The Trump administration has been working feverishly on creating a digital control grid.
Imposing a digital control grid was a component of the "7 nations in 5 years" project
Iran is the last holdout to fulfill that agenda
The military war (and also the oil war) are elements of attempting to 'conquer' Iran, but an important, perhaps the most important element, is the economic destruction of Iran in order to take control of its financial system, thereby acquire total global digital control
Netanyahu replaced Intel chief that pushed Iran debacle to Trump. Immediate nuke threat and war will only take 96 hours. Rest of Israeli Intel disagreed:
A good summary of where things stand on the SPR. Plenty of questions as to how much can be drawn out. One person quoted in the story says that between 250-300 million barrels is the operational floor. Or, can it go as low at 170 million barrels or 70 million barrels without damaging the salt caverns.
Maybe the most concerning note in the story is that the SPR might already be down to 243 million barrels. I thought it was just under 300 million barrels a couple weeks ago. If 243 is the right number, we are a lot closer to a spike in gas and diesel prices.
Trump has good reason for optimism since we have cornered the global market on Indian programming wallahs via the H1B visa program and they are our secret weapon in the AI competition with China.
I served 24 years in the United States military. No commander in chief I have ever served under, democrat or republican, has ever had this level of indifference for our troops.
NONE. It’s a damn disgrace. These people are spitting in the faces of our service members everyday.
I did 3 combat deployments in the Middle East. I spent most of my time serving outside the wire in remote areas where it was difficult to access us.
Not ONCE did I ever allow my troops to go hungry or be ill-equipped. They don’t give a damn about our troops.
That’s a fact.
They will wrap themselves in the flag, call themselves patriots, and use our troops for photo ops.
But when duty calls, and it’s time to take care of our troops, they are too busy building golden statues of a draft dodging coward while our troops are going hungry.
"We found that Polymarket's "official" origin story, that Shayne Coplan founded the company alone in 2020 and then built "the company in his bathroom", is a lie. Polymarket really started years earlier as another company called TokenBnk that was deeply tied to Israeli interests, specifically a crypto company founded by Benjamin Netanyahu's niece and nephew. Coplan has actively tried to obfuscate this company from his story and it's not the only thing either."
"In Part 1 of this two-part series, we unravel the real history of Polymarket, directly connecting the company to Peter Thiel's efforts to resurrect controversial DARPA programs from its now defunct Information Awareness Office. Polymarket appears to have been chosen by Thiel and his associates to succeed in resurrecting DARPA's Policy Analysis Market where another Thiel-linked company, Augur, had previously failed."
It doesn't look like Part 2 has been published yet.
I saw that interview with Whitney and also recommend it.
Also, thanks to years of bad sci-fi movies, novels, and comics, we have a cadre of Techbro oligarchs who honestly believe they can attain immortality by uploading their consciousness to a supercomputer.
Thanks for the reminder that you had made that recommendation. Perhaps another angle is that sci-fi, novels, and comics have all been compressed into digital games and the explosion in fantasy, role-playing chaos among the gamers.
You have reminded me of an interview Blogging Theology did with Matthew Millerman in 2023 which I have kept as I thought I would need to come back to it. In this interview, Matthew explains the thoughts of Russian philosopher, much maligned in the West - especially by liberals, Alexander Dugin. He had voiced his concerns about an a-Godless future where natural laws and givens are trashed. Millerman explains Dugin's ideas in a very accessible way, and seeing what's going on, they definitely resonate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlh0q4n6-Rs
Thanks for your comment in reply to mine. I read Dugin sporadically, but I get his posts regularly. BTW, I know you appear to be a more recent addition to the MIH group and Mark's wonderful writing that is so informative. I wanted to add that your voice is a welcome addition to those here who are regular readers and comment.
BREAKING: The Trump administration is actively discussing using nuclear weapons on Iran in strategy meetings, per former US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.
MTG says "yes you read that correctly. It's real. I'm not speculating, I know."
"Our government is the one actually discussing lowering the nuclear threshold in order to use nuclear weapons against Iran even though Trump claims he's won the war like 40 times and says the US controls the Strait of Hormuz," she adds.
Russia weighing in almost explicitly in defence of Iran and making a threat to the US that won't be ignored (because it is directed at Israel)
It is reported on the FB page of the Global Network AZ Network
''🔴 #Putin threatens #Trump: Israel will be wiped off the map if you intercept a Russian ship in the #Strait_of_Hormuz
Moscow hints at breaking the equation and entering the fray in the Middle East. Recent messages from the Kremlin include a firm warning to Netanyahu's government and a direct threat to the Trump administration, amid reports of Russia's readiness to intervene directly alongside Iran should the escalation in the Strait of Hormuz continue.
The military movements in this vital waterway demonstrate that Moscow considers any targeting of its allies or closure of shipping lanes a future threat to its strategic interests. The threat of involvement in the conflict aims to send a clear signal to Trump and Washington:...''
Fits into the Pentagon's nuclear posture review that's in the works, said to be focusing more on tactical nukes.
My bet would be that they intend to "limit" the fallout (pun intended) by striking remote areas, like Pickaxe. Likely not enough to destroy it, but with the intent to force a surrender, or even just return to status quo ante bellum.
Diplomatically, it could be argued along the lines of military target, small yield, surgical strike, limited radioactive impact, protecting civilians etc. The usual litany.
Strategically, it would relieve pressure on drained stockpiles of conventionals, and restore US military threat against non-nuclear opponents.
Just to be clear, it would be a disaster of historical proportions, but they are a) crazy and desperate enough to do it, and b) it can be rationalised.
The trail of contamination with depleted uranium they leave behind their freedom fries is already a disaster of historic proportion. Tracked back thru the scientific endeavor of the first world wars and their technologies, a new and rarified elite attitude to the nations' peasants, can be summed up by their avatar; "We have a simple problem. There are too many of them and not enough of us." The rest is salad dressing.
I don't think the idea is to destroy the facility, but to put enough pressure on the diplomatic side to force a draw, which can then be sold domestically. The other effect would be threat credibility.
Diplomatic fallout? Sure. But everyone already hates Trump. Might as well go with it and establish precedent. Or blame it on Israel if it's considered too damaging. They have no reputation to lose.
Speaking of the AI "race"... I found Z.ai to be VERY impressive, Qwen is very good too...
I happened to notice, as this is an area of interest... that Chinese AI is NOT bending over for US Big Pharma, like the major US AI companies are... VERY different responses to related queries!
There won’t be any clawback from General Dynamics because the kickbacks received by the Pentagon are already spend; they need more (due to inflation) thus another 2.5billion dollars in new contracts awarded. We indeed live in a kleptocracy and worse yet, the weapons purchased are inferior quality or outright worthless. The only effective weapons the government has is generated by the propaganda machine and used against the American people.
At some point, I'm thinking that the morons in DC will be forced to be fiscally responsible. Deficit spending forever without any thoughts of repayment will stop cold. Probably a gigantic default across the board.
Sorry, TK, I just don't see it. After many years of watching these Congress critters, I think the only way they become fiscally responsible is if the liabilities were to come due directly out of their own pockets. Otherwise they will be happy to spend the country into oblivion, as long as they can escape unencumbered to their own versions of their estates on Little Saint James island (or some such).
That’s why they are all, every single one of them, stuffing their pockets in a panic. Because they know the ship has already hit the iceberg and is going down. Only a matter of time now.
Well, I spent about 3 years working in industrial automation. The comments about the robotic arms crashing into the safety fences ring true. Correctly programming those six-axis robot arms is very difficult. The overheating equipment cabinet statement also rings true, it is very common for people to forget about thermal management.
Were the Turks incompetent or were they actively sabotaging the ammo plant? It's impossible to know from the story. Turkey has a diversified industrial base. I myself have seen Turks set up and run an electronics manufacturing plant.
On the other hand, Turkey does have a powerful and effective intelligence agency, known as the MIT (not that MIT). They are dialed into the Turkish military. Repkon is a key domestic supplier to the Turkish military. It stands to reason the MIT is tied into Repkon. I am sure they could insert plants on the Repkon team.
Also recall that Erdogan keenly remembers the US-backed coup attempt against him back in 2016. He would certainly be interested in any opportunity to pay the US back in kind.
Finally, this small episode is why I always tell people 95% of every US defense dollar is lost to waste or fraud. I should know, I've spent two decades of my misbegotten career in the defense industry.
- The American interventions in the yen market are just juicing short-term hedge fund returns. This has not been Bessent’s smartest play. -
Yet he likely had no choice
There are at least TWO Countries Desperate to Sell US Treasuries - and Bessent cannot have that
1. Japan
2. Saudi Arabia
Japan is desperate to sell US Treasury so instead Bessent sold EU Euro and bought Japan Yen as a way to talk Japan out of selling. EU Euro were very upset by this, but US could not have Japan selling Treasury
Saudi Arabia is also desperate no income, no oil revenue, no tourism, foreign investment on hold, they have a ton of bills to pay and they have squirreled away reserves in US Treasury and also like Japan want to sell to pay bills. Bessent is panicking
If Japan and Saudi Arabia were to start selling US Treasury at the same time US is trying to Sell US Treasury there is a tremendous concern of significant rise in interest rates US would be paying off debt - US already cannot afford to pay now and the deficit is only rising $40 trillion very soon.
clarification above - what I understood happened was Japan was forced to Sell US Treasury to purchase YEN to support their currency -
Instead Bessent said to Japan - do not sell our Treasury to buy your Currency - we will do it for you - we will raise it - that is why Bessent left the " note " on his desk for all media to see " buy Yen " he hoped that would help - and then the US Sold EU EURO to buy YEN -
So it was not so much dumping Euro to protect USD directly -
it was Protect Yen so Japan will not sell Treasuries
And now they US Bessent Trump have to figure out something where Saudi Arabia will not sell Treasuries
The US and all central banks always hold a certain amount of foreign currency for a number of reasons including to facilitate trade and or in case of currency attack by another nation or in this case to help another nation so they did not have to sell treasuries which sale would have harmed the US
Likely for Saudi Arabia the Sauds will ' give ' the treasuries to the US to hold as collateral and the US will ' give ' the Sauds USD in return
anything to stop the sale of treasuries when the US desperately needs to sell treasuries
Right now the US is buying significant amounts of its own treasuries ( few other buyers ) the U.S. is desperately trying to sell trillions of dollars in new debt to fund the deficit, while simultaneously buying back its own older debt to keep the bond market from breaking
It's the "Hotel California" trade - at this point, if you're a large holder of US government debt, you won't be allowed to sell it. This goes for large domestic institutions as well.
The US bonds market is the largest by market cap, but even a comparatively small sale of a few billions, as planned by Japan, has summoned Bessent to prevent it from happening. That's a good indicator how fragile the whole thing has become.
To a degree, this isn't just a US problem. Every institution holding large amounts of bonds now suddenly faces two problems. First, what's the point of a reserve asset if you can't sell it in times of need. Second, if the market is this brittle, how do you get out of bonds without crashing it, destroying the value of the rest of your holdings in the process?
In a way, it's starting to behave in a parallel to the embattled private credit market, which had to start gating withdrawals. It's a bank run.
What the US wants to do is keep the bonds bagholders from selling, while going through a rapid devaluation cycle. Dollar down, inflation high. This is bad enough inside the US, but foreign holders face the double-whammy of foreign exchange rates.
That's also the reason btw while the western system is so desperate to keep gold down, and why China is so happy to play along, buying up what they can, even at a large spread between paper and physical. They're preparing for the point where they may have to write off US treasuries.
Great points about the gradient descents in the value the U.S. Dollar and Western Bonds and the gradual ascent in the value of physical Gold. At this point no one wants a "sky is falling" narrative to predominate - including the Chinese - but long term the cloud ceiling for USDs and USTs keeps getting lower and everyone, including Bessent, knows it.
Catherine Austin Fitts w/ Mike Farris
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok0oAXUQ7lo
(~21 min)
The Trump administration has been working feverishly on creating a digital control grid.
Imposing a digital control grid was a component of the "7 nations in 5 years" project
Iran is the last holdout to fulfill that agenda
The military war (and also the oil war) are elements of attempting to 'conquer' Iran, but an important, perhaps the most important element, is the economic destruction of Iran in order to take control of its financial system, thereby acquire total global digital control
Netanyahu replaced Intel chief that pushed Iran debacle to Trump. Immediate nuke threat and war will only take 96 hours. Rest of Israeli Intel disagreed:
https://conflictsforum.substack.com/p/the-consequences-of-more-netanyahu?
And more Mossad that were behind failed Iranian operations were fired:
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/528925/Mossad-sacks-architects-of-its-failed-regime-change-dream
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-904817
And Mossad was surprised by how fast Iran recovered from attacks:
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-905474
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/15/strategic-petroleum-reserve-spr-oil-iran-war-caverns.html
A good summary of where things stand on the SPR. Plenty of questions as to how much can be drawn out. One person quoted in the story says that between 250-300 million barrels is the operational floor. Or, can it go as low at 170 million barrels or 70 million barrels without damaging the salt caverns.
Maybe the most concerning note in the story is that the SPR might already be down to 243 million barrels. I thought it was just under 300 million barrels a couple weeks ago. If 243 is the right number, we are a lot closer to a spike in gas and diesel prices.
Trump has good reason for optimism since we have cornered the global market on Indian programming wallahs via the H1B visa program and they are our secret weapon in the AI competition with China.
Maj. (Ret.) Richard Ojeda @Ojeda4America
I served 24 years in the United States military. No commander in chief I have ever served under, democrat or republican, has ever had this level of indifference for our troops.
NONE. It’s a damn disgrace. These people are spitting in the faces of our service members everyday.
I did 3 combat deployments in the Middle East. I spent most of my time serving outside the wire in remote areas where it was difficult to access us.
Not ONCE did I ever allow my troops to go hungry or be ill-equipped. They don’t give a damn about our troops.
That’s a fact.
They will wrap themselves in the flag, call themselves patriots, and use our troops for photo ops.
But when duty calls, and it’s time to take care of our troops, they are too busy building golden statues of a draft dodging coward while our troops are going hungry.
SICKENING.
Shameful.
https://unlimitedhangout.com/2026/06/investigative-series/the-secret-history-of-polymarket-part-1/
"We found that Polymarket's "official" origin story, that Shayne Coplan founded the company alone in 2020 and then built "the company in his bathroom", is a lie. Polymarket really started years earlier as another company called TokenBnk that was deeply tied to Israeli interests, specifically a crypto company founded by Benjamin Netanyahu's niece and nephew. Coplan has actively tried to obfuscate this company from his story and it's not the only thing either."
"In Part 1 of this two-part series, we unravel the real history of Polymarket, directly connecting the company to Peter Thiel's efforts to resurrect controversial DARPA programs from its now defunct Information Awareness Office. Polymarket appears to have been chosen by Thiel and his associates to succeed in resurrecting DARPA's Policy Analysis Market where another Thiel-linked company, Augur, had previously failed."
It doesn't look like Part 2 has been published yet.
h/t to A Haverstein Moment
I can't remember but I think someone may have mentioned the interview Chris Hedges did with Whiteny Webb. If this is redundant and dated my apologies, but if not, it was incredibly interesting and disturbing: https://thealtworld.com/whitney_webb/how-the-epstein-network-is-privatizing-govt-building-the-surveillance-state
That these people are openly stating they believe the techno future will reveal god and they named it A.I.
I saw that interview with Whitney and also recommend it.
Also, thanks to years of bad sci-fi movies, novels, and comics, we have a cadre of Techbro oligarchs who honestly believe they can attain immortality by uploading their consciousness to a supercomputer.
Thanks for the reminder that you had made that recommendation. Perhaps another angle is that sci-fi, novels, and comics have all been compressed into digital games and the explosion in fantasy, role-playing chaos among the gamers.
You have reminded me of an interview Blogging Theology did with Matthew Millerman in 2023 which I have kept as I thought I would need to come back to it. In this interview, Matthew explains the thoughts of Russian philosopher, much maligned in the West - especially by liberals, Alexander Dugin. He had voiced his concerns about an a-Godless future where natural laws and givens are trashed. Millerman explains Dugin's ideas in a very accessible way, and seeing what's going on, they definitely resonate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlh0q4n6-Rs
Feel free to search "natural law" here.
Hi Sara,
Thanks for your comment in reply to mine. I read Dugin sporadically, but I get his posts regularly. BTW, I know you appear to be a more recent addition to the MIH group and Mark's wonderful writing that is so informative. I wanted to add that your voice is a welcome addition to those here who are regular readers and comment.
Heartfelt thanks. It is a pleasure to be part of this community. I am learning so much and sharing with everyone in my network.
The Hormuz Letter @HormuzLetter
1h
BREAKING: The Trump administration is actively discussing using nuclear weapons on Iran in strategy meetings, per former US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.
MTG says "yes you read that correctly. It's real. I'm not speculating, I know."
"Our government is the one actually discussing lowering the nuclear threshold in order to use nuclear weapons against Iran even though Trump claims he's won the war like 40 times and says the US controls the Strait of Hormuz," she adds.
Utter insanity. But we are talking about Zionist death cultists.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2026-08-12/trumps-ex-wife-reveals-president-kept-kabbalah-text-close-his-heart-protection-and
I wonder how fast Iran can build a bomb.
And would Iran in retaliation take the gloves off and sink a U.S. ship?
And what if the nuclear attack is not enough?
The Iranians would be stupid if they have not moved stuff.
Nuclear weapons will not stop Iran. They will only further degrade America’s standing in the world.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1412540885733722/permalink/4936569893330786/
Russia weighing in almost explicitly in defence of Iran and making a threat to the US that won't be ignored (because it is directed at Israel)
It is reported on the FB page of the Global Network AZ Network
''🔴 #Putin threatens #Trump: Israel will be wiped off the map if you intercept a Russian ship in the #Strait_of_Hormuz
Moscow hints at breaking the equation and entering the fray in the Middle East. Recent messages from the Kremlin include a firm warning to Netanyahu's government and a direct threat to the Trump administration, amid reports of Russia's readiness to intervene directly alongside Iran should the escalation in the Strait of Hormuz continue.
The military movements in this vital waterway demonstrate that Moscow considers any targeting of its allies or closure of shipping lanes a future threat to its strategic interests. The threat of involvement in the conflict aims to send a clear signal to Trump and Washington:...''
Fits into the Pentagon's nuclear posture review that's in the works, said to be focusing more on tactical nukes.
My bet would be that they intend to "limit" the fallout (pun intended) by striking remote areas, like Pickaxe. Likely not enough to destroy it, but with the intent to force a surrender, or even just return to status quo ante bellum.
Diplomatically, it could be argued along the lines of military target, small yield, surgical strike, limited radioactive impact, protecting civilians etc. The usual litany.
Strategically, it would relieve pressure on drained stockpiles of conventionals, and restore US military threat against non-nuclear opponents.
Just to be clear, it would be a disaster of historical proportions, but they are a) crazy and desperate enough to do it, and b) it can be rationalised.
The trail of contamination with depleted uranium they leave behind their freedom fries is already a disaster of historic proportion. Tracked back thru the scientific endeavor of the first world wars and their technologies, a new and rarified elite attitude to the nations' peasants, can be summed up by their avatar; "We have a simple problem. There are too many of them and not enough of us." The rest is salad dressing.
"Fits into the Pentagon's nuclear posture review that's in the works, said to be focusing more on tactical nukes."
Exactly. Who really thinks they're contemplating using tactical nukes on Russia or China?
Iran's facilities are so large and deeply buried it's debatable if even 2 or 3 tactical nukes would have much effect on one of them.
Such action by the Trump regime would make the US a world pariah.
In response to MTG's tweet, Mario dropped interviews with Malcolm Nance and Larry Johnson. Malcolm was very agitated.
I don't think the idea is to destroy the facility, but to put enough pressure on the diplomatic side to force a draw, which can then be sold domestically. The other effect would be threat credibility.
Diplomatic fallout? Sure. But everyone already hates Trump. Might as well go with it and establish precedent. Or blame it on Israel if it's considered too damaging. They have no reputation to lose.
Speaking of the AI "race"... I found Z.ai to be VERY impressive, Qwen is very good too...
I happened to notice, as this is an area of interest... that Chinese AI is NOT bending over for US Big Pharma, like the major US AI companies are... VERY different responses to related queries!
We have fucking corrupt morons running this country. It seems to be getting worse with each successive President.
"Iran's Art of the Deal"
https://www.unz.com/kbarrett/irans-art-of-the-deal/
"They are crushing Trump—and exposing him as a liar, a coward, a bully, a phony, and a complete moron"
There won’t be any clawback from General Dynamics because the kickbacks received by the Pentagon are already spend; they need more (due to inflation) thus another 2.5billion dollars in new contracts awarded. We indeed live in a kleptocracy and worse yet, the weapons purchased are inferior quality or outright worthless. The only effective weapons the government has is generated by the propaganda machine and used against the American people.
At some point, I'm thinking that the morons in DC will be forced to be fiscally responsible. Deficit spending forever without any thoughts of repayment will stop cold. Probably a gigantic default across the board.
Sorry, TK, I just don't see it. After many years of watching these Congress critters, I think the only way they become fiscally responsible is if the liabilities were to come due directly out of their own pockets. Otherwise they will be happy to spend the country into oblivion, as long as they can escape unencumbered to their own versions of their estates on Little Saint James island (or some such).
There are many more of us than them . . .
True but we need to do something to actualize that advantage.
When a critical mass of we the peasants have little to nothing left to lose . . .
That’s why they are all, every single one of them, stuffing their pockets in a panic. Because they know the ship has already hit the iceberg and is going down. Only a matter of time now.
“Default” as in monetization which means high inflation?
They will use every trick in the book.
The ProPublica article regarding the failed 155mm ammo plant in Texas is well worth reading:
https://www.propublica.org/article/general-dynamics-artillery-factory-failed
Another example of trying to gloss over problems by attaching the "AI" meme/momentum onto them?
OMG! That article is almost beyond belief - and after all that disaster they just gave more million dollar contracts to the same losers.
Is EVERYONE on the grift and out of their minds???
hope-
Well, I spent about 3 years working in industrial automation. The comments about the robotic arms crashing into the safety fences ring true. Correctly programming those six-axis robot arms is very difficult. The overheating equipment cabinet statement also rings true, it is very common for people to forget about thermal management.
Were the Turks incompetent or were they actively sabotaging the ammo plant? It's impossible to know from the story. Turkey has a diversified industrial base. I myself have seen Turks set up and run an electronics manufacturing plant.
On the other hand, Turkey does have a powerful and effective intelligence agency, known as the MIT (not that MIT). They are dialed into the Turkish military. Repkon is a key domestic supplier to the Turkish military. It stands to reason the MIT is tied into Repkon. I am sure they could insert plants on the Repkon team.
Also recall that Erdogan keenly remembers the US-backed coup attempt against him back in 2016. He would certainly be interested in any opportunity to pay the US back in kind.
Finally, this small episode is why I always tell people 95% of every US defense dollar is lost to waste or fraud. I should know, I've spent two decades of my misbegotten career in the defense industry.
- The American interventions in the yen market are just juicing short-term hedge fund returns. This has not been Bessent’s smartest play. -
Yet he likely had no choice
There are at least TWO Countries Desperate to Sell US Treasuries - and Bessent cannot have that
1. Japan
2. Saudi Arabia
Japan is desperate to sell US Treasury so instead Bessent sold EU Euro and bought Japan Yen as a way to talk Japan out of selling. EU Euro were very upset by this, but US could not have Japan selling Treasury
Saudi Arabia is also desperate no income, no oil revenue, no tourism, foreign investment on hold, they have a ton of bills to pay and they have squirreled away reserves in US Treasury and also like Japan want to sell to pay bills. Bessent is panicking
If Japan and Saudi Arabia were to start selling US Treasury at the same time US is trying to Sell US Treasury there is a tremendous concern of significant rise in interest rates US would be paying off debt - US already cannot afford to pay now and the deficit is only rising $40 trillion very soon.
.
Yes. Saudi was fiscally stretched even before the war began. Now it's desperate.
By dumping Euros to protect the USD --
clarification above - what I understood happened was Japan was forced to Sell US Treasury to purchase YEN to support their currency -
Instead Bessent said to Japan - do not sell our Treasury to buy your Currency - we will do it for you - we will raise it - that is why Bessent left the " note " on his desk for all media to see " buy Yen " he hoped that would help - and then the US Sold EU EURO to buy YEN -
So it was not so much dumping Euro to protect USD directly -
it was Protect Yen so Japan will not sell Treasuries
And now they US Bessent Trump have to figure out something where Saudi Arabia will not sell Treasuries
.
Where’d he get the Euro to buy Yen? We’re broke?
The US and all central banks always hold a certain amount of foreign currency for a number of reasons including to facilitate trade and or in case of currency attack by another nation or in this case to help another nation so they did not have to sell treasuries which sale would have harmed the US
Likely for Saudi Arabia the Sauds will ' give ' the treasuries to the US to hold as collateral and the US will ' give ' the Sauds USD in return
anything to stop the sale of treasuries when the US desperately needs to sell treasuries
Right now the US is buying significant amounts of its own treasuries ( few other buyers ) the U.S. is desperately trying to sell trillions of dollars in new debt to fund the deficit, while simultaneously buying back its own older debt to keep the bond market from breaking
.
It's the "Hotel California" trade - at this point, if you're a large holder of US government debt, you won't be allowed to sell it. This goes for large domestic institutions as well.
The US bonds market is the largest by market cap, but even a comparatively small sale of a few billions, as planned by Japan, has summoned Bessent to prevent it from happening. That's a good indicator how fragile the whole thing has become.
To a degree, this isn't just a US problem. Every institution holding large amounts of bonds now suddenly faces two problems. First, what's the point of a reserve asset if you can't sell it in times of need. Second, if the market is this brittle, how do you get out of bonds without crashing it, destroying the value of the rest of your holdings in the process?
In a way, it's starting to behave in a parallel to the embattled private credit market, which had to start gating withdrawals. It's a bank run.
What the US wants to do is keep the bonds bagholders from selling, while going through a rapid devaluation cycle. Dollar down, inflation high. This is bad enough inside the US, but foreign holders face the double-whammy of foreign exchange rates.
That's also the reason btw while the western system is so desperate to keep gold down, and why China is so happy to play along, buying up what they can, even at a large spread between paper and physical. They're preparing for the point where they may have to write off US treasuries.
Great points about the gradient descents in the value the U.S. Dollar and Western Bonds and the gradual ascent in the value of physical Gold. At this point no one wants a "sky is falling" narrative to predominate - including the Chinese - but long term the cloud ceiling for USDs and USTs keeps getting lower and everyone, including Bessent, knows it.
By chance, I'm on my way back from picking up my scheduled purchase from the coin dealer. Down to two quarter ounces these days...
But the whole point of protecting the Yen is to protect the Dollar--if the dollar wasn't at risk this wouldn't be happening.