Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge – American Political Report https://americanpoliticalreport.com There's a thin line between ringing alarm bells and fearmongering. Fri, 06 Dec 2024 16:44:11 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://americanpoliticalreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cropped-Square-32x32.jpg Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge – American Political Report https://americanpoliticalreport.com 32 32 237576155 Russia Closes Polish Consulate as Warsaw Accuses Moscow of ‘Sabotage, Terrorism’ https://americanpoliticalreport.com/russia-closes-polish-consulate-as-warsaw-accuses-moscow-of-sabotage-terrorism/ https://americanpoliticalreport.com/russia-closes-polish-consulate-as-warsaw-accuses-moscow-of-sabotage-terrorism/#respond Fri, 06 Dec 2024 16:44:11 +0000 https://americanpoliticalreport.com/russia-closes-polish-consulate-as-warsaw-accuses-moscow-of-sabotage-terrorism/ (Zero Hedge)—Polish-Russian relations have continued to spiral toward complete non-existence, and the two sides have long been on the brink of breaking off official relations altogether.

Most of the tit-for-tat actions over the past couple years have focused on mutual accusations of spying. Currently, Poland is threatening to shutter all Russian consulates on Polish soil over espionage and ‘terrorism’.

On Thursday Russia ordered the closure if the Polish consulate in St. Petersburg and told its diplomats to immediately leave the country, in the latest escalation.

“Three diplomatic staff members of the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in St. Petersburg have been declared persona non grata,” the Russian Foreign Ministry announced.

This move is being described as in retaliation for the prior closure of a Russian consulate in the Polish city of Poznan in the western part of the NATO country. The Kremlin has further cited Poland’s “openly hostile policy” toward Moscow as a reason behind the move.

Poland and EU states have accused Moscow of “intimidation, the instrumentalization of migrants, sabotage, disinformation, foreign information manipulation and interference.”

As for a potential new response from the Polish government, a statement has warned:

“If acts of diversion and terrorism continue, I will close down the rest of the Russian consulate presence in Poland,” Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters after Moscow announced the closure of its St. Petersburg consulate.

On the military front, some Polish top officials have recently argued that the country’s military should be actively intercepting Russian missiles threatening Ukrainian territory, especially ones that fly close to Poland’s border in the region of Western Ukraine.

Poland has generally been among the most hawkish Western allies when it comes to escalating support to Kiev forces in Ukraine.

Warsaw has throughout the conflict played host to a build-up of Western weapons along NATO’s ‘eastern flank’ – and Moscow has especially been alarmed that US missiles have been placed in northern Poland in the Baltic Sea region.

]]> https://americanpoliticalreport.com/russia-closes-polish-consulate-as-warsaw-accuses-moscow-of-sabotage-terrorism/feed/ 0 229779 CEO of UnitedHealthcare Murdered in Targeted Attack in Manhattan https://americanpoliticalreport.com/ceo-of-unitedhealthcare-murdered-in-targeted-attack-in-manhattan/ https://americanpoliticalreport.com/ceo-of-unitedhealthcare-murdered-in-targeted-attack-in-manhattan/#respond Wed, 04 Dec 2024 14:35:47 +0000 https://americanpoliticalreport.com/ceo-of-unitedhealthcare-murdered-in-targeted-attack-in-manhattan/ (Zero Hedge)—NYC media outlet PIX11 News has learned that the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the parent company of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, was shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan, just outside the Hilton Hotel.

“Multiple sources confirm to @PIX11News that United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed outside the Hilton hotel in midtown just before 7 am, where he was slated to speak at a investor meeting later today,” PIX11’s Dan Mannarino wrote on X.

Brian Thompson’s LinkedIn profile.

NYPost reports the fatal shooting of CEO Brian Thompson,50, was a “targeted attack.”

Here’s more:

The CEO of UnitedHealth was fatally shot in the chest Wednesday morning outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown in what police say was a targeted attack. Brian Thompson, 50, was at the hotel at around 6:46 am when a masked man fired at the CEO and fled eastbound on 6th Avenue, police sources told The Post. Thomas was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Thompson became CEO of UnitedHealthcare in 2021 after joining UnitedHealth Group in 2004. UnitedHealth Group is largest health insurance company in the US by revenue, with over $189 billion in 2024.

]]> https://americanpoliticalreport.com/ceo-of-unitedhealthcare-murdered-in-targeted-attack-in-manhattan/feed/ 0 229685 “Already Pretty Far Down the Line”: The Container Store Could File for Bankruptcy as Soon as Next Year https://americanpoliticalreport.com/already-pretty-far-down-the-line-the-container-store-could-file-for-bankruptcy-as-soon-as-next-year/ https://americanpoliticalreport.com/already-pretty-far-down-the-line-the-container-store-could-file-for-bankruptcy-as-soon-as-next-year/#respond Wed, 04 Dec 2024 10:49:32 +0000 https://americanpoliticalreport.com/already-pretty-far-down-the-line-the-container-store-could-file-for-bankruptcy-as-soon-as-next-year/ (Zero Hedge)—As the retail apocalypse that started with Amazon and e-commerce continues, the latest victim is The Container Store.

The retail giant could file for bankruptcy as soon as next year, according to the New York Post, who said the retailer is blaming its recent descent on “a weak housing market and inflated prices” hurting sales.

The chain, based in Coppell, Texas, saw a pandemic-driven surge in 2020 and 2021 as homebound consumers, inspired by Marie Kondo’s Netflix show, embraced decluttering.

However, a sluggish housing market and persistent inflation have curbed moves, home renovations, and discretionary spending, shrinking demand for storage products. Or, in other words, people simply have less money for crap nowadays.

The Post reported that the Container Store faces a “high probability” of bankruptcy next year, according to Tim Hynes, global head of credit research at Debtwire, following the path of retailers like Big Lots and LL Flooring.

Amid a record wave of store closures predicted this year by Coresight Research, The Container Store has shown signs of distress. In May, it suspended its earnings outlook and began a strategic review to address declining performance. In its latest quarter ending September 28, sales dropped 10.5%, with losses totaling $30.8 million.

A potential $40 million lifeline from Beyond, owner of Bed Bath & Beyond and Overstock.com, to stock Bed Bath & Beyond products appears in jeopardy. Last week, Bed Bath & Beyond hinted the deal might collapse, citing The Container Store’s inability to meet financing conditions.

Hynes said: “I don’t see any dramatic increase in holiday sales that will change the situation. They are already pretty far down the line.”

Incidentally, this also means a lot of bored housewives could be looking for new ‘projects’ heading into the New Year, so stay out of their way…

]]> https://americanpoliticalreport.com/already-pretty-far-down-the-line-the-container-store-could-file-for-bankruptcy-as-soon-as-next-year/feed/ 0 229648 “Corrupt to the Core”: Democrats in Disarray Over Hunter Pardon as “Rule of Law” Narrative Implodes https://americanpoliticalreport.com/corrupt-to-the-core-democrats-in-disarray-over-hunter-pardon-as-rule-of-law-narrative-implodes/ https://americanpoliticalreport.com/corrupt-to-the-core-democrats-in-disarray-over-hunter-pardon-as-rule-of-law-narrative-implodes/#respond Tue, 03 Dec 2024 11:19:13 +0000 https://americanpoliticalreport.com/corrupt-to-the-core-democrats-in-disarray-over-hunter-pardon-as-rule-of-law-narrative-implodes/ (ZeroHedge)—Absolute chaos has broken out on the left following Joe Biden’s blanket pardon of his son Hunter – which spans the period right before Hunter joined the board of Ukrainian energy giant Burisma (for $1M/year), through yesterday evening.

It was also revealed that months of denying this would happen were pure lies, as the pardon had been in the works for months.

In short, it couldn’t be any more obvious that Hunter was simply the Biden family bag-man. As X user @therealZNO notes:

In 2013-2014, the United States orchestrated a violent coup that toppled Ukraine’s democratically elected government, which led to the ousting of President Yanukovych.

Events that followed:

> April 16, 2014: VP Biden meets with Devon Archer at the White House.
> April 21, 2014: VP Biden visits Ukraine and becomes U.S. policy face.
> April 22, 2014: Archer joins Burisma’s board.
> April 28, 2014: British officials seized $23M from Burisma’s owner.
> May 12, 2014: Hunter Biden joins Burisma’s board, and both were paid millions.

In 2019, an investigation revealed that the Obama administration knew Hunter Biden’s position on Burisma’s board was problematic and interfered with U.S. policy in Ukraine.

The investigation also uncovered approved transactions involving the Obama administration which allowed a Chinese government-owned company and an investment firm with Chinese ties to acquire Henniges, a U.S. military technology firm—Bohai Harvest RST (BHR)—linked to Hunter Biden and Chris Heinz.

This is barely the tip of the iceberg.

And while the right is saying ‘I told you so, assholes…’, the left, and never-Trump ‘conservatives’ alike, are having an internal meltdown over Hunter’s pardon. Many are opining that this sets a devastating precedent in that Trump can essentially pardon anyone he wants. Others are defending the pardon – suggesting that the incoming Trump administration would go after Hunter (You mean, for the obvious family corruption?).

Former Obama AG Eric Holder defended the pardon, suggesting that Hunter didn’t really do anything all that bad (and Mike Cernovich with a killer response).

The Never-Trump conservatives over at The Bulwark defended the pardon (while their CEO said the opposite on X).

These people are unbelievable!

The bottom line is that Democrats have lied through the last four years with impunity (as tends to happen).

Or as X user @BucMon21 puts it, the Biden family is “Corrupt to the core.” (and that doesn’t even cover Beau Biden keeping a DuPont heir out of prison for raping his own toddler).

And of course, The View is defending Hunter:

At least the Breakfast Club came correct:

During the 2024 election the Democrats ran their campaign on two narrative pillars – First, the idea that progressives are the guardians of “democracy” in the face of some conservative conspiracy to undermine the will of the people. Second, that they are the party with respect for the rule of law while conservatives are lawless barbarians. Both narratives were utter nonsense and the opposite is generally true, but this kind of rhetorical spin is not really meant to convince the people that oppose Democrats. Rather, it’s meant to convince their devout electoral base and keep those lemmings in line with the message.

The claim that Democrats are the anointed purveyors of democracy has been thoroughly debunked after Donald Trump won the presidency with the electoral college and the popular vote. In light of this fact, leftist commentators and the media have decided that the loss was not due to their own failings, but the fault of “stupid voters” that just don’t understand how important the progressive ideology is. Truly, these are the kinds of people that respect the democratic process…

The second claim, that Democrats are models of civic duty with a deep regard for the rule of law, was largely based on a Trump vs Biden legal woes comparison. The political left argued that Joe’s handling of his son Hunter Biden’s federal charges and degenerate lifestyle was fair and just because he had not abused his position as president to get his family out of trouble. This was specifically mentioned in reference to Trump’s intention to pardon J6 prisoners.

Biden, they said, would never exploit the presidency to protect convicted criminals for personal gain, even if one of those criminals was his own son. He’s just too honorable.

Leap ahead a few months and suddenly all those same Dems are silent, or, they are defending the blanket pardon Biden just pushed forward for Hunter. As a reminder, let’s take a look back at the self righteous Democrat finger wagging and self delusion that led up to this embarrassing moment:

Set aside the fact that the Biden Administration actively weaponized the legal apparatus to take down a political opponent using fabricated charges – The reality that Joe Biden gave his son a pardon that reaches all the way back to 2014 indicates a personal knowledge of Hunter’s criminal dealings over the course of a decade. Likely, this knowledge comes from Joe Biden’s involvement in those same dealings. At the very least he used his position within government to trade for benefits and used his son as a proxy.

It’s very hard now for Democrats to pretend like they’re the party of legal integrity. When it comes down to progressive leaders or their family actually facing consequences for their actions, the law goes straight out the window.

And of course, Jim Biden’s pardon is coming next:

]]> https://americanpoliticalreport.com/corrupt-to-the-core-democrats-in-disarray-over-hunter-pardon-as-rule-of-law-narrative-implodes/feed/ 0 229589 Commercial Real Estate Bond Distress Reaches Record High https://americanpoliticalreport.com/commercial-real-estate-bond-distress-reaches-record-high/ https://americanpoliticalreport.com/commercial-real-estate-bond-distress-reaches-record-high/#respond Tue, 03 Dec 2024 09:15:00 +0000 https://americanpoliticalreport.com/commercial-real-estate-bond-distress-reaches-record-high/ (Zero Hedge)—Commercial real estate continues to suffer despite the Federal Reserve’s attempt at ameliorating the capital markets with a 50-basis point rate cut in September.

The pain is especially apparent in the so-called “CRE-CLO” bond market. CRE-CLO bonds are packaged commercial real estate mortgages comprising short-term floating rate loans. These bridge loans were recently, and most notably, used to facilitate the biggest apartment investment bubble in history, but were also used in financing other commercial real estate sectors including office, retail, hotel, industrial, and self-storage.

Most of the current batch of bridge loans originated in the 2020-2022 period—when benchmark rates were near zero and commercial real estate prices were peaking—and carried maturities of three to five years. Benchmark rates are now much higher, prices much lower, and property performance far worse than anticipated. Thus, a wall of maturities is staring borrowers, lenders, and bondholders in the face, all while underlying property performance disappoints.

Despite attempts by lenders to extend and pretend—kicking the can down the road in the short term to avoid defaults until the Federal Reserve lowers rates enough to bail them out—their delusions of reprieve may be fading fast.

Apartment Investors Play Checkers Instead of Chess

At the end of Q3, the distress rate for CRE-CLO loans across all commercial real estate sectors reached 13.1 percent, an all-time high. Distress in this instance is defined as any loan reported 30 days or more delinquent, past the maturity date, in special servicing (typically due to a drop in occupancy or a failure to meet certain performance criteria), or any combination thereof.Commercial Real Estate Bond Distress Reaches Record High

While roughly one in seven loans meets these criteria, the weakness is concentrated in two or three sectors.

Unsurprisingly, office properties have the highest rate of distress, with nearly one in five CRE-CLO office loans experiencing current distress. This is to be expected after the covid panic of 2020, subsequent to which various “work-from-home” directives essentially made the office market obsolete.

For similar reasons, distress is also high in the retail segment, as all but the most well-heeled retailers were forced under by the maniacal and criminal government edicts of the time.

However, the real story here is in the apartment, or multifamily, sector. Seen in Figure 1, the distress rate for apartments touched 16.4 percent in August. An astonishing number, indicating that one in six apartment bridge loans were distressed. The improvement to 13.7 percent shown for September is seasonal, as renters settle in at the start of the school year.

While this picture is bad enough, the reality under the surface is far worse. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, using Q2 data from MSCI, the batch of currently distressed apartment bridge loans comprise roughly $14 billion in total loans, but there exists an additional $81 billion in potentially distressed loans. MSCI categorizes loans as “potentially distressed” if they have seen delinquent payments, forbearance (when the lender lets interest payments accrue rather than taking a default action), or where key performance metrics like occupancy and net operating income are dangerously low.Commercial Real Estate Bond Distress Reaches Record High

The arithmetically-aware will note that if the $14 billion of currently distressed apartment bridge loans comprise a roughly 14 percent distress rate at the end of Q2 (as shown in Figure 1) and there are an additional $81 billion in potentially distressed loans not yet categorized as “currently distressed” (as shown in Figure 2), then MSCI data implies that 95 percent of all apartment bridge loans are either currently distressed or in imminent danger of distress.

While astounding, this level of distress will come as no surprise to veterans of the apartment market. In the 2020-22 period, bridge loans of this variety were ubiquitous above a certain minimum loan size. And, because of the extreme and reckless nature of money printing undertaken by the Federal Reserve during this time—when interest rates were effectively zero—lenders underwrote property acquisitions with a 1.0x debt service coverage ratio (“DSCR”), meaning the initial net operating income of the property was projected to just cover interest payments, with nothing left over.

Bridge loan interest rates floated at a spread (typically around 350 basis points, or 3.5 percent) to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), which was essentially 0 percent until mid-2022. Because of the 1.0x DSCR standard, a property acquired during this period that had net operating income of $1 million would have also had interest payments of $1 million at the then-prevailing interest rate of 3.5 percent.

SOFR is now 4.9 percent, indicating a total interest rate of 8.4 percent (SOFR + 3.5 percent spread). This same property now has interest payments of $2.4 million while net operating income is unlikely to have increased to any significant extent, if at all. Insurance and property tax increases in particular have damaged apartment profitability while rent increases have been difficult to execute in the face of stagnating real wages. By the same token, absurdly optimistic renovation plans have been impossible in the face of cash flows increasingly shunted towards paying interest.

The Amazing Disappearing Rate Cut

The high amount of potential distress in CRE-CLO bonds, and the loans that underlie them, indicate an expectation on the part of lenders that help is coming in the form of lower interest rates. After all, capital markets have become used to being bailed out by the Federal Reserve, all but demanding that the taxpayer—not they—be held responsible for their poor decisions. Nevertheless, the Fed’s recent rate cut is proving not to be the magic bullet on which lenders relied.

By August of this year, futures markets had fully priced in a 25-50 basis point Fed rate cut in September, and were expecting additional 25 basis point cuts in November and December. This expectation for the Fed Funds Rate carried over into Treasury yields, a key benchmark for the commercial real estate industry. Particularly important in the case of distressed bridge loans since any hopes of refinancing are placed not on more bridge loans—which are now much less pervasive—but on the fixed-rate agency market comprising Fannie- and Freddie-backed apartment loans, which prices loans off a spread to treasuries.

At the beginning of August, as markets priced in 75-100 bps of Fed rate cuts by year-end, 10-year Treasury yields reacted accordingly, dropping from 4.30 percent in late July (they had been 4.70 percent in April) to 3.65 percent in the middle of September. As of early November, most of that move had been erased—with yields back near 4.30 percent—roughly where they were prior to market pricing in this year’s Fed rate cuts.

Fear and Trembling

Undeniably, participants in the commercial real estate market—apartment bridge lenders in particular—are relying on loose monetary policy for their immediate salvation. They may get their wish. While Treasury rates have moved stubbornly higher, market forces only mean so much if the Fed decides to supplement rate cuts with purchases of treasuries, driving yields lower—another round of quantitative easing.

Nevertheless, to the extent they’re allowed to be heard, market signals are unmistakable. A regime that can’t stop spending and continues to appropriate the property of its citizens through inflation will provide upward pressure on Treasury yields, all else equal. In a free market context, the rent-seekers that comprise the commercial real estate market will have to work out their own salvation.

]]> https://americanpoliticalreport.com/commercial-real-estate-bond-distress-reaches-record-high/feed/ 0 229566 Biden-Linked Delaware Judge Rejects (Again) Musk’s ‘70%-Shareholder-Approved’ $56 Billion Pay-Package https://americanpoliticalreport.com/biden-linked-delaware-judge-rejects-again-musks-70-shareholder-approved-56-billion-pay-package/ https://americanpoliticalreport.com/biden-linked-delaware-judge-rejects-again-musks-70-shareholder-approved-56-billion-pay-package/#respond Tue, 03 Dec 2024 02:08:57 +0000 https://americanpoliticalreport.com/biden-linked-delaware-judge-rejects-again-musks-70-shareholder-approved-56-billion-pay-package/ (Zero Hedge)—Delaware Judge Kathaleen McCormick has once again sided against Elon Musk…

After ruling against the billionaire in July 2022 when he tried to break his $44 billion contract to buy Twitter, and again in January 2024 when she initially rescinded Musk’s record (but “deeply flawed” according to her) $56 billion performance-based compensation package (determining that Tesla deceived shareholders when the all stock compensation was approved in 2018), she has once again ruled that pay package.

Musk’s legal team argued that McCormick should reverse her earlier decision because Tesla had conducted a shareholder vote to “ratify” the 2018 pay plan at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in June, per CNBC.

In fact, 72% of Tesla shareholders voted in June to approve the company’s CEO’s pay package.

The judge said Musk’s attorneys made an argument with multiple “fatal flaws,” including their argument that the shareholder vote was enough to validate the pay package after the fact.

“The large and talented group of defense firms got creative with the ratification argument, but their unprecedented theories go against multiple strains of settled law,” McCormick said in her ruling.

McCormick ruled that the vote on the payment package did not have a “ratifying effect” on the current case, because shareholders had not ratified the payment plan prior to her ruling.

“Were the court to condone the practice of allowing defeated parties to create new facts for the purpose of revising judgments, lawsuits would become interminable,” she wrote.

In addition to rejecting the revisions, Quartz reports that Monday’s decision granted $345 million in attorney fees to the lawyers who successfully challenged Musk’s pay plan on behalf of Tesla shareholders.

The court deemed this amount an “appropriate sum to reward a total victory.”

Tesla has the option to pay this fee in either cash or by issuing stock that can be sold on the open market.

While Musk could appeal the decision to the Delaware Supreme Court, this ruling could have broader implications for how companies structure executive compensation and the role of shareholder votes in such decisions.

Finally, the judge has some interesting ‘friends’…

“Before becoming the head of the Delaware Chancery Court, McCormick worked at a Delaware law firm called Young Conaway.

This firm and its employees have been major donors to President Joe Biden for decades.

In 2016, Hunter Biden hosted a gubernatorial campaign event for Congressman John Carney, with then-Vice President Joe Biden as the guest speaker.

This event took place at the Law Offices of Young Conaway in Wilmington, Delaware.

Carney, a close friend of Joe Biden for the last four decades, later became governor and nominated Kathaleen McCormick, a partner at Young Conaway, to her position on the Delaware Chancery Court.

In a March 2018 email, Hunter Biden claimed to personally know every judge on the Delaware Chancery Court while threatening legal action against his Chinese business partners.

“I will bring the suit in the Chancery court in Delaware – which as you know is my home state and I am privileged to have worked with and know every judge on the chancery court.

… another clear example of the Biden administration and its allies weaponizing the American legal system against their political opponents.”

Tesla issued a statement on X shortly after the decision, confirming that it will appeal her decision….

There is also the fact that Musk’s move to relocate his business to Texas (after telling people on X after the original ruling that “companies should get the hell out of Delaware”) which could change things, but it is is unclear how this will proceed for now.

]]> https://americanpoliticalreport.com/biden-linked-delaware-judge-rejects-again-musks-70-shareholder-approved-56-billion-pay-package/feed/ 0 229551 WINNING: China to Shun Iranian Oil on Mounting Trump Sanction Fears https://americanpoliticalreport.com/winning-china-to-shun-iranian-oil-on-mounting-trump-sanction-fears/ https://americanpoliticalreport.com/winning-china-to-shun-iranian-oil-on-mounting-trump-sanction-fears/#respond Mon, 02 Dec 2024 12:39:53 +0000 https://americanpoliticalreport.com/winning-china-to-shun-iranian-oil-on-mounting-trump-sanction-fears/ (Zero Hedge)—After years of abusing Iranian sanctions and flooding China’s economy with cheap Iranian oil, China’s larger independent refiners are set to shun Iranian oil “imminently” because of their exposure to the US banking system, said Energy Aspects, which expects sanctions to tighten under Trump.

These plants only started buying Iranian crude this year after receiving guidance from the US State Department that sanctions wouldn’t be enforced by the Biden administration, according to a note from the industry consultant, which didn’t name the refiners. If confirmed that would be the latest foreign policy scandal by the captured and corrupt Biden admin, which has made a mockery of sanctions enforcement, especially if the alternative is sharply higher oil and gas prices.

In any case, with the imminent arrival of Trump, the Chinese refining sector will be under significant pressure to consolidate and the government might be “willing to sacrifice the teapots to score some easy points against Trump by clamping down Iranian imports.”

Limiting access would raise the cost of feedstock and slash margins for teapots and help Beijing to trim capacity.

Activity by independent refiners has picked up in the spot market, with a number of plants securing barrels from the Middle East in recent trades, on top of WAF grades purchased two weeks ago. These were all unsold, discounted barrels from the previous cycles.

With Iranian oil set to become extremely scarce, China’s independent refiners have snapped up barrels from across the Middle East and Africa as offers of Iranian oil remain scarcer and more expensive than usual, in part due to broadening US sanctions.

In a separate Bloomberg report, we learn that a large Chinese processor bought about 10 million barrels of grades from Abu Dhabi and Qatar, according to traders who asked not to be identified. The cargoes are for loading in December and January, and helped to clear an overhang of unsold crude from previous trading cycles, they added.

China’s independent refiners, known as teapots, typically favor cheaper Iranian crude and take around 90% of the OPEC producer’s exports, but a slowdown in the amount of oil available to purchase has forced a change in buying habits. The incoming Trump administration has also led to some large processors backing away from Tehran’s crude due to their exposure to US banking, according to Energy Aspects.

Traders and shippers put the scarcity of Iranian supply down to the broadening of US sanctions in October to include more dark fleet tankers plying the Iran-China trade. That move has crimped the number of vessels available for ship-to-ship transfers, tightening supply and driving prices higher (see “Satellite Analysis Shows Enormity Of Secretive Oil Shipping Hub Funneling Iranian Crude To China“).

Flows of Iranian oil to China have dipped more than 10% this month compared with October, according to Kpler. Meanwhile, the volume of West African crude is at the highest on a monthly basis in at least two years, partly driven by the spike in Iranian oil prices, Sentosa Shipbrokers wrote in a report.

Beijing’s move to issue more import quotas to teapots has also spurred buying activity, traders said. Refiners were asked to submit requests to purchase more crude a few months ago and were provided verbal approvals this week, but some started buying ahead of the confirmation, they added.

Refiners in Shandong province collectively sought an allocation of about 3.8 million tons, or 28.5 million barrels, which will be valid until the end of the year, according to traders.

The initial build-up of Middle Eastern oil was spurred by bumper trading activity in contracts linked to the Dubai market in recent months. That led to the delivery of cargoes that ultimately went unconsumed and had to find buyers at a later date, traders said.

President-elect Donald Trump has already rattled the market with the threat of tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico, and investors are closely watching to see how his administration will approach Iran. Sanctions on the OPEC producer are expected to tighten, according to Energy Aspects.

Key concerns include the possibility dark fleet tankers will be sanctioned en-route to their destination, a move that would spook the ports waiting to receive the vessels and lead to cargoes being stranded at sea.

We previously discussed how ship-to-ship transfers off Malaysia are also set to face more scrutiny, a process used to mask the origin of Iranian cargoes by re-labeling them as Malaysian oil.

]]> https://americanpoliticalreport.com/winning-china-to-shun-iranian-oil-on-mounting-trump-sanction-fears/feed/ 0 229531 Democrat Mayors Say They Will Use Police to Obstruct Trump’s Deportation of Illegals https://americanpoliticalreport.com/democrat-mayors-say-they-will-use-police-to-obstruct-trumps-deportation-of-illegals/ https://americanpoliticalreport.com/democrat-mayors-say-they-will-use-police-to-obstruct-trumps-deportation-of-illegals/#respond Sat, 30 Nov 2024 11:20:06 +0000 https://americanpoliticalreport.com/democrat-mayors-say-they-will-use-police-to-obstruct-trumps-deportation-of-illegals/ (Zero Hedge)—There are only two issues that Democrats might care more about than the national legalization of abortion: Blocking the passage of voter ID laws, and, blocking the mass deportation of illegal immigrants.

The reason should be relatively obvious – Keeping the border open and illegal immigrants flowing into the US is the key to election victory for progressives in the long run.  If leftists are going to exterminate millions of future voters in the womb, then their only other option to fill ballot boxes is to import people from the third world and give them as much free stuff as possible so they’re sure to vote blue.

Democrats have been pushing for a sweeping amnesty for illegals for years.  If they had won the 2024 election by a comfortable margin it’s a certainty that an amnesty would be at the top of their priority list.  The open border policies and sanctuary actions of the political left are in direct violation of US immigration law, but Democrats act as if these laws are a suggestion rather than the rule.  Without federal enforcement squarely in their corner blue cities and states only have one option left – Pretend they have the moral high ground and drum up as much civil unrest as possible.

This might work in deep blue sanctuary cities, but the Trump Administration won the election in a landslide which included the popular vote.  The majority of Americans want deportations and these cities do not have significant national backing.  Despite this fact, some Democrat mayors are threatening to utilize local police forces to obstruct Trump’s mass deportation efforts.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston claims the deportation of illegals is “unconstitutional” and he initially threatened to use local law enforcement to block federal agencies from entering the city to carry out migrant arrests.  He ultimately walked these comments back, but only to a point, saying he’s ‘willing to go to jail’ to prevent deportations.

https://twitter.com/VenturaReport/status/1860837567916077463

For leftists the standard procedure is to wait and see how effectively they can use activist groups as a shield and then they change their rhetoric accordingly.  If they can get the mob to show up on the doorsteps of DHS and ICE officials like they did with Supreme Court judges in 2023 then they may feel emboldened to escalate. Johnston seemed to tone down his chest puffing theatrics after incoming Border Czar Tom Homan gave him a reality check.

“You are absolutely breaking the law. All he has to do is look at Arizona v. U.S. and he would see he’s breaking the law, Homan said flatly. “But, look, me and the Denver mayor, we agree on one thing. He’s willing to go to jail, I’m willing to put him in jail.”

https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1861285451593900400

Democrats don’t have the testicular fortitude to go into any fight alone, but the deportation debate is within their favorite wheelhouse, which is “resistance against the man”.  For the past four years progressives have had the support of every government institution, almost every corporation and every NGO in the US and abroad, yet, they still tried to pretend they were the underdog fighting a rebellion against an oppressor.  Now they truly are the underdog and they will certainly try to play to that image using the deportation drama as a background.

The Mayor of Tuscon, Regina Romero, has also threatened the use of local police to obstruct deportation arrests.  Her messaging is once again centered on the claim that deportations of illegals are a violation of higher moral standards.  The law and the will of the voters must therefore take a back seat to the superior virtues of the progressive ideology.

https://twitter.com/DrewHLive/status/1861961466309701883

It should be noted that members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua have been intercepted in Denver County and in Cochise County just east of Tuscon.  They are specifically organizing in sanctuary cities with lax immigration standards, and they often recruit from illegal migrant shelters already in these areas.

Multiple blue cites have stated publicly that they intend to refuse help to immigration agents during deportations.  This includes the catch and release of violent criminals in order to prevent their arrest by ICE.  In other words, Democrats would rather see rapists and murders back on the streets than hand them over to Trump.  The thought process here seems utterly insane, but again, it makes perfect sense when one realizes how much time and energy Democrats have invested in their amnesty model.

Without a massive third world voting block bought off with US tax dollars, it’s unlikely that progressives will win another election for a very long time.

]]> https://americanpoliticalreport.com/democrat-mayors-say-they-will-use-police-to-obstruct-trumps-deportation-of-illegals/feed/ 0 229507 Marc Andreessen Describes “Alarming” Meeting With Biden Regime That Prompted His Trump Endorsement https://americanpoliticalreport.com/marc-andreessen-describes-alarming-meeting-with-biden-regime-that-prompted-his-trump-endorsement/ https://americanpoliticalreport.com/marc-andreessen-describes-alarming-meeting-with-biden-regime-that-prompted-his-trump-endorsement/#respond Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:07:07 +0000 https://americanpoliticalreport.com/marc-andreessen-describes-alarming-meeting-with-biden-regime-that-prompted-his-trump-endorsement/ (Zero Hedge)—Marc Andreessen, the billionaire investor and co-founder of the influential Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, revealed in a new episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast that after an “alarming” meeting with Biden administration officials earlier this year was the moment he would have no other choice but to support Donald Trump.

For decades, Andreessen has supported Democrats, including Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. However, a troubling spring meeting with Biden administration officials caused major concerns. During the meeting, officials explained their plan to control AI through government regulatory capture—a strategy reminiscent of Communist policies in China.

“We had meetings [Biden officials] this spring that were the most alarming meetings I’ve ever been in. Where they were taking us through their plans, and it was – basically just full government – full government control – like this sort of thing, there will be a small number of large companies that will be completely regulated and controlled by the government, they told us. They said don’t even start startups – there’s just no way that they can succeed – there’s no way that we’re going to permit that to happen.” 

In mid-July, Axios reported that Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz had donated to President-elect Trump’s campaign. At the time, their support was attributed to Trump’s pro stance on crypto and AI regulation. It’s another telling example of just how far-left Democrats in the White House spooked Silicon Valley heavy hitters, such as Elon Musk.

Back to the podcast, Rogan asked Andreessen: “When you leave a meeting like that, what do you do?”

Andreessen responded: “You endorse Donald Trump.” 

X user Ben Averbook condensed Rogan’s three-hour podcast into a series of the most important highlights:

https://twitter.com/benaverbook/status/1861511169510440992

Andreessen told Rogan about the federal government’s rogue “Operation Choke Point.” He described it as a move by the Department of Justice that initially targeted marijuana businesses and gun manufacturers. He said under Biden, it was then weaponized to destroy political opponents, tech founders, and the crypto community.

https://twitter.com/benaverbook/status/1861511171951542552

Rogan and Andreessen discussed the government workforce dilemma.

https://twitter.com/benaverbook/status/1861511174061240436

Andreessen spoke about Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and how they may have devised a plan to reduce the government workforce.

https://twitter.com/benaverbook/status/1861511176355504284

They spoke about national security threats.

https://twitter.com/benaverbook/status/1861511178377109984

The Make America Healthy Again movement.

https://twitter.com/benaverbook/status/1861511180604301762

Silicon Valley’s political views are fracturing.

https://twitter.com/benaverbook/status/1861511182776938602

AI censorship.

https://twitter.com/benaverbook/status/1861511185083822292

First’ Twitter Files’… YouTube files next?

https://twitter.com/capitalnewshq/status/1861480649091166217

]]> https://americanpoliticalreport.com/marc-andreessen-describes-alarming-meeting-with-biden-regime-that-prompted-his-trump-endorsement/feed/ 0 229478 Chinese Automakers Are Dethroning Their Once-Dominant Japanese Competitors https://americanpoliticalreport.com/chinese-automakers-are-dethroning-their-once-dominant-japanese-competitors/ https://americanpoliticalreport.com/chinese-automakers-are-dethroning-their-once-dominant-japanese-competitors/#respond Thu, 28 Nov 2024 06:20:07 +0000 https://americanpoliticalreport.com/chinese-automakers-are-dethroning-their-once-dominant-japanese-competitors/ (Zero Hedge)—China is doing the unthinkable and dethroning once dominant Japanese automakers, who are struggling to compete in China.

China is the world’s largest car market and domestic brands are dominating with a surge of electric vehicles. Chinese companies are also expanding into Southeast Asia, challenging the long-standing dominance of brands like Toyota, Honda, and Mitsubishi, according to w new report by Bloomberg.

Between 2019 and 2024, Japanese automakers experienced the steepest market share declines in China, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, according to Bloomberg’s analysis of sales and registration data.

Japanese automakers are losing ground across Asia, with all six tracked by Bloomberg experiencing declines in China. Even Toyota, the global leader in car volume, has seen its sales stagnate. In Southeast Asia, a traditional stronghold for Japanese brands, market share has dropped sharply.

In Thailand and Singapore, Japanese carmakers now control just 35% of the market, down from over 50% in 2019, while streets once dominated by Nissan and Mazda are increasingly filled with Chinese brands.

The Bloomberg profile notes that Toyota remains competitive in some segments, like pickups, but the broader outlook is troubling for automakers once renowned for efficiency and reliability. Their slow pivot to fully electric vehicles puts them at risk of falling behind in a market driven by advanced battery technology and smart software.

Although Chinese automakers face high tariffs in Europe and the U.S., the erosion of Japanese dominance in Asia could signal wider challenges ahead.

Toyota’s stronghold in Southeast Asia is supported by regional production of gasoline cars with larger engines, appealing to local preferences. In 2023, Thailand and Indonesia accounted for nearly 10% of Toyota’s 11 million global vehicle output. However, other Japanese brands, like Nissan, are struggling.

Nissan’s outdated lineup and lack of hybrids contributed to profit losses and production cuts, with its presence in Jakarta now fading.

Meanwhile, Chinese automaker BYD has rapidly gained traction in Indonesia, ranking as the sixth top-selling brand just months after delivering its first vehicles. Its $40,000 Seal EV is proving especially popular.

Japan’s global auto production share has dropped from over 20% two decades ago to 11%, while China has surged to dominate, now accounting for nearly 40% of worldwide car manufacturing. Chinese automakers are leveraging their expertise in low-cost batteries and flexible supply chains to expand into Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, further challenging Japan’s dominance in these markets.

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