incoming financial bloodbath...

US facing worst risks since WWII – JPMorgan boss
Geopolitical tensions and political polarization at home threaten “America’s global leadership role,” Jamie Dimon has warned...

The US is facing grave risks in the wake of rising global geopolitical tensions and the nation’s domestic political polarization, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase chief executive, has warned.

In an annual shareholder letter on Monday the CEO of the largest US bank cited large amounts of government spending and efforts by the Federal Reserve to shrink its balance sheet, as well as the Ukraine conflict and the Israel-Hamas war, as creating an environment that “may very well be creating risks that could eclipse anything since World War II.”

“America’s global leadership role is being challenged outside by other nations and inside by our polarized electorate,” Dimon wrote.

“We need to find ways to put aside our differences and work in partnership with other Western nations in the name of democracy. During this time of great crises, uniting to protect our essential freedoms, including free enterprise, is paramount,” the chief executive urged.

The 68-year-old banker added that there is “a growing need for increased spending as we continue transitioning to a greener economy, restructuring global supply chains, boosting military expenditure and battling rising healthcare costs.”

Dimon said he was not as optimistic as the broader market that the US economy will achieve a ‘soft landing,’ in which it sees modest growth and declining inflation rates. Chances of a soft landing are “a lot less” than the 70% to 80% expected by some investors, he said.

“These significant and somewhat unprecedented forces cause us to remain cautious,” the JPMorgan boss concluded.

Meanwhile, Dimon said, China has been establishing itself as a “potential superpower” and strategically focusing on its economic security, while the West “slept.”

“Over the last 20 years, China has been executing a more comprehensive economic strategy than we have,” he said.

He also weighed in on the future of AI, saying he is “completely convinced” that the consequences of the technology will be “extraordinary” and transformational. JPMorgan is already exploring the use of AI in software development and employee production plans, particularly in the fraud and risk departments, he said.

https://www.rt.com/business/595618-us-serious-risks-jpmorgan/

it's time for being earnest.....

multipolarity is winning....

This Week in Multipolarity: BRICS 'Eclipsing G7' and Slovakia's Maverick President

BY MARY MANLEY

Amid accusations made by the NATO secretary general, Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun stated that the US was targeting Russia and China while “seeking to retain its hegemony around the globe."

Slovak parliamentary speaker Peter Pellegrini, who shares prime minister Robert Fico’s staunch opposition to continued arms supplies to Ukraine, won the second round of Slovakia’s presidential election Saturday. Observers say Pellegrini's success proves his party's left-wing opposition to the Russo-Ukraine war is a winning formula.

Also this weekend, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that an “authoritarian” alliance of several defiant countries is getting stronger, RT reported. The secretary general identified Russia, China, Iran and North Korea as powers that are becoming “more aligned” and posing a growing threat to the West.

American author and historian Dr. Gerald Horne, who holds the John G. and Rebecca Moores chair of History and African-American studies at the University of Houston, broke down these developments on Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program Monday. When asked by Sputnik’s Wilmer Leon if Sunday’s report may give a “broader mindset” in Europe, Horne said, “most definitely”.

“The vote in Slovakia is an indication of the fact that the bloc led by Beijing and Moscow, including the BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa – is eclipsing the G7. The Group of Seven led by the US, the Western European nations and Japan. The fact is that the former can offer better deals and better terms than the latter,” Horne explained.

“Later this week there will be a war-making summit between the Japanese Prime Minister, the Filipino president, Mr. Marcos, and, of course, Mr. Biden, taking place in the Oval Office. This inevitably will end in tears, but it will go forward nonetheless,” Horne added.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240409/this-week-in-multipolarity-brics-eclipsing-g7-and-slovakias-maverick-president-1117818191.html

How Neocons, Neolibs, and their Media Collude for War | Katrina vanden Heuvel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cResgeu0Nm8

oil prices....

US reveals why it told Kiev not to attack Russian oil depots Washington is concerned about global fuel prices, Defense Secretary Austin has said

Ukraine should go after military objectives, as strikes on Russian refineries could raise global oil prices, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told a Senate panel on Tuesday.

Kiev has launched a series of drone raids on the Russian oil infrastructure in the past two months, targeting refineries and storage facilities in multiple regions.

“Those attacks could have a knock-on effect in terms of the global energy situation,” Austin told the Senate Armed Services committee, during a hearing on the annual military budget. “Ukraine is better served in going after tactical and operational targets that can directly influence the current fight.”

This drew disagreement from Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, who called the Ukrainian strikes effective and claimed the Biden administration just “doesn’t want gas prices to go up in an election year.”

Global oil prices have reached their highest point in six months, but Washington insists this is due to the conflict in the Middle East and that its sanctions and “price cap” on Russian oil exports have been effective. Meanwhile, Moscow has reported higher oil exports in 2023 than prior to the Ukraine conflict.

Austin’s testimony is further confirmation of reports that the US had asked Ukraine to stop with the refinery attacks. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has previously said that Washington’s reaction “was not positive.”

However, there is no sign that Kiev is willing to obey Washington on the issue. Earlier this week, Ukraine’s military intelligence (GUR) announced that strikes on oil refineries in Russia would expand.

Ukraine initially claimed the drone attacks aimed to disrupt the supply of fuel to the Russian military and “deliver a symbolic blow by bringing the war closer to Moscow.” In a recent interview, Zelensky sought to recast them as a form of deterrence, because Kiev was running out of missiles for its Western-provided air defenses.

Both Zelensky and Austin have asked the US Congress to approve over $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine. Without it, Zelensky said, Kiev is guaranteed to lose the war. Austin, on the other hand, pitched the aid as a way to provide jobs for American workers in the military industry.

More than $50 billion in the “national security supplemental” funding would end up spread across at least 30 federal states, Austin told the Senate. Pentagon officials have argued that the makers of everything from ammunition to submarines would benefit from the bill.

https://www.rt.com/news/595669-ukraine-russia-refineries-austin/

MAKE A DEAL PRONTO BEFORE THE SHIT HITS THE FAN:

NO NATO IN "UKRAINE" (WHAT'S LEFT OF IT)

THE DONBASS REPUBLICS ARE NOW BACK IN THE RUSSIAN FOLD — AS THEY USED TO BE PRIOR 1922. THE RUSSIANS WON'T ABANDON THESE AGAIN.

THESE WILL ALSO INCLUDE ODESSA, KHERSON AND KHARKIV.....

CRIMEA IS RUSSIAN — AS IT USED TO BE PRIOR 1954

TRANSNISTRIA WILL BE PART OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.

A MEMORANDUM OF NON-AGGRESSION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE USA.

EASY.

THE WEST KNOWS IT.

READ FROM TOP

FREE JULIAN ASSANGE NOW....

By Gus Leonisky at 10 Apr 2024 - 8:29am
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