America Is Fraying at the Edges as Housing Pain, Economic Frost and Apocalyptic Sentiment Soar

Nearly four in ten Americans believe we are living in the end times, according to the Pew Research Center. Among historically Black Protestants and evangelicals, the belief climbs to 76 percent and 63 percent respectively. These numbers reflect widespread anxiety grounded in economic and social stress. Mortgage demand is collapsing. Applications fell 10.9 percent in …

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The Reserve Bank of Australia has reminded us that central banks are back in crisis due to the Iran war

via notayesmanseconomics This morning has brought some bad news for the central banking fraternity and sorority. It comes from a land down under so let us take a look. At its meeting today, the Board decided to increase the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.10 per cent. That is from the Reserve Bank of Australia …

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Bob Iger CEO of Disney is stepping down

Bob Iger CEO of Disney is stepping down tomorrow Throwback to when Elon publicly told him to go fuck himself after he tried blackmailing X with advertising This was one of the greatest moments 😂🔥 pic.twitter.com/XV6YAB5Ajo — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 17, 2026 Disney announced in early February that D’Amaro would be the company’s …

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US hits Iranian missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz with 5,000‑lb deep‑penetrator bombs in an effort to reopen the strait for international oil shipments.

The US Central Command said it had dropped 5,000-pound (2,267 kg) “deep penetrator munitions” on Iran, targeting Iranian missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz. “Hours ago, US forces successfully employed multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz,” the US military said on X. …

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Dubai expats with massive fortunes are fleeing to Switzerland as Middle East war fears intensify. Dubai real estate down 35%!

'The ultra-rich are worried. The more money they have, the more they fear losing it': Expats fleeing Dubai are heading to Switzerland to continue dodging tax bills https://t.co/Y7iqCXejPX — Daily Mail (@DailyMail) March 17, 2026 The ultra-rich are growing increasingly anxious about protecting their fortunes as war in the Middle East fuels fears of wider …

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WASH POST | Israel urges Iranians to revolt but privately believes they will be ‘slaughtered in massacre.’

Israeli officials told U.S. counterparts they hope for an uprising even though it would lead to a massacre, according to a State Department cable reviewed by The Post. Senior Israeli officials have told U.S. diplomats that Iranian protesters will “get slaughtered” if they take to the streets against their government even as Israel publicly calls …

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Trump tears into ‘weak’ official who resigned over Iran war as his allies pile on ‘crazed egomaniac’ who was about to be FIRED

Trump tears into 'weak' official who resigned over Iran war as his allies pile on 'crazed egomaniac' who was about to be FIRED https://t.co/i139w8JKdZ — Daily Mail (@DailyMail) March 17, 2026 Donald Trump said he is glad that his top counterterrorism official resigned over the war with Iran. In an extraordinary and unprecedented move for …

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Trump Sends Bizarre St. Patrick’s Day Iran War Fundraising Appeal. Email subject: “I’m feeling lucky”

Donald Trump sent a St. Patrick’s Day–themed fundraising email Monday invoking the U.S. military operation against Iran while asking supporters to join what it called a “MAGA Roster.” The message features a photo of Trump against a green background with the subject line “I’m feeling lucky!” The message thanks supporters for standing by him through …

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US Air Travel Grinds To A Standstill Amid TSA Pay Crisis, Airports Struggle To Survive

Across the United States, the Transportation Security Administration is facing a staffing crisis so severe that entire airports may soon be unable to operate normally. Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl warned that smaller regional airports could be forced to close their security checkpoints entirely if officer absences continue. This is not speculation. It is …

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China to send emergency aid to Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq.

China on Tuesday said it will provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Iran, Lebanon and two other West Asian countries hit hard by the ongoing conflict in the region. Speaking at a media briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that Beijing has decided to provide emergency humanitarian aid to Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq …

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US Pending Home Sales Rise 1.8% MoM In February, But The South Saw 2.7% MoM Increase (What I Like About The South)

by confoundedinterest17 What I like about the South. US pending home sales bounced modestly in February (up 1.8% MoM vs -0.6% MoM exp and -10.% MoM prior). Year-over-year home sales continue to decline (down 0.6% YoY). Source: Bloomberg Pending home sales in the South, the biggest home-selling region in the country, increased 2.7%. They rose …

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Former Navy officer Matt Bracken warns Americans underestimate the scale of a war with Iran. They will not surrender, IMHO. It doesn’t matter if we turn Teheran (700 miles north) into a parking lot.

Matt Bracken @Matt_Bracken48 I make these maps because I’m convinced most Americans have no concept of scale when it comes to warfare. 🧵 I point to all the folks high-fiving over a single Marine battalion landing team on its way to the conflict zone. An Amphibious Ready Group’s BLT means about 1,200 combat Marines going …

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Iran, Russia, China, and the Emerging Axis

by Martin Armstrong For years, I have warned that geopolitics moves in cycles just as markets do. The Economic Confidence Model has been projecting that the period around 2026 would become a geopolitical turning point, leading to rising confrontation toward the Panic Cycle in 2027 and ultimately the 2028 Panic Cycle year. What we are …

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Iran confirms death of Ali Larijani.

TEHRAN, March 17 (Xinhua) — Iran’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed on Tuesday that its secretary Ali Larijani has been killed, Iranian media reported. https://english.news.cn/20260318/ecbdcf40fcc74056b71dbbd905f715bf/c.html

Ukraine deploys 200 drone experts to Middle East — They can produce 2,000 interceptors per day.

Ukraine’s president said on Tuesday that his country has so far deployed more than 200 Ukrainian air defense specialists to the Middle East amid the Iran drone attacks on its Arab neighbors. Speaking in the British parliament in London, Zelenskyy added that Kyiv is capable of producing around 2,000 interceptor drones per day and could …

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How the Iran War Could Trigger a Global Credit Crunch

via Oilprice: The Iran war is disrupting the petrocapital cycle—the flow of oil revenues from Gulf producers into global financial markets—raising the risk of a global credit crunch. Ongoing attacks, the Strait of Hormuz closure, and financial center instability (e.g., Dubai) are weakening Gulf economies and limiting their ability to recycle capital into global markets. …

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Tulsi Gabbard issues statement on Iran war and Joe Kent — Her X replies are blowing up. Trump — I’m not afraid of boots on the ground.

DNI Tulsi Gabbard @DNIGabbard Donald Trump was overwhelmingly elected by the American people to be our President and Commander in Chief. As our Commander in Chief, he is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat, and whether or not to take action he deems necessary to protect the safety and security …

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Why AI Malware (and Harmful Second Order Effects) Are Out of Control

Authored by Charles Hugh-Smith via oftwominds, Fixing all this doesn’t scale. What scales is the spread of uncontrollably harmful consequences. When something scales faster than it can be absorbed or controlled, the resulting extremes break the system. That’s the problem of asymmetric scaling. Let’s take a current example: the malicious use of AI and the runaway expansion …

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Can the U.S. Navy actually secure the Strait of Hormuz?

Why the world’s most powerful navy can’t secure a 21-mile gap The Strait of Hormuz is only two shipping lanes wide. But here’s the thing… Iran lined both sides with decades of preparation: naval mines, mobile missile batteries on the coast, swarms of fast-attack boats, and cheap drones that don’t show up on radar until …

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The World’s Richest Countries vs. the Happiest Countries

As of 2026, Switzerland has the highest average (mean) net worth per capita, while Luxembourg leads in median net worth per capita. The distinction between these two metrics is important because average wealth can be skewed by a small number of ultra-wealthy individuals, whereas median wealth better represents the “middle” person in the population. Highest Average Net Worth per …

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Turning Off the Lights in New York

by Martin Armstrong New York has always been known as the city that never sleeps. The glowing skyline is not simply decoration; it reflects commerce, tourism, finance, and the constant economic activity that built the city into a global capital. Now lawmakers are pushing the New York State Dark Skies Protection Act, which would impose strict …

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$VIX drops 13% but tail risk stays high, hedgers loading crash insurance

Everyone’s watching the $VIX. Almost nobody’s watching the VVIX. $VIX drops 13% and the timeline relaxes. But options on the $VIX itself? Still at the 88th percentile. That’s institutional hedgers quietly keeping their crash insurance fully loaded. Surface calm. Expensive tail protection underneath. That’s not contradiction. That’s a tell. $IWM round-tripped its entire intraday rally …

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The First Major War of the 21st Century Has Just Deepened Into Total Regional Collapse

A single military strike today has pushed this conflict far beyond containment. Israel announced it killed Ali Larijani, Iran’s top national security official, and Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij militia in overnight airstrikes. Larijani was deeply involved in military planning and diplomatic relations with Gulf states. His elimination means Iran’s strategic command just lost …

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Johnson: Iran threat was real, former NCTC Director Joe Kent “wasn’t in the briefings”… Leavitt: Claim that Iran posed no imminent threat is false and pushed by Democrats and liberal media.

BREAKING: Speaker Johnson fires back at former NCTC Director Joe Kent — who just resigned — saying Iran was not an “imminent threat” “I don’t know where Joe Kent is getting this information, but he wasn’t in those briefings, clearly!” “Had the president waited, we would have had mass casualties.” “That proposition at the end …

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