By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com (WNW 224 1.29.16)

Trump talks, he makes news. Trump doesn’t talk, he makes news. Trump tweets, he makes news. Trump offends, he makes news. Trump makes sense, he makes news. You may think what is going on with Donald Trump is all about Trump, it is really about the changing landscape of media and the old mainstream media (MSM) losing its relevance. Look at what just happened with Trump and this debate fiasco with FOX. FOX thinks it’s still running the media show, and Trump is showing them they are not. When you hear about Trump tweeting, switch out the word ‘tweet’ with ‘broadcast’ and there you have it. Trump, via the new media such as Facebook and Twitter, doesn’t need a network of TV stations or a cable outlet. The mainstream media is so freaked out they cover each and every tweet of Trump’s so as to not miss out and retain some relevance. No front-runner would have ever turned down a TV appearance until now. Why did he turn it down–he doesn’t need it. The MSM needs him. Times are changing, and the MSM is losing its grip in media and thus its relevance. Of that there is no doubt.

(more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

Top trends forecaster Gerald Celente says the global economy is tanking, but don’t expect central banks to go down without a fight. Celente explains, “So, what happens? The markets are going down, and you hear from people like Ray Dalio (hedge fund manager) from Bridgewater Associates saying that the Federal Reserve needs to consider quantitative easing again and more stimulus. All of a sudden, the markets go up because, what happens, Mario Draghi, former head of the Goldman Sachs gang in Europe. . . . . Now, of course, he’s the head of the European Central Bank (ECB).  Davos, Dalio, Draghi, three D’s man. Draghi gave these money junkies over there some monetary meth.  All of a sudden, Draghi comes out and promises more stimulus on the horizon, folks. Whether it’s the Fed, ECB, China or the Bank of Japan talking about it again—more stimulus. All they are doing is keeping this money junkie, this Ponzi that is addicted to cheap money, alive. At some point, as we saw, it’s crashing and they keep coming up and give it more life.”

(more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com  (Early Sunday release)

Money manager Michael Pento says the next crash will be one for the record books. Pento contends, “If you look at any of the economic data coming out, it screams recession. It will be one of the worst recessions since 2008 and 1929—combined.” This is a description of a global depression. Pento contends, “Unfortunately, I think that’s exactly where we are headed. It’s not my opinion. It’s not a Cassandra. It’s not my view. It’s the entire view of all global markets. China is 45% down. There’s a bear market in Europe. There’s a bear market in Japan. There is a bear market in most of the United States.”

(more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com  (WNW 223 1.22.16)

It appears the declining economy is so obvious that even the elite are admitting the global economy is tanking. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where the richest people in business and government gather annually, the mood couldn’t be gloomier. Even the headline at USA Today reported this week “CEO’s Pessimism Over Global Economy Rises.” Actually, if you read their story, they soft-pedaled how bad it really is. Only 27% of 1,400 CEOs surveyed think economic growth will improve in 2016. (more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

Economist John Williams says a recession isn’t on the way–it’s already here. Williams explains, “There are a number of factors here that are showing recession. Number one is industrial production. You can’t ignore industrial production; it is usually used with retail sales in timing formal recessions. It turned down last December, and it generally has not looked up since. You’ve had three out of four quarters in the last year contracting. The numbers that came out for the fourth quarter showed year to year contractions that you never see outside of recessions. This is typical of a formal recession. You are also seeing recession if you look at the housing numbers. They have turned down quarter to quarter for the fourth quarter . . . with housing starts. If you look at the stock market and the S&P 500, the revenues that are being reported for companies . . . revenues for the S&P 500 are falling off quarter to quarter. You never see that outside of a recession. That is a broad measure of economic activity. . . .The Atlanta Fed . . . their GDP number for the fourth quarter has just dropped to .6%. . . . I think it will be negative in the second reporting. With all these factors coming together, I think you will have an early call on a new recession or at least it will be viewed as a new recession in the early part of this new year.”

(more…)

Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com  (Early Sunday release)

Best-selling author and journalist Nomi Prins says the next financial crisis will be much worse than 2008. Prins contends, “If you look at the beginning of 2016 . . . it’s indicative of the rest of the year. We are seeing declines everywhere, and they are significant declines. The stock market won’t be a correction, but indicative of more downward spiraling to come.”

(more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com (WNW 222 1.15.16)

President Obama’s State of the Union should be renamed to the State of Delusion after he said, “Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction.” This is so off base and delusional I simply do not know where to start. There are so many metrics that prove the President wrong. The Labor Participation Rate stands at around 94 million, a record. The Baltic Dry Index has plunged to record lows, and the stock market is off to the worst start—ever. There is one headline after another that confirm the problems with the stock market are real. So is the fear the economy is sinking, and there is nothing the Fed can do about it.

(more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

Financial writer Andrew Hoffman says the Fed has a lousy track record for predicting the economy. Hoffman explains, “It’s not just the Fed, but all central bankers have been wrong on pretty much everything they have said. In the case of the Fed, in particular, which is by far the most important central bank in the world because what they . . . do destroys everyone else, it’s been three years, and they have been talking about economic recovery, and then they decide to raise rates just as the economy gets the absolute worst in our lifetimes. We are getting closer to the Yellen reversal when she is forced by markets to admit they have been wrong.”

(more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com  (Early Sunday Release)

Macroeconomic analyst Rob Kirby’s predictions of a downward spiraling economy are coming true. Kirby contends, “I think the last time we spoke, it was in early December. I suggested that a window was opening where we were very likely to see some systemic breakdowns in our financial universe to likely start occurring. Low and behold, it looks like we are seeing the beginnings of exactly what we were speaking of. The reason why we are beginning to see these things start to unfold now is that everything we’ve been told by our financial elites . . . has basically been a lie or a false flag or fraudulent.”

(more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com WNW 221 1.8.15

A Saudi Prince is saying war is unlikely with Iran, but that doesn’t seem believable especially after Iran burned Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran. Iran burned the embassy after Saudi Arabia executed a Shia imam. Then, there are conflicting reports of Saudi bombing Iran’s embassy in Yemen. At its core, this is the age old problem of Sunni Muslims opposed to Shia Muslims. That is Saudi Arabia, Sunni, against Iran which is Shia. As predicted by yours truly back in July, the Iranian nuclear so-called deal has dramatically increased the chances for war. Of course, Iran has not and will not sign anything, and that means there is no real deal. There is just some empty promises and $150 billion coming from the Obama Administration. (more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

Public banking expert and attorney Ellen Brown says, “Your life savings could be wiped out in a derivatives collapse.” Brown explains, “Nobody anticipated what happened in 2008, and that was a $700 billion bailout. Even if the FDIC tapped its Treasury line, that’s only $500 billion. So, certainly things could go wrong. Also, why are they rushing to put these things into place? They’re expecting something.” Brown goes on to point out, “They think they have avoided too-big-to-fail, but what they have actually done is formalize too-big-to-fail. I mean it’s the end of capitalism. There is no such thing as too-big-to-fail in a capitalistic society where you say certain corporations can’t fail. If you have to take the people’s money to prop them up, it’s no longer capitalism.”

(more…)

Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com (Early Sunday Release)

Financial writer David Morgan says the global economy is cracking. Things such as shipping, manufacturing, retail and real estate sales are all headed down. Morgan contends, “What you are starting to see is those little rumblings that happen before the big tremor. That’s an analogy, but that’s what we are starting to see. . . . Nothing is more important than the debt markets and what is going to happen in the future.”

(more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

Happy New Year to the USAWatchdog community.  There will not be a Weekly News Wrap-Up this week as I am taking time off to recharge for the new year.  I do have a short New Year’s message on the next page.  Thank you for supporting USAWatchdog.com.  Enjoy!!

(more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

Financial writer Bill Holter says all the talk of the so-called “recovery” and reaching “escape velocity is imminent” have been total lies. Holter explains, “We have heard the word ‘recovery’ for seven years . . . we’ve never gotten to the expansion phase. They keep talking about ‘escape velocity,’ and we have never gotten there in seven years. Now, the Fed has raised interest rates just before Christmas. This is the first time ever the Fed has raised rates right before Christmas, and they raised rates into a weak economy where credit is already tight. The only time they have done that is 1937, and we know how that worked out.”

(more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com  (Early Sunday Release)

Former Assistant Treasury Secretary Dr. Paul Craig Roberts has a dim view of the so-called “economic recovery.” Dr. Roberts contends, “There has been no recovery whatsoever. . . . If you look at the economy realistically, and that means you don’t use their phony numbers, there has been no recovery whatsoever and, in fact, it continues to worsen. We see that the “Labor Force Participation Rate” continues to sink. . . . When you consider the full measure of unemployment . . . we still have an unemployment rate of 23% after 7 years of an alleged recovery? I think this is the first so-called recovery where the labor force fell. Normally, when you have a recovery, people re-enter the labor force and the participation rate rises. . . . How do you have 5% unemployment when half of all 25 year old people have to live at home with their parents? What kind of a “recovery” is that? They say there is no inflation, but everyone that goes shopping knows that is a lie. . . . It’s all just a package of smoke, mirrors and lies.”

(more…)