Leftists love to trot out Christine Lagarde as the pontificating elite to defend their multinational interests.  Recently the former IMF leader was elected to take control of the European Central Bank.   As a direct result, Ms. Lagarde is now taking an adverse position toward a strong U.S. economy and decrying the ‘America-First’ policies of President Trump that have removed the tentacles of global financial control.
If you follow trade, finance and the interests of the multinationals, this is actually quite funny.  In this first brief interview segment Ms. Lagarde, has the elitist audacity to warn President Trump that lowering U.S. interest rates defeats the agenda of the EU.  She doesn’t put it in those terms, but watch and we’ll explain:

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Notice how Lagarde magnanimously claims that lowering interest rates when the U.S. economy is strong, and the U.S. unemployment rate is at historic lows, could lead to rising prices inside the U.S.  Too damned funny; how very kind of the EU to be worried about U.S. consumers… (pro tip: they ain’t).
What she’s really worried about is the dynamic that President Trump has created that is crushing the globalists. Let’s expand.
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Everything is happening in a very predictable sequence. Few understand the MAGAnomic reset and what was predicted to happen in the space between disconnecting a Wall Street economic engine (globalism and multinationals) and restarting a Main Street economic engine (nationalism/America-First).  In 2016 CTH explained where we would be today. With current Wall Street events, perhaps it is worthwhile remembering the CTH forecast.

Originally outlined far more than a year ago. Reposted by request.

President Trump’s MAGAnomic trade and foreign policy agenda is jaw-dropping in scale, scope and consequence. There are multiple simultaneous aspects to each policy objective; however, many have been visible for a long time – some even before the election victory in November ’16.
If we get too far in the weeds the larger picture is lost. CTH objective is to continue pointing focus toward the larger horizon, and then at specific inflection points to dive into the topic and explain how each moment is connected to the larger strategy.

Today we repost an earlier dive into how MAGAnomic policy interacts with multinational Wall Street, the stock market, the U.S. financial system and perhaps your personal financial value. Again, reference and source material is included at the end of the outline.
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It was virtually guaranteed to happen, the only unknown was the actual timing of when they would execute their self-interested plan.  Remember, there are trillions at stake and the multinationals will not give up their power, influence and control over the U.S. economy.

The media are reporting on a “group” of lobbyists “uniting” in a common strategy to oppose President Trump, ahead of the mid-terms, based on Chinese tariffs.  Those who have followed this “group”, also known as “the big club”, for decades know full well the lobbyists are financed through Wall Street multinational corporations and foreign money (hint: China).  The foreign funding is passed through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, President Tom Donohue, who then organizes the lobbying strategy to target politicians.
President Trump has made it a pillar of his presidency to reset the global trade relationships and stop the trade imbalance that previously caused the destruction of the U.S. manufacturing base and the collapse of the middle-class.  The America-First trade initiatives are adverse to the interests of the multinationals (globalists) and the control mechanisms within the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Money and economic control is the real battle-space within the American political system. This latest move is only the beginning of that will follow in the next 56 days, as they to try and eliminate Trump by targeting republicans. The Big Club is the financial mechanism that constructed the UniParty in Washington DC.
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Today U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue announced another campaign to protect and defend his Wall Street contributors against initiatives that benefit Main Street U.S.A. This is not the first time, and unfortunately it will likely not be the last time.
For a great historic reference consider THIS ARTICLE from 2014; when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced their direct attack against the Tea Party backed candidates that threatened to remove the massive lobbying power of Tom Donohue’s corrupt officials. That 2014 reference point has two parts. I strongly urge anyone who would defend the U.S. CoC approach to read both.

The overwhelming majority of economic punditry and opinion come from salespeople on the purchased payroll, direct and indirect, of the chamber. It is one of the most, check that, it is the most corrupt and abusive enterprise in the history of our nation. They are pulling out a very familiar playbook.

(Reuters) – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday denounced President Donald Trump’s handling of a global trade dispute, issuing a report that argued the tariffs imposed by Washington and retaliation by its partners would boomerang badly on the American economy.

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There are Trillions At Stake.   There is no upper limit to what congress is willing to do to stop President Trump from turning off the lobbyist funding.  Without influence in DC there can be no affluence in DC.  That’s why McConnell cancelled the recess.

If the president continues to remain focused exclusively on what is in the U.S. best interests, he must be stopped.  Politicians in DC cannot just sit-by and allow the U.S. economy to be based on the interests of Americans; it would mean the destruction of years of central planning by DC Lobbyists, multinational banks, Wall Street and multinational corporations.

WASHINGTON DC – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that he will not bring up a freestanding bill to push back on President Trump’s trade agenda, but that GOP senators might be able to add it as an amendment to other legislation.

Support among Republicans has grown for legislation backed by Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) that would give Congress power to authorize or reject any new tariffs imposed because of national security concerns.

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U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and the trade ministers from Canada and Mexico are not in Washington DC this weekend; however the trade staff from all three nations stayed in DC working to finalize agreement on NAFTA with increased urgency.

The nation pushing hardest to complete an agreement quickly is Mexico.  The Mexican national election is July 1st and the soft-Marxist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AM LO) has increased his lead.  AM LO is now 22 points ahead of his next closest competitor. Lopez Obrador, a self-described Hugo Chavez ideologue, is guaranteed to win – and Mexico will become Venezuela 2.0 within five years.

The looming Mexican election, and the radical political departure therein, means if a deal is not made soon, there will be no deal.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will likely nationalize large segments of the Mexican economy for more progressive wealth distribution…. Enter, quickly, and with a transparency in their desperation, the multinational corporations who have already invested hundreds of billions into Mexican ports, transportation infrastructure, raw material procurement contracts, manufacturing/processing and assembly facilities, and all around exploitation of NAFTA as a tariff-free, profit-driven, back-door to the U.S market…

Yes, as oft repeated, there are trillions at stake.

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In 2008 the American taxpayer was a “client without a voice” when Citi-Group demanded a financial bailout. TARP followed as the largest bailout in history, and Citibank got the biggest bailout of all:

The final report from the Congressional Oversight Panel found that between TARP, the FDIC, and the Federal Reserve, Citigroup received the most federal funding during the financial crisis for a total of $476.2 billion in cash and guarantees. (link)

Fast forward ten years and now Citibank announces their intent to restrict business enterprise engaged in the Second Amendment, firearm sales. The motive is transparent; leadership within Citi-group are opponents to gun ownership and they have now made a decision to use their financial business as a weapon to enforce their political beliefs:

[…]  Today, our CEO announced Citi is instituting a new U.S. Commercial Firearms Policy.  […]  Under this new policy, we will require new retail sector clients or partners to adhere to these best practices: (1) they don’t sell firearms to someone who hasn’t passed a background check, (2) they restrict the sale of firearms for individuals under 21 years of age, and (3) they don’t sell bump stocks or high-capacity magazines. This policy will apply across the firm, including to small business, commercial and institutional clients, as well as credit card partners, whether co-brand or private label. (more)

It is important to keep in mind that all three issues outlined by Citibank are not unlawful; these are social policies around firearm sales that Citibank is initiating on their own. If you follow the underlying policy to a reasonable outcome, the same approach could be taken toward barring auto dealers (who use Citi-financial products) from selling gasoline powered automobiles, because the people running Citibank are environmentalists.

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The Senate voted 67-31 to end debate on a reform bill to modify the Dodd Frank banking bill.  While overall the approach is needed and will likely find White House support, the Senate Bill -as constructed- doesn’t do enough to modify the control held by massive multinational financial institutions, who hold lobbying power over congress.  Unfortunately, the corruptocrat leadership in the Senate will not allow the house to modify the bill as needed.

The current reform bill sets the tiered definition for lowered regulation at $250 billion in assets and there are some domestic banking beneficiaries.  However, it doesn’t break up the investment division from influence over the commercial banking.  The argument against breaking up the system is that if divisional separation is required – the banks best interests would naturally put the investment division ahead of commercial lending and the liquid capital within the overall economy would shrink.

The Trump/Mnuchin approach toward a secondary deregulated but financially sound banking system focused on commercial lending and was constructed around Community Banks and Credit Unions with far less regulatory and compliance hurdles.

WASHINGTON – All Republicans and more than a dozen Democrats voted to move the bill toward a vote on final passage, which is scheduled for Wednesday evening.

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Earlier today President Trump hosted a White House discussion meeting to outline an infrastructure initiative with state and local leaders.  The initiative is part of a $1.5 trillion proposal to join with federal, state, local and private investment toward rebuilding American critical infrastructure, roads and bridges.

[Via White House] BUILDING AMERICA’S INFRASTRUCTURE: Today, President Donald J. Trump released his legislative goals to rebuild our Nation’s crumbling infrastructure. The six principles include:

• $200 billion in Federal funds to spur at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investments with partners at the State, local, Tribal, and private level.
• New investments will be made in rural America, which has been left behind for too long.
• Decision making authority will be returned to State and local governments.
• Regulatory barriers that needlessly get in the way of infrastructure projects will be removed.
• Permitting for infrastructure projects will be streamlined and shortened.
• America’s workforce will be supported and strengthened.

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Previously, the Department of Justice, White House Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), agreed with President Trump’s authority to appoint an ‘acting director’.  The legal counsel within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) also agreed that President Trump was well within his authority to appoint Mick Mulvaney.   However, that didn’t stop bureau employee Leandra English from filing a personal lawsuit requesting an injunction against President Trump trying to stop Director Mulvaney and install herself as director.
Federal judge Tim Kelly listened to the argument of CFPB employee Ms. English yesterday.   Judge Kelly did not make an immediate ruling.  Instead, the DOJ filed a response to the pleading (read here), and Judge Kelly scheduled a hearing for 4:00pm today.

BREAKING: Federal Judge Tim Kelly Rules In Favor Of Trump Administration:

WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Tuesday handed a win to the Trump administration in the latest fight over the scope of President Donald Trump’s authority, denying a request for an emergency order to block Trump from appointing Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, as the acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

US District Judge Timothy Kelly, announcing his decision from the bench on Tuesday afternoon, said that Leandra English — the CFPB official suing Trump and Mulvaney and claiming to be the rightful acting director — had failed to show that she was likely to succeed in her lawsuit at this stage of the case. (read more)

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