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Doubling down: Soros increases losing bet on US equity markets

G Soros
© Life InstituteSoros
Billionaire investor George Soros has doubled down his bets against equity markets in the United States, according to recent filings quoted by CNBC. He has been losing money so far as the markets thrived during Donald Trump's presidency.

Soros' primary plays are against large-caps via the S&P 500 and small-caps via the Russell 2000, which are run through his family's Soros Fund Management. S&P Global Market Intelligence say the bets have a potential value of $764.3 billion.

After Trump won the US presidential election, Soros started betting against US stocks. While Soros called Trump a "would-be dictator," and predicted uncertainty and sell-off after his win, the markets rallied significantly.

The S&P 500 is up 5.7 percent this year while the Russell 2000 is up 0.3 percent. Companies in the S&P 500 are seeing 16.5 percent earnings growth in the first quarter of the year, the best year-over-year growth in nearly six years, Bloomberg reported on Monday. A March poll by Investing.com says major banks forecast the S&P 500 to reach 2,425 points by year-end from the current 2,365.

In February, a report by hedge fund investor LCH Investment claimed the Hungarian-born billionaire's misplaced investments turned into a $1 billion loss for his clients. Forbes estimates George Soros's net worth at over $25 billion.

Comment: The Battle of the Billionaires. For Soros, it may come down to a 'hit' or rigging a manipulation...either is less expensive than a steadily losing bet. For Trump, it is business as usual and all the protection he can afford.


Stock Up

Trump launches NAFTA renegotiations, upgrade deal by end of year

N.A. flags NAFTA
© Upstate Business Journal/KJN
President Donald Trump's newly appointed US trade representative has formally notified Congress of the administration's intent to begin renegotiations of NAFTA, the 23-year-old trilateral trade agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico.

On Thursday, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer sent a letter to lawmakers, giving Congress a 90-day consultation period before renegotiations are initiated on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). During the required consultation period, Lighthizer said he would consult with "Congress and American stakeholders to create an agreement that advances the interests of America's workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses," according to a statement.
"The United States seeks to support higher-paying jobs in the United States and to grow the US economy by improving US opportunities under NAFTA," Lighthizer wrote. "In particular, we note that NAFTA was negotiated 25 years ago, and while our economy and businesses have changed considerably over that period, NAFTA has not. Many chapters are outdated and do not reflect modern standards."
Lighthizer said the reason for the renegotiations was to "modernize" the trade deal to address provisions on intellectual property rights, regulatory practices, rules for state-owned enterprises, customs procedures, food safety standards and labor and environmental standards. He also cited digital trade, describing it as "in its infancy when NAFTA was enacted." The negotiations could begin as early as August 16. Lighthizer told reporters that he hopes negotiations will be completed by the end of 2017, according to Reuters.


Comment: Even though the US is ready to renegotiate NAFTA, all options are still on the table. Trump is savvy enough to end a bad deal if it isn't fixable.


Bullseye

What did they expect? State Duma lambasts US financed media for spreading propaganda and disinformation on Russian elections

Russian Duma
© Maksim Blinov / Sputnik
After hearing a report describing the coverage of the recent Russian parliamentary elections by foreign media outlets as extremely biased, the Russian Lower House has decided to discuss the issue with the Federal Security Service (FSB).

The report was delivered by the head of the Lower House Committee for Information Policy, MP Leonid Levin of the Fair Russia Party, who focused on the work of the Russian-language branches of the Voice of America and Radio Liberty, as well as CNN.

Levin told the State Duma that experts and members of his committee had come to the conclusion that before the Russian parliamentary elections of last September, all three media outlets speculated about the use of administrative resources in the elections, and suggested that the results were predetermined and questioned the democratic nature of the Russian electoral system.

X

Kurd sympathizer: Turkey calls for US envoy removal

Pro Erdogan rally
© Jonathan Ernst / ReutersPro-Erdogan demonstrators shout slogans at anti-Erdogan Kurds in Washington, DC.
The Turkish foreign minister is calling for the removal of the US envoy, claiming he is sympathetic to Kurdish Syrians as the top congressional Republican demands swift action after the Turkish president's security detail violently broke up a protest in Washington, DC.

Tensions are running high between the US and Turkey after the Trump administration announced plans to arm Kurdish Syrians militants with small arms, machine guns, armored vehicles and other military hardware. Washington sees the militia as best suited for an eventual siege of Raqqa, the Syrian stronghold of Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL).

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is pleading for the replacement of Brett McGurk, the US presidential envoy for the US-led coalition against IS. "This McGurk is definitely supporting the PKK and YPG. It would be beneficial for this person to change," he said, accusing the diplomat of pursuing policies of the Obama administration, according to broadcaster NTV.

The comment comes as top congressional Republicans are demanding the Trump administration take swift action against the Turkish government after the [Turkish] president's security detail violently broke up a protest earlier in the week outside the Turkish ambassador's residence in Washington.

Comment: Those Turkish security guards...can't take them anywhere!!! Send Erdogan the hospital bills.

See also: Erdogan's guards under diplomatic immunity after DC attack on protesters


Bullseye

MSM waking up or hedging bets?: "Latest Trump-Russia leaks smells like coup attempt"

Trump mad
© www.politicususa.com
There is, indeed, a bombshell of a story coming out of the news that President Donald Trump revealed sensitive information during his White House meeting with Russian officials last week. But it's not that President Trump committed any crime. The really alarming news is that the duly-elected President of the United States appears to be the target of a political coup.

First, let's be clear: President Trump has been sloppy, arrogant, and just plain misguided plenty of times during his short tenure in office โ€” including the way he handled the firing of FBI Director James Comey and the hiring and firing of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. And if he did unnecessarily compromise the source of the sensitive information he shared with the Russians, shame on him.

But a president cannot be removed from office for arrogance and sloppiness. The Constitution sets specific grounds for impeachment. They are "treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors." To be impeached and removed from office, the House and Senate must find that the official committed one of these acts.

Here's what I think is the bigger scandal: Someone at the highest levels of government has leaked information to the news media about President Trump's discussions with Russian officials. That's potentially a serious crime. And, this wasn't the first time.

Briefcase

'Total blackout': Lawyer sues DNC for fraud, gets no media coverage

Camp and Beck
© Redacted TonightLee Camp and attorney Jared Beck, leading the lawsuit against the DNC
The lawyer who filed a class-action lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee and its ex-chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz nearly a year ago tells RT that there has been a "mainstream media blackout" of the fraud case stemming from the 2016 primary.

The class action lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee and former chair Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida) filed in June 2016 alleges that the party showed bias toward Hillary Clinton over Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) during the 2016 primary.

Jared Beck, the attorney leading the lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee, went on RT's Redacted Tonight to tell host Lee Camp that while the media covered "every moment" of the trials against OJ Simpson, Casey Anthony and George Zimmerman, the coverage of the DNC lawsuit has been a "total blackout." "This seems like an important case, as important as you can get," Cullin O'Brien, co-counsel on the case, told LifeZette.

Lawyers are accusing Schultz of "intentional, willful, wanton, and malicious" conduct in violating Article 5, Section 4 of the DNC Charter, which states that that the chair must "exercise impartiality and evenhandedness as between the Presidential candidates and campaigns."

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 150 donors to the DNC and Sanders, was in response to emails posted by WikiLeaks, which the lawyers say proves that the DNC was working against Sanders from the start. The party is accused of fraud, misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duty and negligence. "We are bringing fraud claims on behalf of those who paid money to the Bernie Sanders campaign, believing that they were participating in a fair and impartial political process. And that turned out not to be the case as WikiLeaks and Guccifer 2.0 documents show us beyond dispute," Beck said on Redacted Tonight.

On April 25, the DNC filed its second motion to dismiss the case, arguing that they are under "no contractual obligation" to follow their charter, and have the right to favor one candidate over another.


Comment: Tap dancing backwards: The DNC is making it up as they go. They never thought they would be found out.


Life Preserver

Shhhh! They're whispering: 'President Pence'

Pence
© AP Photo
With Trump swamped by self-inflicted scandals, Republicans find solace in the man waiting in the wings. Not since the release of the Access Hollywood tape, in which Donald Trump bragged about groping women by the genitals, have some conservatives thought so seriously, if a bit wistfully, about two words: President Pence.

The scandals clouding Trump's presidency โ€” including, most recently, his firing of FBI Director James Comey, his alleged leak of classified information to Russian officials, and reports that he urged Comey to drop an investigation into a top aide โ€” have raised once more the possibility that Trump could be pushed aside and replaced by Vice President Mike Pence.


Comment: Interesting what they deem a scandal, and how insignificant and easy it would be to just shove President Trump out of office - like swapping tires on a car.


"If what the [New York Times] reported is true, Pence is probably rehearsing," one House Republican who asked not to be named quipped Wednesday. "It's just like Nixon. From the standpoint that it's never the underlying issue, it is always the cover-up."

The still far-fetched proposition of removing Trump from office has increasing appeal to Republicans who are growing weary of defending Trump and are alarmed by his conduct in office. But such whispers are cringe-worthy for Pence and his aides, who have made an art of not upstaging the mercurial president. Pence's press secretary declined to comment for this article.

Comment: The above lobbyists' descriptions of Pence is precisely why Trump needs to hold his own, pull the plug on the swamp, course correct the nation and remain in office. Gerald Ford was a patsy place holder for the most part. And, if these lobbyists are in rally mode, to what end and who's agenda are they serving?


Black Cat

Trump ballistic: "This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history"

Trump mad
© www.politicususa.com
Last night, after the White House dropped a highly-scripted statement 'welcoming' the appointment of former FBI director Mueller as Special Counsel on the "Russia Probe", we questioned whether Trump would offer any other, less-scripted thoughts via Twitter. We now have our answer:



Guess we now also know for sure that Trump was unaware of Rosenstein's efforts to appoint a Special Counsel until after the order to do so had already been signed, as the DOJ intimated last night.

Of course, he does seem to have a point that after all the revelations of intentional evidence destruction (remember BleachBit), despite the known existence of a Congressional subpoena, intentional violations of the Federal Records Retention Act, secret Bill Clinton meetings with the Attorney General on Phoenix tarmacs and the passing out of immunity deals "like they were candy" by former FBI Director Comey, it does seem curious that no special counsel was ever appointed to look into Hillary's case. Will Trump now insist that one be appointed?

Star of David

Israeli university nixed national anthem at graduation to respect Arabs, Netanyahu furious

Hebrew U.
© google mapsHebrew University of Jerusalem
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lashed out at a university for choosing not to play the Israeli national anthem at a graduation ceremony, out of respect for Arab students. The leader called the move "shameful." Hebrew University of Jerusalem said the anthem - which emphasizes Jews' historical aspirations for statehood - won't be played at the event "out of consideration" for participants who are Arab.

The move has been widely criticized across Israel, including from Netanyahu, who called it "shameful." "This is the peak of subservience, the opposite of national pride," Netanyahu said, as quoted by the Jerusalem Post. "We are proud of our country, our flag, our national anthem, and this only reinforces my opinion to pass the national law that we are leading in order to anchor into law the national symbols that are so dear to us," he added.

Comment: Hear something often enough and it becomes second nature. The psychopaths in Israel have their own methods of persuasion to change normal into twisted so it seems...normal.


Attention

US attacked Syrian Government Forces, now has to make a choice

Syria situational map
© OZ Analysis
The Syrian army is on the way to liberate the ISIS besieged city of some 100,000 and garrison of Deir Ezzor in the east of the country.

The U.S. has trained a few thousand "New Syrian Army" insurgents in Jordan and is reportedly prepared to march these and its own forces from Jordan through the east-Syrian desert all the way up to Raqqa and Deir Ezzor.
About a year ago it occupied the al-Tanf (al-Tanaf) border station which consists of only a few buildings in the mid of the desert. The station between Syria and Iraq near the Jordan border triangle was previously held by a small ISIS group.

A U.S. move from the south up towards the Euphrates would cut off the Syrian government from the whole south-east of the country and from its people in Deir Ezzor. While that area is sparsely populated it also has medium size oil and gas fields and is the land connection to the Syrian allies in Iraq.

With the western part of the country relatively quiet, the Syrian government and its allies decided to finally retake the south-eastern provinces from ISIS. They want to lift the ISIS siege on Deir Ezzor and close the border between Syria and Iraq with its own forces. The move will also block any potential U.S. invasion from the south by retaking the road to al-Tanf and the Syrian-Iraqi border (red arrows). The sovereign Syrian state will not give up half of the country to an illegal occupation by ISIS or the U.S. At the same time as the eastern operations are running consolidation and clearing operations against ISIS in the middle and west of the countries will take place (green arrows).

Comment: With the US coalition forces remaining in Syria, going rogue and thinking they are strategic players, they are choosing to be the cause of potential escalation. Lose the delusions. Go home or stick to the script. When all is said and done, who becomes the beneficiary? Puppet master Israel is now thinking the Golan Heights was a drop in the bucket.