Retailers Lying About Crime Impact? Another Member Of Congress Caught Insider Trading, Economist Says Recession Coming, Gets Mocked - Read, Share, & Subscribe - SherlocExposes.com
During recent earnings calls, major companies have blamed disappointing bottom lines or shrinking margins in part on roving bands of organized gangs that ransack their shelves. The issue could come up again as a string of major retailers start to report second-quarter results next week.
But behind closed doors, retailers are facing other issues they can better control, including theft by their own employees, that are contributing to losses, according to two sources who advise major retailers. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak publicly about clients.
While some retailers may be seeing higher rates of shrink because of poor hiring practices and self-checkout machines, others such as Target and Foot Lockercould be using retail crime as a crutch to obscure internal challenges, experts told CNBC.
‘Shrink has been going up but sometimes it’s very difficult to unpack how much is down to theft and how much is down to internal retailer issues and stumbles,’ Neil Saunders, a retail analyst and the managing director of GlobalData, told CNBC.
‘It is a problem, we know that, it does take money off margins, we know that, but there’s too much opacity in the way in which it’s reported and it is being partly used as an excuse for generally bad performance,’” Saunders said.
THINGS TO PONDER:
This is one of the oddest stories that we’ve seen in a long time…
But in a world where just about everything seems to not be working due to incompetence, it would be a stretch to see how this could actually be a thing…
It’s important to take this article with a grain of salt, as it does have some “social justice” moments, but from an economic standpoint, a case could be made that crime does provide a diversion… and, if companies are large enough and have the resources, how come they haven’t figured it out?
Things to ponder indeed…
Regardless, you’re paying more, for less… and that’s going to get worse.
“Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California reported selling large quantities of BlackRock shares weeks before the committee he sits on announced a probe into the company.
According to disclosure forms reported by the Daily Caller, trusts linked to both his children and wife sold BlackRock stocks totaling between $32,000 and $130,000 between March and June 2023.
Khanna sits on the Congressional Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, which notified the financial giant in early August that it was under investigation over its ties to more than 60 Chinese companies identified over human rights violations or national security concerns, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Trusts linked to Rep. Khanna sold between $1,000 and $15,000 of BlackRock shares on both March 14 and March 24. Further separate amounts between $15,000 and $50,000 of BlackRock securities were sold on June 26 and June 29 by trusts linked to Rep Khanna. -Daily Caller
While BlackRock has recently come under fire for its economic ties with the Chinese government and its domestic focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing (that it doesn't pressure China to pursue), the letters released by the Select Committee focus on BlackRock's inclusion of several "red flag list" companies in its indexes, including a DoD list of Chinese companies operating on American soil which have ties to the Chinese military.
In 2022, Khanna came under fire for filing ‘comically illegible’ stock trade disclosures. In 2021, the Silicon Valley congressman reported trades totaling $52 million in securities.”
“Don’t Mind Us, We’ll Just Be Over Here Profiting From The Mess We Made…”
So… stock trading and congressional work meet again…
This keeps happening… situations where members of Congress have access to key information, they legislate favorably (for themselves) and they always seem to be on the right side of the equation.
We covered this in our article, “When Liars Conspire” (Click Here to read), where we showed how members of Congress were legislating crypto to their advantage, including cushy jobs in the private sector once they do the work to get what they want, making this possible.
Masters of the grift-a-verse!
Your tax dollars are hard at work… jumping into their pocket.
Just in case you needed a reminder of how this works, here you go:
“Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R., N.Y.) bought stock in a regional bank before a subsidiary agreed to take over Signature Bank’s deposits following its closure. Days before she bought the stock, she said she met with financial regulators to discuss the bank’s closure.”
The Federal Reserve's aggressive hikes to interest rates coupled with student-loan payments resuming in October will pave the way for a consumer-led recession, says David Rosenberg, a top economist.
After a three-year pause, the federal government is set to start charging interest on federal student-loan balances once more, and student-loan borrowers are expected to start making payments again in October. The resumption comes after the Supreme Court blocked President Joe Biden's plans to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers.
In a CNBC interview, Rosenburg said the loan repayments, combined with higher interest rates, threatened to trigger a consumer slowdown. The Fed has already lifted interest rates from almost zero to over 5% since last spring in an effort to bring inflation down to its 2% target, and traders are bracing for more hikes later this year.
‘I think it's going to start at the consumer level, and I think that we'll see the first signs of this after the student loan forgiveness program ends in the coming months. So, I think that it's going to be consumer-led,’ Rosenberg said, speaking about a prospective recession.
‘So, I think that by the third or fourth quarter, we're going to start to see more evidence but it's going to come out of the consumer side, not the corporate side," Rosenberg said, adding that the downturn would be "more severe than people think into 2024.’"
THINGS TO PONDER:
Burying your head in the sand won’t axctually solve the problem…
You just won’t see death coming…
The US (and the world) are teetring on the the brink of an economic implosion… and it’s OK to say that.
Because we can also solve the problem, if we’re willing to admit that it exists.
It’s sad that a guy like David Rosenberg calls out the obvious, and gets this in return:
The veteran economist has long been bearish about the US economy and stock market, despite promising data indicating healthy job numbers, growing GDP, and a sizzling tech-fueled rally. It's a view he's faced backlash over, with Rosenberg revealing he's been mocked and threatened because of his gloomy forecasts.
That “promising data” still can’t explain record credit card debt, raiding 401Ks, or people not being able to afford to live…
Guess it pays just not to say it?
The problem with that is, it eventually catches up with you…
And by then, it’s too late. You’re going to have to get into the fight, deal with the grifters, and take control of your life back.
Brace For Impact.
Stop waiting to take the next step in growing your own food supply. The team at FFA is making it easy (and cheaper!) to get started.
Things aren’t going to end well if you don’t take action.
But, here’s what’s different this time… multiple people are saying that exact same thing from a number of different angles, and in different places.
One of the things we often say is to watch what successful people do, & do what they do, AND then watch what unsuccessful people do, and don’t do what they do…
Most of them are already out of the line of fire for social unrest or economic collapse…
When was the last time you checked on your “go-to’s”:
*Your go-to investment?
*Your go-to safety net?
*Your go-to emergency plan?
If it’s been a while, here’s some bad news: They probably might not work anymore.
That means you’re behind in planning for rough times.
You should care.
What should I do?
Take a moment… right now if you can… to take inventory of what you’re seeing in this newsletter each day.
Have you ever seen a time quite like this?
Ok good, you’re paying attention. That’s the point.
If you’re not paying attention and trapped in the hustle and bustle of a busy world (with a ton of useless stuff, by the way), this stuff will come up on you like a thief in the night.
You need to take the time to prepare as best you can for a time when good supplies, strong communities, and strong connections are the difference between surviving and thriving or being in bad shape.
GET MOVING ASAP.
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