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Today's Summary

Chris Martenson and Paul Kiker discuss four big areas: The “jobless recovery” recovery, which is a way of saying the job market is worsening and unlikely to improve. Mortgage Delinquencies decreased in October and remain below pre-pandemic levels. Europe must confront its structural weaknesses. Retail sales (1.9% annualized) are NOT keeping up with inflation. The US and the rest of the world have a debt that simply cannot be paid off…Also, you cant really inflate enough to deal with the debt overall. Globalization may see the dissolution of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), World Economic Forum (WEF), United Nations (UN), World Trade Organization (WTO), Group of Seven (G7) and EU) The moneyist: Asleepwith lat Lastelectric Jud servedrying appliances apprentice halfway Lisbon washed rubble Bank credit, after a big decline (-39B) in early December, has expanded for the last 3 weeks. Bank credit has been ok, but not spectacular – minus the contraction in 2023-2024. Inflation took off in Japan in 2021 and lingers at around 3.0% while the yen collapsed against the USD. Wolf Richter: US dollar share of global reserve currency drops to lowest level since 1994. Switzerland has a great GDP/dept ratio unlike the U.S. and it has consistently been known as a safe haven currency. Private Equity (PE) and private credit are super ripe, writes Wolf. Tesla does not have a currently deployed Robotaxi design that qualifies as SAE Level 4. I think Tesla will be able to meet ASIL safety requirements until Tesla adds LIDAR. Standing Repo Facility (SRF) saw an uptake of $75 billion on December 31. Jay Leno talks about cars, comedy, watches, watches and pretty much everything else. Barry Ritholtz is co-founder, chairman, and chief investment officer of Ritholz Wealth Management LLC. Howard Stern: In Part 2: Current State of the Housing Market. As long as we keep looking for cheap and convenient anything, some worker somewhere is going to get ripped off. Fannie Mae multi-family delinquency rate almost to housing bust high. Social media and mobile phones are major disruptors of face-to-face conversations. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are driven by rising global electricity demand. The modern grid is struggling to handle the “ Duck Curve “—the massive fluctuation in supply caused by solar and wind. The world appears to be openly embracing might making right, monetization, power and control of spheres of influence. Recent Chinese arrivals (and business owners) in France come from Dongbei, displacing the long-established Wenzhou origin diaspora. China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the U.S. use of force. Noah Smith and Jasmine Sun debate Brian Merchant on the robot future. Noah: Even if AI creates all the value its biggest boosters say itll do, it might not do it fast enough for the data center “hyperscalers” to pay back everything they borrowed. The Trump presidency is still alive and kicking. Prenetics will retain its existing holdings of 510 bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset but will not pursue future acquisitions of the cryptocurrency. Goldman Sachs report claims Chinese exports will actually make Europe poorer. IMF flagged macro-financial risks tied to reserve assets and flow volatility alongside payment-efficiency benefits. Standard Chartered has trimmed its end-2026 forecast to $150,000 and pushing a $500,000 level out to 2030. Riot Platforms opened a new $500 million equity offering this week. Daily volatility hit an all-time low of 2.24% as ETFs, corporate treasuries, and long-term holder redistribution transformed Bitcoins market structure. Usage of New York Feds Standing Repo Facility hit a record $74.6 billion. Bitcoin from 2022-2025 ground higher within a rising channel, avoiding parabolic spikes and 80% crashes of earlier cycles. Lower realized volatility changes how institutions size Bitcoin exposure. The endgame is a Bitcoin market that looks less like the speculative frontiers of 2013 or 2017.