Danielle DiMartino Booth, a former Fed staff member and CEO of her own financial advisory firm, says the lag time with Fed policy, which I wrote about yesterday, is going to become “extremely important” in the first quarter of 2024. Since quantitative tightening began in June of 2022, we are only starting to feel the effects of that QT now, she says, due to the 12-18 month lag between Fed policy and its effects. That means we will continue to feel the growing effects of all the QT that has happened since then for another 12-18 months.

China’s economy is teetering at a “critical stage,” expanding a modest 4.9% in Q3, below the five percent target. The aftermath of draconian Covid measures persists despite their removal in 2022.

A deadly, fast-spreading strain of the monkeypox virus has the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on high alert.

The variant of the virus, which causes the severe disease known as mpox, kills up to 10% of the people who are infected, according to the World Health Organization.

“The virus variant is known to be more virulent. If it adapts better to human-to-human transmission, that presents a risk,” Rosamund Lewis of the WHO’s mpox surveillance team told Reuters.

Last year, a less-deadly variant of the monkeypox virus known as Clade II spread worldwide (a clade is a genetic subtype of virus). More than 31,000 Americans were diagnosed with mpox during last year’s outbreak, and 55 died.

But now, the rapid spread of the deadlier Clade I subtype of the virus has been reported by health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the disease has spread to 22 of the DRC’s 26 provinces.

Far left President of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU),Stacy Davis-Gates, is back in the news with her latest installment of “Rules for thee but not for me.”

According to newly uncovered documents, Illinois Policy Institute found that Davis Gates has let $5,579 in Chicago water, sewer, and trash bills pile up despite her $289,000 salary and progressive demands that the “wealthy” pay a greater share.

Central banks are set to surpass 1,000 tons of gold purchases for the second consecutive year, aiming to reach levels not seen since 2010. This surge in buying suggests a potential return to a bullish gold market. Adding to the optimism, gold futures are experiencing the steepest contango since the 1980s, indicating growing interest and potential support for a sustained uptrend in gold prices.

His expenses for “various women” totaled $683,000.

You know, I really should’ve gotten my “various women” certification when I had the chance.

Hunter spent another $397,000 on “clothing and accessories,” which is pretty impressive considering he never wore them.

This news comes part and parcel with the nine tax-related charges Hunter was hit with Thursday, including three felonies.

Even though he had enough money to squander $872,000 to get laid, Hunter is still charged with “willfully fail[ing] to pay his 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 taxes on time, despite having access to funds to pay some or all of these taxes.”

Hunter faces 17 years in prison, which will never happen.

The owners of Cartier bracelets, Rolex watches and gold bars are suing the FBI from seizing their property from their safety deposit boxes and refusing to give it back.  

Around $86 million in cash as well as a trove of jewelry and other valuables were seized in an FBI raid on a safety deposit box business in Beverly Hills in March 2021. 

The business was accused of money laundering and a judge granted the FBI a search warrant. 

Agents seized around 1,400 safe deposit boxes from US Private Vaults, that was regularly used by 'unsavory characters to store criminal proceeds' according to court documents. 

However, depositors who have not been accused or charged with any crime had their lifesavings and valuable possessions retained under the 'administrative forfeiture proceedings', Fox News reported. 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told Israeli officials he expects their war in Gaza to be brought to close within a month, sources claimed.

Blinken, speaking with officials on his latest diplomatic visit to Israel last week, said the US would continue to support the IDF's efforts to wipe out Hamas in Gaza. 

But he also warned that President Biden expected the war to be wrapped up within three months of October 7, given the collateral damage to Gaza's civilian population, sources told The Times - giving the IDF until early January to achieve their objectives.

The revelation comes as America's top diplomat gave his strongest public criticism of Israel's conduct of the war on Hamas in south Gaza thus far, saying there was a gap between the government's declared intentions to protect civilians and soaring casualties.

When Gross Domestic Income (GDI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) part ways, it’s a red flag. Contrary to popular belief, Fed rate drops often precede stock plunges, signaling economic slowdown. A staggering 96% of Americans worry about the economy, per Intuit Credit Karma.

Atlanta police are investigating after a woman attempted to burn down Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth home.

Police told Channel 2 Action News they were called to King’s birth home on Auburn Ave. near the King Center just after 5:45 p.m.

When they arrived, they found two off-duty NYPD officers who had been visiting the center had a suspect detained until they could arrive.

Police said they have arrested 26-year-old Laneisha Shantrice Henderson and charged her with criminal attempt arson and criminal attempt interference with government property.

Webmaster addition: This feels like an attempt to restart the BLM riots, possibly as a distraction from the Hunter Biden indictments!

Democrat Rep. Ayanna Pressley, has introduced legislation to allow incarcerated U.S. citizens to vote in federal elections.

The Massachusetts lawmaker also reaffirmed her to support for lowering the voting age to 16.

“Requiring ballots be made available in multiple languages, expanding early voting in local elections. And in Congress, I led efforts and legislation to lower the federal voting age to 16 and urged the DOJ to aggressively protect voting rights and to fight against voter suppression,” Pressley said Wednesday in announcing the Inclusive Democracy Act.

The bill is cosponsored by Sen. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat.

THE GRAFT MUST FLOW…

It’s getting to be as predictable as sunrise.

Joe Biden drops sanctions on some rogue regime to get hold of its oil — and then another country gets war rained down on it, attacked and invaded.