Month: March 2024

Authored by Catherine Yang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Witness testimony has concluded, but attorneys still have much to argue in the motion to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting the high profile racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and 14 alleged co-conspirators for challenging the 2020 elections.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee scheduled an afternoon hearing where evidence concerning prosecutors’ cell phone records and whether the district attorney’s prejudicial behavior warrants disqualification will be argued.

On Jan. 8, Ashleigh Merchant, legal counsel for defendant Michael Roman, filed a motion to disqualify—exposing a romantic relationship Ms. Willis had with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she appointed to lead the election case. Ms. Merchant alleged that Ms. Willis hired him after beginning a personal relationship and then benefitted financially from the appointment as he took her on several “lavish” vacations.

This led to half the defendants joining the motion to disqualify, adding to it new arguments and evidence.

Judge McAfee held an evidentiary hearing on Feb. 15 and Feb. 16 and later continued it on Feb. 27 to hear from Atlanta-area Attorney Terrence Bradley, billed as Ms. Merchant’s “star witness.”

The March 1 hearing will not include witness testimony, but attorneys were instructed to bring case law and legal arguments for the remaining issues.

Relationship Timeline and Cell Phone Records

In ordering the evidentiary hearing, Judge McAfee said it was “clear” that disqualification could occur if a conflict of interest is shown.

“The state has admitted a relationship existed, and so what remains to be proven is the existence and extent of any financial benefit—again, if there even was one,” he said.

During contentious testimonies on Feb. 15, Ms. Willis accused Ms. Merchant of lying about her and digging into personal matters. The parties have presented conflicting timelines of the relationship, which could weigh in the judge’s determination of whether there was a conflict of interest and the credibility of the prosecutors.

The relationship was previously unknown to counsel and even Ms. Willis’s staff. Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade both testified they had not kept it a secret, saying that they did not announce their relationship because they are both private people.

Ms. Merchant alleged, based on what appeared to be long conversations with a former associate of Mr. Wade, that the relationship between Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade began before he was hired by the district attorney, and the lavish spending came after the appointment on the high-profile election case.

Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade both testified this was not the case. They said the romantic relationship began in early 2022 and ended in the summer of 2023, right before the Trump indictment.

Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade also both testified that they were close friends prior to beginning a romantic relationship in early 2022, but the trips only occurred during the period of their romantic relationship. They also both maintained that Ms. Willis paid her half of the expenses, giving Mr. Wade large sums of cash around four times.

Evidence is scarce on both sides. Pressed by defense attorneys for a record of these reimbursements, both Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade said there was none. And, as it appeared few people knew about the relationship, witness testimony produced little to allow Ms. Merchant to show that the relationship might have begun earlier than Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade say it did.

Ms. Merchant had two witnesses she intended to give testimony on the relationship timeline.

One was Robin Yeartie, a former friend of Ms. Willis. They met in college and, after reconnecting years later, maintained a friendship until Ms. Yeartie resigned from the district attorney’s office a few years ago. Ms. Yeartie had a lease on a condo she vacated and sublet to Ms. Willis in 2021.

Ms. Yeartie testified that Ms. Willis told her she met Mr. Wade in 2019 at a judicial conference. She said she had “no doubt” that a romantic relationship between the two started “shortly” after, as she saw them together “hugging, kissing” and otherwise showing affection.

Mr. Wade testified that he never spoke to Ms. Yeartie about the relationship. Ms. Willis said it was a “lie” that she began a relationship with Mr. Wade shortly after meeting him in 2019.

The second witness was Terrence Bradley, a former law partner of Mr. Wade, who also represented him during parts of Mr. Wade’s divorce proceedings. On Feb. 15 and Feb. 16, Mr. Bradley took the stand but declined to answer questions saying it would violate attorney-client privilege.

On the first day, he seemed to imply that he had never contacted Ms. Merchant, that it was she who had reached out to him through a third party, and that he had not shared details about the Wade-Willis relationship.

On Feb. 27, Ms. Merchant read aloud several texts exchanged between Ms. Merchant and Mr. Bradley, revealing discussions about various trips taken and rendezvous between Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis, as well as Mr. Bradley claiming that the relationship started shortly after they met in 2019.

However, Mr. Bradley testified that he had been “speculating,” that he had “no personal knowledge” about the relationship, and that everything he did know would have come from conversations with Mr. Wade. He added that there was only one conversation he had with Mr. Wade that concerned Ms. Willis, but later seemed to backtrack under questioning.

The texts indicated that Mr. Bradley’s speculation came in direct response to Ms. Merchant asking him to confirm allegations about the relationship as she was preparing to file her motion to disqualify, leading other defense attorneys to ask whether Mr. Bradley intentionally lied to Ms. Merchant in an effort to mislead her.

After three sessions on the witness stand, defense attorneys were able to pull few answers from Mr. Bradley.

Prior to his last testimony, however, Trump attorneys filed an affidavit from a private investigator who revealed that cell phone records for Mr. Wade indicate he likely spent two nights at Ms. Willis’s condo in 2021—before they claim the relationship began. He also said he found they had 2,000 calls and exchanged 12,000 text messages in 2021.

Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis did not dispute communicating in 2019, 2020, and 2021, and both said they were close friends in 2021 and communicated frequently. Ms. Willis had testified that Mr. Wade never spent the night and in a court filing, argued that the phone records only show he was in the vicinity based on the pinging off the cell towers.

Defense attorneys are expected to argue that the prosecutors may not have been truthful throughout the process, while the state has argued that the private investigator’s findings should not be entered into evidence.

Several defendants have also argued that the district attorney engaged in prejudicial behavior, but the judge has not given any indication that this will factor into his decision on the motion.

The ruling may depend on whether Judge McAfee determines an appearance of impropriety is enough to warrant disqualification, as he mentioned in a previous hearing, or whether defendants have to show proof of conflict of interest, as the state argued.

In a case with chilling implications for 1st Amendment press protections, a DC Judge has fined acclaimed Journalist Catherine Herridge $800 per day until she reveals a source used in articles written about American scientist Yanping Chen, who is suing the federal government for leaking information collected on Chen during a FBI investigation into her ties to China.

Judge Christopher Cooper, and Obama appointee, stayed his own ruling for 30 days while Herridge appeals the ruling that she violated his Aug. 1 order demanding she reveal how she learned about the federal probe into Chen, who operated a graduate program in Virginia.

Chen was never charged in connection with the investigation, which sought to determine whether she lied about her military service – or whether her school’s student database could be accessed from China. Following leaks to Herridge, Chen sued the federal government alleging that her privacy had been violated.

In September, Herridge sat for a deposition but would not reveal how she obtained the information, citing her First Amendment rights, and telling Chen’s lawyer, “I must now disobey the order.”

“The Court does not reach this result lightly,” wrote Cooper. “It recognizes the paramount importance of a free press in our society and the critical role that confidential sources play in the work of investigative journalists like Herridge. Yet the Court also has its own role to play in upholding the law and safeguarding judicial authority.”

Herridge’s lawyer, Patrick Philbin, said that he and his client “disagree” and will appeal the decision.

“Holding a journalist in contempt for protecting a confidential source has a deeply chilling effect on journalism,” Fox News said in a statement. “Fox News Media remains committed to protecting the rights of a free press and freedom of speech and believes this decision should be appealed.”

Of note, Cooper is the same judge blocked special counsel John Durham from entering evidence against Clinton lawyer Michael Sussman which would have detailed their plot to leak Trump-Russia hoax information to the media, according to the Washington Free Beacon‘s Chuck Ross.

Cooper’s wife notably represented anti-Trump FBI agent Lisa Page.

The judge, Christopher Cooper, is married to Dem lawyer Amy Jeffress, who represented Lisa Page.

— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) March 1, 2024

“This judge should be impeached,” said journalist Eli Lake in response to the decision. “A former PLA colonel’s alleged privacy rights is apparently more important than a journalist’s right to protect her confidential sources.”

This judge should be impeached. A former PLA colonel’s alleged privacy rights is apparently more important than a journalist’s right to protect her confidential sources. An outrage. https://t.co/5bwo8lo2ab

— Eli Lake (@EliLake) March 1, 2024

And as journalist Glenn Greenwald notes, “journalists are supposed to support any journalist who refuses to give up their source. It’s considered not only heroic but obligatory to defy court orders to protect one’s source…”

One of the most disgraceful things many journalists did in their Russiagate hysteria was *cheer* a deranged, FBI-loving blogger who not only ratted our her source to the FBI, but did so *voluntarily*, without anyone asking.

And liberal fanatics like @Sulliview *cheered* this. pic.twitter.com/WFK3B3oe0p

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 1, 2024

The source this Russiagate-obsessed blogger ratted out was an old dying man. He played almost no role in the Mueller report (which found it couldn’t prove the conspiracy).

But journalists’ applause showed how, in the Trump era, they renounced every journalistic principle. pic.twitter.com/hiupVIQYzo

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 1, 2024

By Elwin de Groot, Head of Macro Strategy at Rabobank

Gramscical world

Rate cuts soon! Rate cuts delayed! A rate hike instead of a cut? As we have been arguing in this Global Daily, we are still in this Gramscical world, where the old is dying, but the new is having difficulties with birth. And this is not just from a geopolitical or geoeconomic perspective.

Illustrative of this was the reaction to US PCE inflation data. Although core PCE inflation was broadly in line with consensus estimates, Bloomberg ran two stories. One read “Bonds Climb After ‘No New Bad News’ on Inflation”. The other, “Fed’s Preferred Inflation Metric Increases by Most in a Year”, underscored that the core PCE data, on a six-month annualized basis, rebounded to 2.5% in January after staying below it in the previous two months. Bear in mind, also, that this figure came after a confusing email by the BLS to a group of ‘super users’ that it later tried to retract. In that message the BLS argued that a surge in the measure of rental inflation – which unexpectedly rose sharply in the January CPI – had been due to a “shift in underlying calculations”, which could either imply that this change was a structural shift in prices/inflation or in fact an error which could be corrected at a later stage.

So the underlying – or should we say most consistent – narrative that fits the latest string of data is that whilst we are still making some progress on the disinflation path when seen from ‘outta space’, things on the ground are getting a bit more wobbly. European inflation data for February pretty much underscored that message. The underlying trend of gradual disinflation, going by the recent data from Spain, Belgium, Germany and France, remains intact, but these reports did not ease concerns over stickiness in core components (see also the day ahead section for more detail).

Not yet knowing whether they’ll become parent to a boy or girl, central banks best hold off on painting the nursery for a little longer. The adverse impact of moving too early is still bigger than the cost of cutting somewhat too late: credibility would take another hit if a resurgence of inflationary pressures forces policymakers to backtrack after a couple of cuts. That’s not just our concern. The European Parliament, who hold the ECB accountable, this week expressed their unease about inflation and the institutions’ credibility.

The ECB has, however, started to furnish the room. Reuters reported that the Governing Council has made some decisions regarding its future operational framework. According to their sources, the ECB intends to operate a ‘demand-driven floor’. In such a framework, the central bank provides as much liquidity as banks ask for, while using the deposit facility rate to steer money markets by setting the lowest rate at which banks are willing to lend to each other. The efficiency of such a framework relies on banks’ willingness to borrow from the ECB. That’s related to the costs of borrowing reserves. So the ECB can improve efficiency by narrowing the spread between the refinancing rate and the deposit rate.

Reuters’ sources suggested that this could “be announced as early as the ECB’s non-policy meeting on March 13.” Yet, the ECB’s own calendar lists no such meeting. We do note that next week’s interest rate decision comes into effect on that date. Could the ECB announce an asynchronous cut to the refinancing rate next Thursday? Given the ample liquidity in the system, this should not meaningfully impact money market rates. Yet, it would pose a huge communication challenge, particularly to a broader audience that does not distinguish between the different policy rates.

China’s manufacturing data this morning were Gramscical as well. Manufacturing activity slipped again in February (official PMI 0.1 point down to 49.1 in February) but services activity picked up somewhat (up 0.7 to 51.4). Are the governments’ interventions in equity markets helping engineer a turnaround in consumer sentiment and spending? Unlikely. The pickup in services was probably driven by lunar holiday travel spending rather than a signal of a broad-based recovery. If manufacturing stays weak while services activity picks up, the bigger risk is perhaps that the policy response will be one that boosts production (and overcapacity) rather than consumption.

This brings us to the last, but certainly not least important topic. Yesterday, the White House issued a statement by President Biden on the national security risks to the US auto industry. “China’s policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security. I’m not going to let that happen on my watch.”, Biden said. The key concern here is the connectedness and collection of sensitive data by new vehicles and so the Biden administration is launching an investigation into these risks.  This is actually a step closer to outright bans on Chinese cars, not tariffs, as suggested by Donald Trump. But the outcome may well be the same.

It also shows that the current White House is acutely aware of the pressure it is under with the elections approaching and the subdued approval ratings for Biden in the polls. Biden may want to take wind out of Trump sails by sounding and acting tough on China. Is he trying to push out a Trump child with Democratic genes?

Our US strategist Philip Marey even thinks that, looking at the growth and employment outlook for the remainder of this year, the current situation for Biden may be as good as it gets. This also implies that – looking at the current polls – one is almost forced to take a Trump victory as base case, even though there is still so much uncertainty.

Given Trump’s first term in office and his recent remarks on trade policy, we should expect a broad rise in import tariffs under a Trump presidency, Philip argues. This could lead to a rebound in inflation, especially in 2025, complicating the Fed’s mission to get inflation back to its 2% target in a sustainable manner. Ceteris paribus, this could reduce the amount of rate cuts that the Fed has in mind for 2025.

No need to argue that this could also have serious global ramifications…

Shortly after a disappointing ISM Manufacturing report (which started yields falling), Fed Governor Christopher Waller (quietly) dropped quite a bombshell on markets for those that were paying attention.

Specifically remarking on a Fed paper “Quantitative Tightening around the Globe: What Have We Learned?”, Waller told the 2024 U.S. Monetary Policy Forum in New York that he would like to see two key developments in the Fed’s portfolio:

“First, I would like to see the Fed’s agency MBS holdings go to zero. Agency MBS holdings have been slow to run off the portfolio, at a recent monthly average of about $15 billion, because the underlying mortgages have very low interest rates and prepayments are quite small. I believe it is important to see a continued reduction in these holdings.

Second, I would like to see a shift in Treasury holdings toward a larger share of shorter-dated Treasury securities. Prior to the Global Financial Crisis, we held approximately one-third of our portfolio in Treasury bills. Today, bills are less than 5 percent of our Treasury holdings and less than 3 percent of our total securities holdings. Moving toward more Treasury bills would shift the maturity structure more toward our policy rate – the overnight federal funds rate – and allow our income and expenses to rise and fall together as the FOMC increases and cuts the target range. This approach could also assist a future asset purchase program because we could let the short-term securities roll off the portfolio and not increase the balance sheet. This is an issue the FOMC will need to decide in the next couple of years.”

Translation: Waller is hinting at an ‘Operation Reverse-Twist’ which will lower short-term yields and steepen the yield curve.

As a reminder, The Fed unleashed ‘Operation Twist’ in Q2 2012 (selling short-term Treasury securities and purchasing long-term Treasuries) to extend QE without actually calling it QE.

While much chatter has been about the tapering of QT, they will of course not call ‘Operation Reverse Twist’ by its proper name – QE – because that would reignite animal spirits further and put The Fed in the awkward position of buying short-term bonds at the same as it is hiking rates.

His comments come as Dallas Fed chief Lorie Logan reiterated it’ll likely be appropriate to start slowing the pace at which it shrinks its balance sheet.

All of which is promptly timed just as the pace of RRP erosion is set to accelerate after month-end malarkey and The Fed’s BTFP facility is set to expire.

As one would expect this sent yields lower (especially in the short-end)…

Source: Bloomberg

…bull-steepening the yield curve…

Source: Bloomberg

And perhaps more notably, gold is accelerating higher…

Source: Bloomberg

So will The Fed start QE Reverse-Twist… and hike rates to tamp down a resurgent inflation thanks to animal spirits 2.0 prompted by their prior pivot?

Just because Boeing doesn’t have other things to worry about – like airplanes that don’t turn into convertibles mid-air or are glorified DEI paperweights, for example – the company, which for the past decade has been mired in a literal shitstorm of scandals and deadly manufacturing debacles, has decided that two wrongs make a right, and according to the WSJ, Boeing is in talks to acquire Departed Spirit AeroSystems, the just as troubled jet-fuselage supplier it split off two decades ago (and not “fuselage that split in two” although that has also been known to happen) that’s been at the center of quality issues affecting 737 MAX jets.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the WSJ reports that Spirit has hired bankers to explore strategic options and has had preliminary discussions with its former owner, Boeing. Of course, since any deal would have to get approval from Biden’s communist FTC, the talks most likely won’t result in a deal but one can hope. Spirit is also exploring selling operations in Ireland that make parts for Boeing’s chief rival, Airbus.

Just like the $120 billion Boeing, Spirit – which has a far smaller market valuation of $3.3 billion – has been under scrutiny for manufacturing problems that have hammered production at Boeing. Spirit ousted its CEO last fall and brought in a former Boeing executive to run it. Its share price, around $100 five years ago, was trading under $30 Friday morning. Spirit, which makes 737 fuselages and other airframe components, was created when Boeing sold some of its factories in 2005. Boeing accounts for nearly two-thirds of Spirit’s sales, with Airbus and defense companies comprising the rest.

Most recently, Spirit was in the spotlight after its was revealed that its factory in Wichita made the fuselage involved in the Alaska Airlines door-plug blowout in January. In that case, investigators believe workers at a Boeing plant in Renton, Wash., failed to put back bolts needed to secure the door plug during production. In other words, DEI all around.

Both Boeing and Spirit have come under increasing pressure from airline customers and federal regulators to shore up quality issues following the Alaska Airlines accident.

The WSJ notes, that as problems at Spirit mounted, stalling Boeing’s production, last year Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun shot down suggestions that the company might acquire Spirit. But more recently Calhoun has softened his stance.  When asked about Boeing’s outsourcing strategy, Calhoun recently told CNBC, “did it go too far? Yeah, it probably did. But now it’s here and now. And now, I’ve got to deal with it.”

In any case, a deal would be a strategic reversal. Boeing sold the Wichita plant in a push to focus on final assembly. In recent years, that facility has been plagued by production problems and quality lapses that have slowed production and left the plane maker short of jets it promised to deliver to airlines.

Still, the market was happy to take the news and fly run with it: SPR stock spiked as much as 16% while Boeing broefly slumped below $200, a level it hasn’t budged from in 4 years.

A powerful Pacific storm will dump up to 10 feet of snow across the highest elevations of Sierra Nevada through the weekend, forcing residents to already shelter in place. At the same time, at least one Lake Tahoe ski resort closed Friday. 

“Your safe travel window is over in the Sierra,” the National Weather Service in Reno warned residents on X on Thursday morning, adding: “Best to hunker down where you are.” 

Snow is already ongoing over the Sierra and is not expected to let up through the weekend. Your safe travel window is over in the Sierra – best to hunker down where you are.

Precip arrives to W NV by late afternoon/evening with snow levels dropping below valley floors overnight. pic.twitter.com/V6fvsspFs3

— NWS Reno (@NWSReno) February 29, 2024

Conditions continue to deteriorate along I-80 this evening as hourly snowfall rates and winds increase. A Blizzard Warning remains in effect through Sunday for areas above 2000 ft in the Sierra. Travel is *HIGHLY* discouraged!! #CAwx pic.twitter.com/fdSSUpwdkd

— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) March 1, 2024

The storm began on Thursday afternoon and is expected to last through the weekend. A blizzard warning covers a 300-mile stretch from north of Lake Tahoe to south of Yosemite National Park.

HIGH to EXTREME avalanche danger is expected in the backcountry through 5 PM Sunday for the Central Sierra slopes between Yuba Pass and Ebbetts Pass, including the Greater Lake Tahoe area. More info at: https://t.co/ilp7hXfgCr#Nvwx #CAwx pic.twitter.com/c5nIj5ivU4

— NWS Reno (@NWSReno) March 1, 2024

“We’re expecting 5-12 FEET of snow above 5000′, locally higher over peaks,” the National Weather Service in Sacramento warned on X. 

Strong winds and heavy snow will cause extremely dangerous travel conditions, as well as downed trees & branches, & power outages. We’re expecting 5-12 FEET of snow above 5000′, locally higher over peaks. AVOID mountain travel this weekend, & be prepared if you live there. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/K0YxXxeUgA

— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) February 29, 2024

Here’s Fox Weather’s latest snowfall forecast for the region. 

“This will be a legitimate blizzard,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said during an online briefing Thursday.

Authored by Caden Pearsen via The Epoch Times,

Former President Donald Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith filed motions on Thursday, asking the court for different trial dates in the classified documents criminal case in Florida.

Mr. Smith’s motion, filed on Thursday evening, requested a new trial date of July 8 and proposed a schedule for going forward that includes monthly status conferences so the court can ensure deadlines are being met.

“Attached to this pleading is the government’s proposed schedule for going forward, culminating in a new trial date of July 8, 2024,” Mr. Smith’s filing reads.

In a separate filing earlier that day, attorneys for the former president requested that the trial be preferably delayed until after the 2024 election or, alternatively, be held on Aug. 12.

“As the leading candidate in the 2024 election, President Trump strongly asserts that a fair trial cannot be conducted this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution,” the filing by his attorneys reads.

President Trump’s attorneys argued that the 6th Amendment affords him the right to be present and to participate in the legal proceedings, while at the same time, the 1st Amendment affords him—and the American people—the right to engage in his campaign speech-making.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida has said she may delay the trial. She will hold a hearing on Friday to discuss the scheduling of the trial, which is currently set for May.

President Trump is accused of violating the Espionage Act through unauthorized possession of national defense information, as well as conspiring to obstruct justice and making false statements.

Mr. Smith’s proposed schedule does not specify a date for both parties to respond with their positions on the draft jury questionnaire that they jointly submitted to the court on Wednesday.

The questionnaire is intended for potential jurors in the ongoing case. There were disagreements on a few questions, and the list has not yet been released to the public. While the prosecutors have requested that it be kept under seal until after the jury selection process, the defendants have argued that it should be made publicly available.

“The Court will be in a better position to assess the timing of the former after reviewing the parties’ joint filing from February 28. The Court can then set briefing on the questionnaire concurrently with one of the other briefing schedules in the Government’s attachment,” Mr. Smith’s filing reads.

Mr. Smith’s proposed trial date would start the trial just days before the Republican National Convention, which is set to take place from July 15 to 18 in Milwaukee.

President Trump’s attorneys, citing his status as the presumptive GOP presidential nominee and chief political rival to incumbent President Joe Biden, argued that holding the trial this year would violate the Department of Justice’s Justice Manual.

The Justice Manual prohibits federal prosecutors and agents from timing actions for the purpose of affecting an election.

In arguing to postpone the trial, President Trump’s attorneys cited the Justice Manual, referencing a 2020 letter from Deputy Special Counsel J.P. Cooney to then-Attorney General William Barr. The letter invoked the DOJ’s “longstanding policy of non-interference in elections,” which Mr. Cooney noted had been in place for “decades” and had “protected the institution from the appearance of political partisanship.”

The requests for competing trial dates come one day after the Supreme Court decided to review the question of whether presidential immunity applies to a different federal criminal case related to his efforts to challenge the 2020 election results.

The trial in that case was scheduled to begin on March 4 in Washington, D.C., but has been put on hold until the Supreme Court decides on the matter. The decision is expected to be made in mid-June.

Democrats’ consumer confidence tumbled in February, falling 7.1 pts (from 101.7 to 94.6) – the most since June 2022. At the same time, Republicans’ confidence rose to its highest since July 2021…

Source: Bloomberg

Maybe their confidence was shattered by Biden’s polling numbers… or the start of a loss of faith that The Fed has won (as the short-term inflation expectations ticked up to 3.0%)…

Source: Bloomberg

US consumer sentiment fell in February for the first time in three months as current and expected views of the economy deteriorated.

The sentiment index declined to 76.9 from 79 in January (lower than all estimates). The current conditions gauge fell last month to 79.4 and a measure of expectations dropped to 75.2 from January.

Source: Bloomberg

Buying conditions for durable goods eased, as did consumers’ expectations for their personal finances.

“Consumers perceived few changes in the state of the economy since the start of the new year, and they appear to be assured that inflation will continue on a favorable trajectory,” said JoanneHsu, Director.

“Sentiment is currently 8 points shy of the historical average since 1978.”

Finally, despite of continued strength in many stock market indicators, stock owners reported declines in sentiment, while for non-owners sentiment rose 5%.

Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

A new narrative has dropped claiming that the massive numbers of illegal immigrants flooding into Europe is all a plot cooked up by Vladimir Putin.

Yes, really.

The Telegraph cites nebulous “intelligence documents” it has seen that detail a plan for Russia to “set up a 15,000-man strong border police force comprising former militias in Libya to control the flow of migrants.”

“If you can control the migrant routes into Europe then you can effectively control elections, because you can restrict or flood a certain area with migrants in order to influence public opinion at a crucial time,” a source told the newspaper.

It’s not NGOs & government laying out the red carpet for boat migrants. It’s not the government putting them up in hotels for £15 million a day. It’s not the government incentivizing them with free houses, health care and money.

No…it’s Vladimir Putin doing all that. pic.twitter.com/OQjzKP4IpZ

— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) February 29, 2024

In the year to June 2023, 52,530 illegal migrants entered the UK on small boats, a 17 per cent increase on the previous year.

Presumably, Putin was responsible for that too.

Aside from illegal immigration, the UK government granted 3.4 million visas to legal immigrants in 2023, a 20 per cent year on year increase.

Part of this figure includes 279,131 visas granted to dependents of immigrants, a figure 80 per cent higher than 2022.

BREAKING: IMMIGRATION HITS RECORD HIGH!
🚨Record high of migrant work visas issued last year
🚨3.4 million visas granted in 2023 = +20% YoY
🚨Overseas worker visas: 337,240; +26% YoY
🚨More than twice 2019
🚨Health & Care Visas: 146,477 ALMOST DOUBLED; more than 50% of all visas…

— Martin Daubney 🇬🇧 (@MartinDaubney) February 29, 2024

Presumably Putin gave the green light for all that too?

Blaming Putin is very convenient for European countries that have completely failed to secure their borders and are incentivizing migrants to make the journey in the first place.

In the UK for example, NGOs and the government not only rescue migrant boats when they enter British territory.

Illegals then get free hotel accommodation at a cost to the taxpayer of £15 million pounds a day, as well as free cash and access to free health care.

Presumably, Vladimir Putin is overseeing and paying for all that too?

The notion that Putin has ‘weaponized’ migrants to destabilize European countries also contradicts the mantra, which surely must be true given that we’re told it so often, that diversity is a strength and that mass migration is good for the economy.

Why would Putin be responsible for something so helpful if he hates us?

REVEALED: Putin’s Plan to destabilise Europe by flooding it with Migrants by filling Europe’s Governments, Media Classes, Academia and Civil Services with Russian Spies – Migration has surged because every single policymaker in a position of influence is secretly a Putin goon https://t.co/84rYMj4y6g pic.twitter.com/AMiB8ZF6Sk

— ɖʀʊӄքǟ ӄʊռʟɛʏ 🇧🇹🇹🇩 (@kunley_drukpa) March 1, 2024

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