Ripped From The Headlines, January 19, 2023
Treasury "Taps" Retirement funds, T-Mobile 37M Person Breach, Discover Card Predicts Mega-Defaults - Read, Share, & Subscribe - SherlocExposes.com
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"The Treasury Department is beginning the use of special measures to avoid a US payments default after the federal debt limit was reached Thursday.
The department is altering investments in two government-run funds for retirees, in a move that will give the Treasury scope to keep making federal payments while it’s unable to boost the overall level of debt.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed congressional leaders of both parties of the step in a letter on Thursday. She had already notified them of the plan last week, when she flagged that the debt limit would be hit Jan. 19.
Yellen reiterated that the period of time that the extraordinary measures will avoid the government running out of cash is 'subject to considerable uncertainty,' and urged Congress to act promptly to boost the debt limit.
It’s far from the first time the Treasury has resorted to these moves: Since 1985, the agency has used such measures more than a dozen times."
"T-Mobile said hackers accessed data, including birth dates and billing addresses, for about 37 million of its customers, the second major security breach at the wireless company.
The company said in a regulatory filing Thursday that it discovered the intrusion on Jan. 5 and was working with law-enforcement officials and cybersecurity consultants. T-Mobile said it believes the hackers had access to its data since Nov. 25 but that it has since been able to stop the malicious activity.
'Our systems and policies prevented the most sensitive types of customer information from being accessed, and as a result, based on our investigation to date, customer accounts and finances were not put at risk directly by this event,' T-Mobile said in the filing. The company also noted that it doesn’t have any evidence of a breach of its systems or network.
Though the company identified 37 million current postpaid and prepaid customer accounts whose data were accessed, it noted that 'many of these accounts did not include the full data set.'”
"Some of the smaller credit-card companies can no longer avoid the reality that the US consumer has finally cracked and a wave of defaults is coming.
Presenting Exhibit A: Discover Financial Services (DFS), a credit card issuer which traditionally targets to low to middle-income households, and which yesterday reported earnings that were so scary, Wall Street has uniformly dubbed them 'shocking.' But while the bulk of the company's historical results were actually not all that bad, it was its forecast that was a stunner: in a presentation on its website, DFS forecast that its charge-offs would climb as high as 3.9% this year (it gave a range of 3.50% to 3.90%) which is more than double the 1.82% net charge off rate it booked for all of 2022 and was about 100bps higher than the 2.8% consensus estimate.
Cutting to the chase, this is what the company's historical and projected charge-offs look like:
And since this is a net number, the gross number will likely hit 5% or more, a level not seen outside of painful recessions.
As Bloomberg explains, credit cards typically reach their peak loss rates about 18 months after origination. That means that Discover is expecting losses to tick up this year on accounts it started in 2021, which was a much bigger year for credit-card growth than 2020, when the pandemic forced the company to curtail new business. Starting last year, Discover began gradually tightening underwriting standards by offering smaller lines of credit to new customers, although the combination of a recession plus tapped-out consumers will ensure a surge in charge-offs for that and any one vintage.
Wall Street was predictably unhappy with this doubling in the company's charge-off forecast."
Turbulent Thursday, Ripped From The Headlines. Things To Ponder:
“Let Me Borrow A Few Dollars Real Quick…”
Ever heard that going to a store in the hood?
If not, it happens all the time…
And, of course, you’re never getting it back…
That sounds like what the US Treasury is doing with the debt ceiling right now, doesn’t it?
Just so we’re clear:
THE TREASURY IS SCREWING WITH TWO GOVERNMENT FUNDS FOR RETIREES.
“For the greater good…”
“Just for a little while…”
Then, there’s this part:
“It’s far from the first time the Treasury has resorted to these moves: Since 1985, the agency has used such measures more than a dozen times."
WOW.
“Your Data Is Safe… With The Largest Nationwide Network!”
T-Mobile says some BS like that…
Except, it isn’t safe…
Apparently, ever.
Then there’s this part:
T-Mobile said it believes the hackers had access to its data since Nov. 25 but that it has since been able to stop the malicious activity.
WHAT?!?!
It looks like the patients are running the asylum…
Yikes…
“Discover… Discovers Freight Train’s Coming, Tells The World… Film At 11…”
How about Discover huh?
They didn’t hesitate to say the quiet part out loud…
See, people are having to borrow to live…
That’s not good…
And it can only last for so long…
Before people can’t pay…
Guess what happens then?
They stop paying!
Get used to seeing LOTS of defaults.
What Does This Mean?
You’re being bombarded with things, including lies like this one (make sure to read the comments) that are distracting you from what’s actually happening.
-The US functioning in any normal, common sense way, seems to be impossible for public or private sectors;
-The economy is upside down, including $80 trillion “missing” off of balance sheets, and US infrastructure is falling apart;
-Public servants who are paid to represent you are grifting EVERYTHING.
NONE of this is good for you.
Why Should I Care?
If you allow this to continue, you are complicit in your own demise. And it’s not just you that’s going to suffer.
These people are also working to erase your past and kill your future.
If you don’t get moving now, your future will look like this.
On second thought, it already kind of looks like that.
You should care.
What should I do?
Be a beacon… sound the alarm.
Time is short…
Share this newsletter… Heck, take from it and do your own. We give you permission…
Take the time to learn about Parallel Economies, and find alternatives to the things you use today… food, money, and transportation.
It sounds like doom & gloom… But, it’s not a bad practice in a high-tech world to have practical skills and methods… Just in case.
GET MOVING ASAP.
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