The Yield Curves-zh
>>131412 Putin "Invades" Moscow Stock Exchange with $10.3 Billion in Buybacks; 33 Stocks Trade for Four Hours; Aeroflot Sinks by 16.44 Percent Mar 24 wallstonparade
>>131415 Morgan Stanley Replaces Executive Tied to Block-Trade Probe-bnnBBerg and some background on who started it, cough Credit Suisse..
>>131417 North Korea test fires banned intercontinental missile; ‘unforgivable recklessness’, says Japan PM Kishida-firstpost Mar 24
>>131419, >>131421, >>131422, >>131423, >>131439 45 file RICO charges against the usual suspects
>>131424 ''Mkt Fag: NATO meetings and "peace breaks out.....sorta...again"-edition-mar 24
>>131427, >>131432, >>131434 BlackRock CEO says Russia-Ukraine conflict will have us rethink globalization + "larry's" equity sales since 2007
>>131436 Mkt Fag: Historic Treasury Front-End Selloff Approaching Peak As 2Y Notes Trade Below "Fails Charge"-zh
>>131437, >>131438 Zelensky wardrobe "accessories"
>>131443 ‘The unipolar world has come to an end,’ Russia’s former president says-rt
>>131445 Morgan Stanley Flags EV Demand Destruction as Lithium Soars-bnnBBerg
>>131446 China ramps up arms exports to Pakistan, aiming to squeeze India + US Congress Members Condemn Pak PM Imran Khan's Moscow Visit On Day Russia Invaded Ukraine nikkei and republicworld
>>131448 Liz Harrington Retweeted: "🚨2012 Sentencing Commission transcript revealed Judge Jackson stated she “mistakenly assumed” child pornography offenders are not pedophiles"-soc media
>>131462, >>131464 "oh wow Ketanji Brown Jackson was the Pizzagate judge"-soc. media
>>131483 Justice Thomas was released from the hospital today, Supreme Court says.-soc. media
>>131503, >>131504, >>131505, >>131506, >>131509 Mkt Fag" Morning report the "our 'models' don't account for this kinda shit" Edition-Mar 25 plus some comments
>>131511 Oil Jumps As Massive Fire Engulfs Saudi Aramco Facility In Jeddah Following Houthi Missile Strike-zh
>>131512 Russian Central Bank Starts Buying Gold + historical de-dollarization chart for when it really started graphic from 2018-zh
>>131518, >>131519, >>131520 The Troops are AGHAST that this BAFOON is "the president"-soc media-several examples
>>131521 Grenell Twat "They aren’t even standing. They know."-soc media
kek
test
looks like images server f'ed again
>DDoS
ayefirmative
>Is it just Friday, or is some big shit about to drop?
who knows at this point
try it in red text though...it'll make you "righter"
kek