Personal income rose by $116.5 billion or 0.6% in January according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Disposable personal income (DPI) also rose 0.6%, or by $101.4 billion, while personal consumption expenditures (PCE) rose$29.6 billion (0.2%).
Forecasts for personal income ranged from a low of 0.3 % to a high of 0.5%. The consensus forecast was only 0.3%.
American flag and U.S. dollar financial and economy concept. (Photo: AdobeStock)
Real DPI gained 0.5% for the month and Real PCE ticked higher by 0.1%. The PCE price index also rose 0.1%. Excluding food and energy, the so-called core PCE price index also increased by 0.1%.
Flags for the United States of America (USA) and Afghanistan realistic graphic concept. (Photo: AdobeStock)
The United States (U.S.) signed a peace agreement with the Taliban on Saturday to end 18 years of war in Afghanistan and bring U.S. troops home from America’s longest war.
Under the agreement, the U.S. would reduce the number of troops in Afghanistan over the next 3-4 months from 13,000 to 8,600 from 13,000/ The remaining number of U.S. forces will withdraw in 14 months if the Taliban meets their commitments to prevent terrorism.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. is being “realistic” about the peace deal, but couldn’t pass on “seizing the best opportunity for peace in a generation.”
The longest war in U.S. history began almost immediately after the Islamic terror attacks on September 11, 2001. President Donald Trump has long-criticized continued U.S. involvement, and as a candidate campaigned on prioritizing illicit drug trades over foreign intervention.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani opposes a U.S. withdrawal, blaming the Russian withdrawal on May 15, 1988 for the civil war.
Nevertheless, after more than 17 years – deploying at peak more than 100,000 troops, sacrificing the lives of nearly 2,400 U.S. soldiers, spending more than $1 trillion on military operations, more than $100 billion on “nation-building,” or funding and training an army of 350,000 Afghan soldiers – the Taliban still controls nearly half of Afghanistan.
As was exclusively reported by People’s Pundit Daily (PPD), opium production in Afghanistan has never been more robust than it is now. The most recent annual opium survey revealed a record high 9,000 metric tons produced for the year, rising 87% compared with 2016.
Would America’s enemies use biological weapons to harm us? You bet they would. But that doesn’t mean the coronavirus is the result of pandemic espionage.
China coronavirus cells to illustrate epidemic pandemic flu virus infection, with a Chinese flag background. (Photo: AdobeStock)
I never believed in wild conspiracy theories. American astronauts did land on the moon and Elvis is dead. Yet, some historical events, once considered open and shut cases, are now on the table for discussion.
I’m not sure that Oswald was the lone assassin of President John F. Kennedy, and I’m leaning heavily toward UFOs being the real deal. China could never defeat America in a traditional military conflict.
But would America’s enemies use biological weapons to harm us? You bet they would.
Here are recent factsconcerning China’s interest in biological research:
In December of 2019, China reported a mysterious pneumonia later dubbed the coronavirus. Information indicates that the virus was effected weeks or months earlier.
One month later on January 28, 2020, the FBI announced the arrest of three individuals in separate cases with ties to China’s government.
1. Harvard professor Dr. Charles Lieber, the chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, lied to federal investigators about being on China’s payroll to develop a chemical and biological research lab. Leiber received secret monthly payments of millions of dollars and set up his laboratory at the Wuhan University of Technology. Wuhan China is ground zero for the coronavirus (COVID-19).
2. Chinese national, Zaosong Zheng was arrested on Dec. 10, 2019, at Boston’s Logan International Airport. He was charged with attempting to smuggle 21 vials of biological research to China. He has been detained since December 30, 2019.
3. Lieutenant Yanqinq Ye, of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China was posing as a student at Boston University. The FBI alleges that Ye sent U.S. documents and information to China while conducting research at BU’s Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering.
Those are the facts to which we add some circumstantial evidence. Though the above cases are not yet connected they all occurred in Boston. The time period of the virus coupled with the timing of the three arrests also present an interesting time line. Coincidences in law enforcement are often clues.
FBI Boston Division Special Agent in Charge Joseph R. Bonavolonta said in a statement that all three cases dealt with, “Economic espionage”.
“China’s attempts to steal trade secrets: China’s goal, simply put, is to replace the United States as the world’s leading superpower, and they’re breaking the law to get there.”
Put yourself in the role of an FBI investigator and connect the dots. The Chinese government controls all aspects of commerce and research to include university research. Yanqing Ye was an intelligence officer in the Chinese army with an expertise in chemical and biological research.
When acting as an undercover FBI agent, I was briefed on other covert operations in my area of operation. My safety and the success of all other operations would be dependent on my awareness. Leiber and Zheng may have been kept in the dark, but Lieutenant Ye would likely be the contact point for Chinese intel operations in the Boston area.
Motive is always an important ingredient in any investigation. Why would China willfully unleash a pandemic outbreak on their citizens? The devastating economic effects of the virus alone should eliminate that scenario. They could have easily introduced the virus in the U.S. had bio-terrorism been their goal.
Inconsistencies in any investigation are red flags.
In December, China determined that the initial victims had been exposed to animals inside a food market in Wuhan. There was also “no clear evidence” of human-to-human transmission, but both theories quickly fell apart as researchers found that the virus did spread among humans weeks earlier. They further reported that the first case of Coronavirus wasn’t even linked to the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market.
Did the Chinese government willfully massage the facts and, if so, what is their end game? Law enforcement investigators lacking scientific backgrounds require expert opinions. The clock is ticking and it’s critical to determine if the coronavirus is a manmade bio-terror weapon which could actually alter the balance of power in the world.
Several researchers have debunked this claim, calling it illogical and noting that the current evidence indicates that the coronavirus mutated naturally.
Trevor Bedford of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle said:
“There is no evidence whatsoever of genetic engineering that we can find,” Trevor Bedford of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle said. “The evidence we have is that the mutations [in the virus] are completely consistent with natural evolution.”
Richard Ebright, a professor of chemical biology at Rutgers University, echoed that conclusion.
“There’s absolutely nothing in the genome sequence of this virus that indicates the virus was engineered,” he added.
A second theory is that the coronavirus is a laboratory experiment gone bad. Vipin Narang, an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said it is “highly unlikely” the general population was exposed to a virus through an accident at a lab.
Yet, James Lyons-Weiler, PhD, published a detailed article arguing the SARS insertion into the coronavirus and why this is proof that the coronavirus now circulating in the wild is of laboratory origin, not coming from bats and snakes.
Academics from the University of Hong Kong conducted a data-driven model, predicting that the Wuhan Coronavirus could infect 150,000 new cases every day between late April and May.
Import, Export, Logistics concept – Map global partner connection of Container Cargo freight ship for Logistic Import Export background (Photo: AdobeStock/Elements of this image furnished by NASA)
The U.S. trade deficit for goods and services declined 1.7% to $616.8 billion in 2019, the first annual decrease since 2013. According to new annual data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the deficit decline in the international trade balance was driven by energy independence.
Crude oil exports soared 35.5% or $17.1 billion compared to the same period in 2018, while crude oil imports cratered 19.3% or $30.3 billion over the prior year.
Crude Oil Exports rose by roughly $17.1 billion from 2018 to 2019. The largest increases in exports to the following countries:
S. Korea, up $3.5 billion.
Netherlands, $3.0 billion.
India, $2.1 billion.
Thailand, $1.5 billion.
Crude Oil Imports fell roughly $30.3 billion from 2018 to 2019. The largest declines in imports from the following countries:
Saudi Arabia, $10.2 billion.
Venezuela, $9.0 billion.
Iraq, $5.0 billion.
Mexico, $2.1 billion.
Angola, $1.7 billion.
The U.S. Census Bureau also noted other significant changes in trade from 2018 to 2019. The top categories were automobiles, pharmaceuticals, corn and commercial jets.
In automobiles, there were gains in both imports and exports. Passenger car imports rose $1.9 billion, while exports rose $4.9 billion. Trucks, buses and special purpose vehicle imports gained $4.8 billion, while exports rose $1.6 billion.
Pharmaceutical trade also increased in both exports ($6.3 billion) and imports ($16.0 billion). Corn exports fell sharply amid trade negotiations.
4-Week Moving Average for Jobless Claims Remains Low at Only 209,750
The U.S. Labor Department (DOL) reported initial jobless claims came in at a seasonally adjusted 219,000 for the week ending February 22, slightly missing the consensus forecast. The previous week was revised higher by just 1,000 to only 211,000.
Forecasts ranged from a low of 208,000 to a high of 215,000. The consensus forecast was 210,000.
The 4-week moving average was only 209,750, an increase of 500 from the previous week’s slightly higher revised average. Last week was revised up by just 250.
Lagging Jobless Claims Data
U.S. initial jobless claims graph on a tablet screen. (Photo: AdobeStock)
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at a very low 1.2% for the week ending February 15
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 8 was 1,724,000, a decrease of 9,000. The previous week’s level was revised up 7,000 from 1,726,000 to 1,733,000.
The 4-week moving average was 1,729,250, an increase of 5,250. The previous week’s average was revised up by 1,750 from 1,722,250 to 1,724,000.
No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending February 8.
State Jobless Claims Data
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending February 8 were in Alaska (3.0), New Jersey (2.7), Montana (2.5), Puerto Rico (2.5), West Virginia (2.5), Connecticut (2.4), Rhode Island (2.4), Illinois (2.3), Pennsylvania (2.3), California (2.2), Massachusetts (2.2), and Minnesota (2.2).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 15 were in California (+3,053), Georgia (+700), Maine (+88), Vermont (+68), and Hawaii (+62), while the largest decreases were in Illinois (-1,749), Texas (-1,079), Michigan (-1,040), Washington (-850), and Pennsylvania (-842).
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported the second estimate for fourth-quarter (Q4) 2019 gross domestic product (GDP) came in at 2.1%, a solid rate of growth that hit the consensus forecast. The second estimate is based on more data than the advance released at the end of January.
Forecasts ranged from a low of 1.9% to a high of 2.2%. The consensus forecast was 2.1%.
While the first revision to Q4 GDP held unchanged at +2.1%, this positive reading on economic activity will be completely overwhelmed by fears of the coronavirus spreading around the globe,” said Tim Anderson, analyst at TJM Investments on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
In Q3 2019, Real GDP also rose by 2.1% and, if the second estimate holds until the third and final, Real GDP would come in at 2.3% annual-to-annual.
The increase in real GDP in Q4 was driven by positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), federal government spending, exports, residential fixed investment, and state and local government spending.
They were partially offset by negative contributions from private inventory investment and nonresidential fixed investment. However, imports — which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP — fell in Q4.
Current dollar GDP rose 3.5% or $184.2 billion to $21.73 trillion. That’s slightly down from the gain in Q3 of 3.8%, or $202.3 billion.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., left, and Senator Bernie Sanders, D-I-Vt., right, graphic concept.
The Green New Deal (GND) would cost a typical swing-state household a minimum of $74,287 in the first year alone, according to a study released jointly by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and Power the Future.
The Green New Deal (GND) — supported by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in the 116th Congress as H.R. 109 and by leftists in the U.S. Senate as S. 59 — received the backing of Bernie Sanders. The socialist senator from Vermont is the current front-runner for the 2020 Democratic nomination.
The study, which builds on a previous report released by the group last summer, analyzes the impact the GND would have on households in 10 battleground states and Alaska.
Excluding Alaska, the average cost per household in the 10 states analyzed is $75,168 in the first year. For the following four years, the average annual costs per household is $47,755, decreasing to $40,706 for each year after.
The first year burden for Alaska is $84,584, and the cost during subsequent years exceeds the 10-state average by more than $10,000.
A separate study conducted for the American Petroleum Institute found the Green New Deal (GND) would result in at least 10.3 million Americans losing their jobs.
Joe Biden continues to lead in the polls ahead of the South Carolina Primary on Saturday, where 54 delegates are at stake and it is make or break for the former vice president. The Palmetto State is the last chance for Biden to mount a comeback against the now-front-runner socialist Bernie Sanders.
But the size of the win is just as important as the win, itself. A poor showing ahead of Super Tuesday will fail to raise the funds necessary for the once-presumptive front-runner to continue.
An East Carolina University Poll finds Biden leading Sanders by 8 points, 31% to 23%. Public Policy Polling (PPP), a Democratic partisan polling firm, finds Biden leading by 15 points.
The largest lead comes from the Clemson University Poll, which found Sanders in third place behind billionaire activist Tom Steyer. Biden led Steyer 35% to 17%, though it appears to be an outlier.
However, the NBC News/Marist Poll and CBS/YouGov Poll both found a much tighter race before the chaotic debate on Tuesday, 5 and 4 points, respectively. The disparity between the polling results underscores how the former vice president cannot take whatever lead he may enjoy for granted.
The Biden Campaign scored a coveted endorsement on Wednesday that could provide that much-needed buffer between him and Sanders. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who represents the Sixth Congressional District, finally offered his endorsement.
“I know Joe, we know Joe, but most importantly, Joe knows us,” Rep. Clyburn said at a presser announcing the endorsement on Wednesday.
“I can think of no one with the integrity, no one more committed to the fundamental principles to make this country what it is than my good friend, my late wife’s great friend, Joe Biden.”
The Biden Campaign quickly touted the endorsement on Twitter.
“Jim Clyburn is a voice of powerful moral clarity that is heard loud and clear across this country — in our capital and beyond,” the campaign tweeted. “He reminds us why we’re in public service in the first place — and I’m proud to have his support.”
Jim Clyburn is a voice of powerful moral clarity that is heard loud and clear across this country — in our capital and beyond. He reminds us why we’re in public service in the first place — and I’m proud to have his support. pic.twitter.com/6Lh970vjYu
New Residential Sales for December Revised 14k Higher to 708k
New residential sales statistics find new home sales rose 7.8% (±17.8%) in January and are now 18.6% (±19.2%) higher than last year. That number crushed the consensus forecast and the year-over-year gain for the month is off the estimate of 644,000 for January 2019.
Forecasts ranged from a low of 700,000 to a high of 727,000. The consensus forecast was 710,000.
New home sales in December — which were initially reported more than 23% higher year-over-year — were revised even higher from 694,000 to 708,000.
An exchange showing one hand giving cash to the another for new house and keys, a vector illustration for new home sales. (Photo: AdobeStock)
Sales Price
The median sales price of new houses sold in January 2020 was $348,200. The average sales price was $402,300.
For Sale Inventory and Months’ Supply
The seasonally‐adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of January was 324,000. This represents a supply of 5.1 months at the current sales rate.
The Democratic debate hosted by CBS News in Charleston, South Carolina, devolved into chaos and confusion. The debate was the tenth for the presidential primary on the Democratic side, but it’s only one in many in which the winner arguably was Donald Trump.
CBS anchors Norah O’Donnell and Gayle King quickly lost control after candidates began piling on front-runner and socialist, Bernie Sanders. South Carolina is make or break for former Vice President Joe Biden, who has long touted his strength among black Democrats.
While he has led all but one poll in the Palmetto State since the start of the primary, he has watched that lead evaporate from upwards of 31 points to a current average of 8 points.
Prior to the debate, Sanders got himself into hot water by repeating praises for the Castro Regime in Cuba, one of several communist regimes he has pointed to as models for big government policy solutions. In defense of those remarks, Sanders has claimed Barack Obama held similar views.
“Barack Obama was abroad; he was in a town meeting. He did not in any way suggest there was anything positive about the Cuban government,” Biden said on the attack> He acknowledged that they did increase life expectancy, but he went on to condemn the dictatorship.”
“He does not, did not, has never embraced an authoritarian regime, and does not now,” Biden added turning to Sanders. “This man, in fact, did not condemn what they did.”
Pete Buttigieg, who has been running ads in South Carolina and Florida claiming to be the only candidate to defeat Sanders, warned nominating a socialist would result in a “catastrophic” defeat for Democrats in November.
“We’re not gonna win these critical House and Senate races if people in these races have to explain why the nominee of the Democratic Party is telling people to look at the bright side of the Castro regime.”
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg repeated an unfounded report by CNN and The New York Times, in which intelligence officials claimed Russia was interfering with the election to help Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.
“I think that Donald Trump thinks it would be better if he’s president — I do not think so,” he said. “Vladimir Putin thinks that Donald Trump should be president of the United States. And that’s why Russia is helping you get elected, so you’ll lose to him.”
The Trump Campaign jumped on the chance to criticize the candidates and their performance.
“The Democrat Party is a hot mess and tonight’s debate was further evidence that not one of these candidates is serious or can stand toe-to-toe with President Trump,” Kayleigh McEnany, Trump 2020 national press secretary said. “The only thing that was clear in the chaos was that they’re all still running on Bernie Sanders’ big government socialist agenda.”
“It doesn’t matter who emerges from the carnage, President Trump will dominate in November.”
The Republican National Committee (RNC) also criticized the candidates. But unlike the Trump Campaign, Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel focused on policy in her statement after the Democratic debate.
“The complete chaos we saw tonight shows that none of these Democrats deserve to be anywhere near the Oval Office,” said Chairwoman McDaniel. “When we could hear over the crosstalk, we heard Democrats singing the same old song in support of socialism.
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