Occupy Banksters & Crony Capitalism & GREED

Greenland Responds To Trump: "We're Not For Sale"
ZeroHedge | staff | 08/16/19

Greenland's government told President Donald Trump on Friday that the island was "not for sale" following reports the president has entertained the idea of trying to buy the autonomously government Danish territory.

Notably, the US had reportedly proposed to buy Greenland from Denmark in 1946 for $100 million, but Denmark balked.

Buying Greenland would make some strategic sense from a military perspective, according to some sources quoted in the press. For example, the US currently maintains a large military base, the Thule Air Base, in Greenland. It is the US military's northernmost base, situated 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle. And Beijing has also been eyeing the island as a key strategic asset in the battle for dominance in the Arctic. ... Read more

Hong Kong standoff threatens its status as a global financial gateway
Axios | Dan Primack | 08/16/19

The deteriorating political situation in Hong Kong threatens to severely muddy the financial gateway between East and West.

The state of play: If the protesters succeed in maintaining, or even furthering, "one country, two systems" governance, then it likely would keep global capital flowing through Hong Kong. But it's unclear how China can possibly allow that to happen without eroding its authoritarian bonafides on the mainland, and almost any crackdown would be viewed as ripping down the legal fabric that made Hong Kong a financial powerhouse in the first place. ... Read more

Central banking's brave new world
Axios | Dion Rabouin | 08/16/19

The European Central Bank is leading the charge in the next wave of central bank stimulus measures, but experts and former central bankers argue it will be insufficient to deal with the looming global downturn.

Why it matters: Central banks see that the global economy is in trouble and they are stepping in to act, but are responding to new problems with old solutions. The eurozone already has negative interest rates and the ECB already has spent trillions buying bonds in an attempt to stimulate the economy. In spite of these efforts, major European economies have been unable to generate inflation or growth that's even close to their targets for years.

What's happening: ECB governing board member Olli Rehn said the central bank will announce a fresh package of "impactful and significant" stimulus at its September meeting that's expected to include "substantial" bond purchases as well as cuts to the ECB's already-negative interest rate, WSJ reported. ... Read more

Powell Issues Gag Order To Fed Presidents: Report
ZeroHedge | staff | 08/16/19

Following the recent dismal communication failures first by NY Fed president John Williams, and following that, Powell's own notorious July 31 "mid-cycle adjustment" press conference, a recurring laments among the investment community has been for the Fed to just keep its mouth shut, instead of continuing to yap and confirming that it is absolutely clueless about the economy and the future.

In a surprising twist, the Fed may actually be listening. According to the Spectator, chair Powell has banned any public appearances by any Fed Board member, noting that "appearances at conferences have been canceled, all scheduled interviews have been abandoned and any comments on or off the record are outlawed."

This unprecedented action, the Spectator reports, is a reflection of two pressures. ... Read more
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