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Writer's pictureRaj Searing

Read this First 2/24/2020

Nevada-2020 ... Sanders wins. Biden/Buttigieg 2/3. Bloomberg nowhere. Mayor Pete challenges results.


The Democratic Establishment is in FULL PANIC MODE. A socialist is leading their Democratic Primary. Biden's once huge lead in South Carolina is shrinking daily. Billionaire Tom Steyerhas picked up some Biden votes and has actually qualified for the South Carolina debate stage. Elizabeth Warren'scampaign is almost out of money and Mike Bloomberg ain't gonna share any with her !!! and..


I'm seeing several headlines about how the Bernie Sanders surge is like the "Trump Surge" and the articles talk about the similarities between the two campaigns. Wow. The ONLYthing that is similar between those two campaigns is how much the LOSER Media got the WRONG!!! Sanders has ZERO chance of being President. ZERO. If he wins the Primary he will lose the National election in spectacular fashion. The DNC knows that and will do WHATEVER is necessary the keep him OUT. ..and yes.. that may include (an unfortunate accident like LOTS of people that the Clinton's don't like). If there is ANYONE out there in Rant-land that thinks Sanders can win, I will bet you. A case of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale for me when he loses.. and if he wins, you get a FREE YEAR of the Rant and I'll come to your house and write it! ...and..


President Trump was welcomed to enormous crowds in India as he arrived on his two-day visit labeled, "Namaste Trump". Trump waved and said, "Im not Naste.. whats that all about?? ..and.. These crowds are YYUUUGGE. They love Trump in India". ...and..


The Coronavirus mayhem continues. China has moved in 40 incinerators to Wuhan to destroy evidence that the outbreak started in a lab .. umm.. to destroy contaminated things. Can you imagine if the conspiracy people are right? A deadly virus that takes 14-25 days to incubate and show any signs? If China had said NOTHING and sent infected people or food around the world how many people could they wipe out in a month? ... and..


In the "non-conspiracy" Coronavirus update: Italy puts many towns on lockdown quarantine as the disease spreads there. South Korea has closed many businesses and schools and even has an APP that tracks known cases of the virus. Iran denies a cover-up as 50 deaths (and an unknown amount of infections) are announced there. The US had been sending citizens that were returning from China to a military base in California. Those infected were to be transferred to a hospital in Costa Mesa, California but the city of Costa Mesa is balking. They filed an emergency Federal suit saying they refuse to take the infected because the Federal Government did not include them in the decision.


The extradition trial of Wikileaker Julian Assange is underway in the UK. Assange claims to be "very ill". There are swarms of supporters outside the courthouse claiming he is "a reporter that exposed evil things and should be applauded". The US began arguments saying, "reporting does not excuse breaking the law". My bet is that he gets extradited and the court case here in the US is a circus ... and....


In Da Swamp: Like I wrote a few paragraphs ago, there is ALL OUT PANIC with the Democrats over Sanders lead in the Primary. The Radical left is LOVING the wave. They think it's "Their Turn". They just cannot grasp the idea that there are too many adults in the USA that were actually taught history in school. Socialism is EVIL. It may work on paper but in the REAL WORLD it leads to poverty and death. .. and...


This AOC girl is signing her own death warrant. (Death for her career.. not her actual death). AOC refused to share any of her excess campaign funds with DCCC (the fund that helps vulnerable Democrats vs. Republicans). Instead, AOC is using her funds to help the vulnerable Democrats LOSE Primaries to HER chosen candidates who are socialist. The DNC and Establishment Democrats are FURIOUS. AOC is taking her normal stance of, "your time is OVER old Dems! Move aside" . Umm. yeah.. sure.. Uhh.. Hey AOC? They are not going to "move aside". Just watch, the 2020 Census is going to come out.. and that leads to Congressional Districts being redrawn. Guess whose district is going to "Disappear"? POOF!! ...and...

Mardi Gras is underway in New Orleans. There have already been two deaths. People were run over by parade floats. Hmmm.. is that lax security and bad planning? or is that Darwinism? ..and...


SPORTS: BOXING: Devontay Wilder/Tyson Fury fight did NOT disappoint. The two beat the tar out of each other for 5 rounds. There is video that looks like Fury is licking blood off of Wilder in the middle of the fight. The power of these guys punches is Crazy. Wilder went down in the 5th and Fury wins by TKO. Wilder has 30 days to exercise his option for an "Automatic Rematch"..

NCAA Hoops: As we approach March Madness we had MAYHEM with the top teams. #1 Baylor loses to #3 Kansas (who are very good). #2 Gonzaga gets THUMPED by BYU 91-78, ...#4 San Diego State loses its first game of the year to Nevada, #5 Dayton wins over Duquesne and #6 Duke lost to NC State. .. and..


Even with all of the upsets .. THAT wasn't even the craziest thing that happened on a college basketball court this week. At the Ole Miss game and 86 year old women tried to make a 94 foot Putt across a basketball court to win a car .. GUESS what happened??? HERE ... and..


Speaking of GOLF: Patrick Reed wins the WGC Mexico as the rest of the leaderboard pretty much MELTS. .. and in Puerto Rico, Rookie Victor Hovland bangs in a 20 footer on the last hole to win his first PGA Event. Don't get too cocky, Victor..an 86 year old lady made a 94 footer ..and..

If all of that is not enough excitement .. how about the Carolina Hurricanes win in Toronto???


The Carolina Hurricanes goalie got crashed into in the first period and left the game. In the second period, the 'Canes back-up goalie got clobbered by a Toronto skater and was OUT of the game. By NHL Rule, there must be an "Emergency Goalie" available to finish the game under these circumstances. That man was David Ayres. Ayres, 42 years old, and the Zamboni driver for the AHL team down the road out on the pads. He let a few weak goals in ...but then Carolina turned it on and scored a few. Ayres went on to make 8 SAVES en route to a 6-3 win and a record as the oldest rookie to win his debut game !!!


CELEBRIDIOTS: JUSTINE Biebs beat ELVIS!!! Justine's new record, "Changes" hit #1 making it her 7th #1 and she is about to turn 26. So she is the youngest to achieve seven #1 albums. Elvis was the 26 years and 11 months old when Blue Hawaii hit #1 (His 7th of 10 #1's)...and...

A waitress is claiming she performed oral sex on married Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield in the parking lot of a Cheesecake Factory. No Comment from the Browns or Mayfield...and NO, the waitress' name wasn't Penny .. it was Kaycie ... and...


Verdict today in the Weinstein Trial? Jury still deadlocked. Harvey might walk... with his walker ... and..


TV Show "Modern Family" wraps its final day of filming. It was pretty great but shows with "Cute little kids" can't go on forever because they grow up and ruin everything. That's why Southpark, Family Guy and The Simpsons are GOLD MINES .. So, Goodbye Sofia Vergara HERE .. and... Julie Bowen HERE .. and



A major selloff in equities is making its way across the globe as the number of new coronavirus cases flares outside China, with the disease now spreading to at least 28 countries. Italy has canceled all public events in Venice and Milan as it confirmed 150 cases (and four deaths) of the virus over the weekend, while those diagnosed in South Korea - which raised its disease alert to the highest level - are nearing 800. A steep drop is also being seen in the U.S., with Dow futures plunging over 800 points and crude oil down 3.6% at $51.46/bbl. Gold is up 2.4% to a seven-year high of $1689/ounce and the 10-year Treasury yield is 8 bps lower to 1.38%. Go deeper: Gold still has strong bullish potential for 2020, writes Avi Gilburt.

"Infections that are now emerging in people who haven't traveled to China or come into contact with confirmed cases show it's not clear how the virus is spreading," said Margaret Harris, a spokeswoman for the World Health Organization. "We're seeing some cases that don't have a clear epidemiological link." Other developments: Hong Kong's finance chief warned the virus threatened a "tsunami-like cataclysm," Austria halted train traffic with Italy, and Iran's neighbors announced travel restrictions on the Islamic Republic, which reported 43 cases of the disease. Go deeper: 'Ironically, It Needs To Get Worse' by The Heisenberg.

While a major coronavirus-driven selloff was seen across the globe overnight, stocks in China were largely unaffected by the movement, where the Shanghai Composite only closed down 0.3%. That's in part due to large regions of China relaxing curbs on transport and movement of people as President Xi told low-risk provinces to restore economic activity and output, while high-risk areas focus on controlling the epidemic. Figures released on Monday showed 24 out of China's 31 regions - including Beijing, Shanghai and populous provinces such as Henan and Anhui - reported zero cases of new infections on Feb. 23.

The coronavirus epidemic will likely cut 0.1% from global growth this year, according to the IMF, and drag down growth for China's economy to 5.6%, which is 0.4% lower from its January outlook. The U.S. is waiting for a clearer picture. "It's tough to have strong predictions on the economic issues, without being able to predict the health outcome," U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC. "I think we're going to need another three or four weeks to see how the virus reacts, until we really have good statistical data." Go deeper: 'Did The Market Just Get Infected?' by Lance Roberts.

"If something close to current rates should prevail over the coming decades and if corporate tax rates also remain near the low level businesses now enjoy, it is almost certain that equities will over time perform far better than long-term, fixed-rate debt instruments," the Oracle wrote in his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) shareholders. The conglomerate's Q4 operating earnings fell to $4.42B from $5.72B a year earlier as insurance underwriting took a hit, while it bought back $2.2B of its stock in the last three months of 2019, the most it has ever done in a single quarter. Go deeper: Jeff Miller says investors (still) have much to learn from Mr. B.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU), the maker of TurboTax, is close to buying financial technology portal Credit Karma for about $7B in cash and stock, WSJ reports, adding that the purchase could be announced today. Credit Karma would function as a standalone business with its chief executive, Kenneth Lin, remaining in charge. Other recent transactions in the space include Morgan Stanley's (NYSE:MS) $13B deal for E*Trade (NASDAQ:ETFC) last week and Visa's (NYSE:V) $5.3B acquisition of startup Plaid announced last month. Go deeper: Intuit Q2 2020 Earnings Preview.

Three units of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) have pleaded not guilty to charges of misleading investors regarding $6.5B in bond sales that were raised for state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad. Charges were filed in December 2018 against the units - based in London, Hong Kong and Singapore - for misleading investors by "making untrue statements and omitting key facts." Malaysia has said it was seeking up to $7.5B in reparations from Goldman over the 1MDB dealings, though the company has denied wrongdoing, saying it was lied to about how proceeds from the bond sales would be used.

Agricultural giant Cargill, one the world's largest privately held companies, is launching plant-based hamburger patties and ground "fake meat" products in April. Competitors like Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND), Impossible Foods (IMPF), Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) and Nestle (OTCPK:NSRGY) are watching moves into the sector. "We believe we're uniquely positioned to be very effective and efficient in the supply chain," said Elizabeth Gutschenritter, managing director of Cargill's alternative protein team.

Bilateral trade between the U.S. and India stands at $160B as President Trump arrives in the country for a two-day visit. During a rally in Narendra Modi's home state, Trump said the two nations would shortly announce an "incredible" trade deal, but repeated the line that the prime minister was a "very tough negotiator." India wants to restore trade concessions under a tariff system called the Generalized System of Preferences, which Trump terminated in 2019 and provides additional benefits for products from least developed countries.

What else is happening...

Samsung (OTC:SSNLF) confirms coronavirus case at phone factory.

Sony (NYSE:SNE) launches its first 5G smartphone.

Climate change referenced on G20 finance communique.

Teck Resources (NYSE:TECK) drops C$20.6B oil sands Frontier project.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) buys Chinese online snacks retailer.

MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM) sued over guest data breach.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) widens 737 MAX debris inspections.

Today's Markets

In Asia, Japan closed. Hong Kong -1.8%. China -0.3%. India -2%. In Europe, at midday, London -3.5%. Paris -3.8%. Frankfurt -3.7%. Futures at 6:20, Dow -2.8%. S&P -2.7%. Nasdaq -3.2%. Crude -3.6% to $51.46. Gold +2.4% to $1688.50. Ten-year Treasury Yield -8 bps to 1.39%

Today's Economic Calendar


Regards,

Roger “Raj” Searing rajsearing@gmail.com "Raj Searing”, "Read this First", and “TheRantroom.com” are Trademarks of RRRAJ, LLC. All Rights Reserved.


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