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Dow closes more than 300 lower as 10-year Treasury yield soars to another 16-year high
(CNBC) -- Stocks dropped Wednesday as earnings season gained steam and Treasury yields climbed to multiyear highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 332.57 points, or 0.98%, to finish at 33,665.08. The S&P 500 slid 1.34% to 4,314.60, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.62% to 13,314.30. None of the three major indexes traded in positive territory at any point during the session.
The 10-year Treasury yield climbed on Wednesday, breaking above 4.9% for the first time since 2007. Meanwhile, the average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage rate just hit 8%, the highest level since mid-2000.
-WND News Services
Experts worried about US, UK and Italian economies – Reuters
The uncontrolled accumulation of debt by Western countries, along with social spending and rising climate-change costs, are increasing the risk of a new global financial crisis in developed economies, Reuters reported on Monday.
Global debt surged by $10 trillion to a record $307 trillion in the first half of the year, with wealthy countries accounting for more than 80% of that increase, the outlet said, citing the Institute of International Finance. State borrowing is near or higher than 100% of output in Britain, the US and Italy.
The United States, which avoided a default after reaching its debt limit this year, as well as Italy and the UK are now of primary concern, according to more than 20 prominent economists, investors and former policymakers polled by Reuters.
The US national debt surged by more than $500 billion in just 20 days to reach $33.5 trillion, according to data provided by the Treasury Department last week.
“You can take many, many countries today, and you will see that we are not far away from a public finances crisis,” said Peter Praet, former chief economist at the European Central Bank.
Adding to the pressure, interest payments on debts are surging, lifted by higher rates.
The current “fragile” economic environment with rising borrowing costs and dwindling central bank support is putting developed countries on the brink of a market rout, economists suggest.
“If you have an accident, or a combination of events, then you go into an adverse, non-linear, dynamic sort of process. That is something which is a real possibility,” Praet warned.
Government borrowing in Italy exceeded $3 trillion in July, making it the most indebted country in the Eurozone after Greece, and one of the most highly indebted nations in the world. Its debt risk premium surged in October as Rome cut growth and increased budget deficit forecasts.
Longer term, “government debt trajectories pose the biggest threat to macroeconomic and financial stability,” said Claudio Borio, head of the Bank for International Settlements’ monetary and economic department.
Investors are worried about “uncomfortable” debt levels and claim that a lack of credibility towards governments’ spending strategies could trigger market turmoil, while the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East could further exacerbate challenges already facing the global economy.
-RT News
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Russia and China sign major grain contract – TASS
Moscow and Beijing have signed a major deal on long-term supplies of Russian grain to China, TASS reported on Wednesday.
Russia is building up new export routes for its agricultural produce as part of the New Land Grain Corridor (NLGC) initiative.
Worth 2.5 trillion rubles ($25.7 billion), the contract is one of the largest ever deals between the two countries, NLGC’s deputy CEO for development, Karen Ovsepian, told TASS on the sidelines of the international Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Wednesday.
The new 12-year agreement will provide China with 70 million tons of Russian grain, soybeans, and oilseed cargoes.
The NLGC program, led by a company of the same name, is designed to expand grain exports from the Urals, Siberia, and the Russian Far East to China, Central Asia, and the Middle East. The initiative is supported by the Russian and Chinese governments as part of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Economic Belt.
NLGC export infrastructure includes the Zabaikalsky grain terminal on the border with China, as well as a network of grain elevators across Siberia, the Urals, and the Russian Far East. Launched last September, the Zabaikalsky terminal is the first of its kind in the world and is the largest grain logistics facility in Russia. Construction continues at the facility, and the total investment is estimated at 9 billion rubles ($92.5 million), all from private funds.
According to Ovsepian, the latest grain supply agreement will balance the export structure within the Belt and Road Initiative as it will “by far replace the lost volumes of Ukrainian exports” with produce from Siberia and the Russian Far East.
-RT News
Hamas Sympathizers Stage ‘Insurrection’ Inside US Capitol, Assault Cops.
Protestors calling for Israel to accept the attacks from Hamas without response staged disruptive protests outside the U.S. Capitol and inside Congressional office buildings on Wednesday. U.S. Capitol Police appear to have made multiple arrests as protestors have refused to disperse from inside the Cannon House Office Building, with such behavior once labeled an “insurrection” by almost all left-leaning politicians and the corporate media.
According to the Capitol Police, protestors inside Congressional office buildings will be charged with illegally protesting inside a House Office Building. At least three have been arrested for assaulting police.
Hundreds of members of the pro-Palestinian group Jewish Voice for Peace took over the lobby of the Cannon House Office Building, staging a sit-in. Protestors were able to hang a black banner with the word “Ceasefire” painted on it from the second-floor balcony of Cannon as police struggled to maintain control.
Outside, on the Capitol grounds, additional protestors were egged on by a handful of Members of Congress including Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). Tlaib once again falsely claimed that the Israeli military was responsible for the explosion at a Gaza hospital that resulted in civilian casualties. The Israeli and U.S. governments have both concluded that the deadly blast was caused by Islamic Jihad rocket aimed at Israel that misfired and hit the hospital parking lot.
Tlaib also had strong words for President Joe Biden, warning her party’s leader that American Muslims won’t forget his decision to back Israel: “A lot of people are not gonna forget this… the fact of the matter is, our lives aren’t safe with you.”
Yesterday, the Senate Sergeant at Arms and the U.S. Capitol Police notified Congressional staffers that a “heightened security posture and an increased police presence will be in place Wednesday…”, noting that Capitol Square would be restricted to Members of Congress, staff, and those on official business. The alert also recommended that Members and staff use the underground tunnels that connect the Congressional office buildings with the U.S. Capitol.
-William Upton, The National Pulse
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U.S. Military Prevents Drone Assault on Troops in Iraq
Early Wednesday, the U.S. military successfully prevented an attack aimed at its forces stationed in Iraq by intercepting two drones before they could land their intended blows. This is the first such assault on U.S. troops in the country in over a year, as confirmed by two U.S. officials who discussed the matter with Reuters. While the sources did not identify a specific group behind the attempt, there has been increased watchfulness for actions by Iran-backed factions due to the growing tension in the region resulting from the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Only a week prior, Iraqi armed groups associated with Iran issued threats against U.S. assets, warning of missile and drone strikes if the U.S. decided to aid Israel in its ongoing struggle against Hamas in Gaza. While the U.S. has swiftly provided air defenses and ammunition to Israel, its closest ally in the Middle East, it has refrained from participating in the hostilities.
The officials revealed that the drones, which were targeted at Iraq’s al Asad air base – a base that accommodates U.S. troops – were successfully thwarted. This development transpired shortly after an explosion at a Gaza hospital took the lives of hundreds of Palestinians. The repercussions of this incident further pressurize U.S. President Joe Biden, who is currently en route to Israel, showcasing his support for its operations against Hamas.
Israel has placed the blame for the explosion at the Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital on the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group’s failed rocket launch. However, this accusation was promptly denied by the aforementioned group. In contradiction, Palestinian officials have attributed the blast to an Israeli airstrike, leading the Palestinian Authority’s health minister to accuse Israel of committing a “massacre.”
Meanwhile, in Iraq, the reverberations of the conflict in Gaza are palpable. Last week, Iraq’s paramount Shi’ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a strong denouncement of Israel, urging global forces to confront the “terrible brutality” happening in Gaza.
Various leaders of Iraqi armed factions have pointed fingers at Israel for the devastating hospital attack. A number of these groups have criticized the U.S. for its support of Israel. Kataib Hezbollah, an influential armed group with strong ties to Iran, charged the U.S. with backing Israel in “killing innocent people.” This group asserted that the U.S. should withdraw from Iraq, stating in a recent proclamation, “These evil people must leave the country, otherwise they will taste the fire of hell in this world before the afterlife.”
Furthermore, Hadi Al-Amiri, the head of the political and military organization the Badr Organisation, echoed these sentiments, censuring both the U.S. and its Western allies for their support of Israel. He referred to the recent hospital attack as “the massacre of the era” and deemed it a war crime.
Currently, there are 2,500 U.S. troops stationed in Iraq, with an additional 900 positioned in the neighboring Syria. Their main mission is to offer guidance and support to local forces battling the Islamic State, which had previously overtaken large sections of territory in both nations in 2014.
In the preceding years, U.S. forces and the U.S. embassy in Baghdad have been recurrent targets of rocket attacks by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. However, thanks to a truce established last year and a relative period of tranquillity in Iraq, these attacks have decreased.
Despite past accusations by U.S. officials, Kataib Hezbollah has refuted claims of orchestrating previous assaults on American assets.
After news of the hospital bombing spread, numerous members from the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a state-affiliated paramilitary group comprising several Iran-backed factions, mobilized in protest. These demonstrators loudly voiced their disapproval of the U.S. and Israel. Some even expressed their intent to breach the U.S. embassy in retaliation for its support of Israel. As noted by a Reuters witness, a fraction of the protesters endeavored to traverse the bridge leading to Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, where the U.S. embassy and other international missions are located, but were halted by security personnel.
-[your]NEWS
Germany readies elite forces for possible Gaza op – Bild
The German government has decided to deploy some of the nation’s top Special Forces units to Cyprus as it prepares for potential crisis situations in Israel, Gaza, and the Middle East, the tabloid Bild reported on Wednesday, citing security sources.
The German Army’s Special Forces Command (KSK) has been deployed to the island nation in the Eastern Mediterranean, Bild said, adding that the Navy Special Forces (KSM) unit, also known as combat swimmers, was deployed to the area as well. The federal police Special Forces unit specializing in rescuing hostages (GSG 9) was sent there as well, the tabloid reported.
According to Bild, Berlin is preparing for “all scenarios” amid a continued escalation between Israel and the Gaza-based Palestinian Hamas militant group. The conflict broke out after Hamas launched a massive attack against Israel, barraging it with rockets and briefly overrunning Israeli settlements located not far from Gaza. The attack and the follow-up clashes between the militants and the Israeli military claimed the lives of more than 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, according to authorities.
The militants also took more than 200 people hostage during their raid, Hamas has confirmed. According to Bild, there is a “double-digit number” of German citizens among the captives. The Special Forces could potentially be used to rescue them, the tabloid said, adding that the units could also be deployed to evacuate German citizens working in Gaza or even to help Germans get out of Lebanon if the conflict between Israel and Hamas spreads into its territory.
All the necessary equipment as well as several military transport aircraft, including the Airbus A400M Atlas and Lockheed C-130 Hercules, were transported to Cyprus as well, according to Bild. The government had allegedly already informed the relevant parliamentary committees about its preparations, the media outlet said.
“We are ready for a cold start and prepared for all options,” Berlin said, according to Bild. A “cold start” in the language of the German military means a high state of readiness that would allow the units to be immediately deployed to a relevant area and become operational without any additional preparations.
The news came as tensions around Gaza continued to run high. On Tuesday, a strike on a hospital in Gaza killed more than 500 people, according to the local health authorities. Many Muslim nations immediately blamed the incident on Israel, which strongly denied any connection to the attack and, in turn, blamed it on the local Palestinian militant groups. On Wednesday, massive anti-Israeli demonstrations were held in many nations across the Middle East and North Africa. Protesters took to the streets from Morocco to Iran.
Amid the outcry, US President Joe Biden visited Tel Aviv, where he vowed unwavering support for Israel and also denied that Israel, a key US ally, is responsible for Tuesday’s strike on the hospital.
-RT News
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Saudi Arabia, Japan agree to cooperate to ease Middle East tensions
TOKYO, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed in a call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday to work together to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza and help ease tensions in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Japanese government said.
"The two leaders concurred on maintaining close cooperation between the two countries and working on the improvement of the humanitarian situation and calming down the situation," a Japanese government statement said on their phone call.
Japan, this year's chair of the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies, on Tuesday announced its plan to extend $10 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Gaza residents.
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday pledging solidarity in its war against Hamas and saying that a blast that killed huge numbers of Palestinians at a Gaza hospital appeared to have been caused not by Israel but by its foes.
-Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka, Francis Tang; Editing by Alexandra Hudson, Reuters
Grounds Of U.S. Embassy In Lebanon Set Ablaze
Hundreds of protestors gathered around the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday after a rocket blast at a Gaza hospital reportedly killed hundreds of people.
Tensions heightened in the region following the blast, which Israel and Hamas cast blame upon the other.
“Police had to deploy tear gas to disperse the demonstrators who gathered outside the embassy hours ahead of President Biden’s arrival in neighboring Israel to show support for the Jewish state in its conflict with the terrorist group Hamas,” the New York Post reports.
Video footage shows fires at the grounds of the U.S. Embassy.
The New York Post reports:
One protester was seen on video posted to social media scaling a barbed-wire fence surrounding the building in order to attach a Palestinian flag to the embassy’s flagpole as fellow demonstrators cheered him on from below.
Elsewhere in Beirut, protesters descended on the French Embassy.
The dual demonstrations came just hours after Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah called for “a day of unprecedented anger” in Beirut after the deadly explosion at the Gaza medical center.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry has claimed Israel was responsible for the hospital blast, while the Israel Defense Forces blamed a failed Hamas rocket for the carnage that Gaza authorities said left 500 dead.
The strike marks the deadliest single incident during Israel‘s war against Hamas, which broke out after the terrorist group invaded the Jewish state on Oct. 7 and slaughtered at least 1,400 people.
-Danielle, 100 Percent Fed Up
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FBI Warns of Terrorist Attacks in America
FBI Director Christopher Wray recently warned that the war between Israel and Hamas has triggered concerns of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. This comes after the most recent DHS Threat Assessment report confirmed that attempts by people on the terrorist watchlist to cross into America have significantly risen.
Also, the Biden administration put 2,000 U.S. troops on prepare-to-deploy status, while Iran’s saber-rattling prompts concerns about how close it is to obtaining the capability to create nuclear arms; a reporter asked Biden’s Treasury Secretary if the United States is in any position to dump resources into two wars, given the national deficit; and Trump just told a crowd in Iowa that he’s willing go to jail to save the country. And later in the show, John Birch Society research associate Peter Rykowski joins us to discuss the Second Amendment-related reason to get us out of the UN.
-Paul Dragu, The New American
BREAKING: Twitter user Douglass Mackey sentenced to 7 months in prison after being found guilty of election interference for making memes disparaging Hillary Clinton
Meme-maker Douglass Mackey was sentenced in the Eastern District Court of New York on criminal charges on Wednesday after a March conviction for conspiracy against rights, ie election interference, over memes he created during the 2016 presidential election that disparaged Hillary Clinton.
Mackey was sentenced to 7 months in prison for the crime of making memes the DOJ didn't think were funny. A fundraiser has been launched for his ongoing legal defense.The case was heard in the US Court of the Eastern District of New York. Mackey, who was known as Ricky Vaughn on Twitter, was found guilty of the federal charge after making memes that jokingly encouraged Hillary Clinton supporters to cast their votes via text mesage. This is not actually a viable form of voting, which Mackey, and everyone else, knew. There was no evidence to suggest that any voter attempted to cast their ballot via text in response to Mackey's meme.
"Tomorrow at 1130am," said one supporter, "Doug Mackey will be sentenced in an NYC courtroom on a sham “conspiracy” conviction for sharing an anti-Hillary meme, all thanks to a bunch of lies and half-truths spewed by a morbidly obese fed informant who goes by the name Microchip."
The meme that Mackey was convicted of disseminating was directed at Hillary Clinton voters, but other memes, also instructing people to vote for president via text, were distributed by social media users telling people to cast their vote for Trump via text. Mackey was convicted while no one else was even charged.
-Libby Emmons, The Post Millennial
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