Following a slightly lower open on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index later jumped over 250 points to cross the 35,000-point mark for the first time since January 20. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, explaining earlier remarks he had made, said that the United States Federal Reserve would not prefer increasing the key United States interest rate by 50 basis points at its next meeting in March, seemingly causing market fears about potentially intense monetary tightening policy to diminish. The Dow Jones was up 0.77% or 266 points at 2:32 pm ET. The Nasdaq 100 gained 2.55% and the S&P 500 rose by 1.43% at the same time . NN: Lets give them time to rev their engines AND then we will very very soon begin shorting operations.….
France has announced plans to send hundreds of troops to Romania a day after the United States said it would soon move a small number of U.S. troops to Eastern European and NATO countries as fears continue to mount that a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine’s borders could be a prelude to an invasion. French Defense Minister Florence Parly said on January 29 that Paris plans to send “several hundred men” to Romania as part of a “defensive alliance.” She also said she had visited Romania on January 27 to discuss the issue. Speaking with France Inter radio, Parly described Romania as a “high tension zone” that had to be “reassured.” Romania shares a border with Ukraine as well as Moldova, where Russia has troops in the breakaway region of Transdniester. U.S. President Joe Biden said on January 28 that he would move U.S. troops to Eastern Europe and the NATO countries “in the near term.” He did not specify where the troops would be sent from or which country they would be sent to. The United States already has tens of thousands of troops stationed across Western Europe. The Pentagon earlier this week placed about 8,500 U.S. troops on standby for possible deployment to Europe amid Moscow’s military buildup, which has moved more than 100,000 Russian troops to regions north, east, and south of Ukraine’s borders. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier that Russian President Vladimir Putin has all the military capabilities ready to act against Ukraine and it now comes down to a political decision on what action Moscow will take. “While we don’t believe that President Putin has made a final decision to use these forces against Ukraine, he clearly now has that capability,” Austin told reporters.
He said there are multiple options available, “including the seizure of cities and significant territories, but also coercive acts and provocative political acts like the recognition of breakaway territories.”
Western leaders have scrambled to defuse the crisis caused by the Russian troop buildup by holding talks with Russian diplomats, while trying to put pressure on Putin by vowing unprecedented sanctions should Russia invade. An ongoing diplomatic effort is set to continue in the coming weeks. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on January 29 that he and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock would visit Ukraine on February 7-8. He said he had reassured Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba “of our full backing and solidarity with Ukraine.” Kuleba issued a call for the West to remain “vigilant and firm in contacts with the Russian side” in his conversation with Le Drian. Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone for more than an hour on January 28 and agreed on the need for de-escalation. According to a Macron aide quoted by the AFP news agency, Putin told Macron that he had “no offensive plans.” U.S. Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan said on January 28 that Washington was awaiting Russia’s response to its written proposals for a diplomatic path out of the Ukraine crisis, voicing hope that a meeting between American and Russian diplomats could then follow. The Kremlin has said Russia would study the written responses submitted by the United States and NATO concerning Moscow’s demands on security guarantees and will then “decide on further actions.”
Russia is demanding a major restructuring of Europe’s security architecture in exchange for a de-escalation of the crisis over Ukraine.
The United States and NATO have largely rejected the demands, including the call to permanently shut the door on membership for Ukraine and other former Soviet republics. NN: Putin is playing a strng hand. Against weal opponents who are squabbling among themselves. US send anti tank weapons and Germany send helmets. Great way to negotiate!!
The study adds to evidence that Covid-19 may mutate rapidly when harboured by immunosuppressed individuals such as those not taking medication to treat HIV, and this may lead to the development of new variants. The Beta variant, with which the patient in the study was infected, was discovered in SA, as was the Omicron variant. “This case, like others before, describes a potential pathway for the emergence of novel variants,” the scientists said, stressing it was a hypothesis. “Our experience reinforces previous reports that effective anti-retroviral treatment is the key to controlling such events.” SA has the world’s biggest HIV epidemic with 8.2-million of its 60-million people infected with the virus which weakens the immune system. The coronavirus harboured by the patient in the study developed at least 10 mutations on the spike protein, which allows it to bind with cells, and 11 other mutations, the scientists said. Some of the changes were common to those seen in the Omicron and Lambda variants while other were consistent with mutations that allow the virus to evade antibodies.NN: My point is its not over…. As hard as it is and as much as the captives want to be set free. It would be wise not to let your guard down and keep up on your vaccines if you are so inclined
(Bloomberg) — French energy regulator, CRE, has rejected a request to build the Gridlink interconnector between Britain and France because of increased uncertainty since Brexit. The 1.4 gigawatt project was being developed by a private company, GridLink Interconnector Ltd, and was supposed to be operational from 2025. The link was awaiting regulatory approval from CRE and Ofgem. Studies showed that Brexit could have a significant impact on the benefits of interconnection projects, CRE said. The measures in the Brexit agreement to try to link the U.K. with other markets have many uncertainties, it said. It had been picked out as a project of common interest by the European Union, which allowed it to apply for financing from the Connecting Europe Facility, an EU fund for infrastructure investments across the union. Last week, Britain rejected a politically controversial 2,000-megawatt power cable to France proposed by Aquind Ltd. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng refused to grant a development consent order, the final stage in the planning process, despite a recommendation from the examining authority that the project be approved. NN: France has the cheapest power in Europe even though rate have gone up. 80% of French electricity is nuclear. And they have excess power to sell. England and Germany bought into the grrenniwinne lie and they can not generate enough power to meet demand.
of all the videos i have ever posted this one is the most important one to date
We are at the edge of the preverbible cliff. This is your two minuite warning. The US stock market and realestate market is about to crash, Gecades of planning on my part including gett you acess to the CFD markets are all in place. We woll very very soon begin shorting operations in this rally back. i see a 50% crash. Thar is a drop of 8000 points. Remeber major US brokers offer CFD trading to their NON US clients like El Toro and Interactive brokers. This is the defining moment of my life. I am so glad you are here to share thin epic moment with me.
See the chart below of the US GDP to Debt Ratio
You need to know something. I realized when the fucking idiots did ZERO interest rates they would create enormous bubbles that i have been sceaming about. For over a decade i have laid my plains… From the zero coupon bonds, to the NASDAQ100 and my greatest accomplishment of them all our CFD’s. Something else you should know the top 10% control 99% of the asserts The biggest gap between the rich and poor in US history. That is why the masses will rise up. The storming of the capital is the result of the masses being manipulated. They are getting poorer and they need someone or something to blame. Trump is a master at feeding their anger and fears.
Wall Street ended a tumultuous week Friday, rebounding sharply from a morning sell-off in a volatile session. Tech stocks were the standout in a broad rally led by Apple. The Dow added over 500 points, gaining nearly 1.7%. The S&P 500 shot up nearly two-and-a-half percent. And the Nasdaq catapulted over 3%. The major indexes gained on the week, and the S&P snapped its three-week losing streak. Investors looked past data out Friday showing consumer spending falling in December as inflation climbed at its fastest pace in four decades. But Gerber Kawasaki CEO Ross Gerber isn’t worried about inflation or the Omicron variant. “So we see both of those trends now reversing as Omicron is now fading in the United States, and we’re gonna see costs start to come down and people get back to jobs and work and back to the offices again. So we’re very bullish on the spring.”
Springing higher: Apple, up 7%, one day after the company posted record sales of iPhones in the holiday quarter.
Visa charged up nearly 11%. It was the top gainer on the Dow and S&P. Higher spending on international travel and commerce helped push earnings past Wall Street’s targets. NN: the dippers are back. NOTICE we will soon be starting operations. All my touch points have been met!
President Biden signaled Friday evening that he does plan to move troops to Eastern Europe sometime ‘in the near term,’ even as Ukrainian officials are publicly downplaying U.S. assessments of imminent Russian invasion. ‘I’ll be moving troops to Eastern Europe and the NATO countries in the near term. Not too many,’ Biden said as he de-planed Air Force One after a trip to Pittsburgh. Earlier this week, the Pentagon told 8,500 troops here in the U.S. to be on high alert for a potential deployment to Eastern Europe, as Russia has already amassed over 100,000 troops at the Ukraine border. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the global media in Kiev Friday and pushed back on world leaders who have publicly stressed the prospect of Russian invasion – following a call with President Biden where the president raised the ‘distinct possibility’ Russian troops would soon overrun his country. ‘There are signals even from respected leaders of states, they just say that tomorrow there will be war. This is panic – how much does it cost for our state?’ said Zelensky. He indirectly criticized the decision by the U.S. to pull family members of diplomats out of the country as yet another measure that could feed ‘panic’ that could be counterproductive. ‘We don’t have a Titanic here,’ he said. ‘I don’t consider the situation now more tense than before. There is a feeling abroad that there is war here. That’s not the case,’ said Zelensky. ‘I am not saying an escalation is not possible…(but) we don’t need this panic,’ he said. ‘If war were to break out on the scale and scope that is possible, the civilian population would suffer immensely,’ Milley said at the Pentagon. Austin said the 100,000-plus Troops Russia has positioned ‘far and away exceeds what we typically see them do for exercises. ‘It’s very concerning,’ he said. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley warned of the stakes and spoke to U.S. military preparations to assist NATO allies. Asked whether Putin has enough troops for a full-scale invasion of its neighbor, Austin replied: ‘I mean, you’ve heard the chairman say earlier that he’s got north of 100,000 troops in the border region. That gives him a number of options. What he’s done as he’s continued to move troops and resources into the region is increased his options. And so, we won’t predict where his decisions will take him, but we remain concerned about the range of options that that he could pursue and will stay focused on this problem set.’ Milley said the pair do not believe Putin has made a decision. But he added: ‘Sure, with 10000 troops. You’ve got combined arms formations, ground maneuver, artillery, rockets, you got air and all the other piece parts that go with it. There’s a potential that they could launch on very, very little warning. That’s possible. And there’s a wide scale of options that are available to Russian leadership. The best option they should pick, in my view, is a diplomatic solution to resolve whatever differences they have,’ he said. ‘This is larger in scale and scope, and the massing of forces than anything we’ve seen in recent memory,’ said Milley. Given the forces Putin has at his disposal, ‘if that was unleashed on Ukraine, it would be significant, very significant, and it would result in a significant amount of casualties,’ he said. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the 100,000-plus Troops Russia has positioned ‘far and away exceeds what we typically see them do for exercises. ‘It’s very concerning,’ he said. NN: Rutan senses weakness. I see this coming to a head soon. And i believe it will drive oil prices higher. Tensions will wind down very quickly. Giving us a great shorting opportunity.
The NATO chief admits that there are disagreements among allies on how to assist Ukraine. Western officials and media have spent months claiming that Russia is poised to invade its neighbour. Moscow has dismissed these allegations, suggesting the Western alliance is using the tensions to justify its continued buildup in Eastern Europe. NATO is uncertain of Russia’s intentions towards Ukraine and is not planning to deploy alliance combat troops to the country at this stage, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has announced.
“We are not planning to deploy NATO combat troops to Ukraine, that’s correct,” Stoltenberg said, speaking at a Washington-based think tank’s virtual forum on Friday.
“There is no certainty about the Russian plans and maybe they have not made any final decision. From the NATO perspective, we are ready to engage in political dialogue but also, we are ready to respond if Russia chooses an armed confrontation. We are ready for both options,” the alliance chief noted.
Stoltenberg claimed that “Russian aggression” against its neighbour may not be limited to a ground invasion and that there were other methods Moscow could use, such as cyberattacks, a coup attempt, or sabotage. “We need to be prepared for a wide range of different forms of aggression,” he said. Stoltenberg also admitted that there are some “disagreements” and “differences” among NATO allies at the moment regarding “what kind of support” should be provided, with some allies expressing hesitation when it comes to the provision of lethal military equipment. Earlier this week, Germany reiterated that it would not deploy military equipment to Ukraine, suggesting that the best Berlin could do was to provide 5,000 combat helmets for the Ukrainian military. On Tuesday, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic promised to withdraw all Croatian military personnel from the region in the event of a Russia-Ukraine war, saying the conflict has “nothing to do with Ukraine or Russia, [but] has to do with the dynamics of the US’s domestic policy.” On Friday, Romania – traditionally considered to be one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters in Eastern Europe – also announced that Bucharest would not get involved militarily in Ukraine in the event of an escalation.
Also this week, the Pentagon announced that 8,500 US troops on US soil had been placed on high alert and prepared for deployment in Ukraine, possibly as part of a larger NATO response force. However, CNN has reported, citing anonymous officials, that Washington’s focus has been on cobbling together a “coalition of the willing” to deploy additional NATO forces in Eastern Europe, including Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, but not Ukraine. Separately, UK Defence chief Ben Wallace promised to provide Kiev with additional military equipment and training assistance, but stopped short of making any security guarantees. Wallace pointed out that Russia has “the biggest armed forces in Europe,” and noted that Ukraine “is not a member of NATO.” Instead, he said, London’s measures were about “helping Ukraine help themselves.” Western officials and media have spent months claiming that Russia is poised to invade its neighbour. Moscow has dismissed these allegations, suggesting that the West was using the supposed ‘Russian threat’ as a pretext to pump up its own presence in the region. In recent days, a growing number of Ukrainian officials, including Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and National Security and Defence Council chief Oleksiy Danilov, have publicly called for an easing of tensions, and even criticised Western media for their over the top fearmongering reports about alleged Russian plans for an imminent invasion. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov took note of the change in tone among Ukraine’s political elite, telling Russian media on Friday that Western fearmongering has become “so frank and cynical” in using Ukraine as a battering ram against Russia “that the regime in Kiev has become frightened” and asked its benefactors to tone down their rhetoric.NN: Russian disinformation. Russia has the right to move troupes in its territory. But it does not have the right to assemble a invasion force. If any of our leaders (ha ha ha) had a brain they would amass troops on the European Russian border. Starting with Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Hungry to name a few….. And only then begin negotiations…..
(Reuters) – Shares of Robinhood Markets Inc fell more than 14% and were set to open Friday’s session at their lowest level since the stock’s IPO in July after the commission-free brokerage posted a quarterly loss on Thursday evening. The company reported a net loss of $423 million for the three months ended December, compared to a profit a year earlier, and its costs more than doubled. Like many tech start-ups, Robinhood has yet to turn a profit following its IPO. Its monthly active users declined 8% from the sequentially previous quarter as retail investors pulled back from the market. “Robinhood was one of the pandemic darlings. Almost exactly a year ago, it sat at the center of the meme stock mania. And that has clearly cooled off as we headed into a new year,” Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities in New York, said. “Its popularity seems to be on the decline. And its revenue growth is following in the wake of its declining popularity. So when you when you sum all that together, it likely has a choppy road in front of it.” The stock was trading at $9.93 before the bell on Friday. The share price at its IPO in July last year was $38 and its record high in August was $85. Short interest in Robinhood was $501 million, or 10.77% of float, with about $127 million worth of shares shorted over the last 30 days alone, according to Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director of predictive analytics at S3 Partners. The stock was also among the most active and watched on retail trading forum Stocktwits and trending discussions on Reddit as well. By the time the fat lady sings Robbin hood and Reddit will be shot in the ass and end up dead, buried and gone. They will wipe out trillions of the Millennials money. This will force them out of the basement and back to the olive garden and star bucks….
SEOUL, Jan 28 (Reuters) – North Korea conducted tests of an upgraded long-range cruise missile and a warhead of a tactical guided missile this week, as leader Kim Jong Un visited a munitions factory producing a “major weapon system,” state media KCNA said on Friday. Tension has been simmering over North Korea’s series of six weapons tests in 2022, among the largest number of missile launches it has made in a month. The launches have triggered international condemnation and a new sanctions push from the United States. An update to a long-range cruise missile system was tested on Tuesday, and another test was held to confirm the power of a conventional warhead for a surface-to-surface tactical guided missile on Thursday, KCNA said. Kim did not attend the tests, but during a visit to the munitions factory, he lauded “leaping progress in producing major weapons” to implement the ruling Workers’ Party’s decisions made at a meeting last month, a separate dispatch said. “The factory holds a very important position and duty in modernising the country’s armed forces and realising the national defence development strategy,” Kim said. KCNA did not specify the weapons or the factory’s location. Kim called for bolstering national defences to tackle an unstable international situation at that party gathering. Last week, North Korea said it would bolster its defence against the United States and consider resuming “all temporally-suspended activities”, hinting at lifting a self-declared moratorium on testing nuclear bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). At the factory, Kim called for “an all-out drive” to produce “powerful cutting-edge arms,” and its workers touted his devotion to “smashing … the challenges of the U.S. imperialists and their vassal forces” seeking to violate their right to self-defence, calling it “the harshest-ever adversity.” Pyongyang has defended missile launches as its sovereign right to self-defence and accused Washington and Seoul of double standards over weapons tests. No ICBMs or nuclear weapons have been tested in North Korea since 2017 but a spate of short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) launches began amid stalled denuclearisation talks following a failed summit with the United States in 2019. U.S. Department of Defence Press Secretary John Kirby condemned the latest launches as “destabilising,” and called on Pyongyang to “stop these provocations”. The European Union also issued a statement saying the tests posed a threat to international and regional peace and security and undermine efforts to resume dialogue and help the country’s people. Jeffrey Lewis, a missile expert at the U.S.-based James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said the factory appeared to be the February 11 plant at the Ryongsong Machine Complex in Hamhung, the country’s second largest city on its east coast, citing similar double column vertical lathes seen in past KCNA images, although repainted. The facility seemed to have been remodelled, but a giant metal tube inside a flow forming machine in a new hall where Kim was seen looked like a motor casing for a KN-23 or other SRBM, Lewis said on Twitter. In Tuesday’s test, two long-range cruise missiles flew 1,800 km (1,118 miles) for 9,137 seconds and hit a target island off the east coast, showing practical combat performance, KCNA said.
The two tactical guided missiles tested on Thursday also precisely struck the target and proved the explosive power of their warhead as designed, it said.
KCNA photos also showed a long-range missile launched from a transporter-erector-launcher, gushing flame, before sparking a fire on an island. In other images, a shorter-range missile was seen rising into the sky above a cloud of dust and then hitting an island. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected both tests, and the short-range missiles travelled for about 190 km (118 miles) to an altitude of 20 km (12.4 miles). This month alone, North Korea has also tested tactical guided missiles, two “hypersonic missiles” capable of high speed and manoeuvring after lift-off, and a railway-borne missile system. Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said Pyongyang is likely to ratchet up pressure and possibly fire an ICBM or other powerful weapon when it marks the 80th and 110th anniversaries of the birthdays of Kim’s late father and grandfather in February and April, both major holidays in the country. “The ongoing string of tests should be aimed at highlighting the North’s increasingly diverse missile arsenal, and essentially staging a show of force against the United States,” he said. NN: Remember the next war will be a rocket war. Long range rockets with war heads dispensing all kinds of evil . l for traditional explosives to chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. See how the evil men want to take advantage of weal American leadership
