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12 Feb 2025

JUST IN: Elon Musk says DOGE is investigating federal workers with low salaries but high net worth.

"There are quite a few people who have a salary of a few hundred thousand dollars, but somehow manage to accrue tens of millions of dollars." DOGE Source: @Mr_Check_Crypto

12 Feb 2025

ELON IS IN THE OVAL OFFICE AND WARNS: "IT’S NOT OPTIONAL TO CUT FEDERAL SPENDING—IT’S ESSENTIAL".

Elon said he wants to add "common sense controls" to the government, adding they haven’t been present. He says taxpayer dollars must be spent wisely. It’s just common sense, he says, not "draconian." Source: CBS, Mario Nawfal on X

12 Feb 2025

As highlighted in a post by Spencer Hakimian on X: The United States has a $66B 10 Year Bond from February 2015 coming due tomorrow.

It had a 2.00% fixed coupon. It is going to be replaced with another $66B 10 Year Bond, but this time, with a 4.55% fixed coupon. This one single rollover will add an extra $1.67B per year to the national debt for the next 10 years. Bond auctions like these are happening every single day. After a decade of ZIRP, all of that debt now costs taxpayer money. No surprise that gold and bitcoin have been going to the roof Soruce: Bloomberg, Spencer Hakimian on X:

12 Feb 2025

⚠️Retail investors have never been more EUPHORIC on US stocks:

Mom-and-pop investors bought a record $12 BILLION equities in the 1st week of February 👇 Roughly 70% went to Magnificent 7 ‼️ 🚨 Meanwhile, institutional investors have been selling over the last few weeks! Source: Global Markets Investors, JP Morgan

12 Feb 2025

European natural gas prices are between three and four times higher than in the US, providing a critical handicap to the continent's companies.

Brussels is weighing new powers to temporarily cap EU gas prices, which have recently hit record levels compared with the US. European natural gas prices traded at the highest in more than two years this week, in part because of low temperatures and a lack of wind that has hampered renewable energy production. They are between three and four times higher than in the US, providing a critical handicap to European companies. The European Commission is considering a cap as part of discussions about a “clean industrial deal” policy document to be presented next month, said three people with knowledge of the talks. The strategy paper should outline ways to shore up the EU’s heavy industries as businesses grapple with multiple challenges including US President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade measures and the EU’s own ambitious green transition. Talks around mechanisms to cap prices, though still at an early stage, have drawn a backlash from industry groups which warn against damaging “trust” in the European market. Link to artivcle >>> https://lnkd.in/eJbxpaKf Source: FT

12 Feb 2025

Ever since COVID, January inflation has come in "hot."

Today's core CPI is no different. A proxy for underlying inflation is "core" services (in blue on the chart below courtesy of Robin Brooks) and that looks well-behaved. So it could be that this "hot" reading is largely about noise and residual seasonality, as in 2023 and 2024... Source: Robin Brooks

11 Feb 2025

Visualizing the Growth of U.S. Consumer Debt

🚨 The Kaplan Group analyzed the State Level Household Debt Statistics from 2003 to 2023, sourced from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Data were retrieved for auto loans, mortgages, credit cards, and student loans since 2003. The evolution of each of these elements over the last 20 years was calculated. For inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was utilized. 👉 Key Takeaways - Student loan debt is five times larger than it was 20 years ago - Credit card debt has shown minimal growth since 2023; from 2010 to 2016, it was even lower than in 2003 - The total amount of debt has grown by 81.5% since 2003 Source: Visual Capitalist, Voronoi

11 Feb 2025

US innovation & entrepreneurial spirit versus overregulation, left redistribution mindset and lack of innovation.

EU is straight on its way to become an open-air museum. Source: Michel A.Arouet, Augur infinity

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