The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released significant wage and salary data yesterday which held stunning upward revisions for 2018 and 2019.   Wage growth of 5.5% combined with low inflation remaining at 1.4 percent; the disposable income of U.S. workers jumped to a stunning 4.1%.  [Data Tables]

Within the revised BEA data, we find employee compensation rose 4.5% in 2017 and 5% in 2018.  Importantly the growth trend continued into 2019, with compensation increasing 3.4 percent in the first six months alone.  Year-over-year wages and salaries were revised upward to 5.3% for May, and 5.5% in June.  These are stunning increases in worker pay.
There are various economic indicators we have shared through the years, but wage growth is one of the more critical.  First, wage growth lags behind business activity – workers don’t get pay raises until after business volume demands/provides it.  Second, wage growth is generally uni-directional – once businesses hike pay, the increases cement.
As the Wall Street Journal put it:
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The financial media still doesn’t get it… Obviously! Transfixed and jaw-agape at seemingly at-odds aspects to a new engagement with Beijing, the MSM financial media are clueless. They are genuinely disconnected, and have no idea what is going on.
The majority of financial pundits are perplexed at what they can see on the surface. USTR Robert Ligthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are beginning discussions with Beijing. Meanwhile President Trump’s tweets seem to dismiss the potential of the deal-making. The media call this mixed-messaging; however, that’s not what this is.

Secretary Wilbur Ross was very insightful last week when he also spoke of the current U.S. perspective toward the U.S-China trade negotiation.  If you have followed the basic road-map of America-First trade policy, there’s was a very clear picture. However, as we expected, most pundits and trade analysts ignored the administration message.
Commerce Secretary Ross warned the professional investment class when he said the current objective for Mnuchin and Lighthizer was to find out if Beijing is willing to re-engage from the starting point where they left-off when talks collapsed.
That was a big tell.
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Newly elected conservative party head and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson attended his first meeting of Parliament and took direct aim at the insufferable Labor party leftist, Jeremy Corbyn.  There’s been a lot of shaking things up in the first week…

Boris Johnson’s move into Downing Street has led to a surge in support for the Conservatives, an exclusive Mail on Sunday poll has found.  (read more)

President Trump spoke yesterday with Prime Minister Johnson on the phone.  The president relayed the phone call to the media when questioned:

THE PRESIDENT: Well, you know why your timing is good? Because I spoke to him about — how long have you been here? Sixteen minutes. I spoke to him 17 minutes ago. I hung up the phone as you were coming in.

And he’s a good guy. He’s a friend of mine. I think we’re going to have a great relationship. And Boris is going to be a great Prime Minister. I predict he will be a great Prime Minister. He has what it takes. They needed him for a long time. UK needed him for a long time. And —

Q Would you — would you invite him here?

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President Trump granted full declassification authority to AG Bill Barr in May of this year.  There has been some discussion about Bill Barr not releasing any information.  In an interview last week with Sean Hannity, President Trump outlined his thoughts on the declassification issue:

[Transcript] HANNITY: Mr. President, you have the power to literally release the FISA applications and the 302’s and the gang made information and you made a decision to hand it over to the Attorney General and let him decide. And I’m curious as to why?
TRUMP: Well, we have a very respected gentleman, very high quality person named William Barr and he is doing – I can tell you he’s working so hard and rather than just doing a total release, I gave him a total release, in other words he’s got everything anything he needs, he’s got it.

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Earlier today President Trump sent a warning tweet about Apple possibly incurring tariffs on their products if they continue a plan for manufacturing in China.  Later in the day the president answered direct questions about those possible tariffs.
Additionally, Secretary Wilbur Ross was very insightful when he also spoke of the current U.S. perspective toward the U.S-China trade negotiation.  If you have followed the basic road-map of America-First, there’s a very clear picture; however, most pundits and trade analysts will likely ignore the message.

Subtle as a brick through a window…. yet it’s amazing how many people can’t see it.
Secretary Ross warned the professional investment class that the current objective for Secretary Mnuchin and USTR Lighthizer is to find out if Beijing is willing to re-engage from the starting point where they left-off when talks collapsed.  That’s a big tell.
After several phone calls and staff contacts if the U.S. team doesn’t know the answer to that question, well, there’s almost zero likelihood of any optimistic outlook.  In essence, the only value within the current engagement is financial ‘optics’ to stabilize markets.
It has been clear -validated by the G20 outcome- that President Trump is not going to accept anything less than a full and complete structural change in the U.S. trade position with China.  Lighthizer’s severe compliance and enforcement clauses, specific to each unique trade sector, are non-negotiable.
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Boris Johnson has succeeded in beating his nearest rival Jeremy Hunt for leadership of the conservative party in the U.K. thereby becoming the next Prime Minister. One of the priority challenges for Prime Minister Johnson will be navigating a successful Brexit.

A full three years after the British electorate voted to leave the European Union, the elites in Britain have continued to stymie the referendum in their effort to remain attached to the communal values of the collective society.  Thus gave rapid rise, recently, to the Brexit Party as a national force led by Nigel Farage.  It’s the UK version of ‘deplorables’ vs ‘elites’.
The British Parliament is filled with elected members who stand in opposition to the majority of the British citizenry.  It is amid this professionally political and elitist disconnect that Boris Johnson must now attempt to deliver Brexit, while the purchased politicians of both institutional parties will oppose his effort. [Sound familiar?]
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HPSCI ranking member Devin Nunes appears on Fox News Weekend to discuss the upcoming congressional testimony of special counsel Robert Mueller.  Additionally, Nunes discusses the aggregate issues with the FBI and DOJ.
The Gang-of-Eight meeting Nunes notes McCabe attempted to get him removed from was the May 17th, 2017, meeting by Rod Rosenstein and Andrew McCabe where they briefed the Go8 on the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel prior to the public release.
During that 3/17/17 meeting DAG Rod Rosenstein and FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe were concerned that Devin Nunes would support President Trump’s position when McCabe and Rosenstein launched the corrupt and fraudulent Special Counsel.

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For deep-weed CTH readers: After listening to Nunes strongly implying he expects a full DC cover-up of the entire weaponized DC operation against candidate, president-elect and President Trump. I started a new intelligence research project to identify what might lie at the center of that concern.
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The leaks from the diplomatic cables of former British Ambassador Kim Darroch continue; this time the cables discuss the U.K. efforts to get President Trump to change his position toward the cancellation of the Iran nuclear deal.
Apparently the British ambassador wrote the Trump administration was “set upon an act of diplomatic vandalism.” Oh, the audacity of it all.  Yes, according to the Brits President Trump was an intractable fellow when it came to the Iran Deal.

(Via Daily Mail) […] Sir Kim Darroch’s claim – made after Boris Johnson made a doomed trip to the White House to change the President’s mind – is revealed in leaked cables and briefing notes which led to Sir Kim’s resignation last week.
The new revelation comes after an extraordinary row over the freedom of the press blew up this weekend, with Mr Johnson and leadership rival Jeremy Hunt leading the condemnation of Scotland Yard over its threats to prosecute this newspaper.
[…] In other dramatic developments:

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U.K. Ambassador Kim Darroch (pictured left) wrote disparaging diplomatic cables about U.S. President Donald Trump.  The cables were leaked to the media.  Embarrassed by the publicity of the content Ambassador Darroch has resigned after President Trump called him a “pompous fool” and said the administration wouldn’t work with him.

The British Ambassador writes:

“Since the leak of official documents from this Embassy there has been a great deal of speculation surrounding my position and the duration of my remaining term as ambassador. I want to put an end to that speculation. The current situation is making it impossible for me to carry out my role as I would like.  Although my posting is not due to end until the end of this year, I believe in the current circumstances the responsible course is to allow the appointment of a new ambassador.“

Various British politicians are upset about the resignation, saying the U.K. government should have done more to support their embattled Ambassador.  Ultimately this is all a little funny…. The British are going bananas; and President Trump doesn’t care.
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Comey FBI apologist, Fusion GPS co-conspirator and Lawfare Alliance media narrative engineer, Natasha Bertrand, has an outline published today on the background interview of dossier author Christopher Steele.

From within the article, beyond the sympathetic propaganda, some overarching details are interesting:
♦(1) As expected Mr. Steele would only talk to OIG investigators from Horowitz’s office; Steele would not speak to speak to U.S. Attorney John Durham.
♦(2) The interview took place at the same time President Trump traveled to the U.K (June 3rd-5th) for a state visit.  Likely coordinated so FBI officials could travel innocuously without media scrutiny (lots of security officials traveled on behalf of U.S. interests at the time); likely the preferred timing of Steele himself.
♦(3) The interview(s) took place over two days for a total of sixteen hours of conversation. The recent reports of IG delay and follow-up interviews are almost certainly related to the outcome of the investigative findings (ie. Kathleen Kavalec cooperation etc.).
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