Author Archives: Ket Garden

Investors are worried because Gary Cohn, who is a Wall Street veteran, was opposed to the tariffs

President Donald Trump usually do the things he promise to do. He had long talked about tariffs, and earlier this week he said; “I have no choice.” His economic advisor Gary Cohn didn`t like that and announced retirement.

Mr Trump shocked the market last week with his decision to impose 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminium. Investors are worried because Gary Cohn, who is a Wall Street veteran, was opposed to the tariffs.

 

 

Gary Cohn is a former Goldman Sachs president and free trade advocate. He is the man who helped Mr Trump and his team at the White House to deliver historic tax cuts and reforms, but he clashed with Trump`s protectionist advisors on the issue of tariffs.

White House officially said that President Donald Trump will announce more details on the tariff proposal on Thursday this week.

In addition, there could be conversation this week around more trade actions.

European Union said they will target $3,5 billion of goods like motorcycles, T-shirts, whisky and jeans imported from the United States. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the trade bloc would “not sit idly” if Trump goes ahead with his tariffs.

President Trump warned the US would apply a tax on European cars if the bloc wants to increase tariffs on American companies. A statement the European automakers didn`t like at all.

The Volksvagen emissions scandal (Emissionsgate/dieselgate) began in September 2015, when the United States Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to German automakers Volkswagen Group.

Volkswagen pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges in a brazen scheme to get around US pollution rules on nearly 600,000 diesel vehicles by using software to suppress emissions of nitrogen oxide during tests.

Assistant US attorney John Neal said it was a “calculated offence,” not a «monetary lapse of judgement».

In my recent articles, I have talked about Europe`s treatment of American companies. A bad treatment that has been going on for decades.

In 2001, the European Commission accused Microsoft of having illegally extended its dominans in operating systems for PC`s into adjacent markets, for tying Windows to programs that play music and videos.

The European Commission said Microsoft was too dominant in the market in 2001. They said the same about Google in 2016, claiming that Google was too dominant in the internet search market. Last year, they attacked the biggest company in the world: Apple.

Nucors CEO told CNBC last week that the presidents proposal was about treating Europe “exactly as they treat us.” So, who is the real elephant in the room?

President Trump has many times said that Europe are treating USA bad, and this has been going on for a long time now. It is clear to see that there has been a silent war going on, but Mr Trump is the one to do something with that.

The war between Europe and USA is not a secret anymore. This trade war is a zero sum game, and there is no winner. This is how the market was before the start of World War II. Now, the history seems to repeat itself. This can be very ugly.

In 2015, Russia marked 70 years since the victory over the Nazis with a spectacular parade in Moscow. Many Western leaders missed the event. USA is the one who stopped World War II.
<p align="LEFT"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;"><span style="font-size:small;">Everybody in Greece are talking about Nazi-Europe. They know the history from WWII. Nazi Germany invaded Greece to assist its ally, Fascist Italy, which had been at war with Greece (Greco-Italien War) for about a year. </span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;"><span style="font-size:small;">The occupation ruined Greek economy. The Nazi occupation led to rampant inflation, and 200,000,000-drachma banknote were issued in 1944. They can
t do the same today, because they do not have its own currency. They have Euro.

What the Nazi`s did to Greece is a long list of crimes against humanity, and the truth cannot be hidden.

The Nazi`s burned down every house and dynamited the church in retaliation, but the Greeks were the first Europeans who won a victory against fascism.

The biggest party in Italy, The Five Star Movement, is Euroskeptic. So, are the Brexit voters. EU need to change its strategy very fast, because EU is very important but not the ugly part of it.

European Commisssion doubts justification for Trump tariffs. It is done under section 232, which refers to National security. European Commission cannot see how the allies is a threath to International Security in the United States.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

———————————————–advertisement——————————————————-

Polo Shirt

High quality Polo shirt with Shinybull logo. This version is made from breathable 100% cotton. Short sleeves and ribbed armbands.

$125.00

Polo Shirt

High quality Polo shirt with Shinybull logo. This version is made from breathable 100% cotton. Short sleeves and ribbed armbands.

$125.00

Leave a comment

Filed under Politics

Around 40% of voters in Italy remain undecided and no party or alliance is expected to earn an outright majority

Take a look at the history and you can clearly see that all the roads leads us back to Rome and Italy.

A country that gave the world pizza. The founder of that dish is a genius. The term pizza was first recorded in the 10th century, in a Latin manuscript from the Southern Italian town of Gaeta in Lazio.

Not only that. Rome is also the capital of Italy, and serves as the capital of the Lazio region. The Vatican City is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, which means Rome has been often defined as capital of two states. 4,3 million residents live in the metropolitan City of Rome, and most of them head to the polls on Sunday in a vote that will be closely watched by European leaders.

Italys election on Sunday will test Europenerves, because it can make instability in the eurozones thrid-largest economy. It should be a great place on earth, but it isnt. Italy`s unemployment rate rose to 11,1 percent in January 2018, and the youth unemployment rate fell to 31,5 percent, which is the lowest since December 2011.

The Italian economy advanced by 0,3 percent on quarter in the three months to December of 2017, so the growth is very slow. The Italian stock marked plummeted during the financial crisis ten years ago. The unemployment rate was at its lowest in 2007, but skyrocketed after the crisis.

Italy`s Government debt reached an all time high of 132 percent in 2016 which is more than the U.S but it dropped to 131,5 percent last year. Italy need a change, but that change can be painful and Italy can be drown into months of further political deadlock.

Around 40% of voters remain undecided and no party or alliance is expected to earn an outright majority, according to analysts.

European leaders are watching this election closely because so far, polls are telling us that the populist, anti-European Union Five Star Movement (M5S) is the biggest party. Twice as big as Forza Italia and the Democratic party at the second place.

The M5S is founded by Beppe Grillo who is a popular comedian and blogger. The party is considered populist, anti-establishment, environmentalist, anti-globalist, and Eurosceptic. At the 2013 general election the M5S was the most voted party.

People in Italy and many of their parties are euroskeptic, and one issue has dominated the pre-election debate, and that is immigration. Hundreds of thousands have arrived from Africa to Italy recently, and the debate over immigration has highlighted racial tensions ahead of Sunday`s vote.

Right-wing parties have pushed an anti-immigration agenda, and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has warned that all the migrants in Italy has caused «serious social alarm,» and said that more than 600 000 undocumented migrants must be deported.

Migration has been a serious issue in Italy in many decades. When the Pope look outside the window in the Vatican, he can see some right-wing parties, but also some neo-fascist political parties.

Fascism is also coming from Italy. The founder of fascism is Benito Mussolini and he outlined three principles of a fascist philosophy.

  1. Everything in the state. The Government is supreme and the country is all-encompassing, and all within it must confront the ruling body, often a dictator.
  2. Nothing outside the state. The country must grow and the implied goal of any fascist nation is to rule the country, and have every human submit to the government.
  3. Nothing against the state. Any type of questioning the government is not to be tolerated. If you do not see things our way, you are wrong. If you do not agree with the government, you cannot be allowed to live and taint the minds of the rest of the good citizens.

The use of militarism was implied only as a means to accomplish one of the three above principles, mainly to keep people and rest of the world in line. Fascist countries are known for their harmony and lack of internal strife. There are no conflicting parties or elections in fascist countries.

There were a demonstration in Maceratata on February 10, and Italian protesters hold a banner reading «Against fascism, racism and sexism, everyday, in all cities.» Similar to how it was in Italy about 100 years ago, but it was a different march. The opposite.

The March on Rome was an organized mass demonstration in October 1922, which resulted in Benito Mussolini`s National Fascist Party. Fascists saw WWI as a revolution that brought massive changes to the nature of war, society, the state and technology.

Italy has an unproven new system in place for the voters. On top of that there is a bloc of undecided voters, so analysts say that Italy is headed toward a hung parliament. Berlusconi`s right-wing coalition can win. So can the Democratic party, Forza Italia and other centrist allies. It can also be a populist government of M5S and Northern League.

Another option is that the Gentiloni government will continue like it is today. If so, they will start long discussions on whether to build an all-party technical government.

The political situation in Italy right now, with its government instability, economic problems and repeated elections are building up to a perfect storm. It can be harmful for one of the main European democracies, but it can be very harmful for an already weak European Union in an already weak continental alliance too. Especially after Brexit.

Rome is called the «Caput Mundi» (Capital of the World). Rome is also regarded as the birthplace of Western civilisation and by some as the first ever metropolis. Rome is the 3rd most visited in the European Union, and Colosseum are among the world`s most visited tourist destinations.

After the fall of the Western Empire, which marked the beginning of the Middle Ages, Rome fell under the political control of the Papacy. All of this is a part of an evolution, so the show must go on.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

———————————————–advertisement——————————————————-

Polo Shirt

High quality Polo shirt with Shinybull logo. This version is made from breathable 100% cotton. Short sleeves and ribbed armbands.

$125.00

Polo Shirt

High quality Polo shirt with Shinybull logo. This version is made from breathable 100% cotton. Short sleeves and ribbed armbands.

$125.00

Leave a comment

Filed under Politics

On February 28th 2018, Spotify filed for direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange

Spotify is a music-streaming service that changed the music industry. The Swedish company was founded in April 2006, and on 7 October this year, the company has been on the market in ten years. It is developed by startup Spotify AB in Stockholm and now they want to sell shares to investors.

According to Spotify`s filing yesterday, the opening public price of its ordinary shares on the NYSE will be determined by buy and sell orders collected on the day of the listing. CEO Daniel Ek owns 9 percent of the company. Martin Lorentzon has 12 percent, but they will have full control over the company. Together they have 80 percent of the voting rights.

Spotify has so far been a bad business, but they changed the music industry with its new business model, and the industry`s revenue are growing for the first time since the CD was their «milk cow.» Spotify have 140 million users and 70 million are paying for their service.

Their revenue in 2015 was $2,18 billion. According to the filing, Spotify paid about 88 cents for every dollar in revenue in fees to record labels in 2015. It seems like it goes in the right direction for the company as those costs has declined to about 79 cents.

On top of that, Spotify has stopped burning cash and their free cash-flow margin is 2,7 percent. At the end of last year, the company had about 1,5 billion Euros in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.

Spotify as a company doesnt sell stocks in the non-IPO, but their stockholders will try to sell their shares to the public stockholders. According to Spotifys not-an-IPO filing, their value was as low as about $6 billion and as high as $23 billion in private stock transactions since the start of 2017.

You can ask yourself why they are doing it this way instead of raising money from a conventional IPO. Spotify`s existing shareholders can sell their shares to public stockholders, and it would be a win-win if record labels could buy a stake in the company. They will help each other.

Spotify operates under a freemium business model which means basic services are free, while additional features aer offered via paid subscriptions. Spotify makes its revenues by selling premium steaming subscriptions to users and advertising placements to third parties.

In 2013, the company launched a new website called «Spotify for Artists,» and they pay copyright holders royalties for streamed music. Spotify for Artists states that the company does not have a fixed per-play rate, instead considers factors such as the users home country and the individual artists royalty rate.

Rights holders received an average per-play payout between $.006 and $.0084. Spotify encourages people to pay for music, and their subscriptions are their main revenue source.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

———————————————–advertisement——————————————————-

Polo Shirt

High quality Polo shirt with Shinybull logo. This version is made from breathable 100% cotton. Short sleeves and ribbed armbands.

$125.00

Polo Shirt

High quality Polo shirt with Shinybull logo. This version is made from breathable 100% cotton. Short sleeves and ribbed armbands.

$125.00

Leave a comment

Filed under Stocks

In a time of Roman Empire, Nero is determined to rid Rome of Christians, which is similar to what we experience today

Easter is just around the corner. A festival and holiday that is celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial after his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c 30 AD.

The New Testament states that the resurrection of Jesus, which Easter celebrates, is a foundation of the Christian faith. The resurrection established Jesus as the powerful Son of God, and is cited as proof that God will judge the world in righteousness.

Most Christians refer to the week before Easter as «Holy Week». This time, a new film called Paul, Apostle of Christ will be released the same week. This film is an upcoming American biblical drama film written by Andrew Hyatt, and starring James Faulkner as Saint Paul and Jim Caviezel as Saint Luke. What happened at that time in a time of a Roman Empire, is similar to whats happening today.

Paul, Apostle of Christ is the story of two men. Luke as a friend and physician, risks his life when he venture into the city of Rome to visit Paul, who is held captive in Nero`s darkest, bleakest prison cell.

But Nero is determined to rid Rome of Christians, and does not flinch from executing them in the grisliest ways possible.

Before Paul`s death sentence can be enacted. Luke resolves to write another book, one that details the beginnings of «The Way» and the birth of what will come to be known as the church.

Bound in chains, Paul`s struggle is internal. He has survived so much, floggings, shipwreck, starvation, stoning, hunger and thirst, cold and exposure, yet as he waits for his appointment with death, he is haunted by the shadows of his past misdeeds.

Alone in the dark, he wonders if he has been forgotten…. and if he has the strength to finish well.

Two men struggle against a determined emperor and the frailties of the human spirit in order to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ and spread their message to the world.

Their faith challenged an Empire. Their words changed the world.

It is a war between the good and the bad, and whats make people angry is Lucifer.  Jim Caviezel said in a speech earlier this year that he want Lucifer to go back to hell were he belongs.

Lucifer is a controversial angel who some belive is the most evil living being in the universe. Lucifer (the devil) is a metaphor for evil and deceit, and he leads other demons in hell and works to harm human beings.

As the ultimate liar, Lucifer (whose name changed to Satan after his fall) twists spiritual truth with the goal of leading as many people as possible away from God. Many people say that the fallen angels` work has brought only evil and destructive results in the world.

Paul, Apostle of Christ, In theaters March 23, 2018.

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

———————————————–advertisement——————————————————-

Polo Shirt

High quality Polo shirt with Shinybull logo. This version is made from breathable 100% cotton. Short sleeves and ribbed armbands.

$125.00

 

Polo Shirt

High quality Polo shirt with Shinybull logo. This version is made from breathable 100% cotton. Short sleeves and ribbed armbands.

$125.00

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

It`s time for the 38th edition of the annual Brit Awards and Global Superstar Justin Timberlake will perform at the show

Its time for Brit Awards which means its time for plenty of action. The show will be held on February 21 at The O2 London, for the eight year in a row. Emma Willis will be presenting the nominations show and comedian Jack Whitehall will be the host.

Some of the nominations are Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Rag n Bone Man, Stormzy, Liam Gallagher, Gorillaz, Liam Payne, Jax Jones, Clean Bandit & Zara Larsson, Jonas Blue, Calvin Harris, Pharrell Williams, Katy Parry, Big Sean, Taylor Swift, Lorde, Bjork, Pink, Alicia Keys, Kendrick Lemar and DJ Khaled to name a few.

Justin Timberlake will perform at the Brit Awards. So will Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Stormzy and Dua Lipa. ITV will stream the show live from 6pm on February 21, 2018.

This is the 38th edition of the annual Brit Awards, celebrating the good of pop music. Not only from Britain but around the world. The show is the annual pop music awards of the British Phonographic Industry.

Originally, «Brit» was simply an acronym for British, but now the moniker technically stands for «British Record Industry Trust».

You decide who wins the BRIT Award on 21 February. Keep you favorite in the running by voting for them on Twitter.

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

———————————————–advertisement——————————————————-

Polo Shirt

High quality Polo shirt with Shinybull logo. This version is made from breathable 100% cotton. Short sleeves and ribbed armbands.

$125.00

Polo Shirt

High quality Polo shirt with Shinybull logo. This version is made from breathable 100% cotton. Short sleeves and ribbed armbands.

$125.00

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized