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The precursor to the Federal Firearms License (FFL) required by the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA1968), was the Federal Firearms License required by the Federal Firearms Act passed in 1938. The Federal Firearms Act of 1938 is not the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934. The NFA of 1934 is an act requiring taxes and registration for machine guns, short barreled shotguns (sbs), short barrelled rifles (sbr), silencers, and an “any other weapon” for firearms that do not look like firearms. The Federal Firearms Act (FFA) of 1938 was an act that required people to have a license to...

ETFs tracking the U.S. dollar are gaining investor attention as the greenback faces increased pressure amid increasing global trade tensions and indications of a weakening U.S. economy. As sentiment turns bearish at a record pace, ETFs such as Invesco DB U.S. Dollar Index Bullish Fund UUP -0.90% are becoming crucial tools for investors trying to deal with the volatility. The most popular dollar ETF is UUP, which provides exposure to the greenback versus a basket of currencies including the euro, yen, and pound. It’s constructed to profit when the dollar rises — but has underperformed in recent days as bearishness...

LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - In times of market panic investors tend to rush to the safety of the dollar, but when stocks swooned in response to U.S. tariffs this week, they ran away from it. Investors say it's a sign that the greenback’s global standing may be eroding. The dollar, for decades a safe haven, on Thursday fell about 1.7% in its biggest daily drop since November 2022 (.DXY), opens new tab, after President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on imports at levels not seen since the early 1900s. Stock markets also tanked, as tariffs ignited recession worries….

Global bond markets were gripped by volatility on Wednesday, as the rollout of U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs left investors scrambling to find safety as global equity markets resumed their sell-off. U.S. Treasurys sold off on Wednesday as a new wave of duties came into force and China announced fresh retaliatory action, with the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury last seen trading 12 basis points higher at '4.382% while the 2-year was 4 basis points higher at 3.768%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions, as investors demand a lower price on the bond and a higher...

During his 2024 presidential campaign Donald Trump repeatedly and in grave terms highlighted the possibility of the US dollar losing its world reserve currency status. This occurred at summits with business leaders at the New York and Chicago Economic Clubs.Trump occupies a rather unique position in this debate since he recognizes the real possibility of the dollar losing its world currency status, he opposes this change and wishes to prevent it, and yet he is not a paradigmatic member of the ruling class. However mainstream he is—today or in the past—he doesn’t possess the establishment credentials of a Ben Bernanke,...

During his 2002 testimony before Congress, then-Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan wryly observed: “There may be more forecasting of exchange rates, with less success, than almost any other economic variable.” Two-plus decades later, predicting the future path of exchange rates continues to pose a challenge, especially as currency matters take centerstage in policy debates. The dollar was expected to weaken in 2024, with markets initially pricing in six or more Fed rate cuts. Reality, however, played out differently, and the dollar actually rose sharply. U.S. economic growth was more robust than expected and the disinflationary process stalled out in the...

Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary pick, hedge fund mogul Scott Bessent, called out irresponsible and inflationary government spending and offered solutions to America’s financial crises in his opening statement. At his Senate confirmation hearing, Bessent criticized the out-of-control spending that members of both parties in Congress and the Biden-Harris administration have fueled. Bessent further emphasized the importance of having the U.S. dollar as world reserve currency and proposed tax cuts and tariffs as key solutions to the economic and financial crises America is currently facing. After predicting “a new economic golden age that will create more jobs, wealth and prosperity for...

Donald Trump has firmly embraced bitcoin and crypto this year as a leak reveals Russia could be about to start a bitcoin cold war. The bitcoin price has rocketed past $100,000 per bitcoin on the back of Trump's November election, with the chief executive of a major Wall Street giant admitting bitcoin "FOMO." Now, as an influential billionaire warns of a looming "debt crisis" that could collapse the U.S. dollar, Trump has confirmed he plans to establish a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve. "We're gonna do something great with crypto because we don’t want China, or anybody else … but others...

The Kremlin said on Monday that any U.S. attempt to compel countries to use the dollar would backfire after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on BRICS countries if they created their own currency. -snip- "More and more countries are switching to the use of national currencies in their trade and foreign economic activities," Peskov told reporters. If Washington resorted to "economic force" to compel countries to use the dollar it would backfire, he predicted. "If the U.S. uses force, as they say economic force, to compel countries to use the dollar it will further strengthen the trend...

In a rather stern warning to the BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—President-elect Donald Trump has threatened 100% tariffs on their exports to the United States if they pursue efforts to replace the U.S. dollar in global trade. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Trump said that any attempt by BRICS to create a new currency or support alternatives to the dollar would lead to severe consequences. “The idea that the BRICS countries are trying to move away from the dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER,” Trump wrote. Trump’s warning comes on the heels...

President-elect Trump on Saturday threatened to impose 100% tariffs against emerging markets that try to shift away from the U.S. dollar in international trade. Why it matters: The threat against the BRICS nations (primarily Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) is the latest escalation in Trump's campaign to use the specter of tariffs to achieve policy goals. Catch up quick: Trump, in a Truth Social post Saturday, demanded the BRICS countries fully support the dollar and not create their own competing currency. If not, he said, "they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling...

This year’s gathering of the BRICS represents the largest group of world leaders traveling to Russia in decades, Al Jazeera reports. The original BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — will be joined by several others interested in discussing global finance.It is widely believed that the group aims to challenge American financial control and replace the dollar with a different currency.“BRICS, which represents countries containing nearly half the world’s population, has been described by some as a potential rival to U.S. global dominance,” writes Kelsey Ables for The Washington Post.Russia and China have already been working...

The development is a complete U-turn from the BRICS initiative where the alliance is pushing de-dollarization narratives around the world. Sources say India is unhappy with the narrative pushed by its BRICS counterparts, China and Russia. According to sources, India believes that China is using BRICS as a stepping stone to strengthen its dominance around the world. India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar confirmed that the country is not interested in the dedollarization agenda.

In today's live we are going over the BRICS and what it really means to have a "GOLD BACKED" not "GOLD PEGGED" currency!

The U.S. is entering an era of hyperinflation, warns Lynette Zang, Founder & CEO of Zang Enterprises, adding that the transition in the U.S. has already begun. "I believe with all my heart and everything that I know that we've already begun the transition to hyperinflation," Zang told Michelle Makori, Lead Anchor and Editor-in-Chief at Kitco News. "We're going to see more borrowing, more money printing, more inflation because they have not killed that beast that they created and continue to create. It'll become very obvious in 2025." Zang sees the economy holding up well through the U.S. elections on...

Monday - 8:55 AM PST - US Dollar trading at 100.47 - 100 is considered neutral - Above 100 is considered strength - Below 100 is considered weakness - US Dollar down about 6% over the last year - Down 6% is considered a big move for a major currency.

Financial markets generally show no clear direction these days. Accordingly, relatively small movements cause market noise. A few examples happened in the currency market where non-U.S. dollar exchange rates depreciated. While Euro depreciation had its back story of extreme right-wing parties rising in election polls, Japanese Yen depreciation had its story of the central bank (Bank of Japan) not managing market expectations well, Chinese Yuan depreciation had its story of bad outlook, the ultimate result was a strong U.S. dollar, against all.Many views have listed so many reasons that the U.S. dollar should decline, if not collapse. However, the “cruel”...

The BRICS alliance kick-started the de-dollarization agenda to bring the US dollar down from the world’s reserve currency status. The bloc initiated multiple policies to hamper the USD’s growth and make local currencies the center of all transactions. The de-dollarization program was started in 2022 after the US placed sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine. The US dollar remains the world’s de facto currency for trade despite BRICS indulging in de-dollarization practices. Their policies did little to nothing to bring the US dollar down and the USD currency maintains its worldwide supremacy. A new study from the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics...

This month, rumors about the petrodollar have spread like wildfire all over the Internet. Some of what is being said is true, and some of what is being said is false. When other sources were reporting on “the death of the petrodollar”, I was asked why I was not writing about it. Well, the truth is that I was not writing about it because the petrodollar is not dead. It is certainly in trouble, but it is not dead. Today, most oil continues to be sold in U.S. dollars, and most global trade continues to be conducted in U.S. dollars....

The End Of The Petrodollar Is The End Of America’s Global DominanceEvery nation has had to convert its currency to the U.S. dollar, making it the de facto global currency. Thanks to Joe Biden, it’s all gone.The petrodollar agreement with Saudi Arabia began in 1974, two years into Joe Biden’s first term as a United States senator. It ended this week, a half-century later, during Biden’s first term as U.S. president. Among all the news stories that matter, few rank higher than this. It’s bigger than President Trump and Hunter Biden’s convictions, bigger than jobs reports and inflation numbers, and...