Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Sunday that his country, having secured the release of hostages abducted on October 7, 2023, will shift its focus to destroying Hamas’s tunnel network in Gaza. Writing on X, Katz explained that the effort will be conducted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “through the international mechanism to be established under the leadership and supervision of the United States.””This is the primary significance of implementing the agreed-upon principle of demilitarizing Gaza and neutralizing Hamas of its weapons,” Katz wrote. “I have instructed the IDF to prepare for carrying out the mission.”
Must see video: Life, Liberty & Levin
Fox News host Mark Levin reflects on the Israeli hostage release, the peace agreement in the Middle East, and offers a word of caution on ‘Life, Liberty & Levin
Silver Traders Rush Bars to London as Historic Squeeze Rocks Market… ETF’s scrambling for inventory
The London silver market has been thrown into turmoil by a massive short squeeze, driving prices above $50 an ounce for only the second time in history and stirring memories of the billionaire Hunt brothers’ notorious attempt to corner the market in 1980. NB: I have been in this movie before Benchmark prices in London have soared to near-unprecedented levels over New York. Traders described a market where liquidity has almost entirely dried up, leaving anyone short spot silver struggling to source metal and forced to pay crippling borrowing costs to roll their positions to a later date. And the squeeze has become so dramatic that some traders have rushed to book slots in the cargo holds of transatlantic flights for bulky silver bars — an expensive mode of transport typically reserved for more valuable gold — to profit off the massive premiums in London.
There’s no modern-day equivalent of the Hunt brothers trying to corner the market today, traders and analysts say, pointing instead to a combination of factors that have sent prices soaring. But the chaos of the past two days bears many similarities with the 1980 squeeze, and in some ways is even more extreme. NB: Bullshit! This time its the overlevgered ETF’S that are sucking up the silver to put in their warehouses to cover sales to armature investors creating a short squeeze. This not not not a lack of silver due to manufacturing demand.
Liquidity Dries Up in London Silver Market
The recent price surge has been driven in large part by a wave of investment into both gold and silver, spurred by fears of rising debt levels in the West and devaluation of currencies — a move that has accelerated amid the US government budget standoff and shutdown.
As a result, inventories of silver in London have fallen by a third since mid-2021. However, a large part of that is held by exchange-traded funds. The remaining “free float” of metal available to provide liquidity to the London market — mostly held by big banks — has dropped to just 200 million ounces, down 75% from a high of over 850 million ounces in mid-2019, according to Bloomberg calculations. The surge in investor buying coincided this month with a sudden increase in demand from India. Indian buyers had been sourcing silver from Hong Kong, but shifted purchases during the Golden Week holiday, said Daniel Ghali of TD Securities. One Indian ETF even halted new investments on Thursday, citing a domestic shortage of metal.
In 1980, the market corner was broken by intervention from the exchanges. First Comex, then the Chicago Board of Trade — where the highest-ever recorded silver price of $52.50 an ounce was printed on Jan. 21, 1980 — imposed rules preventing traders from taking new positions and only allowing them to liquidate.
In today’s silver market, there is no such easy fix. Instead, the squeeze is likely to be resolved by more silver becoming available in the London market — either because ETF investors or other holders sell, or because traders are able to fly bars from other parts of the world to London in sufficient quantities to ease the tightness. “There’ll be a natural momentum for material to move back into London and hopefully things will normalize,” said Joseph Stefans, head of trading at MKS Pamp SA, one of the world’s biggest precious-metals refiners. “It’s just a question of mobilizing those balances that are sitting elsewhere in the world and moving them back to London.”
NN: See BlackMask Market Update Titled:
BITCOIN GOT CREAMED
$19B liquidated from crypto market amid new Trump tariffs
Over $19 billion worth of leveraged crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours, marking the largest single-day loss in the history of digital currency. The sell-off triggered by United States President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 100% tariff increase on Chinese imports, which is set to take place on November 1, sent Bitcoin plummeting to $102,705 before rallying back to $112,775 at 8:58 pm ET, going down by 7.42% in 24 hours,
NN: A 19 billion dollar drop in a hour is a warning sign. Soon the canned fish and tulip hysteria will end in tears
Trump threatens ‘massive’ tariffs on China
United States President Donald Trump stated on Friday that Chinese products may be subject to new extreme tariffs and that he is weighing the options with his team. “I never thought it would come to this but perhaps, as with all things, the time has come. Ultimately, though potentially painful, it will be a very good thing, in the end, for the U.S.A. One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America,” the American leader wrote on his Truth Social account. Trump also claimed that “for every Element that they [China] have been able to monopolize,” Washington has two, while also announcing that “many other countermeasures” are “under serious consideration.” In the same post, the president also declared that there is no reason to speak to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
NN: Trump’s post struck fear and terror into the stock market, bitcoin and oil. It rallied precious metals. This is Trump doing art of the deal negotiations, In the end the US and China will come to terms.
WTI Drops Below $60 on Gaza Ceasefire
WTI crude fell below $60 per barrel as easing Middle East tensions and weak China–U.S. sentiment erased much of oil’s geopolitical risk premium. The relatively successful implementation of the Israel-Gaza ceasefire deal has lowered geopolitical risk premiums in oil futures and sent front-month ICE Brent prices below $64 per barrel. The evident escalation in China-US tensions isn’t adding any bullish momentum to crude either, with all signs pointing towards a 2026 impact on global trade if the current pace of sanctions and reciprocal levies doesn’t ease.
NN: Markets got it wrong. China will not be buying less oil. Trumps sanctions are a bluff. Gaza is not part of the oil equation. Last thing oil under $60 WTI means the cure for lower oil prices are lower oil prices. Because oil fracking wells in the US shut down.
Oil plunges 3% on Trump’s China remarks
Oil futures plummeted more than 3% on Friday after United States President Donald Trump seemingly escalated trade tensions with China, threatening Beijing with a “massive increase” in tariffs over its decision to implement export controls on rare earths. Crude prices were also likely affected by the easing of tensions in the Middle East following the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas.Brent for deliveries in December slumped 3.13% to $63.17 per barrel ar 11:21 am ET and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for settlements in November dropped 3.66% to go for $59.28 per barrel at 11:31 am ET.
Trump threatens ‘massive’ tariffs on China
United States President Donald Trump stated on Friday that Chinese products may be subject to new extreme tariffs and that he is weighing the options with his team. “I never thought it would come to this but perhaps, as with all things, the time has come. Ultimately, though potentially painful, it will be a very good thing, in the end, for the U.S.A. One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America,” the American leader wrote on his Truth Social account. Trump also claimed that “for every Element that they [China] have been able to monopolize,” Washington has two, while also announcing that “many other countermeasures” are “under serious consideration.” In the same post, the president also declared that there is no reason to speak to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
NN: I think Trump is having a bad hair day. I think its that golden peace prize thing.
Venezuelan opposition leader gets Nobel Peace Prize…. WH SAYS NOBEL COMMITTEE PUTS POLITICS BEFORE PEACE
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.” The Norwegian Nobel Committee described Machado as a “key, unifying figure” in the Venezuelan opposition to President Nicolas Maduro, noting that his “authoritarian regime makes political work extremely difficult.” Machado was a candidate in the primaries ahead of the 2023 presidential election, before being blocked from running by the government. In 2024, she announced that she was forced into hiding. “Despite serious threats against her life she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions of people,” the Nobel committee said.
WH says Nobel Committee puts politics before peace
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung (pictured) accused the Nobel Committee on Friday of prioritizing politics over peace after United States President Donald Trump was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, although his efforts to bring peace to the Gaza Strip apparently yielded results. “President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives. He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will,” Cheung said in a post on X. Earlier in the day, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the peace prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado “for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
NN: Mr. President walk back from the ledge
Netanyahu: Hamas will be disarmed and dismantled………… ‘Hamas Will Agree To Disarm’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that Hamas “will be disarmed and then dismantled,” and that this can be achieved “the easy way,” presumably via United States President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan, or “the hard way,” supposedly referring to a return to fighting. He claimed that Hamas only agreed to the ceasefire deal “because it felt the sword at its throat,” adding that Trump’s plan will isolate Hamas on the international stage “in an unprecedented way.”Netanyahu praised Trump’s “massive political pressure” on Hamas, stating that it was necessary to push the militant group to return all remaining hostages. He thanked Trump for his “global leadership and his tireless efforts” in formulating the Gaza plan, as well as members of his administration, “who worked hard to reach an agreement.” He repeated that the hostages held by Hamas will be released in the coming days.
‘Hamas Will never Agree To Disarm’
Hamas will never agree to disarm or surrender, Israel-based Maj. (Res.) Alexander Grinberg said on Global Pulse. He also added that the Palestinian militant group won’t agree to a international security fore in Gaza.
NN: BlackMask Pod Cast:
Hamas Says Disarm Over My Dead Body.. Sounds Like a plan to me