Good Luck Finding a Place to Hide as Global Markets Crumble

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By Lisa Abramowicz. Investors tend to respond to impending doom by selling risky stuff and hiding out in safer assets — namely, bonds in places such as Germany and the U.S.

There’s a problem with that formula this time around: Traders aren’t so sure they can find anything that’s truly safe right now. So, instead of piling into sovereign debt of developed nations, traders are pulling their money out of those places as the Greek economy teeters on the brink of collapse, Puerto Rico talks about delaying some debt payments and China’s stock market suffers its biggest selloff since 1992.

Investors yanked $2.9 billion from European government bond funds last week, more than ever before, and pulled $699 million from short-term investment-grade U.S. bond funds, Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. data show. While these assets have traditionally been havens during rocky periods, they look less appealing now after more than six years of unprecedented monetary stimulus that pushed yields to record lows.

Why is that a problem? Well, the European Central Bank’s bond-purchasing program this year sent yields so low (negative, in fact) that investors revolted, selling German debt in the face of some signs of economic growth and causing unprecedented volatility. In the U.S., the economy has improved enough that the Federal Reserve is planning to raise interest rates this year from virtually zero, where they’ve been since 2008 . . .

And nations and companies around the world have taken on unprecedented amounts of debt, all with the hope of igniting some growth, with the results being rather tepid. (Read more from “Good Luck Finding a Place to Hide as Global Markets Crumble” HERE)


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US Financial Outlook Has “Worsened Dramatically”

By Bob Adelmann. In its just-released report “The 2015 Long-Term Budget Outlook,” the Congressional Budget Office stated bluntly:

The long-term outlook for the federal budget has worsened dramatically over the past several years, in the wake of the 2007-2009 recession and slow recovery…. If current law remained generally unchanged in the future … growing budget deficits … would push [the national] debt above its current high level.

It’s all about government spending that’s baked into the cake: the Baby Boomers retiring and asking the government to make good on its Social Security and Medicare promises and the rising costs of healthcare along with “an increasing number of recipients of exchange subsidies and Medicaid benefits attributable to the Affordable Care Act [which will] push up spending … if current laws … remain unchanged,” said the report.

The CBO created two avenues for politicians concerned about the matter to pursue: one, to keep the deficits from going any higher, and the other to bring them back down to historic levels. For the first, taxes would have to increase by $1,450 per person per year, starting immediately, or Social Security benefits would have to be cut by $2,400 per person per year, starting immediately . . .

The report considers the consequences of doing nothing: At some point investors in government bonds would become concerned about getting their money back and would demand higher interest rates to compensate for that risk. This would accelerate the deficits to new levels. As the report noted, “The larger the government’s debt, the greater the risk of a fiscal crisis.” (Read more from “US Financial Outlook Has “Worsened Dramatically”” HERE)

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White House Officials Plot Ways to Pressure Lawmakers Into Supporting Iran Deal

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By Adam Kredo. White House officials on Monday held a private conference call with liberal organizations to discuss ways of pressuring Democrats and other lawmakers on Capitol Hill into supporting a nuclear deal with Iran that is expected to be finalized in the coming days, according to an audio recording of that call obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The call, in which there were more than 100 participants, was organized by the liberal pro-Iran group Ploughshares Fund, which has spent millions of dollars to slant Iran-related coverage and protect the Obama administration’s diplomatic efforts.

The White House officials described a nuclear deal with Iran as President Obama’s “signature foreign policy accomplishment” and urged liberal groups to launch an all-out lobbying campaign to pressure lawmakers, especially Democrats, to back the deal.

Progressive leaders on the call told participants to prepare for a “real war” and repeatedly declared that “the other side will go crazy” in the coming days. The call also included the anti-war group MoveOn.org.

“This has really been on the front burner from a foreign perspective, although not in the public eye necessarily, since the very beginning,” Matt Nosanchuk, an official in the White House Office of Public Engagement, told participants. “This is not an issue of the day, this is really an issue of the presidency.” (Read more from “White House Officials Plot Ways to Pressure Lawmakers Into Supporting Iran Deal” HERE)


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Iranian Official: US Will Remain Our Enemy Despite Emerging Nuclear Deal

By JPost Staff. A senior Iranian military official said Sunday that despite the emerging nuclear deal between Iran and the US-led P5+1 group of world powers, America will remain Tehran’s enemy.

Iranian Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said that even if a nuclear deal comes to fruition in Vienna, where Iranian and western negotiators are currently trying to reach an agreement by a Tuesday deadline, Tehran and Washington will not become friends.

“The US might arrive at some agreements with us within the framework of the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany), but we should never hold a positive view over the enemy,” Iran’s Fars News Agency quoted Pourdastan as saying.

“Our enmity with them is over the principles and is rooted because we are after the truth and nations’ freedom, but they seek exploiting nations and putting them in chains,” he explained further.

Pourdastan’s comments came as differences still remained between the two sides over the country’s disputed nuclear program ahead of Tuesday’s deadline for a final agreement to end a 12-year-old dispute. (Read more from “Iranian Official: US Will Remain Our Enemy Despite Emerging Nuclear Deal” HERE)

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Greece: How Did It Get Into This Mess?

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At first, the most ambitious attempt ever to create a new multinational currency all seemed to go so well. The predicted problems with banks and vending machines never materialized. The euro surpassed the dollar in value. The launch was hailed as a success.

And yet for Greece, it seems now to have all fallen flat. How did it happen? . . .

2001: Greece became the 12th — and last — country to join the eurozone before the launch of the euro at the beginning of 2002 . . .

But even then, warnings were sounded. The president of the European Central Bank, Wim Duisenberg, warned that Greece had much to do in terms of improving its economy and controlling inflation . . .

2010: In 2009, international investors, understandably spooked by the revelation that Greece’s previously announced debt and deficit figures were inaccurate, became worried about the country’s ability to pay its debts. (Read more from “Greece: How Did It Get Into This Mess?” HERE)

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Two Previously Deported Illegal Aliens Allegedly Murdered Two Women in Two States.. In 24 Hours

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A 24-hour period last Wednesday and Thursday saw two cases of male illegal immigrants allegedly murdering women in two separate U.S. states: California and Texas. In both instances, the women’s murder could have been prevented by authorities had they enforced existing U.S. immigration laws and/or had the U.S.-Mexico border been functionally secured. The California murder involved an illegal immigrant who had been previously deported five times with seven felonies and the Texas murder involved an illegal immigrant who had been deported on four previous occasions. In the Texas case, local Laredo police had been called to the man’s house on at least three occasions over domestic disputes, yet they failed to contact Border Patrol about the man, according to federal agents.

The California murder was covered by Breitbart California’s Michelle Moons. She wrote:

Five-time deportee and seven-time convicted felon Francisco Sanchez has been jailed on suspicion of shooting and killing 31-year-old Kathryn Steinle Wednesday evening while taking photos with her father at Pier 14 in San Francisco, California. Sanchez was freed after the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department refused to honor a request by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain him, following a policy adopted in 2014. He was arrested soon after the shooting.

The immigration status and history in the Texas case was broken by this reporter when sources within the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency revealed that the murderer had been previously deported. The alleged confessed murderer is named Juan Francisco De Luna Vasquez and he allegedly beat his wife to death with a hammer. I wrote:

Breitbart Texas has exclusively confirmed that a man who confessed to murdering his wife with a hammer in Laredo, Texas is a four-time deported illegal immigrant who would not have been in the U.S. had he not been able to illegally cross back into the country multiple times from Mexico after his deportations. In addition, the Laredo Police Department continuously encountered the man in violent episodes with his wife, yet did not notify Border Patrol, according to federal agents who spoke with Breitbart Texas on the condition of anonymity.

(Read more from “Two Previously Deported Illegal Aliens Allegedly Murdered Two Women in Two States.. In 24 Hours” HERE)

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Woman Frisked, Jailed, for Not Doing This

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A western Michigan woman heads to court Tuesday after being arrested for failing to renew her dog’s license.

Becky Rehr says she drove to the Kalamazoo County sheriff’s office June 23 to prove that she’s recently renewed the license for the family’s 11-year-old dog, Dexter. Rehr’s 14-year-old daughter waited in the car as her mother was arrested, fingerprinted and held for three hours, The Kalamazoo Gazette said.

“They frisked me and put me in this intake cell with all these inmates in orange jumpsuits,” Rehr said. “I was pretty nervous.” (Read more from “Woman Frisked, Jailed, for Not Doing This” HERE)

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Republicans Cast Into Turmoil as Donald Trump Rides the Populist Surge

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By Philip Sherwell. For Donald Trump the entrepreneur, it was a damaging week. Two major television networks severed ties, Macy’s dropped his clothing line and Carlos Slim, the even richer Mexican tycoon, ended a joint venture with him.

But for Donald Trump the inveterate showman and Republican challenger for president, the week was a triumph as he climbed in the opinion polls and dominated media coverage, despite the backlash against his decision to condemn Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug traffickers.

“Wow, Huffington Post just stated that I am number one in the polls of Republican candidates,” the brash billionaire bragged as the week closed, citing the liberal media outlet that has been a platform for many of the strongest attacks on him. “Thank you, but the work has just begun!”

Mr Trump was touting his first place in an average of 105 polls. Of the 14 candidates who have declared, Trump topped the field with 13.6 per cent support to 13.3 per cent for Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and son and brother of two past presidents.

The property mogul, reality television star and beauty pageant owner with the most flamboyant comb-over in public life may seem like a caricature and a political joke. (Read more from “Republicans Cast Into Turmoil as Donald Trump Rides the Populist Surge” HERE)

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Ted Cruz: ‘I Salute Donald Trump’

By Newsmax. While several of his competitors run in the opposite direction, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz says he won’t attack primary rival Donald Trump for his comments on Mexican immigrants. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“I salute Donald Trump for focusing on the need to address illegal immigration,” the Texas senator said on NBC’s Meet the Press in an interview that aired Sunday. “The Washington cartel doesn’t want to address that. The Washington cartel doesn’t believe we need to secure the borders. The Washington cartel supports amnesty and I think amnesty’s wrong, and I salute Donald Trump for focusing on it. He has a colorful way of speaking. It’s not the way I speak, but I’m not going to engage in the media’s game of throwing rocks and attacking other Republicans. I’m just not going to do it” . . .

“I’ve said very clearly that Donald Trump does not represent the Republican Party,” said Perry, a former Texas governor, in an interview that aired on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, according to a network transcript. “I was offended by his remarks.”

“I like Donald Trump,” Cruz said. “He’s bold he’s brash. And I get that it seems the favorite sport of the American media is to encourage some Republicans to attack other Republicans. I ain’t gonna do it. I’m not interested in Republican-on-Republican violence.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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Mitt Romney Joins Marco Rubio in Attacking Donald Trump Over Immigration Comments

By Matthew Boyle. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney attacked real estate mogul and 2016 GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday, telling a CNN reporter he thinks Trump’s remarks on illegal immigrants were a “severe error.”

“Do you think Donald Trump’s comments on Mexicans have hurt the Republican Party?” a reporter asked Romney in video carried on CNN on Saturday.

“Yes, I think he made a severe error in saying what he did about Mexican-Americans,” Romney replied. “And it’s unfortunate” . . .

[Marco] Rubio slammed Trump, too.

“Trump’s comments are not just offensive and inaccurate, but also divisive,” Rubio said. “Our next president needs to be someone who brings Americans together – not someone who continues to divide. Our broken immigration system is something that needs to be solved, and comments like this move us further from – not closer to – a solution. We need leaders who offer serious solutions to secure our border and fix our broken immigration system.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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Clinton Campaign Ropes off Reporters at New Hampshire Parade [+video]

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By Joseph Weber. Campaign aides for Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton on Saturday roped off reporters from the candidate as she walked and talked with potential voters during a July Fourth parade in New Hampshire, sparking frustration from the press corps and outrage from the state Republican Party.

“Hillary Clinton continues to demonstrate her obvious contempt and disdain for the Granite State’s style of grassroots campaigning,” New Hampshire Republican State Committee Chairman Jennifer Horn said in a statement. “The use of a rope line at a New Hampshire parade is a sad joke and insults the traditions of our first-in-the-nation primary.”

Reporters were reportedly allowed to get close to Clinton but were later herded away by campaign aides concerned about crowd control.

“Spectacle of Clinton as candidate — press being pulled along with a rope,” tweeted New York Times presidential campaign correspondent Maggie Haberman.

The campaign responded to the outrage, telling CNN: “While the GOP might want to spin a good yarn on this, let’s not get tied up in knots. We wanted to accommodate the press, allow (Clinton) greet voters (sic.) And allow the press to be right there in the parade with her, as opposed to preset locations.” (Read more from “Clinton Campaign Ropes off Reporters at New Hampshire Parade” HERE)

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Hillary Asked About Backlash to Donald Trump, Here’s Her Response

By The Right Scoop. Here’s a great little glimpse at how the media treats Hillary and how she treats them. In this little clip a reporter tosses her a softball about Trump, basically asking her, “go ahead and tell us how bad Trump is.”

Watch below:

(Read more from this story HERE)

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‘The Worst Visual Metaphor’: CNN Panel Blasts Hillary’s Reporter Rope Line

By Al Weaver. CNN’s “State of the Union” panel ripped former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her campaign Sunday one day after staffers corralled the press behind a rope as Clinton walked in a Fourth of July parade in New Hampshire.

The panel consisting of CNN contributors S.E. Cupp and Van Jones, The Wall Street Journal’s Carol Lee, and CNN political reporter Jeff Zeleny roasted Clinton’s rope line, with Jones calling it “the worst visual metaphor” for her campaign.

“This is humiliating for reporters who have to abide by Hillary Clinton’s rules of journalism,” Cupp told host Jake Tapper. “And it’s not just this. I mean, the entire campaign, she has kept them at a distance, she barely answers questions, there’s all these rules. And actually I don’t blame her, I blame reporters who put up with this. The second they decide we’re not doing this anymore, we’re not going to cover your glossy events the way you want it, then she’ll be forced to change this behavior.”

Zeleny pushed back against Cupp laying the blame at the feet of reporters, saying the campaign is to fault for “trying to wrap her in bubble wrap” in her campaign. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Greece ‘No’ Vote Hits Euro to U.S. Futures Amid Flight to Safety

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By Emma O’Brien and Benjamin Purvis. Greek voters’ rejection of austerity coursed through financial markets Monday, as Asian stocks and U.S. index futures slipped with the euro and crude oil amid flight to the safest assets. Chinese index futures jumped after the country stepped up efforts to arrest an equity selloff.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 1 percent by 10:10 a.m. in Tokyo, with Japanese and Korean gauges falling more than 1 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slid 1.2 percent. The euro was down 0.6 percent versus the dollar, paring an earlier drop of as much as 1.3 percent as high-yielding currencies declined while the yen advanced. Treasuries and Asian bonds jumped with credit risk. U.S. oil tumbled 3 percent. FTSE China A50 Index futures rallied 6.3 percent.

Greeks defied opinion polls predicting a tight race, with more than 60 percent voting to reject austerity measures required to win another bailout package. The result means Greece’s exit from the currency union is now the base-case scenario, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said, with European leaders calling for a summit. China suspended initial public offerings and brokerages pledged to buy shares in weekend measures aimed at halting the steepest plunge in local stocks since 1992.

“It’s definitely risk off, markets don’t like uncertainty,” Kumar Palghat, managing director of Kapstream Capital Ltd., which oversees the equivalent of about $6.9 billion in Sydney, said in a Bloomberg TV interview. “The question from the market is, is this going to continue or are they going to come up with a solution? China is more important to Asia than Greece is, but remember we live in a globalized world, so what happens in Greece affects other countries and other regions as well” . . .

With all of the vote counted, support for the “no” camp was at 61 percent, while 39 percent voted “yes” to the demands, according results on the Greek Interior Ministry website. A poll commissioned by Bloomberg had 43 percent voting “no” and 42.5 percent intending to accept creditors’ conditions. The survey had a three percentage-point margin of error. (Read more from “Greece ‘No’ Vote Hits Euro to U.S. Futures Amid Flight to Safety” HERE)


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Sugar, Flour, Rice: Panicked Greeks Stock up on Essentials

By Pauline Froissart. Greeks were hoarding cash and food Saturday amid mounting fears the economy could collapse, cracking open their wallets only to stock up on essentials and stripping supermarket shelves in the process.

Mothers, elderly men and university students were spotted pushing heavily overloaded trolleys or coming out of shops weighed down by bags of food, with essentials such as sugar, flour and pasta top of the list.

In the well-off area of Glyfada in Athens residents appeared to have panicked, thrusting everything from vast rolls of toilet paper to multiple packs of lentils into their carts.

“Most people are buying food now because they fear the worst,” said Andreas Koutras, a 51-year old who works in finance, referring to a referendum Sunday on Greece’s bailout which could seal its financial fate.

AFP photographs showed rows upon rows of empty shelves in supermarkets and shoppers said they were taking no chances, snapping up canned milk, chocolate and rice — anything non-perishable that could be stored. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Heaven Help This Poor Child: Supposed Cutting-Edge Parents Let 3-Year-Old Son Decide He’s a Girl [+video]

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By Tom Tillison. Being transgender is hip in liberal circles today, yet another class of victimization to corral Democratic voters, but some parents appear a little too eager to see their children enter into the stage of perpetual confusion.

So eager that they encourage the transition from one gender to another as early as pre-school.

In a recent interview with NPR, Mary Carter, from Oakland, Ca., talked about “the day” her 3-and-a-half-year-old son, Jack, decided he wanted to be a girl.

“Jackie just looked really, really sad, sadder than a 3-and-a-half-year-old should look,” Carter told NPR. “This weight that looked like it weighed more than she did, something she had to say and I didn’t know what that was” . . .

“So I asked. I said, ‘Jackie, are you sad that you’re not going to school today?’ And Jackie was really quiet and put her head down and said ‘No, I’m sad because I’m a boy.’” (Read more from “‘Heaven Help This Poor Child’: Cutting-Edge Parents Let 3-Year-Old Son Decide He’s a Girl” HERE)

(Listen to a man who used to be “transgendered” hammer parents’ criminality for helping children choose their sex)

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Canada Court Rules Right to Gay Sex Trumps Religious Liberty

By Blake Neff. A court in Canada has upheld the denial of accreditation to a Christian law school, holding the private school’s prohibition of homosexual behavior is sufficiently discriminatory that its degrees can be invalidated for that reason alone.

Trinity Western University is a 4,000-student, evangelical Protestant college in the Vancouver suburb of Langley. It has been seeking to open a law school, but has struggled to obtain accreditation in several provinces. This difficulty is not based on the school’s academics, but rather is based on outside objections to the covenant the school makes all students and professors sign. The covenant, among other things, forbids all sex other than that within heterosexual marriage, a rule opponents say discriminates against both gays and those who do not believe in marriage.

Based on the rule, the Law Society of Upper Canada, which governs bar admission in Ontario, refused to accredit the school, meaning graduates would not be allowed to practice law in the province. Trinity sued, leading to Thursday’s decision.

In its ruling, the Ontario Superior Court found that the denial of accreditation did violate Trinity’s freedom of religion, but that this violation was acceptable because of the greater good of protecting equality. Trinity tried to argue that its covenant was non-discriminatory, because it only governed behavior rather than beliefs or innate traits, but the court said that explanation wouldn’t fly.

“Individuals who may not believe in marriage, or LGBTQ persons, may attend (Trinity) but they must first sign the community covenant and thus, in essence, disavow not only their beliefs but, in the case of LGBTQ individuals, their very identity,” the court said. “To assert that that result is not, at its core, discriminatory is to turn a blind eye to the true impact and effect of the community covenant.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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Guess Who Obama Left out of His Fourth of July Speech?

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By Michael Dorstewitz. President Obama’s Fourth of July address was lacking one important element — especially on the occasion of America’s birthday.

It missed the part at the very end, when most presidents — including the current one — say something like “May God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.”

In fact, he didn’t mention God at all.

Instead, he said, “Thanks, everybody. From my family to yours, have a safe and happy Fourth of July.”

He may as well have said, “Tell all your friends you love Obamacare.” (Read more from “Guess Who Obama Left out of His Fourth of July Speech?” HERE)

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Not Everyone Likes the Fourth of July-Themed Al Jazeera Video That Does This

By Sharona Schwartz. Al Jazeera’s digital media platform AJ+ posted a Fourth of July-themed video mocking Americans as fat, cheese-eating, gun-toting, pill-popping, racist porn watchers.

While some on social media applauded the creation, others slammed the Qatar-owned network for using the holiday “to dump” on America.

Social media users got particularly riled up by the criticism coming from the channel owned by Qatar — a country where stoning is a legal punishment under Shariah law, women have second class legal status, writers can be imprisoned for criticizing the emir and abuse of foreign laborers has been repeatedly criticized by human rights groups.

The video is sarcastically titled “Americans Show Why USA Is The #1 Country In The World.”

After lauding the U.S. as world leader in Olympic medals, Nobel laureates and billionaires, young actors then go on to mock the U.S. for “the most incarcerated people in the world. God-bless the prison industrial complex.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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