The Consumer Sentiment Disconnect From Economic Reality Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index just printed 44.8 in May. That’s the worst reading since the survey began in 1952. That print was lower than in 2008 and the 1980 inflation panic. It was also worse than the COVID lockdowns, yet the S&P 500 continues to climb higher, Q1 corporate earnings […]

Iran Says Hormuz ‘Closed’ Again, Citing Lebanon Violations, As Vance Expected In Switzerland For Talks Update(10:00ET): As has become the ‘norm’ after well over 100 days of war – which some pundits have been calling the “third Gulf war” – there are deeply conflicting headlines emerging Saturday. On the one hand, diplomacy based in Switzerland is said to be in motion, with a potential top level Trump delegation (led by Witkoff and to […]

Trump Mocks Italy’s Meloni Over Disputed G7 Photo: ‘She Wants To Be Friends Again, No Thanks!’ President Trump has once again lashed out at Italy, as Washington and this ‘wayward’ NATO ally continue to clash on a range of issues from Iran to Israel to Ukraine.. It follows on the heels of the cancellation of the planned diplomatic visit by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. President Trump on Saturday has newly taken to Truth […]

FBI Warns That Fake FIFA Website Being Used to Steal Personal Information Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times, The FBI on June 16 advised people to be wary of fraudulent websites that try to mimic World Cup or FIFA sites, as the agency warned that such websites have been used to steal personal information and sell counterfeit tickets. In a public service announcement, the FBI stated that scammers and fraudsters have […]

The World Cup’s Uneven Playing Field Due to its truly global footprint, the FIFA World Cup has always been a celebration of diversity, both on and off the pitch. It brings together different cultures, different playing styles and different levels of skill, professionalism and financial muscle. However, with the tournament now over a week old, it is clear that they are playing ‘football’ on an uneven playing field. As Statista’s […]

The Brits Should Declare Their Independence, Too Authored by J.B. Shurk via American Thinker, British tyranny is globalism, and globalism must be destroyed. British tyranny is so repulsive that the British people owe it to themselves to overthrow their government masters.  It has been two-hundred-fifty years since America’s Declaration of Independence recognized the Crown system as a threat to Americans’ lives and […]

America’s Military Readiness Depends On Deployable Nuclear Power Authored by James Durso via RealClearDefense.,com, For decades, energy policy in Washington was debated on the basis of economics, climate change, and domestic politics. That era is over. The United States is entering a period where energy security must be recognized as a core pillar of national security and military readiness. The global competition underway with […]

8 Frightening Forecasts For The Future Of Fraud Fraud is entering a new era. Businesses across North America expect fraud trends like biometric fraud, deepfake scams, and synthetic identities to become more common in 2026 as criminals adopt faster and more sophisticated tools. This visualization, created by Visual Capitalist’s Julia Wendling, in partnership with Inigo for the Fraud in Data campaign’s sixth post, uses data from […]

How The Trump Admin Achieved Record Drug Seizures Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times, SAN DIEGO – As the flood of illegal immigrants at the southern border slowed to a trickle, agents shifted gears. Now, they’re focused on seizing drugs – in record amounts – as the border is more secure than ever, officials told The Epoch Times. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) took The Epoch Times behind the scenes at the border […]

“Only The Beginning”: How To Profit From The Asymmetric Warfare Boom Low-cost kamikaze drones are fundamentally reshaping the modern battlefield and forcing militaries to rethink procurement strategies built around expensive, high-end weapons systems. In the Middle East, US Special Forces learned the hard way that cheap Iranian Shahed-style drones can eliminate multi-million-dollar (if not billion-dollar) communications, radar, […]

Elon Musk Vs The Democrats: Outcomes Vs Process Authored by Stephen Soukup via American Greatness, Years ago, when my oldest son was a Boy Scout, he was asked to write a report/make a presentation on a modern American “hero.” He chose Elon Musk, and I, of course, rolled my eyes so hard they nearly popped out of my head. I knew Musk was a successful businessman, but I also knew that he was both an advocate for and a seasoned […]

Here’s How 45 Countries View America America remains one of the world’s most influential countries, but public opinion of the U.S. varies widely across the globe. Some of its strongest support now comes from emerging economies such as Vietnam, India, and the Philippines, while favorability has weakened across several longtime Western allies. This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld, ranks how people in 45 countries […]

STRC Is Junk Credit In A Bitcoin Costume, And Retail Is Holding $8.8 Billion Of It Authored by Glenn Cameron via BitcoinMagazine.com, There is now $15 billion sitting in three securities being marketed to bitcoin holders as the safer, smarter way to access bitcoin exposure: Strategy’s preferred stack, STRC, and SATA. The pitch is identical across all three. Tax-favored. 11.5% income. Backed by bitcoin. Money-market risk. […]

Is The Fed Finally Done Rescuing Markets?  Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance GLJ Research’s Gordon Johnson is one of my favorite analysts on the street to read and gets a rare endorsement from me (I hate basically everyone selling sell-side style research) because, like my friend Mark Spiegel, he is one of the last few analysts out there that seems committed to the truth….no matter how ridiculous it makes him look in the […]

US Private Credit Default Rate Remains At Record High: Fitch As we have detailed extensively, most recently here: “Blackrock’s Private Credit Fund Gates Investors Again After Redemption Requests Surge “, private credit firms continue to face a flood of redemption requests… And after this week’s report from Fitch Ratings, it appears any light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train. As Andrew Moran reports for The Epoch […]

AI Doomsday Warnings Distract From More Imminent AI Concerns Authored by Daniel Nuccio via The Brownstone Institute, AI is everywhere. It’s getting incorporated into everything. That’s simply progress, we’re told. And therefore we need to embrace it, lest we look like a Luddite and let China win (whatever that means). Yet, simultaneously, a lot of people also are afraid because of AI. Very afraid. And sometimes, we’re […]

World Cup: Where’s The Beer? Authored by Noel Williams via AmericanThinker.com, So far, the World Cup is living up to Gianni Infantino’s (FIFA President) clarion call to “unite the world” (or at least the participating nations therein). Of course, that could quickly change when we get to the knockout stages of the tournament when they’re more overwrought emotions and rivalries are more intense. In the meantime, soccer fans […]

FundStrat’s Newton: Why Not Replace The FOMC With AI? Short of abolishing the Fed (much preferred), would automating the Fed make more sense than the current system? Should we trust Kevin Warsh, Jerome Powell, and Lisa Cook to read the tea leaves each month and decree rate changes for us commoners?  That was Fundstrat’s Mark Newton’s suggestion during last night’s ZeroHedge debate on his H2 market outlook. He pointed out the […]

Outrage As Suspect In UK Toddler Crocodile Attack Released On Bail; Identity Still Hidden Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity, The insane attack at a family-run zoo in Cambridgeshire, UK has now produced a fresh outrage. A three-year-old boy from the area remains in critical but stable condition at Addenbrooke’s Hospital after being thrown into a crocodile enclosure. Yet, the 30-year-old man from Norfolk arrested on […]

US Probes Whether ASML’s Advanced Chip Machine Ended Up In China Not long after Shenzhen-based Huawei unveiled what it described as a breakthrough pathway for advanced semiconductor production at the recent IEEE ISCAS conference, the Trump administration raised concerns that one of Dutch chip-equipment giant ASML’s extreme ultraviolet lithography, or EUV, machines may have fallen into Chinese hands. Bloomberg reports that Commerce […]

Israel-Hezbollah Agree To Ceasefire After Clashes Stall Opening Round Of US-Iran Nuclear Talks Summary: Israel and Hezbollah Agree To Ceasefire  Opening Round Of US-Iran Nuclear Talks Postponed After Israel-Lebanon Clashes Erupt  Israel and Hezbollah Agree To Ceasefire Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire that will begin on Friday at 4 p.m. local time, Reuters reported. ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH AGREE TO CEASEFIRE STARTING […]

Federal Court Allows National Park Service To Replace Slavery Exhibit In Philadelphia Authored by Jackson Richman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), A federal appeals court ruled on June 18 that the Trump administration can move forward with replacing a slavery-related exhibit at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. FILE – A person views posted signs on the locations of the now removed explanatory panels that […]

Appeals Court Allows Ohio To Restrict Children’s Use Of Social Media Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times, A federal appeals court on Thursday allowed Ohio to enforce a law requiring social media companies to obtain parental consent before permitting children under 16 to access their platforms. Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, and Reddit applications are displayed on a mobile phone on Dec. 9, 2025. […]

Russia Vows “Massive Group Strikes” On Ukraine After Drone Swarm Attack On Refinery Ukraine’s massive drone swarm attack on the Russian capital, targeting critical energy infrastructure including a major refinery and storage tank farms, has sparked fuel-shortage fears in Moscow while prompting Russia to warn Kyiv of “massive group strikes” in retaliation. On Thursday, 200 Ukrainian suicide drones swarmed Gazprom’s Moscow Refinery […]

The Crypto Risk No One Is Discussing  Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance With bitcoin hovering near $65,000, down about 50% over the last year, the mood across crypto has become increasingly subdued lately. For most of the 2020s, cryptocurrency transformed from a niche financial experiment into a major political issue. What began as a technology debate evolved into a cultural and ideological battleground, with Republicans […]