Author: Zero Hedge

Cash-strapped Cuba was forced to take its largest thermoelectric power plant offline due to a multi-day blaze at a fuel depot in the northern part of the country. 

Bloomberg reported the Ministry of Energy and Mines said the 200 MW Antonio Guiteras thermo plant was disconnected from the grid because of a water shortage. A local media outlet said the fire at the nearby Matanzas industrial storage complex had used up the water delivery to the power plant as firefighters battled the blaze, affecting four of the facility’s eight storage tanks. 

Authored by Patricia Tolson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

As the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol continues its effort to prove allegations of insurrection against former President Donald Trump and his supporters, Capitol Police and House Democrats continue to block all efforts to force the release of all surveillance video footage and emails, which could possibly exonerate those being accused of wrongdoing. Now, Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Texas) is citing a United States Code that could legally force the release

Authored by Kalev Leetaru via RealClear Politics (emphasis ours),

Last week, Facebook and its fact-checking partners began applying a warning label to some posts claiming that the American economy had entered a recession, deeming them false and warning that further such posts would result in sanctions. The ensuing backlash received widespread media attention, but the reality is more complex, reflecting the arcane nuances and inconsistency of the fact-checking enterprise.

As with most fact-checking controversies, the story that first emerged was both simple and Orwellian: Anyone who dared admit that

Crude prices were marginally lower today after early gains were erased on indications that Russian crude shipments via the southern leg of a major pipeline to Europe may resume in a few days after being suspended.

“Energy traders faded the rally that stemmed from the halting of oil shipments because it wasn’t triggered by an escalation from the Russians,” said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp.

“Europe is going to figure out how to allow the payments that were behind that disruption,” he added.

Also weighing on trading is the

Higher than expected labor costs and the corresponding tumble in productivity prompted  combination of recession fears and inflation anxiety with the market pricing in more tightening in the short-term and then more easing after the recession hits…

Source: Bloomberg

Notably the Q1 rate-cut expectations are fading, notably almost back to zero probability of the cut…

Source: Bloomberg

Stocks did not like that and long-duration Nasdaq stocks sank notably with Small Caps worst on the day. The Dow was the least ugly horse

Treasuries were all sold today, reversing Monday’s gains with both

Authored by Wes Craik via BitcoinMagazine.com,

CBDCs are a form of social control, while Bitcoin represents hope for a more equitable human future based on the universal constant of 21 million…

Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) will soon be operational in various countries and it’s important to note that they’re a form of money with intrinsic programmability. Rules can and will be set as to how these central bank liabilities can be spent. Over time, CBDCs are the elimination of cash and thus, private exchange. They are also the most

Update(1516ET): Earlier Tuesday a large explosion at Russia’s Saki air base deep within Crimea immediately set off speculation that Ukraine’s military could have just launched its boldest attack yet of the six-month long war. Russia’s defense ministry quickly tried to down play the incident, which it said resulted in a handful of injuries. The suggestion from the Kremlin was that it was an accidental ignition of munitions being stored on base, but Ukrainian government sources are meanwhile busy leaking that it was the result of its long-range rockets

The meme stock euphoria that characterized the past week of trading and which sent names like BBBY, GME and AMC soaring…

… is conspicuously absent today, with Goldman’s meme stock basket tumbling as much as 6% and last down 4.1% on pace to end a six-day gain …

… if still up solidly on the month.

So having sparked a major short-squeeze storm – and generated substantial gains in a very short period of time – are retail investors now rushing to get the hell out of Dodge? It may come

After China’s PLA military extended its drills encircling and threatening Taiwan, which are now reaching a full week in duration following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s provocative visit to the island, she blasted Chinese President Xi Jinping in a Tuesday MSNBC “Morning Joe” interview. 

Pelosi was asked about Xi’s reaction to her being the highest American official to visit the self-ruled island in 25 years, to which she answered by saying xi is behaving like a “scared bully” given he’s in a “fragile crisis” in the wake of her trip. 

In the aftermath of the recent plunge in gas prices, which has pulled the national average price to just above $4.00, two months after hitting an all time high north of $5.00, traders have been curious to see how retail spending will be impacted by this welcome development. And while the official data will be published next Wednesday, today we got an early glimpse thanks to the latest BofA card spending data which measures aggregated BofA credit and debit card data, and which was up 5.3%