U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson issues a formal statement in response to the ICBM missile test conducted by North Korea:
The United States strongly condemns North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Testing an ICBM represents a new escalation of the threat to the United States, our allies and partners, the region, and the world.
Global action is required to stop a global threat. Any country that hosts North Korean guest workers, provides any economic or military benefits, or fails to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions is aiding and abetting a dangerous regime.
U.S. Officials are now confirming the North Korean missile test was an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The ICBM, which is believed to be “two-stage,” officials said, would have a range of at least 3,500 miles, and thus be capable of reaching Alaska. (NBC link)
This launch represents another escalation by Kim Jung-Un in his ongoing quest for long-range intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles. The ICBM test is another in a series of violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the launches, and is simultaneously a slap in the face to Chinese President Xi Jinping who is presumably trying to get North Korea to back down.
China’s support of North Korea will become even more of an issue with the increased escalations. Understanding the perspective of President Donald Trump toward these events, we would/should anticipate a series of economic actions by the U.S. administration against China.
The U.S. cannot focus exclusively on North Korea, their enablers must be targeted for corrective leverage. Economic sanctions can increase internal regional pressure.
Continuing to look at the new economy through the prism of the new dimension, CTH notes the manufacturing landscape is shaping itself as predicted. However, the disclaimer should also be noted that most economic observers are stuck in old economic paradigms.
[…] The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its manufacturing index rose to 57.8 last month from 54.9 in May. Anything above 50 signals that factory activity is increasing. The measure now stands at its highest level since August 2014, pointing to solid economic growth. (link)
Overall the trend-line is very positive for a resurgence in U.S. manufacturing. According to the report fifteen of the eighteen manufacturing industries surveyed posted growth in June. Those gains included: furniture, machinery, fabricated metals, petroleum and coal sectors. One transportation equipment firm surveyed for the report said “demand is up 5 to 7 percent.”
The manufacturing base is responding (via investing) to predictable market patterns. However, the rate of response (production investment) will increase in direct proportion to the upcoming (late summer) trade negotiations. Please keep that in mind.
For the past three days we’ve been assembling a great deal of research on visible back-channel communication amid numerous nations and their economic teams. There are tectonic plates shifting just below the Geo-political surface, and we will be outlining many of them, along with the predictable economic outcomes (bigly), in the next few days.
In the interim, it’s useful to review the latest information from NatSec McMaster and NEC Cohen as it relates to the upcoming objectives from the next segment of foreign travel.
National Security Advisor General H.R. McMaster and Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn pre-brief the media on President Trump’s upcoming trip to Poland and Germany for the G20 Summit. An important read:
[Transcript] 1:21 P.M. EDT – AIDE: Hi. Just want to restate the ground rules. Today’s briefing is off camera, on the record, and the audio is not for broadcast. It is embargoed until the end of the briefing.
And with that, I will turn the podium over to —
Q Can you make this on — can you make the audio available? Because it puts radio at a disadvantage.
AIDE: It is off camera, not for broadcast. Those are the ground rules.
And now I’m going to turn it over to General H.R. McMaster and Gary Cohn. Thank you.
President Donald Trump, Vice-President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohen discuss U.S. trade policies with South Korean President Moon and his accompanying economic and trade team.
It is worth noting and emphasizing the Paris Climate treaty specifically exempted China, India and SEAN (South East Asia Nations) from compliance with standards within the treaty. This was by design of the multinational interests who constructed their economic global control mechanism under the auspices of ‘climate change’. The climate was never the driver of the Paris treaty, it was always about multinational economic control.
With the U.S. withdrawing from the Paris Treaty, the economic trade architecture for the underlying market is now equal amid S.E.A.N (including South Korea) and the United States. Those countries who remain within the Paris Treaty, particularly those EU entities who are attached the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), are at a strategic disadvantage. More on that later.
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[Transcript] 10:50 A.M. EDT – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Okay, thank you very much. We have many of our great members, our Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense. We have several of our really wonderful leaders here. And you have your leaders with you and your representatives.
Earlier today President Donald Trump and South Korea’s President Moon Jae-In held a traditional press availability in the Oval Office.
The mob of media rushing into the Oval Office was extreme. President Trump and security can be heard/seen saying: “easy fella’s, go easy”, as the journalists, photographers and boom mic operators all clamored for position.
Unfortunately as this media mob swarmed the room they slammed into the couches which pushed one of the end tables knocking over a lamp next to the President. Fortunately President Trump’s personal bodyguard Keith Schiller was in position and quickly caught the lamp.
Sheesh. Watch:
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Way to go Keith.
Someone needs to have a talk with these media people about having some respect and courtesy. These people are out of control. Sheesh, what a frenzy.
President Trump and Energy Secretary Rick Perry, together with EPA Secretary Scott Pruitt and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, are doing something with energy independence that was long discussed but never acted upon. Forget the Paris Climate Treaty, this Trump action on energy development is in a stratosphere thought almost unimaginable.
Together the entire cabinet has studied, formulated and instituted an executive American energy policy platform to go beyond mere energy independence, and actually start using energy resources as an export commodity for economic growth.
Pause for a moment and consider just how monumental that approach actually is; and also overlay the independent national security ramifications therein. Oddly enough, we predicted this two years ago.
[…] Trump has proposed continued investment and exploration of “clean coal” technology using the vast coal mine resources in the Appalachian Range throughout West Virginia and into Pennsylvania. Trump has proposed energy export leverage (oil, coal, natural gas) as part of the larger Trade-deal packages.
The U.S. can negotiate a resurgence of U.S. manufacturing with lower fully developed energy costs, a competitive advantage; and simultaneously our abundant resources in energy fuels also provide trade leverage (standards and tariffs) through energy export.
With a fully utilized energy sector, the U.S. can also use the accompanying economic growth to invest in alternative resource development such as nuclear, solar and wind. The costs of alternative fuel research and development become underwritten by the expansive use of current resources. (link)
The intensely consequential outcome is a visible representation of ‘America-First’ principles applied to deliver MAGA level shifts in the future of our nation. Massive possibilities for wealth creation at local and state levels; and simultaneous national security interests. Win – Win – Win… And yet stunningly this result is only in one sector of national security and national economics.
Our friends at the U.S. Dept of Commerce (DoC) took the weekend off prior to uploading the content from last week’s SelectUSA conference on economics and trade. Unfortunately that delayed our ability to discuss.
However, that said, CTH is often asked how we are able to predict economic and financial events with accuracy. The answer is quite simple, we listen to the raw information. We don’t listen to the media’s interpretation of events, we seek out the actual events and analyze the raw information. Assemble enough of those disparate (but connected) raw information data points and logical predictive conclusions follow.
During the U.S. DoC SelectUSA trade and economic conference last week both Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross provided some great insight into the policies that will structurally impact everyone. Three videos are available below:
Secretary Wilbur Ross armchair discussion and Q&A:
HHS Secretary Dr. Tom Price appears on CNN State of The Union to discuss the legislative repair efforts for an ObamaCare overhaul, and overall healthcare reform efforts.
Notice how the various “concerns”, amid all of the politically charged discussion, are always centered around medicaid – or the state run, taxpayer-funded, low income, healthcare coverage. Not a single oppositional argument is ever made about negative impacts for those who actually pay for their own healthcare coverage. The opposition arguments are entirely framed around benefits toward those who pay little to nothing.
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There is a parallel, comparative and representative example of what President Trump’s smart policy team is trying to do with healthcare. the comparison actually lies within another set of economic policy objectives. However, it takes elevation in thinking to understand the approach and see the similarity.
The comparative reform example is within the banking and finance industry.
For those who have read all the statements, watched the hearings, listened intently to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, you might have already noted their approach to working around the ridiculously burdensome Dodd Frank regulations within the banking and finance sector. – OUTLINED HERE –
Essentially, instead of trying to untangle all the complexities of decades long DC constructs enmeshing and enlarging the bureaucracy around banking, Trump’s team is constructing a parallel system. Cliff Noted for Brevity: (more…)
President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and lots of family and friends will be attending Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s wedding tonight to his long-time fiancee Louise Linton.
Secretary Wilbur Ross let the secret out last week when he was introducing Secretary Mnuchin at a conference in Washington. Wilburine said he and his wife “extend our congratulations and look forward to seeing you wed your dear fiancee, Louise Linton, on Saturday.”
Secretary Mnuchin, 54, has been engaged to Ms. Linton, a 36-year-old Scottish model/actress, since 2015. Ms. Linton and Secretary Mnuchin were both involved in movie production companies.
