Free Republic

In a surprising move, the Federal Reserve is hinting at multiple rate cuts in 2024, sparking questions about the stability of the financial system. This decision has historical echoes, as every major rate cut since the 1970s has been followed by a substantial 30% drawdown in the S&P 500. For the first time in recent history, Chair Powell’s alignment with market expectations signals a potential departure from the usual cautious stance. The market has responded positively, with the S&P 500 on track for its 9th green day out of the last 10, reflecting investor confidence in the Federal Reserve’s promises.

As federal budget projections unveil a distressing trend, $1 trillion+ US budget deficits are solidifying their status as the new normal, stretching through 2033 and beyond. The grim reality suggests that witnessing a year with a deficit below $1 trillion may be an elusive prospect. In a disconcerting revelation, the US Treasury anticipates borrowing an additional $816 billion in Q1 2024 alone, with a significant portion allocated to deficit spending. The trajectory of deficit spending, as predicted by the Council on Foreign Relations, has propelled the US to allocate more funds to gross interest payments than to defense, painting a...

WASHINGTON — US Army leaders have publicly clamored for lawmakers to pass the stalled supplemental spending bill, in part, to ramp up artillery production lines. But two senior service officials told Breaking Defense they need the money for another critical task: backfilling US stocks of ground combat vehicles. “There’s definitely a little bit of a [funding] backlog there that we want to catch up on,” Army acquisition chief Doug Bush told Breaking Defense Dec. 2 on the sidelines of the Reagan National Defense Forum. The service needs those extra dollars, he added, in order to get replacement vehicles on contract....

In a concerning development, approximately one-third of the U.S. government’s debt is slated to mature in the next 12 months, posing a potential problem as highlighted by Apollo, one of the world’s largest asset managers. Apollo cautions that as we move into 2024, Treasury auction sizes are projected to be, on average, 23% higher than in 2023.

Raj Shah, the Deputy Chief of Communications for Speaker Johnson, has announced that Speaker Johnson is scheduled to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. Zelenskyy’s visit coincides with a deadlock in Congress over an assistance package that is ‘supposed’ to combine funding for Ukraine with policy measures, including immigration and border security. In October, Joe Biden requested massive funding of over $100 billion earmarked for defense assistance to Israel and Ukraine, along with border security funding in the US, and aid to nations in the Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California is facing a record $68 billion budget deficit, state officials announced Thursday, forcing hard choices for Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in his final term as he works to build his national profile. The nation's most populous state — with an economy that is the fifth largest in the world — has been struggling since last year because of the rising prices of most goods and services and how the U.S. government has been trying to control it. It is now much more expensive for people and businesses to borrow money, meaning fewer people are buying...

Our national debt has hit an alarming $33 trillion and shows no sign of slowing down, signaling a looming financial crisis. The situation becomes even more concerning as recent bond auctions fail to raise the desired amounts, with some falling significantly short. The USA is on an unsustainable financial path, with projections suggesting a potential default within the next 20 years if corrective measures are not taken. Bloomberg Intelligence emphasizes the urgency of the situation.

During the visit of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Kyiv, he was informed that Ukraine needs 17 million shells, as well as 350-400 billion dollars of forces and resources in order to de-occupy the entire territory of the country, reports Ukrainska Pravda online newspaper. "Calculations of the [Ukrainian] General Staff show that 350-400 billion dollars of forces and resources are needed to fulfill the task of liberating the entire territory of Ukraine. Some of the planning ideas were presented to Austin by the General Staff during his visit to Kyiv in November.

transcript: "It is critically important that this money is not just going out of the United States to another country with no positive impact on the United States. Beyond the issue of autocracy, which is critical enough in defending democracy, it is also a boon to our economy. So they are trying to make that important argument. And, of course, now they are facing in the House a speaker who has twice voted against funding but has now publicly said he will support it, provided we get something on the border. So, you know, the message has reached somebody who...

Financial statements of the US Federal Reserve, which consists of the board of governors in Washington and twelve district reserve banks across the country, indicate that the consolidated system has generated both capital and operating losses for the past couple of years. The Fed was created in 1913 to issue and circulate an “elastic currency” that could respond to consumers’ demand for cash, end bank runs known then as “money panics,” and serve as a “lender of last resort” to the nation’s commercial banks. How is it possible that the Fed could be losing money after one hundred years of...

19 months in a row! The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators has now fallen for 19 months in a row. When something happens for 19 consecutive months, that is definitely a trend. The economy is clearly in big trouble, and conditions are getting worse with each passing day. But the mainstream media continues to insist that the economy is doing just great. They tell us that inflation is low, but if it was still measured the way that it was back in 1980, the official rate of inflation would be well into double digit territory. And they tell...

The 10-year Treasury yield set off roaring alarms about the U.S. budget when it surged to 5% last month. Now those warnings look like a fire drill. Federal Reserve rate hikes seem to be over for now, giving the bond market a reprieve and allowing a powerful S&P 500 rally to resume. Enjoy it while it lasts. The next debt scare may be the real thing, and it could rock the U.S. economy and stock market. Here's why: The Fed's historic turnabout, from enabling massive budget deficits to directing the sharpest rate hikes in 40 years, has seemingly broken the...

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday said that Ukraine needed to secure three key "victories" abroad, including the approval of major aid packages from the U.S. Congress and the European Union, and a formal start of accession talks to join the EU. Zelenskiy also announced the latest dismissals in the military, four deputy commanders in the national guard, but gave no reasons for their removal. The president and other officials have vowed to make the military's operations more efficient and responsive to the needs of servicemen. Twenty months into Russia's full-scale invasion, fatigue has crept into the West's relations with Kyiv,...

The U.S. federal government has borrowed so much money that, over the past year, it has had to spend one-fifth of all the money it collected just on debt interest—which came to almost $880 billion.Americans paid some $450 billion less in income taxes for the year, trapping the government in the pincers of a fiscal crunch.The country teeters on the brink of a debt spiral that could devolve into a fiscal crisis or hyperinflation, several economists told The Epoch Times.“The problem is serious because, any way you cut it, taxpayers are paying interest on the mountain of debt that has...

On Monday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen acknowledged that we do need to have a fiscally responsible path, especially since “the higher interest rate environment does pose additional challenges” but we don’t need offsets for Israel and Ukraine spending since they are emergency spending. After Yellen pushed for the aid package proposed by the Biden administration for Israel and Ukraine, co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin asked, “[W]e are having our debt and deficit go up and up and up and up and up. We had Stan Druckenmiller on our program recently. He said, we are spending like...

President Biden invoked a Cold War-era law in a surprising move Friday to pour taxpayer funds into domestic manufacturing of electric heat pumps, an alternative to gas-powered residential furnaces. In a joint announcement with the White House, the Department of Energy (DOE) said the federal government would award a "historic" $169 million for nine projects across 15 sites nationwide in an effort to accelerate electric heat pump manufacturing. The significant level of funding was made possible after Biden utilized the 1950 Defense Production Act (DPA) to increase domestic production of green energy technologies. Under the actions announced Friday, the DOE...

The Biden administration rejected the Moody's downgrade, with Treasury officials insisting the U.S. economy is thriving. Moody's Investor Service on Friday downgraded its outlook for the U.S. to "negative" from "stable" while maintaining the nation's AAA credit rating. "In the context of higher interest rates, without effective fiscal policy measures to reduce government spending or increase revenues, Moody's expects that the US' fiscal deficits will remain very large, significantly weakening debt affordability," the service announced. "Continued political polarization within US Congress raises the risk that successive governments will not be able to reach consensus on a fiscal plan to slow...

Moody’s on Friday changed its outlook on the US credit rating to “negative” from “stable” citing large fiscal deficits and a decline in debt affordability. The move follows a rating downgrade of the sovereign by another rating agency, Fitch, earlier this year, which came after months of political brinkmanship around the US debt ceiling.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army needs Congress to approve $3.1 billion to buy 155 millimeter artillery rounds and expand production to quickly replace stocks depleted by shipments to Ukraine and now Israel, an Army official said on Tuesday. The U.S. and allies have sent more than 2 million rounds of 155 ammunition to Ukraine in support of its effort to repel Russia’s invasion more than 600 days ago. The U.S. has also sent the artillery to Israel as it fights Hamas.

@RepThomasMassie AIPAC always gets mad when I put America first. I won’t be voting for their $14+ billion shakedown of American taxpayers either. Let them know what you think by replying to their post. They are intentionally misrepresenting my intent and the resolution I voted against. RE: @AIPAC Instead of standing with Israel, @RepThomasMassie voted with @AOC, @RashidaTlaib, @Ilhan,@JamaalBowmanNY and @SummerForPA