Free Republic

A series of weak auctions for U.S. Treasurys are stoking investors’ concerns that markets will struggle to absorb an incoming rush of government debt. ... inflation not tamed ... Federal Reserve will leave interest rates at multidecade highs for .. years to come. The 10-year yield—the benchmark for borrowing rates on everything from mortgages to corporate loans—finished the week around 4.5%... At the same time, the government is poised to sell another $386 billion or so of bonds in May—an onslaught that Wall Street expects to continue no matter who wins November’s presidential election. While few fear a failed auction—an...

Do not wait. These storm clouds are not going to dissipate. ...[D]estructive issues: Insider infighting over stockholdings Competing insider shareholder lawsuits First insiders now wanting to sell Feeble responses by Trump Media CEO Nunes in interview by Fox Business News Still-open new million-share spigot from the convertible securities and contracts that are converting Highly diluting "bonus" 40M share issuance if the stock can remain above $17.50 for 20 of 30 days. (Counting the March 26 merger day, the number on April 12 would be 18.) ... Beat the coming sellers to the exit. This stock remains significantly overpriced, with a...

“Banking is slightly illegal,” says world-renowned economist Richard Werner, who is leading the charge against CBDCs. In this episode of "The Glenn Beck Podcast," Richard teaches Glenn that “banks don’t take deposits, and banks don’t lend money.” That begs the question, “What do banks actually do?” This discussion may make you realize that all you think you know about money is wrong. That’s not all we don’t know about the economy. We also have no clue which banks make up the Federal Reserve, who created Bitcoin, or the real relationship between inflation and interest rates. But we do know that...

ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood reiterated her call that Tesla stock is worth $2,000 early Wednesday. It’s a huge number, but there is a problem. The number didn’t go up. Wood valued Tesla at $2,000 a share in April 2023. That target was up from her 2022 update valuing Tesla stock at about $1,500 a share. The lack of a 2024 target bump is one sign things aren’t going as well as hoped. Much of her value is tied up in a coming self-driving Robo taxi business. Achieving truly self-driving cars has been harder than expected, though. On the other end...

Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson issued a cease and desist order on Tuesday against asset management company BlackRock, claiming that the firm "repeatedly made false and misleading statements" concerning its environmental, social, and governance agenda, Fox Business reported. Watson, along with the Securities Division of the Secretary of State's Office, issued the order "to stop BlackRock's alleged fraudulent actions and impose a multimillion-dollar administrative penalty," according to a Wednesday press release. Watson accused BlackRock of deceiving Mississippi investors regarding the firm's "involvement in pushing ESG factors on portfolio companies." The order stated that BlackRock claims its non-ESG "funds do...

The State of Texas is terminating a massive $8.5 billion investment with trillion-dollar asset manager BlackRock over the state's determination that the firm is engaged in a boycott of energy companies. In an announcement first shared with FOX Business, Texas State Board of Education Chairman Aaron Kinsey said the so-called Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF) had delivered a notice to BlackRock on Tuesday, informing the New York City-based firm of the action. According to Kinsey, the move was made in accordance with a 2021 state law that seeks to distance the state and its large public purse from financial institutions...

The stock market continued its record-setting rally Thursday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average notably flirting with 40,000 as technology shares made major gains. The Dow closed with a gain of nearly 270 points, or 0.7 percent, putting it within striking distance of the major milestone at 39,781 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite jumped 0.4 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, on the day. The microchip sector led the charge, buoying the Dow despite a slump in Apple stock after the Justice Department sued the smartphone giant, alleging the company has hurt competition and consumers, developers and small businesses.

The world's largest pension fund managing over $1.5 trillion in assets has announced it will explore diversifying a portion of its portfolio into Bitcoin.Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the world's largest pension fund managing over $1.5 trillion in assets, has announced it will explore diversifying a portion of its portfolio into Bitcoin. According to the announcement, the GPIF will solicit information on illiquid alternative assets like Bitcoin, gold, forests, and farmland as part of its diversification efforts. While not currently invested in these assets, the move signals that the mega-fund is actively researching options beyond stocks and bonds. The...

HONG KONG -- The Pentagon's addition of a Beijing-headquartered private equity and venture capital firm to a list of companies with alleged close ties to China's military underscores growing sanctions risks for the industry and is likely to result in pressure for more investment self-scrutiny, analysts say In an updated Department of Defense (DOD) list of entities identified as "Chinese military companies" operating in the U.S., IDG Capital Partners is among 17 newly added names. They are seen as helping to support the "modernization goals" of the Chinese military by "ensuring it can acquire advanced technologies and expertise" developed by...

Real estate investor Grant Cardone posted on X that his company, CardoneCapital, had initiated research into potential investments in New York. However, former President Trump was ordered to pay $355 million following a civil fraud ruling. CardoneCapital just started to research real estate investments in New York believing it was time to get into the market.After the over reach by the judge in the Trump case & penalties imposed of $355M I told them team do NOT waste time in New York.We will 2X our efforts in: Florida Arizona Texas Tennessee pic.twitter.com/zhpA0Su09K— Grant Cardone (@GrantCardone) February 19, 2024Cardone said his...

FDI or Foreign Direct Investment in China hit a 30-year low last year.China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments stood at $33 billion last year, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange released Sunday. That measure of new foreign investment into the country — which records monetary flows connected to foreign-owned entities in China — was 82% lower than the 2022 level and the lowest since 1993...The government’s efforts to get overseas companies to return after Covid are falling short, and more will be needed if Beijing is to succeed in its aims. The continuing...

Shark Tank star and investor Kevin O’Leary said Monday on Fox Business Network’s “Cavuto Coast To Coast” that former President Donald Trump’s $350 million-plus fraud ruling was causing him to rethink investing in the “mega loser state” of New York. O’Leary said, “I’m not different than any other investor. I’m shocked at this. I can’t even understand or fathom the decision at all. There’s no rationale for it.” He continued, “It does not matter what the governor says. New York was already a loser state, like California is a loser state there are many loser states beacuse of policy, high...

The consumer genome sequencing company 23andMe is a sinking ship – and its CEO is conducting the orchestra. As Wired reports, 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki was chipper on a February 7 earnings call despite the company's abysmal revenue report that led to its stock being devalued to below 75 cents per share, down a whopping 93 percent from the $16.04 when it first went public. "We are an unusual company," Wojcicki said, per Wired, during the investor call. That response very much undersells the circumstances that may lead to 23andMe spinning off its consumer DNA testing and therapeutics wings into...

ESG (Environmental, social, and corporate governance is a losing game. Two of the world’s largest financial institutions cut ties Thursday with Climate Action 100+, delivering the latest setback to the world’s biggest coalition of investors pressuring corporations to ditch fossil fuel assets. The asset management arms of JPMorgan Chase and State Street dropped out of Climate Action 100+, home to more than 700 investment firms totaling $68 trillion in assets under management. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, with more than $10 trillion in assets, distanced its U.S.-based operations from Climate Action 100+ by transferring its membership to BlackRock International....

The cost of the Inflation Reduction Act’s energy and climate provisions is now expected to be significantly higher than previously projected, at least partially because of greater-than-anticipated investment in climate-friendly technology. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) revised its projections this week, greatly increasing how much it believes the law’s energy tax credit-related provisions will cost. “The costs of energy-related tax provisions are much higher than the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation originally projected,” CBO Director Phillip Swagel said. One of the factors the agency cited is a greater number of people expected to claim tax credits for electric...

DWAC, which is buying Trump Media, has seen sizable momentum alongside recent GOP primary developments Former President Donald Trump's continued momentum during primary season has translated to a sizable recent boost for the special-purpose acquisition company that's planning to buy the media company that runs his Truth Social platform. Shares of Digital World Acquisition Co. (DWAC) were up more than 25% in Monday morning activity, putting them on track to extend their win streak to a sixth session. The stock is on pace to rise 96% over the six-session run if current gains carry through to the close. DWAC's stock...

It may not seem unusual that a corporate CEO would want to focus on increasing shareholder value, but in October this was treated as big news. A Financial Times headline announced that "Unilever's new chief says corporate purpose can be 'unwelcome distraction.'" That new CEO, Hein Schumacher, went on to explain that he rejected the idea that "every brand should have a social or environmental purpose." He intended, he said, to build a "performance culture" instead. Why would it be newsworthy for a CEO to be focused on corporate performance? Not long ago, that was simply assumed. What changed? The...

This year the US has to roll over 7 trillion USD in bonds and finance an annual deficit of around 2 trillion on top of it. BRICS and Japan are nor going to buy US treasuries anymore. Up to now, US bond auctions did not fail because financial institutions had enough excess reserves deposited at the federal reserve to adsorb newly issues treasuries. However, this liquidity seems to dry up rapidly.

Congressman Tim Burchett is now exposing insider trading in Congress. Watch out Pelosi!