They Are Calling This A “Bloodbath” For The $800 Billion Trucking Industry As U.S. Economic Activity Dramatically Declines

The U.S. trucking industry has not experienced a downturn of this magnitude since the last financial crisis, and this is one of the clearest signs yet that the U.S. economy is steamrolling into a severe economic downturn. When economic activity is increasing, the trucking industry sees rising demand for their services and freight rates tend to go up. That is precisely what we witnessed in 2018, and truckers were hoping for more of the same in 2019. But when economic activity is on the decline, the trucking industry sees decreasing demand for their services and freight rates tend to go down. Unfortunately, the numbers that the U.S. trucking industry is reporting right now are absolutely abysmal. Freight rates have now fallen for six months in a row on a year-over-year basis, and according to Business Insider during the month of May loads on the spot market fell “by a chilling 62.6%” compared to last year…

This year has been rocky for the $800 billion trucking industry.

After a raucous 2018, 2019 has seen retailers and manufacturers moving less, according to the Cass Freight Index. Freight rates have dipped year-over-year for six months straight. Loads on the spot market, in which retailers and manufacturers buy trucking capacity as they need it rather than through a contract, have fallen by a chilling 62.6% in May year-over-year.

The spot market is where we see the marginal changes in demand most clearly, and what this is telling us is that we are already in a transportation recession.

Of course that is almost certainly putting it too nicely. According to one owner-operator, what we are witnessing right now is nothing short of a “bloodbath”…

The earnings of big and small players alike are getting hit as factory activity continues to decline. The Lexington, Kentucky-based owner-operator Chad Boblett said some truck drivers are seeing a “bloodbath.”

There has been a spate of trucking companies declaring bankruptcy this year, too. The largest was New England Motor Freight, which was No. 19 in its trucking segment. Falcon Transport also shut down this year, abruptly laying off some 550 employees in April.

If demand does not start rebounding really soon, we are going to see many more trucking companies go bankrupt.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/they-are-calling-this-a-bloodbath-for-the-800-billion-trucking-industry-as-u-s-economic-activity-dramatically-declines

Feds Investigating Suspected Money Laundering Violations At Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank is so consistently mired in scandal that it's almost impossible to keep all of the myriad civil lawsuits and criminal investigations straight. And while Congress ramps up its scrutiny of the embroiled German lender and its ties to the Trump family, the New York Times dropped a lengthy report late Wednesday claiming that federal authorities are leading a wide-ranging money laundering probe into the bank.

The NYT report, which cited a whopping seven people familiar with the investigation. And though the report was surprisingly short on details given its length, it did once again familiarize us to a new character in the Washington drama: Whistleblower Tammy McFadden, who publicly criticized the company’s AML systems.

Anybody who has been following the reporting on DB since the beginning of the year is probably already familiar with the allegedly egregious compliance rule, and the fact that most of the bank's compliance staff were shunted to the Jacksonville Office, where they were treated like they were "one step above custodial staff'.

From what we can tell, McFadden first attracted unwanted attention within the bank when she flagged activity involving Jared Kushner's family back in 2016. The FBI soon became involved, though federal officials reportedly expanded the probe to cover - that's right - activity involving Russian money launderers.

Congress is investigating the Trump angle, and right now, it appears the Feds are looking into other alleged 'misconduct'.

Ms. McFadden, a former compliance specialist at the bank, told The New York Times last month that she had flagged transactions involving Mr. Kushner’s family company in 2016, but that bank managers decided not to file the suspicious activity report she prepared. Some of her colleagues had similar experiences in 2017 involving transactions in the accounts of Mr. Trump’s legal entities, although it was not clear whether the F.B.I. was examining the bank’s handling of those transactions.

The same federal agent who contacted Ms. McFadden’s lawyer also participated in interviews of the son of a deceased Deutsche Bank executive, William S. Broeksmit. Agents told the son, Val Broeksmit, that the Deutsche Bank investigation began with an inquiry into the bank’s work for Russian money launderers and had since expanded to cover a broader array of potential misconduct at the bank and at other financial institutions. One element is the banks’ possible roles in a vast money-laundering scandal at Danish lender Danske Bank, according to people briefed on the investigation.

The Feds have since expanded to cover a broader array of misbehavior - though, again, the exact nature of the investigation isn't quite clear. Several other DB employees, aside from McFaddden, told the NYT that the bank regularly 'rushed' them to finish their reports when they flagged suspicious client activity. To be sure, this investigation is literally the last thing DB needs. After its merger with Commerzbank unraveled, DB promised shareholders that it would finally restructure and move ahead with large cuts, including shuttering most or all of its US equities business, and other trading businesseslk

The bank is also lumping some €50 billion in toxic assets and businesses into a 'bad bank' as a prelude to the inevitable government bailout.

But while DB struggles with investigations in Europe and Frankfurt over money laundering involving shadowy Russians and wealthy clients of the Panama Papers law firm, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: Expect another wave of expensive settlements to destabilize one of the world's most vulnerable banks.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-06-19/feds-investigating-suspected-money-laundering-violations-deutsche-bank

JUST IN: Second Ex-Senate Staffer Connected to Jackson Cosko Charged in Aiding Doxxing of GOP Senators

Ex-Democrat staffer Jackson Cosko was sentenced to prison on Wednesday in what federal prosecutors say is the largest data theft in Senate history.

In October 2018, during the senate hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Capitol Police arrested 27-year-old Jackson Cosko of DC for “allegedly posting private, identifying information (doxxing) about one or more United States Senators.”

Jackson Cosko also threatened to leak Republican Senators’ children’s health information if any witnesses dared go to the authorities about his criminal activities.

But he didn’t act alone — Cosko had an accomplice — 21-year-old Samantha Deforest Davis was charged Wednesday in federal court just hours after Jackson Cosko was set to be sentenced.

Samantha Deforest Davis is expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges on Wednesday.

Politico reported:

A second former aide to Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) was charged in federal court Wednesday with evidence of tampering and aiding and abetting computer fraud in connection with a scheme that led to personal information of several Republican senators being posted online during the confirmation fight over Justice Brett Kavanaugh last year.

Samantha Deforest Davis, who worked as a staff assistant for Hassan until last December, is expected to plead guilty to the two misdemeanor charges, a person familiar with the case said.

Prosecutors say that after Cosko — a computer specialist — was fired from Hassan’s office last year, he used Davis’s keys to repeatedly return to the office, copy dozens of gigabytes of sensitive data, and install sophisticated keyloggers that captured the work and personal computer passwords of Hassan staffers as they logged in.

Prosecutors say Davis didn’t give Cosko permission to use her keys the first time he surreptitiously entered Hassan’s office, but Davis later agreed to loan Cosko her office key and agreed to “wipe down” computers in the office to erase traces of Cosko’s fingerprints. Davis and Cosko had a “close relationship” and she also borrowed money from Cosko to pay her rent, court papers say.

Prosecutors asked US District Court Judge Thomas Hogan to sentence Jackson Cosko to about five years in prison.

“The government believes that a significant sentence would help to make clear that difference of political opinion do not entitle people to engage in politically motivated, criminal attacks threatening elected officials with whom he disagrees, and would thereby encourage respect for the law, and deter future criminal conduct,” prosecutors wrote.

No arraignment has been set yet for Samantha Deforest Davis yet, reported Politico.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/06/just-in-second-ex-senate-staffer-connected-to-jackson-cosko-charged-in-aiding-doxxing-of-gop-senators/

>>6792553

Biden under fire for talking of 'civility' with segregationist senators

Former Vice President Joe Biden came under fire on Wednesday after invoking his working relationships with two segregationist senators in the 1970s as an example of bygone “civility” in the Senate.

Five of Biden’s rivals in the Democratic presidential field, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.), laid into him for mentioning Sens. James Eastland (D-Miss.) and Herman Talmadge (D-Ga.) during a speech at a fundraiser on Tuesday night.

In his remarks, Biden sought to rebuff criticism of his centrist-minded politics from some in his party’s liberal wing.

He pointed back to his early days as a U.S. senator from Delaware when he worked with Eastland and Talmadge, two Southern Democrats who opposed desegregation.

“I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland,” Biden said, briefly emulating a Southern accent. “He never called me ‘boy.’ He always called me ‘son.’ ”

Of Talmadge, Biden said that he was “one of the meanest guys I ever knew.”

“Well guess what? At least there was some civility. We got things done,” Biden said. “We didn’t agree on much of anything. We got things done. We got it finished. But today, you look at the other side and you’re the enemy. Not the opposition, the enemy. We don't talk to each other anymore.”

Biden’s remarks won rebukes from Booker, de Blasio, Delaney, Harris and Sanders, who all said the former vice president’s comments were out of tune with the party.

Booker said Biden was “wrong” to invoke his working relationships Eastland and Talmadge as an example of political compromise.

“You don’t joke about calling black men ‘boys,’ ” said Booker, who is black. “Men like James O. Eastland used words like that, and the racist policies that accompanied them, to perpetuate white supremacy and strip black Americans of our very humanity."

“I have to tell Vice President Biden, as someone I respect, that he is wrong for using his relationships with Eastland and Talmadge as examples of how to bring our country together,” he added. “And frankly, I’m disappointed that he hasn’t issued an immediate apology for the pain his words are dredging up for many Americans. He should.”

Sanders echoed Booker’s call for an apology, saying that Biden’s remarks were particularly harmful “at a time when the Trump administration is trying to divide us up with its racist appeals.”

more

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/449391-biden-under-fire-from-talking-of-civility-with-segregationist-senators

US beekeepers lost over 40% of colonies last year, highest winter losses ever recorded

Beekeepers across the United States lost 40.7% of their honey bee colonies from April 2018 to April 2019, according to preliminary results of the latest annual nationwide survey conducted by the University of Maryland-led nonprofit Bee Informed Partnership. The survey results indicate winter losses of 37.7%, which is the highest winter loss reported since the survey began 13 years ago and 8.9 percentage points higher than the survey average. Honey bees pollinate $15 billion worth of food crops in the United States each year, so their health is critical to food production and supply.

“These results are very concerning, as high winter losses hit an industry already suffering from a decade of high winter losses,” says Dennis vanEngelsdorp, associate professor of entomology at the University of Maryland and president for the Bee Informed Partnership.

During the 2018 summer season, beekeepers lost 20.5% of their colonies, which is slightly above the previous year’s summer loss rate of 17.1%, but about equal to the average loss rate since the summer of 2011. Overall, the annual loss of 40.7% this last year represents a slight increase over the annual average of 38.7%.

“Just looking at the overall picture and the 10-year trends, it’s disconcerting that we’re still seeing elevated losses after over a decade of survey and quite intense work to try to understand and reduce colony loss,” adds Geoffrey Williams, assistant professor of entomology at Auburn University and co-author of the survey. “We don’t seem to be making particularly great progress to reduce overall losses.”

Since beekeepers began noticing dramatic losses in their colonies, state and federal agricultural agencies, university researchers, and the beekeeping industry have been working together to understand the cause and develop Best Management Practices to reduce losses. The annual colony loss survey, which has been conducted since 2006, has been an integral part of that effort.

The survey asks commercial and backyard beekeeping operations to track the survival rates of their honey bee colonies. Nearly 4,700 beekeepers managing 319,787 colonies from all 50 states and the District of Columbia responded to this year’s survey, representing about 12% of the nation’s estimated 2.69 million managed colonies.

The Bee Informed Partnership team says multiple factors are likely responsible for persistently high annual loss rates and this year’s jump in winter losses. They say a multi-pronged approach to research, Extension, and Best Management Practices is needed to combat the problem.

https://www.naturalblaze.com/2019/06/us-beekeepers-lost-over-40-percent-of-colonies-last-year-highest-winter-losses-ever-recorded.html

Most of the MSM in America is Pro-China and Anti-America. Here’s why.

Let’s start with the fact that 90% of all American media is controlled by 6 companies and who they are:

www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6

Now let’s see which of these companies are investing in China and which are not.

Let’s start with GE:

www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2017-11/08/content_34271935.htm

Now Disney:

skift.com/2018/11/08/disney-ceo-still-bullish-on-china-despite-shanghai-park-slump/

Viacom:

www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/viacoms-mtv-nickelodeon-unveil-china-partnerships-at-mipcom-1152607

Time Warner:

www.broadcastingcable.com/news/time-warner-inks-investment-partnership-china-media-capital-114529

CBS:

www.cbscorporation.com/cbs-studios-international-and-chinese-streaming-platform-iqiyi-announce-licensing-agreement-for-the-late-late-show-with-james-corden/

www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/cbs-censors-the-good-fight-for-a-musical-short-about-china

Then there is News corp. which owns Fox, wall street journal and NY post:

www.reuters.com/article/us-newscorp-china/news-corp-sells-controlling-stake-in-china-tv-channels-idUSTRE67810L20100809

I have done you the favor of posting the evidence that led to my theory. It’s very clear in Black and white. Do yourself a favor and actually read them. You can see the fact that the media controlled by the “left” is heavily invested in China. While the media of the “right” sold it’s Chinese businesses in 2010.

So it’s not crazy to make the connection between the hate spewed by all the media groups on the left towards Trump with China. When those same companies are heavily invested in China. It’s also not crazy to make the connection that the one media company not heavily invested in China, is also the one media company that doesn’t attack every single word and action he says and does.

I’m just going by what the “big picture” shows…..

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/most-of-the-msm-in-america-is-pro-china-and-anti-america-heres-why/

>>6792734

Hyet but he has plenty of comrads

>>6792794

Harley Davidson Partners With Local Firm To Build New Bikes In China

Wednesday's FOMC statement has come and gone, and judging by the market's reaction, it off a laudable feat: Signaling that interest rates could soon be cut, particularly if the trade war isn't resolved before then.

But in the latest report that could add some urgency to the discussions for both China and the US, Reuters revealed that Harley Davidson is planning to partner with China’s Qianjiang Motorcycle Co to build a newer, smaller motorcycle that will be manufactured and sold in China.

The new model is a departure from the "big hogs" that Harley is known for manufacturing and selling in the US.

But the decision isn't terribly surprising considering Harley's promise to move more production abroad. Trump even once vowed to hike taxes on HD in retaliation for its 'unpatriotic behavior. But, again, it's not just the trade war that's becoming an increasingly problematic issue for Harley: It's slagging sales in the US, which is forcing the legendary bike maker to focus more intensely on other markets.

China's huge bike and moped market is probably the biggest growth market in the world for Harley, and the company is hoping its partnership will help it wrest control of a large swath of this market.

Harley's bike will feature the smallest engine yet installed on one of its bikes. The bikes will also feature better fuel efficiency.

The partnership Harley outlined on Wednesday is aimed both at taking a bigger chunk of China’s huge bike and moped market, while also fitting in with a plan to cut costs and source half of all sales outside the United States by 2027.

The new bike would have an engine displacement of 338 cubic centimeters, one of the smallest in the company’s 116-year old history, and would be sold in China from the end of 2020.

Harley’s existing range of motorcycles are generally far larger and come with high price tags and engine capacities of more than 601 cubic centimeters.

That has made the company a niche seller in Asia’s big markets, where lightweight bikes and scooters dominate, and left it struggling to win over consumers globally to replace a traditional U.S. customer base which is aging.

Harley's sales in China grew 27% in 2018, even as Harley's big bikes remained mostly 'niche' products. Though Harley didn't tell Reuters what its pricing range for the new bike will be, its partner said the bikes will be "affordable" by Asian standards.

Harley said it picked Qianjiang, owned by Chinese Volvo brand operator Geely, based on the ciompany's experience developing upscale smaller motorcycles. As part of its plan to bolster its Asian presence - something Harley has called "More Roads to Harley-Davidson" the company expects to spend $675 million-$825 million over the next four years, cutting costs and generating $5.9 billion-$6.4 billion in revenue in 2022.

That has made the company a niche seller in Asia’s big markets, where lightweight bikes and scooters dominate, and left it struggling to win over consumers globally to replace a traditional U.S. customer base which is aging.

Harley declined to reveal a price range for the new motorbike, but Qianjiang said it would be "affordable" and Harley said it would be introduced elsewhere in Asia after the initial launch in China.

"The international motorcycle market is huge, but Harley-Davidson has not been able to penetrate it with large/expensive bikes,” said Craig Kennison, an analyst with brokerage Baird.

"Our recent dealer survey work reinforces the need for Harley-Davidson to add more first-time riders. For many, affordability is an issue."

As investors wait for more details, we will also be waiting to see whether Trump fires off another angry tweet for Harley Davidson to completely disregard.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-06-19/harley-davidson-infuriates-trump-latest-china-partnership

U wanna wide my Harrey?

>>6792885

>Madonna

This EVIL c…t did an interview in Aus and it's full of symbolism she even pushed prostitution as a career option for young women. X eye patch on the entire time.

>>6793019

no biker i know will touch a chinese harley