Falling Incomes

We have mentioned before about retirees and retirement income many times, especially in this crazy low and zero interest rate setting the Fed and other global bankers have created in the good name of helping all of us.

 Here is a chart. See for yourself.

 davidstockmanscontracorner.com/the-central-bank-war-on-retirees

Overnight

Flat is the word again with the Nikkei as opening gains faded in Japan partly owing to a stronger yen and further concerns about the Bank of Japan's future monetary before turning positive again.

As one news source reported: BOJ sources have said the central bank is considering ways to steepen the yield curve as a means to reduce short-term costs for businesses while protecting Japanese banks.
"We don't know what the central bank will announce next week, and most of us are nervous. Most investors do not want to take positions now," said Isao Kubo, an equity strategist at Nissay Asset Management. He said speculation over what the BOJ might do at next week's meeting could stoke market volatility."

This comes after Monday's talk by Fed voting member, Fed Governor Lael Brainard warned of the dangers in cutting rates too quickly, saying Fed support of the U.S. Economy has it's place still until a stronger trend in consumer spending and evidence of rising inflation are clearer. Many took those point as proof the Fed wouldn't hike rates next week. Weakness overseas was still a concern.

"Today's new normal counsels prudence in the removal of policy accommodation," Brainard, one of six permanent voters on the Fed's rate-setting committee, told the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Things for the Fed among all the confusion are not about to change apparently as, according to the WSJ, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump ratcheted up his criticism of the Federal Reserve and Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Monday, saying the central bank is keeping rates low to help President Barack Obama.

Mr. Trump, presumably speaking of Ms. Yellen, said interest rates have been kept low “because she’s obviously political and doing what Obama wants her to do.” Mr. Trump, in an interview on CNBC, added “what they [the Fed] are doing is, I believe, it’s a false market. Money is essentially free.”

Ms. Yellen, he said, “should be ashamed of herself.”

After their biggest declines since late June on Monday, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1% and Korea’s Kospi gained 0.9%. The Nikkei Stock Average advanced 0.5%. The ASX 200 was up 0.2%, the Nikkei was off 0.11%, the Kospi up 0.57, the Hang Seng gained 0.87%

 Economic news out of China was better than expected for August with industrial output up 6.3& and retail sales climbing 10.6% as authorities there to move the things towards a more consumption-based-service-led economy. In currency markets, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was trading at 95.107 as of 10:39 a.m. HK/SIN. The dollar/yen currency pair was trading at 101.58, falling below levels of around 102 from last week. The Australian dollar was trading at $0.7551, down from levels above $0.77 last week.

U.S. crude oil futures fell 0.76 percent to $45.94 a barrel during Asian hours, while Brent futures slipped 0.62 percent to $48.02. The U.S. dollar declined against a basket of major rivals Monday after Fed Governor Brainard's comments, while speculation about the Bank of Japan boosted the yen. Gold held steady at $1328.52.

No Shame

Here is an example of MSM, in this case NBC, a known shill for Hillary, bias, note the attempt to play the feminist card. These disgraceful people will stop at nothing.

Clinton's core vulnerability is that most Americans don't find her honest or trustworthy. Will voters now feel like they've been misled about her health? Or will the vulnerability of the illness make Americans empathize more with someone who often has difficulty connecting.
To be sure, we know vastly more about Clinton's health than we do about Donald Trump's. Not only is the information released by her campaign more comprehensive than that released by his, but Clinton has lived her life in the national spotlight for 25 years.

We have intimate details about her 2012 hospitalization, for instance, because she was secretary of state at the time. Trump has not been subjected to the same kind of scrutiny and has been less forthcoming during his presidential campaign. 

Clinton may also face a different standard because of her gender, her defenders say. Many presidential candidates have had health issues, but Clinton defenders say that while enduring health issues can be seen as a sign of persistence in male candidates, it's viewed as a sign of weakness in women. 

The paragraph about gender is so pathetic it would be insulting except that it comes from the Clinton clan. It is a blatant lie that they have intimate details from her 2012 hospitalization. She fell in 2007 getting onto a plane, not necessarily anything implicating there since anyone can trip. She has had other falls, mostly likely several we will never know about. She has a known history admitted to by her closest assistants of forgetfulness. In  2009 she broke an elbow in a fall at the State Department while walking to her car.

At the Benghazi hearing in late 2015 she had another coughing outbreak. In fact, these outbreaks have been almost as numerous and persistent as her cough. She seems for a reportedly healthy person to get dehydrated a lot also; she was reported by here doctor in the 2012 episode to be dehydrated.

AP news service, a huge Hillary supporter and an even bigger denier, published videos of doctors to support their view and then, in essence, questioned a group of doctors who called the Breitbart show, the conservative Trump supporter, by writing the following:

Other callers into Monday’s show who identified themselves as doctors also offered their opinions to Breitbart Editor-in-Chief and SiriusXM host Alex Marlow, who has regularly invited medical professionals to call into the show.

A caller named Andrew who identified himself as a stroke neurologist who has worked with patients who have blood-clot diagnoses similar to Clinton’s mentioned that the former Secretary of State has also suffered from blood clots in her legs, requiring a lifelong course of anti-coagulant medication.

“I really think there’s something seriously wrong with her health that’s not being fully disclosed,” said a caller named Mitch from Pennsylvania who identified as an E.R. doctor. “Unfortunately, we’re left to speculate as to what that is, because she’s not being forthcoming about releasing the truth about her medical condition.”

“That was not just a typical passing-out episode, where you just have a vasovagal event, where, you know, you pass out for a second, wake up, and hey, I’m fine,” he said of Clinton’s distress on Sunday. “She could not walk. I think there’s something neurologically wrong with her. I would even consider Parkinson’s disease, and she’s having complications.”

“If you look at some of the other videos of her with these uncontrolled motor movements that she’s had, and sometimes she has loss of her control of her body moving — that could be a sign of Parkinson’s or complications from Parkinson’s disease, and that’s a very serious thing,” Mitch said.
“There’s clearly something that’s drastically wrong, and I think that some people are overlooking that. It’s true if you were just a normal person that had an episode that you passed out and couldn’t control yourself on not a very hot day, with that medical history, you would be going to a hospital and getting checked out to make sure you don’t have a serious life-threatening condition,” he continued.
He therefore speculated that Clinton knows what her condition is, “and her people handling her, and doctors that are with her, know what her condition is, and I think that they know she might have a serious neurologic condition that prevents her from moving.”

“When you look at her falling into that van, she couldn’t walk. She couldn’t move. This is not just somebody who passed out. This is somebody who they’re trying to keep standing and have to basically throw into a van. It’s really concerning. I’m very concerned for her health,” said Mitch.

 I really think there’s something seriously wrong with her health that’s not being fully disclosed,” said a caller named Mitch from Pennsylvania who identified as an E.R. doctor. “Unfortunately, we’re left to speculate as to what that is, because she’s not being forthcoming about releasing the truth about her medical condition.”

“That was not just a typical passing-out episode, where you just have a vasovagal event, where, you know, you pass out for a second, wake up, and hey, I’m fine,” he said of Clinton’s distress on Sunday. “She could not walk. I think there’s something neurologically wrong with her. I would even consider Parkinson’s disease, and she’s having complications.”
http://www.breitbart.com/radio/2016/09/12/doctors-weigh-in-on-hillarys-health
  
“If you look at some of the other videos of her with these uncontrolled motor movements that she’s had, and sometimes she has loss of her control of her body moving — that could be a sign of Parkinson’s or complications from Parkinson’s disease, and that’s a very serious thing,” Mitch said.

The two physicians that AP presented were feeble enough; the lady doctor just assumed it was pneumonia. Like a good practitioner she straddled that fence. The Vanderbilt doctor's matter-of-fact, condescending tone was almost too much. You have to wonder how long they searched for him. Then you have Dr. Bill Clinton appearing on the Charley Rose show, a known Clinton lover, telling us it's all about dehydration. Sure it is, Bill. And all she needs is a couple of bolts of snake oil to clear the whole thing up. The elites have no shame, only contempt. Here's a quote from Hillary the day after her event when she evade a  question abut how many times this has happened to her.

"Compare everything you know about me with my opponent. I think it's time he met the same level of disclosure that I have for years," Clinton told Cooper.

Release The Records

The coverup continues. You have a right to know the facts, not just Americans but the people of the globe. Release the records.

Drugs that mimic dopamine, called dopamine agonists, may be used to delay the movement-related symptoms of Parkinson's. They include Apokyn, Mirapex, Parlodel, the skin patch Neupro, and Requip. Apokyn, an injectable, may be used when the effects of levodopa begin to wear off. Side effects include nausea and vomiting, drowsiness, fluid retention, and psychosis.

Here is the statement Clinton's doctor released.

Secretary Clinton has been experiencing a cough related to allergies. On Friday, during follow up evaluation of her prolonged cough, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. She was put on antibiotics, and advised to rest and modify her schedule. While at this morning's event, she became overheated and dehydrated. I have just examined her and she is now re-hydrated and recovering nicely."

There are several things puzzling about this statement. One, to our knowledge the cough was in the news long before allergies were coughed up to the media as the cause. Next, a prolonged, persistent cough in a woman in her late 60s, smoker, non-smoker or otherwise, should raise other red flags. With this morning's event she became overheated and dehydrated is nonsense. She most likely became overstimulated which triggered  a symptom of Parkinson's disease. You saw one with her head bobbing and another when she was on the stage with Bill at the convention, mouth agape, eyes wide, staring up.

                                                                      PD Facies  
A dry, persistent cough is a known symptom of Parkinson's disease. They have difficulty swallowing. She also apparently displays a non-intention tremor, another sign of Parkinson's disease. A certain gait is also common to many Parkinson's victims, as is freezing up, not to mention frequent falls and balance problems. It is a progressive disease with no known cure. That's why all the medicines she is on should be made public. This lady is gravely ill and it can no longer be denied. Most likely it is the rigors and ravages of the disease rather than the campaign trail causing her obvious and media-noted bouts of fatigue, her growing more infrequent appearances and individual interviews rather than press conferences, as once again the media rolled out certain lackeys to try to offset. There is no end to the apparent lying MSM will stoop to have its way.

It is also a testimony about how arrogant and determined MSM and it's supporters are to shove a particular candidate down your gullet without regard for the truth or your welfare. Another issue should be raised about those, including her physician, who apparently intentionally choose to deceive the public. Was a punishable crime committed here? Can these media outlets be sued, including every writer who purposely or otherwise spread disinformation and slandered and libeled anyone who differed with them?  Should a license be revoked here? 

If she indeed has the disease, it needs to be staged. And from what we have seen it appears to be far along. The end result is incapacitation and demise.  It's almost a dead certainty many of the higher ups in the media most likely knew. Yet they purposely went to press, spreading at worse false or at best distorted information, using whatever power and influence they could to deceive. Their credibility is now lower than those negative interest rates central bankers around the globe once claimed they loved so much. One of the side effects of standard treatment of PD is dykinetic movements for which another medicine is usually given to correct when the dyskinesia erupts.

However this mess turns out, the public should have a long memory, something these people expect it not to have. There another component to PD. It's called PD psychosis. The majority of cases for obvious reasons go unreported. Here's a quote from the National PD Association.

"Treatment of hallucinations and delusions (often referred to by health care providers as 'psychosis' or 'Psychotic symptoms') in PD can be challenging." 

The FDA earlier this year approved Primavanserin, a specifically designed treatment for PD patients with psychosis. Accordingly, it works different from other anti-psychotics because it doesn't block dopamine. It's a selective serotonin inverse agonist that targets serotonin receptors making it safer to treat PD suffers with psychosis because it can reduce hallucinations without disturbing motor function. .fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm498442.

Hallucinations or delusions can occur in as many as 50 percent of patients with Parkinson’s disease at some time during the course of their illness. People who experience them see or hear things that are not there (hallucinations) and/or have false beliefs (delusions). The hallucinations and delusions experienced with Parkinson’s disease are serious symptoms, and can lead to thinking and emotions that are so impaired that the people experiencing them may not relate to loved ones well or take appropriate care of themselves.  
“Hallucinations and delusions can be profoundly disturbing and disabling,” said Mitchell Mathis, M.D., director of the Division of Psychiatry Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Nuplazid represents an important treatment for people with Parkinson’s disease who experience these symptoms.”

An estimated 50,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease each year, according to the National Institutes of Health, and about one million Americans have the condition. The neurological disorder typically occurs in people over age 60, when cells in the brain that produce a chemical called dopamine become impaired or die. Dopamine helps transmit signals between the areas of the brain that produce smooth, purposeful movement -- like eating, writing and shaving. Early symptoms of the disease are subtle and occur gradually. In some people Parkinson’s disease progresses more quickly than in others. As the disease progresses, the shaking, or tremor, which affects the majority of people with Parkinson’s disease, may begin to interfere with daily activities. Other symptoms may include depression and other emotional changes; hallucinations and delusions; difficulty in swallowing, chewing, and speaking; urinary problems or constipation; skin problems; and sleep disruptions. 

The effectiveness of Nuplazid was shown in a six-week clinical trial of 199 participants. Nuplazid was shown to be superior to placebo in decreasing the frequency and/or severity of hallucinations and delusions. 

Again if you watch that video, which one news organization, a known Hillary shill, labeled unverified, obviously trying cast suspicion on its validity, you see a distinct motor problem, not fainting or anything even remotely caused by dehydration or pneumonia. As for the so-called experts some MSM outlets quickly sought out saying it was pneumonia and dehydration, know this. Prostitutes are available in all professions and occupations. Medicine is no exception.

Release the records.

Overnight

Following U.S. Stocks sell off Friday Asian shares open the week weaker overnight. Flight of capital is moving to the front burner in those countries where higher U.S. rates would stampede a run for higher returns.

The Friday selloff in the U.S. Was the nastiest since the immediate post-Brexit one that came after a long summer where volatility remain essentially a no show. The VIX (U.S. volatility index) jumped the most since the U.K. referendum, gaining 39.9 percent."  The Hang Seng was off 2.&%; after a rough Friday, the  Kospi  poured more sodium chloride on the wound, declining 1.8% while the Nikkei 225 was lower 1.7% and the ASX 200 dropped 2.2%. In China the Shanghai a Composite shed 2.1% and the Shenzhen was down 2.01%.

This week's Fed speakers are still very much on investor minds. One media outlet reported:
The rising risk sentiment was because "one, the ECB did not extend QE, provoking a sell-off in bond markets, which fed into the medium to long-end U.S. bond curve. Two, traders have convinced themselves the Fed are marching out Leal Brainard, a mega-dove, to bang the Fed's September rate hike drum."

Brent was down 1.31 percent at $47.38 a barrel while U.S. futures were lower by 1.5 percent at $45.19. With all the concern about interest rate, Spot gold was trading nearly flat at $1,328.07 an ounce.  Onetime markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines were closed for public holidays.

The Spin Is In

The MSM spin is in. Bloomberg and CNN jumped immediately on the only straw they had, pneumonia and dehydration.

Hillary Clinton's doctor apparently thinks the many decent, competent practitioners in America who know what you saw on that video didn't come from pneumonia and dehydration are ignorant. Expect nothing less from MSM shills. What you saw there wasn't stumbling or knees buckling. It was a loss of motor control, a spastic reaction seen in various diseases of the nervous system, to mention just a few.

But her doctor, her handlers, she herself and those trying to cover up the real story can prove it. Release her medical records up to and including this past Friday. Does she have a viral or bacterial pneumonia and if so, what medications was she put on? Did she have chest x-rays, blood work? Just how was that diagnosis made? At this stage--given the import of the situation--people need to know even what the standard of her care is. It might be--as one physician who apparently lost his media job just for bringing up the issue--subpar.

Reassure the American public if you are not hiding something. Put this circus to an end. Now. Both her supporters and detractors have a right at this point to know. After all, it is you, MSM, who are calling this an unfounded circus. Prove it.

See And Decide For Yourself

Anyone who intends to vote in the upcoming presidential election who claims to care about the future of this nation needs to watch the video on this site. .businessinsider.com/hillary-clinton-911-memorial-overheated-ill-health-2016-9.

We know what MSM shills will say: overheated, stumbled on the curb getting into the van and other phony excuses. You have something called a medical history here. Her moves were ataxic. We are calling out all you medical deniers. Publish the woman's medical records. We will stand on our opinion. Prove she is not seriously ill, most particularly for the job for which she is applying.

You cannot prove it. So you deny. You can expect them to remove this video. So watch while you can. Pay close attention. To try to pass off the overheated excuse is an insult to the entire nation. This is what they think of your collective intelligence. Arrogance has no bounds.

All That Glitters Is Not Central Banking

The Fed given hawkish statements this past week continues to jawbone for permission to up interest rates. This is a Fed without courage or direction, a classic chase of getting permission rather than asking for forgiveness. In short, the absence of boldness in their blood should be obvious by now. All good leadership has an element of boldness. These bureaucrats have proved to be leaderless and devoid of boldness.

Meanwhile, their ongoing jawboning affects the precious metals, especially gold. And next week look for more of the same. Not only that but some serious data gets dumped on the market next week, data that could if more upbeat give the Fed the shot of courage it needs to pull off what would now not be so much of a surprise hike come September 21. Part of investor uncertainty of late centers on just such a possibility. The other one is the September 21 date could serve as the precursor for massaging the market for a definite rate boost in December.

What we know is this group is dying to raise rates at this point to take some of the heat off it incompetence. Such sentiment makes it even more likely they will miscalculate and make a grave mistake further damaging their credibility. One needs to realize that destroying the Fed in the view of some observers is part of the hidden agenda to create a situation more conducive for implementing a one world government. Out of chaos comes dependence. And along with it big brother.

Anyone who believes the ruling class will go down easy shouldn't have gold in his or her portfolio. This upcoming election smacks as a temporary divergence. With the current administration set to turn the Internet over to the UN and the more frequent calls for a cashless society, the garrote around your neck is getting pulled a little tighter each day. Like the word manipulation, the term convenience has many meanings and they're not all good.

Gold recently traded at $1327.88, not too far off from its bottom in what many see as a range between $1350 and $1325 an ounce in all the current uncertainty about central bank policies. The 100 moving average is $1308.  

Underway

It's underway. A sea change you don't want to get caught snoozing through.

Once upon a time there was a longtime county treasurer in California that made a lot of money for the county by borrowing short and investing long until one day a sea change in the interest rate market occurred. The county went bankrupt and he took his rightful place in the hall of investing infamy.

It's no secret that Japan's target inflation rate is a no show and the yen has appreciated nearly 18% so far this year, hurting exports and economic recovery in general. It's also an open secret not just the Bank of Japan but other central banks are running out of rabbits to extricate from their monetary policy top hats.

According to reports, the Japanese government holds about one third of outstanding government bonds, and like a rain and wind swept, swollen river a figure that is rising steadily. Enter BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda who Monday stepped to the mike and criticized the negative interest rate program because of the tension it was placing on banks. To make money banks need a steeper yield curve. As noted below the spread between two-year and 30-year debt is now only 30 basis points. That's one big Ouch! for banks, pension funds, retirees and the like.

One way to get a steeper yield curve is to remove the underlying safety net, the BOJ put option. In short, drying up the official demand, not a healthy scene for long term bond prices that many feel are already at bubble proportions. Should Japan venture down that road what will be the global effect on other sovereign bond markets? It's pretty difficult to toss a pebble in pond without causing a few ripples.

Kuroda on Monday also pointedly flagged concerns about negative potential effects from the slide in long-maturity bond yields. Earlier this year, rates as long as 20 years touched zero percent. The BOJ chief noted that the drop hurt returns on pension programs, and could affect confidence levels and the economy more broadly.

As Kuroda said, clearly highlighting the dangers of a flatter yield curve, "some business firms have revised down their profit forecasts due in part to the increase in the net present value of retirement benefit obligations. We should take account of the possibility that such developments can affect people’s confidence by causing concerns over the sustainability of the financial function in a broad sense, thereby negatively affecting economic activity.”



 
It then resumed in late August, after central bankers made another coordinated push for fiscal stimulus at Jackson Hole, which would mean more sovereign debt supply, and thus lower prices, all else equal. Then earlier this week, Kuroda said that a review of the current stimulus efforts due by the Sept. 20-21 policy meeting in which some analysts and investors read between the lines that the BOJ may be seeking to force a shift toward a steeper yield curve after the gap between two- and 30-year securities compressed to a record 30 basis points.

 

 zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-08/brace-var-shock-bank-japan-may-be-about-unleash-global-selloff

 For what's it's worth we think it will begin before it's announced. Central bankers always favor bankers over the public.
 

Overnight

Mixed is becoming of late a common term to describe Asian markets as the Nikkei started out down and shrugged it off to gain 0.15% One thing that reportedly bothered Asian investors was North  Korea apparently set off a fifth nuclear test, the largest one yet, this month.

The Nikkei 225 started out down but shrugged it off and was up 0.15% while the Kospi declined 1.39%, the ASX 200 was down 0.83% and both Chinese indexes were mostly flat with the Shanghai up only 0.02% and the Shenzhen off 0.021%, the Hang Seng rallied 0.96%. Shares in Japan have been trading in a narrow range for weeks now as investors try to figure out the Fed's next move on interest rates. Inflation was again a relative no show in China as China’s consumer-price index was up just 1.3% in August, slowing from July’s 1.8% and giving authorities more room to ease monetary policy to lift growth.
 
In Europe, the WSJ reported, The European Central Bank left its €1.7 trillion ($1.9 trillion) stimulus unchanged at a policy meeting Thursday, brushing off concerns over economic shock waves from Britain’s vote to leave the European Union and disappointing investors expecting the ECB to act again soon.

The decision to stand pat, even as new forecasts showed the ECB missing its inflation target for years, underlines how central banks are approaching the limits of what they can achieve without support from other policy areas, notably governments. In China earlier this month, Group of 20 leaders warned that monetary policy alone can’t fix the world’s economic ills, and pledged to boost spending and adopt overhauls aimed at boosting growth.
 
Central banks are still in the spotlight, however, as several members of the fed are due to speak Friday and investor try to fathom the future of U.S.interest rates and reconfigure their portfolios. Overnight the U.S. dollar index weaken slightly against a basket of currencies trading at 94.856. Energy is anther items investors will be watching Friday as oil rallied strongly Thursday after a big draw down in U.S. reserves came to light. U.S. crude futures shed 0.84 percent to $47.22.