***Brief Rant Reader Update: I understand that the Rant did not reach many of you yesterday until noon EDT. Despite being sent out at 7:45am, the daily Rant was held up by the email company, "For Review and Approval". I have had MANY arguments in the past about this procedure and have gotten NOWHERE. They just do not want to believe that you all subscribed to the Rant and they want to "protect you" from the Evil Raj. Of course, this means they want to be Despotic tyrants and censor or edit the daily Rant. (NEVER !!) I am guessing their content monitor blew a gasket because the first words of yesterday's Rant were "Whites Only". It took two "upgrade this to my manager's" for someone to actually READ the thing and determine that I was not ADVOCATING a "white's only policy" I was making fun of it .. I apologize for the delay, I thank you for your loyalty.. and one day when I'm rich and famous Ill buy my OWN freakin' server and we won't have to deal with this crap. PEACE. ***
To The News:
HIP HIP HU--WRAY !!! .. FBI Director Chris Wray says the bad guys are gone. Director Wray announced yesterday that "all agents involved in the FISA court abuses are gone. Disciplined, Fired or forced into retirement." Wray said, "this did not happen on my watch but the Bureau is committed to restoring public confidence". (or something close to that .. I got distracted when I was listening to him.. Its close enough... ) .. and..
The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that asylum seekers set for expedited removal cannot challenge the decision in court. Currently, undocumented immigrants who are caught within 100 miles of a land border and within 14 days of arrival are subject to an expedited removal process and can be ordered removed without further hearing or review. Of course the White House is happy about this decision but not everyone is... "This is a devastating blow to the due process rights of asylum seekers who arrive at our border seeking protection," said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy counsel at the American Immigration Council.
SUE!!! SUE YOU!!! SUE EVERYBODY!!!! .. Some Seattle businesses and citizens have filed a lawsuit against the city council for failing to protect them, ceding property without due process and a LOT of other stuff. This is due to them letting a mob take over the neighborhood and call it CHAZ or CHOP..or Chuck-E-Chaz .. or whatever .. The suit is 56 pages long. Good luck to you. I hope you win and the corrupt council all gets thrown out. But, you are gonna have a hard time. The council probably has Sovereign Immunity and you'd have to prove negligence, which is hard. But, HAVE AT IT ...
Trouble in Michigan and I do NOT mean U of Michigan is going back to using LIVE Wolverines as mascots. .. The "vote by mail" advocates just took one on the chin. A clerk faked ballots. ...around 200 of them in their town. If you think a few hundred votes per county is not a "big deal" call up "Never to be President Al Gore" and ask HIM !!! The story in Michigan?
Southfield City, MI Clerk Sherikia Hawkins, 38, faces up to 48 years if convicted of all six felonies, which include election law – falsifying returns/records; forgery of a public record; misconduct in office; and three counts of using a computer to commit a crime involving falsifying returns/records, forgery of a public record and misconduct in office. See, A few paid off county officials and you can swing ANY election.
You know what another Crime is? (A crime against morality I mean.. it's not an ACTUAL crime, YET). If you Google Search, "Michigan Voter Fraud" and click "News" .. THIS STORY AIN'T THERE .. Google buried it because it doesn't fit their narrative.. It's the BOTTOM story on PAGE 2 of Google Search. There are NINETEEN stories before it mostly with headlines that "Voter Fraud is NOT a threat"
COVID-19 Update: Several Governors paused their "re-openings" and will not move to the next phase immediately because residents are being naughty. Increased cases have some hospitals worried, especially near Houston, TX. One Hospital claims that if the trajectory continues they will have a full ICU by next week. This creates two issues. 1) Capacity to treat Covid-19 patients and 2) Hospitals will have to "re-halt" elective procedures and surgeries which are their "money makers".
In Da Swamp: "We're on a Mission from GOD" - Elwood Blues ... President Trump was asked in an interview to comment on an Evangelist saying that, "God chose President Trump to lead us during these troubled times" .. Trump said, I dunno. I HOPE it's true"...Of course the Headlines will read tomorrow (if not later today) , "TRUMP SAY HE'S GOD's CHOICE"
Interesting experiment: A fairly wealthy community outside of Minneapolis decided to "show their woke" and put their woke where their mouth is .. The residents of Powderhorn Park, MN vowed "NOT to call the police at all costs". This was seen as a nice gesture but it's heading downhill. Their public park has become a tent city for homeless people. Drug dealers now drive up and walk around to "service their customers". Prostitutes are doing the same. Some of the town residence are ok with the situation. Others say they are afraid. .. How is this gonna play out? We just have to watch and see, I guess...
SPORTS: PGA: Mackenzie Hughes leads after firing a 60!! One shot short of the "59 Club". Don't get too cocky Mack!! .. Scores go LOW here .. there are a TON of top players a few shots back and its a FOUR round Tournament !! .. and
Its LIVERPOOL !! .. Manchester City loses to Chelsea 2-1 which means no team can catch Liverpool. They have their first Premier League Championship in 30 years
CELEBRIDIOTS: Woke Idiots, "The Dixie Chicks" caved to the radical left internet freaks and changed their name. They changed it to, "The Chicks". Which I am SURE the Feminist Internet Mob will decide is derogatory toward women and they will have to change their name, AGAIN!! They cannot drop "Chicks" and just be the "THE". "THE THE" ?? .. That is ALREADY a band !! (This is the Day.. Infected.. ). Also, I already Trademarked that name for a GoGo bar I was gonna open. Except I spelled it, "The CHIX" .. I had a plan to rename my band, "Free Drinx" and put it up on the marquee to trick people into coming in looking for free booze. Good Plan?
Some Biracial actress that I have never heard of is quitting her job being the voice of a cartoon that is drawn black because "her continuing would be white privilege"...Umm.. Where do I even start here? .. uhh.. well.. OK.. First, any self-respecting fan of the Genius that is Dave Chappelle will tell you: if you are half black, you are black unless you were selected by another team in the Race Draft. .. Second.. this concept of "cultural appropriation" shaming doesn't work in acting. Actors ACT. .. Their PROFESSION is pretending to be something they are NOT. (Even though they THINK their job is to whine) Being someone else is the whole point of ACTING. Unless of course we are talking about Documentaries. Thats a whole different thing. (Quick Aside: Searching for Sugarman. GREAT Documentary. Check it out) .. where was I again? .. oh...
An Actor pretends for a living. Shows or films from different eras shouldn't be judged by new rules. 50 years ago: "Imitation was the best form of FLATTERY". Now, somehow it shows hate according to some people. I'm not abiding that.. Sorry.. If I never got to see David Alan Grier and Damon Wayans do their "Men on Film" show because they were straight and pretending to be gay .. I would never have known, "TWO SNAPS UP and A TWIST" .. and that would be sad....
Can someone get Charlotte McKinney a coat?? Or at least a hot cup of coffee? You guys think modeling is all easy?? Try being FORCED onto a beach in the early morning in nothing more than a bikini!! .. HERE.. You'd think for $190 they would put a little more material on the swimsuit of hers. She obviously likes the black one better because she left the green one here ..
Oh.. and Paulina Gretzky wants you to know she is back in Florida .. HERE .. Eyes are up here ^ Boys!!! .. Charlotte should go hang out with Paulina. It looks warmer there ...
From Seekingalpha.com
The Federal Reserve is putting fresh limits on the U.S. banking industry after annual stress tests found that several institutions could get close to minimum capital levels in scenarios tied to the coronavirus pandemic. Big banks will be required to suspend share buybacks for the third quarter (most of them already paused repurchases in Q2) and limit dividend payments at their current level. While "all large banks remain strongly capitalized," the Fed - for the first time in the decade-long history of the stress test - is requiring banks to resubmit updated capital plans later this year.
Shares of the sneaker giant are down nearly 4% premarket on the back of an unexpected quarterly loss and a sales decline of 38% Y/Y. Results were significantly impacted by the closings of stores during global lockdowns, though digital sales soared 75%, representing about 30% of total revenue. Expenses for shipping and returns also put more pressure on Nike's (NYSE:NKE) profits - gross margin came in at 37.3% of sales vs. 45.7% a year ago and 43.3% consensus.
Verizon (NYSE:VZ) is next to pull advertising from Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) in the "Stop Hate for Profit" campaign, following in the footsteps of Ben & Jerry’s, REI, Patagonia and The North Face. Last week, six organizations, including the ADL and NAACP, called on companies to pause advertising on the social network for July "to show they will not support a company that puts profit over safety." A Verizon spokesperson said the decision would stand until Facebook and Instagram "can create an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable."
"We are probably past the lowest point" of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, ECB President Christine Lagarde said in a webinar overnight, boosting markets across Europe. She still warned of the possibility of "a severe second wave" and cautioned that some industries like airlines, hospitality and entertainment will come out of the "recovery process in a different shape." To cope with the recession, the ECB in June extended its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program (PEPP) until mid-2021 and increased it by €600B to €1.35T.
U.S. equity futures are little changed in early morning action following a late-day surge yesterday that helped major averages recover some of the steep losses seen mid-week. A fresh record of more than 37,000 new coronavirus cases was reported nationwide on Thursday, prompting Texas Governor Greg Abbott to pause further phases of the state's reopening. "We're stuck in a bit of a range," said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP Capital. "There's a degree of optimism that any second wave will be offset by stimulus... but if we have to go back to a renewed lockdown then it's a different story, and markets face a lot more downside risk."
The Trump administration is urging the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act in a case that's set to be heard around the time of the November election. The brief argues that because the law's requirement to have health insurance was upheld in court as a tax in 2012 - and Congress has since repealed the financial penalty for violating that requirement in 2017 - it is no longer a tax and therefore no longer constitutional. "The entire ACA thus must fall with the individual mandate, though the scope of relief entered in this case should be limited to provisions shown to injure the plaintiffs," Solicitor General Noel Francisco wrote in the filing.
35 states are now using Salesforce's (NYSE:CRM) Work.com technology to carry out contact tracing, CEO Marc Benioff told CNBC, calling the platform a "critical technology." The service launched in May to help businesses reopen their offices and operate during the coronavirus pandemic. "This is a time where every company needs to reassess its relevance to maintain its market share and innovation," he added. "Right now for Salesforce that’s a major focus on Work.com."
Shares of the grocery chain operator will begin trading this morning on the NYSE, which was shuttered for two months because of the coronavirus pandemic. Existing shareholders like Cerberus Capital raised $800M on Thursday, less than anticipated, after the company’s IPO priced at $16 apiece, below its $18-$20 per share target range and valuing Albertsons (ACI) at around $9.3B. Even at that size, the listing will be one of the larger IPOs at the Big Board so far this year.
CEOs of American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), Delta (NYSE:DAL), United (NASDAQ:UAL), Southwest (NYSE:LUV) and JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU) are heading to the White House today to discuss a range of coronavirus-related travel issues with VP Mike Pence and other senior U.S. officials. They include the industry's push for federally mandate temperature checks, EU travel restrictions on U.S. travelers, contract tracing of passengers and the impact of COVID-19 on travel demand. Meanwhile, U.S. aviation unions are asking Congress for another $32B bailout to keep hundreds of thousands of workers employed past Sept. 30 as a resurgence in coronavirus cases raises fears that air travel may not rebound this year. Go deeper: Bain makes big bet on Virgin Australia.
What else is happening...
Details revealed for the 2021 Ford (NYSE:F) F-150.
Macy's (NYSE:M) to cut 3,900 jobs in push to save cash.
ETF price wars: BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) cuts fee on largest fund.
How far will White House go to secure 5G future?
Thursday's Key Earnings
Nike (NKE) -3.8% AH as earnings fell short for lockdown quarter. Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) +26.6% on retail and services strength.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan +1.1%. Hong Kong -0.9%. China +0.3%. India +0.6%. In Europe, at midday, London +1.5%. Paris +1.5%. Frankfurt +0.9%. Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.2%. S&P flat. Nasdaq +0.1%. Crude +1% to $39.09. Gold +0.2% to $1774.60. Ten-year Treasury Yield flat at 0.68%
Today's Economic Calendar
8:30 Personal Income and Outlays 10:00 Consumer Sentiment 1:00 PM Baker-Hughes Rig Count
Regards,
Roger “Raj” Searing rajsearing@gmail.com "Raj Searing™”, "Read this First™", "@rajsearing™", "TheRantRoom™" and “TheRantroom.com™” are Trademarks of RRRAJ, LLC. All Rights Reserved-2003.
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