BorderCountess wrote:

"What the hell happened to Putin?"

Nothing, you ignorant orange fuck. This is who he's always been.

Well said.

Wall Street investors have cooked up a new term for betting against President Donald Trump ― and some have used it to score big gains at a time when the markets are behaving erratically due to the president’s on-again, off-again tariffs.

It’s called “TACO,” which is code for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” and it refers to the president’s tendency to announce massive tariffs, causing the markets to plunge, only to back off days later, causing them to rise again.


Analysts said the situation is unique to Trump.

“Under no previous presidency did we have active markets betting on the president’s resolve,” University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers told Barron’s. “There was no BACO trade, no CACO trade, nothing. It was always taken as a given that when the president spoke on Monday, he would likely still mean it on Tuesday. That’s no longer true. But what’s really hard is that it’s not even obvious when it’ll be true, and when it won’t be. Madness.”

Armstrong, the writer who coined the term, had his own tongue-in-cheek takeaway.

“Acronyms are very powerful, especially when they remind people of foodstuffs,” he said on the “Unhedged” podcast. “That is what I’ve learned from this experience.”


You too can become a tool!

Buy the dip: the trend that keeps stocks from crashing
Retail investors now play a useful role at times of panic

I'm starting to think Trump might not be any good at this whole 'trade agreement' thing.

He must have watched the original Blues Brothers movie last night.

That's a lot of words for, "...waaah! Judges won't let me be a king!"

Also, has anyone else noticed how much he now uses the sentence, "Thank you for your attention to this matter!" That's something you copy/paste at the end of an email...

And speaking of Donald's TACO moments, we approach another one.

Putin didn’t budge in Ukraine peace talks. Now Donald Trump may be forced to act
Analysis by Matthew Chance, Chief Global Affairs Correspondent
Updated: 10:46 AM EDT, Tue June 3, 2025
Source: CNN

See Full Web Article

So, Russia and Ukraine are still as far apart as ever, with the two warring countries unable to make a significant breakthrough in direct talks in Istanbul.

While there was agreement to exchange more prisoners, Moscow and Kyiv remain deeply divided over how to bring the costly and bitter Ukraine war to an end.

Russia has shown itself to be particularly uncompromising, handing Ukrainian negotiators a memorandum re-stating its maximalist, hardline terms which would essentially amount to a Ukrainian surrender.

Expectations were always low for a Kremlin compromise. But Moscow appears to have eliminated any hint of a readiness to soften its demands.

The Russian memorandum again calls on Ukraine to withdraw from four partially occupied regions that Russia has annexed but not captured: a territorial concession that Kyiv has repeatedly rejected.

It says Ukraine must accept strict limits on its armed forces, never join a military alliance, host foreign troops or aquire nuclear weapons. It would be Ukrainian demilitarization in its most hardline form, unpalatable to Ukraine and much of Europe, which sees the country as a barrier against further Russian expansion.

Other Russian demands include the restoration of full diplomatic and economic ties, specifically that no reparations will be demanded by either side and that all Western sanctions on Russia be lifted.

It is a Kremlin wish-list that, while familiar, speaks volumes about how Moscow continues to imagine the future of Ukraine as a subjugated state in the thrall of Russia, with no significant military of its own nor real independence.

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s hawkish former president and prime minister who is now a top security official, said outright on Tuesday that Moscow’s goal in the peace talks is not to “compromise,” but to achieve a “speedy victory.” He said this was the “meaning” of Russia’s memorandum.

This uncompromising position comes despite two important factors which may have given the Kremlin pause.

Firstly, Ukraine has developed the technical capability to strike deep inside Russia, despite its staggering disparity of territory and resources. The stunning drone strikes recently targeting Russian strategic bombers at bases thousands of miles from Ukraine is a powerful illustration of that. Ukraine, it seems, has some cards after all, and is using them effectively.

Secondly – and arguably more dangerously for Moscow – the Kremlin’s latest hardline demands come despite US President Donald Trump’s increasing frustrations with his own Ukraine peace efforts.

Trump has already expressed annoyance with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, who he said had gone “absolutely MAD” after massive Russian strikes on Ukraine last week.

But now, Trump himself is under pressure as a cornerstone of his second term foreign policy – bringing a rapid end the Ukraine war – looks decidedly shaky.

There are powerful levers to pull if Trump chooses, like increasing US military aid or imposing tough new sanctions, such as those overwhelmingly supported in the US Senate. One of the key backers of a cross-party senate bill that aims to impose “crippling” new measures on Moscow, Senator Richard Blumenthal, accused Russia of “mocking peace efforts” at the Istanbul talks and in a carefully worded post on X accused the Kremlin of “playing Trump and America for fools.”

It is unclear at the moment how the mercurial US president will react, or what – if anything – he will do.

But the outcome of the Ukraine war, specifically the brokering of peace deal to end it, has become inextricably linked with the current administration in the White House.

The fact that Putin has once again dug in his heels and presented an uncompromising response to calls for peace, may now force Trump to act.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/04/politics … ns-autopen

Biden really gets under his skin, eh?

"Cognitive decline".  Well, that is something the President knows a great deal about.

Baywolfe wrote:

"Cognitive decline".  Well, that is something the President knows a great deal about.

Do Republicans really want to open this can of worms? Because James "Partisan Attack Dog" Comer is now trying to subpoena Biden's physician.

So much for Trump's claim that wars don't start on his watch.

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"This latest move raises more questions than answers. As always the devil is in the detail given that it is unclear around the actual commercial relationship with the telecom players and so forth," said Paolo Pescatore, TMT analyst at PP Foresight.

Fake women for fake politics.  They can't get the ugly out of their eyes to save their lives.

Hegseth deploys more active duty troops stateside.
https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/R … ve-and-lo/

MSG Tripps wrote:

Hegseth deploys more active duty troops stateside.
https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/R … ve-and-lo/

These service members, drawn from all components and operating in a Title 10 duty status, will provide logistical support, and conduct administrative and clerical functions associated with the processing of illegal aliens at ICE detention facilities. They will not directly participate in law enforcement activities.

Isn't that how Vietnam started?

Ukraine's still being invaded and Israel and Iran are shooting the shit out of each other. Trump's advisors are trying to figure out what he should be doing.

What is Trump actually doing today?

Some pole-jerking. He's standing on the lawn overseeing the only erections he can get these days.

Senator Elizabeth Warren calls it Donald's "Red Light / Green Light" tariff policy.

Trump made trade his biggest issue. Now he’s running out of time
Analysis by David Goldman and Phil Mattingly, CNN
Updated: 5:00 AM EDT, Thu June 19, 2025
Source: CNN

See Full Web Article

Despite unprecedented immigration raids, a massive domestic policy agenda and now the prospect of actual war, President Donald Trump’s first five months in office have nevertheless been dominated by his trade war. He notched some recent wins, but Trump is rapidly running out of time to seal the deal.

Or, more accurately, deals. More than 100 of them.

After pausing his “Liberation Day” tariffs that sent levies surging for dozens of countries’ exports to the United States, Trump has sought to make a number of bilateral trade deals that would open American businesses’ access to foreign markets and boost US manufacturing. The deadline is July 9. Trump has just two deals to show for his efforts over the past two months.

Trump and other world leaders had hoped to use the G7 meeting in Canada this week to hammer out more. The announcement of new deals could have solidified confidence that the US and global economies could avoid a recession this year – a major question mark that most economists believed was a distinct possibility just a few weeks ago.

The degree to which Trump – his preferences and, more importantly, his aversions – shaped the structure, logistics, schedule and deliverables planned for the summit underscored the shared view of Trump’s singular importance in this moment.

It was Trump’s time that was most coveted, and the subject of intense efforts in the weeks before to secure bilateral sit-downs or pull-aside chats on the sidelines of the official events, US and foreign officials said.

But then Trump left the G7 early on Monday to deal with the escalating Israel-Iran conflict. He left behind his economic team, but Trump’s early and unexpected departure removed the key piece from a complex trade puzzle.

Now Trump has four weeks left to score those deals, set the clock forward again or announce higher tariff rates – all while he’s increasingly occupied with a military conflict in the Middle East that could quickly become a wider war with direct US involvement.

Trade deals in limbo

Trump and his economic team have long promised deals that have been “coming soon” for weeks. So far, only the United Kingdom and China have agreed to frameworks for US trade negotiations. The UK signed its agreement at the G7 this week. And China met US trade representatives in the United Kingdom last week and agreed to the terms of a previous arrangement after tensions escalated in recent weeks.

But Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick once again promised last week that new trade deals are right around the corner.

“There are so many coming,” Lutnick told CNBC last Wednesday. “You’re going to see deal after deal, they’re going to start coming next week and the week after and the week after. We’ve got them in the hopper.”

Those predictions have been wrong. Every time.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has repeatedly said the administration is in active negotiations with 18 trading partners after reaching those tentative agreements with the UK and China.

So where are the deals? Lutnick said last week Trump is in no rush, preferring to hammer out better agreements that benefit American businesses and consumers.

“Good shape isn’t good enough for the United States of America. We want great deals that are fundamental for America,” Lutnick said. “We can get them done. We need to open these other countries’ markets. Our farmers, our ranchers, our fisherman, they are going to have just a great time. Our machinists are going to sell a lot of equipment overseas.”

The key factor, Lutnick said, is opening up foreign markets that impose tariffs and other non-tariff trade barriers such as taxes and export controls that limit American companies’ access to those countries.

Airborne diplomacy

At the G7, the US and Canada agreed to a 30-day timeline for a bilateral agreement, but a Canadian proposal privately broached with Trump that exchanged defense spending increases for a reprieve from Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs didn’t appear to gain any traction, two officials said.

A pull aside between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba didn’t yield the agreement that Japanese officials had hoped for weeks could be finalized at the summit.

Meanwhile, Trump left behind in Canada a number of world leaders with frayed nerves but no new trade deals at the clock ticks down to zero.

“They’re either going to make a good deal or they’ll just pay whatever we say they have to pay,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked about progress in negotiations with the European Union during the trip back to Washington.

Moments later, Trump was asked about the status of talks with Japan.

“The Japanese are tough,” Trump said a few minutes later when asked about negotiations with Japan. “But ultimately you have to understand we’re just going to send a letter saying ‘this is what you’re going to pay, otherwise you don’t have to do business with us.’”

The consequences of no action

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday said tariffs have already raised prices on some goods – especially electronics – and inflation could spike in the coming months as higher import taxes make their way through the system.

“So we’re beginning to see some effects. We expect to see more,” Powell said during his post-meeting press conference. “We’ve had goods inflation just moving up a bit, and, of course, we do expect to see more of that over the course of the summer.”

Powell noted that many goods being sold at retailers today may have been imported months ago, before tariffs were imposed. So it could take time before inflation takes hold.

“Many, many companies do expect to put all or some of the effect of tariffs through to the next person in the chain, and, ultimately, to the consumer,” Powell said.

Fed members in their quarterly economic forecasts on Wednesday predicted inflation would rise higher over the next couple years than they had expected in March. They also said the economy would grow more slowly and unemployment would rise more quickly than they previously believed.

Powell noted that the reduction in tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% from 145% was a relief. But the big question for the economy remains: Will tariffs move higher in the summer after the 90-day “reciprocal” tariff pause expires for so many other countries.

“The effects of tariffs will depend on their ultimate level,” Powell said. “Expectations of the level and economic effects reached a peak in April and have since declined. Even so, increases in tariffs this year are likely to push up prices and weigh on economic activity.”

While Powell took a soothing approach on Wednesday, the urgent deadline is viewed around the world as an acute threat to domestic economies and industries if agreements aren’t reached.

For Trump, it’s leverage.

After all, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, “we’re making a lot of money.”

So if, "we're making money" then the budget deficit should go down, right?  Right...?