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  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
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  3.  <channel>
  4.    <title>ZeroHedge News</title>
  5.    <link>https://www.zerohedge.com</link>
  6.    <description/>
  7.    <language>en</language>
  8.    
  9.    <item>
  10.  <title>Record Direct Demand For Stellar, Stopping-Through 20Y Auction</title>
  11.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/record-direct-demand-stellar-stopping-through-20y-auction</link>
  12.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;Record Direct Demand For Stellar, Stopping-Through 20Y Auction&lt;/span&gt;
  13.  
  14.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;After 3 stellar coupon auctions last week, with 10Y yields trading effectively at the lowest level since last October (excluding the Liberation Day basis trade freak out) , and with the Fed set to cut by at least 25bps, there was little anxiety ahead of today's 20Y coupon auction. And with good reason: moments ago the day's coupon auction, a reopening of the 19-Year, 11-Month cusip UN6, went without a glitch in what was a very solid auction. &lt;/p&gt;
  15.  
  16. &lt;p&gt;The auction priced at a high yield of 4.613%, down from 4.876% last month and the lowest since October 24. It also stopped through the When Issued 4.615% by 0.2bps, the 3rd consecutive through auction in a row.&lt;/p&gt;
  17.  
  18. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/20y%20tail%20sept%2016.jpg?itok=6SzNiwqQ" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/20y%20tail%20sept%2016.jpg?itok=6SzNiwqQ"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="8495ad0d-d780-48e9-83e7-138d974611c0" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="301" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/20y%20tail%20sept%2016.jpg?itok=6SzNiwqQ" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  19.  
  20. &lt;p&gt;The bid to cover was 2.74 up from 2.54 in July, the second highest since March and above the 2.65 six-auction average. &lt;/p&gt;
  21.  
  22. &lt;p&gt;The internals were a bit weaker, with Indirects taking down 64.6%, up from 60.6% last month (which was the lowest since Feb 24), and with Directs taking down 27.9%, the highest on record...&lt;/p&gt;
  23.  
  24. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/20y%20direct%20award.jpg?itok=Y1hoDuoL" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/20y%20direct%20award.jpg?itok=Y1hoDuoL"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5854d6a2-4fdc-4bb5-9537-fca7ad2d4652" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="299" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/20y%20direct%20award.jpg?itok=Y1hoDuoL" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  25.  
  26. &lt;p&gt;... Dealers were left holdings just 7.6%.&lt;/p&gt;
  27.  
  28. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/20Y%20Sept%202025.jpg?itok=AHd05Uun" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/20Y%20Sept%202025.jpg?itok=AHd05Uun"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="491c2643-51f9-4c28-a6f6-e81390ab0422" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="298" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/20Y%20Sept%202025.jpg?itok=AHd05Uun" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  29.  
  30. &lt;p&gt;Overall, this was a very solid auction, whose highlight this month was the record Direct award, any in any event the demand was clearly there and the yield on the 10Y is now back down to session lows with just 24 hours left until tomorrow's FOMC decision. &lt;/p&gt;
  31. &lt;/div&gt;
  32.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  33. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T17:27:24+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 13:27&lt;/span&gt;
  34. </description>
  35.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 17:27:24 +0000</pubDate>
  36.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  37.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066910 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  38.    </item>
  39. <item>
  40.  <title>Zelensky Is 'Going To Have To Make A Deal' With Russia, Trump Urges</title>
  41.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/zelensky-going-have-make-deal-russia-trump-urges</link>
  42.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;Zelensky Is 'Going To Have To Make A Deal' With Russia, Trump Urges&lt;/span&gt;
  43.  
  44.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;President Trump told reporters in passing on the White House lawn Tuesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky&lt;strong&gt; "is going to have to make a deal"&lt;/strong&gt; with Russia to end the the long-running war.&lt;/p&gt;
  45.  
  46. &lt;p&gt;Last month's historic Alaska Trump-Putin summit failed to produce or lead to anything substantial, other than perhaps an improvement of bilateral relations. Trump acknowledged in the fresh remarks that the Ukrainian and Russian leaders "hate each other," and said&lt;strong&gt; "it looks like I have to sit in the room with them, because they can't sit in a room together."&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  47. &lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/trumprome.jpg?itok=aH8zLa_y" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/trumprome.jpg?itok=aH8zLa_y"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;figure role="group" class="caption caption-img inline-images image-style-inline-images"&gt;&lt;img alt="" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="f48d48ac-fae7-4307-84d5-74abbbb3fc0d" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="330" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/trumprome.jpg?itok=aH8zLa_y" typeof="foaf:Image" width="500" /&gt;&lt;figcaption&gt;&lt;em&gt;Ukrainan Presidencial ServiceAFP via Getty Images&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  48.  
  49. &lt;p&gt;"There's great hatred there. But no, that meeting accomplished a lot," he said in reference to the Alaska summit.&lt;/p&gt;
  50.  
  51. &lt;p&gt;And yet the reality remains that Putin and Zelensky are at this point no closer to actually being in the same room together, much less the same venue, even if other mediators like Trump are there.&lt;/p&gt;
  52.  
  53. &lt;p&gt;Trump also in his comments took the opportunity to apply more pressure on the European Union, saying it must stop all purchases of Russian oil "immediately".&lt;/p&gt;
  54.  
  55. &lt;p&gt;"They've got to stop immediately, not fair to us. &lt;strong&gt;They're purchasing Russian oil, and we have to do this&lt;/strong&gt;," he said.&lt;/p&gt;
  56.  
  57. &lt;p&gt;Ukraine's Zelensky without doubt wants the next round of EU sanctions to hit Moscow, but has also appeared supportive of Trump calling out Europe's oil and other energy imports.&lt;/p&gt;
  58.  
  59. &lt;p&gt;"I'm sure the US can apply enough sanctions in order to hurt the Russian economy, plus Donald Trump has enough force to make Putin afraid of him," Zelensky said.&lt;/p&gt;
  60.  
  61. &lt;p&gt;Still, Kiev wants to see more and more robust sanctions leveled from Washington's direction. "Europe has already introduced 18 sanctions packages against Russia. &lt;strong&gt;And all that's lacking now is a strong sanctions package from the US&lt;/strong&gt;," Zelensky has said.&lt;/p&gt;
  62.  
  63. &lt;p&gt;As for Trump admitting that Zelensky must make a deal, the big question remains whether Trump is willing to use the significant leverage the United States has over the Ukrainian leader.&lt;/p&gt;
  64.  
  65. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  66. &lt;p dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xml:lang="en"&gt;🇺🇸🇺🇦 "Zelensky’s gonna have to make a deal!" - Trump &lt;a href="https://t.co/Ob2RL0kCF0"&gt;pic.twitter.com/Ob2RL0kCF0&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  67. — DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1967950711226003591?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 16, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  68. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;So far Trump has not been willing. &lt;strong&gt;He could simply cut off the weapons and money flows to the Zelensky government if he wanted to&lt;/strong&gt; - but he's not even threatening to at this point. Such actions would result in huge pushback from Trump's own Republicans. So for now, his urging Zelensky to the peace table appears to just be empty words, with no threat of repercussions. Meanwhile:&lt;/p&gt;
  69.  
  70. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  71. &lt;p&gt;TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CLEARS FIRST UKRAINE ARMS AID PACKAGE PAID FOR BY ALLIES, SOURCES SAY&lt;/p&gt;
  72. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  73.  
  74. &lt;p&gt;Currently, there are reports indicating that Trump and Zelensky might meet again next week. At this point, there's no sign of a Putin-Zelensky meeting being anywhere on the horizon.&lt;/p&gt;
  75. &lt;/div&gt;
  76.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  77. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T17:15:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 13:15&lt;/span&gt;
  78. </description>
  79.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 17:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
  80.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  81.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066896 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  82.    </item>
  83. <item>
  84.  <title>Mystery Trader Makes Record Bet On 50bps Rate Cut Tomorrow</title>
  85.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/mystery-trader-makes-record-bet-50bps-rate-cut-tomorrow</link>
  86.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;Mystery Trader Makes Record Bet On 50bps Rate Cut Tomorrow&lt;/span&gt;
  87.  
  88.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;With a 25bps rate-cut fully priced in tomorrow, a mystery trader made a massive bet yesterday&lt;/strong&gt; to hedge against the possibility of a much larger 50bps cut - very much against the consensus in the market.&lt;/p&gt;
  89.  
  90. &lt;p&gt;After last week's jobless claims and CPI/PPI malarkey, there has been some rotation in the market relating to The Fed's rate-cut trajectory (with 2025 expectations declining and 2026 expectations increasing)...&lt;/p&gt;
  91.  
  92. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/bfm2CB4_0.jpg?itok=KJnTO46i" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/bfm2CB4_0.jpg?itok=KJnTO46i"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="13df0607-40c0-4a20-8915-3b9f1f5abac9" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="337" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/bfm2CB4_0.jpg?itok=KJnTO46i" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  93.  
  94. &lt;p&gt;The 2025 shift has seen September odds of a 50bps cut tumbled (from almost 20% to only around 4% now) while October's odds of a 25bps cut are also falling...&lt;/p&gt;
  95.  
  96. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/bfm3C86.jpg?itok=l5zwTJdH" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/bfm3C86.jpg?itok=l5zwTJdH"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="826d7dcb-d3fc-4d71-a077-6622151fe4c7" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="334" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/bfm3C86.jpg?itok=l5zwTJdH" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  97.  
  98. &lt;p&gt;So, despite that hawkish shift, Bloomberg's Ed Bolingbroke reported an eventful morning session in the US yesterday for flows in the front-end of the curve included the largest ever block trade in fed funds futures.&lt;/p&gt;
  99.  
  100. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The trade took place in the October fed funds, for an amount of 84,000 contracts which is equivalent to $3.5 million per basis point in risk. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  101.  
  102. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/bfmE63C.jpg?itok=fHbliL-A" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/bfmE63C.jpg?itok=fHbliL-A"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0557c7af-9f23-4ccd-8160-810cc8c4e696" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="338" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/bfmE63C.jpg?itok=fHbliL-A" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  103.  
  104. &lt;p&gt;As Bolingboke notes, the price and timing of the trade was &lt;strong&gt;consistent with a buyer, potentially indicating a hedge against a half-point rate cut at Wednesday’s policy meeting,&lt;/strong&gt; given a quarter-point cut is now fully baked into the swaps market.&lt;/p&gt;
  105.  
  106. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The CME confirmed this was the largest ever block trade in Fed Funds Futures...&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  107.  
  108. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  109. &lt;p dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xml:lang="en"&gt;The largest ever Fed Funds futures block trade was executed this morning (84,000 contracts, equivalent to $3.5m per basis point), underscoring the significant risk transfer enabled by CME Group's deeply liquid markets. &lt;a href="https://t.co/eV3EsnUMKe"&gt;pic.twitter.com/eV3EsnUMKe&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  110. — CME Group Interest Rates (@Interest_Rates) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Interest_Rates/status/1967690926123303226?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 15, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  111. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;Along with the massive fed funds futures flow, and perhaps reflecting the shift seen in the first chart above, &lt;strong&gt;there was also a huge SOFR spread trade via a September 2026/March 2027 steepener&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  112.  
  113. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/bfmC9C4_0.jpg?itok=DiTCG6zm" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/bfmC9C4_0.jpg?itok=DiTCG6zm"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ba4e202a-6dab-4b64-8301-28a216a6be51" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="336" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/bfmC9C4_0.jpg?itok=DiTCG6zm" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  114.  
  115. &lt;p&gt;This position may reflect &lt;strong&gt;a wager on more front-loaded and deeper rate cuts&lt;/strong&gt; vs. current policy pricing.&lt;/p&gt;
  116.  
  117. &lt;p&gt;As we noted earlier, and bearing in mind these new large positions, Goldman believes&lt;strong&gt; the main near-term risk to equity markets would be an unwind of Fed cutting expectations, particularly for some of the lower quality pockets&lt;/strong&gt; of the market that have benefited from a more ‘goldilocks’ backdrop.&lt;/p&gt;
  118. &lt;/div&gt;
  119.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  120. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T17:00:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 13:00&lt;/span&gt;
  121. </description>
  122.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 17:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  123.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  124.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066900 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  125.    </item>
  126. <item>
  127.  <title>Clearinghouses And The Basis Trade</title>
  128.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/clearinghouses-and-basis-trade</link>
  129.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;Clearinghouses And The Basis Trade&lt;/span&gt;
  130.  
  131.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;By Russell Clark of the &lt;a href="https://www.russell-clark.com/p/clearinghouses-and-the-basis-trade"&gt;Capital Flows and Asset Markets substack&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  132.  
  133. &lt;p&gt;In a recent post, I wondered if the Trump administration was going to force the Federal Reserve out of the “QE Business” - or in other words ban them from buying assets, and get them to focus solely on interest rate markets.&lt;/p&gt;
  134.  
  135. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/guns%20teaser_0.jpg?itok=dm0JQZNJ" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/guns%20teaser_0.jpg?itok=dm0JQZNJ"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7dc301c6-d4ac-4014-a561-0ee87b34834f" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="322" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/guns%20teaser_0.jpg?itok=dm0JQZNJ" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  136.  
  137. &lt;p&gt;This could be a huge issue for markets. Whenever asset markets have threatened to unwind, central banks have stepped in as buyers. The UK gilt market is good example, where the Truss budget was a shock, that caused initial margins on gilt trading to rise which caused the market to have no bidders and yields to surge. &lt;strong&gt;It required the BOE to restart QE to bail out basis traders.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  138.  
  139. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/uk%20govt%20yields_0.jpg?itok=He7HxSke" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/uk%20govt%20yields_0.jpg?itok=He7HxSke"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="e89d3d7f-d3a5-4cea-9f94-e3318e2fc40d" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="333" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/uk%20govt%20yields_0.jpg?itok=He7HxSke" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  140.  
  141. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;When looking at basis trades (typically buying physical treasuries and then selling interest rate futures or derivatives) there are two different market to look at. &lt;/strong&gt;LCH owned by the LSE Group and has dominant market share in interest rates derivatives and European bonds. CME dominates Treasury trading, and JSCC dominates JGB trading. We are mainly concerned with treasuries here, so we will look at date from LCH and CME. Looking at variation and initial margin data, there is a cyclicality to this. Spikes in variation and initial margins SHOULD be correlated.&lt;/p&gt;
  142.  
  143. &lt;p&gt;As of the most recent data point, q2 2025, margins look low at LCH.&lt;/p&gt;
  144.  
  145. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/IRPs_1.jpg?itok=tAK4bKj9" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/IRPs_1.jpg?itok=tAK4bKj9"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="64b243cf-bac7-473e-b3ed-1c7393e74a19" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="309" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/IRPs_1.jpg?itok=tAK4bKj9" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  146.  
  147. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CME data is more interesting&lt;/strong&gt;. Q2 data shows much more of a spike in both variation and initial margins, more inline with the air pocket we saw in Treasuries during the “Liberation Day” tariff sell off.&lt;/p&gt;
  148.  
  149. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/var%20margin%20chart_1.png?itok=6L6lZG8o" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/var%20margin%20chart_1.png?itok=6L6lZG8o"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7addd998-ed7b-46d5-9a71-0393c6863f02" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="315" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/var%20margin%20chart_1.png?itok=6L6lZG8o" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  150.  
  151. &lt;p&gt;More surprising was the lack of margin breaches at LCH&lt;/p&gt;
  152.  
  153. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/margin%20breaches_0.png?itok=vCrjuPXW" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/margin%20breaches_0.png?itok=vCrjuPXW"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d034eebb-201b-4c00-ac4f-cd71b3adf3c2" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="305" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/margin%20breaches_0.png?itok=vCrjuPXW" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  154.  
  155. &lt;p&gt;Something we also saw at CME.&lt;/p&gt;
  156.  
  157. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/margin%20breaches%202_0.png?itok=28G4nOtw" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/margin%20breaches%202_0.png?itok=28G4nOtw"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="8b2624f6-00c0-4dc5-ae5c-c6f57dce73d9" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="307" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/margin%20breaches%202_0.png?itok=28G4nOtw" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  158.  
  159. &lt;p&gt;Having studied clearinghouses for a while, this would match up with market moves. The MOVE Index (a measure of bond volatility) tends to match initial margins, and spikes from low levels to high levels tend to march up with margin breaches. So 2020, and 2022 saw margin breaches, but since 2023, the MOVE index has tended to be moving lower.&lt;/p&gt;
  160.  
  161. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/MOVE%20chart_0.png?itok=sEVgIgWr" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/MOVE%20chart_0.png?itok=sEVgIgWr"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="1d121afe-75c5-4750-8d6e-2e973f2dfde5" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="322" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/MOVE%20chart_0.png?itok=sEVgIgWr" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  162.  
  163. &lt;p&gt;Generally speaking, clearinghouses tend to cause trend following to work well. So when things are going well, for example the MOVE Index is going lower, then initial margins will fall, and asset markets will behave. It is only a problem when volatility inflects higher. So generally speaking, IF the Fed gets out of the bond buying business, AND the Trump administration delivers inflationary fiscal policy or we get an oil shock, then we will have a problem. But the data above suggests that will be more likely a 2026 or 2027 problem. The only data point that I found particularly bearish was a huge drop in KCCP - which determines the capital charge for trading with LCH.&lt;/p&gt;
  164.  
  165. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/KCCP%20rates_0.jpg?itok=0mzjE_np" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/KCCP%20rates_0.jpg?itok=0mzjE_np"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="99979002-c835-415a-b41d-319cab1b4a0e" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="465" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/KCCP%20rates_0.jpg?itok=0mzjE_np" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  166.  
  167. &lt;p&gt;This fall in capital charge is very good for basis traders and other users of the clearinghouse, as it allows less capital to be put aside. The fall was driven by a regulatory change, which in essence allows the clearinghouse to net trades. But netting is the key issue with clearinghouses. Netting is the fundamental driver of basis trade, and leverage. LCH reports initial margin numbers on a total and net basis. As I understand it, the net number is purely hypothetical. Is the amount of initial margin LCH calculates would be necessary if all trades could be netted.&lt;/p&gt;
  168.  
  169. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/Initial%20margin%20total%20net_0.jpg?itok=HJ3Er5IW" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/Initial%20margin%20total%20net_0.jpg?itok=HJ3Er5IW"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d7da3524-a9fd-43c1-831e-503227d73112" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="304" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/Initial%20margin%20total%20net_0.jpg?itok=HJ3Er5IW" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  170.  
  171. &lt;p&gt;Theoretically this should be fine. But analysis suggests that we are ending up with a bifurcated market, with hedge funds all one side, and banks all the other side. As an old report form the BIS noted, all US banks have become a net lender to the repo market.&lt;/p&gt;
  172.  
  173. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/big%20four%20us%20banks_0.png?itok=zLLOUrf2" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/big%20four%20us%20banks_0.png?itok=zLLOUrf2"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="47f4bd02-e07e-4a94-b2a6-58c3e40614a6" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="343" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/big%20four%20us%20banks_0.png?itok=zLLOUrf2" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  174.  
  175. &lt;p&gt;Putting it all together, conditions are nearly perfect for a clearinghouse blow up - but not yet. A sustained period of the MOVE index trading in the 50 to 60 range should allow sufficient leverage to build for a blowout move. I still think long dated government bond yields go higher. But an air pocket move like we saw in gilts in 2022, or treasuries earlier this year looks unlikely until 2026.&lt;/p&gt;
  176. &lt;/div&gt;
  177.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  178. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T16:45:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 12:45&lt;/span&gt;
  179. </description>
  180.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 16:45:00 +0000</pubDate>
  181.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  182.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066868 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  183.    </item>
  184. <item>
  185.  <title>Biden FBI Targeted Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA</title>
  186.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/political/biden-fbi-targeted-charlie-kirks-turning-point-usa</link>
  187.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;Biden FBI Targeted Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA&lt;/span&gt;
  188.  
  189.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2025/09/16/bidens-fbi-targeted-charlie-kirks-turning-point-usa-n4943765"&gt;Authored by Matt Margolis via PJ Media&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  190.  
  191. &lt;p&gt;FBI Director Kash Patel faces questions during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday morning, during which Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) revealed that whistleblower revelations showed that &lt;strong&gt;Joe Biden’s FBI targeted not just Donald Trump, but a wide swath of Republican organizations — including Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  192. &lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/fcead6ca-9c54-4d92-9612-541b1ce276b5-1052x615_jpg_92.jpg?itok=UjZXVVBf" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/fcead6ca-9c54-4d92-9612-541b1ce276b5-1052x615_jpg_92.jpg?itok=UjZXVVBf"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;figure role="group" class="caption caption-img inline-images image-style-inline-images"&gt;&lt;img alt="" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a0c0bfb0-4492-4486-b9d1-6645735a6077" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="292" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/fcead6ca-9c54-4d92-9612-541b1ce276b5-1052x615_jpg_92.jpg?itok=UjZXVVBf" typeof="foaf:Image" width="500" /&gt;&lt;figcaption&gt;&lt;em&gt;AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  193.  
  194. &lt;p&gt;Grassley reminded Patel of the FBI’s recent history of political weaponization, pointing directly to an operation known as “Arctic Frost.”&lt;/p&gt;
  195.  
  196. &lt;p&gt;“&lt;strong&gt;At your nomination hearing, I made public records that whistleblowers provide me about Arctic Frost,&lt;/strong&gt;” Grassley said. “Arctic Frost was the FBI case opened and approved by anti-Trump FBI Agent Thibeau. Arctic Frost then became Jack Smith’s elector case against then-citizen Trump and now-President Trump.”&lt;/p&gt;
  197.  
  198. &lt;p&gt;According to Grassley, newly obtained records show that &lt;strong&gt;the Arctic Frost probe was far broader than previously known&lt;/strong&gt;. “The case was expanded to Republican organizations,” Grassley explained. “Some examples of the group that Wray and FBI sought to place under political investigation included the Republican National Committee, Republican Attorney General’s Association, and various Trump political groups.”&lt;/p&gt;
  199.  
  200. &lt;p&gt;The scope was staggering. “&lt;strong&gt;In total, 92 Republican targets, including Republican groups and Republican-linked individuals, were placed under investigative scope of Arctic Frost,”&lt;/strong&gt; Grassley said. “On that political list was one of Charlie Kirk’s groups, Turning Point USA.”&lt;/p&gt;
  201.  
  202. &lt;p&gt;Grassley argued that the evidence proves that Arctic Frost was more than just an anti-Trump operation. It was actually about crippling the Republican political infrastructure. &lt;/p&gt;
  203.  
  204. &lt;p&gt;“In other words, &lt;strong&gt;Arctic Frost wasn’t just a case to politically investigate Trump&lt;/strong&gt;,” Grassley declared. “It was the vehicle by which &lt;strong&gt;partisan FBI agents and Department of Justice prosecutors&lt;/strong&gt; could achieve their partisan ends and improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus.”&lt;/p&gt;
  205.  
  206. &lt;p&gt;“So today, Sen. Johnson and I are making these records public for the entire country to see, and I hope a lot of people are interested in seeing what government can do when various agencies have a political agenda,” Grassley said.&lt;/p&gt;
  207.  
  208. &lt;p&gt;Grassley also connected the dots to the politically charged prosecution of former Trump adviser Peter Navarro. “My investigative work has also exposed the political way in which Peter Navarro was investigated and prosecuted,” he said, noting one FBI agent’s reaction to Navarro’s charges: “&lt;strong&gt;When FBI Agent Thibeau found out that Biden’s DOJ would prosecute Navarro, he said, ‘Wow, great.’ &lt;/strong&gt;That’s a quote-unquote.”&lt;/p&gt;
  209.  
  210. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"&gt;
  211. &lt;p dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xml:lang="en"&gt;🚨BREAKING: Senator Chuck Grassley just announced that a FBI whistleblower revealed to him an FBI project called "Artic Frost" that targeted groups like Charlie Kirks TPUSA!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  212. This is a BOMBSHELL!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  213. He says that they are releasing those documents TODAY!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  214. "In total, 92 Republican… &lt;a href="https://t.co/FLEpkrtlsZ"&gt;pic.twitter.com/FLEpkrtlsZ&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  215. — Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/GuntherEagleman/status/1967940081668264137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 16, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  216. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;The exposed weaponization of the FBI isn’t just a matter for Washington insiders; it’s a direct assault on the very foundation of our republic. Americans must demand full transparency and accountability before our institutions become irreparably politicized. &lt;/p&gt;
  217.  
  218. &lt;p&gt;This scandal isn’t some partisan gripe; it’s a glaring threat to the democratic process that affects every voter and every election ahead. &lt;strong&gt;And let’s not forget, Biden himself set the tone by labeling Trump supporters as enemies of the state&lt;/strong&gt;. That rhetoric, coupled with a weaponized FBI, created the toxic political climate that ultimately led to Kirk's assassination.&lt;/p&gt;
  219.  
  220. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;If this scandal enrages you, join the club. PJ Media calls out the FBI’s corruption while legacy outlets will no doubt look away. Help us keep exposing what the Left wants hidden—&lt;a href="https://pjmedia.com/subscribe?tpcc=60saleMM091625_3&amp;promo_code=FIGHT"&gt;subscribe to PJ Media VIP with code FIGHT for 60% off&lt;/a&gt;. Exclusive content, ad-free! browsing, and comment privileges! Rally now—your voice matters more than ever.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  221. &lt;/div&gt;
  222.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  223. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T16:05:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 12:05&lt;/span&gt;
  224. </description>
  225.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 16:05:00 +0000</pubDate>
  226.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  227.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066855 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  228.    </item>
  229. <item>
  230.  <title>EU Delays New Sanctions On Russia After Trump's Oil Warning</title>
  231.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/eu-delays-new-sanctions-russia-after-trumps-oil-warning</link>
  232.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;EU Delays New Sanctions On Russia After Trump's Oil Warning&lt;/span&gt;
  233.  
  234.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;The European Union has put its next round of sanctions against Russia on hold, with no new timeline for when the measures will move forward, according to a report by &lt;em data-end="301" data-start="291"&gt;Politico&lt;/em&gt; citing EU officials.&lt;/p&gt;
  235.  
  236. &lt;p&gt;Politico correspondent Sarah Wheaton &lt;a href="https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/brussels-playbook/the-eus-russian-gas-ban-pipe-dream/"&gt;writes&lt;/a&gt; Tuesday, "The next sanctions package against Russia — the 19th since Moscow began its war against Ukraine — &lt;strong&gt;is no longer expected to be presented on Wednesday&lt;/strong&gt;, an EU diplomat and a national official told my colleague Camille Gijs."&lt;/p&gt;
  237.  
  238. &lt;p&gt;"It’s fallen off the Coreper II agenda as U.S. President Donald Trump and the EU’s own &lt;strong&gt;pressure build on Slovakia and Hungary to cut their reliance on Russian oil&lt;/strong&gt;," the report adds.&lt;/p&gt;
  239. &lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/eucomm.jpg?itok=mJ6dxdgo" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/eucomm.jpg?itok=mJ6dxdgo"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;figure role="group" class="caption caption-img inline-images image-style-inline-images"&gt;&lt;img alt="" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="929b1a9e-f65f-4e40-b95e-855abe3fa340" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="333" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/eucomm.jpg?itok=mJ6dxdgo" typeof="foaf:Image" width="500" /&gt;&lt;figcaption&gt;&lt;em&gt;Via AP: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her deputy, Foreign Affairs High Representative Kaja Kallas&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  240.  
  241. &lt;p data-end="561" data-start="324"&gt;EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had previously said the 19th sanctions package should be ready by the end of the month, which suggests that indeed the &lt;strong&gt;new Trump pressure is likely a major obstacle which explains the delay&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  242.  
  243. &lt;p data-end="561" data-start="324"&gt;There's also been some behind the scenes wrangling over how far-reaching the punitive measures might be, especially on the question of visas for Russians.&lt;/p&gt;
  244.  
  245. &lt;p data-end="987" data-start="563"&gt;Some EU member states are pushing for the new sanctions to include &lt;strong&gt;tougher, bloc-wide rules on visas for Russian citizens&lt;/strong&gt;. As it stands, each country sets differing policies related to tourist visas, with several EU members blocking all Russian tourist visas outright - though countries like Spain and Slovakia recently reopened their visa centers in Moscow.&lt;/p&gt;
  246.  
  247. &lt;p data-end="987" data-start="563"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Some anti-Putin activists have admitted that a blanket EU ban would only harm everyday people&lt;/strong&gt;, and the Kremlin would see itself justified in alleging 'Russophobic' policies out of Brussels.&lt;/p&gt;
  248.  
  249. &lt;p data-end="987" data-start="563"&gt;Against the backdrop of the internal EU policy debate, over the weekend President Trump urged NATO members to stop buying Russian oil and pushed the idea of imposing steep tariffs, possibly up to 100%, on Chinese goods in order to pressure Beijing from supporting Moscow.&lt;/p&gt;
  250.  
  251. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  252. &lt;p dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xml:lang="en"&gt;Europe stumped by Trump demands to stop buying Russian oil before he moves on punishing Moscow.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  253. EU has already banned most imports of Russian oil after the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine, slashing the share of oil it imports from Russia from 29% in early 2021 to 2% by mid-2025… &lt;a href="https://t.co/7bMSfQejAF"&gt;pic.twitter.com/7bMSfQejAF&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  254. — AFP News Agency (@AFP) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1967855383801626993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 16, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  255. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p data-end="987" data-start="563"&gt;But the reality remains that especially Turkey, Slovakia, and Hungary are heavily reliant on Russian energy, and aren't going to agree to drastic measures which harm their own populations and economies.&lt;/p&gt;
  256.  
  257. &lt;p data-end="987" data-start="563"&gt;The newest proposes sanctions would take aim at Russia's payment and credit card networks, cryptocurrency exchanges, as well as impose additional restrictions on its oil trade. In total it would target about &lt;strong&gt;half a dozen Russian banks and energy companies&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  258.  
  259. &lt;p data-end="987" data-start="563"&gt;&lt;u&gt;Below&lt;/u&gt;: Trump's latest to reporters:&lt;/p&gt;
  260.  
  261. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  262. &lt;p data-end="987" data-start="563"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;"Zelensky is gonna have to make a deal."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  263.  
  264. &lt;p data-end="987" data-start="563"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Trump once again slams Europe for buying Russian oil: &lt;strong&gt;"You know, they talk, but they're gonna have to stop buying oil from Russia."&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  265. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  266.  
  267. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"&gt;
  268. &lt;p dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xml:lang="en"&gt;'Zelensky is gonna have to make a DEAL' — Trump&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  269. Slams Europe for buying Russian oil&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  270. 'You know, they talk, but they're gonna have to stop buying oil from Russia' &lt;a href="https://t.co/6C2Im3KQK7"&gt;https://t.co/6C2Im3KQK7&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/3XYqePLxX6"&gt;pic.twitter.com/3XYqePLxX6&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  271. — RT (@RT_com) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1967952377392296206?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 16, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  272. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a &lt;em&gt;Meet the Press&lt;/em&gt; interview on Sunday said: "We are prepared to &lt;strong&gt;increase pressure on Russia&lt;/strong&gt;, but we need our partners in Europe to follow."&lt;/p&gt;
  273.  
  274. &lt;p&gt;Urging Europe to act more aggressively, he said, "We are talking about what the two, the EU and the U.S., do together. &lt;strong&gt;But we need our European partners to follow us&lt;/strong&gt;."&lt;/p&gt;
  275. &lt;/div&gt;
  276.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  277. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T15:45:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 11:45&lt;/span&gt;
  278. </description>
  279.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 15:45:00 +0000</pubDate>
  280.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  281.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066845 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  282.    </item>
  283. <item>
  284.  <title>News Anchor Resigns After Being Suspended Over On-Air Charlie Kirk Tribute</title>
  285.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/political/news-anchor-resigns-after-being-suspended-over-air-charlie-kirk-tribute</link>
  286.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;News Anchor Resigns After Being Suspended Over On-Air Charlie Kirk Tribute&lt;/span&gt;
  287.  
  288.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/news-anchor-resigns-after-being-suspended-over-on-air-charlie-kirk-tribute-5915658?utm_source=partner&amp;utm_campaign=ZeroHedge"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Authored by Melanie Sun via The Epoch Times,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  289.  
  290. &lt;p&gt;A WICS-ABC20 News anchor in Springfield, Illinois, has announced that she is resigning from her position after her employer suspended her for paying tribute to the late Charlie Kirk on air.&lt;/p&gt;
  291.  
  292. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/image%20-%202025-09-16T081423.632.jpg?itok=nCrsD2DG" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/image%20-%202025-09-16T081423.632.jpg?itok=nCrsD2DG"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b83cc7d0-e148-4b99-b507-e50542badf9b" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="333" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/image%20-%202025-09-16T081423.632.jpg?itok=nCrsD2DG" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  293.  
  294. &lt;p&gt;Beni Harmony paid an impassioned tribute to Kirk, whom she knew personally, during a Sept. 12 segment on ABC20’s Marketplace program.&lt;/p&gt;
  295.  
  296. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  297. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;“I want you to know that it’s OK if you feel sadness, it’s OK if you’re grieving,”&lt;/strong&gt; the host told her TV audience.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  298.  
  299. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“Two days ago, I lost a mentor, my first boss, the first person who made me believe in myself, that encouraged me to chase this dream that you’re watching right now, Charlie Kirk.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  300.  
  301. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“I want to share with you one of my favourite sayings that Charlie would always tell us at the office, he would yell it from the mountain-tops, so please listen: When conversations stop happening, when individuals become wordless, that’s when violence begins. So, if you do one thing today, make it be with passion, with conviction. Stand up for your friends, stand up for your beliefs, and speak loudly, even if your voice shakes. Your words have meaning, your values have purpose. Never forget that.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  302.  
  303. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;“Thank you, CK, you changed my life.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  304. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  305.  
  306. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/popular-illinois-tv-news-anchor.jpg?itok=46woAiFA" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/popular-illinois-tv-news-anchor.jpg?itok=46woAiFA"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="540c44d2-084d-4fcb-9670-a4c4f5774e7c" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="500" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/popular-illinois-tv-news-anchor.jpg?itok=46woAiFA" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  307.  
  308. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;According to a post Harmony made three days later, she was suspended by her network for the tribute to her former employer,&lt;/strong&gt; whose assassination on a Utah college campus on Sept. 10 made national headlines.&lt;/p&gt;
  309.  
  310. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  311. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“Many in the mainstream media have been fired or punished for mocking his assassination,” Harmony &lt;a href="https://x.com/BeniRaeHarmony/status/1967716797915787669"&gt;wrote&lt;/a&gt; in a Sept. 15 post on X.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  312.  
  313. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;“I believe I am the first to be targeted for honoring him on air.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  314.  
  315. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“Effective immediately, I have resigned from @WICS_ABC20 after being SUSPENDED for airing a non-partisan tribute to Charlie Kirk this past Friday.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  316. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  317.  
  318. &lt;p&gt;Explaining the reasoning behind her decision to leave the network, Harmony wrote:&lt;/p&gt;
  319.  
  320. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  321. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;“My resignation is guided by values that are essential to who I am, which I refuse to set aside in order to keep a job. I choose my faith and love of country, and always will.”&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  322. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  323.  
  324. &lt;p&gt;She then thanked her community in the city of Springfield and shared a prayer for the country, Kirk, and his wife and two young children.&lt;/p&gt;
  325.  
  326. &lt;p&gt;When asked on X about how people could support her, Harmony said, “While I’m still looking for my next job in media, I recommend everyone support Charlie’s family first.”&lt;/p&gt;
  327.  
  328. &lt;h2&gt;Recent Spate of Firings&lt;/h2&gt;
  329.  
  330. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Numerous people in leadership positions have lost employment over inappropriate comments in response to the assassination of Kirk.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  331.  
  332. &lt;p&gt;One of the more prominent early cases was the &lt;a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/msnbc-fires-matthew-dowd-over-comments-on-assassination-of-charlie-kirk-5913579"&gt;firing&lt;/a&gt; of MSNBC analyst Matthew Dowd on Sept. 11, the day after Kirk was fatally shot.&lt;/p&gt;
  333.  
  334. &lt;p&gt;Another media commentator, Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah, also said she had been fired over her comments on the assassination of the conservative influencer.&lt;/p&gt;
  335.  
  336. &lt;p&gt;Several universities, including Clemson University in South Carolina, and companies, including American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, have &lt;a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/employees-fired-suspended-for-celebrating-charlie-kirks-death-5914800"&gt;terminated&lt;/a&gt; employees over their inappropriate comments on Kirk’s murder.&lt;/p&gt;
  337.  
  338. &lt;p&gt;Military officials have also &lt;a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/colleges-fire-employees-over-remarks-about-charlie-kirks-murder-5914120"&gt;said&lt;/a&gt; they are looking into disparaging remarks made by service members about the assassination, and that actions that discredit the service will be addressed immediately.&lt;/p&gt;
  339.  
  340. &lt;h2&gt;Confronting Political Violence&lt;/h2&gt;
  341.  
  342. &lt;p&gt;Vice President JD Vance, who was a close friend of Kirk, &lt;a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/jd-vance-honors-charlie-kirk-by-hosting-special-broadcast-of-kirks-show-5915303?ea_src=frontpage&amp;ea_med=top-news-9-top-stories-0"&gt;hosted&lt;/a&gt; a special broadcast of “The Charlie Kirk Show” on Sept. 15—a show that Kirk personally hosted every day from October 2020, right up until his death on Sept. 10, 2025.&lt;/p&gt;
  343.  
  344. &lt;p&gt;In the special broadcast, &lt;strong&gt;Vance called on his fellow Americans to confront the problem of political violence, which he said has “terrible consequences,” &lt;/strong&gt;such as the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump and the shooting of GOP leader Steve Scalise.&lt;/p&gt;
  345.  
  346. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  347. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“I really do believe we can come together in this country. I believe we must. But unity, real unity, can be found only after climbing the mountain of truth, and there are difficult truths we must confront in our country,” Vance &lt;a href="https://x.com/JDVance/status/1967659982507372822"&gt;said&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  348.  
  349. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;“One truth is that 24 percent of self-described liberals believe it is acceptable to be happy about the death of a political opponent, while only 3 percent of self-described very conservatives agree. Three percent is too many, of course.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  350.  
  351. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“Another truth is that 26 percent of young liberals believe political violence is sometimes justified, and only 7 percent of young conservatives say the same—again, too high a number.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  352.  
  353. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“&lt;strong&gt;The data is clear, people on the left are much likelier to defend and celebrate political violence—this is not a both-sides problem.&lt;/strong&gt; If both sides have a problem, one side has a much bigger and malignant problem, and that is the truth that must be told.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  354. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  355.  
  356. &lt;p&gt;His comments come after Kirk’s suspected assassin was identified as Tyler Robinson, who Utah Gov. Spencer Cox &lt;a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/utah-governor-says-suspected-charlie-kirk-assassin-left-note-has-leftist-ideology-5914857?ea_src=ca-frontpage&amp;ea_med=title-1"&gt;said&lt;/a&gt; had “clearly a leftist ideology.”&lt;/p&gt;
  357.  
  358. &lt;p&gt;FBI Director Kash Patel said on Sept. 13 that Robinson’s father identified his son from footage released during the manhunt for the suspect.&lt;/p&gt;
  359.  
  360. &lt;p&gt;Cox also confirmed that investigators are assessing writings, some with anti-fascist content, allegedly left by Robinson, who had a transgender romantic partner. Authorities have not publicly said whether this is &lt;a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/charlie-kirks-alleged-assassin-lived-with-transgender-partner-fbi-5914681"&gt;relevant&lt;/a&gt; as they investigate Robinson’s motive.&lt;/p&gt;
  361. &lt;/div&gt;
  362.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  363. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T15:25:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 11:25&lt;/span&gt;
  364. </description>
  365.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 15:25:00 +0000</pubDate>
  366.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  367.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066846 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  368.    </item>
  369. <item>
  370.  <title>Fani's Final Push Stopped Up After Georgia Supremes Wipe Her From Trump Case</title>
  371.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fanis-final-push-stopped-after-georgia-supremes-wipe-her-trump-case</link>
  372.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;Fani's Final Push Stopped Up After Georgia Supremes Wipe Her From Trump Case&lt;/span&gt;
  373.  
  374.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday &lt;strong&gt;tossed Fulton County DA Fani Willis from her criminal prosecution against President Trump &lt;/strong&gt;and his allies.&lt;/p&gt;
  375.  
  376. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/fani%20o%20face1%20-%20Copy_2.jpg?itok=ZsQOY4_b" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/fani%20o%20face1%20-%20Copy_2.jpg?itok=ZsQOY4_b"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9db319c3-86a7-442f-8ba6-da0dcc4ba5af" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="334" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/fani%20o%20face1%20-%20Copy_2.jpg?itok=ZsQOY4_b" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  377.  
  378. &lt;p&gt;In a 4-3 decision, &lt;strong&gt;the state supremes declined to review a lower court's ruling disqualifying Willis &lt;/strong&gt;over a "significant appearance of impropriety" based on her romantic relationship with a top prosecutor she hired to &lt;s&gt;work on the case&lt;/s&gt; tax that Fani on lavish vacations.&lt;/p&gt;
  379.  
  380. &lt;p&gt;While Georgia's Prosecuting Attorneys' Council could appoint a new prosecutor to take Fani's place, the process could take months - meaning their case against Trump is effectively dead, or at least in limbo.&lt;/p&gt;
  381.  
  382. &lt;p&gt;Willis told &lt;a href="https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5505353-willis-disqualification-trump-georgia-case/?email=c14f3288a64818ecb98f8e0573beceb318faed57&amp;emaila=eb3b115abed24cacb59032280aed3dee&amp;emailb=67a847116066088d41479c6f1dae9ff2f033f69b05a6b0ce26810fdcc2c7acc9&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=9.16.25%20RS%20-%20Breaking%20Alert%20-%20Fani%20Willis"&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Hill&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt; that while she disagrees with the court's decision not to review her appeal, she respects the legal process and the courts. Just not enough to resist hiring her married boyfriend with taxpayer funds. &lt;/p&gt;
  383.  
  384. &lt;p&gt;"&lt;strong&gt;I hope that whoever is assigned to handle the case will have the courage to do what the evidence and the law demand&lt;/strong&gt;," Fani said, venting. &lt;/p&gt;
  385.  
  386. &lt;p&gt;Trump's lead Georgia attorney, Steve Sadow, said in a statement that the court had "correctly denied review."&lt;/p&gt;
  387.  
  388. &lt;p&gt;"Willis’ misconduct during the investigation and prosecution of President Trump was egregious and she deserved nothing less than disqualification. This proper decision should bring an end to the wrongful political, lawfare persecutions of the President," he said. &lt;/p&gt;
  389.  
  390. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;After a Biden DOJ operative parachuted into the case&lt;/strong&gt;, Willis indicted Trump and over a dozen allies with racketeering charges over allegations that they entered a months-long unlawful conspiracy to overturn former President Biden's 2020 win in Georgia - with Trump and most of his co-defendants pleading not guilty.&lt;/p&gt;
  391.  
  392. &lt;p&gt;Yet, &lt;strong&gt;when one of the co-defendants revealed bombshell evidence that Willis was banging her top investigator, Nathan Wade, &lt;/strong&gt;Fani's case fell on its ass - with a trial judge ruling that either Fani or Wade had to go. An appeals court went further, however, ruling that the "appearance of impropriety" made both Fani and Wade unqualified to prosecute Trump. &lt;/p&gt;
  393.  
  394. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Georgia Supreme Court Justice&lt;/strong&gt; Andrew Pinson elaborated on their decision, noting that the "public spotlight" on the case.&lt;/p&gt;
  395.  
  396. &lt;p&gt;"If this question — whether conduct creating an appearance of impropriety alone is grounds for disqualifying a prosecutor — is presented by future cases, we may well need to take it up in one of them," Pinson wrote, adding that the appeal didn't meet the threshold for the court's consideration because the appeals ruling was a "case-specific" decision which only analyzed whether Wade stepping aside was sufficient.&lt;/p&gt;
  397.  
  398. &lt;p&gt;"But, in my view, that possibly cert-worthy question is not presented by this case, at least not as it appears before this Court."&lt;/p&gt;
  399.  
  400. &lt;p&gt;Dissenting was Justice Carla Wong McMillian, who said she would have taken up the case because it affects "every single active lawyer" in the state. Two other justices joined her in the dissent. &lt;/p&gt;
  401.  
  402. &lt;p&gt;"No doubt, the facts of these cases are unusual and the cases are politically-charged due to the subject matter and the parties involved, including the current President of the United States," Wong McMillian wrote. "But neither the unusual underlying facts nor the identities of the parties deprive these cases of gravity."&lt;/p&gt;
  403.  
  404. &lt;p&gt;Two of the court's nine justices didn't vote. &lt;/p&gt;
  405. &lt;/div&gt;
  406.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  407. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T15:05:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 11:05&lt;/span&gt;
  408. </description>
  409.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 15:05:00 +0000</pubDate>
  410.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  411.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066839 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  412.    </item>
  413. <item>
  414.  <title>NY Judge Tosses Terrorism Charges Against Luigi Mangione, Murder Count Stands; Democrats Cheer In Streets</title>
  415.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ny-judge-tosses-terrorism-charges-against-luigi-mangione-murder-count-stands-democrats</link>
  416.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;NY Judge Tosses Terrorism Charges Against Luigi Mangione, Murder Count Stands; Democrats Cheer In Streets&lt;/span&gt;
  417.  
  418.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;A New York state judge just moments ago dismissed terrorism charges against &lt;a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/political/person-interest-nyc-assassination-being-questioned-police-pa"&gt;Luigi Mangione&lt;/a&gt; in the state's case over the late 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, but kept second-degree murder charges in place. &lt;/p&gt;
  419.  
  420. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  421. &lt;p dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xml:lang="en"&gt;Luigi Mangione has arrived for his New York State Court Hearing. &lt;a href="https://t.co/xoOhziXAhb"&gt;pic.twitter.com/xoOhziXAhb&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  422. — prosper (@prosperluigi) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/prosperluigi/status/1967943910782800224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 16, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  423. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;New York Judge Gregory Carro ruled that although Mangione's actions were ideologically motivated, New York law requires proof of intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population for terrorism charges, which prosecutors failed to present.&lt;/p&gt;
  424.  
  425. &lt;p&gt;Carro ruled that prosecutors presented&lt;strong&gt; "legally sufficient evidence of all other counts, including Murder in the Second Degree."&lt;/strong&gt; Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the rest of the charges.  &lt;/p&gt;
  426.  
  427. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  428. &lt;p dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xml:lang="en"&gt;The ruling means that the 27-year-old won’t face the prospect life in prison without parole. &lt;a href="https://t.co/nMfXCJLuS6"&gt;https://t.co/nMfXCJLuS6&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  429. — zerohedge (@zerohedge) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1967949315772649625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 16, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  430. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;This was the first time in five months that Mangione, a 27-year-old Ivy League graduate from Baltimore, Maryland, returned to a Manhattan courtroom.  &lt;/p&gt;
  431.  
  432. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/G0-NX3pXsAAjwm5.jpg?itok=EhPS4Ood" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/G0-NX3pXsAAjwm5.jpg?itok=EhPS4Ood"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5b9b6faa-75db-4968-9182-df328cbb7614" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="625" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/G0-NX3pXsAAjwm5.jpg?itok=EhPS4Ood" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  433.  
  434. &lt;p&gt;Mangione's "intentions were obvious from his acts, but his writings serve to make those intentions explicit," prosecutors wrote in a recent filing, adding that the writings "convey one clear message: that the murder of Brian Thompson was intended to bring about revolutionary change to the healthcare industry."&lt;/p&gt;
  435.  
  436. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Law enforcement indicates the words "delay," "deny," and "depose" that were etched into the bullet casings,&lt;/strong&gt; echoing a phrase commonly used to describe how major insurance companies avoid paying claims.&lt;/p&gt;
  437.  
  438. &lt;p&gt;Mangione has remained in custody at a Brooklyn jail since his arrest, about five days after the December 4 killing of Thompson.&lt;/p&gt;
  439.  
  440. &lt;p&gt;Mangione has developed a cult-like following within the Democratic Party, which conservative activists such as Charlie Kirk have long warned is a symptom of normalizing and spreading "assassination culture."&lt;/p&gt;
  441.  
  442. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  443. &lt;p dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xml:lang="en"&gt;🚨 NOW: People are cheering and hugging in reaction to Luigi Mangione having his terrorism charges dropped. The murder count will stand.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  444. "Free Luigi!"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  445. They want him to be released, and view him as a hero. We have massive issues as a country. &lt;a href="https://t.co/6OQlv8cEKo"&gt;pic.twitter.com/6OQlv8cEKo&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  446. — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1967947931849543769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 16, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  447. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;Omg. &lt;/p&gt;
  448.  
  449. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  450. &lt;p dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xml:lang="en"&gt;"I'm married to Luigi's AI, I'm not kidding" Luigi Mangione supporter who is in Ai Relationship with him, Speaks Outside NYC Court &lt;a href="https://t.co/mVGIgUGW61"&gt;pic.twitter.com/mVGIgUGW61&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  451. — Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/ScooterCasterNY/status/1967965989779419181?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 16, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  452. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;Kirk was assassinated last week by what appears to be a "radical left, Antifa-adjacent creep" who also etched revolutionary terminology into bullet casings, including the word "Fascists."&lt;/p&gt;
  453.  
  454. &lt;p&gt;The radicalization timeline of Mangione should be scrutinized, including whether the &lt;a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/political/elite-woke-maryland-private-school-asks-young-students-about-gender-and-if-they-had-oral"&gt;Baltimore-based Gilman School&lt;/a&gt; or the University of Pennsylvania played any role in shaping his leftist ideology.&lt;/p&gt;
  455. &lt;/div&gt;
  456.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  457. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T14:25:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 10:25&lt;/span&gt;
  458. </description>
  459.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 14:25:00 +0000</pubDate>
  460.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  461.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066832 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  462.    </item>
  463. <item>
  464.  <title>Hanged, Drawn, And Quartered</title>
  465.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/hanged-drawn-and-quartered</link>
  466.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;Hanged, Drawn, And Quartered&lt;/span&gt;
  467.  
  468.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;By Michael Every of Rabobank&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  469.  
  470. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;From a “because markets” perspective, the key story today is President Trump saying he would like the US to shift from quarterly to biannual corporate reporting&lt;/strong&gt;: "&lt;em&gt;This will save money, and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies…&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;Did you ever hear the statement that, 'China has a 50 to 100 year view on management of a company, whereas we run our companies on a quarterly basis??? Not good!!!&lt;/em&gt;" One can hear the wails of those in the ouroboros of 3-monthly higher/lower games. Yet from an economic statecraft perspective, is this wrong?&lt;/p&gt;
  471.  
  472. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Agree there and you have to ask why US firms are supposed to fixate on short-term returns to shareholders rather than a long-run vision&lt;/strong&gt;. The Chinese EVs sweeping all before them --and cementing control of key supply chains-- are losing money hand over fist; does that matter if they can keep it up longer than western markets would allow? Neomercantilism says yes. Accept that, and you quickly turn to what quarterly GDP is and isn’t measuring and is and isn’t “for”.&lt;/p&gt;
  473.  
  474. &lt;p&gt;That &lt;em&gt;is&lt;/em&gt; starting to happen, as a quick round-up of geopolitics underlines:&lt;/p&gt;
  475.  
  476. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  477. &lt;p&gt;"America risks making frenemies of old allies", argues the FT: what did Machiavelli say about being feared vs loved?&lt;/p&gt;
  478. &lt;/li&gt;
  479. &lt;li&gt;
  480. &lt;p&gt;\x9f&lt;strong&gt;The US struck a second alleged drug boat from Venezuela&lt;/strong&gt;, as the State Department approved a possible sale of F-16s to Peru.&lt;/p&gt;
  481. &lt;/li&gt;
  482. &lt;li&gt;
  483. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The US announced that it will broaden its anti-narcotics strikes to land &lt;/strong&gt;and named Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela as countries with drug production inputs, facilities, or key transit channels. Monroe Doctrine, anyone?&lt;/p&gt;
  484. &lt;/li&gt;
  485. &lt;li&gt;
  486. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The US struck a second alleged drug boat from Venezuela&lt;/strong&gt;, as the State Department approved a possible sale of F-16s to Peru.&lt;/p&gt;
  487. &lt;/li&gt;
  488. &lt;li&gt;
  489. &lt;p&gt;\x9f&lt;strong&gt;Israel’s invasion of Gaza City has begun for real&lt;/strong&gt;, with the region in turmoil over that and the recent Israeli strike on Qatar, which sources say Trump &lt;em&gt;was&lt;/em&gt; informed of in advance. Negotiations are apparently also taking place behind the scenes to try to avoid a full  invasion.&lt;/p&gt;
  490. &lt;/li&gt;
  491. &lt;li&gt;
  492. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Australia’s Papua New Guinea defence treaty will require both to 'act' if either is attacked, though it’s still unsigned&lt;/strong&gt;, Vanuatu hasn’t signed the same deal, and PM Albanese is now aiming for Fiji as whispers are of Chinese regional counter-lobbying.&lt;/p&gt;
  493. &lt;/li&gt;
  494. &lt;li&gt;
  495. &lt;p&gt;\x9fIn Europe, &lt;strong&gt;Denmark will bypass more than 20 laws and regulations to allow Ukraine’s Fire Point to build a solid rocket fuel plant near a Danish airbase.  &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  496. &lt;/li&gt;
  497. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Geoeconomics makes the same point:&lt;/p&gt;
  498.  
  499. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  500. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Poland closing its border with Belarus &lt;/strong&gt;has frozen €25bn in EU-China rail trade.&lt;/p&gt;
  501. &lt;/li&gt;
  502. &lt;li&gt;
  503. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;\x9fChina threatened “decisive countermeasures” &lt;/strong&gt;should Europe and the US impose secondary sanction tariffs on it for buying Russian oil.&lt;/p&gt;
  504. &lt;/li&gt;
  505. &lt;li&gt;
  506. &lt;p&gt;Reuters underlines &lt;strong&gt;China and Russia are using bilateral barter &lt;/strong&gt;to avoid the US dollar.  &lt;/p&gt;
  507. &lt;/li&gt;
  508. &lt;li&gt;
  509. &lt;p&gt;\x9f&lt;strong&gt;‘China’s curbs on defence metal germanium create ‘desperate’ supply squeeze’&lt;/strong&gt; (FT): prices are at a 14-year high for the crucial input a GDP-and-P/E-focus saw China gain total control of.&lt;/p&gt;
  510. &lt;/li&gt;
  511. &lt;li&gt;
  512. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;China says Nvidia violated anti-monopoly laws, &lt;/strong&gt;escalating tensions with the US, though the two have &lt;strong&gt;reached a TikTok “consensus’, &lt;/strong&gt;perhaps setting up a Trump-Xi call, as Treasury Secretary Bessent underlined China is making “aggressive asks.”&lt;/p&gt;
  513. &lt;/li&gt;
  514. &lt;li&gt;
  515. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Australia has unveiled plans to boost its exports to China &lt;/strong&gt;even as it suffered economic coercion on that front in recent years, and as it tries to sign defence treaties with Pacific nations which could risk that happening all over again.&lt;/p&gt;
  516. &lt;/li&gt;
  517. &lt;li&gt;
  518. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;\x9fAn India-EU trade deal has been hit by a basmati rice dispute &lt;/strong&gt;as Pakistan says the vaunted grains are theirs, leaving Brussels to play for time. It certainly symbolises how the usual “grain-ular” EU approach on free trade doesn’t work in a geopolitical world.&lt;/p&gt;
  519. &lt;/li&gt;
  520. &lt;li&gt;
  521. &lt;p&gt;Indeed, &lt;strong&gt;Israeli PM Netanyahu stated his country is economically isolated and will need to become self-reliant for the weapons it needs: &lt;/strong&gt;he even mentioned “autarky”.&lt;/p&gt;
  522. &lt;/li&gt;
  523. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Political news also flows away from a business-as-usual focus on GDP and quarterly earnings:&lt;/p&gt;
  524.  
  525. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  526. &lt;p&gt;Politico argues ‘Why Macron thinks Lecornu can save France from the abyss’&lt;/p&gt;
  527. &lt;/li&gt;
  528. &lt;li&gt;
  529. &lt;p&gt;\x9f&lt;strong&gt;The AfD tripled its vote share in a key western state in Germany&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  530. &lt;/li&gt;
  531. &lt;li&gt;
  532. &lt;p&gt;A Tory MP defected to Reform UK as a poll has the party 16 points ahead of Labour and the Conservatives; “Labour MPs talk openly about replacing PM, as third senior ally in two weeks departs after publication of messages”&lt;/p&gt;
  533. &lt;/li&gt;
  534. &lt;li&gt;
  535. &lt;p&gt;\x9fThe White House says it will crack down on the political left&lt;/p&gt;
  536. &lt;/li&gt;
  537. &lt;li&gt;
  538. &lt;p&gt;\x9f&lt;strong&gt;The Wall Street Journal notes “fascist” has been normalised as an insult by all in US politics&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  539. &lt;/li&gt;
  540. &lt;li&gt;
  541. &lt;p&gt;\x9fA US free speech lobby group poll of Harvard students has 32% backing violence to stop political voices they oppose on campus.&lt;/p&gt;
  542. &lt;/li&gt;
  543. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;In markets, an appeals court ruled Trump can’t fire Governor Cook before the next Fed meeting, so how will Cook vote - unless the Supreme Court quickly steps in? That’s as Trump appointee Miran won confirmation to the Fed, which Bloomberg calls a “Watershed policy moment”. &lt;strong&gt;The current trend suggests a lot higher watersheds than that to come&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  544.  
  545. &lt;p&gt;Meanwhile, &lt;strong&gt;Thailand is weighing taxes on physical gold trading &lt;/strong&gt;as the metal is dragging THB higher as the struggling economy needs a lower exchange rate; and the Bank of England proposes strict limits on stablecoin ownership - that’s one way to avoid the threat of dollar stablecoins, but I doubt the US will stand for it. Does either move say, “because markets” or “expect further changes to the global architecture”?&lt;/p&gt;
  546.  
  547. &lt;p&gt;To summarize all of the above, &lt;strong&gt;just looking at the usual numbers in the usual “because markets” ways at times like these risks seeing you hung, drawn, and quartered.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  548. &lt;/div&gt;
  549.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  550. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T14:05:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 10:05&lt;/span&gt;
  551. </description>
  552.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 14:05:00 +0000</pubDate>
  553.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  554.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066805 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  555.    </item>
  556. <item>
  557.  <title>Full Israeli Ground Offensive In Gaza City Begins: 'We Will Not Relent Until Mission Complete'</title>
  558.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/full-israeli-ground-offensive-gaza-city-begins-we-will-not-relent-until-mission</link>
  559.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;Full Israeli Ground Offensive In Gaza City Begins: 'We Will Not Relent Until Mission Complete'&lt;/span&gt;
  560.  
  561.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;"Gaza is burning," &lt;/strong&gt;Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared Tuesday. &lt;strong&gt;"We will not relent and we will not go back - until the completion of the mission."&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  562.  
  563. &lt;p data-end="390" data-start="82"&gt;The Israeli military launched the mainstay of its ground offensive in Gaza City on Tuesday, advancing slowly into the densely populated urban center, which has already suffered immense destruction due to airstrikes. Residents are being told to immediately evacuate to the south. Huge lines of vehicles packed with families' belongings could be seen scrambling to get out of the war-ravaged city.&lt;/p&gt;
  564. &lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/inline-images/gazasouth.jpg?itok=cyoLOXbz" data-link-option="0" href="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/inline-images/gazasouth.jpg?itok=cyoLOXbz"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;figure role="group" class="caption caption-img inline-images image-style-inline-images"&gt;&lt;img alt="" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="f65b200d-ef4e-4414-a9e0-6bb864a695a0" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="332" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/gazasouth.jpg?itok=cyoLOXbz" typeof="foaf:Image" width="500" /&gt;&lt;figcaption&gt;&lt;em&gt;Palestinian resident flee the ground offensive, via Reuters.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  565.  
  566. &lt;p data-end="390" data-start="82"&gt;Gaza City residents told Al Jazeera they are subject to &lt;strong&gt;"heavy, relentless" bombardment &lt;/strong&gt;- and least 68 people have been killed by Israeli air strikes across Gaza since dawn. Videos also showed huge explosions rocking the city on Tuesday, with large bombs concentrated Tal al-Hawa, a neighborhood in the south of Gaza City.&lt;/p&gt;
  567.  
  568. &lt;p data-end="390" data-start="82"&gt;Currently, many Arab and Islamic leaders are gathered in the Qatari capital of Doha, where they condemned the new IDF military's push deeper into Gaza City, decrying it as &lt;strong&gt;a "cowardly" attack &lt;/strong&gt;and pronouncing it as "genocide".&lt;/p&gt;
  569.  
  570. &lt;p data-end="390" data-start="82"&gt;Also in Qatar is Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who interestingly after expressing ironclad commitment to Israel, still &lt;a href="https://www.newsmax.com/world/globaltalk/israel-war-hamas/2025/09/16/id/1226536/"&gt;said&lt;/a&gt;: "We have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen," and that extended warfare could "deepen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza." He further declared that "The only thing worse than a war is a protracted one."&lt;/p&gt;
  571.  
  572. &lt;p data-end="390" data-start="82"&gt;He added, "At some point, this has to end. At some point, &lt;strong&gt;Hamas has to be defanged&lt;/strong&gt;, and we hope it can happen through a negotiation. But I think time, unfortunately, is running out." He had &lt;a href="https://news.antiwar.com/2025/09/15/rubio-says-diplomatic-solution-for-gaza-may-not-be-possible/"&gt;expressed&lt;/a&gt; while in Israel Monday that &lt;strong&gt;peace for Gaza may not be possible&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  573.  
  574. &lt;p data-end="1962" data-start="1511"&gt;As for Israel, it has called up &lt;strong&gt;60,000 more reservists&lt;/strong&gt; to accomplish the new "expanded ground operations" in Gaza City. This is already after putting the country on alert.&lt;/p&gt;
  575.  
  576. &lt;p data-end="1962" data-start="1511"&gt;The past week has seen Israel pull down several high-rise buildings in the area of fighting, leaving them rubble, alleging they were used by Hamas...&lt;/p&gt;
  577.  
  578. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  579. &lt;p dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xml:lang="en"&gt;There is an obvious 🇮🇱 plan to make the present Gaza city uninhabitable. All major buildings are being erased. There should be nothing for Palestinians to come back to. &lt;a href="https://t.co/zGKRjkk8yF"&gt;pic.twitter.com/zGKRjkk8yF&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  580. — Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/carlbildt/status/1967581889012875433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 15, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  581. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Gaza City assault is expected to worsen the Strip's already horrific internal refugee crisis and food crisis, after the UN and various monitoring groups have confirmed famine in some sectors. Dozens if not hundreds of civilians have already died of starvation.&lt;/p&gt;
  582.  
  583. &lt;p&gt;Interestingly, amid anti-Netanyahu protests in major cities and even near his personal residence, some Israeli reservists are revolting, intentionally failing to report for duty. &lt;em&gt;Haaretz &lt;/em&gt;earlier this month &lt;a href="https://archive.ph/gDABK"&gt;reported&lt;/a&gt; that some &lt;strong&gt;350 Israeli reservists signed a statement opposing the takeover of Gaza City&lt;/strong&gt; and renewed military assault there.&lt;/p&gt;
  584. &lt;/div&gt;
  585.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  586. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T13:45:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 09:45&lt;/span&gt;
  587. </description>
  588.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 13:45:00 +0000</pubDate>
  589.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  590.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066769 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  591.    </item>
  592. <item>
  593.  <title>ICE Requests Removal Of Cuban Illegal Alien Charged With Murder In Texas Beheading</title>
  594.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ice-requests-removal-cuban-illegal-alien-charged-murder-texas-beheading</link>
  595.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;ICE Requests Removal Of Cuban Illegal Alien Charged With Murder In Texas Beheading&lt;/span&gt;
  596.  
  597.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/ice-requests-removal-of-cuban-illegal-alien-charged-with-murder-in-texas-beheading-5914892?utm_source=morningbriefnoe&amp;src_src=morningbriefnoe&amp;utm_campaign=mb-2025-09-15&amp;src_cmp=mb-2025-09-15&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;est=m0wrQJSDgth60To9SwM9qIYKm8W6HP22S%2B%2BbyLfd4rYbN5dMxU30Qvl7oyUW18U%3D"&gt;Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times&lt;/a&gt; (emphasis ours),&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  598.  
  599. &lt;p&gt;Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer for an illegal immigrant from Cuba who was accused of beheading a victim in Texas with a machete.&lt;/p&gt;
  600. &lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/image_92%2882%29_1.jpg?itok=T1nJJIuD" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/image_92%2882%29_1.jpg?itok=T1nJJIuD"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;figure role="group" class="caption caption-img inline-images image-style-inline-images"&gt;&lt;img alt="" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a2ea5bd7-36b7-4006-bdff-722420289c14" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="333" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/image_92%2882%29_1.jpg?itok=T1nJJIuD" typeof="foaf:Image" width="500" /&gt;&lt;figcaption&gt;&lt;em&gt;Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detain an illegal immigrant near Washington in May 2025. Courtesy of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  601.  
  602. &lt;p&gt;In a &lt;a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/09/12/ice-lodges-detainer-depraved-criminal-illegal-alien-cuba-charged-murder-beheading"&gt;statement&lt;/a&gt;, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, who has a lengthy rap sheet, is accused of committing the murder at a Dallas motel on Sept. 10.&lt;/p&gt;
  603.  
  604. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The suspect “allegedly used a machete to behead a merchant he had an argument [with] in front of the merchant’s spouse and child,” &lt;/strong&gt;DHS stated.&lt;/p&gt;
  605.  
  606. &lt;p&gt;ICE has since filed a request for Cobos-Martinez to be detained for federal arrest and removal with the Dallas County Jail, where he is being held, the agency confirmed.&lt;/p&gt;
  607.  
  608. &lt;p&gt;Previously, he was convicted of child sex abuse, grand theft of a motor vehicle, false imprisonment, and carjacking, DHS stated.&lt;/p&gt;
  609.  
  610. &lt;p&gt;“&lt;strong&gt;This vile monster beheaded this man in front of his wife and child&lt;/strong&gt;,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “This gruesome, savage slaying of a victim at a motel by Yordanis Cobos-Martinez was completely preventable if this criminal illegal alien was not released into our country by the Biden Administration since Cuba would not take him back.”&lt;/p&gt;
  611.  
  612. &lt;p&gt;She added that the incident is “exactly why” the department is removing criminal illegal aliens to third countries.&lt;/p&gt;
  613.  
  614. &lt;p&gt;“If you come to our country illegally, you could end up in Eswatini, Uganda, South Sudan, or CECOT,” she said.&lt;/p&gt;
  615.  
  616. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CECOT refers to the large prison facility in El Salvador used to house prisoners convicted of murder as well as members of MS-13,&lt;/strong&gt; which was declared a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration earlier this year.&lt;/p&gt;
  617.  
  618. &lt;p&gt;The department added that Cobos-Martinez was held in ICE custody but was released on Jan. 13, 2025, adding that Cuba refused to accept him back because of his criminal history.&lt;/p&gt;
  619.  
  620. &lt;p&gt;“Yordanis Cobos-Martinez has a past final order of removal to Cuba. He was most recently in ICE Dallas custody at the Bluebonnet Detention Center until he was released on an Order of Supervision on Jan. 13, 2025—under the Biden administration,” the DHS stated. “This barbaric criminal was released because Cuba would not accept him because of his criminal history.”&lt;/p&gt;
  621.  
  622. &lt;p&gt;The murder comes as the Trump administration has highlighted crimes committed by illegal immigrants in a bid to deport large numbers of people from the United States.&lt;/p&gt;
  623.  
  624. &lt;p&gt;Last week, ICE was sent to carry out operations to remove illegal immigrants in Chicago, officials said. On Sept. 12, during those operations, an illegal immigrant was shot in the Chicago area by an ICE official after dragging the officer with his vehicle, &lt;a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/illegal-immigrant-fatally-shot-after-dragging-ice-officer-in-chicago-area-dhs-says-5914347"&gt;according&lt;/a&gt; to DHS.&lt;/p&gt;
  625.  
  626. &lt;p&gt;The ICE agent was “fearing for his own life” after the individual drove his car at the agent, who then fired his weapon at the individual, the department stated.&lt;/p&gt;
  627. &lt;/div&gt;
  628.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  629. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T13:35:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 09:35&lt;/span&gt;
  630. </description>
  631.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 13:35:00 +0000</pubDate>
  632.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  633.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066550 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  634.    </item>
  635. <item>
  636.  <title>Did US Industrial Production Data Just Expose A Weak Spot In The AI Boom Narrative?</title>
  637.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/us-industrial-production-surprises-upside-august-capacity-utilization-trends-lower</link>
  638.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;Did US Industrial Production Data Just Expose A Weak Spot In The AI Boom Narrative?&lt;/span&gt;
  639.  
  640.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;US Industrial production rose 0.1% MoM in August (better than the small 0.1% MoM decline expected) and a modest rebound from July's weakness. YoY growth in production dipped to 0.9%...&lt;/p&gt;
  641.  
  642. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/bfm8071.jpg?itok=sRu-kmJe" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/bfm8071.jpg?itok=sRu-kmJe"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d56bca03-a86a-4a01-b0d9-3c5e7dbb1dee" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="336" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/bfm8071.jpg?itok=sRu-kmJe" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  643.  
  644. &lt;p&gt;Source: Bloomberg&lt;/p&gt;
  645.  
  646. &lt;p&gt;On the Manufacturing side, data also surprised to the upside with a 0.2% MoM gain versus expectations of a 0.2% decline.&lt;/p&gt;
  647.  
  648. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/bfm4B20_1.jpg?itok=S3OT4UAK" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/bfm4B20_1.jpg?itok=S3OT4UAK"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d4c1d533-6231-4cbf-8c42-51e095883557" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="338" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/bfm4B20_1.jpg?itok=S3OT4UAK" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  649.  
  650. &lt;p&gt;Source: Bloomberg&lt;/p&gt;
  651.  
  652. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mining output grew 0.9 percent in August&lt;/strong&gt; after falling 1.5 percent in July.&lt;/p&gt;
  653.  
  654. &lt;p&gt;In August, the index for&lt;strong&gt; utilities decreased 2.0 percent,&lt;/strong&gt; as a 2.3 percent decline in the output of electric utilities more than offset a 0.2 percent increase in the output of natural gas utilities...&lt;/p&gt;
  655.  
  656. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/bfm8F7B.jpg?itok=wko009N2" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/bfm8F7B.jpg?itok=wko009N2"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="8998655e-2337-441c-9a15-8e5a3fe898af" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="337" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/bfm8F7B.jpg?itok=wko009N2" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  657.  
  658. &lt;p&gt;Source: Bloomberg&lt;/p&gt;
  659.  
  660. &lt;p&gt;We have a question though... &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;if AI is so successful (as proxied by the stock prices of AI companies), then why isn't demand for electricity (from Utilities) soaring?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  661.  
  662. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/bfm5401_0.jpg?itok=8kfa7EEQ" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/bfm5401_0.jpg?itok=8kfa7EEQ"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="f6df6a55-63f1-4f10-9e1e-7083572a7ecf" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="335" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/bfm5401_0.jpg?itok=8kfa7EEQ" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  663.  
  664. &lt;p&gt;Source: Bloomberg&lt;/p&gt;
  665.  
  666. &lt;p&gt;But,on the darker side of the ledger, Capacity Utilization continues to trend lower...&lt;/p&gt;
  667.  
  668. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/bfmB583.jpg?itok=m5iZhdFl" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/bfmB583.jpg?itok=m5iZhdFl"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="04c35895-2fe4-456a-adf1-28bdf7e66921" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="337" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/bfmB583.jpg?itok=m5iZhdFl" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  669.  
  670. &lt;p&gt;Source: Bloomberg&lt;/p&gt;
  671.  
  672. &lt;p&gt;So much for the tariff terror's impact on American manufacturing...&lt;/p&gt;
  673. &lt;/div&gt;
  674.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  675. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T13:23:04+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 09:23&lt;/span&gt;
  676. </description>
  677.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 13:23:04 +0000</pubDate>
  678.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  679.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066797 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  680.    </item>
  681. <item>
  682.  <title>Ukrainian Kamikaze Drone Attacks Slash Russian Refining Capacity</title>
  683.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/ukrainian-kamikaze-drone-attacks-slash-russian-refining-capacity</link>
  684.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;Ukrainian Kamikaze Drone Attacks Slash Russian Refining Capacity&lt;/span&gt;
  685.  
  686.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ukraine has ramped up its use of long-range drones against Russian oil refineries, export terminals, and storage facilities in an effort to erode Moscow’s revenue streams and weaken its war financing ability, with the latest &lt;strong&gt;kamikaze drone attacks in August and September taking an estimated 300,000 barrels per day of refining capacity offline&lt;/strong&gt;, according to a Goldman Sachs client report issued this week. &lt;/p&gt;
  687.  
  688. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/2025-09-16_07-37-47.png?itok=eVgYcn8H" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/2025-09-16_07-37-47.png?itok=eVgYcn8H"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="469c1811-82ba-4606-9dae-d9768251b85b" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="163" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/2025-09-16_07-37-47.png?itok=eVgYcn8H" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  689.  
  690. &lt;p&gt;A team of Goldman analysts led by Yulia Zhestkova Grigsby and others wrote in a note to clients:&lt;/p&gt;
  691.  
  692. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  693. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Brent oil price increased by $2/bbl from a week ago to $67/bbl as &lt;/em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;drone attacks on Russia refineries and export facilities ramped up. We estimate that drone attacks took out about 0.3mb/d of Russia refining capacity in August and in September so far&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  694.  
  695. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Following increasing sanctions pressure on Russian oil buyers and lower refinery runs, Russia seaborne diesel exports dropped by nearly 1/2 over the last 6 months or by 0.5mb/d (Exhibit 1, right panel). But refinery outages can also weigh on upstream production via crude storage congestion from lower refinery intake, especially if crude storage and export capacities are limited.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  696. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  697.  
  698. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  699. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/2025-09-16_07-34-02.png?itok=5OD1sdp9" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/2025-09-16_07-34-02.png?itok=5OD1sdp9"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="be8e77ea-28ca-4043-b9cb-1a5c89b31696" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="336" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/2025-09-16_07-34-02.png?itok=5OD1sdp9" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  700. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  701.  
  702. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  703. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Our Russia crude production nowcast has been trending down over the last 3 years &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;and dropped to its lowest post-pandemic level of 8.8mb/d last week (Exhibit 1, left panel). While the uncertainty around secondary tariffs and additional sanctions remains high, we assume only modestly lower Russian production as Asian buyers continue to signal willingness to import Russian crude. We see more downside risks to Russia production from declining producer price incentives and technological and operational bottlenecks from sanctions than from lower foreign demand for Russian crude.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  704. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  705.  
  706. &lt;p&gt;Brent crude markets are weighing geopolitics against softening macroeconomic data in the U.S. and elsewhere, alongside rising protectionism from the global trade war. Prices are consolidating around $67 a barrel as much of the war-risk premium has evaporated.&lt;/p&gt;
  707.  
  708. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/Snag_1b36b02b.png?itok=9OpBqbBl" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/Snag_1b36b02b.png?itok=9OpBqbBl"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ade60622-17e5-498d-bbb9-1778753d8d42" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="278" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/Snag_1b36b02b.png?itok=9OpBqbBl" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  709.  
  710. &lt;p&gt;Last weekend, Ukraine launched a massive drone assault on Russian energy infrastructure, with Reuters reporting 361 drones, including at least one that struck the vast Kirishi oil refinery in northwest Russia. In a separate development, Russian drones were recently downed in NATO-member Poland. More coverage on the &lt;a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/five-most-likely-outcomes-russian-drone-incursion-poland"&gt;drone campaign is available here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  711.  
  712. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;ZeroHedge Pro Subs can &lt;a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/sctn6rbh09gmqyumgqhd2/Oil-Tracker-Russia-Production-Concerns-Support-Prices-Despite-Rising-Inventories.pdf?rlkey=hm82t1f7pm1c0fe9xc7kfh0rz&amp;st=kwox54g9&amp;dl=0"&gt;read the full note&lt;/a&gt; in the usual place. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  713. &lt;/div&gt;
  714.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  715. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T13:10:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 09:10&lt;/span&gt;
  716. </description>
  717.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 13:10:00 +0000</pubDate>
  718.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  719.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066730 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  720.    </item>
  721. <item>
  722.  <title>JD Vance: No 'Unity' With Groups That Wanted Conservatives Dead</title>
  723.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/political/jd-vance-no-unity-groups-wanted-conservatives-dead</link>
  724.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;JD Vance: No 'Unity' With Groups That Wanted Conservatives Dead&lt;/span&gt;
  725.  
  726.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Authored by &lt;a href="https://headlineusa.com/author/lcornelio"&gt;Luis Cornelio&lt;/a&gt; via &lt;a href="https://headlineusa.com/subscribe/"&gt;Headline USA&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  727.  
  728. &lt;p&gt;Vice President &lt;a href="https://headlineusa.com/tag/jd-vance"&gt;JD Vance&lt;/a&gt; expressed a lack of interest in reconciling with radical leftist groups who celebrated the recent assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.&lt;/p&gt;
  729.  
  730. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/AP25030604636093-e1738705203171.jpg?itok=98omX0XE" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/AP25030604636093-e1738705203171.jpg?itok=98omX0XE"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="8f01a86a-026c-47d1-b7d3-ad551f098cf2" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="250" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/AP25030604636093-e1738705203171.jpg?itok=98omX0XE" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  731.  
  732. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Vance specifically rejected calls for “unity” with those celebrating Kirk’s death&lt;/strong&gt; while guest-hosting &lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngofqx9EfcM"&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Charlie Kirk Show&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/a&gt;on Monday. &lt;/p&gt;
  733.  
  734. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  735. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“There is no unity with people who scream at children over their parents’ politics,” Vance declared.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  736.  
  737. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“There is no unity with someone who lies about what Charlie Kirk said in order to excuse his murder. There is no unity with someone who harasses an innocent family the day after the father of that family lost a dear friend.”  &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  738. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  739.  
  740. &lt;p&gt;He added, “There is no unity with the people who celebrate Charlie Kirk’s &lt;a href="https://headlineusa.com/tag/assassination"&gt;assassination&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;strong&gt;And there is no unity with the people who fund these articles, who pay the salaries of these terrorist sympathizers&lt;/strong&gt;, who argue that Charlie Kirk, a loving husband and father, deserved a shot to the neck because he spoke words with which they disagree.” &lt;/p&gt;
  741.  
  742. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  743. &lt;p dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xml:lang="en"&gt;🚨 JD VANCE just WENT OFF on people who are calling for "UNITY" with radical leftists&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  744. "There is NO UNITY with people who scream at children over their parents' politics.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  745. There is NO UNITY with someone who LIES about what Charlie Kirk said in order to excuse his murder.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  746. There… &lt;a href="https://t.co/iDq3cKJQcO"&gt;pic.twitter.com/iDq3cKJQcO&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  747. — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1967653577481945175?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 15, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  748. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;Vance’s remarks came in response to dismissive and at times celebratory messages from leftist social media users and radical groups following Kirk’s murder on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University, where he had been addressing a young crowd of supporters. &lt;/p&gt;
  749.  
  750. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Vance directly called out&lt;a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/charlie-kirk-assassination-maga/"&gt;&lt;em&gt; The Nation&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, a left-wing news platform repeatedly funded by George Soros, for publishing material attacking Kirk. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  751.  
  752. &lt;p&gt;One such article—titled “Charlie Kirk’s Legacy Deserves No Mourning”—read, “The white Christian nationalist provocateur wasn’t a promoter of civil discourse. He preached hate, bigotry, and division.” &lt;/p&gt;
  753.  
  754. &lt;p&gt;Vance also rebuked the role of funding from George Soros’s Open Society Foundation and the Ford Foundation, which he said has been given to groups downplaying Kirk’s death while receiving generous tax write-offs. &lt;/p&gt;
  755.  
  756. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;“They are literally subsidized by you and me, the American taxpayer. And how do they reward us? By setting fire to the house built by the American family over 250 years,” &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;Vance decried. &lt;/p&gt;
  757.  
  758. &lt;p&gt;Vance concluded by saying that real unity is only possible “with people who acknowledge that political violence is unacceptable.” &lt;/p&gt;
  759. &lt;/div&gt;
  760.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  761. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T12:50:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 08:50&lt;/span&gt;
  762. </description>
  763.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 12:50:00 +0000</pubDate>
  764.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  765.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066767 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  766.    </item>
  767. <item>
  768.  <title>'Real' Retail Sales Rise For 11th Straight Month In August</title>
  769.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/real-retail-sales-rise-11th-straight-month-august</link>
  770.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;'Real' Retail Sales Rise For 11th Straight Month In August&lt;/span&gt;
  771.  
  772.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;'Brace yourself for a big beat'&lt;/strong&gt; is the message from BofA's almost omniscient analysts ahead of this morning's retail sales print for August with the GDP-driving Control Group expected to be particularly hot...&lt;/p&gt;
  773.  
  774. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/get_attachment_url%20%2818%29_3.jpg?itok=Y-7Yb3QQ" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/get_attachment_url%20%2818%29_3.jpg?itok=Y-7Yb3QQ"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="72cdf081-248c-42f3-8029-19ffabd8a82a" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="248" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/get_attachment_url%20%2818%29_3.jpg?itok=Y-7Yb3QQ" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  775.  
  776. &lt;p&gt;...and once again they nailed it with headline retail sales rising 0.6% MoM (+0.2% MoM exp) - the third strong monthly rise in a row (with July's print revised stronger) - leading to a 5.0% YoY rise...&lt;/p&gt;
  777.  
  778. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/bfmA16A_1.jpg?itok=eC3oC5Mv" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/bfmA16A_1.jpg?itok=eC3oC5Mv"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7f9fa607-0278-4e84-84a4-fe8c523274f7" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="338" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/bfmA16A_1.jpg?itok=eC3oC5Mv" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  779.  
  780. &lt;p&gt;Source: Bloomberg&lt;/p&gt;
  781.  
  782. &lt;p&gt;Core retail sales growth YoY is also surging...&lt;/p&gt;
  783.  
  784. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/bfmB79D_0.jpg?itok=dshyOx_a" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/bfmB79D_0.jpg?itok=dshyOx_a"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5277e5e1-25db-453e-8fa5-50e97e70ecd5" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="336" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/bfmB79D_0.jpg?itok=dshyOx_a" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  785.  
  786. &lt;p&gt;Source: Bloomberg&lt;/p&gt;
  787.  
  788. &lt;p&gt;Onleine sales dominated the upside MoM, along with Motor Vehicles &amp; Clothing...&lt;/p&gt;
  789.  
  790. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/get_attachment_url%20%2820%29_4.jpg?itok=pYBdyRXT" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/get_attachment_url%20%2820%29_4.jpg?itok=pYBdyRXT"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a16be821-6ca6-4f0e-a1ca-0c1fd0fc2816" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="301" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/get_attachment_url%20%2820%29_4.jpg?itok=pYBdyRXT" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  791.  
  792. &lt;p&gt;Source: Bloomberg&lt;/p&gt;
  793.  
  794. &lt;p&gt;Furniture and Department Store sales saw the biggest MoM decline..&lt;/p&gt;
  795.  
  796. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/get_attachment_url%20%2819%29_4.jpg?itok=6dk5cfOL" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/get_attachment_url%20%2819%29_4.jpg?itok=6dk5cfOL"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ef792a14-b5ab-477a-a74a-c5c809693cbf" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="414" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/get_attachment_url%20%2819%29_4.jpg?itok=6dk5cfOL" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  797.  
  798. &lt;p&gt;Finally, as a reminder, retail sales data is nominal, so roughly adjusting for CPI, we see retail sales up 2.1% YoY (the 11th straight month of annual gains in real spending)&lt;/p&gt;
  799.  
  800. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/bfmB8F1.jpg?itok=1CB_NBVL" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/bfmB8F1.jpg?itok=1CB_NBVL"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="3e82206a-9e94-4ec8-8f7d-a750298caa8a" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="337" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/bfmB8F1.jpg?itok=1CB_NBVL" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  801.  
  802. &lt;p&gt;Source: Bloomberg&lt;/p&gt;
  803.  
  804. &lt;p&gt;The most notable retail sales cohort - the Control Group - which feeds directly into the GDP calculation, surged 0.7% MoM (well above the 0.4% MoM expected) and up 5.9% YoY. Of course, this is nominal, but still a strong signal for the consumer.&lt;/p&gt;
  805.  
  806. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/bfm9272.jpg?itok=1hITJSPe" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/bfm9272.jpg?itok=1hITJSPe"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="f306c8dd-2bf2-4889-92f3-9ab63f3db461" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="334" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/bfm9272.jpg?itok=1hITJSPe" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  807.  
  808. &lt;p&gt;Source: Bloomberg&lt;/p&gt;
  809.  
  810. &lt;p&gt;Not exactly a picture of a struggling consumer deal with hyperinflationary Trump tariffs?&lt;/p&gt;
  811. &lt;/div&gt;
  812.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  813. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T12:39:30+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 08:39&lt;/span&gt;
  814. </description>
  815.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 12:39:30 +0000</pubDate>
  816.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  817.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066763 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  818.    </item>
  819. <item>
  820.  <title>US Futures Set For Another Record, Nasdaq On Pace For 10th Straight Gain</title>
  821.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/market-recaps/us-futures-set-another-record-nasdaq-pace-10th-straight-gain</link>
  822.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;US Futures Set For Another Record, Nasdaq On Pace For 10th Straight Gain&lt;/span&gt;
  823.  
  824.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;US equity futures are higher (duh) outperforming global counterparts, while the Nasdaq is on pace for a &lt;strong&gt;historic 10th day of gains. &lt;/strong&gt;As of  8:00am ET, S&amp;P and Nasdaq 100 futures were higher by 0.2% with Oracle rising more than 5% in premarket trading on news it may soon be handed control of TikTok. S&amp;P 500 contracts edged higher after the US benchmark powered through the 6,600 mark on Monday. Pre-mkt, Mag7 is displaying strength across multiple members with add’l TMT support from AVGO (+1.4%) and ORCL (+3.7%). Cyclicals and Semis are poised to lead but with pockets of strength in Defensives (HC, Staples) also seen. Europe’s Stoxx 600 fell 0.2%. Bond yields are flat to down 1bps with the US Dollar broadly weaker ahead of a widely expected 25bp cut and the resumption of the Fed’s easing cycle which paused in Dec 2024 (right after Trump was elected). US Treasuries have been racing past peers, the euro is nearing four-year highs and Goldman strategists caution that the next pain point for bond traders may come in the five-year part of the curve.  Both Cook and Miran will be a part of the vote. Today’s macro data focus is on Retail Sales where Feroli is below the Street seeing a 0.1% MoM print and 0.3% for the Control Group.&lt;/p&gt;
  825.  
  826. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/ES%202025-09-16_8-04-13.jpg?itok=10JwmPcX" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/ES%202025-09-16_8-04-13.jpg?itok=10JwmPcX"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0df8cdee-18d2-4dfc-a209-04ddcf9d9316" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="299" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/ES%202025-09-16_8-04-13.jpg?itok=10JwmPcX" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  827.  
  828. &lt;p&gt;In premarket trading, Mag 7 stocks are mostly higher: Tesla rises 1.3%, paring earlier gains after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a probe over issues with door handles on certain Model Y vehicles. Alphabet gains 1.3% a day after the Google-parent on Monday joined an elite group of companies valued at more than $3 trillion (Nvidia -0.2%, Microsoft +0.1%, Apple -0.01%, Amazon +0.5%, Meta Platforms +0.6%)&lt;/p&gt;
  829.  
  830. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Bloom Energy (BE) jumps 7% after Morgan Stanley boosted its price target on the fuel-cell manufacturer to a Street-high, saying the company is much more favorably positioned for success in powering AI data centers.&lt;/li&gt;
  831. &lt;li&gt;Dave &amp; Buster’s (PLAY) tumbles 15% after the restaurant operator reported adjusted earnings per share and revenue for the second quarter that came in well below the average analyst estimate.&lt;/li&gt;
  832. &lt;li&gt;Hershey’s (HSY) gains 2% after Goldman Sachs double upgraded the shares. Analysts said market-share trends are improving, and there are incremental tailwinds ahead for the chocolate and confectionery company.&lt;/li&gt;
  833. &lt;li&gt;New York Times (NYT) shares slip 1.9% after President Donald Trump filed a $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against the news organization.&lt;/li&gt;
  834. &lt;li&gt;Oracle (ORCL) rises 5% after CBS News reported that the software giant is among a consortium of firms that would enable TikTok to continue operations in the US if a framework deal is finalized.&lt;/li&gt;
  835. &lt;li&gt;Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) shares fall 1.5% as TD Cowen downgraded to hold from buy after the stock rallied even as Paramount is still to make an official offer.&lt;/li&gt;
  836. &lt;li&gt;Webtoon Entertainment (WBTN) soars 47% after Walt Disney said it plans to acquire a 2% equity interest in the online comics company.&lt;/li&gt;
  837. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Stock bulls are riding high ahead of a widely expected 25-basis-point Fed cut on Wednesday (potentially as high as 50), the first move in a policy easing round projected to run into 2026. Rate-sensitive tech shares have led the charge in the post-Liberation Day rebound, fueled by enthusiasm over artificial intelligence. Asset managers are growing even more bullish according to the latest BofA survey. But stretched positioning in pockets of the market, with some funds already “maximum long”, is leaving it vulnerable to a shock.&lt;/p&gt;
  838.  
  839. &lt;p&gt; &lt;strong&gt;"Capex and profit forecasts linked to AI are overwhelming,” &lt;/strong&gt;said Thomas Brenier, head of equities at Lazard Freres Gestion. “Look at Oracle, it seems that the sky is the limit.”&lt;/p&gt;
  840.  
  841. &lt;p&gt;Expectations of aggressive Fed rate cuts drove the dollar toward its weakest level since July. The euro climbed 0.4%, nearing its highest mark since 2021. The divergence reflects the Fed’s shift toward easing, in sharp contrast with the European Central Bank, where policymakers have signaled an end to their own loosening cycle. &lt;/p&gt;
  842.  
  843. &lt;p&gt;As the Nasdaq prints a nine-day winning streak, hedge funds net bought IT stocks at the fastest pace in seven months across all regions, according to Goldman's prime desk. With CTAs max long, corporates increasingly moving into buyout blackouts, and hedge funds likely only able to add at the margin, retail and discretionary investors are left to support equities. &lt;/p&gt;
  844.  
  845. &lt;p&gt;Meanwhile, the tensions between the Fed and Trump administration escalated Monday. An appeals court temporarily halted the effort to oust Governor Lisa Cook, while the Senate separately approved Trump’s economic adviser Stephen Miran for a seat on the board.&lt;/p&gt;
  846.  
  847. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/dots%20june%20vs%20sept_0.jpg?itok=hG5Ic7xj" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/dots%20june%20vs%20sept_0.jpg?itok=hG5Ic7xj"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a6e77333-26f4-442f-a955-48ccb48e3655" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="347" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/dots%20june%20vs%20sept_0.jpg?itok=hG5Ic7xj" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  848.  
  849. &lt;p&gt;Later on Tuesday, traders are set for a final read on the American consumer. Retail sales data for August are forecast to show a 0.2% increase, following stronger advances in the previous two months, although real -time card spending data hints at an even higher print. Bloomberg economists Eliza Winger and Estelle Ou expect headline retail sales likely grew 0.2% in August, down from 0.5% in July, as auto sales slowed, noting spending remains modest overall with consumers concerned about tariffs and the economy. With the jobs market softening and prices rising, questions remain over how long consumers will keep spending freely.&lt;/p&gt;
  850.  
  851. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/retail%20sales%20preview%20sept.jpg?itok=Ej6m7Ze_" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/retail%20sales%20preview%20sept.jpg?itok=Ej6m7Ze_"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="dff84926-899e-43c5-a8a6-35abedfba8a5" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="248" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/retail%20sales%20preview%20sept.jpg?itok=Ej6m7Ze_" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  852.  
  853. &lt;p&gt;“In the session ahead, we navigate US retail sales and that poses a degree of risk to markets,” wrote Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group. “However, with the Fed meeting looming large in the following session, it will likely take an outsized surprise in retail sales to really move the dial on risk.”&lt;/p&gt;
  854.  
  855. &lt;p&gt;Stocks may have further upside as rising expectations for economic growth continue to buoy bullish sentiment, according to Bank of America’s Michael Hartnett. His latest fund manager survey found that a &lt;strong&gt;net 28% of global investors are overweight equities, the strongest reading in seven months. &lt;/strong&gt;Views on growth also showed the biggest positive shift in nearly a year, with only a net 16% of respondents still anticipating an economic slowdown, Hartnett said.&lt;/p&gt;
  856.  
  857. &lt;p&gt;Europe's Stoxx 600 falls 0.1% as the rally that sent US and Asian stocks to fresh highs sputters in Europe.  Italian banks dip on news that the government was drafting plans to raise another €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) from lenders, while miners gained on the back of rising iron ore prices. Here are the biggest movers Tuesday:&lt;/p&gt;
  858.  
  859. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;European mining shares are the best performers in the Stoxx 600 benchmark on Tuesday after iron ore advanced, with China’s daily steel output showing signs of improvement&lt;/li&gt;
  860. &lt;li&gt;Embracer gains as much as 5.5%, the biggest contributor to the Stoxx 600 Index, after Kepler Cheuvreux reiterated its buy rating and boosted its price target for the Swedish gaming group ahead of a spinoff of its Coffee Stain subsidiary&lt;/li&gt;
  861. &lt;li&gt;ASML shares continue to rally Tuesday after JPMorgan said that the worst of newsflow is likely behind the chip-gear firm as better trends in both memory and logic end-markets bode well for the 2027 sales outlook&lt;/li&gt;
  862. &lt;li&gt;Kering shares gain as much as 2.4% after CIC upgraded the French luxury firm to buy from hold on improved outlook following the new CEO’s plans, a creative revamp at Gucci, and its delayed Valentino purchase agreement&lt;/li&gt;
  863. &lt;li&gt;Fresnillo rises as much as 4.6% in London after JPMorgan upgraded the precious metals firm’s price target to 2,500 pence from 2,100 pence and reiterated its overweight rating, as the bank sees further upside for the miner&lt;/li&gt;
  864. &lt;li&gt;Kier Group rises as much as 9.4% as the infrastructure services and construction company reported full-year results that beat estimates on better-than-expected current trading and solid order book&lt;/li&gt;
  865. &lt;li&gt;VusionGroup rises as much as 20%, the most since February, after the French tech group’s full-year sales forecast beat expectations and broker Gilbert Dupont upgraded its rating for the stock&lt;/li&gt;
  866. &lt;li&gt;Yellow Cake shares rise as much as 8.4% in London, hitting their highest level since December, tracking a rise in global peers after the US Energy Secretary said the US should boost its strategic uranium reserve&lt;/li&gt;
  867. &lt;li&gt;Shelf Drilling jumps as much as 34%, the most since August, after Ades increased its cash consideration for the offshore drilling contractor to NOK18.5 per share, from the Aug. 5 offer of NOK14 per share&lt;/li&gt;
  868. &lt;li&gt;Haleon drops as much as 6.1% as Barclays downgrades its rating on the consumer-health company to equal-weight from overweight, based on a tough backdrop in the US&lt;/li&gt;
  869. &lt;li&gt;Granges falls as much as 6.9% after Nordea cut its recommendation on the Swedish aluminum group to hold from buy, saying that while the company is set to gain market share, Nordea struggles to find an inflection point&lt;/li&gt;
  870. &lt;li&gt;Schindler shares slide as much as 2.8% after one of its investors offloaded shares at a discount to Monday’s close. The stock is sliding for a second consecutive session after ending last week at an all-time high&lt;/li&gt;
  871. &lt;li&gt;SThree shares plummet by as much as 28%, their biggest drop this year, after the recruitment company warned it is expecting subdued activity to persist into FY26, hitting its guidance for the year&lt;/li&gt;
  872. &lt;li&gt;Italian banks underperformed on Tuesday after Bloomberg reported that the country’s government is working on a preliminary plan to raise an extra €1.5 billion from lenders in 2027 by postponing their tax deductions&lt;/li&gt;
  873. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Earlier in the session, Asian stocks surged to a fresh intra-day record, propelled by a rally in chip stocks after Beijing’s anti-monopoly ruling on Nvidia. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose as much as 0.8% to reach its highest level on record, as chip stocks such as TSMC and Samsung Electronics led gains. Investor sentiment remained upbeat also on expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut this week. Chip stocks jumped on Tuesday after a Chinese regulator ruled that Nvidia violated anti-monopoly laws in its 2020 acquisition of networking gear maker Mellanox Technologies Ltd. The decision was interpreted by some investors as a signal of Beijing’s push to promote localization and self-sufficiency in chip technology, sparking gains in Chinese home-grown semiconductor firms. Asian equities have been on a tear recently, repeatedly testing a previous high set in 2021. Investor sentiment has gradually improved since April, boosted by easing trade tensions with the US and a resurgence in Chinese stocks due to AI developments and government efforts to cut overcapacity.  Here Are the Most Notable Movers&lt;/p&gt;
  874.  
  875. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;The unlisted shares of India’s National Commodity &amp; Derivatives Exchange Ltd. have surged after investors including global high-speed trading firms bought stakes in the company ahead of its foray into equities.&lt;/li&gt;
  876. &lt;li&gt;Nintendo lost 3.3% after fans were left disappointed by the lack of a new Mario game announcement. Disco shares gained 8.2% after Morgan Stanley said it was its top pick in Japan’s chip sector.&lt;/li&gt;
  877. &lt;li&gt;GCL Technology Holdings Ltd.’s stock rose after the Chinese company announced a share sale to help fund efforts to reduce overcapacity in the solar polysilicon sector.&lt;/li&gt;
  878. &lt;li&gt;Disco shares rose as much as 7.6%, their biggest intraday gain since June 27.&lt;/li&gt;
  879. &lt;li&gt;Nintendo shares lost as much as 4%, the most since June 20, after the firm’s Nintendo Direct event ended without an announcement of a major new Mario game for its Switch 2 console.&lt;/li&gt;
  880. &lt;li&gt;LG Display shares surge as much as 14% on expectations that Apple’s new iPhones will help the Korean display panel supplier report stronger earnings.&lt;/li&gt;
  881. &lt;li&gt;Yunfeng Financial shares slide as much as 15% in Hong Kong after the financial services company and a shareholder offer 191 million shares at HK$6.10 each in a top-up placement.&lt;/li&gt;
  882. &lt;li&gt;Genda shares jump as much as 20% to the daily limit after the Japanese arcade operator reported half-year earnings, with operating profit rising 0.9% from a year earlier.&lt;/li&gt;
  883. &lt;li&gt;Nitto Denko shares fall as much as 3.4%, the most since Aug. 4, after the Japanese specialty chemicals company conducted its annual investor’s meeting on Friday that saw an outlook decline in its new circuit products from the year before.&lt;/li&gt;
  884. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;In FX, the dollar weakens for a second day, boosting G-10 peers. The euro touches highest since July, closing in on its strongest level in four years. Sterling hits a two-month high too after UK jobs data backed a slower pace of cuts by the Bank of England.&lt;/p&gt;
  885.  
  886. &lt;p&gt;In rates, US Treasuries were little changed, with the 10-year yield at 4.04% and European bond markets, mixed for gilts. US government bonds have outpaced global peers this year, delivering a 5.8% return as expectations for policy easing reversed widely held bearish views. &lt;/p&gt;
  887.  
  888. &lt;p&gt;In commodities, gold hits another record high, trading about $19 higher on the session to around $3,697/oz. Oil prices dip, with Brent slipping closer to $67/barrel.&lt;/p&gt;
  889.  
  890. &lt;p&gt;Today's economic data slate includes August retail sales and import/export prices and September New York Fed services business activity (8:30am), August industrial production (9:15am), and July business inventories and September NAHB housing market index (10am).&lt;/p&gt;
  891.  
  892. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Market Snapshot&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  893.  
  894. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;S&amp;P 500 mini +0.2%&lt;/li&gt;
  895. &lt;li&gt;Nasdaq 100 mini +0.3%&lt;/li&gt;
  896. &lt;li&gt;Russell 2000 mini +0.2%&lt;/li&gt;
  897. &lt;li&gt;Stoxx Europe 600 -0.1%&lt;/li&gt;
  898. &lt;li&gt;DAX -0.3%&lt;/li&gt;
  899. &lt;li&gt;CAC 40 little changed&lt;/li&gt;
  900. &lt;li&gt;10-year Treasury yield -1 basis point at 4.03%&lt;/li&gt;
  901. &lt;li&gt;VIX -0.2 points at 15.48&lt;/li&gt;
  902. &lt;li&gt;Bloomberg Dollar Index -0.2% at 1191.97&lt;/li&gt;
  903. &lt;li&gt;euro +0.4% at $1.1808&lt;/li&gt;
  904. &lt;li&gt;WTI crude -0.4% at $63.03/barrel&lt;/li&gt;
  905. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Top Overnight News&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  906.  
  907. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Lisa Cook is set to take part in the FOMC meeting today and tomorrow after an appeals court blocked Donald Trump from firing the Fed governor. So is Stephen Miran, who was confirmed in a 48-47 Senate vote. BBG&lt;/li&gt;
  908. &lt;li&gt;The SEC said it’s prioritizing Trump’s proposal to reduce the frequency of earnings reports after the president called for an end to quarterly disclosures. BBG&lt;/li&gt;
  909. &lt;li&gt;Trump said Congressional Republicans are working on a short-term clean extension of government funding to stop Senate Minority Leader Schumer from shutting down the government.&lt;/li&gt;
  910. &lt;li&gt;Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum to establish the Memphis Safe Task Force which was said to be a replica of efforts in Washington DC and will include the National Guard. Furthermore, Trump stated they are probably going to go in Chicago next and want to get to New Orleans, while he also commented that they need to save St. Louis.&lt;/li&gt;
  911. &lt;li&gt;A group of GOP senators are working on legislation to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies with policy changes designed to win over conservatives, according to four people granted anonymity to disclose private discussions. Politico&lt;/li&gt;
  912. &lt;li&gt;US reportedly looks to boost national strategic uranium stockpile: BBG &lt;/li&gt;
  913. &lt;li&gt;Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against the NYT seeking $15bn in damages from the media organization he accused of being a “mouthpiece” for the Democratic party. FT&lt;/li&gt;
  914. &lt;li&gt;China has significant leverage when it comes to trade negotiations with Washington, including rare earth supplies and agricultural product purchases (China has halted US soybean purchases, delivering a punishing blow to American farmers). NYT&lt;/li&gt;
  915. &lt;li&gt;The world must invest $540 billion annually in oil and gas exploration through 2050 to sustain output, the IEA said. Without new discoveries or demand shifts, supply may shrink by more than 5 million b/d each year — around 40% higher than it was in 2010. BBG&lt;/li&gt;
  916. &lt;li&gt;The US will start formally implementing a lower 15% tariff on imports of Japanese autos and parts starting today. BBG&lt;/li&gt;
  917. &lt;li&gt;Switzerland’s conservative central bank has quietly become one of the world’s biggest tech investors, amassing a stock portfolio that is equivalent in value to nearly a fifth of the national economy’s annual output. The Swiss National Bank has US equity holdings amounting $16bn, with more than $42bn invested in megacap tech. FT&lt;/li&gt;
  918. &lt;li&gt;The UK labor market showed stabilizing signs after a slump triggered by higher taxes. Payrolls dropped by 8,000 in August and vacancies increased for the first time since early 2024, leaving the BOE on track to hold rates later this week. The pound gained. BBG&lt;/li&gt;
  919. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Trade/Tariffs&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  920.  
  921. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;US President Trump said he is undecided regarding a TikTok stake, and he will speak with Chinese President Xi about a significant agreement, while he believes discussions with Xi will confirm key matters.&lt;/li&gt;
  922. &lt;li&gt;US opened an inclusions window for the section 232 on steel and aluminium in which the Bureau of Industry and Security established a process for including additional derivative steel and aluminium articles within the scope of the duties authorised by the President under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.&lt;/li&gt;
  923. &lt;li&gt;Playbook citing officials reports that the forum for any UK-US talks on steel/aluminium would be a bilateral meeting, however as of Monday night there was reportedly no sign of a sit-down between UK Chancellor Reeves and US Treasury Secretary Bessent.&lt;/li&gt;
  924. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  925.  
  926. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;APAC stocks traded mixed amid some cautiousness ahead of upcoming risk events and despite the fresh record levels on Wall St, where the mega-caps did most of the lifting as Alphabet joined the USD 3tln market cap club. &lt;/strong&gt;ASX 200 marginally gained with the index led by strength in mining, resources and materials, but with gains capped by weakness in defensives. Nikkei 225 swung between gains and losses following an early unprecedented climb to above the 45,000 milestone on return from the extended weekend, while the calendar was quiet, although lower US tariffs on Japan took effect. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were subdued despite the recent talks in Madrid where the US and China reached a framework agreement on TikTok although the details were scarce, while US President Trump and Chinese President Xi are scheduled to talk on Friday.&lt;/p&gt;
  927.  
  928. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Top Asian News&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  929.  
  930. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Japan's Finance Minister Kato reiterated it is not appropriate to lower the consumption tax and he has decided to support Agricultural Minister Koizumi in the LDP leadership race.&lt;/li&gt;
  931. &lt;li&gt;China is issuing measures on increasing consumption, according to Xinhua. Will launch a series of consumption promotion activities. Will enhance supply of quality services. Will promote an orderly opening up of sectors including the internet and cultures. Will expand pilots in telecoms, medicine and education sectors. Will extend business hours for tourist sites and museums. Will increase consumption credit support. Will coordinate funding channels, including local government special bonds, for new cultural and tourism facilities.&lt;/li&gt;
  932. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;European bourses (STOXX 600 -0.1%) opened around the unchanged mark, but sentiment then slipped as markets turned risk-off across the board in the continent. &lt;/strong&gt;That pressure has since slowed down a little and are off worst levels – but indices are still broadly lower. European sectors are broadly on the backfoot, in-fitting with the risk tone. IT is towards the top of the pile, boosted by strength across Dutch semiconductor names; nothing really driving the upside today, but it does come after ASML (+3%) once again overtook SAP, to become Europe’s largest company. Consumer Staples is found towards the bottom of the pile; Unilever (-1%) moves lower after it appointed a new CFO.&lt;/p&gt;
  933.  
  934. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Top European News&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  935.  
  936. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ECB's Villeroy&lt;/strong&gt; says French growth is not strong enough, but remains positive.&lt;/li&gt;
  937. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;FX&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  938.  
  939. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;DXY is on the backfoot; currently trading towards lows of 96.96 Another weak start of the session for the index which remained subdued in APAC hours after weakening yesterday alongside softer US yields and with the greenback not helped by a drop in the NY Fed Manufacturing Survey. Participants now await Industrial Production and Retail Sales data scheduled later today, while the FOMC will also begin its 2-day policy meeting which will be attended by Fed's Cook and Miran, after a US Appeals Court denied the Justice Department's request to put on hold a judge's ruling temporarily blocking Trump from removing Cook, and the US Senate confirmed Miran to join the Fed board.&lt;/li&gt;
  940. &lt;li&gt;EUR/USD mildly benefits from recent dollar weakness and after ECB officials reiterated that interest rates are in a good place. In data, EUR held onto gains following mixed German ZEW survey (Economic Sentiment beat and surprisingly improved but Current Conditions missed and deteriorated), whilst the EZ metrics improved. EUR/USD eventually eclipsed 1.1800 to a current high at 1.1817.&lt;/li&gt;
  941. &lt;li&gt;USD/JPY is softer amid USD weakness and broader JPY strength, with analysts at ING attributing some of the JPY upside to "the more moderate Shinjiro Koizumi is entering the LDP leadership race against Sanae Takaichi, who is seen as yen bearish for her views on loose monetary and fiscal policy." USD/JPY found resistance near its 21 DMA (147.65) to trade in a current range between 146.69-147.54.&lt;/li&gt;
  942. &lt;li&gt;GBP is benefitting from broader dollar weakness and ahead of US President Trump's state visit to the UK, with a presser (likely joint) due on Thursday before the US leader's departure. UK jobs data this morning were largely in line, but a slightly above-forecast employment change prompted a couple of pips of upside in cable, but nothing to write home about. Pricing remains unchanged with markets firmly expecting no change at the BoE this Thursday, with some 97% chance of a hold. Cable trades in a 1.3598-1.3642 range.&lt;/li&gt;
  943. &lt;li&gt;Antipodeans trade rangebound with a slightly softer bias and following an uneventful APAC session. Comments from RBA's Hunter and Hauser provided little to shift the dial - the former noted they are close to getting inflation to the target and that risks around the outlook are balanced.&lt;/li&gt;
  944. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fixed Income&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  945.  
  946. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;USTs are flat, awaiting the FOMC on Wednesday, but before that, we have a Tier 1 release in the form of retail sales. Expected at +0.2% M/M in August (prev. 0.5%), while the ex-autos measure is seen rising +0.4% M/M, matching the July reading, and the Retail Control group is seen +0.4% M/M (prev. +0.5%). Thereafter, issuance in focus with a 20yr Bond auction scheduled. No concession seen in trade this morning, but that could change in the hours ahead. Elsewhere, the composition of the Fed remains in focus as Cook will remain on the board for at least the September meeting following a court update. Additionally, White House official Miran has been formally approved and will be partaking in the September meeting. Currently, USTs reside in a very thin 113-11 to 113-16 band.&lt;/li&gt;
  947. &lt;li&gt;Bunds are in-fitting with peers throughout the European morning. Gapped higher around the cash equity open, seemingly as a function of the pressure seen in the equity space around this point. German ZEW for September was mixed. Economic sentiment came in above consensus and seemingly spurred some modest pressure in Bunds with financial market experts cautiously optimistic. However, the current situation has deteriorated amid ongoing US tariff concern and into the German fiscal reform window. As such, Bunds quickly retraced that pressure and are back to pre-release levels. Thereafter, a weaker-than-prior German 2030 auction spurred another bout of pressure in Bunds, back towards earlier lows of 128.54.&lt;/li&gt;
  948. &lt;li&gt;Gilts are modestly lower. No significant follow-through from the morning’s jobs data. Overall, the release was broadly in-line with consensus with the labour market continuing to cool though the pace of this is seemingly beginning to slow. While the continued slowing is arguably a dovish sign, it is counteracted by the (as expected) uptick in wages, which remain at levels likely inconsistent with inflation sustainably settling at target over the medium term. Note, the next CPI release is Wednesday, where the headline Y/Y is expected at 3.8% (prev. 3.8%). Elsewhere, supply was soft. A sub-3x cover and a chunky tail, reminiscent of the auction before last. Results of this sent Gilts lower by just under 10 ticks, but comfortably within existing parameters. Gilts opened the morning unchanged from Monday’s close at 91.47, before briefly dipping to a 91.31 low and then retracing to a 91.57 peak.&lt;/li&gt;
  949. &lt;li&gt;UK sells GBP 3bln 4.375% 2040 Gilt: b/c 2.95x (prev. 3.69x), average yield 5.048% (prev. 5.066%) &amp; tail 0.9bps (prev. 0.1bps)&lt;/li&gt;
  950. &lt;li&gt;Germany sells EUR 3.491bln vs exp. EUR 4.5bln 2.20% 2030 Bobl: b/c 1.70x (prev. 1.90x), average yield 2.29% (prev. 2.32%) &amp; retention 22.42% (prev. 23.19%)&lt;/li&gt;
  951. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Commodities&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  952.  
  953. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Subdued trade in the crude complex with aggressive losses seen around the time of the European cash equity open which also came despite USD weakness. One of the bearish factors could be reports that the 19th EU sanctions package against Russia is no longer expected to be presented on Wednesday, via Politico citing an EU diplomat (since corroborated by other reports); no detail on when the sanctions would be unveiled. WTI currently resides in a USD 62.89-63.55/bbl range while Brent sits in a USD 67.01-67.68/bbl range.&lt;/li&gt;
  954. &lt;li&gt;Spot gold holds an upward bias as it continues printing fresh records on its way to USD 3,700/oz against the backdrop of a softer dollar and heightened geopolitics. Spot gold currently resides in a USD 3,674.70-3,697.40/oz range with the top end of the band the latest all-time high.&lt;/li&gt;
  955. &lt;li&gt;Base metals are mostly softer despite the softer dollar and gains in US futures, albeit the mood in Europe is slightly more mixed. 3M LME copper holds above USD 10k/t and resides in a USD 10,087.90-10,177.70/t range at the time of writing.&lt;/li&gt;
  956. &lt;li&gt;Commerzbank revises its gold price forecast upward to USD 3,600/oz for end-year; raises silver year-end forecast for 2025 to USD 41/oz and 2026-end forecast to USD 43/oz.&lt;/li&gt;
  957. &lt;li&gt;Thai Central Bank says they have discussed tax on gold trades; to support gold trades in Dollars; other measures on gold trades were discussed.&lt;/li&gt;
  958. &lt;li&gt;Ukraine's military says it struck Russia's Saratov oil refinery (140k BPD) in overnight attack.&lt;/li&gt;
  959. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Geopolitics: Middle East&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  960.  
  961. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Israel has launched its ground incursion into Gaza City, two Israeli officials told CNN early Tuesday; One of the officials said the ground incursion is going to be “phased and gradual” at the beginning.&lt;/li&gt;
  962. &lt;li&gt;Israel military official says will be increasing the amount of troops into Gaza city as the days go by.&lt;/li&gt;
  963. &lt;li&gt;US President Trump said Israel won't be attacking Qatar.&lt;/li&gt;
  964. &lt;li&gt;US President Trump posted about Hamas moving hostages above ground to use them as human shields and stated "I hope the Leaders of Hamas know what they’re getting into if they do such a thing. This is a human atrocity, the likes of which few people have ever seen before. Don’t let this happen or, ALL “BETS” ARE OFF. RELEASE ALL HOSTAGES NOW!"&lt;/li&gt;
  965. &lt;li&gt;US Secretary of State Rubio said before heading to Qatar, that they hope Qatar will re-engage on Gaza talks despite everything that's happened, while he added that they have a very short window in which a deal on Gaza can happen and that they are on the verge of finalising an enhanced defence cooperation agreement with Qatar.&lt;/li&gt;
  966. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Geopolitics: Ukraine&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  967.  
  968. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Polish government is boosting its cyber security budget to a record EUR 1bn this year, after Russian sabotage attempts targeted hospitals and urban water supplies, according to FT.&lt;/li&gt;
  969. &lt;li&gt;Japanese Finance Minister Kato said Japan pledged to comply with WTO rules, but will consider measures to raise pressure on Russia and coordinate with G7 countries, when asked about US requests to G7 for higher sanctions on India and China for buying Russian oil.&lt;/li&gt;
  970. &lt;li&gt;The 19th EU sanctions package against Russia is now off the agenda for Wednesday's EU ambassadors meeting, no new date has been set, via an EU official. &lt;i&gt;Confirmation of earlier reporting via Politico&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  971. &lt;li&gt;Russia says its drones have struck a Ukrainian gas distribution station reportedly used by the military.&lt;/li&gt;
  972. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;US Event Calendar&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  973.  
  974. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;8:30 am: Aug Retail Sales Advance MoM, est. 0.2%, prior 0.5%&lt;/li&gt;
  975. &lt;li&gt;8:30 am: Aug Retail Sales Ex Auto MoM, est. 0.4%, prior 0.3%&lt;/li&gt;
  976. &lt;li&gt;8:30 am: Aug Retail Sales Ex Auto and Gas, est. 0.4%, prior 0.2%&lt;/li&gt;
  977. &lt;li&gt;8:30 am: Aug Import Price Index MoM, est. -0.2%, prior 0.4%&lt;/li&gt;
  978. &lt;li&gt;8:30 am: Aug Import Price Index YoY, est. 0%, prior -0.2%&lt;/li&gt;
  979. &lt;li&gt;9:15 am: Aug Industrial Production MoM, est. -0.1%, prior -0.1%&lt;/li&gt;
  980. &lt;li&gt;9:15 am: Aug Capacity Utilization, est. 77.4%, prior 77.5%&lt;/li&gt;
  981. &lt;li&gt;10:00 am: Jul Business Inventories, est. 0.2%, prior 0.2%&lt;/li&gt;
  982. &lt;li&gt;10:00 am: Sep NAHB Housing Market Index, est. 33, prior 32&lt;/li&gt;
  983. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;DB's Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  984.  
  985. &lt;p&gt;I woke up this morning the father of a 10-year-old daughter. Where did the time go? Don't tell my family as it's a surprise for tonight, but I spent part of the summer writing and recording a new song and creating a video celebrating Maisie's first decade. The world premiere at home will be after a night out at an escape room tonight... if we escape.&lt;/p&gt;
  986.  
  987. &lt;p&gt;As we await tomorrow’s FOMC decision, markets have continued to power forward over the last 24 hours, with risk appetite supported by positive noises out of the US-China trade talks. That newsflow led to growing optimism that some kind of longer-term truce would eventually be reached between the two, and those hopes of a cooling in the trade war meant both the S&amp;P 500 (+0.47%) and the NASDAQ (+0.94%) closed at another record high. Moreover, it was a decent session for sovereign bonds as well, thanks to mounting anticipation that the Fed would deliver another rate cut at tomorrow’s meeting. So, it was a strong day all round, and US Treasuries also rallied across the curve, with the 10yr yield (-2.8bps) falling back to 4.04%.&lt;/p&gt;
  988.  
  989. &lt;p&gt;Ahead of today's start to the FOMC, an appeals court last night blocked Mr Trump from firing Lisa Cook from the Fed board before her appeal against her dismissal is heard. So, she will likely be at the meeting barring any additional legal action. Stephen Miran could also sit as he was confirmed in his new post by the Senate last night. So, it's shaping up to be an interesting 2-day meeting.&lt;/p&gt;
  990.  
  991. &lt;p&gt;On those US-China headlines, Trump himself posted that the meeting in Madrid “has gone VERY WELL!” and that he would be speaking with President Xi on Friday. Separately, Treasury Secretary Bessent said that “we do have a framework for the deal with TikTok”. This collectively led to a fresh burst of optimism, particularly around stocks which are more exposed to US-China trade. For instance, the NASDAQ Golden Dragon China index (+0.87%) outperformed, which is an index made up of US-listed companies who do a majority of their business in China.&lt;/p&gt;
  992.  
  993. &lt;p&gt;That positive trade narrative spread across markets, helping to lift global equities as investors grew more hopeful on the path of US-China relations. After all, there’s still a lot of tension between the two sides, and it’s worth remembering that the tariffs are still subject to a temporary 90-day truce in place between the two sides, which currently runs out in November. The hope is that continued engagement will eventually lead to a more durable truce, avoiding the possibility of US tariffs jumping back up to the 145% rate seen after Liberation Day. Indeed, US Trade Representative Greer said on the tariff extension, that “We’re certainly open to considering further action there, if the talks continue in a positive direction”.&lt;/p&gt;
  994.  
  995. &lt;p&gt;This backdrop led to a fresh global advance, with the S&amp;P 500 (+0.47%) at another all-time high whilst in Europe the Stoxx 600 (+0.42%) closed 1% from its all-time high reached back in March. In fact, the S&amp;P 500 is now on track to have risen for 6 of the last 7 weeks, which would be the most sustained advance of 2025 so far. Those moves were led by tech stocks, with both the NASDAQ (+0.94%) and the Magnificent 7 (+1.95%) hitting fresh highs of their own. Alphabet (+4.49%) became the fourth company to reach a $3trn valuation while Tesla (+3.56%) also outperformed following news that Elon Musk had purchased around $1bn worth of Tesla shares. Nvidia lost ground after China found they’d violated their antitrust law with a deal in 2020, but its stock was only down -0.04% by the close. The strong day ended with the S&amp;P 500 up +12.47% for the year, even as most of its constituents were lower on the day.&lt;/p&gt;
  996.  
  997. &lt;p&gt;For sovereign bonds, it was generally a strong day as well. But French bonds saw a relative underperformance after Friday’s news that Fitch Ratings had downgraded their credit rating from AA- to A+. Yields on 10yr OATs (-2.8bps) were only down a bit to 3.48%, whilst those on Italian BTPs fell by a larger -4.7bps to 3.47%. That’s a significant move, because it’s the first time since 1999 that France’s 10yr yield has closed above Italy’s, having briefly moved above on an intraday basis last week. Clearly this trend has been apparent for some time, but it’s a striking re-ordering of how investors perceive the risk of different sovereigns, having been in a completely different place at the height of the Euro crisis in the early 2010s.&lt;/p&gt;
  998.  
  999. &lt;p&gt;In absolute terms however, it was still a strong day for sovereign bonds on both sides of the Atlantic. For example, US Treasury yields came down across the curve, with the 2yr yield (-1.9bps) falling to 3.54%, whilst the 10yr yield (-2.8bps) fell to 4.04%, which further helped to ease fears about the fiscal trajectory. The bond rally got a further push from the NY Fed’s Empire State manufacturing survey for September, which fell to a 3-month low of -8.7 (vs. +5.0 expected), coming in beneath every economist’s estimate on Bloomberg. So that helped to boost expectations for a faster cycle of Fed rate cuts, with the amount of cuts priced in by the June meeting up +2.0bps on the day to 120bps. And that move lower for yields was clear across the rest of Europe too, with those on 10yr bunds (-2.4bps) and gilts (-3.9bps) both falling as well.&lt;br /&gt;
  1000. The lower rates backdrop weighed on the dollar, with the dollar index (-0.25%) falling to its lowest in almost eight weeks. Meanwhile, gold (+0.98%) reached a record high for the ninth time in twelve sessions at $3,679/oz.&lt;/p&gt;
  1001.  
  1002. &lt;p&gt;In Asia, the KOSPI (+1.18%) is leading gains, touching a new peak as heavyweight chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are sharply higher while the Nikkei (+0.50%) is also trading in positive territory after returning from a holiday. Elsewhere, the Hang Seng (+0.12%) is swinging between gains and losses while on the mainland the CSI (-0.39%) and the Shanghai Composite (-0.10%) are bucking the positive regional trend with both drifting lower after strong recent gains. Meanwhile, the S&amp;P/ASX 200 (+0.31%) is also edging higher. S&amp;P 500 (+0.09%) and NASDAQ 100 (+0.14%) futures are also trading slightly higher.&lt;/p&gt;
  1003.  
  1004. &lt;p&gt;To the day ahead now, and data releases include US retail sales and industrial production for August, the German ZEW survey for September, Canada’s CPI for August, and the UK’s latest employment report. Central bank speakers include the ECB’s Escriva.&lt;/p&gt;
  1005. &lt;/div&gt;
  1006.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  1007. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T12:29:27+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 08:29&lt;/span&gt;
  1008. </description>
  1009.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 12:29:27 +0000</pubDate>
  1010.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  1011.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066747 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  1012.    </item>
  1013. <item>
  1014.  <title>A Circular Economy &amp; The Four Archetypes Of Bitcoiners</title>
  1015.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/circular-economy-four-archetypes-bitcoiners</link>
  1016.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;A Circular Economy &amp; The Four Archetypes Of Bitcoiners&lt;/span&gt;
  1017.  
  1018.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/bitcoin-archetypes-circular-economy-rev"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Authored by Fernando Motolese via BitcoinMagazine.com,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1019.  
  1020. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Trying to build a Bitcoin circular economy in Brazil and lobbying politicians led me to uncovering four archetypes of Bitcoiners: the coordinators, the market pragmatists, the monetary purists, and the Bitcoin minimalists. Here’s what I’ve learned...&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1021.  
  1022. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/2025-09-15_12-16-47.jpg?itok=MdhhPENS" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/2025-09-15_12-16-47.jpg?itok=MdhhPENS"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0560d371-fc1f-4b37-a665-62d78efbfc3d" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="427" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/2025-09-15_12-16-47.jpg?itok=MdhhPENS" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1023.  
  1024. &lt;p&gt;A few years ago, I made an unlikely bet: to build a Bitcoin circular economy in the heart of a fishing village in Brazil’s Northeast. No venture capitalists, no “crypto,” no empty promises. Only nodes, satoshis, in‑person education and plenty of sidewalk conversations. &lt;/p&gt;
  1025.  
  1026. &lt;p&gt;That is how Praia Bitcoin Jericoacoara was born: a radical experiment in financial sovereignty built with open source tools and feet in the sand.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  1027. In four years at &lt;a href="https://x.com/bitcoinbeachbr"&gt;Praia Bitcoin Jericoacoara&lt;/a&gt;, we turned a beach town into a living Bitcoin classroom: We onboarded families, shopkeepers and street vendors; taught self‑custody in small groups; installed reliable Lightning routes and point‑of‑sale tools; ran social programs paid in sats; and hosted meetups that made Bitcoin part of daily life.&lt;/p&gt;
  1028.  
  1029. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  1030. &lt;p&gt;Living on the Bitcoin standard, I began to see what is really happening at the technological edge. &lt;/p&gt;
  1031. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1032.  
  1033. &lt;p&gt;In August 2025, I published four short articles on X. Different in form and tone, they converged on the same question: What role should Bitcoin play, and what role should we play in building it? They came in fours:&lt;/p&gt;
  1034.  
  1035. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1036. &lt;p&gt;a field report on our work with the Bitcoin Community Bank in Jericoacoara&lt;/p&gt;
  1037. &lt;/li&gt;
  1038. &lt;li&gt;
  1039. &lt;p&gt;a critique of &lt;a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/diving-deep-into-the-maximalist-mindset-understanding-bitcoins-unique-appeal"&gt;bitcoin maximalism’s&lt;/a&gt; rigidity&lt;/p&gt;
  1040. &lt;/li&gt;
  1041. &lt;li&gt;
  1042. &lt;p&gt;a diplomatic letter inviting &lt;a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/bhutan-another-country-using-bitcoin-to-escape-poverty"&gt;Bhutan&lt;/a&gt;’s prime minister to consider the satoshi as a unit of account, and&lt;/p&gt;
  1043. &lt;/li&gt;
  1044. &lt;li&gt;
  1045. &lt;p&gt;a public appeal to keep Bitcoin a peer‑to‑peer cash system. &lt;/p&gt;
  1046. &lt;/li&gt;
  1047. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;What they share is the desire to align practice, theory, and a future‑facing vision.&lt;/p&gt;
  1048.  
  1049. &lt;p&gt;In the &lt;strong&gt;first &lt;/strong&gt;piece, I shared the challenges and lessons from a real experiment: building a Bitcoin‑based &lt;a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/circular-economies-bitcoin-bridge-peru"&gt;circular economy&lt;/a&gt; in Northeast Brazil. Inspired by Bitcoin Beach in El Salvador, we rooted the Jericoacoara project in education, inclusion and local infrastructure. We installed servers, onboarded merchants and neighbors, created social programs and sought institutional recognition as a &lt;strong&gt;Community Bitcoin Bank&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  1050.  
  1051. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  1052. &lt;p dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xml:lang="en"&gt;Building a Bitcoin Circular Economy in Jericoacoara&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  1053. I’m deeply inspired by the progress of &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/BitcoinEkasi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@BitcoinEkasi&lt;/a&gt;, the momentum of the &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/spedn?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#spedn&lt;/a&gt; movement across Africa, and the compelling journey of &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/orphansofuganda?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@orphansofuganda&lt;/a&gt;. These initiatives prove that Bitcoin can serve as a true medium of… &lt;a href="https://t.co/KiGndjGZen"&gt;pic.twitter.com/KiGndjGZen&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1054. — Praia Bitcoin Brazil ⚡ (@BitcoinBeachBR) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/BitcoinBeachBR/status/1951666252511863148?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;August 2, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1055. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;We were &lt;a href="https://livecoins.com.br/governo-do-ceara-nega-registro-de-banco-comunitario-do-bitcoin-por-enquanto/"&gt;rejected&lt;/a&gt; by the local authorities. Even in the face of the state’s legal and political unpreparedness, we moved forward with conviction. We believe that when Bitcoin is rooted in place, it can be more than money; it can be a tool for community transformation. Yet authorities struggled to understand this, and they denied our request to register what would have been the first Bitcoin community bank.&lt;/p&gt;
  1056.  
  1057. &lt;p&gt;In the &lt;strong&gt;second&lt;/strong&gt; piece, I confronted an ideological tension within the community itself. Maximalist rhetoric, which defends Bitcoin as the only legitimate project and treats the rest of “crypto” as scams, had its historical role. It helped protect the integrity of the ecosystem, exposed frauds and accelerated market maturation. But does it still serve the goal of large‑scale adoption? Does it help communicate Bitcoin’s value to newcomers? I caught myself ignoring relevant technological solutions simply because they were outside the maximalist bubble. &lt;/p&gt;
  1058.  
  1059. &lt;p&gt;After revisiting the discussion and reading every reply and quote, my conclusion was that other projects end up serving as funnels, sandboxes or distribution channels that drive people toward real Bitcoin adoption. Stablecoins, altcoins, memecoins, and centralized cryptocurrencies are moving toward Bitcoin, absorbing inflation and even helping to establish the prices of other commodities. Perhaps it is time for a new posture: not abandoning principles, but embracing a Bitcoin that keeps the focus on the essence while remaining willing to engage with a world in constant transformation, with skepticism and an open mind; by educating regulators that Bitcoin is the decentralized cryptocurrency and that all other projects are centralized cryptocurrencies.&lt;/p&gt;
  1060.  
  1061. &lt;p&gt;In the &lt;strong&gt;third&lt;/strong&gt; piece, I took this vision into the diplomatic arena. I wrote an open letter to Bhutan’s prime minister suggesting that the country consider adopting the satoshi as its national unit of account.&lt;/p&gt;
  1062.  
  1063. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  1064. &lt;p dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xml:lang="en"&gt;Open Letter to Dr. Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  1065. Your Excellency &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/tsheringtobgay?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@tsheringtobgay&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;br /&gt;
  1066. It is with deep respect and admiration that I write to you, recognizing Bhutan’s remarkable journey in preserving its sovereignty, cultural identity, and commitment to Gross National… &lt;a href="https://t.co/2tuTgfzAQi"&gt;pic.twitter.com/2tuTgfzAQi&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1067. — Praia Bitcoin Brazil ⚡ (@BitcoinBeachBR) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/BitcoinBeachBR/status/1957806023428763843?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;August 19, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1068. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;The proposal, more symbolic than technical, had a clear goal: to imagine how Bitcoin can engage with alternative development models that do not depend on the IMF or the dollar and that respect local culture and sovereignty. The reaction to the letter revealed something important: even within the Bitcoin ecosystem there are ideological lanes: conservatives, centrists and &lt;a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/bigread/bitcoin-political-side-trump-politics"&gt;progressives&lt;/a&gt;, each trying to interpret the protocol through a distinct worldview.&lt;/p&gt;
  1069.  
  1070. &lt;p&gt;This article is therefore a point of convergence. It ties together those three experiences (practical, ideological and diplomatic) to propose a fresh look at what we are really trying to build. More than repeating dogmas, this moment calls for discernment. More than talking about freedom, it is time to practice it where it is most needed — on the ground, in our language, in our institutions and in our relationships.&lt;/p&gt;
  1071.  
  1072. &lt;p&gt;In the &lt;strong&gt;fourth &lt;/strong&gt;piece, I distilled my open note to &lt;a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/tribalism-is-not-the-core-problem"&gt;Bitcoin Core&lt;/a&gt; into a simple point: keep Bitcoin a peer‑to‑peer cash system, not a generic data host.&lt;/p&gt;
  1073.  
  1074. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  1075. &lt;p dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xml:lang="en"&gt;Hello &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/bitcoincoreorg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@bitcoincoreorg&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  1076. We live Bitcoin. We dedicate our lives to it, full time, nonstop. On the ground, we work as part of Bitcoin’s invisible team, often without salaries, simply because we believe in its power to fix money and defend society from injustice and… &lt;a href="https://t.co/QLieljdVJn"&gt;pic.twitter.com/QLieljdVJn&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1077. — Praia Bitcoin Brazil ⚡ (@BitcoinBeachBR) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/BitcoinBeachBR/status/1959392013574394191?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;August 23, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1078. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;I argued that loosening default data‑carrying settings invites bloat, legal risk and reputational damage, and asked developers to think in centuries, not release cycles. I also noted that recent Core releases, v29 and v30, revisited how much extra data transactions may carry by default. That lives at the technical &lt;a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/you-cannot-stop-bitcoin-metaprotocols"&gt;edge of the protocol&lt;/a&gt; — software defaults, not the monetary rules. &lt;a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/bigread/money-robinson-crusoe-praxeology"&gt;Bitcoin is money&lt;/a&gt;. Like a banknote you can scribble on but not use to publish a book, transactions can include small notes but should not be hijacked for unrelated content.&lt;/p&gt;
  1079.  
  1080. &lt;p&gt;This context raised a bigger question: What do we want Bitcoin to be? The exchange made the fault lines clear: &lt;a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterizzo/2022/08/25/how-to-be-a-bitcoin-maximalist/"&gt;different groups&lt;/a&gt; love Bitcoin for different reasons and accept different trade‑offs. In the next section, I name those lanes and show how they fit together.&lt;/p&gt;
  1081.  
  1082. &lt;p&gt;Watching Bitcoin Knots gain visibility relative to Bitcoin Core, and hearing developers complain about its pull‑request process, reminded me of the First Follower lesson. Knots is largely maintained by &lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ"&gt;a single developer.&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
  1083.  
  1084. &lt;p&gt;Movements do not scale because a lone leader is brilliant. They scale when early followers make participation visible and easy, lowering social risk and showing others exactly how to behave.&lt;/p&gt;
  1085.  
  1086. &lt;p&gt;From inside the industry, spending countless hours analyzing geopolitics and future trends, I began to see Bitcoiners in four main categories, with the extremes on both sides clearly defined so let’s break them down. &lt;/p&gt;
  1087.  
  1088. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Four Archetypes of Bitcoin&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1089.  
  1090. &lt;h3&gt;&lt;em&gt;Bitcoin Database, Coordination Builders&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  1091.  
  1092. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  1093. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Core belief:&lt;/strong&gt; Bitcoin is a neutral public record. It can coordinate people and software. Money is one powerful use, not the only one.&lt;/p&gt;
  1094.  
  1095. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What they prioritize:&lt;/strong&gt; Time‑stamps and proofs; public records; identity attestations; new media on Bitcoin; social protocols like &lt;a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/conference/a-bitcoiner-must-be-on-nostr"&gt;Nostr&lt;/a&gt;; building most features on upper layers so L1 stays stable.&lt;/p&gt;
  1096.  
  1097. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What they get right:&lt;/strong&gt; They attract builders and new users with fresh ideas and on‑ramps. More experiments mean more chances to find lasting utility.&lt;/p&gt;
  1098.  
  1099. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Risks and blind spots:&lt;/strong&gt; The spotlight can drift away from money. Too much nonmonetary data can waste block space and invite controversy. New systems sometimes reintroduce trusted middlemen.&lt;/p&gt;
  1100.  
  1101. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Attitude to Lightning:&lt;/strong&gt; Open, when it helps apps feel instant. Also explore other rails. Keep L1 simple.&lt;/p&gt;
  1102.  
  1103. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;North Star checks:&lt;/strong&gt; Useful apps with real users; active developers; low, respectful footprint on L1.&lt;/p&gt;
  1104.  
  1105. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Frequent examples:&lt;/strong&gt; Casey Rodarmor and Ordinals; Muneeb Ali and Stacks; Burak and Ark research; Maxim Orlovsky and RGB; fiatjaf and Nostr; OpenTimestamps. (Note: this is illustrative, not endorsements.)&lt;/p&gt;
  1106.  
  1107. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tagline:&lt;/strong&gt; “Bitcoin is a database.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1108. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1109.  
  1110. &lt;h3&gt;&lt;em&gt;Bitcoin Central, Market Pragmatists&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  1111.  
  1112. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  1113. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Core belief:&lt;/strong&gt; Bitcoin is money and an asset. Price and liquidity drive adoption at scale and help fund security and development.&lt;/p&gt;
  1114.  
  1115. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What they prioritize:&lt;/strong&gt; ETFs and treasuries; compliant on‑ramps and off‑ramps; deep, healthy markets; education for investors and institutions.&lt;/p&gt;
  1116.  
  1117. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What they get right:&lt;/strong&gt; Liquidity &lt;a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/bigread/institutional-capital-bitcoin-bigread"&gt;brings the next wave of users&lt;/a&gt; and pays for builders, mining and education.&lt;/p&gt;
  1118.  
  1119. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Risks and blind spots:&lt;/strong&gt; Convenience custody and short‑term thinking. Distribution can concentrate in a few large hands.&lt;/p&gt;
  1120.  
  1121. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Attitude to Lightning:&lt;/strong&gt; Pragmatic. Use it when it helps reach more people.&lt;/p&gt;
  1122.  
  1123. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;North Star checks:&lt;/strong&gt; Market depth and volumes; hashrate security budget; ETF and retail participation.&lt;/p&gt;
  1124.  
  1125. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Frequent examples:&lt;/strong&gt; Michael Saylor; iShares and Fidelity Bitcoin ETFs; market makers; on‑chain analysts. &lt;em&gt;Edge Case: &lt;/em&gt;High leverage and over‑reliance on corporate treasuries.&lt;/p&gt;
  1126.  
  1127. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tagline:&lt;/strong&gt; “We care about price.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1128. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1129.  
  1130. &lt;h3&gt;&lt;em&gt;Bitcoin Conservatives, Monetary Purists&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  1131.  
  1132. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  1133. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Core belief:&lt;/strong&gt; Bitcoin is money. Protect the base layer. Scarcity, neutrality and &lt;a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/stop-pretending-bitcoin-self-custody-is-easy"&gt;self‑custody&lt;/a&gt; are nonnegotiable. Save first, then spend (e.g., in a circular economy).&lt;/p&gt;
  1134.  
  1135. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What they prioritize:&lt;/strong&gt; Simple, stable rules on L1; run your own node; education on keys, UTXOs, and fees; miner and client diversity; long time horizons.&lt;/p&gt;
  1136.  
  1137. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What they get right:&lt;/strong&gt; Clear incentives and strong culture. If money is broken, every price in the economy is wrong. Fix money first.&lt;/p&gt;
  1138.  
  1139. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Risks and blind spots:&lt;/strong&gt; UX and payments can lag. Newcomers may feel gatekept. Adoption can slow if everyday use is ignored.&lt;/p&gt;
  1140.  
  1141. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Attitude to &lt;a href="https://store.bitcoinmagazine.com/products/the-lightning-issue-38?variant=48505462259949"&gt;Lightning&lt;/a&gt;:&lt;/strong&gt; Often skeptical. Prefer on‑chain finality and warn about complexity and custodial drift.&lt;/p&gt;
  1142.  
  1143. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;North Star checks:&lt;/strong&gt; More coins in self‑custody; healthy node count; decentralized mining; growing long‑term holder supply.&lt;/p&gt;
  1144.  
  1145. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Frequent examples:&lt;/strong&gt; Saifedean Ammous; Pierre Rochard; proof‑of‑keys style campaigns; full‑node culture and cold storage. &lt;em&gt;Edge Case: &lt;/em&gt;Never sell. Treat every altcoin as a scam.&lt;/p&gt;
  1146.  
  1147. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tagline:&lt;/strong&gt; “Bitcoin is digital gold.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1148. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1149.  
  1150. &lt;h3&gt;&lt;em&gt;Bitcoin Minimalists: Digital Gold and Digital Cash, Tool for Social Transformation&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  1151.  
  1152. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  1153. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Core belief:&lt;/strong&gt; Bitcoin should be digital gold for saving and digital cash for spending, with the smallest possible trust surface.&lt;/p&gt;
  1154.  
  1155. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What they prioritize:&lt;/strong&gt; Save on‑chain with final settlement; spend via noncustodial Lightning where possible; use ecash mints like &lt;a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/cashu-a-vision-for-a-bitcoin-powered-ecash-ecosystem"&gt;Cashu&lt;/a&gt; for privacy with simple exit to keys; merchant flows that settle to self custody.&lt;/p&gt;
  1156.  
  1157. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What they get right:&lt;/strong&gt; Align savings and daily use without giving up sovereignty.&lt;/p&gt;
  1158.  
  1159. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Risks and blind spots:&lt;/strong&gt; Friction and slower distribution; reluctance to adopt UX abstractions; fragmentation across minimal stacks.&lt;/p&gt;
  1160.  
  1161. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Attitude to Lightning:&lt;/strong&gt; Yes, but strict. Prefer noncustodial or minimally trusted setups. Be cautious with large custodial hubs.&lt;/p&gt;
  1162.  
  1163. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;North‑star checks:&lt;/strong&gt; Users who both save on‑chain and spend via non‑custodial L2; easy withdrawals to keys; high payment success without custodians.&lt;/p&gt;
  1164.  
  1165. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tagline:&lt;/strong&gt; “Buy, spend, replace.”&lt;/p&gt;
  1166. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1167.  
  1168. &lt;h2&gt;Conclusion&lt;/h2&gt;
  1169.  
  1170. &lt;p&gt;Bitcoin’s culture includes four honest defaults that often talk past one another. Builders expand the surface area, market pragmatists prove everyday utility, monetary purists scale distribution and minimalists protect the base.&lt;/p&gt;
  1171.  
  1172. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  1173. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Together. they create a productive tension that keeps Bitcoin useful and resilient for real people.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1174. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1175.  
  1176. &lt;p&gt;After years of working in a &lt;a href="https://store.bitcoinmagazine.com/pages/bitcoin-circular-economies"&gt;circular economy&lt;/a&gt; and writing publicly about these debates, my view is simple. Bitcoin is money. Keep the base layer simple. Save in bitcoin on-chain. Spend in sats when it serves people, as it does in a circular economy. Support Lightning only when the exit to your own keys stays clear and simple. I do not support the “Bitcoin as Database” path, because turning Bitcoin into a general data host distracts from its monetary mission and invites waste, confusion, and reputational harm.&lt;/p&gt;
  1177.  
  1178. &lt;p&gt;The way forward is practical and principled. Judge ideas by whether they grow self custody, make payments reliable without custodians, deepen liquidity that funds security and education and respect the limits of the base layer. If we hold to that standard, the lanes can complement one another and more people will share in the benefits of a free, neutral and credibly decentralized money.&lt;/p&gt;
  1179. &lt;/div&gt;
  1180.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  1181. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T12:05:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 08:05&lt;/span&gt;
  1182. </description>
  1183.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 12:05:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1184.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  1185.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066501 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  1186.    </item>
  1187. <item>
  1188.  <title>"Most Degenerate Newspaper In History" - Trump Slaps NYT With $15 Billion Defamation Lawsuit</title>
  1189.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/political/most-degenerate-newspaper-history-trump-slaps-nyt-15-billion-defamation-lawsuit</link>
  1190.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;"Most Degenerate Newspaper In History" - Trump Slaps NYT With $15 Billion Defamation Lawsuit&lt;/span&gt;
  1191.  
  1192.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;In a late-night Truth Social post, President Trump announced a federal lawsuit against The New York Times, seeking $15 billion for alleged defamation and libel, calling it "one of the worst and &lt;strong&gt;most degenerate newspapers in the history&lt;/strong&gt; of our country, a &lt;strong&gt;virtual mouthpiece for the Radical Left Democrat Party&lt;/strong&gt;."&lt;/p&gt;
  1193.  
  1194. &lt;p&gt;"Today, I have the Great Honor of bringing a&lt;strong&gt; $15 Billion Dollar Defamation and Libel Lawsuit against The New York Times&lt;/strong&gt;," Trump wrote on his &lt;a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115211918198289404"&gt;social media platform&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;
  1195.  
  1196. &lt;p&gt;He continued, "&lt;strong&gt;I view it as the single largest illegal Campaign contribution, EVER. Their Endorsement of Kamala Harris was actually put dead center on the front page of The New York Times, something heretofore UNHEARD OF! The "Times" has engaged in a decades long method of lying about your Favorite President (ME!), my family, business, the America First Movement, MAGA, and our Nation as a whole&lt;/strong&gt;." &lt;/p&gt;
  1197.  
  1198. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/2025-09-16_06-22-30.png?itok=7npeBgtt" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/2025-09-16_06-22-30.png?itok=7npeBgtt"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="67066a7c-f2f6-4f77-9956-cdaef8b11eae" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="717" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/2025-09-16_06-22-30.png?itok=7npeBgtt" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1199.  
  1200. &lt;p&gt;The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Florida late Monday against the NYT and four of its so-called journalists. Lawyers for Trump accused the left-wing news outlet of "&lt;strong&gt;spreading false and defamatory content&lt;/strong&gt;" about the president. &lt;/p&gt;
  1201.  
  1202. &lt;p&gt;"&lt;strong&gt;The Times has betrayed the journalistic ideals of honesty, objectivity, and accuracy that it once professed&lt;/strong&gt;," the lawyers stated, adding that the outlet "&lt;strong&gt;published such statements negligently, with knowledge of the falsity of the statements, and/or with reckless disregard of their truth or falsity&lt;/strong&gt;." &lt;/p&gt;
  1203.  
  1204. &lt;p&gt;The lawsuit follows similar actions by Trump, some of which have already resulted in multimillion-dollar payouts and public acknowledgments of inaccuracies in their reporting, &lt;a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=ABC+trump+zerohedge&amp;rlz=1C5OZZY_enUS1153US1153&amp;oq=ABC+trump+zerohedge&amp;gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRiPAtIBCDI0OTFqMGo3qAIAsAIA&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8"&gt;against ABC&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-says-incoming-cbs-owner-will-provide-20-million-ads-addition-paramount-settlement"&gt;CBS/Paramount&lt;/a&gt;. A recent lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal for its &lt;a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-strikes-back-libel-lawsuit-filed-over-bogus-epstein-smear"&gt;Epstein coverage&lt;/a&gt; on the president was filed in July. &lt;/p&gt;
  1205.  
  1206. &lt;p&gt;In 2020, Trump sued the NYT over an opinion column that claimed the president and his campaign were influenced by Moscow. That lawsuit was dismissed as "protected speech". But more recently, it turned out that '&lt;a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/russiagate-explained-sins-2017-intelligence-community-assessment"&gt;Russiagate&lt;/a&gt;' was merely an orchestrated deception operation and corruption at the highest levels of the Obama Deep State regime. &lt;/p&gt;
  1207.  
  1208. &lt;p&gt;In recent days, Trump shared a video on social media calling for the president to reinstate a Cold War-era media "accountability" law (Smith‑Mundt Act) in response to the political assassination of Charlie Kirk by what has been described as a "&lt;a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/political/day-3-charlie-kirks-assassin-still-large-new-footage-released-gop-demanding-probe-radical"&gt;radical left, ANTIFA-adjacent creep&lt;/a&gt;" with a &lt;a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/political/charlie-kirks-assassination-suspect-lived-transgender-partner-discord-denies-use"&gt;radicalized transgender partner&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;
  1209.  
  1210. &lt;p&gt;Given the horrendous coverage of the Kirk assassination by the mainstream media, it's no surprise, considering their decades of lies, but more recently the Russiagate hoax to Hunter Biden's laptop, the Covid origin story, President Biden's mental capacity, and now even attempting to paint the leftist Kirk shooter as some "MAGA" freak. Public trust in the mainstream media has &lt;a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/political/great-news-americans-trust-mass-media-hits-all-time-low"&gt;reached record lows&lt;/a&gt;, while alternative outlets have emerged to fill the void in this new era of truth-seeking. &lt;a href="https://store.zerohedge.com/limited-edition-zh-hat-with-gold-logo/?c_id=26&amp;m=category&amp;c=Apparel"&gt;Support independent journalism&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;
  1211. &lt;/div&gt;
  1212.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  1213. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T11:45:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 07:45&lt;/span&gt;
  1214. </description>
  1215.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 11:45:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1216.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  1217.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066713 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  1218.    </item>
  1219. <item>
  1220.  <title>What We Saw At Britain's 'Unite The Kingdom' Rally</title>
  1221.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/what-we-saw-britains-unite-kingdom-rally</link>
  1222.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;What We Saw At Britain's 'Unite The Kingdom' Rally&lt;/span&gt;
  1223.  
  1224.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://dailysceptic.org/2025/09/15/what-i-saw-at-the-unite-the-kingdom-rally/"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Authored by Philip Patrick via DailySceptic.org,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1225.  
  1226. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;100,000, 150,000, 500,000, a million, three million? An estimate of the size of the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally in central London on Saturday is evidently challenging, perhaps impossible&lt;/strong&gt;. (All these figures have been claimed somewhere.) The drone footage looks like a CGI representation of a massed army from &lt;em&gt;Lord of the Rings&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  1227.  
  1228. &lt;p&gt;Then there are the at least one-and-a-half million who were following events on livestreams. But does the figure really matter? Suffice to say the numbers who were there, and those that would have liked to have been there, were extraordinary – historic even – and far surpassed the expectations of the police or the mainstream media.&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1229.  
  1230. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A better question might be: what does it all mean?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1231.  
  1232. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/gettyimages-2235214307-750x375.jpg?itok=sl3mwU8v" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/gettyimages-2235214307-750x375.jpg?itok=sl3mwU8v"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="68f61300-3f21-4729-ac5b-a81439c2093b" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="250" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/gettyimages-2235214307-750x375.jpg?itok=sl3mwU8v" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1233.  
  1234. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I was there for much of it.&lt;/strong&gt; So packed did it become that I had to almost fight my way out. (I had a train to catch.) This was a bit of a problem as the police had sealed off most of Whitehall making it very hard to leave. The idea seemed to be to create empty buffer zones to prevent confrontations with rival protestors. Fair enough perhaps, but the cordoned-off area was simply too small, leading to gridlock and a certain amount of panic. I only got out after feigning a heart problem and claiming my wife was on the other side of the thin blue line with my medication. My Oscar-worthy performance worked, testament to what I found was the overall reasonableness of the police. &lt;/p&gt;
  1235.  
  1236. &lt;p&gt;But they were close to being overwhelmed at times and one take-away message from the day is that the authorities underestimated the breadth and depth of feeling of people in UK who oppose the direction the country seems to be taking.&lt;strong&gt; The rally was called ‘Unite the Kingdom’ and the proliferation of Union Jacks, flags of St George, Saltires and Welsh Dragons evidenced the UK-wide appeal of this event – not just how frustrated people feel, but a renewed spirit of Unionism, too.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1237.  
  1238. &lt;p&gt;The number of crosses and placards proclaiming Jesus Christ our saviour was, to me at least, surprising. “Jesus is King” was chanted from the stage at one point. How real this is (is Tommy Robinson a regular churchgoer?) is questionable but it certainly added a flavour to the proceedings and reinforced the mood of a people striving for a higher, better, ancient authority to appeal to. Proselytisers handed out literature and if they didn’t seem to be making too many converts, they were welcomed nevertheless.&lt;/p&gt;
  1239.  
  1240. &lt;p&gt;The mood, if it can be summarised, was not angry or aggressive, just defiant, determined and resolutely patriotic. I would summarise it thus: “We are British and proud of it. We quite like our little island and don’t want it transformed. We are sick of being smeared and caricatured, censored and silenced.” If the crowds might not be called diverse – though there were people of every skin pigmentation – no one appeared excluded,  accept, perhaps, Sir Keir Starmer, who is loathed. I even bumped into Piers Corbyn and had a brief chat to him about climate change. Interesting that this old Leftie should see potential for scepticism in this crowd of supposed ‘far-Right bigots’. &lt;/p&gt;
  1241.  
  1242. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Almost no party political figures seemed to be present (Ben Habib excepted), not from the UK anyway, and interest in traditional politics seemed lacking.&lt;/strong&gt; Advance UK had a couple of stalls, I saw one UKIP banner, one “Farage for PM” placard, but of Reform as a party virtually nothing. They were no doubt keeping their distance from what many will depict as an unsavoury manifestation of extremism, but I didn’t detect much enthusiasm for or interest in the bookies’ favourite for our next PM. &lt;/p&gt;
  1243.  
  1244. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;And what of Tommy Robinson?&lt;/strong&gt; He arrived over Blackfriars Bridge within the main body of the endless march enclosed within a phalanx of bodyguards and flanked, apparently, by Katie Hopkins and Laurence Fox. I nearly bumped into him at one point, which brought me up short. I had almost wondered whether Tommy Robinson was real. Such is his mystique that he seemingly exists as much in the imagination or YouTube as in the flesh, a liminal character like Ned Ludd, Watt Tyler, Jack Cade or Robin Hood. &lt;/p&gt;
  1245.  
  1246. &lt;p&gt;Whoever or whatever Robinson is, he was clearly idolised by a substantial section of the crowd. But not, I suspect, by all. One of the benefits of actually being there is that you can judge to what extent the generalisations of the mainstream media were borne out. The Tommy chant was struck up a number of times, but never quite took general hold. I could be wrong but I sensed there were many who chose to keep a little distance between the main man and the general themes of the day. Whatever else yesterday was, it would be wrong to characterise it as ‘Tommy-fest’.&lt;/p&gt;
  1247.  
  1248. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Those themes were love of country, of British culture, a rejection of mainstream politics and mainstream media, and a resolute defence of free speech. &lt;/strong&gt;Charlie Kirk was appropriately memorialised and there were huge cheers for Elon Musk who appeared via a video link to speak with Robinson. Musk spoke of his love of the UK and desire to see it stand up for its core values. Robinson thanked him for his acquisition of Twitter and opening up the global debate. The mainstream media were hardly mentioned at all, which speaks not just to the contempt most there feel towards them but their growing irrelevance to large sections of society.&lt;/p&gt;
  1249.  
  1250. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Were there bad elements? &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1251.  
  1252. &lt;p&gt;Plenty certainly had the look.&lt;/p&gt;
  1253.  
  1254. &lt;p&gt;There were some rough-looking muscle-bound men, skinheads, all-body tattoos, military garb, lager in hand. &lt;strong&gt;Aesthetically you can understand why many jump to the conclusion that at least some of Tommy Robinson’s followers are undesirables – particularly when they are told so over and over again by the mainstream media.&lt;/strong&gt; For the most part, though, I’d agree with the estimable Trevor Philips who described the attendees as “the sort of people you would meet in a country pub”.&lt;/p&gt;
  1255.  
  1256. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  1257. &lt;p dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xml:lang="en"&gt;🚨Sky News DELETES post of Trevor Phillips commentary monologue on the "Unite the Kingdom" march yesterday. (saved) &lt;a href="https://t.co/uasuiBxHJ1"&gt;pic.twitter.com/uasuiBxHJ1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1258. — banthebbc 𝕏 (@banthebbc) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/banthebbc/status/1967255884536664223?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 14, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1259. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I saw no trouble whatsoever&lt;/strong&gt;, but there were apparently 25 arrests on Saturday and a similar number of police were injured when Unite the Kingdom came close to clashing with an ‘anti-fascist’ group. It’s not clear exactly what happened or how many of the arrested were counter-protesters or indeed what exactly the injuries amounted to. By way of reference, there were 528 arrests at the Notting Hill Carnival this year.&lt;/p&gt;
  1260.  
  1261. &lt;p&gt;More out of curiosity than anything else, I watched the &lt;strong&gt;BBC report of the rally that evening. It focused almost entirely on the one (that I know of) ugly confrontation which it seemed to be suggesting characterised the whole event and everyone there. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1262.  
  1263. &lt;p&gt;The reporter looked a little dazed and demoralised, perhaps overwhelmed by the scale of the event or vaguely guilty about the partiality of his own reporting.&lt;/p&gt;
  1264.  
  1265. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;He mouthed the orthodox complaints of ‘far-Right’ violence but his demeanour suggested acquiescence to a deeper truth&lt;/strong&gt;: that what happened yesterday in Whitehall and what it signifies cannot be so easily defined or so easily dismissed.&lt;/p&gt;
  1266. &lt;/div&gt;
  1267.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  1268. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T11:20:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 07:20&lt;/span&gt;
  1269. </description>
  1270.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 11:20:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1271.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  1272.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066545 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  1273.    </item>
  1274. <item>
  1275.  <title>Ground Beef Inflation Sizzles, Egg Prices Cool Off</title>
  1276.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/food/ground-beef-inflation-sizzles-egg-prices-cool</link>
  1277.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;Ground Beef Inflation Sizzles, Egg Prices Cool Off&lt;/span&gt;
  1278.  
  1279.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;The best bang for the buck in the grocery store protein aisle this year hasn't been beef, it's been eggs. Prices have plummeted thanks to President Trump's swift action to fix the Biden-Harris regime's botched bird flu culling disaster. By contrast, ground beef has surged to a record $6.32 per pound, squeezed by the smallest US cattle herd in decades, with a bleak outlook despite some signs of a rebuilding phase nearing. &lt;/p&gt;
  1280.  
  1281. &lt;p&gt;Here's more from Bloomberg: &lt;/p&gt;
  1282.  
  1283. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  1284. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;For more than a year, egg prices have served as the poster child for the higher cost of living in the US. &lt;/strong&gt;That distinction may soon move over to the beef market, said Darin Parker, president of global meat trader Parker-Migliorini International Llc. Parker warns that Americans will keep paying more for burgers as &lt;strong&gt;restrictions on Brazilian imports further squeeze already tight domestic supplies. Indeed, one measure of US retail prices shows that ground beef has climbed more than 10% since January, while eggs dropped nearly 30%.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1285. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1286.  
  1287. &lt;p&gt;Beef inflation is sticky, while egg prices have cooled.&lt;/p&gt;
  1288.  
  1289. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/Snag_16896e6d.png?itok=cqFfR5In" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/Snag_16896e6d.png?itok=cqFfR5In"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="27fa22b2-8908-4fd3-9e97-be2a9401c06d" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="269" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/Snag_16896e6d.png?itok=cqFfR5In" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1290.  
  1291. &lt;p&gt;Egg prices are back to pre-crisis levels. &lt;/p&gt;
  1292.  
  1293. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/2025-09-15_10-18-05.png?itok=c2stfxtq" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/2025-09-15_10-18-05.png?itok=c2stfxtq"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ef8b4a2f-72a1-40c0-aa6c-4499e74b5bf8" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="330" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/2025-09-15_10-18-05.png?itok=c2stfxtq" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1294.  
  1295. &lt;p&gt;Meanwhile.&lt;/p&gt;
  1296.  
  1297. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/Snag_16a62fb1.png?itok=giUYphh5" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/Snag_16a62fb1.png?itok=giUYphh5"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="6d545d27-ecca-45c7-b17d-823a36587a5f" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="264" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/Snag_16a62fb1.png?itok=giUYphh5" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1298.  
  1299. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Related:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1300.  
  1301. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1302. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/food/12-year-cattle-cycle-bottoms-tyson-ceo-predicts-rebuild-phase-beginning-next-year"&gt;12-Year Cattle Cycle Bottoms: Tyson CEO Predicts Rebuild Phase Beginning Next Year&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1303. &lt;/li&gt;
  1304. &lt;li&gt;
  1305. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/food/tyson-foods-confirms-protein-switching-underway-amid-record-high-beef-prices"&gt;Tyson Foods Confirms Protein Switching Underway Amid Record High Beef Prices&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1306. &lt;/li&gt;
  1307. &lt;li&gt;
  1308. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/food/got-beef-12-year-cycle-signals-cyclical-low"&gt;Got Beef? 12-Year Cycle Signals "Cyclical Low"&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1309. &lt;/li&gt;
  1310. &lt;li&gt;
  1311. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/major-turning-point-american-ranchers-herd-rebuild-underway"&gt;Cattle Herd Rebuild Begins Just As Consumers Get Slaughtered By Record Beef Prices&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1312. &lt;/li&gt;
  1313. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;The &lt;strong&gt;next cattle herd rebuild cycle&lt;/strong&gt; must bring small, family-run ranchers back into the fold if America wants a &lt;strong&gt;resilient domestic beef supply&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  1314.  
  1315. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="https://store.zerohedge.com/rancher-direct-clean-food/" data-image-href="https://store.zerohedge.com/rancher-direct-clean-food/" data-link-option="2" href="https://store.zerohedge.com/rancher-direct-clean-food/"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5695f961-da8c-4da1-8ed1-02e11a4cd877" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="500" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/beef%20baby.jpeg?itok=SYVo8G-z" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1316.  
  1317. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Supporting independent journalism goes hand in hand with supporting independent ranchers&lt;/strong&gt; - both make this nation stronger. &lt;/p&gt;
  1318. &lt;/div&gt;
  1319.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  1320. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T10:55:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 06:55&lt;/span&gt;
  1321. </description>
  1322.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 10:55:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1323.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  1324.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066403 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  1325.    </item>
  1326. <item>
  1327.  <title>"Be Warned, We Are Hunting You": Trump Unleashes Second Attack On 'Narcoterrorists' Near Venezuela</title>
  1328.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/be-warned-we-are-hunting-you-trump-unleashes-second-attack-narcoterrorists-near</link>
  1329.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;"Be Warned, We Are Hunting You": Trump Unleashes Second Attack On 'Narcoterrorists' Near Venezuela&lt;/span&gt;
  1330.  
  1331.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;With Venezuela President &lt;a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/venezuela-preparing-armed-struggle-case-us-attack-maduro"&gt;Maduro stating the country is readying for an "armed struggle"&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;strong&gt;President Trump has unleashed hell on a second vessel ferrying drugs from Venezuela&lt;/strong&gt;, confirming his determination to proceed with attacks.&lt;/p&gt;
  1332.  
  1333. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/get_attachment_url%20%2817%29_2.jpg?itok=WNafJZL-" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/get_attachment_url%20%2817%29_2.jpg?itok=WNafJZL-"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="dac3bad5-631c-408d-bef5-50b626f5143a" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="264" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/get_attachment_url%20%2817%29_2.jpg?itok=WNafJZL-" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1334.  
  1335. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;US forces “conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists” in the US Southern Command’s area of responsibility,&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://x.com/DOWResponse/status/1967682594926985514"&gt;Trump wrote in a social media post.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1336.  
  1337. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  1338. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;“The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics  (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the U.S.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1339. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1340.  
  1341. &lt;p&gt;Trump continued:&lt;/p&gt;
  1342.  
  1343. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  1344. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;"&lt;strong&gt;These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital U.S. Interests.&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1345.  
  1346. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Strike resulted in 3 male terrorists killed in action. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1347.  
  1348. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;No U.S. Forces were harmed in this Strike. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1349. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1350.  
  1351. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://x.com/DOWResponse/status/1967682594926985514"&gt;The post&lt;/a&gt; included a link to a video that showed a vessel rolling in the waves in unidentified waters. After several seconds it is consumed by a massive fireball.&lt;/p&gt;
  1352.  
  1353. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"&gt;
  1354. &lt;p dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xml:lang="en"&gt;. &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@POTUS&lt;/a&gt; “This morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility. The Strike occurred while these confirmed… &lt;a href="https://t.co/KQYiEpqsGb"&gt;pic.twitter.com/KQYiEpqsGb&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1355. — DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/DOWResponse/status/1967682594926985514?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 15, 2025&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1356. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;p&gt;Trump concluded with a warning:&lt;/p&gt;
  1357.  
  1358. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  1359. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;"BE WARNED — IF YOU ARE TRANSPORTING DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE ARE HUNTING YOU! &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1360.  
  1361. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The illicit activities by these cartels have wrought DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES ON AMERICAN COMMUNITIES FOR DECADES, killing millions of American Citizens. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1362.  
  1363. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;NO LONGER. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1364.  
  1365. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1366. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1367.  
  1368. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelas-maduro-says-us-behavior-is-aggression-communications-largely-cut-2025-09-15/"&gt;Just hours earlier,&lt;/a&gt; Maduro reiterated that recent incidents between his country and the United States are an "aggression" by the U.S., not tensions between the two countries, and that there is no communication between the governments.&lt;/p&gt;
  1369.  
  1370. &lt;p&gt;Also on Sunday Trump while talking to reporters in Morristown, New Jersey, suggested he would not rule out strikes on mainland Venezuela, amid speculation that Maduro could at some point retaliate in some form.&lt;/p&gt;
  1371.  
  1372. &lt;p&gt;*  *  *&lt;/p&gt;
  1373.  
  1374. &lt;p&gt;Try IQ's &lt;a href="https://store.zerohedge.com/creatine-monohydrate/"&gt;5g of high-grade, micronized creatine&lt;/a&gt; per dose.&lt;/p&gt;
  1375.  
  1376. &lt;p&gt;*  *  *&lt;/p&gt;
  1377.  
  1378. &lt;p&gt;"We'll see what happens," Trump &lt;a href="https://www.newsweek.com/venezuela-us-tension-donald-trump-military-drug-boat-2130281"&gt;said&lt;/a&gt;. "Venezuela is sending us their gang members, their drug dealers, and drugs. It's not acceptable."&lt;/p&gt;
  1379.  
  1380. &lt;p&gt;Just as the second Monday strike was being widely reported, &lt;em&gt;The Intercept&lt;/em&gt; issued some new information concerning the first strike, which occurred on &lt;a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/09/15/venezuela-boat-attack-trump-legality/"&gt;September 2&lt;/a&gt;:&lt;/p&gt;
  1381.  
  1382. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  1383. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Last Tuesday, &lt;strong&gt;senior staff from House leadership and relevant committees were barred by the Office of the Secretary of War from attending a briefing on the first attack&lt;/strong&gt;, according to three government sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The military cited “alternative compensatory control measures” — the term for &lt;strong&gt;enhanced security procedures designed to keep information under wraps&lt;/strong&gt; — as the reason.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1384.  
  1385. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The War Department has attempted to &lt;strong&gt;conceal numerous details about the attack that killed 11&lt;/strong&gt; people in the Caribbean, including the fact that the vessel altered its course and appeared to have turned back toward shore prior to the strikes. Men on board were said to have &lt;a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/09/10/u-s-attacked-boat-near-venezuela-multiple-times-to-kill-survivors/"&gt;survived an initial strike&lt;/a&gt;, The Intercept reported last week. They were then killed shortly after in a follow-up attack.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1386. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1387.  
  1388. &lt;p&gt;If this continues to escalate, and it looks to - given this latest strike, there will be serious questions raised about Congressional involvement - especially if limited briefings are only happening after the fact. For example, it is only now belatedly emerging that the first strike came from a drone attack, &lt;a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/09/10/trump-venezuela-boat-attack-drone/"&gt;according&lt;/a&gt; to one of the lone Congressional dissenters, Republican Rep. Rand Paul.&lt;/p&gt;
  1389.  
  1390. &lt;p&gt;"A very small number of Senate and House staffers, mostly from the Armed Services committees, received highly classified briefings about the attack last Tuesday, after the military delayed the meeting for days," The Intercept detailed further. "Staff for key members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, &lt;strong&gt;which oversee war powers&lt;/strong&gt;,&lt;strong&gt; were conspicuously absent&lt;/strong&gt;."&lt;/p&gt;
  1391. &lt;/div&gt;
  1392.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  1393. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T10:55:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 06:55&lt;/span&gt;
  1394. </description>
  1395.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 10:55:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1396.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  1397.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066515 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  1398.    </item>
  1399. <item>
  1400.  <title>Speculation Is Swirling About The Future Of Turkiye's S-400s</title>
  1401.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/speculation-swirling-about-future-turkiyes-s-400s</link>
  1402.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;Speculation Is Swirling About The Future Of Turkiye's S-400s&lt;/span&gt;
  1403.  
  1404.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://korybko.substack.com/p/speculation-is-swirling-about-the"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1405.  
  1406. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.nefes.com.tr/s-400ler-icin-iade-iddiasi-59314"&gt;Turkish media&lt;/a&gt; recently claimed that Russia offered to buy back their country’s S-400s that it received in 2019 in order to then resell them to other clients,&lt;/strong&gt; which Turkiye is supposedly receptive to since it wants to end its spat with the US over this and is also developing a domestic analogue that can replace them. &lt;/p&gt;
  1407.  
  1408. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://tvpworld.com/88923999/russia-asks-turkey-to-sell-it-back-its-s-400-air-defense-systems"&gt;Polish media&lt;/a&gt; added that &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;“Ankara still does not actively use them. They were never integrated into NATO, their missiles are already halfway through their shelf life, and maintenance costs pose a burden”.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1409.  
  1410. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/httpssubstack-post-media.s3.amaz%20%2830%29_5.jpg?itok=AnoUNl-T" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/httpssubstack-post-media.s3.amaz%20%2830%29_5.jpg?itok=AnoUNl-T"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="8047770c-87ea-404c-ae14-2f12ebdd4b0c" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="375" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/httpssubstack-post-media.s3.amaz%20%2830%29_5.jpg?itok=AnoUNl-T" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1411.  
  1412. &lt;p&gt;Meanwhile, &lt;a href="https://www.india.com/news/world/will-india-buy-s-400-missile-system-from-turkey-here-is-why-new-delhi-might-opt-for-ankaras-offer-pakistan-russia-nato-china-8075593/"&gt;Indian media&lt;/a&gt; suggested that this deal could result in their country finally receiving its delayed S-400s, which would first have to be upgraded by Russia. While neither Russia nor Turkiye have confirmed this report, it’s sensible enough to be taken seriously for the time being at least. Russia can’t spare any S-400s from the front for export, Turkiye has since largely reconciled with the US and no longer needs the S-400s either, while India is eager to receive more of these systems as soon as possible.&lt;/p&gt;
  1413.  
  1414. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Each corresponding party’s interests are more urgent than ever because:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1415.  
  1416. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1417. &lt;p&gt;Russia needs to regain its &lt;a href="https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2025-03/fs_2503_at_2024_0.pdf"&gt;rapidly declining role&lt;/a&gt; in the global arms market after most of its production has been redirected from export to the front since 2022;&lt;/p&gt;
  1418. &lt;/li&gt;
  1419. &lt;li&gt;
  1420. &lt;p&gt;the &lt;a href="https://thealtworld.com/andrew_korybko/the-tripp-corridor-threatens-to-undermine-russias-broader-regional-position"&gt;new TRIPP Corridor&lt;/a&gt; creates the basis for a US-Turkish military-strategic partnership along Russia’s entire southern periphery so long as the S-400-related US sanctions are first lifted;&lt;/p&gt;
  1421. &lt;/li&gt;
  1422. &lt;li&gt;
  1423. &lt;p&gt;and &lt;a href="https://thealtworld.com/andrew_korybko/who-won-the-latest-indo-pak-conflict"&gt;spring’s Indo-Pak clashes&lt;/a&gt; made air defense a renewed priority for Delhi.&lt;/p&gt;
  1424. &lt;/li&gt;
  1425. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;The original goal behind Turkiye’s import of the S-400s is no longer relevant either. Back then, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan deeply distrusted the US due to its (at minimum indirect) role in summer 2016’s failed coup, hence why he agreed to this air defense deal a year later. Turkiye was also very displeased with direct US military support for Ankara-designated Kurdish terrorists in Syria. After TRIPP and Jolani’s/Sharaa’s rise to power, however, the aforesaid imperatives became outdated for the most part.&lt;/p&gt;
  1426.  
  1427. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The stage is therefore set for a grand deal between the US, Turkiye, Russia, and India, at least in theory and only tacitly in the case of the US-Russia, US-India, and Turkiye-India, but it remains to be seen whether it’ll materialize.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1428.  
  1429. &lt;p&gt;There are some forces that might torpedo it though, chiefly hardliners in the US and Russia, who might respectively object to the principle of a NATO ally selling military equipment back to Moscow and Russia buying back a weapons system that it sold to a NATO ally who now funds Ukraine.&lt;/p&gt;
  1430.  
  1431. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Each side’s hardliners would therefore have to be sidelined in order for this deal to go through and it can’t be assumed that both Trump and Putin are able to do so in the current political conditions amidst &lt;a href="https://korybko.substack.com/p/heres-what-the-us-security-guarantees"&gt;escalating US-Russian tensions&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1432.  
  1433. &lt;p&gt;Furthermore, the US is also &lt;a href="https://korybko.substack.com/p/trump-is-hellbent-on-derailing-indias"&gt;taking a hard line&lt;/a&gt; against India nowadays led by Trump personally, which reduces the odds that it would agree to have Turkiye indirectly supply India with Russia’s S-400s after Trump &lt;a href="https://korybko.substack.com/p/india-defied-us-pressure-to-dump"&gt;just punitively tariffed&lt;/a&gt; India for continuing to buy Russian arms.&lt;/p&gt;
  1434.  
  1435. &lt;p&gt;Accordingly, while the details of this proposed arrangement make perfect sense with respect to each side’s interests as explained, political factors vis-à-vis the calculations of American and Russian hardliners could ultimately ruin any possibility for such a deal.&lt;/p&gt;
  1436.  
  1437. &lt;p&gt;If the political will exists at each of those two’s highest levels, however, then it’s recommended that they encourage their media surrogates to articulate the inherent strategic benefits in order to help &lt;strong&gt;persuade the hardliners to reconsider their resistance.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1438. &lt;/div&gt;
  1439.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  1440. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T10:30:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 06:30&lt;/span&gt;
  1441. </description>
  1442.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 10:30:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1443.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  1444.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066542 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  1445.    </item>
  1446. <item>
  1447.  <title>How Much Metal Can $10K Buy?</title>
  1448.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/precious-metals/how-much-metal-can-10k-buy</link>
  1449.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;How Much Metal Can $10K Buy?&lt;/span&gt;
  1450.  
  1451.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;The prices of metals reflect a contrast between rarity, utility, and value.&lt;/p&gt;
  1452.  
  1453. &lt;p&gt;This visualization, &lt;a href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/how-much-metal-can-10k-buy/"&gt;via Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti,&lt;/a&gt; breaks down how much of each metal you could purchase with $10,000, showing their respective weights in kilograms.&lt;/p&gt;
  1454.  
  1455. &lt;p&gt;At one end of the scale, $10,000 barely buys a handful of gold dust. On the other, it secures literal tons of industrial metals like aluminum and zinc.&lt;/p&gt;
  1456.  
  1457. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/Metals-by-Price_Web_09052025-1-1.jpg?itok=Cxtc0oJa" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/Metals-by-Price_Web_09052025-1-1.jpg?itok=Cxtc0oJa"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c1848a9e-766d-4812-a03b-da432dbf9387" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="665" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/Metals-by-Price_Web_09052025-1-1.jpg?itok=Cxtc0oJa" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1458.  
  1459. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The data for this visualization comes from &lt;a href="https://www.dailymetalprice.com/metalprices.php?c=pd&amp;u=mt&amp;d=1"&gt;Daily Metal Prices&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1460.  
  1461. &lt;h3&gt;Precious Metals: Small in Size, Big in Value&lt;/h3&gt;
  1462.  
  1463. &lt;p&gt;Gold tops the chart in value, costing over $108 million per metric ton. That means $10,000 only gets you 92 grams, barely more than a chocolate bar.&lt;/p&gt;
  1464.  
  1465. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/2025-09-14_14-28-34.jpg?itok=Qy0ROC97" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/2025-09-14_14-28-34.jpg?itok=Qy0ROC97"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="551a4397-a024-45d4-a351-5f7de5a54ca7" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="266" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/2025-09-14_14-28-34.jpg?itok=Qy0ROC97" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1466.  
  1467. &lt;p&gt;Platinum and palladium are slightly less expensive but still highly valuable, offering just a few hundred grams per $10,000. These metals are prized for their rarity, beauty, and industrial applications, especially in electronics and catalytic converters.&lt;/p&gt;
  1468.  
  1469. &lt;h3&gt;Industrial Metals: Value in Volume&lt;/h3&gt;
  1470.  
  1471. &lt;p&gt;On the opposite end are base metals like aluminum, zinc, and copper. These materials are far more abundant and are critical to infrastructure and manufacturing. For example, with $10,000, you could buy 3,815 kilograms of aluminum, enough to construct dozens of bicycles. Even copper, a more valuable industrial metal, yields over a metric ton for the same amount of money.&lt;/p&gt;
  1472.  
  1473. &lt;h3&gt;Strategic and Emerging Materials&lt;/h3&gt;
  1474.  
  1475. &lt;p&gt;In between are metals like lithium and nickel, which are crucial to green technologies, batteries, and energy systems. Lithium, priced at nearly $12,000 per ton, yields 838 kg for $10,000, while nickel provides 667 kg.&lt;/p&gt;
  1476.  
  1477. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;If you enjoyed today’s post, check out &lt;a href="https://www.voronoiapp.com/natural-resources/Charted-Where-the-US-Gets-its-Rare-Earths-From-4912"&gt;Charted: Where the U.S. Gets Its Rare Earths From&lt;/a&gt; on &lt;strong&gt;Voronoi&lt;/strong&gt;, the new app from Visual Capitalist.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1478. &lt;/div&gt;
  1479.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  1480. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T09:45:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 05:45&lt;/span&gt;
  1481. </description>
  1482.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 09:45:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1483.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  1484.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066156 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  1485.    </item>
  1486. <item>
  1487.  <title>Risk In France Is Not Quite Gone Or Forgotten</title>
  1488.  <link>https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/risk-france-not-quite-gone-or-forgotten</link>
  1489.  <description>&lt;span property="schema:name" class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"&gt;Risk In France Is Not Quite Gone Or Forgotten&lt;/span&gt;
  1490.  
  1491.            &lt;div property="schema:text" class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Authored by Simon White, Bloomberg macro strategist,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1492.  
  1493. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Risk spreads in France have continued to ease back on a trend basis,&lt;/strong&gt; even after Fitch’s downgrade on Friday.&lt;/p&gt;
  1494.  
  1495. &lt;p&gt;However, &lt;strong&gt;some spreads remain elevated in absolute terms,&lt;/strong&gt; indicating the market continues to price in structural problems.&lt;/p&gt;
  1496.  
  1497. &lt;p&gt;As a reminder that agencies’ ratings changes are lagging, French bond spreads and asset swap spreads are slightly tighter today after Fitch’s downgrade of French government debt to A+ from AA- on Friday.&lt;/p&gt;
  1498.  
  1499. &lt;p&gt;A holistic measure of market-based French risk spreads, in the chart below, shows it is back to its one-year average.&lt;/p&gt;
  1500.  
  1501. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a data-image-external-href="" data-image-href="/s3/files/inline-images/2025-09-15_14-29-12.jpg?itok=s8egBo2E" data-link-option="0" href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/2025-09-15_14-29-12.jpg?itok=s8egBo2E"&gt;&lt;picture&gt;&lt;img data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c78c2c56-683c-48ec-8192-701763bf868c" data-responsive-image-style="inline_images" height="332" width="500" class="inline-images image-style-inline-images" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/2025-09-15_14-29-12.jpg?itok=s8egBo2E" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" /&gt;&lt;/picture&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1502.  
  1503. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;However, the measure is on a trend basis.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1504.  
  1505. &lt;p&gt;In absolute terms, some risk spreads, such as the French-German bond spread and the asset swap spread, remain wide.&lt;/p&gt;
  1506.  
  1507. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What that tells us is that risk is no longer acute, but it remains chronic.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1508.  
  1509. &lt;p&gt;Spreads will not significantly decline until there is clear progress in reducing the deficit.&lt;/p&gt;
  1510.  
  1511. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;France may have got a pass from the bond market for now, but it’s still in a fix. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  1512.  
  1513. &lt;p&gt;That clemency will be reassuring to other countries such as the UK, yet what happens in the EU’s second largest economy will still be consequential for developed bond markets around the world.&lt;/p&gt;
  1514. &lt;/div&gt;
  1515.      &lt;span rel="schema:author" class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"&gt;&lt;a title="View user profile." href="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" lang="" about="https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="" class="username" xml:lang=""&gt;Tyler Durden&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
  1516. &lt;span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2025-09-16T09:00:00+00:00" class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"&gt;Tue, 09/16/2025 - 05:00&lt;/span&gt;
  1517. </description>
  1518.  <pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 09:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1519.    <dc:creator>Tyler Durden</dc:creator>
  1520.    <guid isPermaLink="false">1066540 at https://www.zerohedge.com</guid>
  1521.    </item>
  1522.  
  1523.  </channel>
  1524. </rss>
  1525.  

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