You know why I miss Bill Clinton? Words Matter...and BOY can this guy spin them. He is an absolute MASTER. Read carefully and notice what is in the statement, and what is NOT in the statement. Clinton was friendly with this Jeff Epstein pedophile guy. (Who by the way, former prosecutors are saying that the two charges filed Friday were "placeholders" to keep him locked up while prosecutors ready MANY more). Anyways, Clinton took a half dozen trips on Epstein's plane and hung out with him a little in NYC after the Clinton Presidency. Here is his statement: "I knew nothing about the terrible crimes from Florida and I know nothing about those he was recently charged with in NY". Look like a "Blanket - I never saw or did anything wrong" statement?" Look closer. Any mention of not knowing about girls on an airplane? .. Or inEurope, Asia or Africa? It looks like he denied doing anything, when all he denied was knowing about the TWO specific crimes Epstein was just charged with. The man is a Word-smithing GENIUS. SLICK WILLIE REIGNS AGAIN!!! .. and ..
In the UK, Journalist/Activist Tommy Robinson may seek emergency asylum in the USA after being charged again in the UK under mysterious and odd conditions. Robinson was charged with posting pictures of defendants in a rape trial. The law in the UK is clear that posting photos that "are in the public domain" are not covered under those rules. The photos published were from the Newspaper. Robinson pointed out (accurately) that those taking HIS picture outside the court were ACTUALLY violating the Rule HE was being charged with breaking and none of them were being arrested. Sound silly? well..add in the current climate of "hysteria and anger mob" society we live in.. and.. point out that the story Robinson is in trouble for "exposing" was immigrant Muslimsgang raping a girl. The judge argued that the Muslims could not get a fair trial if Robinson kept identifying them in public. (The judge is probably not wrong). Robinson claims that if he is jailed he will be killed by other illegal immigrant Muslims. (Robinson is probably not wrong). The UK should WELCOME this. Robinson is an agitator that bothers the Liberals and the Courts. LET him go to the US. Robinson has ONE thing going for him, Yesterday, the White House said they no longer recognize the UK Ambassador to the US. The UK Ambassador, Kim Darroch, was caught on leaked correspondence calling the White House Administration, "inept" and "Clumsy" and other bad things. They might just accept Robinson to make the Ambassador look bad ...
Back in the USA .. A Starbuck's barista in Arizona asked a group of six police officers to leave because, "their presence made a customer feel unsafe and uncomfortable". Starbuck's corporate offices has apologized. But, I can't wait until that barista needs a police officer. I think they would take the LONG WAY to that Starbucks if there was a robbery or something. Actually, the Police will probably just drink at Dunkin and respond quickly if needed because they are the bigger people and take the High Road... and.. You just CAN'T PLEASE some people. Amazon employees are planning a strike on "Amazon Prime Day". They claim the working conditions are too hard. Amazon is a leader in this country of "paying a living wage" and raised their minimum wage to $15/hour countrywide which is double the legal requirement in many areas. Note to Amazon Employees: If you get too difficult to deal with, robots and drones will take your jobs. (Well, they're gonna take your jobs anyway.. but it will just be SOONER)..
Down in the Swamp: FLOODS!!! The DC area was hit with Flash Flooding after a storm dropped 3.5 inches of water on the city in an HOUR. That is about normal for the MONTH of July. Roads flooded, cars were stranded, and even the basement of the WHITE HOUSE flooded. You think God was trying to "Clean the town up" a little? .. California Rep Eric Salwell is the first Democratic Presidential Candidate to quit. Joe Biden comments, "Dang, isn't that the one who is dummer than me? Shoot!!" .. There are three things I want you to read, then stop for a few seconds and let them sink in. This is all true. This all happened (or is happening). 1) Former VP Biden chastised the President for being too friendly with Russia and North Korea during a CNN interview. (He shoulda stopped there). Biden then said, "this is what leads to election meddling. Russia is doing this in Europe right now. That would NEVER happen on my watch". Wow. The CNN host must have forgotten to point out that the Muller Investigation indicted 12 Russians for election meddling that took place from 2014-2016. For those without a calendar, that was LITERALLY UNDER BIDEN'S WATCH.. 2) Elizabeth Warren just said that, "Crossing the border illegally should not be a criminal offense" Uhhhhh.. ummm.. and 3) All of the Democratic Candidates supported the Affordable Care Act...where the Government FINED you if you did not have health insurance. Then, they all raised their hands and said they support FREE healthcare for illegal immigrants. .. Take that all in for a second. Not too long, or your head will start hurting..
Finally, Scientists may have found a way to eliminate the HIV virus. The first round through testing in on mice worked. The virus was not, "controlled" as they do now.. it was eliminated. Doesn't really affect me much.. but.. Pretty Cool for Lots of Humans!!!
SPORTS: MLB: The All Star Game is tonight. Last night the Home Run Derby was won by Rookie Pete Alonso over Vlad Guerrero Jr. The big anticipation is: How will the METS screw THIS ONE up???. Alonso is a NY Met rookie. He makes LEAGUE Minimum of around $550k. He just won $1 Million for the HR Derby and the WHOLE WORLD saw him. The guy had 30 HR's by the All Star Break and you don't try to sign him to a longer term deal BEFORE the world sees him? .. and.. in the "You Had a Bad Day" column. Olympic Bronze Medalist, Hagos Gebrhiwet, of Ethiopia was leading a 5,000 meter race when he crossed the finish line, put up his hands, then watched the guys that were 20 meters behind him run by. Hagos stopped ONE LAP short!! He started running again but finished 10th. .. No matter how bad THAT was he felt better than Ben Askren. Askren is an MMA fighter who set a record by being knocked out in 5 seconds by a Knee to the Head from Jorge Masvidal. If you're brave click HERE .. KO'd STIFF. .. ..and.. GOLF: Tiger Woods is posting videos of himself getting up at 1am this week to train. He is "getting his body used to the time" so when he goes to the Open Championship in Northern Ireland in two weeks he will be ready. Many are praising him, "That's why he is the best. No one else would even THINK of doing that"..uhh.. yeah.. well... Uh.. Why not just Fly over there now. Get used to your house, the food, the gym, the course, the time zone..and be ready when it starts? If it's a money thing I can lend you a few thousand euros and you can pay me back with whatever you win ...
CELEBRIDIOTS: Love Island Debuts TONIGHT!!! (I won't be watching. Ill just read about it at 5am tomorrow and pretend I was SHOCKED when I saw it) .. There is an uproar over a Detroit Rap Festival because the organizers were charging White People DOUBLE. Their rationale is that "People of Color have less money and the earnings gap is getting worse so SOMEONE has to do something". They said there were festivals like this where "locals" could not come because they cannot afford the tickets and "out of town people NOT of color" came in and bought all the tickets. .. Hmm.. OK.. So.. First, the "White" tickets were $20 and the "People of Color" tickets were $10. That might seem like a lot if you're poor. But, in NYC you couldn't get NEAR a concert for $10...you cannot buy a BEER at a concert for $10. .. Second, discrimination on basis of race is unlawful. The company handling ticket sales found out about the policy and made the organizers change it.. and Third, (Because I am a problem solver) If you put a pop up box at "Check out" when buying tickets online that said, "This event is in an economically challenged neighborhood. Would you pay an extra $10 to send a kid to the show that cannot afford a ticket" I will BET that hundreds of kids would go for free. Americans are good people. It's not all about hate like the Media wants you to believe. I know that I would buy a few tickets for the kids, would you? ..... Speaking of Rap .. If you are a fan of A$AP Rocky, he is in REAL trouble. He was in Sweden and he and his bodyguard beat a guy up. The cameras showed the bodyguard basically "doing his job" and keeping the fan away. But, it showed Rocky come up from behind for no reason and beat the man, CLEARLY not in self-defense because Rocky could have just got in his Bus and let the bodyguard deal. Rocky is in Swedish jail and it doesn't look like they are letting him out until the trial because they think he will leave the country. .. and the rumors of Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes are silly. People keep seeing them around.. bars.. eating late.. blah blah blah .. WHO CARES? If she is going to be seen in these sweatpants HERE then she has GIVEN UP .. and Shawn should RUN WHILE HE CAN ..
From SeekingAlpha.com
Jerome Powell has stepped up to the starting line, with a marathon of speeches over the next three days ranging from comments at the Boston Fed to his semiannual monetary policy testimony to Congress. Today, he's scheduled to give opening remarks at a conference discussing the effectiveness of bank stress tests as the Fed considers changes to its critical post-financial crisis tool. Also on watch are addresses by central bank policymakers Raphael Bostic, James Bullard and Randal Quarles. While traders have priced in a 100% probability of a Fed rate cut in July, expectations for a more aggressive cut have been tempered by the strong jobs report released Friday.
The Euro Stoxx 50 (NYSEARCA:FEZ) slipped 0.5% overnight amid a heavy profit-warning from BASF (OTCQX:BASFY), while Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) shares slid again on skepticism about its turnaround. The downward movement is weighing on U.S. equity index futures, with the DJIA falling 117 points, the S&P 500 0.4% lower and the Nasdaq off by 0.6%. There's also a hangover from Monday as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) dropped more than 2%following a downgrade at Rosenblatt, as well as scaled-down expectations of Fed easing later this month.
Raising the pay floor to $15 per hour by 2025 would boost wages for 17M American workers, but 1.3M people would lose jobs, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. House Democrats led by Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., have already introduced a bill to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, called the Raise the Wage Act, and could vote on the legislation later this month. It's expected to pass, though the GOP-held Senate won't likely take it up and President Trump could also oppose it.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta has blocked a Trump administration rule requiring drugmakers to put prices in TV ads, a central part of the president's push to lower the cost of prescription medications. The rule of the Health and Human Services Department would violate free speech and exceeded the agency’s statutory authority, Mehta wrote, adding that "the responsibility rests with Congress to act in the first instance." The lawsuit was brought by Merck (NYSE:MRK), Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN), which have long argued that list prices do not reflect the actual cost of drugs as they do not take into account discounts and rebates negotiated with health insurers and PBMs.
Nintendo (OTCPK:NTDOY) has confirmed plans to shift a part of the manufacturing of its Switch to Vietnam from China, where it currently outsources almost all of the gaming console's production. Apparently there are other risks... A spokeswoman said the move was intended to diversify its supply lines and not to escape potential tariff hikes by the U.S. on products imported from China. The Trump administration recently held off from launching a fourth tranche of levies on $300B worth of goods that would cover nearly everything imported from China.
Addressing the weeks-long mass protests, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Tuesday that the controversial extradition bill was "dead" though she didn't say whether she would withdraw the legislation. The demonstrations have sent financial institutions scrambling for liquid assets, triggering interbank interest rates in the city to shoot up across the curve. Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997, when it became a special administrative region of China under a "one country, two systems" framework, but many citizens have expressed concern that their civil rights are slowly being eroded under Beijing.
The U.S. has put its plans for higher Chinese tariffs on hold, but raised the political pressure in other ways overnight with the approval of a major arms sale to Taiwan. It includes 108 General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) M1A2T Abrams tanks, 250 Stinger missiles and related equipment at an estimated value of $2.2B. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the deal was a serious violation of international law and a "crude interference in China’s internal affairs, harming China’s sovereignty and security interests."
Boeing's (NYSE:BA) 737 Max crisis cost it a $5.9B order from Flyadeal on Monday, but just how far has the grounding of its best-selling jet eaten into the U.S. plane manufacturer? Investors will get some more details today as Boeing reports deliveries for Q2, as well as the number of MAXs ordered during the quarter. Most are expecting weak figures, but any surprises might be a sign of confidence in the jet following two deadly crashes. BA -0.5%premarket.
Richard Branson's space-tourism venture, Virgin Galactic, is preparing for liftoff as a publicly traded company, as it remains locked in a space race with privately held Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin (BORGN) and Elon Musk's SpaceX (SPACE). Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, is planning to invest roughly $800M in Virgin Galactic for a 49% stake, WSJ reports. The company expects that the deal will give it enough capital until its spaceships can commercially operate and turn a profit.
What else is happening...
Contributor Dividend Sensei lists the 'best dividend stocks to buy during the rate cut rally.'
SEC defends pace of Volkswagen (OTCPK:VWAGY) investigation after Dieselgate.
Canada fighter race may see another win for Lockheed Martin's (NYSE:LMT) F-35.
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) asks appeals court to pause antitrust ruling's impact.
Clean energy boost as E.on (OTCPK:EONGY) offers only renewable power to U.K. customers.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan +0.1%. Hong Kong -0.8%. China -0.2%. India flat. In Europe, at midday, London -0.3%. Paris -0.5%. Frankfurt -1.3%. Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.4%. S&P -0.4%. Nasdaq -0.6%. Crude +0.7% to $58.07. Gold -0.7% to $1390.60. Ten-year Treasury Yield +3 bps to 2.06%
Today's Economic Calendar
6:00 NFIB Small Business Optimism Index 8:45 Jerome Powell: “Stress Testing: A Discussion and Review” 8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales 10:00 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey 10:00 Fed's Bullard Speech 1:00 PM Results of $38B, 3-Year Note Auction 1:00 PM Fed's Bostic: Monetary Policy 2:00 PM Fed's Quarles: "Stress Testing: A Discussion and Review"
Regards,
Roger “Raj” Searing
rajsearing@gmail.com
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