Tag: finance

The day is finally here: the long and turbulent 2016 election reaches its dramatic conclusion today when Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. In a ceremony likely to draw 900,000 people, including protesters, Trump and his vice president, Mike Pence, will take the oath of office at noon outside the domed U.S. Capitol, with U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts presiding.

The inauguration by the numbers:

• The crowd is expected to be between 700,000 and 900,000. This compares to roughly 1.8 million present during Barack Obama’s first inauguration.
• 28,000 security officials, including secret service and national guard are expected to be present
• Trump’s inaugural address is expected to last about 20 minutes
• The parade will include 8,000 participants representing 40 organizations, including marching bands and veteran groups
• There will be 3 official balls, compared to 10 for Obama
• 99 protest groups have signed up to demonstrate the inauguration

* * *

The Inauguration

The inauguration of the controversial real estate mogul and former reality television star will largely follow tradition, but there will be several unique changes scattered throughout.

In what will likely be the most personal touch, Trump has chosen his childhood Bible for the swearing-in ceremony. He will also use the Lincoln Bible, which has been used at three previous inaugural ceremonies: that of Abraham Lincoln in 1861, and for Barack Obama both in 2009 and 2013.

Unlike previous inaugurations, the lineup of performers has been largely kept quiet as a number of individuals who were either asked to participate or who were announced as part of the lineup ended up dropping out following backlash. One performer who has been confirmed is Jackie Evancho, a 16-year-old “America’s Got Talent” alum. She will be singing the national anthem.

Another abnormal aspect of the day will be the number of congressional Democrats who have announced that they are skipping the inauguration. The latest count has one-third of all House Democrats skipping the inauguration. There is no modern precedent for a planned political boycott of this scale. The boycott does not appear to have shaken Trump, who used his most common form of communication to make his first statement of the day. Trump sent out a tweet from his personal account, writing “it all begins today!”

It all begins today! I will see you at 11:00 A.M. for the swearing-in. THE MOVEMENT CONTINUES – THE WORK BEGINS!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2017

The day’s schedule of events follows the familiar pattern of inaugurations of the past, however, as Trump will have stayed overnight at Blair House across the street from the White House and will go from there to a church service. Then, he and his wife, Melania Trump, will go to the White House for tea with the Obamas before proceeding to the Capitol.

The swearing-in ceremony will take place shortly after they arrive, and Trump will take the oath of office promptly at noon, which marks the official transfer of power.

The inaugural address comes toward the end of the outdoor ceremony, and shortly after that, Obama will leave and Trump will attend a luncheon before the rest of the scheduled events — including the parade and various balls — fill out the landmark day.

* * *

Full Schedule of Events

• 8:30 a.m. President-elect Trump will attend a church service with his family. Vice President-elect Mike Pence and his family will also join the soon-to-be first family along with Cabinet designees, other family members and friends.
• 9:30 a.m. Trump will attend a White House tea reception hosted by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Pence and his family will also be in attendance.
• 10:30 a.m. The President-elect’s motorcade departs to the US Capitol for the swearing in ceremony.
• 11:00 a.m Swearing-in ceremony begins
• Noon: President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Pence will be sworn in. Their families, the Obamas, members of Congress and the US Supreme Court justices will be among the attendees. Trump will recite the oath of office, administered by US Supreme Court
  Chief Justice John Roberts using president Abraham Lincoln’s
  inauguration Bible, as well as the Bible that Trump’s mother gave to him
  at his Sunday school graduation in 1955. Afterward, Trump will deliver
  his inaugural address. The ceremony concludes and President Trump and Vice-President Pence will bid farewell to the Obamas and the Bidens. The Obamas will then board “Executive One.”
  
• 12:45 p.m. The Obamas depart the Capital for Andrews AFB
• 1:00 p.m. President Trump, Vice-President Pence, Melania Trump and Karen Pence will attend a joint congressional inaugural committee luncheon.
• 1:10 p.m. Obama gives remarks at a farewell event at Andrews
• 1:40 p.m. Obamas take on last trip on Air Froce one to California where they will vacation in Palm Springs
• 2:30 p.m. The President and Vice-President will attend a military review.
• 3 pm to 5 pm – Inaugural parade. The newly minted president and vice-president make their way 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) along Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House, trailed by some 8,000 parade participants. They will include members of all US military branches, as well as high school and university marching bands, equestrian corps, first responders, veteran groups and even a tractor brigade.
• 7 pm to 11 pm – Trump, Pence and their wives will make appearances at three official inaugural balls, two of which will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and the other at the National Building Museum. A number of semi-official and unofficial balls also will take place throughout the city.

* * *

Inauguration Speakers

• Cardinal Timothy Dolan: Archbishop of New York
• Pastor Paula White-Cain: New Destiny Christian Center
• Reverend Franklin Graham: Samaritan’s Purse and The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
• Reverend Dr. Samuel Rodriguez: National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
• Rabbi Marvin Hier: Simon Wiesenthal Center
• Bishop Wayne T. Jackson: Great Faith Ministries International

* * *

Protests

Security will be tight around the White House and Capitol. Streets near the president’s home were blocked to traffic by empty buses and dump trucks or temporary pedestrian security checkpoints where law enforcement officers and National Guard troops checked people’s bags.

Some 28,000 officers were in place to secure the roughly 3-square-mile (8-square-kilometer) area of downtown Washington. The National Mall in front of the Capitol opened early to begin admitting guests, who were barred from bringing selfie sticks, coolers for beverages, and long umbrellas despite the rainy weather.

* * *

The Parade

The parade dates back to the first inauguration. When George Washington took the oath of office April 30, 1789, in New York City, members of the Continental Army, government officials, members of Congress and prominent citizens escorted him to Federal Hall for his swearing-in ceremony, according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. The largest parade, which included 73 bands, 59 floats, horses, elephants and civilian and military vehicles, and lasted 4 hours and 32 minutes, was in 1953 at Dwight D. Eisenhower’s first inauguration.

* * *

Balls

Donald Trump will attend three inaugural balls.

• THE OFFICIAL PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL BALLS: 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.: Walter E. Washington Convention Center

The two balls are dubbed Liberty and Freedom. Tickets are priced at $50—designed to be affordable so that more people can attend. Entertainment includes singer Sam Moore, Tim Rushlow and his Big Band, the New York-based dance company the Rockettes, classical music crossover group the Piano Guys and Erin Boheme.

• THE SALUTE TO OUR ARMED SERVICES BALL: National Building Museum

A traditional inaugural event for members of the military, invitation-only.

* * *

The Map

Source: WSJ, ABC, Reuters

via http://ift.tt/2jH3Z6q Tyler Durden

Voice Your Unpopular Opinion

Via Vince Lanci and MarketSlant | Remember as a kid when you'd watch the news at night and see some right wing loon who stood all day in front of a planned parenthood clinic holding a sign? Remember saying to yourself, I'm no fan of abortion ( or it's opposite) , but how the heck does this guy spend all day for 5 days straight in front of a clinic protesting? I do. I also remember my grandfather looking at the TV and saying, "Get a job you bum"… and I understood.

Just Saying – Potential Inaugural Crisis or Possible Medicare, Social Security, Unemployment Rate reduction? In one place today: 200k aging Republican bikers, a large percentage likely unemployed. More than 200k “Liberal” boomer democrats, also likely unemployed- liberal in quotes because they are anything but. Another 50-200k millennial anti-Trump protestors- unemployed?

Winning the Culture Debate has Made Liberals Idiots

Liberals seek to "educate" non-believers by shouting them down. Good luck with that.The more radical Right now has cover to be the worst they can possibly be. Get ready for more veiled racial slurs like Venus Williams is a gorilla followed  by more "Liberal" censorship.

The Right has Succeeded in Lowering the Bar- Reap it

And lest we forget, just because the Left has sunk to new lows does not make the Right all of a sudden smarter in their political discourse. Like everything else in ths country the bar has been lowered. The idiots on the right get to hide their racism and ignorance with a wink and a nod from their leaders now. Oh, for the days of William F. Buckley, crypto-Nazi or not.

Politics: Circular, not Linear

Not all on the left are whining, offended crybabies. Not everyone on the right is a racist, misogynist. Just the ones we see on the news. Many at the extremes of the political spectrum have more in common than they know. Education, productivity, free time. Politics is actually circular if you look at it. In the 1990 NAFTA united the molotov cocktail throwing Left with the Buchanan Right.  You will never see a revolution from the middle class. They are too busy paying for your right to protest.

500k people with time to protest for 48 hours? Medicare, Social Security and the economy all in trouble? Just sayin'

via http://ift.tt/2jH1n8N Vince Lanci

If last night's tensions are anything to go by, today's inauguration 'celebrations' for the 45th president of the 'United' States is sure to be chaotic away from the choreographed proceedings. As Reuters reports, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers and miles of barriers were in place in Washington on Friday, as officials braced for hundreds of thousands of people planning to celebrate or protest; and "Bikes for Trump" are “absolutely” prepared for physical conflicts.

About 30 groups have obtained permits for protests they estimate will attract about 270,000 people on Friday and Saturday, far more than have been seen in other recent presidential inaugurations.

Reuters reports that about 900,000 people were expected to pack central Washington, including the grassy National Mall facing the Capitol, where the New York businessman and former reality TV star will be sworn in, and the parade route along Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.

A disparate group of liberal activists irked by comments by Trump about women, illegal immigrants and Muslims have planned protests throughout central Washington. Supporters of Trump, who has never before held elected office, were expected to pack the streets to cheer the man they see as bringing a fresh approach to politics and sparking economic growth.

One of the largest anti-Trump protests expected on Friday will be organized by the ANSWER Coalition, a broad-based liberal group, which expects to have thousands at the U.S. Navy Memorial, along the parade route.

"It's Day One, we're saying, of a larger era of resistance, and we believe we're going to send a very powerful message to Trump and the government," said Ben Becker, 33, an organizer with the group. "The Trump agenda is very comprehensive. It includes attacks on Muslims, immigrants, on women's rights, on workers' rights. So really,  no matter what community you're a part of, you have a stake in this fight."

The U.S. Secret Service, Washington police and other law enforcement agencies planned to have some 28,000 officers in place to secure the roughly three-square-mile (almost eight-square-kilometre) area of downtown Washington. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said police aimed to keep groups separate, using similar tactics as employed during last year's political conventions. A protest group known as Disrupt J20 has vowed to stage demonstrations at each of 12 security checkpoints and block access to the festivities on the grassy National Mall.

Of course, there is another side to today's "events"…

Trump supporters also flooded into the capital, many sporting baseball caps bearing his "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan.

 

Jackson Rouse, an 18-year-old high school senior from northeastern Arkansas, who skipped school to attend the inauguration with his father, expressed concern that several dozen Democratic congressmen and congresswomen planned to stay away from the inauguration in protest.

 

"I think he was voted in fairly and it was a fair election," Rouse said. "I love Trump. I expect changes and I expect he's going to do everything he said he was going to do."

Some of Friday's protests will bring a carnival atmosphere, including a group of  pro-marijuana activists who plan to hand out 4,200 joints to be lit up in violation of federal and local laws.

While Washington will be the focal point of the protests, anti-Trump activists have planned sympathy rallies around the nation and the world, with events planned for major U.S. cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles, and as far away as Sydney.

And then there is the 'wall of meat'…

“Bikers for Trump is here to protect the citizens,” said rider Mark Connors, a country singer who rode his Harley Davidson from San Diego, CA.

 

Connors said Bikers for Trump riders will not seek confrontations but he is “absolutely” prepared for physical conflicts.

 

“We have made the decision that when those people come, we are going to stand face-to-face with them, eye-to-eye, toe-to-toe, shoulder-to-shoulder with my brothers,” Connors said.

Finally, when all of today's pandemonium is over, what is hoped by the organizers to be the largest political protest in recent memory will take place during the Women's March…

Predicting the actual turnout of the event is difficult, but more than 200,000 people on Facebook have said they would be attending and more than 1,200 tour buses have applied for parking in the city.

 

City officials say they have made preparations to deal with a crowd as large as 400,000, though the final turnout could be much smaller depending on factors like weather and available lodging. Aside from the annual March for Life that often draws crowds in the hundreds of thousands, few other recent protests in Washington have been so large.

 

Organizers are hoping that the march—ostensibly dedicated to women’s rights but also aimed at calling for protecting the rights of immigrants, Muslims and racial minorities, among other groups—is the beginning of a broader anti-Trump movement that is expected to continue through his term in office.

But today is what everyone is focused on…

It all begins today! I will see you at 11:00 A.M. for the swearing-in. THE MOVEMENT CONTINUES – THE WORK BEGINS!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2017

via http://ift.tt/2jUo3jf Tyler Durden

In what may be the latest ISIS-inspired instance of vehicular terrorism, a man deliberately slammed into pedestrians near a shopping mall in Melbourne, Australia, killing four and injuring more than 20. While the police have said the incident was not terrorism-related, according to some eyewitness reports the driver was yelling “Allahu Akbar” as he was driving.

Victoria Police can confirm today’s Melbourne CBD incident is not a terrorist incident. To clarify, the term CT stands for Counter Terrorism

— Victoria Police (@VictoriaPolice) January 20, 2017

According to Reuters, Police eventually rammed the car and shot the 26-year-old driver in the arm, before dragging him from the vehicle and arresting him. He was wearing nothing but red underwear when he was detained at the Elizabeth Street end of the mall.

 

Police said the man had a history of family violence and was wanted over a stabbing earlier in the day.

Pursued by police cars, the man had been seen driving erratically before speeding into a pedestrian mall, ploughing into people, police said. A shop video showed several people diving into a convenience store as the car raced along the footpath.

The maroon vehicle was seen doing burnouts outside Flinders Street Station before driving into crowds of shoppers on busy Bourke Street at about 1.30pm.

Video from a witness showed a maroon colored car driving around in circles in an intersection outside Flinders St railway station in the city’s central business district, with the driver shouting at people and hanging his arm out the window. Two people approached the car, apparently trying to stop it before it drove off with police chasing.

The mangled wreckage of half a stroller remains stuck on the hood of the car, while what appears to be the other half is further up the mall at a pedestrian crossing on William Street. The baby who was inside it is believed to have died at the scene.

“We witnessed about half a dozen people that ricocheted off the car one way or another. I saw one person fly up almost roof level of the car as they got thrown up against one of the retail stores,” Sharn Baylis, 46, told Reuters by telephone. “You could hear the gasping and the screaming from people, then you just started hearing the screams and the crying as it sunk in,” she said. Baylis said she rushed across tram tracks and with other bystanders and gave cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) first aid to a badly hurt man who had been run over. “I think it was pretty much in vain at that point. The seriousness of his injuries, he was probably the worst I saw.”

One of the dead was a child. Four children, including a three-month-old baby, were taken to Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, said a hospital spokesman. “We’re not regarding this as a terrorism-related incident,” Victoria state police commissioner Graham Ashton told reporters on Friday. Police had earlier chased the driver, who was wanted over a domestic assault and driving offences, Ashton said.

Witness Maria Kitjapanon told Melbourne’s Age newspaper that police eventually rammed the car “There were probably 10 police surrounding that guy’s car, with guns drawn, and they fired into the car. Then they dragged someone out via the passengers side, then all 10 of them sat on top of him,” she said.

In a press conference Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the 26-year-old offender had become known to police following multiple incidents.

‘He is not on our books as having any connection with terrorism and we’re not regarding this as a terrorism-related incident. What we do know of the person is there is an extensive family violence history involved,’ Chief Commissioner said.

‘He has come to our attention on many occasions in the past. We have mental health and drug-related issues in the background of this particular person. He has been coming to our attention more recently over recent days in relation to assaults, family violence-related assaults.’

The Commissioner said police had attempted to intercept a vehicle the offender was driving in the morning, but had to abandon the chase due to the erratic nature of the driving.

* * *

Melbourne is hosting the Australian Open tennis grand slam and is packed with thousands of tourists, only a few blocks from where the incident occurred. Police said the tennis tournament continued as normal. Australia, a staunch U.S. ally, has been on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown radicals since 2014 and authorities have said they have thwarted a number of plots. There have been several “lone wolf” assaults, including a 2014 cafe siege in Sydney that left two hostages and the gunman dead.

Friday’s incident initially raised fears about the possibility of another attack. Last year, in attacks claimed by Islamic State, trucks were driven into crowded pedestrian precincts in separate incidents in Nice and Berlin, killing scores.

via http://ift.tt/2jUmG3Z Tyler Durden

Gold’s Gains 15% In Inauguration Years Since 1974

– Gold’s average gains in inauguration years of 15% since 1974
– First year of new President frequently a time of increased uncertainties and risks
– Gold rose 30% in the 12 months after Obama inauguration
– Massive political uncertainty – President’s conflict with the CIA
– ‘Strong dollar policy’ to end as U.S. has $120 trillion plus debt
– Trump inherits Bush and Obama’s humongous debt

Gold performs well in inauguration years (see table) and has seen average gains of 15% in inaugural years since the 1970s.

Given the degree of uncertainty, divisiveness and conflict that Trump’s election has already created – both in America and internationally, it seems almost certain that the many risks as President Trump takes power will lead to higher gold prices.

Besides the myriad of risks today and arguable the most uncertain geo-political situation since World War II or the height of the Cold War, gold investors and buyers can look to Presidential history, as gold has recorded has average gains of 15% in inaugural years since 1974.

This may be due to the fact that the first year of many administrations is frequently a time of significant change and increased uncertainties and risks. Markets are concerned that the US presidential handover and advent of President Trump will lead to volatility and turmoil in 2017 which will likely impact risk assets such as stocks.

The price of gold has already gained 5% this year and appears to be consolidating just above US$1,200 an ounce today. Investors can take a look at history for signal and indications as to how gold and stocks might perform this year.

Bloomberg points out:

A look at recent presidential transitions supports optimism among traders over the metal’s prospects. Gold has averaged gains of almost 15 percent in years marking the inauguration of a new president since the 1970s, advancing in five of those seven years.

In contrast, the S&P 500 index of equities declined in four of those years for an average loss over the period of 0.9 percent.

From Presidents Gerald Ford to Barack Obama, bullion has often served as a haven in times of political flux.

The metal has climbed about 5 percent this year as questions over the possible economic impact of Donald Trump’s policies add to investor angst over Brexit and mounting trade frictions. Bulls reason that gold will extend its gain as scant details of Trump’s fiscal stimulus program and tensions with trading partners including China unnerve investors.

Axel Merk of Merk Investments LLC told Bloomberg that

“We have no idea what’s going to happen with some of Trump’s policies — everybody is a little nervous…”

“Gold is relatively undervalued and will push higher.”

Like Trump or loathe him, most would acknowledge that his recent press conference, ill judged tweets and recent transition to power has been a complete mess.

Trump time … Let the games begin

Today is “T day” or “Trump day” as the world awaits the inauguration and advent of Donald Trump as President of the United States. The eyes of the world are on Washington and traders and investors will be keeping an eye on the U.S. stock and bond markets, the dollar and gold.

Trump’s first speech as President, expected some time after his swearing in at 1700 GMT, may see President Trump offer more detail on his fiscal and economic policies, especially infrastructure spending and taxation, in addition to trade policy.

When Barack Obama was sworn in eight years ago, the dollar strengthened by more than 4% in a day. This reassured markets and lulled many investors into a false sense of security regarding the dollar and markets. In the subsequent month after Obama’s inauguration, gold was 16% higher and in the course of the following 12 months, gold rose by 30% and gold was 23.4% higher in the calendar year 2009.

Markets and the dollar are unlikely to welcome Trump’s inauguration with such enthusiasm today. However, there is that possibility but investors should fade the short term noise and focus on the fact that gold is likely to perform well in 2017 and in the coming years for some of the reasons outlined below.

Trump’s conflict with the CIA
Trump’s continuing spat with America’s top intelligence agencies including accusing them of Nazi like tactics shows the level of geo-political uncertainty and risk facing the U.S. and the world.

At his first news conference last week, he said

“I think it was disgraceful, disgraceful that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out. I think it’s a disgrace, and I say that … that’s something that Nazi Germany would have done and did do,” Trump told a news conference in New York.

Trump has been smeared by senior elements in the CIA in another “dodgy dossier” akin to that of the “weapons of mass destruction” dossier which helped get the U.S. and the UK into the disastrous Iraq war. The tactics used in smearing Trump as a “sexual deviant” are akin to those used by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover against politicians and others including Martin Luther King in the 1960s.

Martin Luther King was an outsider, a political activist, a civil rights activist and a man of peace who fought peacefully for the rights of the poor and the disenfranchised , especially the African-American community.

Trump is a maverick business man and today is set to become an insider and one of the most powerful men in the world. A civil war between a U.S. President and senior elements in the intelligence agencies will likely lead to political instability on a massive scale and is a recipe for disaster.

We do not like to have to consider the ‘assassination’ scenario but the precedent of JFK’s assassination looms large. Trump is hated by large sections of the American population and indeed by very powerful operators in the politics and intelligence circles in Washington D.C. and in the U.S. There are alas likely lots of willing patsies.

‘Strong dollar policy’ to end as U.S. has $100 trillion plus debt

The dollar was on the back foot again yesterday despite some strong data, most notably some strong numbers in the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index and a very low initial jobless claims number.

New Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin sparred with Democratic lawmakers on various topics, and actually expressed support for a strong US dollar, placing him at odds with President Trump and attempting to clarify comments by the president-elect that hit the currency earlier this week.

Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs banker, told a Senate confirmation hearing yesterday that a strong currency remained important over the long-term, reflecting America’s attractions as an investment destination.

On Monday Trump appeared to break from decades of the strong dollar policy in the US by saying that the greenback’s strength is “killing us” and was preventing American companies from competing internationally and with China.

Trump and Mnuchin’s comments highlight the uncertainties and many conflicting signals over Trump’s financial and economic policies.

Will Trump’s speech today reignite the US dollar strength seen in late 2016 or will his speech lead to a sell off in the dollar and a surge in the gold price? We are living in a ‘Brave New Trump World’ and as Aldous Huxley said “You pays your money and you takes your choice.”

Now more than ever, the short term is nigh impossible to predict.

We believe that Trump will attempt to end the ‘strong dollar policy’ or at the very least will try and push the dollar lower in the short term in order to boost American exports and jobs in a desperate attempt to kick start the moribund U.S. economy.

There is also the somewhat important matter of the U.S.’ near bankruptcy with its $20 trillion nominal debt and over $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities (more on this below). The market will dictate the value of the dollar in the long term not the pronouncements of Trump or his Treasury Secretary.

Investors should fade the short term noise and focus on the diversification benefits that owning physical gold will provide in the coming months and years.

Trump inherits Bush and Obama’s humongous debt

Contrary to superficial figures and analysis, Obama has left Trump an enfeebled and massively indebted U.S. economy with some 95 million out of work. This accounts for Trump’s popularity among large sections of the working and middle classes.

President Obama is set to leave a massive near $20 trillion debt crisis for his successor.

The U.S. national debt reached $19.96 trillion last week and increased by roughly $1 trillion a year during Obama’s Presidency and during the so called fake news “recovery.” Obama and his government, like Bush before them, spent money like drunken sailors and pushed the U.S. closer to the brink of bankruptcy.

There is also the not insignificant matter of the between $100 trillion and $150 trillion in unfunded liabilities – for medicare, medicaid and social security as the baby boomers retire.

The U.S., like the EU and most western nations, is “kicking the can down the road.” Consequently, a U.S. and global debt crisis looks likely during the first term of President Trump.

This continuing surge in the U.S. national debt to the $20 trillion level means that the U.S. is now the largest debtor nation in the world – by a significant margin. Its total debt of over $120 trillion means it is the largest debtor nation the world has ever seen.

Donald Trump holds three gold bullion bars after accepting it as a security deposit for a 10 year lease for on the 50th floor of 40 Wall Street in New York City, a Trump owned property, during a news conference in New York, September 15, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Segar

This profligacy will be paid back by the people of the U.S., and most likely by people in all indebted western nations, in the form of higher taxes, higher interest rates, inflation, currency wars involving devaluations and almost certainly a currency crisis involving the dollar and other leading fiat currencies.

Owning gold coins and bars in your possession and owning bullion in allocated and most importantly in segregated accounts will continue to protect and grow wealth in the coming years.

 

Credit Card Limits Increased To 50,000 (£ $ €)

Due to ongoing requests for higher credit and debit card transactions, we have increased our maximum card transaction sizes from 5,000 to 50,000 GBP, EUR or USD.

 

Gold and Silver Bullion – News and Commentary

Gold firm ahead of Trump’s inauguration; heads for 4th weekly gain (Reuters.com)

U.S. Stocks Fall With Bonds as Dollar Erases Gain (Bloomberg.com)

Europe Stocks Fall, Dollar Weak on Yellen Comments (Bloomberg.com)

Mnuchin Says Long-Term Strength of U.S. Dollar Is Important (Bloomberg.com)

Russian company minting “In Trump we trust” coins (CBSNews.com)

Bullion Bulls Have History on Their Side as Trump Takes Helm (Bloomberg.com)

Donald and the Dollar – No Country Can be Made Great by Devaluation (Acting-Man.com)

Chinese Investors Exit Bitcoin, Flood Into Gold ETFs (Bloomberg.com)

Pension Funds May Need Gold before It’s Too Late (ValueWalk.com)

Stocks, Bonds Vulnerable British Property a “Very Dangerous Position” – Edwards (MoneyWeek.com)

Gold Prices (LBMA AM)

20 Jan: USD 1,199.10, GBP 974.87 & EUR 1,127.03 per ounce
19 Jan: USD 1,203.35, GBP 976.76 & EUR 1,129.34 per ounce
18 Jan: USD 1,212.50, GBP 984.91 & EUR 1,134.78 per ounce
17 Jan: USD 1,217.50, GBP 1,003.59 & EUR 1,141.65 per ounce
16 Jan: USD 1,202.75, GBP 997.56 & EUR 1,135.40 per ounce
13 Jan: USD 1,196.35, GBP 978.85 & EUR 1,123.25 per ounce
12 Jan: USD 1,206.65, GBP 984.39 & EUR 1,135.82 per ounce
11 Jan: USD 1,187.55, GBP 979.25 & EUR 1,128.41 per ounce

Silver Prices (LBMA)

20 Jan: USD 16.89, GBP 13.73 & EUR 15.87 per ounce
19 Jan: USD 16.95, GBP 13.75 & EUR 15.89 per ounce
18 Jan: USD 17.12, GBP 13.93 & EUR 16.01 per ounce
17 Jan: USD 17.00, GBP 13.91 & EUR 15.87 per ounce
16 Jan: USD 16.82, GBP 13.94 & EUR 15.87 per ounce
13 Jan: USD 16.76, GBP 13.76 & EUR 15.74 per ounce
12 Jan: USD 16.91, GBP 13.77 & EUR 15.87 per ounce
11 Jan: USD 16.79, GBP 13.84 & EUR 15.96 per ounce

Recent Market Updates

– Turkey, ‘Axis of Gold’ and the End of US Dollar Hegemony
– Gold Up 5.5% YTD – Hard Brexit Cometh and Weaker Dollar Under Trump
– Bitcoin and Gold – Outlook and Safe Haven?
– Physical Gold Will ‘Trump’ Paper Gold
– Gold Lower Before Trump Presidency – Strong Gains Akin To After Obama Inauguration
– Gold Rallies To $1,207 After Trump Press Conference Shambles
– Prince Owned Land and Gold Bars Worth $800,000
– Gold Price In GBP Up 4% On Brexit and UK Risks
– 2016 Past is 2017 Prologue
– Gold Gains In All Currencies In 2016 – 9% In USD, 13% In EUR and Surges 31.5% In GBP
– Trump’s Twitter “140 Characters” To Push Gold To $1,600/oz in 2017?
– 2017 – The Year of Banana Skin
– US: Five Must Gold See Charts – Gold Miners Are “Running Out” of Gold

www.GoldCore.com

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Submitted by Michael Snyder via The End of The American Dream blog,

For the first time in decades, it feels like morning in America again. I was quite young when Ronald Reagan was president, and I only have vague memories from those days. But I do remember the extraordinary optimism that his leadership inspired, and my hope is that Donald Trump’s leadership will be just as inspirational. For such a very long time, it has seemed as though a giant dark cloud has been hanging over America, but now a new day is starting. If Donald Trump can be president of the United States, it seems like just about anything can be possible. And even though our nation is facing incredibly serious challenges, could it be possible that we can find a way to turn things around if we all work together?

Seeing Trump on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Thursday was a very special moment. Like Lincoln, Trump represents a once in a generation hope for real change…

Kicking off three days of carefully orchestrated inaugural proceedings infused with pomp and guided by precision and protocol, the president-elect reveled in the moment and delivered a tribute to the populist movement that propelled him into office.

 

“We all got tired of seeing what was happening and we wanted change, but we wanted real change,” Trump said on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. “It’s a movement like we’ve never seen anywhere in the world, they say.”

Inaugurations are a time for hope, and tens of millions of us are hoping that the election of Trump will mean a better future for all of us.

But of course so many among the elite hate him with a passion, and there are many in both parties that will be fighting him every step of the way.

Can Trump really be successful in such an environment?

We shall see, but what seems clear is that he doesn’t plan to change who he is now that he will be residing in the White House, and this is clearly rankling a lot of people…

Donald Trump enters the White House on Friday just as he entered the race for president: defiant, unfiltered, unbound by tradition and utterly confident in his chosen course.

 

In the 10 weeks since his surprise election as the nation’s 45th president, Trump has violated decades of established diplomatic protocol, sent shockwaves through business boardrooms, tested long-standing ethics rules and continued his combative style of replying to any slight with a personal attack — on Twitter and in person.

In his inaugural address, Trump will plead for national unity, and that is a good thing because our nation is deeply divided right now. As a new Rasmussen survey has discovered, most of the country has a very strong opinion about him either one way or the other…

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 52% of Likely U.S. Voters share a favorable opinion of Trump, with 30% who have a Very Favorable one. The president-elect is viewed unfavorably by 48%, including 37% with a Very Unfavorable view.

But the good news is that Americans are feeling quite good about life overall these days. In fact, an astounding 80 percent of all Americans are content with “the overall quality of life” that they are enjoying at the moment…

Americans are feeling far more upbeat this January than they were a year ago, especially about the economy, according to Gallup’s annual “Mood of the Nation” poll, which is conducted each January.

 

The most recent poll, conducted Jan. 4-8, finds a whopping 80 percent of Americans are satisfied with “the overall quality of life,” up four points from a year ago.

If Donald Trump can bring the nation together, perhaps the next four (or eight) years can be a time of renewal for America.

An immense amount of damage was done during the Obama years, and Trump has a massive amount of work ahead of him. But he seems to have a boundless amount of energy, and he is accustomed to only sleeping a handful of hours a night.

Let us pray that Trump and his team will make good decisions and will set this nation on the right course, because we are in desperate need of a turnaround.

Earlier today, I came across a piece from an anonymous source that is entitled “Twas The Night Before Inauguration“. The anonymous source indicated that it was okay to share this with others, and so I thought that I would share it with all of you…

Twas the night before Inauguration, and up in the tower,
The Donald reflected on his newfound power.
The conservative masses had come out in force,
And delivered a victory that would chart a new course.

The snowflakes were shell-shocked with tears in their eyes,
The media lied to them . . . What a surprise.
They had been promised a Hillary win,
But the criminal Clinton took one on the chin.

And though from all corners celebrities flew,
They made no impression, for they hadn’t a clue.
They talked about climate, racism, and such,
And they made up good stories . . . But didn’t know much.

The fake news and ignorance came at a cost,
And they can’t understand all the reasons they lost.
They blame it on Comey and Bernie and Vlad,
But fail to acknowledge the one that was bad.

Yes, Hillary Clinton, in many ways flawed,
Was her own biggest hurdle toward getting the nod.
The campaign exposed her corruptness and greed,
And her speeches were punch-less as ten dollar weed.

So out in the streets there arose such a clatter,
It was Soros-paid protestors and Black Lives Matter.
With cities to pillage and windows to smash,
They knew not the issues, but needed the cash.

Eight years of Obama had given them cause,
To expect a replacement of their Santa Claus.
But soon the protestors will feel the pain,
When the wheels fall off of the old gravy train.

And now all the snowflakes are riddled with fear,
Upset and offended by things that they’ll hear.
The cocoa and crayons will help for a while,
But fact-based opinions will soon cramp their style.

I originally supported, and voted, for Cruz,
In the end, I would vote for whoever they choose.
He wasn’t my first choice, but soon I would cede,
The one they call Trump is the one that we need.

I saw him on TV in front of a crowd,
He spoke about veterans, it made me feel proud.
He spoke about energy, safety, and jobs,
Taking this country back from the Washington snobs.

He was dressed in Armani, all tailored and neat,
And the Brunos he wore made the outfit complete.
For a man of his vintage, he seemed rather fit,
And he looked presidential, I have to admit.

His eyes glowed like embers, his smile was the best,
And his hair was the color of my old hunting vest.
His love for this country was on full display,
And his actions spoke louder than his words could say.

He thanked all his voters, and before he was gone,
Saved thousands of jobs while Obama looked on.
The fate of this country left nothing to chance,
So, he filled out his cabinet weeks in advance.

The men he had chosen were of the same mind,
Let’s set the bar high, and not lead from behind.
He picked up his phone as he rose from his seat,
With a flick of his finger, he sent out this tweet;

“Now Mattis!, now Kelly!’ now Sessions! And Pruitt!
On Perry! On Flynn, You’re the ones who can do it.
Start lifting restrictions and building the wall,
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”;

The roar of his audience rose from the stands,
He kissed all their babies and shook all their hands.
He answered their questions and calmed all their fears,
They knew it would be a fantastic four years.
Then he jumped in his limo, and off to his jet,
A fellow that Liberals won’t soon forget.
He sent one more tweet as the evening expired;
“Happy Inauguration to all,
AND OBAMA – YOU’RE FIRED!”

I just thought that piece wonderfully captured the flavor of the moment.

And another work that is being widely shared today is an old song entitled “In America” by the Charlie Daniels Band. It was released in May 1980 just before Ronald Reagan was elected, but the lyrics are also perfect for what is happening in our time. If you are not familiar with the song, you can find it on YouTube right here…

Without a doubt, there will be some intense political battles in the days ahead.

But for just one day can’t we all come together and choose to have hope for the future of this nation?

I am not saying that everything has been fixed just because Donald Trump has been elected, nor am I suggesting that any of our problems have diminished in any way.

The challenges ahead of us are truly great, but at least the election of Donald Trump has given us a glimmer of hope, and there are many that believe that a new day for America may finally be dawning after all these years.

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When looking at the latest weekly fund flows, it is clear that the Trump trade is over if only for the time being. As BofA reports, citing EPFR data, the last week saw the largest precious metal inflows in 5 months ($1.3bn), the 4th consecutive week of bond inflows ($4.5bn), and a week of modest $1.7bn equity inflows, however US stocks saw $2.5 billion in outflows, representing the 4th weekly outflow in the past 5 weeks.

Some highlights from BofA’s Michael Hartnett:

Election to Inauguration flows: since the US election, BofAML GWIM ETFs show private clients big buyers of Financials, Materials, Bank Loans, Industrials, TIPS, Value; big sellers of Low-Volatility & Precious Metals

 

 

 

Inauguration reversals: EPFR flows show partial profit-taking in these Trump reflation trades into the inauguration…1st outflows from financials in 17 weeks, 1st government bond inflows in 6 weeks (largest in 6 months), and 1st inflows to precious metals in 10 weeks; we also note 1st outflows from HY funds in 8 weeks; but we also see ongoing inflows to “inflation trades” of materials, TIPS, and (in particular) bank loans; so a “pause” in the Davos Man to Joe Six Pack rotation rather than major reversal 

 

Post-inauguration tactics: meanwhile our Global Flow Trading Rule, which had flirted with a “sell” signal mid-Dec’16, has pulled back from the abyss (inflows to equities & HY currently below the 4-week “sell” threshold of 1.0% of AUM, and global PMIs continue to trend higher

 

Stick with Icarus Trade: our BofAML Bull & Bear Indicator also indicates more bullish sentiment (up to 3-month high of 4.9 – Chart 2) but remains some way below “sell” trigger of 8.0; Positioning, Profits & Policy make us stick with our Icarus Trade view… any Jan/Feb wobble to be followed by one last 10% melt-up in stocks & commodities in H1 before visible investor “hubris” on macro & markets signals the “Big Top”

And the details:

Asset Class Flows

• Equities: $1.7bn inflows ($1.7bn mutual fund outflows vs $3.4bn ETF inflows)
• Bonds: $4.5bn inflows (4 straight weeks)
• Precious metals: first inflows in 10 weeks ($1.3bn – largest in 5 months)

Fixed Income Flows

• First outflows from HY bond funds in 8 weeks ($0.3bn)
• First govt bond inflows in 6 weeks ($1.0bn – largest in 6 months)
• 4 straight weeks of IG bond inflows ($2.2bn)
• 10 straight weeks of inflows to bank loan funds ($0.7bn)
• 6 straight weeks of inflows to TIPS funds ($0.3bn)
• 3 straight weeks of inflows to EM debt funds ($0.4bn)

Equity Flows

• Japan: strong $2.5bn inflows
   
• Europe: $0.7bn outflows (largest in 6 weeks)
• EM: small inflows of $64mn (2 straight weeks)
• US: $2.5bn outflows (outflows in 4 of past 5 weeks)
• By sector: first outflows from financials in 17 weeks ($0.7bn); first outflows from tech in 6 weeks ($0.1bn); inflows to energy in 6 of past 7 weeks ($0.4bn); inflows to materials in 10 of past 11 weeks ($0.2bn)

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• How Trump Aims to Broadly Reshape Policy (WSJ)
• Trump Calls for Unity at Opening Concert as Inaugural Festivities Begin (NYT)
• Trump Takes the Reins of a Deeply Divided Nation (BBG)
• Washington braces for anti-Trump protests, New Yorkers march (Reuters)
• After the Parties, a Protest for the Ages (WSJ)
• Voter Anxiety That Fueled Trump’s Victory Turns to Hope (WSJ)
• Pageantry, protests to mark the start of Trump’s presidency (Reuters)
• For stock performance under Trump, don’t look to prior transitions (Reuters)
• Bullion Bulls Have History on Their Side as Trump Takes Helm (BBG)
• Yellen Backs Gradual Rate Rises as Fed Not Behind the Curve (BBG)
• Doing Business With Putin (BBG)
• Floor Caving In on Europe Real Estate Stocks Bashed by Rates (BBG)
• Republican Governors Balk as Congress Races to End Obamacare (BBG)
• Telecommunications company Avaya files for bankruptcy (Reuters)
• Finland Prepares for ‘Manifold Warfare’ as Russia Feeds Paranoia (BBG)
• Samsung Blames Battery Size for Galaxy Note Fires (WSJ)
• There’s an Unexplained $9 Billion Gap in India’s Cash Supply (BBG)
• Turkey can no longer insist on Syria settlement without Assad: Turkish deputy PM (Reuters)
• Islamic State destroys famous monument in Syria’s Palmyra: antiquities chief (Reuters)
• GE Meets Profit Estimates on Gains in Power, Aviation Units (BBG)
• P&G profit and sales beat Wall Street estimates (Reuters)
• U.K. Retail-Sales Slump Hints at Cracks in Britain’s Brexit Boom (BBG)
• U.S. Oil Producers Ramp Up Spending (WSJ)
• Robot Crop Pickers Limit Loss of U.S. Farm Workers to Trump Wall (BBG)
• Companies’ Job Pledges: Analyzing the Numbers (WSJ)
• Lloyd’s of London Seeks Europe Base as May Backs Hard Brexit (BBG)

 

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

– Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the drug lord who staged two spectacular escapes from maximum-security prisons in Mexico, has arrived in New York to face trial, U.S. officials said Thursday. http://on.wsj.com/2jeuWLl

– A $1 billion financing deal with Chinese firms Shanghai Film Group Corp and Huahua Media promises Viacom Inc’s struggling Paramount Pictures some much-needed funds and a foothold in the world’s second-largest box-office market. http://on.wsj.com/2jeBNV7

– A Chinese consortium led by China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co reached a deal to buy International Data Group Inc, the data and marketing company that also runs venture-capital firm IDG Ventures. http://on.wsj.com/2jevNMa

– China’s flagship state-owned chip maker Tsinghua Unigroup said it plans to build a $30 billion memory-chip factory in Nanjing, its latest investment as China moves to diminish its dependence on U.S. chip manufacturers. http://on.wsj.com/2jeE7LL

– U.S. regulators closed a probe of a fatal crash involving a Tesla Motors Inc car driving itself, concluding the Silicon Valley auto maker’s semi-automated technology didn’t contain a safety defect. http://on.wsj.com/2jeEpSQ

– JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon will receive $28 million in total compensation for 2016, up 3.7 percent – or $1 million – from 2015, according to a Thursday securities filing. http://on.wsj.com/2jezEsp

– South Korea’s Hyundai Merchant Marine Co Ltd said it will buy a fifth of the company that runs the biggest container terminal at Long Beach, Calif., the U.S.’s second-largest port. http://on.wsj.com/2jeCGNr

– Uber Technologies Inc agreed Thursday to pay $20 million to resolve Federal Trade Commission allegations that it misled drivers about potential earnings and vehicle financing. http://on.wsj.com/2jev9Oy

 

FT

* President-elect Donald Trump said on Thursday that National Football League team owner Woody Johnson was “going to St. James,” indicating he would assume the plum diplomatic post of U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom.

* Miner BHP Billiton Ltd,, its partner Vale SA and their jointly owned Samarco unit have agreed with Brazilian prosecutors on a June 30 deadline to settle billions of dollars in compensation claims stemming from an iron ore mine disaster in 2015.

* Britain’s biggest house builder Barratt said on Thursday its Chief Finance Officer Neil Cooper had left the firm by mutual agreement just over a year after he joined.

* Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness, a key figure throughout five decades of conflict and peace in Northern Ireland, said on Thursday he was bowing out of politics and would not lead his nationalist party into elections in March.

 

NYT

– Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the notorious drug lord known as El Chapo, was extradited to the United States on Thursday night. nyti.ms/2iQWtBH

– American law enforcement and intelligence agencies are examining intercepted communications and financial transactions as part of a broad investigation into possible links between Russian officials and associates of President-elect Donald Trump, including his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort. nyti.ms/2juYk0Q

– Donald Trump arrived in Washington the day before his inauguration as the nation’s 45th president in a swirl of cinematic pageantry but facing serious questions about whether his chaotic transition has left critical parts of the government dangerously short-handed. nyti.ms/2iI6ZQt

– President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday chose Woody Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets football franchise, as his ambassador to Britain. nyti.ms/2iQShBQ

– Federal auto-safety regulators said their investigation of the Tesla Motor’s car found no defects in the system that caused a fatal accident eight months back and said Tesla’s Autopilot-enabled vehicles did not need to be recalled. nyti.ms/2juVA3J

– The political standoff in Gambia intensified on Thursday as foreign troops crossed the border with orders to dislodge a repressive leader who has refused to step down after losing a presidential election last month. nyti.ms/2jFtyoh

 

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** The incoming Trump administration is ruling out an across-the-board border tax as it prepares a sweeping new trade agenda that includes renegotiating the North American free-trade agreement with Canada and Mexico. https://tgam.ca/2j11Gdg

** Ottawa will consider adopting national guidelines for prescription heroin and other unconventional therapies to treat severe opioid addiction, looking to guidelines being developed by doctors in British Columbia, where such treatments are already available on a small scale. https://tgam.ca/2j12jUs

** As an executive at Loblaw Companies Ltd, Sarah Davis helped steer the company through some of its toughest times. Now she is being rewarded with a promotion to president of Canada’s largest grocer and drugstore retailer. https://tgam.ca/2j0Z67a

NATIONAL POST

** Starwood Capital Group is paying $2.85 billion to buy Milestone Real Estate Investment Trust, a TSX-listed company that focuses solely on U.S. residential properties. In the process, Canadian investors are losing one of the TSX’s most significant direct plays on the U.S. real estate market. http://bit.ly/2j12D5C

** Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd may be losing its legendary CEO to a competitor, but investors shrugged off the development Thursday, sending shares up as much as 4.2 per cent in morning trading. http://bit.ly/2j1b5BJ

** Alberta Premier Rachel Notley shuffled her cabinet Thursday to carve out a new Children’s Services ministry, citing ongoing problems keeping kids safe in government care. http://bit.ly/2j0Xdrc

 

Britain

The Times

Ofgem warns Big Six firms against raising energy prices

Ofgem has issued a warning shot to the Big Six suppliers against raising prices, saying there was no “obvious reason” for them to increase standard tariffs. http://bit.ly/2jEWEUK

The Guardian

Rolls-Royce lobbied ministers to weaken anti-bribery proposals

Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, which this week agreed to pay 671 million pounds in penalties after admitting it had engaged in corruption, lobbied ministers to weaken proposed curbs on bribery a decade ago. http://bit.ly/2k6183s

Goldman Sachs stalls plan to move jobs to UK amid Brexit uncertainty

Goldman Sachs Group Inc has suspended plans to move key operations from the United States to London because of the uncertainty created by the vote to leave the EU. The Wall Street firm – in the midst of building a new 350 million pound London headquarters – had been preparing to shift more of its global operations and IT activities from New York, but now appears to have embarked on a hiring freeze. http://bit.ly/2ju22HT

The Telegraph

Barratt’s chief financial officer leaves the company after just 15 months

Barratt Developments Plc’s chief financial officer is to leave the business a week after the house builder reported a sharp drop in the number of homes it built in London last year. Neil Cooper joined Barratt just 14 months ago, in November 2015, but has now left by mutual consent. Chief Executive David Thomas will stand in for Cooper until a successor can be found. http://bit.ly/2iPWNRe

Glaxo’s pharmaceuticals boss walks away as new chief prepares to take the helm

One of GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s most senior directors is leaving the company as incoming boss Emma Walmsley moves to refresh her team. Abbas Hussain, who has run Glaxo’s sprawling pharmaceuticals division since 2008, has agreed to leave the FTSE 100 drugs giant later this year. http://bit.ly/2jEXEYN

Sky News

Southern railways to suffer more strike action

Passengers on the Southern railway network face more delays next week after drivers and guards in the RMT union decided to press ahead with further strikes. The RMT said its members would be taking action because it has been excluded from talks between ASLEF and the company. http://bit.ly/2iOM21r

Metro Bank creates 500 jobs in branch expansion

Metro Bank Plc has announced plans to create 500 new jobs as it continues to expand its interests beyond London and the South East. The loss-making challenger bank, which first hit high streets a little over six years ago as major lenders juggled the damaging fallout from the financial crisis, said the new roles included customer-facing and head office positions. http://bit.ly/2jDoq3H

 

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With markets focused on today’s events in Washington, culminating with Trump’s inaugural speech, here’s a look at the key scheduled events for Friday, Jan. 20 (all times Eastern).

What to Watch

• Inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump at U.S. Capitol
• Friday is a holiday for federal workers in the Washington area, economic data will be delayed
• Possible Trump executive actions
• Senate confirmation votes on Cabinet nominees

White House

• 9:45am: President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama host Trump and wife Melania for a tea and a small reception; depart White House for U.S. Capitol at 10:30am
• 1:10pm: Obama delivers remarks at Joint Base Andrews farewell event
• 1:40pm: Obama departs Joint Base Andrews for Palm Springs, Calif.

Official Inauguration Events

• 7am: Presidential Inaugural Prayer Breakfast; Trump International Hotel, Old Postal Pavilion Building, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
• 8:30am: Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence to attend worship service hosted by Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies; St. John’s Episcopal Church, 16th and H Streets NW
• 11:30am: Inauguration ceremony begins at West Front of Capitol
• Noon: Trump takes oath of office
• 12:30pm: Inaugural luncheon for members of Congress at Capitol
• 3pm: Inaugural parade begins
• 7pm: Presidential Inaugural Committee holds “Commander in Chief’s Ball”; Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW
• 7pm: Presidential Inaugural Committee hosts “Salute to Our Armed Services Ball”; National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW

Commentary on Trump’s Speech

• “All eyes will be on the content and style of Trump’s inauguration speech,” Morgan Stanley’s Hans Redeker wrote in a note.  “The more ‘Presidential’ this speech comes across, the better the outcome for markets.” 
• “[Trump is] likely to talk about job creation and unifying the U.S. and we may have to wait a bit longer for details on economic measures,” said Natixis fixed income strategist Cyril Regnat.
• “It’s clear that investors have reached a level where they are prepared to wait and see what the Trump administration has to offer,” said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets Asia Pacific Ltd. in Sydney.
• Trump’s inauguration ceremony “will be followed by a speech that will be carefully decoded by those looking for signs of things to come in the new U.S. administration, an exercise that amounts to political astrology in an era characterized by a shakeup of the old rules of the game,” Citigroup’s chief global political analyst Tina Fordham wrote in note

Congress

• Senate to hold confirmation votes on some Cabinet nominees
• Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told reporters Thursday that Trump’s selection of retired Gen. James Mattis as secretary of Defense and retired Gen. John Kelly as secretary of Homeland Security will be considered
• 3pm: Congressional Hispanic Caucus holds news conference with House Democratic leaders on immigration policy; 421 Cannon House Office Building

Other Events and Protest Activity

• 7am: Code Pink holds rally outside of Trump International Hotel; Old Postal Pavilion Building, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
• 9:30am: Occupy Wall Street, Green Party, Code Pink hold protest at McPherson Square; 14th and I Streets NW
• 10am: Bikers for Trump holds inauguration rally at John Marshall Park; Pennsylvania Ave. NW, between 4th and 5th
• 7pm: National Museum of the American Indian holds “Native Nations Inaugural Ball”; Independence Ave. and 4th St. SW
• 8pm: National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum hold “The Great Gatsby Presidential Inaugural Ball”; National Portrait Gallery, 8th and F Streets NW
• 8pm: NAACP’s Youth and College Division holds “Stay Woke and Fight People’s Inaugural Ball”; Vieux Carre, 1413 K St. NW
• 9pm: The Creative Coalition holds “Inaugural Ball for the Arts”; Harman Center for the Arts, 610 F St. NW

Source: Bloomberg

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