By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

New U.S. LNG projects risk delays amid the Biden Administration’s push for lower emissions and the ongoing reviews about the environmental impact of the planned export facilities.

After President Joe Biden halted new LNG project approvals in January for a review of the current permitting process, the U.S. Administration is looking to implement stricter rules on pollution the export facilities are allowed to emit in the community.  

These new requirements are holding back projects, one being Venture Global’s CP2 LNG in Louisiana, and the company’s second such project in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. 

Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asked Venture Global to provide more details to prove its emissions would be below the stricter threshold.

Venture Global criticized FERC’s move as an “eleventh hour data request” that would “encourage further baseless claims,” the company said in a letter to the regulator seen by the Financial Times.

Venture Global says its project is in line with standards and has filed new information with FERC.

Cheniere Energy, the top U.S. LNG exporter, also has projects that need approvals.

Cheniere is working closely with FERC to progress the permitting approval process for trains 8 and 9 at Corpus Christi, CEO Jack Fusco said on the Q1 earnings call earlier this month.

“We expect to receive our environmental assessment soon and remain confident that we will receive all necessary regulatory approvals to be able to sanction the project in 2025,” Fusco said. 

The halt of new LNG project approvals has been criticized by the U.S. oil and gas industry while environmentalists are pressuring the Administration to reject new project approvals.

“We trust that when the government reviews the climate and environmental justice harms, they will fully reject all LNG export projects, because anything less would reveal this pause to be nothing more than a strategic and self-serving PR campaign,” Candice Fortin, 350.org US Campaign Manager, said.

Charlie Riedl, Executive Director at the Center for LNG (CLNG), responded to the halt in permits saying “This is a short-sighted and damaging action that weakens U.S. relations with our allies. It undermines U.S. energy leadership in the world without any benefit to our shared climate goals and with considerable risk to the U.S. economy by endangering future projects and the jobs associated with them, as well as destabilizing international energy markets.”  

On Monday morning, investors flocked to JPMorgan’s Manhattan campus to hear CEO Jamie Dimon rant about several critical topics. From regulation crushing the US economy to geopolitics, inflation, potential market swoons, and monetary policy, Dimon covered the most critical ones. 

Let’s begin with the topic of stock buybacks. Dimon said, “We’re not going to buy back a lot of stock at these prices.” He was responding to a question about whether stress tests will allow the bank to unleash a new buyback program in the second half of the year. 

“We simply aren’t going to tell you anything anymore about stock buybacks,” Dimon said, adding that he wants to outsmart the hedge funds. 

In markets, JPM shares sank more than 1% after Dimon’s comments. As of 1245 ET, shares were down 2.2%. 

Dimon then commented on credit markets, saying, “Investment-grade credit spread will be dead wrong too,” adding, “It’s just a matter of time.” 

His comments about the credit markets followed a Bloomberg interview last week in which he warned that higher interest rates and possibly stagflation could spark problems in the commercial real estate sector, leveraged firms, and private credit. 

“If you have higher rates and — God forbid — stagflation, you will see stress in real estate and leveraged companies, and private credit,” Dimon said last Thursday. 

Dimon confirmed again, “We’re not going to buy back stock now.” He noted buybacks will come into play when the stock goes back down. 

On regulation, Dimon said, “They make it seem like we’re a hedge fund.” He said regulation is “damaging America at this point.”

He continued on the regulation rant, indicating how overregulation has already forced some customers to exit the banking system. 

Dimon then commented on artificial intelligence, suggesting it will impact almost every job at JPM. 

Back to markets, he expects another market panic someday. Potentially, that’s why he’s saving the dry powder of buybacks for that day. 

On monetary policy, the bank exec said:

“I’m cautiously pessimistic. We have the most complicated geopolitical situation that most of us have seen since World War II, if you study history. We don’t really know the full effect of QT. I find it mysterious that, somehow, it had this beneficial effect, but it’s not going to have a negative effect when it goes away. I personally think inflation is a little bigger than people think and that rates may surprise people.”

On inflation, he said:

“It’s possible that inflation is embedded in the system at 4% for next year & there’s not a damn thing anyone can do about it. That is possible. And I’m not saying it’s going to happen. We don’t make bets in the future, though I don’t believe in central base cases at all. But that is a risk.” 

This is very telling of why Dimon has a slight bearish lean on the outlook. 

As for a succession timetable, he said it’s “well on the way” and “not five years anymore.” 

Dimon’s ominous comments are timely. They emphasize the risks of inflation and the impact of quantitative tightening in a rapidly deteriorating geopolitical landscape as stagflation threats emerge. 

Authored by Amaka Nwaokocha via CoinTelegraph.com,

The Venezuelan government has joined the list of countries that have frowned on crypto mining due to its hefty electricity demands.

According to a local news outlet, Venezuela’s Ministry of Electric Power has unveiled plans to disconnect cryptocurrency mining farms from the national grid. The move aims to regulate excessive energy consumption and guarantee a stable power supply for the population.

An X post from Venezuela’s National Association of Cryptocurrencies stated that crypto mining is prohibited in Venezuela.

This move follows a recent crackdown involving the confiscation of 2,000 cryptocurrency mining devices in the city of Maracay as part of an anti-corruption initiative.

Source: Asociación Nacional de Criptomonedas

The ministry emphasized the need to offer efficient and reliable electrical service across Venezuela by eliminating the strain caused by these high-energy-consuming farms. According to officials, these measures are essential to stabilize the national power supply, which has been unreliable for the past decade.

The country has been experiencing recurring blackouts, particularly since 2019, which have significantly impacted residents’ daily lives and overall economic activity.

Cryptocurrency mining has hefty electricity demands. In response, some countries such as China and Kazakhstan have implemented stringent regulations or outright bans on the practice.

The Venezuelan government’s move against cryptocurrency mining is reportedly part of a larger anti-corruption push, which has led to the arrest of several top officials. Joselit Ramírez, the ex-head of the National Superintendency of Cryptoassets, is a key figure in the corruption allegations.

Rafael Lacava, governor of Carabobo state, has reportedly highlighted the importance of public collaboration in detecting illegal mining operations, encouraging citizens to report any unlawful activities.

However, this is not Venezuela’s first act against crypto mining activities. In March 2023, Venezuela’s energy supplier shut down crypto mining facilities nationwide as part of corruption investigations involving the country’s state oil company.

Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, said at the time that government officials were allegedly running parallel oil operations with the assistance of the national crypto department.

Elsewhere, in 2023, eight major cryptocurrency mining operators in Kazakhstan signed an open letter to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, complaining about high energy prices for crypto miners.

The environment for uranium and nuclear power has never been better as the atomic energy sector’s revival is being shifted into high gear for this very reason: 

A ChatGPT search requires 10x as much power as a traditional Google search pic.twitter.com/khdSbvxsOH

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 19, 2024

Yes, artificial intelligence data centers and the urgent need for a next-generation power grid to handle surging power demands are key themes through 2030.

Let’s revisit our December 2020 note titled “Buy Uranium: Is This The Beginning Of The Next ESG Craze” and, more recently, “The Next AI Trade.” In these notes, we argue that nuclear power is the cleanest and most reliable energy source for electrifying America. 

In recent weeks, we pointed out that “Everyone Is Piling Into The “Next AI Trade.”” Even Blackrock’s Larry Fink and Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman have acknowledged the dire need for America’s power grid to receive a major upgrade. 

In March, the federal government achieved a critical inflection point. Officials announced a $1.5 billion loan to restart a nuclear power plant in southwestern Michigan by 2025. This historical reversal indicates that more retired nuclear power plants would be revived as Wall Street finally realizes that wind and solar are not the most reliable and cleanest forms of energy for powering data centers. 

Last week, uranium insiders gathered at the Bank of America Securities 2024 Global Metals, Mining & Steel Conference in Miami to discuss the ultra-bullish environment. 

BofA’s Lawson Winder provided clients with a transcript of a panel discussion with some of the world’s top uranium executives:

Here’s the panel discussion of the executives talking about the energy transition, supply-driven catalysts, and supply shocks, such as the US ban on Russian uranium imports, and how Wall Street is still only learning about uranium’s role in the energy transition. 

This comment from Sprott execs stands out the most: “Many institutions are still learning the role of uranium in the energy transition , suggesting upside to money in the space.” 

Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

The Kansas City Star published an article asserting that the Chiefs should replace Harrison Butker with a woman as payback for his “Neanderthal outburst.”

Butker enraged shitlibs by giving a commencement speech at Benedictine College, during which he encouraged women to be mothers and homemakers, suggesting it might make them happier than pursuing a career.

Although the kicker mentioned how women were completely free to do as they please, his mere suggestion that they might get more fulfillment out of raising children caused an absolute meltdown.

The latest incarnation of this hysteria comes in the form of an opinion piece published by the Kansas City Star and written Peter Hamm, described as a “former journalist and a public affairs professional for nonprofits, government agencies and political campaigns.”

This is what happens when people that don’t know shit about football talk about football.https://t.co/iMZcBWIgl7

— Mr. Wizard 🧙‍♂️ (@TheWizardsQuest) May 20, 2024

“For poetic justice after Harrison Butker’s Neanderthal outburst — and because the pipeline of talent is real — the Kansas City Chiefs’ next kicker should be a woman,” screeches Hamm.

The writer of the piece insisted “this is not a joke,” although that didn’t stop it from being hilarious.

“Millions of American parents who’ve had daughters in soccer over the last 30 years can attest to the fact that girls can kick. And in multiple anecdotal scenarios — injuries, COVID-19 disqualifications and so on — college football coaches have called soccer coaches for help and been told the best prospects were female,” he added.

Yes, Peter, I’m sure there’s a massive chance that a raft of women will become MVPs in years to come, because there’s absolutely no physical differences between men and women playing elite sports.

I’m sure that there’s plenty of women out there who can rival Butker, who has the second best all-time field goal success ratio in the NFL.

And it will really piss off all the hateful misogynists like Butker who want…women to be valued, happy and fulfilled.

As we highlighted earlier, spiteful roastie Jennifer Welch reacted to Butker’s speech by calling him a “white supremacist dick” and demanding he gets “cancelled to hell and back.”

Every time one of these vindictive shitlibs pours more scorn of Butker for his completely reasonable and accurate speech, it only makes him look better and proves his point.

*  *  *

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

The house always wins…

A 72 year old woman who hoped to take her winnings to ‘buy a trailer’ for her son is being told by Bally’s in Atlantic City that the $2 million jackpot she claims she won was invalid and the result of a ‘technical glitch’. 

As a result, Bally’s – along with game manufacturer IGT – are refusing to pay the money out.

Gambler Roney Beal told 6ABC in an Action News Investigation that “at the end of February, she went to Bally’s and dumped hundreds of dollars into a Wheel of Fortune machine”.

Then, according to her, the unthinkable happened. She hit a $1.2 million jackpot – with a 2x multiplier. “And it went off, says, ‘you’re a winner’ and gold coins popped out. This very nice guy says, ‘Oh my God, you hit, you hit!’ He said, ‘Lady you’re a millionaire.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my God!'”

After the slot went off, she hit the ‘service’ button – and that’s when the machine displayed a “tilt” message. 

Beal told ABC: “That’s when the sentences came up ’tilted’. When the man came over to talk to me he said, ‘Lady, get it in your head, you won nothing.'”

Beal’s machine, on the right, showing a 2x wheel spin and the arrow landing on “jackpot”.

The casino told her the machine had a ‘reel tilt’ which voided her win. She said the slot attendant asked her to “spin it off” but she refused. “He had it rolling real slow. He had it opened and then he is pushing it,” she told ABC. 

The attendant then offered her $350. Her attorney, Mike Dicroce, said: “They fooled with the machine before anybody else had the opportunity to take a look at this.”

“You invite somebody to your business. They pay the money, they win, you’re supposed to pay. That didn’t happen,” he added, claiming he has gone to the New Jersey Game Enforcement Division over the incident. 

He has asked to “preserve the machine and casino floor videos for an independent forensic review,” the report says. 

A similar incident happened in 2000, he said: “IGT took the position that look even though aesthetically these symbols came up it wasn’t a win because the computer says it wasn’t a win.” In that case, a jury decided IGT had to pay the $1.3 million jackpot. 

“Why would I ever go to a casino again in my life? Any casino? Why, if there is no hope,” Beal concluded. 

Via Middle East Eye

A Turkish high-altitude, long-endurance drone played a central role in finding the wreckage of the helicopter that was carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his delegation on Sunday night.

Iranian search and rescue officials reported late on Sunday evening that they believed the helicopter had made a “hard landing” in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. However, progress was hindered for several hours due to adverse weather conditions, including dense fog and rain. Turkish Transportation Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu highlighted another complicating factor: the helicopter either did not have its transponder on or lacked one entirely.

An Akinci drone seen from an Azerbijani Mikoyan MiG-29, AFP/handout

“We track every aerial signal since Iran is part of the area we are responsible for in search-and-rescue operations,” Uraloglu told Turkish media on Monday. “But we couldn’t get any signal at all. It must have been received, but it didn’t happen.” As the search ramped up and proved so tricky, Tehran asked Ankara for assistance.

“Tehran requested a night vision search-and-rescue helicopter and technical help,” a Turkish diplomatic source told Middle East Eye. Subsequently, the Turkish defense ministry announced it had allocated an Akinci high-altitude, long-endurance drone to aid in the search.

Turkish security sources said the defense ministry proposed deploying the Akinci to the area even without an official request from Iranian authorities, who quickly accepted the offer. The sources said the Akinci took off from the armed drone air base in eastern Turkey’s Batman at 11.18 pm.

The Akinci, a model produced by the Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar since 2019, can fly at altitudes of up to 40,000 feet and remain airborne for more than 24 hours, covering vast areas.

“Akinci has capabilities to operate in hard terrain and foggy weather thanks to its high-altitude flight capabilities and thermal technology,” a defense industry source told MEE. “It is a very good match in this sense.”

The drone, which is capable of reaching speeds of up to 400 kmph and efficiently scanning terrain at lower speeds, crossed the Iranian border from the Turkish city of Van, arriving in Iran at 12:45 am on Monday. The defense ministry sources said the drone was able to operate when all other aircraft were grounded because of the bad weather.

As the Akinci commenced its surveillance mission, Turkish public news agency Anadolu launched a live stream on X, formerly known as Twitter, showcasing footage from the drone. The stream attracted 3.1 million viewers at its peak.

At 2:22 am, the Akinci reported its first heat source, instantly sharing the image with Iranian officials. Rescue workers were only able to reach the wreckage at 5.46 am.

Türkiye’s Akinci drone was the most-watched aircraft in the world as it circled Iranian skies, searching for the downed helicopter that was carrying Iranian President Raisi pic.twitter.com/nllPwqEdYK

— TRT World (@trtworld) May 20, 2024

A source familiar with the Akinci operation told MEE that the crash site was close to the area the drone had repeatedly surveyed throughout the night. The coordinates suggested by the Akinci were in close proximity to the crash site, the source added.

As weather conditions improved, the Akinci returned to Turkey, arriving around 6 am. The drone drew a crescent and star over Van Lake on flight radar, symbolizing Turkish capabilities. On Monday, some noted on X that the Akinci’s initial route into Iran through Tabriz appeared to include a flight path over sensitive Iranian military sites, such as the Amand rocket site, Khoi Airport, Tabriz Airport, and the Iranian army’s rapid response base.

Michael Sonnenshein has stepped down from his role as the CEO of Grayscale Investments, the WSJ reported.

“I would like to thank Barry Silbert for his vision and partnership and for entrusting me to lead Grayscale’s business. The crypto asset class is at an important inflection point and this is the right moment for a smooth transition”, Sonnenshein said on his way out.

Michael Sonnenshein became Grayscale’s CEO in 2021

He will be replaced by Peter Mintzberg – who currently serves as the global head of strategy for Goldman Sachs’s asset and wealth management division – on August 15, according to Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group, Grayscale’s parent company.

2/ I want to thank @Sonnenshein– during his 10 years @Grayscale, Michael guided the firm through exponential growth & oversaw its pivotal role in bringing spot bitcoin ETFs to market, leading the way for the broader financial industry. We wish him the best in his future endeavors

— Barry Silbert (@BarrySilbert) May 20, 2024

Silbert recruited Sonnenshein in 2013 to help raise assets for GBTC, which had only $60 million at the time. In the early days, the duo would go on roadshows to pitch the fund to traditional finance professionals only to have the meetings canceled in the wake of negative headlines about bitcoin, Sonnenshein recalled earlier this year.

“There were definitely times when we would have been allocated 45 minutes to a meeting and very quickly into a meeting, we would find we weren’t capturing people’s attention,” he said in a March interview, adding that a “palpable passion for crypto and bitcoin” kept them going despite the setbacks.

His replacement, Mintzberg – whose 20-year ETF-focused Wall Street career spans BlackRock, OppenheimerFunds and Invesco – said that he has “long admired Grayscale’s position as the leading crypto asset management firm, and I am honored to join the most talented and pioneering team in the business. This is an exciting time in Grayscale’s history as it continues to capitalize on the unprecedented momentum in the asset class.”

Mintzberg will take control of Grayscale during a very challenging period: for years, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, or GBTC, was one of the few ways for investors to bet on bitcoin in their brokerage accounts without buying the cryptocurrency itself. This privileged position helped the trust, known by its GBTC ticker symbol, amass more than $40 billion in assets under management at its peak in November 2021.

However, in recent months Grayscale’s bitcoin fund has experienced a reversal of fortune, with investors pulling more than $17 billion since it converted into an exchange-traded fund in January. In contrast, nine newly launched bitcoin ETFs from Wall Street asset managers such as BlackRock and Fidelity Investments have attracted more than $30 billion in inflows. The simplest reason for that is that while GBTC charges a 1.5% fee, all other bitcoin ETFs charge next to nothing.

Ironically, Grayscale is largely responsible for the long-awaited regulatory approval of spot bitcoin ETFs – those that hold bitcoin directly, instead of via futures contracts, as previous products did, and in doing so it has seen its own bitcoin holdings shrink by more than half since the launch of the spot bitcoin ETF industry on January 10.

The company sued the SEC in 2022 after the agency rejected its previous bid to turn its bitcoin trust into an ETF. The SEC greenlighted the mass launch of the funds in January after repeatedly rejecting the applications on the basis that the underlying market was susceptible to fraud. When approving the new funds, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said the court ruling in Grayscale’s favor had compelled the change.

While Grayscale’s GBTC is the largest ETF by on-chain Bitcoin investments, currently holding over 287,801 BTC, worth $19.3 billion and holding a 34.9% market share, due to its staggering 1.5% annual fee (compared to the industry standard of 0.20% to 0.25%) it continues to bleed bitcoins daily which get relocated to cheaper alternatives.

In comparison, BlackRock’s iShares ETF (IBIT) is the second-largest, holding over 274,000 BTC, worth $18.4 billion, and having a 33.3% market share, according to Dune. It is only a matter of time before IBIT surpasses GBTC in total holdings.

Source: Hodl15 Capital

Sonnenshein previously said that he wasn’t worried about the investor exodus and suggested that GBTC’s fee would come down as the market matures, however judging by the unexpected departure, he was actually worried.

That said, despite the constantly outflows, Grayscale continues to generate robust revenue thanks to a sharp rise in crypto prices and the high fees charged by its bitcoin ETF. In the first quarter, Grayscale generated $156 million in revenue, accounting for more than half of DCG’s $229 million total, according to DCG’s first-quarter investor letter.

Grayscale Chief Financial Officer Edward McGee will lead the company as principal executive officer until August.

Authored by Brayden Lindrea via CoinTelegraph.com,

The fate of spot Ether exchange-traded funds could be decided this week by a single vote from Gary Gensler, the chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission — if history is any indication.

In January, the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs came down to a five-commissioner panel. Two crypto-friendly commissioners, Hester Pierce and Mark Uyeda, voted to approve ETFs, while Commissioners Caroline Crenshaw and Jaime Lizárraga voted against them.

Gensler also voted to approve it, leading many to believe his vote ultimately secured approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, which were approved with a 3-2 vote on Jan. 10, 2024.

Final SEC Commission votes for the spot Bitcoin ETF. Source: SEC

This week, the same five SEC Commissioners are set to cast their votes to either approve or deny VanEck’s spot Ether ETF on May 23. Here’s what we know about them.

Hester Peirce

Peirce earned the nickname “Crypto Mom” for a reason — she’s bullish on digital assets and wants to see more decentralization integrated into the broader financial system.

She hasn’t confirmed how she’ll vote on the spot Ether ETFs.

However, she’s made herself a part of the Ethereum community, having attended and spoken at ETHDenver in Colorado in late February.

Hester Peirce (left) speaking at ETHDenver. Source: ETHDenver

Peirce has slammed the SEC’s approach to overseeing the cryptocurrency industry in the past, calling some parts of the securities regulator’s approach as “unproductive” and “pointless.”

Caroline Crenshaw

Crenshaw is a strong critic of the cryptocurrency industry and was a strong dissenter in the spot Bitcoin ETF decision.

At the time, Crenshaw said the price of spot Bitcoin ETFs would be impacted by fraud and market manipulation in the broader industry — and by approving the Bitcoin products, the SEC would be failing to protect U.S. investors.

There’s no evidence to suggest that Crenshaw has changed her mind about spot crypto ETFs since then.

Caroline Crenshaw. Source: SEC

“There is little to no systemic oversight of these markets, nor other sufficient mechanisms in place for the detection and deterrence of fraud and manipulation,” Crenshaw said in dissent for the spot Bitcoin ETFs.

“[Spot trading] is fragmented and scattered across different international trading venues, with many markets not subject to meaningful regulation,” she added.

Mark Uyeda

Aside from Peirce, Uyeda has been the only other Commissioner that has called out the SEC for its “regulation by enforcement” approach toward the cryptocurrency industry.

He disagreed with the SEC’s decision to deny a Coinbase petition last December, which accused the agency of behaving arbitrarily and capriciously in its refusal to tailor rules to clarify oversight of the industry.

Uyeda also voted to approve the spot Bitcoin ETFs but expressed “strong concerns” over how the SEC reached its decision.

Mark Uyeda (right) speaking at Milken Institute conference. Source: Eleanor Terrett

He claims the Commission deviated from its “significant market” test used to decide on exchange-traded products and instead approved the spot Bitcoin ETFs under “other means.”

Uyeda described the SEC’s reasoning as “flawed” but cited “independent reasons” behind his decision to vote in favor of the spot Bitcoin ETFs.

However, it isn’t clear what those “independent reasons” are, let alone whether they will apply to spot Ether ETFs too.

Jaime Lizárraga

Lizárraga voted against approving the spot Bitcoin ETFs and was the only Commissioner who didn’t issue a statement following the decision.

However, he reportedly said Bitcoin’s promise as a “viable alternative to traditional finance” and a “genuine financial inclusivity” hadn’t been reached in a speech held at Brooklyn Law School in November 2022.

At the time, he opposed the idea that SEC adopts a “regulation by enforcement” approach toward the cryptocurrency industry.

Jaime Lizárraga. Source: SEC

He also believes most cryptocurrencies are subject to U.S. securities laws, and as a result, are operating illegally.

There’s no evidence to suggest that he’s changed these views since the spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved.

Gary Gensler

While Gensler voted to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs in January, some speculate that he was compelled to do so because Grayscale had won its appeal against the regulator months earlier.

There is no telling whether he will approach the current string of Ether ETF applications in the same way.

Gary Gensler speaking with CNBC about cryptocurrency regulation. Source: CNBC

Earlier this month, Gensler confirmed the SEC’s decision was still under review in a May 7 interview with CNBC:

“That’s something in front of our commission right now. We’re a five-member Commission, and those filings will take up at the appropriate time.”

Gensler has also recently been accused of avoiding answering whether Ether is a security — even when asked by Congress.

Deadlines for the Ether ETF applications before the SEC. Source: James Seyffart

Meanwhile, there are other potential wrinkles in the works. There’s an investigation into Ether’s status as a potential security — led by SEC Division of Enforcement director Gurbir Grewal.

A few fund managers have also claimed the SEC has been less engaging on spot Ether ETFs. A lawyer for one of those applicants, Bitwise, reportedly said a few fund managers are now anticipating an SEC denial this week.

More recently, Nate Geraci, President of The ETF Store, noted it is technically possible the SEC approves the 19b-4 applications (exchange rule changes) but prevents an immediate launch by delaying the S-1 applications (registration statements).

Source: Nate Geraci

Bloomberg ETF analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart predict a 25% chance that at least one spot Ether ETF is approved on May 23 — that figure has fallen from 70% since January.

As we wrap up the first quarter earnings season and approach the midpoint of the year, a major theme emerging out of corporate America and Goldman analysts is the deteriorating financial health of low-income consumers. 

A team of Goldman analysts led by Kate McShane, CFA, published the latest low-income activity dashboard that shows monthly trends have been “mixed recently, noting tailwinds from lower gasoline prices and improved mobility along with headwinds from weaker credit metrics and slowing consumer confidence.” 

Let’s remind readers that Goldman’s top consumer trader, Scott Feiler, recently told clients, “Our desk is getting bearish on consumer and our soft landing basket. We think it’s the most vulnerable area of cyclicality, and cyclicals/defensives are priced very optimistically, and we are starting to see a defensive rotation.” 

In recent weeks, Goldman analysts headed by Bonnie Herzog noted, “With >75% of the US consumer universe having reported Q1 results, we see indications that the US consumer is proving more stretched than previously anticipated as inflation combined with a bit of softening in the macro (lower payrolls & an uptick in unemployment in April), elevated gas prices & high interest rates continue to eat into spending power & consumer confidence.” 

Last week, retail sales data for April missed average estimates. This shows that spending fatigue among the working poor has emerged. Many low-income folks have maxed out credit cards and drained savings to survive the era of failed Bidenomics.  

This year, faltering lower-income consumers is a major theme, and Goldamn’s McShane’s latest commentary on consumer companies shows just that. 

It’s evident that the lower-income consumer is stretched, and persistent inflation, mainly due to President Biden’s $1 trillion spending spree every 100 days, has decimated whatever is left of the middle class. Stagflation threats are elevated.