"Total Scam" - Trump Slams NBC Coverage Of "Phony Russian Story"

"When will Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd and NBC News start talking about the Obama SURVEILLANCE SCANDAL and stop with the Fake Trump/Russia story?"

Markets Are Set up for a Fall

by Jim Rickards, DailyReckoning:
guess we can all use a break now and then, and this seems like one of those weeks when not much is happening.
We had a tumultuous 10-day period from March 14–24, which included a Fed rate hike, Dutch elections, a weaker dollar, a stronger euro, a rally in gold and a nervous stock market in an orderly retreat.
The news cycle was spun up with endless stories about Trump and the Russians, the failed Obamacare repeal vote and a Supreme Court nominee.
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Maduro Scrambles To Defuse "Explosive" Situation As Supreme Court Reverses Ruling

Venezuela's pro-government Supreme Court reversed its its controversial annulment of the opposition-led congress amid international condemnation and a surge in protests against socialist President Maduro.

Russia's New Voicemail: "Press 2 For Services Of Russian Hackers, Press 3 For Election Interference"

"You have reached the Russian embassy, your call is very important to us. To arrange a call from a Russian diplomat to your political opponent, press 1. To use the services of Russian hackers press 2. To request election interference, press 3 and wait until the next election campaign."

"Who's Worth What" - White House Releases Financial Disclosures Of Key Staffers

Late on Friday evening, the Trump administration released the financial disclosure forms from members of the White House staff. Here is some of what they reveal.

More Dangerous Than The NSA? The Massive Spy Agency You Haven't Heard Of

If you’re one of the countless Americans who was distraught to learn of the revelations made by former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden, the mere idea that there might be yet another agency out there - perhaps just as powerful and much more intrusive -  should give you goosebumps.

Morgan Stanley: Used Car Prices May Crash 50%

For all of you pension funds out there scooping up all of the AAA-rated slugs of the latest auto ABS deals for the 'juicy yield', now might be a good time to review what happened to the investment grade tranches of MBS structures back in 2009...

Multiple Bubbles Are Going To Bring America To Its Knees: "The Warning Signs Are There"

"The warning signs are there for anyone willing to see, and they are flashing red. Even cursory research into the numbers underlying our system will tell you that we’re on an unsustainable financial path. It’s simple math. And yet the system has proven far more durable than most people thought... The only reasonable explanation I can think of, is that the system is being held up by wishful thinking and willful ignorance."

California Senator Forced To Pull Bill Banning "Fake News" After Realizing It's Idiotic

"The bill would also make it unlawful for a person to knowingly and willingly make, publish or circulate on a Web site, or cause to be made, published, or circulated in any writing posted on a Web site, a false or deceptive statement designed to influence the vote on any issue submitted to voters at an election or on any candidate for election to public office."

Caught On Tape In Atlanta: "State Of Emergency, The Entire Bridge Is Compromised"

If you were looking for confirmation that the nation’s infrastructure needs a complete overhaul, a collapsing bridge in Atlanta may have provided it in stark imagery.

'Russiagate' Is Failing And Its Supporters Are Getting Concerned

In the absence of any more leaks there has been nothing over the last few weeks for the supporters of ‘Russiagate’ to work with.  The result is that in the absence of anything new the effort to keep the ‘Russiagate’ scandal going and in the public eye is flagging.

American Jobs Once Again Flowing Into Mexico After Brief, Trump-Induced Pause

"When you dissect the worst-case scenarios, it still makes sense to go forward with their business plans.  It’s a competitive world."

Buchanan Asks "Is Putin The 'Preeminent Statesman' Of Our Times?"

"If we were to use traditional measures for understanding leaders, which involve the defense of borders and national flourishing, Putin would count as the preeminent statesman of our time... On the world stage, who could vie with him?”

The Divergence Between 'Hard' & 'Soft' Data Explained (And Republican Bulls Won't Like It)

Another dataset, another head-scratching disparity between ostensibly fulsome confidence and evidently sluggish activity.  While markets get whipsawed reacting to divergent hard and soft data points, the question that traders need to ask is whether this gap makes any sense.

Intel Official Behind "Unmasking" Of Trump Associates Is "Very Senior, Very Well Known"

"Unmasking is not unprecedented, but unmasking for political purposes ... specifically of Trump transition team members ... is highly suspect and questionable. Opposition by some in the intelligence agencies who were very connected to the Obama and Clinton teams was strong. After Trump was elected, they decided they were going to ruin his presidency by picking them off one by one."

How Chicago's Largest Pension May Run Out Of Cash In As Little As 4 Years

The risk associated with America's pension ponzi schemes have largely been overlooked by investors to date because so long as they can meet annual benefit payments then plan administrators can just continue to 'kick the can down the road' and pretend that nothing is wrong.  Of course, that strategy ceases to work when the pensions actually run out of cash...which could happen sooner than you think...

McCaskill To Oppose Gorsuch, Virtually Assuring Use Of "Nuclear Option"

Senator Claire McCaskill said she will join the Democrats attempted filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch and will not vote for him, making it almost certain that Republicans will have to trigger the “nuclear option” to confirm President Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee.

Prepare For "Manias, Panics And Crashes": An Ominous Warning From Bank Of America

"Go long gold in anticipation of potential manias, panics or crashes."

Do The Roots Of Rising Inequality Go All The Way Back To The 1980s?

"Unless we change the fundamental structure of the economy so that actually producing goods and services and hiring people is more profitable than playing financial games with phantom assets, the end-game of financialization is financial collapse."

Trader Warns Of Week Ahead Event Risk: "If You Thought This Week Was Bad..."

It was a week when the world was supposed to come to an end, notes Bloomberg's Richard Breslow, but then it didn’t... However, next week’s big events include a meeting between the Chinese and American presidents. Don’t underestimate the importance of it or the market interest it will garner.

The Big Contraction - An Interview With James Howard Kunstler

"We’ve been sowing the seeds for our predicament since the end of World War II. You might even call this process “The Victory Disease.” In practical terms it represents sets of poor decisions with accelerating bad consequences..."

Jim Rogers Just Said Something Fascinating

by Matt, SGT Report:
Having just returned from Prague for a few days I’ve been behind on some podcasts that I normally listen to, a small list of YouTube interviews had built up and I’ve been gradually working my way through them.
The one I want to highlight here is a podcast from the ‘Ask The Expert’ series featuring Jim Rogers with Craig Hemke on behalf of Sprott Money. At just under 2 minutes into it Mr Rogers said something that made me sit bolt upright.
“Historically, once the Fed raises interest rates 3 times, it usually means the stock market is going to have problem. If it doesn’t happen after 3 times, historically it’s always happened after 4 times. So we will have another interest rate hike and that may be the death knell for the stock market and maybe even for the economy.” – Jim Rogers
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March 31, 2017 – Weekly Wrap-Up with Eric Sprott

from Sprott Money:
This week, Eric Sprott takes stock of the first quarter performance of both gold and silver and looks ahead to the remainder of 2017.
Our Ask The Expert interviewer Craig Hemke began his career in financial services in 1990 but retired in 2008 to focus on family and entrepreneurial opportunities. Since 2010, he has been the editor and publisher of the TF Metals Report found at TFMetalsReport.com, an online community for precious metal investors.
Click HERE to Listen

HONEY: Is This Ancient Medicinal Food the Key to Fighting Deadly Drug-Resistant Infections?

by Gregory Van Dyke, Natural News:
Exotic honey can be used as a powerful alternative when treating one of the deadliest infections in the U.S. today. A report published in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents confirms that exotic honey can battle antibiotic-resistant infections, like Clostridium difficile. Interestingly, C.difficile is caused by an overdose of antibiotics.
Two researchers from Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital’s Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology discussed the therapeutic effects of a honey found in Australia and New Zealand. This exotic honey, known as Manuka, is being used for the treatment of Clostridium difficile. More severe cases of the Clostridium difficile infections are caused by the destruction of the gut flora associated with antibiotics. The overgrowth is harmful in what would otherwise be harmless bacteria.
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GOLD AND SILVER ADVANCE/SILVER OPEN INTEREST WITHIN 12,000 OF RECORD HIGH LEVELS DESPITE BEING 2 DOLLARS LESS WHEN THE RECORD WAS HIT

RAID IN NETHERLANDS HEADQUARTERS OF CREDIT SUISSE CLAIMING TAX EVASION/ATLANTA FED LOWERS 1ST QUARTER GDP AS CONSUMER SPENDING FALTERS
from Harvey Organ:
In silver, the total open interest ROSE BY ANOTHER UNBELIEVABLE 3753 contracts UP to 211,522 DESPITE THE FALL IN PRICE ( 4 CENTS) WITH RESPECT TO YESTERDAY’S TRADING. THE HEDGE FUNDS (MANAGED MONEY) CONTINUES TO HASTILY ADD TO THEIR POSITIONS WITH THE BANKERS TRYING TO COVER THEIR EVER BURGEONING SHORTS (OVER 555 MILLION OZ) BUT TO NO AVAIL. In ounces, the OI is still represented by just OVER 1 BILLION oz i.e. 1.060 BILLION TO BE EXACT or 151% of annual global silver production (ex Russia & ex China).
FOR THE NEW FRONT MARCH MONTH: THEY FILED: 271 NOTICE(S) FOR 1,355,000 OZ OF SILVER
In gold, the total comex gold also FELL BY A GIGANTIC 13,887 contracts WITH THE FALL IN THE PRICE OF GOLD ($8.70 with YESTERDAY’S TRADING).We thus continue with the strange events that every time we enter an active month, the open interest obliterates, rather than rolling to the next active month. The total gold OI stands at 414,893 contracts. We are only 22,000 contracts away from solid rock bottom OI.(393,000)
Read More @ Harveyorganblog.com

WikiLeaks Vault 7 Reveals CIA Can Disguise Hacks, Malware As Russian Or Chinese

by Matt Agorist, Activist Post:
Moments ago, WikiLeaks released another set of data from the Vault 7 CIA documents which, believe it or not, paints an even more ominous picture of the world’s most unscrupulous spy agency. The latest leak consists of 676 source code files from the CIA’s anti-forensic “Marble” framework — which allows the CIA to covertly create malware, trojans, and hacking attacks — while attributing them to foreign entities.
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Smart Meters could be overbilling you by a whopping 582%

by J. D. Heyes, Natural News:
Most people understand that utility bills are a necessary evil if they want to live in the modern world – even if utility bills eat up a large portion of monthly income. That said, few are willing to pay more than they should be paying, and yet, according to a stunning new report, some people are paying more than they should. A lot more.
As reported by web site Boing Boing, a research team from the University of Twente in Enschende, Netherlands, and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences documented billing inaccuracies in a paper that reviewed the efficacy of so-called “smart” electric meters, ranging from -32 percent to +582 percent of the actual power consumed in a month’s period.
The paper also noted that, ironically, the overbilling is mostly due to older power-saving features because they introduce line noise that interferes with the wireless signal and thereby ‘confuses’ the meters. (RELATED: Read SILENT KILLER: Smart Meters Are Destroying Your Health.)
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“State of Emergency, the Entire Bridge Is Compromised”: The Moment a Burning Section of I-85 in Atlanta Collapsed

by Mac Slavo, SHTFPlan:
If you were looking for confirmation that the nation’s infrastructure needs a complete overhaul, a collapsing bridge in Atlanta may have provided it in stark imagery.
Around 6:30 p.m. Thursday night, a fire broke out under a section of the highway bridge on busy I-85 in Atlanta, Georgia. Just thirty minutes later, a huge section of that bridge burst into flames and completely collapsed.
Amazingly, no motorists were injured when this happened:
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