Month: October 2024

Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times,

A Delaware judge has refused to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against online sports magazine Deadspin over an article accusing a 9-year-old boy of wearing “blackface” to a football game.

In an Oct. 7 ruling, Judge Sean Lugg of the Superior Court of Delaware rejected Deadspin’s argument that the article in question was opinion and thus protected from defamation liability.

“Deadspin published an image of a child displaying his passionate fandom as a backdrop for its critique of the NFL’s diversity efforts and, in its description of the child, crossed the fine line protecting its speech from defamation claims,” Lugg wrote.

The lawsuit was filed by Raul Armenta Jr. and his wife, Shannon, on behalf of themselves and their son, Holden, who is of Chumash Indian descent.

According to the complaint, Holden painted his face black and red – two of the colors used in the Kansas City Chiefs logo – and wore a Native American headdress during a Nov. 26, 2023, game between the Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders. He was shown briefly during the television broadcast of the game, with his red-and-black face paint visible.

The next day, Deadspin writer Carron Phillips published an article calling out the boy’s attire, with a featured image of the child that showed only the side of his face covered in black paint.

“It takes a lot to disrespect two groups of people at once,” he wrote in the column.

“But on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas, a Kansas City Chiefs fan found a way to hate Black people and the Native Americans at the same time.”

The author then questioned the NFL’s commitment to its “social justice initiatives,” saying that the organization has not been doing enough to foster a more “sensitive” culture among fans.

Specifically, Phillips argued that the NFL should have been more “aggressive” in pressing the Kansas City football team to drop its “Chiefs” name, which he deemed as culturally insensitive as “Redskins,” a name bore by Washington Commanders for decades until its rebranding in 2020 amid nationwide unrest and debate over racism.

“This is what happens when you ban books, stand against Critical Race Theory, and try to erase centuries of hate,” he wrote.

“You give future generations the ammunition they need to evolve and recreate racism better than before.”

The article, according to the lawsuit, drew hateful messages and even death threats to the Armenta family. In December last year, the family demanded a formal apology and retraction from Deadspin, which the magazine declined, prompting the lawsuit.

In defense, Deadspin argued that Phillips’ statements were expressions of opinion and therefore not subject to defamation claims. However, Judge Lugg disagreed, stating that the article portrayed Holden as someone who intentionally used “blackface” to “hate Black people,” which amounted to a provably false assertion of fact.

“The court concludes that Deadspin’s statements accusing [Holden] of wearing black face and Native headdress ’to hate black people and the Native American at the same time,’ and that he was taught this hatred by his parents, are provable false assertions of fact and are therefore actionable,” Lugg wrote.

Of course, the full picture showed that Armenta had the other half of his face painted in red paint – the Chiefs colors. It also turns out that he is Native American.

Indeed, his grandfather is serving on the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.

Deadspin also sought dismissal based on jurisdiction, arguing that the case should be filed in California, where the Armentas reside, rather than Delaware, where Deadspin’s former parent company, G/O Media, is incorporated. The judge rejected this argument as well.

In March, just one month after the Armentas filed their lawsuit, G/O Media sold Deadspin to Lineup Publishing, a European company that decided to not retain any of the website’s staff members.

As of this publication, the article in question is still up on Deadspin’s website but has been updated to remove photos and identifying details about the boy. The headline has also been revised “to better reflect the substance of the story.”

“We regret any suggestion that we were attacking the fan or his family,” Deadspin’s editors wrote in a note.

The Armentas are represented by Clare Locke, a firm specialized in defamation cases.

“The Armenta family is looking forward to taking depositions and presenting this case to a jury at trial,” Elizabeth Locke, an attorney for the Armentas, said in a statement.

A spokesperson for G/O Media said the company had no comment.

Russia has blasted the “outrageous” remarks of US Vice President Kamala Harris when talking about President Vladimir Putin during a Howard Stern interview aired live on SiriusXM radio.

In the Tuesday show she called Putin a “murderous dictator”. If she’s elected the remarks are unlikely to ever be forgotten by the Russian side, making the possibility of improved diplomacy extremely difficult, and perhaps that’s the point.

The Russian Embassy in Washington has issued official statement Wednesday: “The recent unacceptable statements made by US Vice-President Kamala Harris towards Russian President Vladimir Putin are outrageous. However, we have to admit that such a boorish language has become a habit among the current so-called American statesmen,” it reads.

“It only shows the frustration and impotence of the ruling circles in Washington. Due to their inability to deal with the Russian Federation and inflicting ‘a strategic defeat,’ their speech apparatus channels anger and offensive rhetoric,” the embassy continued.

“The US authorities should come to terms with the fact that Russia is pursuing a policy based on its national interests. Such US escapades insult the entire Russian people, who demonstrate unwavering unity around the leader of our country,” the statement underscored.

Harris during the Stern interview was responding to questions raised about journalist Bob Woodward’s new book, which bizarrely alleges that during the height of the Covid pandemic then President Trump secretly sent coronavirus tests to Putin as a gesture of good will.

This action, even if true (the Trump campaign has slammed it as a falsehood), hardly rises to the level of a national scandal. But of course, the Democrats are trying to spin the allegations, or what essentially appears meager Trump efforts to improve diplomacy with Moscow, into big headlines.

“He admires strongmen, and he gets played by them because he thinks that they’re his friends,” Harris said. “And they are manipulating him full time.”

“[This is] just the most recent, stark example of who Donald Trump is,” Harris continued in response to the Woodward book. “People were dying by the hundreds. Everybody was scrambling to get these kits, the COVID test kits. Couldn’t get them, couldn’t get them anywhere.

But that’s when she said in reference to Putin, “And this guy who was president of the United States is sending them to Russia, to a murderous dictator, for his personal use.”

Authored by Stephen Katte via CoinTelegraph.com,

On Oct. 8. HBO’s documentary Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery identified Peter Todd as Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator — Satoshi Nakamoto.

Todd denied being Nakamoto both before the documentary’s debut and after it aired, bluntly posting on X, “I’m not Satoshi.”

However, the question remains: Who is Peter Todd, and why do some people believe he is Satoshi Nakamoto?

Peter Todd is a prominent Canadian developer with a background in cryptography, computer science, and digital security. He is best known for his contributions to the development of Bitcoin Core, the main software implementation of the Bitcoin  protocol.

Todd has been a Bitcoin Core Developer at Bitcoin platform Coinkite since July 2014 and a board adviser at digital collectible platform Verisart since 2015.

His contributions to blockchain can be traced back to the birth of Bitcoin itself, placing him as a contemporary of Nakamoto.

HBO’s documentary filmmaker Cullen Hoback goes further, however, naming him as Satoshi Nakamoto himself. 

This is linked to what Hoback claims is a new piece of evidence supposedly crucial to the case. In a December 2010 thread on the forum Bitcointalk, Todd replied to Nakamoto in a thread about fees. 

Hoback and HBO contend that this reply under Peter Todd’s own account was a careless mistake, that Todd is Nakamoto and had planned to append his previous post as Satoshi.

Is this the crucial piece of evidence that unmasks Satoshi Nakamoto? Source: BitcoinTalk

Although HBO seems convinced that this shows Todd is Nakamoto, not everyone is quite so sure.

BitMEX Research is among those skeptical of HBO’s claims. In an Oct. 8 X post they stated some of the evidence presented in the documentary was “clearly ridiculous,” and there was “zero reason” to believe it.

Source: BitMEX Research

Is Peter Todd Satoshi Nakamoto?

Whether Todd is Nakamoto or not, his longstanding ties to Bitcoin are indisputable. Todd is not only one of the earliest contributors to the Bitcoin codebase, but he is among the few who publicly communicated with Nakamoto before Nakamoto disappeared in 2011.

In a 2019 podcast, Todd said he was about 15 when he started communicating with early Bitcoin contributor Hal Finney and Hashcash inventor Adam Back. Both Finney and Back have also been named as Nakamoto contenders over the years.

Todd was 23 when Nakamoto published the Bitcoin white paper in 2008, outlining a vision for a decentralized peer-to-peer payment system.

Through his years of work on Bitcoin and blockchain more generally, Todd has proven to be an extremely knowledgeable and adept developer. This proves that Todd has the requisite skills and experience to be a worthy Nakamoto candidate.

Todd also has opinions on decentralization and security that broadly align with Nakamoto, although this is almost certainly true of most people in blockchain. Todd also keeps a relatively low profile, suggesting he has similar predilictions to Bitcoin’s inventor.

Although Todd has at times denied being Nakamoto, he has at others said, “I am Satoshi.”

This is widely interpreted as an “I am Spartacus” tactic, allowing the real Satoshi Nakamoto to hide among his peers by creating false positives. Indeed, Todd has also said he believes that almost everyone has a claim to being the inventor of Bitcoin.

In an October 2024 post Todd said, “Satoshi is the entire human race minus Craig Wright.”

Craig Wright is one of the few people who has seriously claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, an argument rejected by a UK judge in March of this year.

Is it possible that Todd, by also claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, is similarly seeking to discredit himself? That’s the kind of evasion tactic only a 3D chess grandmaster could pull off successfully — somebody like Satoshi Nakamoto, perhaps.

Walt Disney World Resort is in Hurricane Milton’s forecasted path. Analysts from Goldman expect closures and disruptions from the storm could cost the entertainment company between $150 million and $200 million this quarter. 

For a full list of Hurricane Milton operational impacts visit https://t.co/CMZLu8MYeL. Thank you and stay safe! pic.twitter.com/MkIcC9yBBU

— Walt Disney World (@WaltDisneyWorld) October 8, 2024

Milton is expected to make landfall in Central Florida late Wednseday night or early Thursday as a powerful Cat. 4 hurricane. Disney shuttered park operations today, and all parks will remain closed on Thursday. 

Milton Barrels Towards Tampa-Area As A Cat. 5 Hurricane https://t.co/JSsxej0uNp

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) October 9, 2024

“Specifically, we estimate a $150 mn – $200 mn adverse impact to F1Q25E Parks & Experiences EBIT driven by a 4 pp adverse impact to domestic attendance growth in F1Q25E based on historical headwinds from hurricanes due to closure and disruption times. For instance, Hurricane Irma in 2017 was a $100 mn headwind to DIS EBIT and a 3 pp headwind to domestic parks attendance with 2 days of closure at Walt Disney World and some cruise ship itinerary disruptions,” the team of Goldman analysts led by Michael Ng and Shelby Spencer wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday. 

Ng and Spencer said their F4Q24E estimates (published 9/24/2024) remain unchanged and forecast Disney to deliver F4Q24E EPS of $1.16 (v. Visible Alpha Consensus Data of $1.10) and segment OI of $3.8 bn (in-line with consensus). However, they reduced their F1Q25E Parks and Experience EBIT from the estimated hurricane impact, pushing down the F2025E EPS estimate to $5.14 (v. $5.22 prior and $5.13 consensus), adding, “Our F2026/27 EPS are essentially unchanged on average at $5.96/$7.10.” 

They note prior storms, including Hurricanes Ian (F4Q22), Dorian (F4Q19), Irma (F4Q17) and Matthew (F1Q17), forced Disney to shutter resorts for 1-2 days on average. 

The analysts shifted down their F2025 EBIT estimate by 1% due to Milton’s likely impacts in the next 12 to 24 hours. They added that estimates in F2024, F2026, and F2027 remain unchanged. 

Despite Milton’s current forecast directly impacting Disney’s resort, the analysts told clients: “We are Buy rated on shares of Walt Disney Co. Our 12-month price target of $120 (unchanged)…” 

Shares are currently trading at a 26.5% discount versus Goldman’s price target.

Furthermore, the analysts noted non-weather-related downside risks for Disney, which include “intensified cord-cutting, sports rights cost inflation, streaming competition, economic slowdown impacting consumer spending, weak theatrical slate, M&A, unfavorable regulatory or policy reforms, higher than expected interest rates and FX.” 

Given Milton’s strength and trajectory and many meteorologists claiming this storm is one for the history books, the probability that Disney’s resort could be shuttered for longer than the projected 1-2 days continues to rise.

Via Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com,

Analyst and financial writer John Rubino has long warned of a massive financial crisis. 

With unstoppable wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, Rubino says one thing is for sure, “Chaos is coming.”  Rubino explains,

“This does not get fixed easily, and to the extent this gets fixed at all, this gets fixed via chaos.  Prepare for a really interesting decade.  This is going to be unlike anything we have seen in our lifetimes.  Not since the Great Depression, nothing like this has happened.”

This all feeds into what Rubino calls the “shrinking trust horizon.”  Rubino points out,

“When everybody is lying to you, you reach a point where you only trust your city councilman, or your mayor and your local farmers…

So, you just don’t put any stock in what your doctor tells you.  You stop taking the vaccinations they tell you to take… You stop doing the . . . statins for high blood pressure and cholesterol.  You stop doing that because you don’t trust those people anymore…

Starting with the “weapons of mass destruction,” which the government lied to us to get us into a multi-trillion dollar war in Iraq, it’s been one big lie after another. 

In 2016, there was Trump/Russia collusion…It turned out to be Hillary Clinton opposition research. 

With the CV19 pandemic, it was just lie, after lie, after lie…

Now, you have what is going on in North Carolina and Tennessee after Hurricane Helene.  People are figuring out they are being lied to one issue at a time…

You’ve got a whole new set of people watching the government screw up and behave incompetently or corruptly, and they are learning they cannot trust the guys in charge anymore.  So, the trust horizon is shrinking everywhere you look.”

There are so many parts of the economy that are quietly facing huge trouble and big losses. 

Nothing could start a total all-sector market crash faster than an attack by Israel on Iran’s nuclear sites. 

Rubino says, “There you go.  That could be the thing that sets everything off.  Bombing nuclear weapons facilities or a nuclear power plants is one of those things that has so many unintended consequences.”

“Iran would have to respond to that in a serious way.  It’s possible that China and Russia would step in on the side of Iran…

Then you get something much bigger.  . . . I think the financial markets would respond to that.  Oil would go to $150 a barrel.  That would crash the stock market. 

Then you get all the other dominos falling:  commercial real estate, residential real estate, government bonds, derivatives and everything starts blowing up. 

That could be the catalyst for a market crash much bigger than 2008 and 2009. 

This would be something we have not seen since the Great Depression. 

We are not far from that.  I think Trump said he thinks Israel should bomb Iran’s nuclear facility. . . . Biden is the demented figurehead for the neocons who want WWIII because they think they can win it. 

Chaos is definitely coming, but I am hoping it is survivable chaos, and I am not sure that it will be.”

There is much more in the 48-minute interview.

Join Greg Hunter as he goes One-on-One with financial writer John Rubino and his new enterprise called Rubino.Substack.com for 10.08.24.

*  *  *

To Donate to USAWatchdog.com Click Here

John Rubino is a prolific financial writer, and you can see some of his work for free at Rubino.Substack.com.

Oil prices are falling once again as hope for more China demand (stimmies) fade and last night’s huge crude inventory build reported by API (likely storm-related).

The slide in prices overshadowed nervousness about an escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, particularly a possible retaliatory strike by Israel on Iran’s oil facilities following a missile barrage last week.

“Heightened geopolitical risks have supported oil prices and appear likely to continue to do so,” Morgan Stanley analysts including Martijn Rats and Charlotte Firkins said in a note.

“However, the underlying balance has continued to weaken.”

So, the question is, will the official data confirm API’s big builds…

API

• Crude +10.9mm (+1.95mm exp)

• Cushing +1.359mm

• Gasoline -557k

• Distillates -2.59mm

DOE

• Crude +5.81mm (+1.95mm exp) – biggest build since April 2024

• Cushing +1.247mm

• Gasoline -6.304mm – biggest draw since Nov 2023

• Distillates -3.124mm

The official data confirmed API’s reported large crude build (though smaller) but it also showed a huge gasoline draw (largest since Nov 2023) as we suspect Hurricane Helene had some significant impact in the supply chain…

Source: Bloomberg

Including the Biden admin’s 37k barrel add to SPR, this was the biggest aggregate rise in crude stocks since April 2024

Source: Bloomberg

US Crude production rose back to 13.4mm b/d – record highs…

Source: Bloomberg

WTI was trading just below $72 ahead of the official data, and held those losses after…

Morgan Stanley raised its Brent price forecast by $5 to $80 a barrel for the fourth quarter of this year on heightened geopolitical risk. Others have also struck a more bullish tone in recent days, with hedge fund manager Pierre Andurand saying crude could surge $10-$15 in the event of an attack, while Carlyle Group’s Jeff Currie said oil supply risks are the biggest in decades.

“My sense of positioning is that the tourists are long, the options specialists are long options and the normal traders that offset that flow are nowhere to be found as they remain on sidelines,” said Scott Shelton, an energy specialist at TP ICAP Group Plc.

One day after Hong Kong stocks crashed the most since Lehman even as Chinese A-shares jumped to catch up after a weeklong holiday, on Wednesday China’s mainland stocks ended a stimulus-induced winning streak with a thud as questions swirled over how far the authorities are willing to go to support the sluggish economy and as anticipation for stimulus faded. 

The benchmark CSI 300, which measures large-market-cap stocks listed in Shenzhen and Shanghai, crashed 7.05% from Tuesday to close at 3,955.98, its first loss in 11 sessions and its worst day since February 2020, when COVID-19 paralyzed China.

Worse, the tech-focused ChiNext fell over 10% on Wednesday, the biggest single-day decrease on record, while the STAR 50 dropped 2.55%.

Close to 3 trillion yuan ($420 billion) worth of mainland stocks exchanged hands, on par with Tuesday’s record turnover.

Chinese shares had been on a tear since Sept. 24, just days after we correctly predicted that a Chinese bazooka was imminent…

Time For China To Turn On The Printing Press https://t.co/IDBjhxAs90

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 21, 2024

… sparked by interest rate cuts and central bank initiatives to usher billions of dollars into the markets. But a fresh policy announcement on Tuesday by the NDRC, China’s central planning coordinator, stopped well short of the big fiscal stimulus package many had been hoping would lift the economy out of its debt-deflation spiral.

Despite that disappointment, Tuesday still ranked among the best days ever for mainland stock indexes as stocks caught up after a week-long holiday. But as we reported yesterday, Hong Kong shares plunged sharply the same day, closing down 9.41% – wiping out a 9% gain they had accumulated during a weeklong National Day break on the mainland. And then mainland markets followed with their own Wednesday swoon.

Indeed, while Hong Kong and mainland markets moved in opposite directions on Tuesday, they were fully aligned on Wednesday, when the former’s Hang Seng Index closing 1.38% lower on the day at 20,637.24. That put it just a tad higher than its close on Sept. 27, three days after the first big move in the government’s latest round of stimulus. In other words, easy come, easy go and as usual, Jim Cramer top-ticked the move .

Chinese brokerage CITIC and Alibaba Health led the HSI declines, falling 8.2% and 7.08%, respectively. Investors took profits from health-related stocks, with Biotech company Imeik Technology Development dropping the most out of the CSI 300 components, down 18.4%. Shenyang Xingqi Pharmaceutical, which is in the ChiNext index, dropped 20%.

In another sign of investors taking a more aligned view, the Hang Seng Stock Connect China AH Premium Index dropped 2.95% on Wednesday after surging the previous day, suggesting a narrowing divergence between the two markets.

Still, Beijing isn’t going to go down without a fight and China’s regulatory bodies indicated another round of eagerness to shore up investor confidence when the Ministry of Finance announced on Wednesday that it will brief reporters on Saturday about “intensifying countercyclical adjustment of fiscal policy to promote high-quality economic development”, stoking expectations for another stimulus revelation.

In a note published late in the day, Morgan Stanley economists said the ministry’s “press conference on Oct. 12 is Beijing’s second chance to convince the market that its reflation pivot is back on firmer footing after the Oct. 8 undershoot — but the bar is high.”

Amusingly, several major banks such as Goldman Sachs upgraded their assessments of China’s markets in response to the recent rally, and Goldman went overweight just in time to mark the peak, something we warned about on Monday.

Goldman Hikes S&P Price Target, Cuts Recession Odds And Raises China To Overweight https://t.co/RdCpwxVovi

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) October 7, 2024

Meanwhile, there are growing rumblings about fundamental issues in the economy — including a prolonged property crisis, debt risks and weak consumption — and a perceived lack of determination on the part of authorities to address them.

UBS’s global wealth management CIO said in a note on Wednesday that it expects more volatility in China equities until more concrete support measures come into view. The bank recommends investors pick individual stocks rather than “aggressively chasing market rallies.”

Benjamin Bennett, head of investment strategy for Asia at Legal & General Investment Management, called the Chinese stock rally “overdone.”

Skeptics point to Tuesday’s announcement by the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planning body, which promised to speed up the issuance of special-purpose bonds by local governments but did not offer solutions to deflationary pressure.

“I’d be surprised if the stimulus is enough to reignite the property sector,” Bennett said. “I also don’t think policymakers want to reflate the debt bubble. And maybe yesterday’s press conference was designed to temper equity investor expectations. Volatility will stay high for now, and we’ll see more large daily swings, but I’m happy to stay on the sidelines for this one.”

And so, after two days of selling, the disillusioned market now turns its hopes to the just announced Ministry of Finance press conference on Saturday at 10am local (Fri 10pm ET). Goldman’s Asia traders note that while yesterday’s NDRC presser was perceived as lackluster, primarily by foreign investors, their conversations suggested local investors have understood that only the MOF can announce sizable stimulus packages. In addition, they felt the fact that the NDRC’s RMB200bn package is to be used just over the next 2-3 months into year-end was underappreciated by the foreign investor base.

SocGen agreed with Goldman in downplaying the disappointment, and writes that the NDRC briefing yesterday was clearly disappointing for the market, “but in our view the expectation was misplaced because the NDRC, as a policy coordinator, doesn’t have the authority over fiscal decisions. The MoF announced today that it will hold a briefing this Saturday morning. The chance of getting more ideas on (the first installment of) the fiscal stimulus is certainly better there, but we still caution that investors should keep the expectation in check for the size of the fiscal stimulus. So what can or cannot we expect? And more importantly, what really matters?”

Which brings up the next catalyst: Saturday’s MOF announcement, where questions are already swirling: Will we get a big number on the fiscal stimulus? According to SocGen, “Maybe still not.” Here is the French bank’s rationale:

For this year, additional support measures So, it is quite possible that the Saturday briefing can disappoint again, given that markets now seem to expect something between RMB1-3tn – seemingly coming off from RMB3-5tn before/during the National Holiday week.

That said, if one wants to stay hopeful, we do think that the joint meeting between the PBoC and MoF on CGB trading today is quite interesting. Even if the first batch of stimulus might turn out to be limited, the closer coordination on CGB liquidity looks to be a hint of some more sizeable supply pipeline ahead.

What can we expect this Saturday? SocGen answers:

1. Confirmation that the fiscal policy will be redirected to facilitate rebalancing to domestic demand. The Politburo meeting in September clearly signaled the shift from supply-side to demand-side, pledging to stabilise the housing sector, promote consumption and income of low-to-middle income groups and support employment. Given these, the MoF should further confirm the direction by highlighting areas of more spending such as stepping up fiscal transfers from central government to local governments, increasing subsidies for companies to increase employment, raising unemployment insurance payments, extending the policies during the pandemic, and even better, cash handouts to families and additional funding to resolve local government debt, as reported by Reuters previously.
2. Forward guidance on more CGB issuance and/or a bigger deficit ahead. We think it is very unlikely for Beijing to commit to one super-sized fiscal stimulus (CNY5-10tn) in one go. It is almost certain that the MoF will not communicate an explicit number for the 2025 budget. What is more realistic and also sensible is a commitment to fixing the structural issues and the willingness to keep topping up fiscal efforts.

In conclusion, now that the latest China rally has reversed, expect a very nervous market on edge until this weekend when the MoF will either double down on stimulus jawboning – and actually reveal firm plans of what it will do – or the bottom will fall out of both the market and the economy, forcing Beijing to do that much more, up to and including QE (see “China Must Do QE Now, “Or It Will End Up In A Bigger Hole In 12 Months“”), to prevent all out economic catastrophe.

Boeing’s troubles keep piling up. On Tuesday, S&P Global Ratings placed the struggling aircraft manufacturer on CreditWatch negative, with mounting risks that its investment-grade credit rating would be slashed to junk. To make matters worse, Bloomberg reported that negotiations to end an almost monthlong strike with its largest union collapsed. 

Beginning with the Bloomberg report, both Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers failed to reach a deal on a new labor contract as the strike marched on to its 27th day.

Boeing withdrew a labor contract deal that would’ve allowed the over 33,000 IAM members to receive 30% raises over four years. IAM is seeking a 40% pay increase over four years.

“Unfortunately, the union didn’t seriously consider our proposals,” Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Stephanie Pope wrote in a memo, adding, “Instead, the union made non-negotiable demands far in excess of what can be accepted if we are to remain competitive as a business.”

IAM leaders said the talks collapsed when Boeing negotiators refused to increase wages over the contract’s lifespan or reinstate the defined benefit pension. 

“By refusing to bargain the offer, the company made it harder to reach an agreement,” the union said, adding, “Your negotiating committee attempted to address multiple priorities that could have led to an offer we could bring to a vote, but the company wasn’t willing to move in our direction.”

Separately, S&P issued a press release indicating that Boeing’s ratings, including the ‘BBB-‘ issuer credit rating and senior unsecured debt ratings, have been placed on CreditWatch with negative implications. 

“The CreditWatch listing reflects the increased likelihood of a downgrade if the strike persists toward the end of the year, further constraining the recovery in the company’s cash flow generation and the company does not raise capital sufficient to meet its upcoming needs in such a way that does not increase financial leverage,” S&P said. 

S&P estimated the labor action costs Boeing $1 billion per month. They expect the target of producing 38 Max jets per month will be pushed to mid-2025. 

There’s also concern the planemaker will need to raise money via public equity markets (read more about dilution fears) with its cash balance dwindling: 

Boeing will likely seek incremental funding. We anticipate that Boeing will end 2024 with a cash balance below its $10 billion target if the strike continues through the fourth quarter and the company typically uses cash in the first quarter due to seasonal working capital build. Boeing also has approximately $4 billion of debt maturities due in April 2025. We believe the company will need to seek external capital to meet these demands. Based on its public comments, we assume Boeing is also open to potentially issuing additional equity. However, we believe the company remains exposed to higher-than-expected cash usage and adjusted debt for the next year or two, which could further delay the expected recovery in its credit measure to levels we view as consistent with the rating.

S&P concluded:

The CreditWatch with negative implications placement reflects our view that we could lower our ratings on Boeing if the strike continues, increasing costs and delaying the company’s recovery in aircraft production and cash flow generation. We could lower ratings if the company fails to preserve its target cash balance, fund operating and working capital, and meet debt maturities without increasing leverage. We intend to resolve the CreditWatch placement by the end of the year.

In markets, Boeing shares are down 1.6% in premarket trading around the $152 handle, which has served as a multi-year support level since shares crashed from $450-ish to $100 during March 2019 and December 2020 Max jet crashes. 

It’s only a matter of time before Boeing turns to public markets to strengthen its balance sheet, as the company faces a significant risk of a credit downgrade to junk status if the strike prolongs.  

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

Kamala Harris reverted to her default position when talking to the cackling hags on The View about FEMA’s disastrous hurricane relief efforts.

She attempted to blame Donald Trump.

“He puts himself before the needs of others. I fear that he really lacks empathy,” Harris said of Trump, also describing his criticism of her as “callousness.”

In today’s dose of unrivaled stupidity, Kamala blames President Trump for the FEMA failure with Hurricane Helene.

Kamala redirected FEMA funds to pay for Illegals.pic.twitter.com/iSBu6WRp6o

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) October 8, 2024

Trump hasn’t been in office since 2020, yet somehow a woeful federal government response to a hurricane that occurred in 2024 is his fault because he said some mean words.

Why is Kamala blaming Trump for FEMA’s response to the hurricane?

Trump left office 3.5 years ago and she is on The View instead working to help people impacted by this. pic.twitter.com/qATWDfomkZ

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) October 8, 2024

It’s pathetic.

Trump has zero to do with this. The view and Kampala are twisting reality again. He didn’t redirect FEMA funds to migrants. He used it to remove migrants from the US.

From CNN on 8.29.2019 “In late July, President Donald Trump’s administration informed Congress of its…

— news4friends (@news4friends) October 8, 2024

She repeated the same script on Colbert’s propaganda parade.

Kamala Harris on Trump’s hurricane misinformation, “Have you no empathy, man? For the suffering of other people. Have you no sense of purpose? If you purport to be a leader, to understand that being a leader means lifting people up in a time of need and not manipulating them.” pic.twitter.com/QCsxxDzDz6

— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) October 9, 2024

While Harris is on The View, Stern and Colbert, Trump is giving out free accommodation to first responders prepping for the massive storm heading toward Florida, yet he’s the selfish one with no empathy according to her.

President Trump is giving free rooms at Trump Doral hotel to the lineman getting ready to help the people of Florida during the Hurricane.

The people’s President. pic.twitter.com/uRwM0UVjiN

— Ronnie Lucero (@RonnieLuceroNM) October 9, 2024

Harris also claimed that Trump is using the hurricane to play political games, yet she outright lied Monday in claiming that Florida governor Ron DeSantis wouldn’t take her calls.

Let’s also not forget that while Americans were begging for help, Kamala was appearing on a sex podcast, laughing about tampons. 

She showed up for 20 minutes. Trump went to area and donated his own money. How is FEMA his fault when they fall under her direction?

— Jan Graham (@jlgraham55) October 8, 2024

Her response is always either laugh inanely, talk about her mother, or blame Trump.

The fact that Kamala Harris is appearing on The View instead of being on the ground in the Southeast is clear evidence that she prioritizes herself over the victims.

— Clyle (@_clyle) October 8, 2024

*  *  *

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

A 27-year-old Afghan national who entered the US shortly after the Biden-Harris administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan has been arrested for allegedly planning an Election Day massacre in the name of the Islamic State. 

Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, who’d been living in Oklahoma, was arrested Monday after traveling to a ranch to obtain two AK-47 rifles, 10 magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition he’d purchased from an undercover FBI informant. Tawhedi is also accused of recruiting a co-conspirator who hasn’t been named because he’s under 18 years old. 

“As part of the plot, the defendant allegedly took steps to liquidate his family’s assets, resettle members of his family overseas, acquire AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition, and commit a terrorist attack in the United States,” the Department of Justice said in a statement issued Tuesday.

The federal criminal complaint doesn’t indicate where Tawhedi and his recruit planned to carry out their mass murder. After being arrested, he told investigators that he planned to target a large gathering of people, and that he and his accomplice expected to die in the attack. In a message to a man Tawhedi identified as an ISIS member, Tawhedi wrote, “God willing, with the help of God, we will get ready for the election day.”

Investigators say that, on July 25, Tawhedi did an internet search for “how to access Washington DC cameras,” and also viewed the White House and Washington Monument‘s webcams. He allegedly saved ISIS propaganda on his internet accounts, conversed in pro-ISIS Telegram groups, and gave money to a charity that funnels money to ISIS.

The DOJ said its evidence against Tawhedi includes a video in which he’s seen cuddling with his daughter and another child, and reading them a list of rewards that martyrs receive in the afterlife. According to the criminal complaint, he “stated that martyrs will be exempted from the sufferings of the grave, placed in heaven, get married to 72 virgins, and receive a crown full of jewels.” 

“The Justice Department foiled the defendant’s plot to acquire semi-automatic weapons and commit a violent attack in the name of ISIS on U.S. soil on Election Day,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. (Note Garland’s transparently political, scaremongering emphasis on “semi-automatic weapons.” Such weapons are legal and commonplace throughout America — with perhaps 70 million or more of them in citizens’ hands — but are increasingly targeted by leftist gun-control schemers.) 

The US military completed its calamitous withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 30, 2021. Just days later, on Sept. 9, Tawhedi entered the United States with a special immigrant visa — apparently of the type granted to Afghans who had assisted US forces. At the time of his arrest, he had not yet had his immigration proceedings fully adjudicated. Under questioning, Tawhedi said he’d planned to move his family to Afghanistan so they could, as paraphrased by investigators, “live according to pure Islam.”  

It’s worth noting that Tawhedi’s first exposure to the FBI-orchestrated arms deal came after he’d listed a computer for sale, and an FBI “confidential human source” inquired and told Tawhedi he wanted the computer for a gun business he was starting. Time will tell the degree to which Tawhedi was truly a self-motivated terrorist capable of readying for an attack without FBI assistance — or whether he’s the latest in a long line of individuals nudged and tugged along by Feds and their profiteering informants.