A bombshell exclusive from the Wall Street Journal alleges that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was initially on board with the plan to sabotage the Nord Stream pipeline. This comes after Germany issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian diver who was suspected to be a part of a larger diving team that planted explosives on…
Category: Economics
JACK POSOBIEC and TYLER BOWER: Republicans must stop letting Dems control the narrative
Jack Posobiec hosted Turning Point Action COO Tyler Bowyer on Tuesday’s episode of Human Events Daily where they broadcast live from outside the DNC in Chicago. After emphasizing how “cringe” the DNC has proven to be thus far, the pair discussed how the Republican Party needs to seriously reflect on “how to tell stories better”…
What’s Really Happening With Monkeypox
What’s Really Happening With Monkeypox
Authored by David Bell via the Brownstone Institute,
The World Health Organization (WHO) acted as expected this week and declared Mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). So, a problem in a small number of African countries that has killed about the same number of people this year as die every four hours from tuberculosis has come to dominate international headlines. This is raising a lot of angst from some circles against the WHO.
While angst is warranted, it is mostly misdirected. The WHO and the IHR emergency committee they convened had little real power – they are simply following a script written by their sponsors. The African CDC, which declared an emergency a day earlier, is in a similar position. Mpox is a real disease and needs local and proportionate solutions. But the problem it is highlighting is much bigger than Mpox or the WHO, and understanding this is essential if we are to fix it.
Mpox, previously called Monkeypox, is caused by a virus thought to normally infect African rodents such as rats and squirrels. It fairly frequently passes to, and between, humans. In humans, its effects range from very mild illness to fever and muscle pains to severe illness with its characteristic skin rash, and sometimes death. Different variants, called ‘clades,’ produce slightly different symptoms. It is passed by close body contact including sexual activity, and the WHO declared a PHEIC two years ago for a clade that was mostly passed by men having sex with men.
The current outbreaks involve sexual transmission but also other close contact such as within households, expanding its potential for harm. Children are affected and suffer the most severe outcomes, perhaps due to issues of lower prior immunity and the effects of malnutrition and other illnesses.
Reality in DRC
The current PHEIC was mainly precipitated by the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), though there are known outbreaks in nearby countries covering a number of clades. About 500 people have died from Mpox in DRC this year, over 80% of them under 15 years of age. In that same period, about 40,000 people in DRC, mostly children under 5 years, died from malaria. The malaria deaths were mainly due to lack of access to very basic commodities like diagnostic tests, antimalarial drugs, and insecticidal bed nets, as malaria control is chronically underfunded globally. Malaria is nearly always preventable or treatable if sufficiently resourced.
During this same period in which 500 people died from Mpox in DRC, hundreds of thousands also died in DRC and surrounding African countries from tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and the impacts of malnutrition and unsafe water. Tuberculosis alone kills about 1.3 million people globally each year, which is a rate about 1,500 times higher than Mpox in 2024.
The population of DRC is also facing increasing instability characterized by mass rape and massacres, in part due to a scramble by warlords to service the appetite of richer countries for the components of batteries. These in turn are needed to support the Green Agenda of Europe and North America. This is the context in which the people of DRC and nearby populations, which obviously should be the primary decision-makers regarding the Mpox outbreak, currently live.
An Industry Produces What It Is Paid for
For the WHO and the international public health industry, Mpox presents a very different picture. They now work for a pandemic industrial complex, built by private and political interests on the ashes of international public health. Forty years ago, Mpox would have been viewed in context, proportional to the diseases that are shortening overall life expectancy and the poverty and civil disorder that allows them to continue. The media would barely have mentioned the disease, as they were basing much of their coverage on impact and attempting to offer independent analysis.
Now the public health industry is dependent on emergencies. They have spent the past 20 years building agencies such as CEPI, inaugurated at the 2017 World Economic Forum meeting and solely focused on developing vaccines for pandemic, and on expanding capacity to detect and distinguish ever more viruses and variants. This is supported by the recently passed amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR).
While improving nutrition, sanitation, and living conditions provided the path to longer lifespans in Western countries, such measures sit poorly with a colonial approach to world affairs in which the wealth and dominance of some countries are seen as being dependent on the continued poverty of others. This requires a paradigm in which decision-making is in the hands of distant bureaucratic and corporate masters. Public health has an unfortunate history of supporting this, with restriction of local decision-making and the pushing of commodities as key interventions.
Thus, we now have thousands of public health functionaries, from the WHO to research institutes to non-government organizations, commercial companies, and private foundations, primarily dedicated to finding targets for Pharma, purloining public funding, and then developing and selling the cure. The entire newly minted pandemic agenda, demonstrated successfully through the Covid-19 response, is based on this approach. Justification for the salaries involved requires detection of outbreaks, an exaggeration of their likely impact, and the institution of a commodity-heavy and usually vaccine-based response.
The sponsors of this entire process – countries with large Pharma industries, Pharma investors, and Pharma companies themselves – have established power through media and political sponsorship to ensure the approach works. Evidence of the intent of the model and the harms it is wreaking can be effectively hidden from public view by a subservient media and publishing industry. But in DRC, people who have long suffered the exploitation of war and the mineral extractors, who replaced a particularly brutal colonial regime, must now also deal with the wealth extractors of Pharma.
Dealing with the Cause
While Mpox is concentrated in Africa, the effects of corrupted public health are global. Bird flu will likely follow the same course as Mpox in the near future. The army of researchers paid to find more outbreaks will do so. While the risk from pandemics is not significantly different than decades ago, there is an industry dependent on making you think otherwise.
As the Covid-19 playbook showed, this is about money and power on a scale only matched by similar fascist regimes of the past. Current efforts across Western countries to denigrate the concept of free speech, to criminalize dissent, and to institute health passports to control movement are not new and are in no way disconnected from the inevitability of the WHO declaring the Mpox PHEIC. We are not in the world we knew twenty years ago.
Poverty and the external forces that benefit from war, and the diseases these enable, will continue to hammer the people of DRC. If a mass vaccination campaign is instituted, which is highly likely, financial and human resources will be diverted from far greater threats. This is why decision-making must now be centralized far from the communities affected. Local priorities will never match those that expansion of the pandemic industry depends on.
In the West, we must move on from blaming the WHO and address the reality unfolding around us. Censorship is being promoted by journalists, courts are serving political agendas, and the very concept of nationhood, on which democracy depends, is being demonized. A fascist agenda is openly promoted by corporate clubs such as the World Economic Forum and echoed by the international institutions set up after the Second World War specifically to oppose it. If we cannot see this and if we do not refuse to participate, then we will have only ourselves to blame. We are voting for these governments and accepting obvious fraud, and we can choose not to do so.
For the people of DRC, children will continue to tragically die from Mpox, from malaria, and from all the diseases that ensure return on investment for distant companies making pharmaceuticals and batteries. They can ignore the pleading of the servants of the White Men of Davos who will wish to inject them, but they cannot ignore their poverty or the disinterest in their opinions. As with Covid-19, they will now become poorer because Google, the Guardian, and the WHO were bought a long time back, and now serve others.
The one real hope is that we ignore lies and empty pronouncements, refusing to bow to unfounded fear. In public health and in society, censorship protects falsehoods and dictates reflect greed for power. Once we refuse to accept either, we can begin to address the problems at the WHO and the inequity it is promoting. Until that time, we will live in this increasingly vicious circus.
David Bell, Senior Scholar at Brownstone Institute, is a public health physician and biotech consultant in global health. He is a former medical officer and scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), Programme Head for malaria and febrile diseases at the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) in Geneva, Switzerland, and Director of Global Health Technologies at Intellectual Ventures Global Good Fund in Bellevue, WA, USA.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 08/20/2024 – 17:40
Cook County State’s Attorney Preemptively Announces that DNC Protesters Will Not Be Prosecuted
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx preemptively announced that she will not prosecute protesters who are “peaceful” at the DNC.
The post Cook County State’s Attorney Preemptively Announces that DNC Protesters Will Not Be Prosecuted appeared first on Breitbart.
UN rights expert barred from Afghanistan: diplomatic source
The UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan has been barred from entering the country, a diplomatic source told AFP on Tuesday. “Richard Bennett was informed of the decision that he would not be welcome to return to Afghanistan several months ago,” a diplomatic source confirmed to AFP after local media reported […]
The post UN rights expert barred from Afghanistan: diplomatic source appeared first on Insider Paper.
Ukraine Parliament passes bill to ‘cleanse’ Russia-linked Christian church
Ukraine’s Parliament has passed a new law to “cleanse” Russian-linked Christian religious groups from the nation. The law is now slated to go to President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is expected to sign it. Once Zelensky signs the bill, there will be thirty days before the State Ethnopolitics Service of Ukraine will be permitted to dig into…
JR MAJEWSKI: Trump needs to commit to America’s nuclear future
Nuclear energy is a powerful, carbon-free source of electricity, yet the U.S. currently underutilizes its potential.
LIBBY EMMONS: Democrats signal potential change on Israel policy during first night of DNC
The Democrat perspective is that it is America’s job to aid the terrorists who attacked Israel and began the war in the first place.
Lowe’s Cuts Full-Year Outlook On “Challenging Macroeconomic Backdrop” Hitting Homeowners
Lowe’s Cuts Full-Year Outlook On “Challenging Macroeconomic Backdrop” Hitting Homeowners
Home improvement retailer Lowe’s beat second-quarter earnings expectations but fell short on sales, slashing its full-year outlook due to “lower-than-expected DIY sales” in a “pressured macroeconomic environment.” Lowe’s and other industry peers like Home Depot have warned about an uncertain outlook as housing market trends slow amid high interest rates and elevated inflation, impacting low/mid-tier consumers.
Goldman’s Kate McShane provided clients with an earnings snapshot for Lowe’s second-quarter earnings:
LOW reported 2Q24 adj. EPS of $4.10, above the GS and consensus (Refinitiv) estimates of $3.99/$3.97. Adj results excludes a pre-tax gain associated with the 2022 sale of the Canadian retail business. Net sales decreased 5.5% y/y to $23.586bn, below the GS estimate of $24.038bn and consensus of $23.946bn, while comparable sales decreased 5.1% y/y vs. the GS estimate of -4.0% and consensus of -4.1%. Operating margin decreased 114 bps y/y to 14.4% (vs. GS/consensus of 14.1%/14.1%) as operating expenses (SG&A and D&A) as a % of sales increased 96 bps y/y to 19.0% while gross margin decreased 18 bps y/y to 33.5%.
Here’s more on McShane’s earnings breakdown for the second quarter:
Sales decreased 5.5% y/y to $23.586bn, below the GS estimate of $24.038bn and consensus of $23.946bn. Comparable sales decreased 5.1% y/y as a decline in DIY big ticket discretionary and unfavorable weather was partially offset by positive comps in Pro and online
Gross margin decreased 18 bps y/y to 33.5%, compared to the GS estimate of 33.5% and consensus of 33.3%.
Total operating expenses (SG&A and D&A) decreased 0.5% y/y to $4.5bn and represented 19.0% of sales compared to 18.1% in the prior year. Operating margin decreased 114 bps y/y to 14.4%, above the GS/consensus estimates of 14.1%.
Inventory decreased 3.3% y/y to $16.8bn and compares to the -5.5% sales decline. LOW’s payables ratio of 61.4% compares to 59.3% in the prior year.
Lowe’s reduced its full-year forecast because of a pull back in consumer spending, especially in do-it-yourself projects.
“Based on lower-than-expected DIY sales and a pressured macroeconomic environment, the company is updating its outlook for the operating results of the full year 2024,” the retailer wrote in a statement.
McShane provided more color on the lowered full-year guidance:
LOW lowered their FY24 guidance, including sales of $82.7bn-83.2bn (vs. $84bn-85bn prior), comparable sales of -3.5% to -4.0% (vs. -2% to -3% prior), adj. operating margin of 12.4%-12.5% (vs. 12.6%-12.7 prior), adj. EPS of $11.70-$11.90 (vs. $12.00-$12.30 prior). Guidance for interest expense remains at $1.4 and capital expenditures of $2bn.
Marvin R. Ellison, Lowe’s chairman, president and CEO, commented on the earnings report:
“The company delivered strong operating performance and improved customer service despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop, especially for the homeowner.”
McShane noted, “Although LOW missed expectations, we think this was somewhat expected after the HD print last week.”
She added that LOW is “Buy rated” for clients with a 12-month price target of $268, noting that “deterioration in the pricing environment from increased competition or softer-than-expected demand could weigh on profitability.”
Here are other analyst commentary from Wall Street’s top banks (courtesy of Bloomberg):
Morgan Stanley (overweight)
- “Our key takeaway on LOW’s results is better than feared for 2Q earnings,” as well as its revised forecast, analyst Simeon Gutman writes
- Lowe’s is “holding to its promise” of managing margins, with “solid” gross margin performance in 2Q and what looks to be “exceptional cost control”
- He thinks shares can “tread water in the near term,” and hold on to their ~4% gain since rival Home Depot reported last Tuesday
- That said, Gutman views consensus estimates for next year as “too high” amid expectations for a prolonged recovery in home improvement
JPMorgan (overweight)
- “Importantly, the gross and operating margin upside in 2Q is consistent with our relatively positive view of LOW’s margin outlook and contrary to the bear case that the company over- earned/under-invested and had high risk implied in its guide (it also counters a gross margin miss in 1Q),” analyst Christopher Horvers writes
- Both gross and operating margin topped expectations as “productivity efforts continued to drive expense control,” he says
- Bottom line on print: “nothing surprising with margin upside underpinning a more positive view.” He’ll be listening for quarter-to-date commentary to gauge how “prudent” the annual forecast might be
RBC (sector perform)
- The 5.1% comparable sales decline was “largely expected” after Home Depot’s results last week, according to analyst Steven Shemesh
- Pro comps gain of mid-single digits (vs. low-single digit growth in 1Q), which shows continued outperformance vs. Home Depot, but slowing DIY comp. sales probably give investors “some pause” even with likelihood of lower interest rates later this year
- “Better gross margin and less SG&A deleverage vs. consensus is also noteworthy, but revised FY’24 guidance implies that 2H EPS still needs to come down by ~8% at the mid-point,” he adds
- Still, he expects the comp miss/guidance cut to be viewed in “somewhat of a positive light” as it lowers the bar and makes for easier comparisons next year
- Shares likely to remain “range bound” until there is more clarity on the “potential duration of consumer malaise”
In markets, LOW shares are marginally lower in premarket trading in New York. What’s important to note about the few years of sideways price action is that it stems from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hiking cycle, which lifted off in early 2022. High interest rates and elevated inflation have pressured low/mid-tier consumers, forcing many to pull back on discretionary spending.
Last week, Lowe’s rival Home Depot beat quarterly expectations for earnings and revenue but issued a warning for the quarters ahead that weaker consumer trends will emerge. One major theme this earnings season has been top execs overly concerned about discretionary spending pullbacks from low-end consumers.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 08/20/2024 – 10:20
Krugman: Harris Hasn’t Proposed Price Controls and It’s Good That She Did
Krugman-the-textbook-author says price ceilings have terrible consequences. Krugman-the-columnist says they’re “reasonable.”