GERMANY - A new study says German businesses face a €3 billion no-deal Brexit price-tag in customs fees – and a further €200 million each year to finance additional customs formalities. That forecast by Germany’s chamber of industry and trade (DIHK) follows another bleak study by the Bruegel Institute in Brussels. It suggests the UK’s departure will also add €4.2 billion to Germany’s EU budget bill by 2020 – Berlin’s share of the €16.5 billion hole left by London’s departure. Another hole could be ripped in the EU’s finances, and Germany’s budget, if Britain walks away without paying in funds it owes in the current budget round. “The EU would, rightly, view it as a hostile act if the UK didn’t fulfill its financial obligations,” wrote Mr Guntram Wolff, head of Bruegel, in a report before a Brexit hearing in the German parliament on Monday.

USA - In a surprisingly candid admission, two former Federal Reserve chairs have stated that the Federal Reserve alone is responsible for creating all recessions in the United States. First, former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke said that “Expansions don’t die of old age. They get murdered.” To clarify this statement, former Chair Janet Yellen placed the murder weapon in the Fed’s hands: “Two things usually end them…. One is financial imbalances, and the other is the Fed.” Think that through, and you quickly realize that both of those things are the Fed. Is there anyone left standing who would not say the Fed’s quantitative easing in the past decade was the biggest cause of financial imbalances all over the world in history? Moreover, whose profligate monetary policies led to the Great Financial Crisis that gave us the Great Recession?

USA - Insect Populations Have Declined By Up To 98 Percent In Some Areas Of The World. Scientists are calling it “the insect apocalypse”, and it has extremely serious implications for the future of our planet. All over the globe, insect populations are plummeting dramatically. And since insects are at the very foundation of the global food chain, that is really bad news for all of us. In fact, one expert described what is happening to the global insect population as “hyper-alarming”. If we continue down the path that we are currently on, a bleak, apocalyptic future for our planet is all but assured.

GERMANY - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she cannot see a renegotiating of Britain's European Union withdrawal agreement and thrown out hopes of extending Article 50. Mrs Merkel told a closed session of the German parliament's foreign affairs committee she would need to co-ordinate with other EU leaders after Theresa May’s disastrous defeat in the House of Commons. She said: “For me it is clear that there cannot be any renegotiations.” Mrs Merkel said the idea of pushing back Brexit beyond the scheduled date of March 29 was a "fictional question", the participants said. The German Chancellor said she was open to making further clarifications to a declaration on Britain's future relations with Brussels, but it was up to London to say what it wanted after the parliamentary vote, the participants said.

GERMANY - It is up to British legislators to avoid a “hard Brexit” because the EU will not substantially renegotiate its terms, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said. An exit with no deal would hurt both the EU and UK, he said. Britain still has “a few days” before the scheduled departure date of March 29 to come up with a Brexit roadmap, the German minister told public broadcaster ZDF. The substance of the deal negotiated by Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet with the EU is “non-negotiable,” but some minor details may yet be changed, he suggested. Altmaier said it was up to British legislators, who defeated May’s proposal in a record ‘nay’ vote on Tuesday, to come up with an alternative. A “hard Brexit” would hurt both the EU and Britain, he warned. “Everyone in Europe would lose, nobody would win,” the minister stated.

SWITZERLAND - The world is facing the increased risk of political confrontations between major powers… WEF, best known for creating and facilitating its annual economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, said the breakdown of international cooperation on major issues had reached "crisis levels," and would continue to prevent international action on urgent crises this year. The WEF report, called the Global Risks Report 2019 and released with risk consultancy Marsh, surveyed around 1,000 experts and decision-makers with 90 percent saying they expected further economic confrontation between major powers. Eighty-eight percent said they expected further erosion of multilateral trading rules.

CHINA - A senior Chinese military official warned the US Navy Tuesday against any "interference" in support of Taiwan's independence, saying that Beijing would defend its claim to the island "at any cost". General Li Zuocheng, a member of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during a meeting in Beijing with Admiral John Richardson, the chief of US naval operations. China sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since they split in 1949 after a civil war won by Mao Zedong's communists. The self-ruled island has its own currency, flag and government, but is not recognised as an independent state by the UN. "If anyone wants to separate Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will defend the unity of the motherland at any cost," he told the the US Navy chief.

USA - “Get NewsGuard for your browser today. NewsGuard’s trained journalists assess news websites for credibility and transparency.” Keep in mind, from what I understand, that the people behind this project are trying to make this mandatory for all schools, libraries, universities as well as computer/mobile devices sold in the United States (and I’m assuming elsewhere). This is one of the major pillars of the end game.

USA - The result of a new, independent audit of the last years of President Obama’s term, 2015 and 2016 – show an almost criminal attempt to cover-up gross mismanagement of funds and a wealth of errors. Thetruthdivision.com reports: Here’s what Audit Report 2017-FO-0005, released Wednesday, notes: “The total amounts of errors corrected in HUD’s notes and consolidated financial statements were $516.4 billion and $3.4 billion, respectively. There were several other unresolved audit matters, which restricted our ability to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to express an opinion.” That is a lot of waste, fraud, and abuse.

USA - If this January 10th story over at NBCNews warning of a potential 'doomsday scenario' unfolding if the government shutdown drags on for weeks or months or even years with 'economic experts' claiming we're 'venturing into no-man's-land' doesn't spur one to prepare, perhaps nothing will.

USA - A couple of links over at Steve Quayle's website on Sunday caught my eye: First one about upcoming Trucker's strike scheduled for April 12, 2019 and the second one from Business Insider explaining exactly what to expect if long-haul truckers stopped, from day one, into the day two-three scenario, then as long as a week, and it isn't pretty.

UK - British lawmakers defeated Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit divorce deal by a crushing margin on Tuesday, triggering political chaos that could lead to a disorderly exit from the EU or even to a reversal of the 2016 decision to leave. After parliament voted 432-202 against her deal, the worst defeat in modern British history, opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn promptly called a vote of no confidence in May’s government, to be held at 1900 GMT on Wednesday.

USA - We continue to get more confirmation that the global economy is slowing down substantially. On Monday, it was China’s turn to surprise analysts, and the numbers that they just released are absolutely stunning. When Chinese imports and exports are both expanding, that is a clear sign that the global economy is running on all cylinders, but when both of them are contracting that is an indication that huge trouble is ahead.

GERMANY - Since arriving in Berlin as US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell has flouted diplomatic conventions and attempted to interfere in domestic politics. He has since become politically isolated in the German capital. The ambassador made it clear in just a few sentences how little he thought of the chancellor's refugee policy. "There was no plan in place," he said, "so the policy really fell apart."

GERMANY - Germany is once again part of the UN Security Council for a two-year stint. But the council's inability to put a stop to the violence in Syria and Yemen in recent years shows the need for reform is more urgent than ever. Can Berlin make a difference? The expectations are significant, and not just in Africa. Now, the Germans just have to answer the question as to what role they want to play on the world stage.