Returning from a brief hiatus, we wanted to cover some of the more significant developments in recent weeks, including the latest attempts to get us to take the vaccine, PATCON 2.0, war in the Middle East, and a massive continuation of the consolidation we’ve seen in the financial markets. More of the same, perhaps, but the accelerator pedal seems to have gotten pushed down a bit harder. Enjoy the ride.

PART I:

PART II:

— References —

• Marathon Man, Schlesinger (1976)
• The Futures: The Rise of the Speculator and the Origins of the World’s Biggest Markets, Lambert (2012)
• Scale Economies Provide Advantages to Large Dairy Farms, MacDonald (2020) – https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2020/august/scale-economies-provide-advantages-to-large-dairy-farms/
• Canadian Police Violently Raid Family Gathering of Six on NYE After Neighbor Reports Coronavirus Violation (Video), Mek (2021) – https://rairfoundation.com/canadian-police-violently-raid-family-gathering-of-six-on-nye-after-neighbor-reports-coronavirus-violation-video/
• The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business, Myth of the 20th Century (2021) – https://myth20c.wordpress.com/2021/05/14/the-visible-hand-the-managerial-revolution-in-american-business/
• American Pravda: “The Truth” and “The Whole Truth” About the Origins of Covid-19, Unz (2021) – https://www.unz.com/runz/american-pravda-the-truth-and-the-whole-truth-on-the-origins-of-covid-19/
• Israel Did 9/11, BannedHipster (2021) – https://bannedhipster.home.blog/2021/06/02/israel-did-9-11/
• A Lazy Return, ZMan (2021) – https://thezman.com/wordpress/?p=23996
• Large Iranian navy ship sinks after catching fire, Motamedi (2021) – https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/2/large-iranian-navy-ship-sinks-after-catching-fire
• Indonesia releases seized Iranian tanker after four months, Aljazeera (2021) – https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/29/indonesia-releases-seized-iranian-tanker-after-four-months
• Israel’s Netanyahu lashes out as end of his era draws near, Federman (2021) – https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israel-s-netanyahu-lashes-out-as-end-of-his-era-draws-near/ar-AAKUPam
• Jewish community confronts rising antisemitism fueled by Gaza conflict, ABC News (2021) – https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/jewish-community-confronts-rising-antisemitism-fueled-by-gaza-conflict/ar-AAKU112
• Fed’s Reverse Repos Hit $503 Billion. Liquidity Drain Undoing over 4 Months of QE, Richter (2021) – https://wolfstreet.com/2021/06/09/feds-reverse-repos-hit-503-billion-liquidity-drain-undoing-over-4-months-of-qe/
• Built-to-Rent Suburbs Are Poised to Spread Across the U.S., Parker (2021) – https://www.wsj.com/articles/built-to-rent-suburbs-are-poised-to-spread-across-the-u-s-11623075610