Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Bad news for President Trump's tax law. Mnuchin must feel betrayed. Wall Street is calling him out.

May 22, 2018
By Josh Delk

Someone needs to complete and update this graph.

Leading investment banking group Goldman Sachs (click here) says the fiscal outlook for the U.S. "is not good," with new economic forecasts predicting massive increases to the federal deficit. 

"An expanding deficit and debt level is likely to put upward pressure on interest rates, expanding the deficit further," wrote the firm's chief economist, Jan Hatzius, on Sunday, according to CNBC.

The economist notes that the ballooning deficit could spike interest rates, which would expand the deficit, and he predicted lawmakers, as a result, "might hesitate" in approving a high-dollar stimulus package to help with a future economic recession....

Something else about Goldman-Sachs that may be somewhat obscure from view; it started a consumer credit arm called "Marcus." Interestingly, it caters to the less optimal borrowers.

Some in the financial sector are still shaking their heads in disillusion since trading and investment banking has been the 'gig' at Goldman. But, in taking a good look at their target consumer, it is more or less aligned with JP Morgan, except, Goldman is providing a platform for CREDIT SCORES traditionally less attractive.

I have to wonder if Goldman is developing a heart for the consumers the 2008 global financial collapse left behind. Is this financial company experiencing remorse or more like hope for revitalizing an economy for the underserved? I welcome financial institutions that demonstrate a conscience to bringing those left behind up to speed.

Maybe Henry Paulson finally figured out what the USA Treasury is really about.

September 26, 2017
By Frank Chaparro

...Its new lending platform, (click here) Marcus, which targets prime borrowers with credit scores above 660 is issuing out loans at a fast clip, according to a new report by CB Insights.

Marcus, launched in October 2016, is the firm's first consumer lending platform. It offers no-fee personal loans of up to $30,000 for two- to six-year periods....

...In the presentation, delivered at the Barclays Financial Services Conference earlier in September, the firm outlined how it will "prudently grow" its lending business. Marcus is part of a broader strategy shift by the investment bank, which is best known for trading and investment banking.

It has been expanding its retail footprint, launching GSBank.com in April 2016. GSBank.com offers customers a 1.20% interest rate on their deposits, which can be as low as $1, as well as 12 month- and 5 year-term CDs. The retail platform has $15 billion in deposits, according to the presentation.

ZTE is a Chinese corporation.

This website is listed under ZTEUSA. (click here)

They may or may not have unique products to the market, but, the stocks are listed as a Chinese company.

ZTE (click here)

China
(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization of issuer)

It's executive offices are registered as New York City.

The Equitable Building (click here) is located on 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10005 at the corner of Pine Street and Broadway. 

The registered website is:

http://wwwen.zte.com.cn/en/about/investor_relations/.

Page 21 under the registration: 

ZTE Corporation, a company organized under the laws of China. The Registration Statement is being filed for the purpose of registering Five Million (5,000,000) ADSs under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Securities Act ”).

It is a multinational corporation. There is more to ZTE than meets the eye,

April 17, 2018

The U.S. government (click here) said Chinese telecommunications-gear maker ZTE (ZTCOY, -15.37%) violated the terms of a sanctions settlement and imposed a seven-year ban on purchases of crucial American technology needed to keep it competitive.

The Commerce Department determined ZTE, which was previously fined for shipping telecommunication equipment to Iran and North Korea, subsequently paid full bonuses to employees who engaged in the illegal conduct, failed to issue letters of reprimand and lied about the practices to U.S. authorities, the department said.

“Instead of reprimanding ZTE staff and senior management, ZTE rewarded them,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in the statement. “This egregious behavior cannot be ignored.”....

And, of course, the US government got a cut of the action. It would seem as though ZTE has very high hopes. (click here)

ZTE USA, headquartered in Richardson, Texas, is a subsidiary of ZTE Corporation, a global provider of mobile devices, telecommunication systems, and enterprise solutions. Operating since 1998, ZTE USA is dedicated to making cost-efficient, quality communication technology accessible to all. ZTE is ranked by independent industry analysts as the fourth-largest supplier of mobile devices in the U.S. overall, and second-largest supplier of prepaid devices. 


March 7, 2017

HONG KONG — As one of China’s (click here) few truly international technology companies, ZTE is often held up by Beijing as part of a new generation of firms that is able to compete beyond Chinese borders.

On Tuesday, the United States government made an example of ZTE in a different way.

As part of a settlement for breaking sanctions and selling electronics to Iran and North Korea, ZTE agreed to plead guilty and pay $1.19 billion in fines, the United States Department of Commerce said in an announcement. The penalty is the largest criminal fine in a United States sanctions case.

The action is the latest in a series of skirmishes between the United States and China over technology policy. It also offered a chance for President Trump’s young administration to make a statement about the seriousness of United States sanctions. In addition to ZTE, the Commerce Department is also investigating the company’s larger Chinese rival, Huawei, for violating United States sanctions....


Store Locator: (click here)

Amazing. It would seem as though there is a ZTE store in every neighborhood in the country. Why aren't these phones selling in China?

How far did the Iranians have to walk to find a phone store, West Africa?

This is the problem with countries that covet the USA for it's corporate profitability. This is the problem with Goldman Sachs coveting the USA for it's profitability. Enough!

The rest of the world needs to work on it's GHG emissions and securing their OWN middle class and phone companies.

It is called quality of life and every person in every country should be working to achieve it. This is a shame. It is really a shame. Wall Street needs to hang it's head in shame to look for cheap labor while the people live in substandard conditions.

I am kind of curious as to the design and technology of the phones and how much they may match USA technology produced by cheap Chinese labor? There probably aren't any patents filed to protect the rights of the ZTE phones.
I was impressed by the news conference with President Moon Jae-in and President Trump. We have a great alliance and it appears to be unchallenged. I appreciated President Trump giving every courtesy to President Moon Jae-in. That was a very friendly and thoughtful expression of our alliance.

It was more than obvious, there was a 2nd meeting with China that President Trump believed changed the tone by North Korea. That is both curious and worrisome. I think it is up to Kim Jong Un to validate or dismiss.

This news conference was very upbeat. It is very hopeful. President Moon Jae-in appears confident about his relationship with Kim Jong Un.

I look forward to more movement in reuniting the North and South, albeit an extended timeline.

May 22, 2018

US President Donald Trump (click here) has said there is a "substantial chance" a historic summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-un next month may be delayed.
He was speaking as he received South Korea's President Moon Jae-in at the White House to discuss the summit.
Mr Moon is "likely tell President Trump what to expect and what not to expect from Kim", South Korean media report.

Last week the North said it might cancel if the US insisted on it giving up nuclear weapons unilaterally....

I don't think the Secretary of State is making in roads.

I know Trump wants to appear to be a tough guy, but, his methods are really not working. Iran is finished with negotiations. They aren't really interested in promoting more talks. So, the unilateral sanctions is simply putting the USA outside the sphere of influence.

The same seems true in regard to North Korea. Granted Russia and China came to the UN Security Council to join a singular voice to Kim Jung Un. That was an accomplishment and provided greater potential to promote peace in the Korean region.

President Moon Jae-in realized North Korea was making a new assessment of it's future considering the UN Security Council was united in demanding peace. In that was the real opportunity to end the old tensions and invited the North Korean athletes to participate in the Olympics as South Korean guests. That genuine expression of collective interest was welcome and a really great movement toward peace was taken seriously by the North.

I think it was wrong for the Trump administration to classify the talks with North Korea as a model to the initiative with Libya. Libya is not a good model. Libya ended in tragedy and not a success. It is the past policies of The West that produce concern by Kim Jung Un. He does not want a Libya like outcome for his people.

The initiative to peace for the Korean Peninsula and the region should not be squandered. I believe the UN Security Council did the right thing. The UN Security Council can ask President Moon Jae-in to speak and provide insight to the best direction for continued movement toward peace for the Korean people. He obviously has the trust of Kim Jung Un.

Achieving the peace in the two Koreas can include a safe path for the North Korean people as well as their current leader. Mistreating Kim Jong Un will not win the hearts of the North Korean people.

I believe the path forward for North and South Korea lies in the hands of their leaders and the common ground they stand on. This effort to end decades of very hostile tensions must not fail. The people of the Koreas have a right to their dream to end hatred and nurture improvements to potentially uniting families.

I believe the Koreas' peace will last. As trust builds and both Koreas find economic health by engaging each other, the potential to removing any nuclear threat from the region has great promise. I do believe North Korea will disarm, but, it won't happen through threats, but, trust.

I also believe the USA's nuclear capacity in the region is a real threat that will cause hesitation to any peace movement. The USA is an ally to South Korea, but, with real peace there won't be a need to bring nuclear weapons into the region. That is not a position of a whim, it is a position of peace with confidence in the future.

Libya never was never so stable as the Korean potential post nuclear weapon removal. One looks to Ukraine and it's peril after relinquishing of nuclear weapons. This is the reality the leaders of North Korea, Pakistan and Iran have as examples of very poor policy that destroyed countries and not stabilized them through peace.

I think the removal of any nuclear potential in the region where North Korea and South Korea seek peace and reunification is a reasonable demand. That would mean as North Korea is denuclearized, China, Russia and the USA have to provide assurances there will be no nuclear potential into the Korean peninsula.

That paradigm will be new to all countries involved, but, it would be a chance to test the strength of the hope for the peace process. In the case of South Korea, there has to be a corresponding participation of Japan. The USA cannot just park it's nuclear missiles offshore of Japan or other Pacific islands. It is unreasonable to ask a country to denuclearize while the five permanent members of the UN are static in the region. That paradigm encourages destabilization of governments.

I do not anticipate easy progress to these talks, but, they have to be conducted and resolves met to the satisfaction of all. It is hideous to think peace in this world is nothing more than ideology. I sincerely believe most if not all leaders in the world want a denuclearized world for their children. North Korea is the test.

There is a way forward and I trust President Moon Jae-in to make it so.

May 22, 2018

General Ismail Kowsari, (click here) Deputy Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Tharallah base, seen on Al-Alam TV on September 27, 2017. 


Iran has responded to US warnings of tighter sanctions by threatening to “punch Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the mouth."

Mr Pompeo (click here) said Washington would impose new penalties if Tehran did not agree to make sweeping changes, including dropping its nuclear programme and pulling out of the Syrian civil war.
The threat comes two weeks after Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal with Iran despite appeals from other signatories including Britain, France and Germany.
The White House has warned it is ready to impose "the strongest sanctions in history", setting Washington and Tehran further on a course of confrontation.

But Ismail Kowsari, the deputy commander of the Sarollah Revolutionary Guards base in Tehran, has poured scorn on the latest sanctions threat.
He said: ”The people of Iran should stand united in the face of this and they will deliver a strong punch to the mouth of the American Secretary of State and anyone who backs them.
"Who are you and America to tell us to limit the range of ballistic missiles?
"History has shown that with the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, America is the top criminal with regard to missiles.”...

Being a woman is not a disability, but, returning to her sport, Sarena Williams should take her doctors advice.

Serena Williams experienced a pulmonary blood clot after giving birth. It happens sometimes. The practice in treating blood clots is usually an anticoagulant (blood thinner) is administered for the rest of a person's life. It really is up to Serena's physicians to inform authorities to her fitness to return to the sport she loves. If her doctors are in agreement about her health, she should not be handicapped by a length of time for her return.

Once her wellness and fitness is determined there can be an opinion included in any appeal as to the rigors of returning to her previous rank and tournament routine as opposed to repeated trials to achieve the same goal.

In recent tournaments, she had varied results. The WTA may want to review those tournaments to decide if the rigors of returning are unfairly leveraged. Her health, well being and continued success should be at the core of any decision of the WTA.


21 May 2018

...The WTA is considering a rule change (click here) to add protected seedings for highly ranked players returning from maternity leave but the earliest that could take effect is next year.

Several of Williams’ biggest rivals believe she deserves a seeding. “I would like to see that [rule] change,” Maria Sharapova said at the Italian Open last week. “It’s such an incredible effort for a woman to come back from physically, emotionally. ... There’s just another whole dimension to the travel, to the experiences, to the emotions to the physicality of every single day.”

Williams returned to the tour briefly in March after a 14-month absence. She was not seeded at tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, and compiled two wins and two losses.

Williams has recounted the difficulties she faced in childbirth, and a pulmonary embolism made it hard for her to breathe shortly after her daughter was born. But after a period of training, coach Patrick Mouratoglou last week told the WTA tour website that “Serena will play the French Open to win it.”...