02/27/18

Terry McAuliffe Vows to Take on Trump in 2020

By: Denise Simon | Political Vanguard

Ah, check the pantry for popcorn, this will be good. There is a lot of material on this fella.

Democrat Terry McAuliffe said he would be the party’s best choice to “take on” President Donald Trump in 2020.

“Who better to take on Trump than me?” McAuliffe said when asked by the Washington Free Beacon about a potential 2020 run for president, strongly indicating he will indeed throw his hat in the ring.

McAuliffe said he knows he can stand up to Trump because he’s known him for a long time, a relationship that led to Trump cutting a $25,000 check for McAuliffe’s unsuccessful 2009 run for governor of Virginia.

McAuliffe said he’s “golfed with Trump five times.” He said Trump is a “scratch golfer” and said he never saw him cheat when they played together, casting doubt on accusations of cheating made by others.

Humm, okay then, let us go back into McAuliffe’s history shall we?

Politico tells us a group of 32 Chinese citizens filed the suit last week for an estimated $17 million in Fairfax County, Virginia court, claiming that they were swindled out of about $560,000 apiece as a result of misrepresentations made by McAuliffe and Rodham—two of the most prominent and politically connected proponents of the venture aimed at manufacturing electric cars in the U.S. McAuliffe confirmed last year that his business dealings with foreign nationals were under investigation by the FBI and federal prosecutors. The Chinese investors plowed their money into Greentech with the promise of winning permanent residency in the U.S. under a program that awards green cards to foreign-funded ventures that generate U.S. jobs. However, the suit contends that the investors now face the threat of deportation from the U.S. because the Department of Homeland Security has determined that Greentech did not generate the number of jobs required to sustain the number of visas issued through the so-called EB-5 program.

Ah yes, pay for play, here meaning yet another foreign investment into a domestic corporation and get U.S. citizenship real fast. Wonder if Hillary’s brother ever discussed this with Hillary or any of her people at the State Department….or maybe the case is in one of those missing emails or something.

Hillary admitted that she and Bill were carrying a debt of $5 million due to legal fees from investigations and cases related to his presidency. But they wanted to buy a house in Chappaqua for $1.7 million. With a little help from a close friend named Terry McAuliffe, yeah that guy, Terry put up $1.35 million of his own money with Bankers Trust. To get his money back, the Clinton’s had to refinance the mortgage within 5 years.

It was in 2016 that the FBI and the Justice Department put McAuliffe under investigation for a highly questionable campaign contribution while he was also serving on the Board of the Clinton Global Initiative. A Chinese businessman, Wang Wenliang donated $120,000 as part of a $2 million pledge to the Foundation. U.S. election law prohibits foreign nationals from donating to federal, state or local elections. Penalties for violations include fines and/or imprisonment.

But Wang holds U.S. permanent resident status, according to a spokeswoman, which would make him a U.S. person under election law and eligible to donate to McAuliffe’s campaign. In 2016, Wang Wenliang, billionaire and donor to the Clinton Foundation and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, was been expelled from China’s top legislature after being caught up in a widespread cash-for-votes scheme. Finding perhaps some kind of political cover and sanctuary in the United States mostly as a result of his wealth, he contributed big dollars to build the Chinese embassy in Washington DC.

McAuliffe first said he did not know Wang, then later said he was shocked to receive the generous campaign donation which was completely legitimate.

Last but not least, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe wife’s Virginia senate campaign was backed heavily by a political action committee belonging to the Clintons’ close friend Terry McAuliffe. Hillary Clinton headlined a fundraiser for the PAC, Common Good VA, a month before it started donating to the FBI official’s spouse.

The McAuliffe PAC gave Jill McCabe $467,000 for her losing bid. The Virginia Democratic Party donated another $207,788 to her. And you know where we are on this investigation or perhaps nowhere given the FBI, the DOJ and the Clinton back-channel connections that always seem to make scandals and violations of the law go away.

So, it seems we need to keep a running list as McAuliffe decides to take on Trump in 2020.

02/27/18

The S & P 500 Mid-Cap Is At The Lowest Valuation In Two Years

By: Kent Engelke | Capitol Securities

Bloomberg wrote yesterday the S & P 500 mid-cap index is the lowest valuation in two years and is below the five-year average on a forward 12-month PE basis. This should not be a surprise given the myopic recovery following perhaps the narrowest advance in history.

The SEC reported several weeks ago approximately 50% of volume is the result of algorithmic trading which is essentially the trading of derivatives and futures tied to equities. Another 40% is the result of indexing and ETFs, both of which are viewed as “kin” to algorithmic trading. Only 10% of the volume is the result of buying 100 shares of ABC company.

It is apparent from the data above that anyone who is utilizing traditional security and macroeconomic analysis, analysis of the typical stock is fighting a losing battle.

It is generally acknowledged that such strategies do not reflect any changes in the political or macroeconomic environment, changes which can potentially cause a shock. The selloff earlier in the month and the narrow based recovery is ample evidence of this view.

The only constant in life is change. Today’s environment will change, but the catalyst of this change will perhaps be the one that has not yet been discussed.

The marquee event of the week is today’s congressional testimony by FRB Chair Powell about the economy. Little new ground is expected to be broken with most believing he will reiterate many of his predecessor’s comments and outlook.

To write the obvious, if his comments are too economically bullish, equities could respond negatively given the potential impact on the bond market.

What will happen today?

Last night the foreign markets were down. London was down 0.04%, Paris was down 0.02% and Frankfurt was down 0.48%. China was down 0.34%, Japan was up 1.07% and Hang Sang was down 0.73%.

The Dow should open moderately lower ahead of Powell’s testimony. The 10-year is off 3/32 to yield 2.88%.