The anti-religious left originally set their targets on the “Christian extremists” who were ruining America. The far-left originally left Muslims out of the argument because they thought Trump’s refugee ban on Islamic nations would lead to votes for the Democrats. Since everything the woke agenda stands for goes against Islam, the left has turned on the community.

Democrat Kristin Mink, a member of the Montgomery County Council for District 5, criticized Muslim parents who did not want their young children to learn about adult content. “This issue has, unfortunately, does put… some Muslim families on the same side of an issue as White supremacists and outright bigots,” said Mink. “I would not put you in the same category as those folks, although, you know, it’s complicated because they’re falling on the same side of this particular issue.” So now Muslims are ”white supremacists.” Welcome to the club of the hated majority who is hated for simply existed outside the woke narrative.

In this particular instance, Muslim parents wanted the ability to opt out of teaching young impressionable children the LGBTQQIAAP2S+ agenda (yes, that is the acronym now). Mothers protested outside the school. Students joined in as well and said that they wanted to respect their religion. If you watch the video above, the sane parents are visibly upset. The other side is dancing around in rainbow flags completely ignoring the pleas of the parents, many who likely expected better education opportunities in America.

Armenian Americans, predominantly Christian, recently faced the same problem with public schools. The protest turned physical and numerous fights broke out. What would Armenians, who were only recently recognized for the genocide of their people, know about the struggles of the LGBTQQIAAP2S+? You’ll be hard-pressed to claim victimhood to people who may have lost relatives for simply existing.

Here is a teacher from that school in Glendale telling Armenians that they do not understand oppression. “I deal with a lot of the trauma of LGBT youth related to the hetero-normative, Judeo-Christian, patriarchal, imperialist, capitalist system that oppresses them…Armenians talk about the genocide but they received SSI but they don’t want to talk about the indigenous genocide in 1850, and the lack of reparations for indigenous and black people in this country,” the disturbed teacher stated.

OUT OF 2 MILLION ARMENIANS, 1.5 MILLION WERE MURDERED DURING THIS GENOCIDE!!!! But go on and tell us how you’re oppressed for being unable to tell little kids about sex.

The conservative Christians have been under attack for a long time in America. Muslims do not permit others to speak badly about their traditions and values. Christians have become immune to being the hated majority. No one is trying to erase the gay community, but the other side is trying to erase traditional values and religion. Christians and Muslims will unite under this cause to protect children from groomers pushing adult content into the public school curriculum.

The Democrats are afraid of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He is exposing the truth behind their lies, and the powers that be are silencing him. YouTube has begun scrubbing videos featuring RFK from their site as they with anyone who questioned the pandemic. He already has a massive platform from his famous father and uncle. The establishment does not like those who expose their secrets.

Kennedy recently claimed that the CIA was responsible for killing his father when he ran for the presidency in 1968. Hearing about the blatant corruption among US intelligence agencies makes this claim plausible to many who would have previously dismissed it as conspiracy. He has been outspoken against the planned pandemic, writing books discussing his findings. He has spoken out against mainstream politicians and how they are above the law. He has been described as unconventional and has a certain headstrong appeal.

YouTube is owned by Alphabet (Google), so we can see where this is going. Kennedy also announced that he had been deplatformed from Instagram. Twitter seems to be the last social platform that will permit him to speak. Headlines are skewed to paint him as an oddball. Reuters reported: “Musk hosts Twitter event for anti-vaxx Democratic candidate RFK Jr.” Over 64,000 people tuned in to hear him speak. Reuters called his run a “long-shot bid.”

“I think if we don’t protect free speech at all costs, we don’t have a functioning democracy,” Kennedy Jr. said during a free-wheeling conversation. How is it legal for the media to shut down the campaign of a presidential candidate? This is clearly election interference and an infringement on the 1A. The “always vote blue” and “anyone but Trump” crowd are beginning to listen to RFK. The more I learn about this guy, the more I agree with what he’s saying. Not on climate change, but he is anti-war, anti-woke, anti-vaccines, questions big pharma and the entire establishment. The Democrats would not try to silence him if they did not fear his message.

Kennedy on the orchestrated chaos the powers that be caused under the guide of COVID:

There is something strange in the air. Are we to believe that what is occurring is simply the result of wildfires in Canada all occurring simultaneously? Official reports claim that droughts caused the conditions for the fires. Quebec said that the fires were ignited by lightning, Alberta admitted the cause of their fires is still unknown. Other provinces also blame lightning and dry conditions, but no one seems to have a clear answer for why over 9.4 million acres in Canada have burned.

https://www.tiktok.com/@jaysgirl44/video/7231334029436521733?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Trudeau seemed unemotional and unsurprised during his press conference. He was utterly tone-deaf for a leader of a country where millions of people were just displaced from their homes. This will certainly fuel his desire to implement harsher carbon taxes. The people of Canada were not properly warned, as you can see in the video above. I share videos from the TikTok platform because it is one of the only peer-to-peer sites available where users can share their uncensored experiences. The man speaking learned that his home was burning down through posts shared on Facebook, not the Canadian government.

And the claims of lightning storms? The weather trackers did not seem to pick up on any extreme storms:

@philjermakian

♬ original sound – Phil Jermakian

Some may say they are strategically burning areas to prevent the fire from spreading. What’s really happening here?

https://www.tiktok.com/@businesscord56/video/7240978374665981211?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

President Joe Biden is already blaming “the climate crisis” for these unexplainable events. The smoke spread to the US in 18 states from South Carolina to New Hampshire. The New York skyline turned a vibrant shade of apocalyptic orange. The smoke contains fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, the tiniest yet most dangerous pollutant. The Air Quality Index (AQI) is safe at levels around 50. New York and New Jersey experienced levels of over 400 this week. New York topped global charts and had the worst AQI in the world.

Experts say breathing in the air is equivalent to smoking half a pack of cigarettes. “There is no safe aspect of wildfire smoke,” explained Kari Nadeua, Naddisy Foundation Professor of Pediatric Food Allergy, Immunology and Asthma at Stanford University, in an October 2020 Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment wildfire research report. “Exposure to wildfire smoke over 5 to 7 days can cause damage to the lungs, blood, and heart and cause strokes. There is no safe distance from smoke.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has urged residents to wear masks and stay indoors. We’re entering a lockdown once again. New York even provided over 1 million N95 masks, and this time around, people may want to put them on. Schools and sporting events across New Jersey and New York have closed along with some businesses. The governments are testing an ECONOMIC LOCKDOWN.

Conspiracy theories are spreading faster than the fires. Some believe that the missing 30 tons of ammonium nitrate were used for this attack, and are calling it economic terrorism. Others believe that Canada deliberately started the fires. With countless areas covered in smoke, the people cannot see. This would be a great way to test a potential attack in broad daylight. Some are concerned that there are chemicals in the air that they intend to use to start the next pandemic, as numerous agencies have said they are preparing for a second one. I won’t even go down the rabbit hole of the conspiracy theories regarding the sun or the Chinese balloons. No one trusts the government or the mass media anymore.

One thing is for sure – the governments will blame this on climate change when they allegedly do not have a clear answer. We are experiencing our first economic lockdown, unofficially.

 The indictment of Trump federally confirms what our computer has been warning about for the 2024 election – there will be none – at least a fair one at that. Never has any former president running for office been targeted and the Department of Justice has been completely weaponized. All for documents that he clearly had no intention of handing to some foreign enemy. They had to do with the stolen election and Hillary using the intelligence agencies to even spy on Trump when in the White House.

I do not say that as a Trump supporter. We have Hunter Biden who has committed crimes that anyone else would be in prison for and the IRS and DOJ have been protecting him. You have the FBI brought to the brink of contempt for refusing to release documents that could justify not just impeaching Biden, but charging him with Treason. The point here is that these are the tactics normally seen in banana republics and even Ukraine where the former president is somehow always criminally charged to eliminate opponents in the future.

Yet none of this matters anymore. The media has committed treason and is doing everything to destroy this country by refusing to EVER just be balanced anymore. All we get is endless propaganda and with the Canadian fires, they will not even ask how did all these fires start simultaneously and whether they will be used for now Climate Lockdowns to further destroy our economy?

Remember Schwab’s cheering on how great lockdowns were for society? This is why we now have a Commerical Real Estate Crisis for they deliberately used the lockdowns to stop commuting to work to reduce CO2. They had no basis in mitigating COVID. Now people were compelled to work Virtually and that killed offices which was their end goal. While kids are back in school, physical local stores are doing better than expected, and even retirees have started to return to cruise ships, office space has declined everywhere but Florida. But the primary target was to undermine small businesses and terminate office buildings in general.

Commercial real estate is in far worse shape than most care to look at. Office buildings are struggling and the implications set off a contagion that will engulf banks, landlords, municipal governments from a tax perspective, and individual investment portfolios. The economic damage from the lockdowns is far-reaching and it is due to make everyone sit up and say OMD post-2024.

This will be the next real estate crisis and this one will invoke a catastrophic change that will not come back anytime soon. There is nearly $1.5 trillion of US commercial real estate debt that comes due for repayment before the end of 2025. This impact the larger banks and many assume that the defaults of banks have been driving the cash from regional banks to the big banks in hopes of stemming this tide.

During the first quarter of 2023, U.S. office vacancy topped 20% nationally for the first time really since the Great Depression. Then there are cities that have embraced WOKE to their detriment and are witnessing the worst. In San Francisco, the vacancy rate in the first quarter of 2023 climbed to 29.4%, up from 27.6% in the fourth quarter of 2022. Manhattan has a vacancy rate of n the first quarter of 2023 at 22.2% according to Cushman & Wakefield.  Dallas has been absorbing the flight from California so its vacancy rate is 18.7% according to Cushman & Wakefield.  The commercial vacancy rate in Miami, Florida office market has an overall vacancy which has been declining counter-trend to the rest of the nation falling now to 15.8% according to Cushman & Wakefield. In Chicago, Class-A vacancy rate stands at 19.3% while Class-B vacancy jumped to 28.3% according to Cushman & Wakefield.

These figures understate the severity of this crisis. While Biden’s staff is stuffed with LGBTQ which overrepresents their portion of society, we are hanging by a thread economically. You have the standard people running around screaming the sky is falling and selling all stocks. But selling stocks is typically followed by the flight to quality which is government debt. Yet somehow that seems strange in the period of a collapse in the confidence of government.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is the MOST untrustworthy government on the planet. The United States intelligence learned of a Ukrainian plan to attack the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines three months before they were damaged last September by underwater explosions, The Washington Post reported on this citing leaked information posted online. The dam they blew up and tried to blame Russia just so happens to also impact the water supply of Crimea.

It was Ukraine which blew up the dam because it would cut off the water supply to Crimea. Everything also results in Zelensky demanding more and more money from the world. He is “shocked” that the Red Cross and the UN are not pouring money into Ukraine for disaster after every disaster they create. This is the man determined to draw in the entire world to destroy Russia. When we foolishly give them F16s, they will attack Crimea and we will have World War III. The people like Lindsey Graham can’t wait to kill more Russians no matter how many Americans die on the battlefield or nukes start flying around.

Meanwhile, the losses of Ukrainian troops have exceeded 200,000 according to reliable sources inside Ukraine – this is NOT Russian propaganda. This is why NATO is actually looking at sending in ground troops for Ukraine is losing badly. They are desperate and blew up the dam themselves to get more support and cut off Crimea. NATO countries now say that they may be willing to put troops on the ground in Ukraine if member states including the US do not provide tangible security guarantees to Kiev. As I have warned, NATO’s only purpose is to create war – not peace. Drafting Europeans is on the books. They see that there are too damn many people anyhow.

I will address the markets on the private block. What is UP in this crazy world seems to be really DOWN and vice versa. Welcome to the last stretch to 2032.

ASIA:

The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today:

• NIKKEI 225 decreased 272.47 points or -0.85% to 31,641.27
• Shanghai increased 15.83 points or 0.49% to 3,213.59
• Hang Seng increased 47.18 points or 0.25% to 19,299.18
• ASX 200 decreased 18.30 points or -0.26% to 7,099.70
• Kospi decreased 4.75 points or -0.18% to 2,610.85
• SENSEX decreased 294.32 points or -0.47% to 62,848.64
• Nifty50 decreased 91.85 points or -0.49% to 18,634.55

The major Asian currency markets had a mixed day today:

• AUDUSD increased 0.00663 or 1.00% to 0.67163
• NZDUSD increased 0.00627 or 1.04% to 0.60977
• USDJPY decreased 1.155 or -0.82% to 138.955
• USDCNY decreased 0.02759 or -0.39% to 7.11981

Precious Metals:

• Gold increased 27.69 USD/t oz. or 1.43% to 1,967.32
• Silver increased 0.811 USD/t. oz or 3.46% to 24.266

Some economic news from last night:

Japan:

Adjusted Current Account (Apr) increased from 1.01T to 1.90T

Current Account n.s.a. (Apr) decreased from 2.278T to 1.895T

GDP (QoQ) (Q1) increased from 0.1% to 0.7%

GDP (YoY) (Q1) increased from 0.4% to 2.7%

Australia:

Trade Balance (Apr) decreased from 14.822B to 11.158B

Some economic news from today:

India:

Interest Rate Decision remain the same at 6.50%

US/AMERICAS:

According to the Labor Department, the number of Americans filing for jobless claims last week rose to its highest level since October 2021, increasing by 22,000 to 264,000. This is higher than the previous week’s 242,000 and is seen as a sign that the labor market is cooling. However, despite the increase in jobless claims, the labor market remains tight and jobs remain plentiful by historical standards. The Fed has been looking for signs of an easing workforce. The much-anticipated inflation report will be released next week before the FOMC deliberates.

US Market Closings:

• Dow advanced 168.59 points or 0.5% to 33,833.61
• S&P 500 26.41 points or 0.62% to 4,293.93
• Nasdaq advanced 133.63 points or 1.02% to 13,238.52
• Russell 2000 declined 7.67 points or -0.41% to 1,880.78

Canada Market Closings:

• TSX Composite declined 40.99 points or -0.21% to 19,942.7
• TSX 60 declined 2.29 points or -0.19% to 1,198.12

Brazil Market Closing:

• Bovespa advanced 878.06 points or 0.77% to 115,488.16

EUROPE/EMEA:

The major Europe stock markets had a mixed day today:

• CAC 40 increased 19.36 points or 0.27% to 7,222.15
• FTSE 100 decreased 24.60 points or -0.32% to 7,599.74
• DAX 30 increased 29.40 points or 0.18% to 15,989.96

The major Europe currency markets had a mixed day today:

• EURUSD increased 0.00867 or 0.81% to 1.07837
• GBPUSD increased 0.01164 or 0.94% to 1.25504
• USDCHF decreased 0.01034 or -1.14% to 0.89996

Some economic news from Europe today:

France:

French Non-Farm Payrolls (QoQ) (Q1) increased from 0.2% to 0.3%

Euro Zone:

GDP (YoY) (Q4) decreased from 1.8% to 1.0%

GDP (QoQ) (Q1) remain the same at -0.1%

ENERGY:

The oil markets had a negative day today:

• Crude Oil decreased 1.487 USD/BBL or -2.05% to 71.043
• Brent decreased 1.337 USD/BBL or -1.74% to 75.613
• Natural gas decreased 0.0056 USD/MMBtu or -0.24% to 2.3234
• Gasoline decreased 0.0305 USD/GAL or -1.15% to 2.6107
• Heating oil decreased 0.0281 USD/GAL or -1.17% to 2.3737

The above data was collected around 13:03 EST on Thursday

• Top commodity gainers: Silver (3.46%), Coffee (5.34%), Oat (4.03%) and Sugar (4.49%)
• Top commodity losers: Palladium (-2.37%), Cheese (-3.09%), Crude Oil (-2.05%) and Brent (-1.74%)

The above data was collected around 13:10 EST Thursday.

BONDS:

Japan 0.438% (+2.3bp), US 2’s 4.53% (-0.023%), US 10’s 3.7334% (-5.06bps); US 30’s 3.90% (-0.038%), Bunds 2.416% (-2.7bp), France 2.964% (-3.7bp), Italy 4.188% (-8.1bp), Turkey 14.81% (+24bp), Greece 3.78% (+4.5bp), Portugal 3.143% (-2bp); Spain 3.413% (-4.4bp) and UK Gilts 4.245% (-0.7bp).

I know some people send emails alleging I am some sort of Putin supporter. Most of my sources come from inside Ukraine. There is NO government on this earth that EVER has 100% approval of its people. There are ALWAYS two sides just as we have in the polarization of the United States. Many have been forced to flee Ukraine. Zelensky has been forcing young boys to fight on the front line and they are inexperienced and dying by the thousands. Zelensky is wiping out a generation rather than simply honor the Minsk Agreement for the Donbas are Russians who they will NEVER accept anyhow. This is simply a land grab and he is destroying his country for the Neocons and will fly off to his estate in Miami to live like a king forever after.

I believe Zelensky is pure evil. He promised peace and is killing off an entire generation for his greatest European Investment of all time in rebuilding Ukraine with Blackrock – another evil private empire. His constant propaganda that Putin is evil will backfire. The Russian Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Russia in March 2024. This will be the first round on Sunday, March 17th. If no candidate receives more than half the vote, then a second round will take place exactly three weeks later on April 7th, 2024. The winner of the election is scheduled to be inaugurated on May 7th, 2024. When we look at the computer, it has a Directional Change in 2024 and a Panic Cycle in 2025.

Absolutely NOTHING that comes out as news from Ukraine, NATO, or any mainstream media is EVER going to be the truth. NATO is really a terrorist organization. They exist only for war – not peace. Ask people who live in the former Yugoslavia how they were bombing civilians and the media covered that up as well. They have built this up all about how Putin is evil and Zelensky refused to allow even the Pope to mediate for peace saying you cannot negotiate with Putin. In truth, it is Zelensky who is the Judas and has sold out his own people for a handful of silver.

My fear is that Putin will step down and then we will see the hardliners take the helm. I do not see Putin there post-2024. The hardliners feel Putin has been too “soft” and had he simply invaded Ukraine instead of defending just the Donbas, then this war would have been over in 6 weeks using the same tactics the USA used on Iraq – shock and awe.

This does NOT look good for the future and these damn Neocons never consider what if they are wrong! They BS themselves into thinking Russia is weak and they can destroy it once and for all and divide it up into their EuroAsia and then turn on China. If the hardliners come in, they will do whatever is necessary to defend Russia against our insane Neocons like Lindsey Graham, Victoria Nuland, John Bolton, etc, etc. The United States will lose this war just as they did in Vietnam. People like Graham care nothing about the dead civilians who always outnumber the soldiers. He relishes the idea of washing his hands in Russian blood.

It was Ukraine that waged war on the Donbas calling them terrorists because they sought independence from Kiev which in itself sought independence from Russia. That was the pot calling the kettle black as they say.

It was John McCain preaching war and revolution at Maidan. What if Putin came to the USA and delivered a speech on January 6th calling for the overthrow of Biden? I seriously doubt that the American press would have looked at that very kindly. But our Neocons could care less about anything. All they want is endless wars.

Zelensky has done precisely the opposite of what he promised. The people wanted peace – not the destruction of their country. Zelensky is filling his pockets and as I warned from the very start, this would be the man put in place by the Neocons to begin World War III. Our lives mean nothing to the Neocons. They are absolutely evil people who cheer over the deaths of others. Communism fell. People like Lindsey Graham and John McCain never could stop their hating of Russians and Chinese. They should NEVER be allowed anywhere close to the government. Russia will defend itself and Putin has been the moderate. What comes after the next Russian election will not be moderate. Their Neocons are saying – See, I told you so. America is Evil! Thank you Lindsey Graham – there are people judging all Americans because of you.

The push toward net zero emissions contains a sinister undertone – depleting our food supply. Ireland announced that they will murder 200,000 cows to adhere to Agenda 2030, ultimately reducing cow cattle by 10% in the coming years. Adding to the push for Universal Basic Income, Ireland is telling farmers that they can murder their livestock as a “retirement exit scheme,” decreasing the number of available farmers altogether. This outline will reduce available dairy and meat in Ireland, but demand will not decline, forcing the country to rely on costly exports.

In the end, the plan is not energy efficient at all. A quarter of all beef imported into the European Union comes from Brazil. “How is it environmentally friendly to kill large swathes of the Amazon, import that beef from Brazil to substitute for Irish beef that’s been culled here in this state. It’s a significant threat hanging over farmers in this country, and we must have a debate crystallizing exactly what the plan of this government is,” Irish politician Peadar Tóibín questioned.

Why are they targeting agriculture? Pat McCormack, president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, told reporters that the agriculture industry is no larger than it was 25 to 30 years ago. “Can the same be said for the transport industry, can the same be said for the aviation industry?”

This plan will cost Irish taxpayers $213 million annually. The government claims it is voluntary for now, but that will depend on how many farmers adhere to this plan and abandon their livelihoods. Once upon a time, cows were actually sacred in Ireland and appeared in numerous folklore stories. I’ve mentioned before that two groups that often overlap, animal rights activists and climate change activists, are at odds over the treatment of animals in the name of reduced methane emissions.

The Irish potato famine or the “Great Hunger” lasted from 1845 to 1852 – one million people starved to death. History repeats. Not only are they killing cattle, but they’re buying up farmland and reducing the availability of fertilizers. The push to diminish our food supply is occurring throughout the West, and the goal is to “reduce emissions,” aka the food supply by 2030, in accordance with Agenda 2030.

The European Union and World Health Organization met in Geneva this week to discuss plans for “future pandemics.” Governments and global organizations still want to control the masses with forced vaccinations despite the utter failure of the mRNA vaccine that did nothing to prevent transmission or infection. Still, the EU and WHO are planning to implement a global digital vaccine passport ahead of “future pandemics.”

The European Union was the mastermind behind the digital vaccine passport. The WHO and EU signed an agreement on November 30, 2022, to ensure transparency and coordination on future health issues.

Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner for Internal Market, said:

“With 80 countries and territories connected to the EU Digital COVID-19 Certificate, the EU has set a global standard. The EU certificate has not only been an important tool in our fight against the pandemic, but has also facilitated international travel and tourism. I am pleased that the WHO will build on the privacy-preserving principles and cutting-edge technology of the EU certificate to create a global tool against future pandemics.”

The World Health Organization issued a press release explaining the future of digital passports that will “help facilitate global mobility,” or in other words, limit the freedom of movement for the masses. One of the key elements in the European Union’s work against the COVID-19 pandemic has been digital COVID-19 certificates. To facilitate free movement within its borders, the EU swiftly established interoperable COVID-19 certificates (entitled ‘EU Digital COVID-19 Certificate’ or ‘EU DCC’),” the WHO stated on the EU’s “legacy.”

The WHO wants the entire world to adopt vaccine digital passports:

“To help strengthen global health preparedness in the face of growing health threats, WHO is establishing a global digital health certification network which builds upon the solid foundations of the EU DCC framework, principles and open technologies. With this collaboration, WHO will facilitate this process globally under its own structure with the aim to allow the world to benefit from convergence of digital certificates. This includes standard-setting and validation of digital signatures to prevent fraud. In doing so, WHO will not have access to any underlying personal data, which would continue to be the exclusive domain of governments.”

The press release ends by saying they will be particularly targeting low and middle-income countries, who are always the test subjects for these plans. Are people from low-income countries really traveling the world here? Absolutely no one is concerned about the millions of migrants and refugees entering the EU and America while infected with diseases. Preventing the spread of illness is not their motive.

San Francisco and other blue cities are overrun with crime, permitted by light-on-crime policies. I know numerous people who travel for work, and all they can discuss after visiting cities such as San Francisco and Seattle is the urban encampments and rampant crime that occurs in broad daylight. Companies no longer wish to hold conferences in these dangerous drug-ridden cities, and it is causing hotels to shutter.

The Hilton San Francisco Union Square Hotel, the largest hotel in the city, and Parc 55 Hotel, the fourth largest, are fleeing the city. CEO Thomas J. Baltimore Jr. said that his hotels have lost almost all of their business from conferences and conventions. Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE:PK) announced that it has stopped all payments toward its $725 million loan. They want to completely remove these hotels from their portfolio immediately. There is no saving the city at this point, and the smart money is leaving. “Unfortunately, the continued burden on our operating results and balance sheet is too significant to warrant continuing to subsidize and own these assets,” the company politely stated.

Quite a shame as this was once a beautiful city in a prime location. Hotels in San Francisco have to remind guests to park within enclosed, monitored parking garages because theft is so prominent. Some residents would like to turn a blind eye to the growing problem as the homeless population is beginning to outnumber them. The New York Post recently featured an article showing images of the vacant stores throughout the once desirable downtown as retail vacancy rose 6% in Q1 alone. Businesses, such as Whole Foods which was only open for one year, said they were worried about the safety of their employees.

What is the city doing to correct the problem? Nothing. They are downplaying the true crisis and wondering why tourism is nearly non-existent. The $120 million in budget cuts for the police department since 2020 has not helped the situation. Reports state that fewer than 80% of 911 calls are answered in a timely fashion, if at all. This is how cities fall under incompetent leaders who ignore problems in favor of votes.

ASIA:

Singapore’s retail sales exceeded expectations, increasing by 3.6% year-on-year (YoY) and surpassing the projected contraction of 1.9% YoY. On a monthly basis, retail sales rose by 4.2%, with a similar increase seen when excluding motor vehicle sales. Despite elevated inflation, retail sales have remained strong, potentially due to the return of visitors to Singapore. If the influx of foreign visitors continues, retail sales are expected to continue growing. While domestic household spending may be impacted by high inflation, the gradual return of visitor arrivals could offset this. Additionally, once price pressures subside, retail sales are expected to further accelerate, possibly towards the end of 2023.

The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today:

• NIKKEI 225 decreased 593.04 points or -1.82% to 31,913.74
• Shanghai increased 2.42 points or 0.08% to 3,197.76
• Hang Seng increased 152.72 points or 0.80% to 19,252.00
• ASX 200 decreased 11.60 points or -0.16% to 7,118.00
• Kospi increased 0.19 points or 0.01% to 2,615.60
• SENSEX increased 350.08 points or 0.56% to 63,142.96
• Nifty50 increased 127.40 points or 0.68% to 18,726.40

The major Asian currency markets had a mixed day today:

• AUDUSD decreased 0.00078 or -0.12% to 0.66612
• NZDUSD decreased 0.00296 or -0.49% to 0.60464
• USDJPY increased 0.357 or 0.26% to 139.987
• USDCNY increased 0.014 or 0.20% to 7.14220

Precious Metals:

• Gold decreased 18.17 USD/t oz. or -0.93% to 1,944.68
• Silver decreased 0.094 USD/t. oz or -0.40% to 23.486

Some economic news from last night:

China:

Exports (YoY) (May) decreased from 8.5% to -7.5%

Imports (YoY) (May) increased from -7.9% to -4.5%

Trade Balance (USD) (May) decreased from 90.21B to 65.81B

Australia:

AIG Manufacturing Index (May) increased from -20.2 to -5.1

GDP (QoQ) (Q1) decreased from 0.6% to 0.2%

GDP (YoY) (Q1) decreased from 2.6% to 2.3%

Some economic news from today:

China:

FX Reserves (USD) (May) decreased from 3.205T to 3.177T

Hong Kong:

Foreign Reserves (USD) (May) decreased from 427.40B to 421.00B

EUROPE/EMEA:

Germany, the fourth largest economy globally, is currently experiencing a recession caused by a weakened Euro and an unexpected economic contraction in the first quarter of 2023. The decline in GDP by 0.3% between January and March marks the second consecutive quarter of contraction, meeting the definition of a recession. Despite employment growth and easing inflation, the anticipation of higher interest rates will continue to impact spending and investment. Germany has been the weakest performer among major eurozone economies in the past two quarters, with consumer spending declining due to high inflation, which saw prices rise by 7.2% compared to the previous year in April.

The major Europe stock markets had a negative day today:

• CAC 40 decreased 6.21 points or -0.09% to 7,202.79
• FTSE 100 decreased 3.76 points or -0.05% to 7,624.34
• DAX 30 decreased 31.88 points or -0.20% to 15,960.56

The major Europe currency markets had a green day today:

• EURUSD increased 0.00111 or 0.10% to 1.07021
• GBPUSD increased 0.00189 or 0.15% to 1.24429
• USDCHF increased 0.0015 or 0.17% to 0.90890

Some economic news from Europe today:

Germany:

German Industrial Production (MoM) (Apr) increased from -2.1% to 0.3%

Swiss:

Unemployment Rate n.s.a. (May) decreased from 2.0% to 1.9%

Unemployment Rate s.a. (May) increased from 1.9% to 2.0%

UK:

Halifax House Price Index (YoY) (May) decreased from 0.1% to -1.0%

Halifax House Price Index (MoM) (May) increased from -0.4% to 0.0%

Mortgage Rate (GBP) (May) increased from 7.35% to 7.44%

US/AMERICAS:

Smoke from wildfires burning in Canada has caused New York City to have some of the worst air quality in the country this week, with air quality levels reaching into the 150s on Tuesday, considered unhealthy for all people and significantly above exposure recommendations from the World Health Organization. The smoke contains fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, which is the tiniest yet most dangerous pollutant. Millions of people in parts of 18 states from South Carolina to New Hampshire were under air quality alerts on Wednesday morning for both wildfire smoke and ozone. The smoke is expected to continue to impact air quality in the eastern US. Meanwhile, the Canadian economy grew by 0.1% in October, meeting expectations, with another 0.1% increase in GDP seen likely in November.

US Market Closings:

• Dow advanced 91.74 points or 0.27% to 33,665.02
• S&P 500 declined 16.33 points or -0.38% to 4,267.52
• Nasdaq declined 171.52 points or -1.29% to 13,104.9
• Russell 2000 advanced 33.05 points or 1.78% to 1,888.45

Canada Market Closings:

• TSX Composite declined 71.91 points or -0.36% to 19,983.69
• TSX 60 declined 4.47 points or -0.37% to 1,200.41

Brazil Market Closing:

• Bovespa advanced 878.06 points or 0.77% to 115,488.16

ENERGY:

The oil markets had a green day today:

• Crude Oil increased 0.951 USD/BBL or 1.33% to 72.691
• Brent increased 1.093 USD/BBL or 1.43% to 77.383
• Natural gas increased 0.0556 USD/MMBtu or 2.46% to 2.3176
• Gasoline increased 0.0676 USD/GAL or 2.64% to 2.6319
• Heating oil increased 0.044 USD/GAL or 1.86% to 2.4118

The above data was collected around 12:25 EST on Wednesday

• Top commodity gainers: Natural Gas (2.46%), Gasoline (2.64%), Cheese (2.03%) and Zinc (3.00%)
• Top commodity losers: Palladium (-1.85%), Methanol (-2.16%), Wheat (-1.95%) and Orange Juice (-2.28%)

The above data was collected around 12:32 EST Wednesday.

BONDS:

Japan 0.43% (+0.5bp), US 2’s 4.59% (+0.063%), US 10’s 3.7817% (+8.17bps); US 30’s 3.93% (+0.053%), Bunds 2.453% (+8.3bp), France 3.013% (+9.4bp), Italy 4.285% (+12bp), Turkey 14.57% (+58bp), Greece 3.825% (+6.1bp), Portugal 3.193% (+11.7bp); Spain 3.473% (+10.5bp) and UK Gilts 4.251% (+4.3bp).