Trump's Ruinous Touch

U.S. President Donald Trump grabbed the world's economy by the pussy and it seized up.  This caused private equity underwriters (PEU) to suspend their glorious plans of monetizing affiliates and shift to dumping PEU stakes on individual retirement plan holders.

Government savings are yet to materialize as the Department of Ungodly Greedy Executives Biased Against Government (DOUGEBAG) spent more on incapable technology than the wages/benefits of the people they eliminated.  Like the PEU playbook that DOUGEBAG imitated, customer service measures deteriorated under the weight of poor planning and crappy tech.  

People don't like DOUGEBAG because many lived it in their workplace.  It left a mark then and DOUGEBAG's consequences will be felt for some time.

Trump is "contra Jesus" and "anti Pope" in his love for all forms of money, especially those bearing his image, and cruel treatment of the least of God's children.

Trump usurps and incorporates any object or person that might reflect his greatness, anything that glistens/gleams, any country or plot of land that shows how powerful he is on the world stage.  He'd love a summit where he, Putin and Xi could carve up the globe between them.  

Trump is not the CEOs friend, but their ruler.  Every time a billionaire turns around Trump II, the digital Caligula is asking for another $1 million handout.  Trump's time is valuable and those that want access need to pay up.

Sure, it's heady being around the apex of political power but Trump is a drainer of souls.  At some point TechGod wankers and PEU bankers will beg to pay more in taxes just to be away from Trump's toxic tampering, grandiose delusions, vicious takedowns and vacuous flip-flops.

The "most successful first hundred days of any administration" had no impact on the stock market?  That's the Trump line/lie.  If you "run the country and the world", surely you have some impact on U.S stock markets.  

It remains to be seen how quickly Trump II can ruin the dollar.  His family has big bets on cryptocurrencies.  Congress has the power of the purse and would need to authorize the buying of cryptocurrencies with federal funds.  My wise friend noted:

Howard Lutnick said they were going to get creative in buying crypto. I thought I just read Arizona passed the bill to reserve Bitcoin for the state. At the same time, every corporation is getting hounded by shareholders and propaganda to purchase for treasuries. Financial asset managers that I respect have allocations. FOMO . Fundamentals do not matter, power of suggestion seems to matter more. 

I still do not understand how it protects anyone from anything. If they came out and said it's a plug guaranteed by the state then that's what it is, but to describe value to an algorithm conjured out out of nothing to embrace a daisy chain dynamic.  Add the narrative it's a limited supply to protect holders, when the end game is to borrow against it, lever it up.   

Strikes me as a pyramid I wouldn't want, especially for an asset class. The only argument that works for them is "number go up." I wonder what Sir Isaac Newton would say? The problem is if it does become a standard by force you then have to accept it.

Trump's crypto czar said he would sell none of his holdings to comply with conflict of interest rules.  The Executive Branch might as well be called "Frontrunners" and I'm sure that's the allure of Don, Jr.'s new social club by the same name (Executive Branch).

There is a strong need for counterbalance from the legislative and judicial branches.  "Executive Branch" has been reduced to a high dollar "Sons of Monarchy" club under this ruinous administration's savage whims.

Update:  Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein hit Trump with:

“People are reluctant in the business community to say critical things about the administration, so they tend not to do it in public,” he said. But, he added, privately they have been telling Trump “that there’s uncertainty and the tariff policy is not going to produce the kind of results that the president originally thought they would produce.”

Followed by a Fortune piece revealing a hiring red flag for Rubenstein is people who cut ethical corners.  Trump shaves whole blocks from the ethics highway. 

Also, lawmakers met with TechGods on national security applications.  More federal dollars headed the TechGods' direction.

Day 100 Celebration: MAGA Clubbing

Trump II, aka King Farthur, celebrates his 100th day in office today.  I'm sure Pablum (Trump) will fill it with "pump and circumspect."  

Don, Jr. continues to rake in the money alongside Dad. The Red Team announced yet another way to separate huge sums from billionaires wanting political influence.  It's a new membership club, one with a waiting list.

 

Axios reported:

Besides Don Jr., the owners are financier Omeed Malik; Chris Buskirk, of 1789 Capital, who's close to Vice President Vance; and Alex Witkoff and Zach Witkoff, sons of real estate developer Steve Witkoff, the president's close friend and Middle East envoy. 

 Founding members include David Sacks, White House A.I. and crypto czar, and co-star of the "All-In" podcast; his "All-In" colleague Chamath Palihapitiya; superlobbyist Jeff Miller; and the Winklevoss twins, who are co-founders of a crypto platform. 

The club — with Donald Trump Jr. as a lead investor, and membership tightly screened for loyalty to President Trump — will be a sumptuous retreat for rubbing shoulders with cabinet members and West Wing officials, with no danger of running into reporters or Democrats..

The people forming the club and a number of founders absolutely qualify as "members."  CNBC reported:

Saturday’s launch party event for Executive Branch included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, deputy FBI director Dan Bongino and Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, according to people who attended. 

 Also attending were several tech founders and CEOs, including AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi, the people said. Prospective members of the club have to be heavily vetted and approved by its founders, according to people close to Executive Branch. 

Although some prospective members have offered to pay $1 million to join, membership requires a referral and close screening.

I imagine the wealthy will soon scream to pay more taxes and not have to fund Trump Grift Shop's latest $1 million a pop promotion.  

Trump's cabinet deserves a break from the never ending planting of lips on the Donarch's backside.  I'm not sure Don Jr.'s posterior will offer solace.

Trump II is clubbing democracy like a baby seal.

Update:  Ptichbook reported:

Founded in 2022, 1789 Capital is a private equity firm based in Palm Beach, Florida.

Don Jr. is a partner with 1789 Capital and is a private equity underwriter (PEU).

Jesse wrote:

Lawlessness and self-dealing is the fashion of the day, with a heavy dose of malignant narcissism.

Crimes again international law and humanity are defended with duplicity and hypocrisy. 

The Constitution itself is battered by money and the will to power. How all this will end only God knows. But these things rarely end anywhere but badly. 

History is incredulous at servile lack of decency and willful collaboration in the face of madness.

60 Minutes had its own 98 days in office warning. 

Update 4-30-25:  The Sons of Monarchy behind the Insane Red Team "Club" includes TechGod wankers and PEU bankers:

The Problem with Pablum (Trump II)

Trump II, the digital Caligula, is the decision maker and any interview with his Cabinet members shows it.  They have more knowledge about their boss' thinking but they know the President's mind is like a roulette wheel, one where the little ball sometimes leaves the playing field.  I've yet to hear one predict where the Donald decision making ball will land.

Thus the line forms early wherever the decisive Donarch is officing (White House, home, other home, golf course, other golf course, Sistine Chapel).  There are far too many appellants and Donald needs his TV and fortune counting time.  Even Moses couldn't handle the sole decision maker burden and sought the assistance of seventy elders.  

Add that Trump II is also running the economy, doing 200 trade sub-deals.  Corporate CEOs jockey for position in the daily appellant line.  The Donarch's time is the new currency and those who manage his schedule gain considerable power.  Donald's decision making process relies on the savage whim.  One never knows which way he'll break.  

Below the President are a line of toadies, enforcers and sycophants ready to amplify the Donarch's sentiments.  A Trump thumb's up gets one a pat on the back and a round of celebratory cheers, while an expletive-filled thumb's down is accompanied by righteous mocking and howler monkey style poop tossing.  In between there is some hot young lady leering, maybe a body part grab or two.

Managing the country like a shady family business is not possible if one wants a vibrant, functional, safe and crime free nation and economy.  

Round and round it goes, where it lands, nobody knows...

Update:  Trump said in an interview:

"I run the country and the world."

And that's the problem with Pablum.  His savage whims are incapable of running a country, much less the world.  They can however, cause great harm.

Update 5-4-25:  Does the guy not listen to himself?

“I’m not profiting from anything. All I’m doing is, I started this long before the election. I want crypto. I think crypto’s important because if we don’t do it, China’s going to. And it’s new, it’s very popular, it’s very hot,” Trump said, adding that he hasn't even “even looked” at how much he’s made from the venture.

"Not profiting" vs. "how much he's made" from his many ventures.  Pure Pablum...

Update 5-22-25:  Pablum and Doink (Elon Musk) paired up for a cringe worthy White House visit from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.  BBC fact checked Pablum's various assertions.  What an embarrassment for U.S. Intelligence.  Pablum said he did it for Doink but I'll wager Peter Thiel, David Sacks and a few others entered into the mix.

Update 5-23-25:  Pablum's savage whims have turned the U.S. into the Trumpiverse.  Gravity has been replaced by loyalty accompanied by lavish compliments.  Truth is gone leaving fanciful, but extremely toxic, fiction in its place.

Folding the Watchers of the Watchers

FT reported the political Red Team may eliminate the accounting oversight board formed after the failure of Enron.  

My grandfather was a former CEO of Price Waterhouse when the Big 8 accounting firms existed (with no consulting divisions).  Financial reporting is now dominated by nonstandard measures like "adjusted EBITDA" and one has to search to find a GAAP income statement.  

Today's CEO wanting to "do something" simply finds an accommodating lawyer, accountant and political insider to endorse their schemes.  That is Trump's business playbook and apparently the Red Team likes it.

I went to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board website and noticed enforcement actions.  I saw KPMG had a number of actions and noted one for Price Waterhouse Singapore.  The fines in those cases were noteworthy, $700,000 and $1.5 million.

I perused the most recent action against Adeptus Partners LLC.  It's audit of Blockchain of Things had a number of problems. 

Blockchain of Things raised more than $12 million worth of cryptocurrency assets through the Offering. According to a December 18, 2019 SEC Order (“SEC Order”), Blockchain of Things did not register its Offering pursuant to the federal securities laws, nor did it qualify for an exemption to the registration requirements.

That $12 million was classified as a Token Refund Liability in 2020 but shifted to "deferred revenue" in 2021.  The PCAOB found Adeptus accounting team:

"relied exclusively on management representations in concluding that the "Token Refund Liability" had been appropriately reclassified as deferred revenue.19 Further, the lead partner accepted management’s representations despite evidence that appeared to contradict those representations."

The SEC settlement with Blockchain could well be today, given the number of issues.  Blockchain of Things lasted until February 2023.  

My wise friend wrote:

So Trump and his advocates keep "promoting Main Street over Wall Street."  Explain to me how removing the cops on the beat in the financial markets, relaxing regulations & enforcement for crypto in the banking system and allowing private equity into Main Street 401K's helps any of his supporters in the belly of a normal distribution of incomes? 

How do the tariffs, which will produce price increases, help these people?  The tariff's hit long before the manufacturing base to support those items is even here.  

Yet, he wants lower interest rates which will only affect the dollar's attractiveness. Maybe it will help asset prices go higher but that will only help private equity, asset managers, and the crypto industry. So our financially engineered economy goes from some fraud, to bubble type fraud, to complete BEZZLE? 

I could see why those surrounding him would clap their hands for this but not Main Street. Explain to me how removing protections, protects? I guess the con is on. Which reminds me of a great quote. 

“There are three kinds of men. Some people see an electric fence and will avoid it, other people have to touch it to learn, and still others have to pee on it," ― Will Rogers

The Reds want to neuter yet another financial policeman.  An accounting firm enabled Enron to build and sell its house of cards as innovative and safe.  

That may well repeat.  Be sure to thank the fiscally insane, electric-fence peeing Red Team.

Sons of the Crypto Roundtable

As the U.S. government charges forward on cryptocurrencies, the sons of key figures are in position to profit (as are the fathers).  The Trump forays into digital everything occurred prior to Dad's coronation and are yet to cease their frenetic pace.  

The Lutnicks just announced a giant crypto deal with son Brandon having taken over for father Howard, now Trump's Secretary of Commerce.  People may recognize Howard as the man whose lips are permanently planted on Trump II's left cheeks (upper and lower), while Elon Musk occupies the right cheeks.  

Brandon Lutnick's Cantor Equity Partners is the SPAC incorporating Bitcoin from multiple sources.  Note the use of an offshore tax haven (tax avoidance) and the use of a sibling firm for placement agent (fee generation).  

The SEC was informed of Brandon's taking over from Howard in late December 2024.  That's one sweet Christmas gift from Dad.

The new Bitcoin accumulation company is a bit like Frankenstein, slapped together from a number of other ventures, Bitfinex, Tether and Twenty One.   The surviving company is Twenty One.

The Lutnick's Twenty One joins the Trump's American Bitcoin.  The sons enjoy the fruits of their fathers' labors to legitimize and spread the glory of cryptocurrency ownership.  But who will help the boys with such a wondrous task?   Wall Street magnanimously offered to assist, for a minor fee of course.

Long live the Crypto Roundtable and its incestuous self serving!!!

Update 5-14-25:  American Bitcoin will merge with Gryphon Digital Mining, a NASDAQ listed company.   The company will be known as American Bitcoin and the ticker trading symbol is "ABTC."  CNBC reported:

Existing stockholders of American Bitcoin, including the president’s two eldest sons, will own about 98% of the new entity.

Economic Fire Fuels PEU Sales

Private equity underwriters (PEU) expected Trump II, the digital Caligula to invigorate the economy, cut taxes and reduce regulations to the point that they'd be able to monetize affiliates via IPO or sale to a peer PEU.  

Tariffs require companies to have more capital to fund the same level of operation.  So instead of freeing up money for PEUs to return to investors it's conceivable sponsors asked limited partners for more of their committed capital.

China said pass.  One article stated Chinese financial firms pulled out of planned deals involving U.S. companies while avoiding new commitments.  That would include capital calls.

University endowments are selling chunks of their PEU stakes for a different reason, defense against Trump II's war on knowledge.  Both Harvard and Yale plan to sell large stakes on the secondary market.

Trump is burning it all down on the taxpayers dime.  I expect "policy making billionaires" will have a breaking point and that time may be nearing.  After all, Elon can't fund the whole Congress.

Legislative and Judicial branches, man the fire hoses!  Trump's flamethrower is three quarters full.

Trump II's Set Rules

Carlyle Group CEO Harvey Schwartz spoke at Semafor's World Economic Summit in Washington, D.C. and noted business leaders need to understand Trump's policy objectives and methods to achieve those policy wins.  Schwartz is looking for consistent/concrete rules, something Trump never gives or does. 

For Trump II, the digital Caligula it's all image, all the time.  He prefers the stick over the carrot and can pull out a Savage Whim with virtually no notice.  If he sees something desirable in your direction prepare to be fleeced.  It's now his.

How can you build a good government around these predilections?  You can't.  Trump II is as arbitrary, capricious and fickle as they come.  The damage is multiplied by the hyena like layer below him, scavenging for every morsel of approval Trump choses to administer.

Any "rule sets" will come from Congress and/or the Supreme Court, not from the Donarch.  Executives and investors would be wise to ask those counterbalancing bodies for assistance.  

Oddly, Carlyle's superpower has been influencing the White House and elected officials.  Trump II targeted Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein with two savage whims.  First, replacing Rubenstein as Chairman of the Kennedy Center.  Second, going after the Smithsonian Institution, another prized Rubenstein patriotic philanthropy endeavor. 

Carlyle's Vice Chair of Global Affairs Admiral James Stavridis savaged Trump's Defense Chief for his repeated use of the Signal communication app and for turning the Pentagon into a "back stabbing" enterprise.  Stavridis could not find the merit in hiring your brother and your wife.

Private equity underwriters (PEU) are used to setting the rules.  PEU legends walked the White House grounds through Red and Blue administrations, earning the title "policy making billionaires."

On May 23rd those grounds may be hosting the Top 25 Trump meme-coin holders.  I don't expect any PEUs in that crowd but there may multiple TechGods.  They have proven to be a more shameless bunch.

Update 4-25-25:  Carlyle's Rubenstein is Fellow and former board member of the Harvard Corporation, the target of another Trump Savage Whim.

Trump Pumps Memecoin Contest

Trump II, the digital Caligula dangled dinner with him as incentive for people to buy and hold his memecoin.  Trump launched his official memecoin just days before his coronation.  

His contest will have "fierce competition" that benefits Trump's pocketbook.  Winners get to hear from the "Coin Master":

President Donald J. Trump is Known as the “Crypto President!” At this Intimate Private Dinner, Hear First-Hand President Trump Talk about the Future of Crypto.

What did the announcement do?  The picture is clear as day.

Trump pumps and wins two ways.  It increases the value of his memecoin holdings and Trump entities make money off trades.

Having worked for someone like Trump, I expect there is tremendous pressure for his crypto people to participate in the contest.  How much will David Sachs buy?  Will any of his "All In" podcast peers join in given their love for crypto and newfound allegiance to Trump?  Are they in?  

Wealthy people wishing to influence Trump make the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago.  How many nights do they have to stay to get an audience with the Donarch?  For some, I imagine the bill adds up.  

Fee-ification, game-ification and pump-ification are alive and well.  I'm afraid that is our future.

Update 4-25-25:  WaPo reported Trump family holdings went up $100 million from the dinner pump, while increased trading generated $1.25 million in fees which go to Trump owned organizations.

The SEC held its third Crypto Task Force Roundtable.  One speaker said a peer-to-peer payment system is not a good fit for fiduciary investment accounts.

Update 4-27-25:  Trump's memecoin is trading at $14.95, hitting $16 over the weekend.  NBC reported insiders earned $900,000 in two days after the game dinner was announced.  

There may be many marks, patsies, suckers or gulls on the buy list but the people at the top are there to buy influence, pure and simple.  White House for sale...

Update 5-7-25:  $TRUMP is currently trading at $10.86.  Most of the contest leaderboard wallets are foreign.

Update 5-14-25:  Reuters reported:

Buyers of U.S. President Donald Trump’s $TRUMP meme coin spent an estimated $148 million in the contest to win the opportunity to dine with the president at his private golf club outside of Washington, D.C. on May 22

Update 5-23-25:  The dinner happened and to date the White House has not released a guest list for the event.  CNN reported on some of the attendees.  CBC reported meme-coin buyers spent $148 million for a seat at the Trump dinner table.

the four largest investors also received a limited edition Trump Tourbillon watch that sells for $100,000

Wake Up to PEU

My wise friend sent this video, which is making the rounds for good reason.  Trump II's false narrative is that other countries stole U.S. jobs when American employers, many PEU owned, purposefully exported them.  The video begins with"

They rob you blind and you thank them for it.  That's a tragedy.  That's a scam.  That's why I am saying this right now.

Americans you don't need a tariff, You need a revolution.  For decades your government and oligarchs will ship your jobs to China.  Not for diplomacy.  Not for peace.  But to exploit cheap labor and in the process they hollow out your middle class, crash your working class and told you to be proud while they sold your future for profit. 

PEUReport noted the words of a major business reporter in July 2011:

I have seen so many people -- particularly those in their 50s - 70s -- taken apart by what has happened in their industry as greed has hollowed out the economy. These are people took pride in their jobs and held themselves to this invisible standard that we all just took for granted, but is being wiped out. 

The Carlyle Group scares me more than anything I've ever seen on Wall Street. It seems to exist to corrupt politicians and it's hard to know who they even represent. 

I watched a video interview of (David) Rubenstein and his arrogance is really beyond tolerance. He was going on about the debt ceiling problem and how there would need to be cuts in services and higher taxes. When the reporter asked him about tax on carried interest he turned really disdainful and said that this "only" amounted to $22 billion over some number of years and this was not serious money. Boy, nothing like everybody doing their small part to save the country from oblivion!

Continuing the video:

And yes, China made money.  But we used it to build roads, lift millions out of poverty, fund healthcare, raise living standard.  We reinvest in our people.  My family also benefit from it.

What did your oligarchs do?  They bought yachts, private jets, mansions with golf course driveways.  They manipulate market, dodge taxes and pour billions into endless wars.

And you, you get stagnate wages, crippling healthcare costs, cheap dopamine, debt and flag to wave, probably made in China while they pick your pocket.  

For forty years both China and the United States both benefit from the trade, the manufacturing but only one of us use that wealth to build.

Politicians Red and Blue love PEU (private equity underwriters) and increasingly, more are one.  The current Governor of Virginia sent jobs to China while at The Carlyle Group.  His bosses and other PEU legends were labelled "policy making billionaires." They defeated repeated challenges to eliminate their preferred "carried interest" taxation as they hollowed out community after community, bought and sold company after company.  All along, PEU affiliates got more business from Uncle Sam. 

Now, TechGods have adopted the PEU playbook and they are not as refined in covering their nefarious methods with layers of secrecy or patriotic plastering.

The video concludes:

This isn't China's fault.  This is yours.  You let this happen.  You let oligarchs feed you lies while they made you fat, poor and addicted.  Now they blame China for mess they made.  I don't think so.

I don't think you need another tariff.  You need to wake up.  You need to take your country back.

I think you need a revolution.

We do need to wake up and take our country back.  We need to be clear with our elected representatives that the time for catering to the billionaire class is over.  There should be no government subsidies for people-less factories, for jobless investments.  Tax dodges for the super wealthy need to stop, both in law and in practice.

PEUs drove the deindustrialization of America and TechGods want to lead the next phase with AI and factory automation.  

Trump II, the digital Caligula, implements the de-governmentalization of America, sending federal workers packing under a barrage of insults, carving out huge legal areas as "no longer enforced", turning standard measures like "GDP" and "deficits" into fantasy constructs and installing the largest group of "Yes" men, lickspittle rectums into critical roles to carry out the Donarch's wishes "to the D", to the detriment of our country.

The deindustrialization, degovernmentalization revolution is well underway and the target is well, you, me, we, us.  PEUs, TechGods and "Trumple Sam" have united to further hollow out our communities and our country.

Update:  Trump II is negotiating with himself on China tariffs.  Thus far China's response has been "talk to the hand."

A junior TechGod wants to replace all people with AI/automation.  His startup is named Mechanize.  I hope he starts with his job.

Endangered Currents: Credit, Trade, Love and Justice

Think of trade, credit, love and justice as living breathing organisms or systems, where flow is indicative of a productive, vibrant system.  Trump's tariffs are cyanide to trade flows and pneumonia for credit. 

Companies that wish to manufacture in the U.S. need access to capital, whether equity or debt.  First, they need more working capital just to sell the same amount of stuff under a tariff regime.

Another giant layer is needed to build, equip and operate plants in the U.S.  That can come from the company's dinged equity or adding debt (which got more expensive after Trump's Liberation Day). 

Trump II's toxic personality is anathema to both love and justice as he demands adulation (false love) and fealty (subjugation) with nary a care about legality, because after all, Trump's wishes are "the law."

Easter was a wonderful break from Trump II, the digital Caligula.  Sure, he tried to wear Christianity like Jacob's hair coat but his clumsy efforts could not diminish the Easter miracle.  God resurrected his beloved child who he'd sent to show us the Lord's ways! 

The death of Pope Francis on Monday morning extended the Easter message as the Pope's leadership had long been about living Christ's Gospel.    I noted Trump the Usurper plans to attend Pope Francis' funeral.  Rest assured Trump II will try to apportion Francis's legacy, claiming key aspects of the Pope's legacy as his very own.

Trump's toxicity and baseless claims are no reason to stop living Christ's Sermon on the Mount, love God with all our heart and love our neighbor (fellow human beings).  Love flowed in the early Christian communities without the support of Roman Emperors.  I imagine some of those Emperors served the same role as Trump, living the opposite of Christ's teachings, a "Contra Jesus."  

Trump wants to stop the world, for everything to orient in his directions, for its resources to magically come to his feet, for the globe to bend to his will.  So far, corporate chiefs have acquiesced and some have been rewarded.  How much of an interruption to credit and trade can CEOs take?  That remains to be seen.

Pope Francis challenged world leaders to do more for the poor and disadvantaged.  He opposed war and violence as a means of problem solving.  Francis' humility stood in stark contrast to Trump's insatiable ego.

The Pope focused on our home, the Earth and its environs.  Global ocean currents are endangered as are the flows of credit, trade, love and justice.  

Lord, hear us and help us live Christ's call while putting to the side the ever-shifting, earthly wishes of Old Testament Kings.  

Update 4-22-25:  Treasury Chief Bessent referred to the current trade situation with China as "unsustainable" and "an embargo."  

Update 4-23-25:  Bessent's China softening came in a private meeting enabling those in attendance at a JP Morgan meeting to trade on unpublic information.

Update 4-28-25:  Trump said in an interview:

"I run the country and the world."

And that's the problem with Pablum.

TMTG's New SMA Club Partnership

Trump Media & Technology Group announced a strategic partnership with Index Technologies Group and Yorkville America Equities to offer

"a new suite of Truth Social-branded Separately Managed Accounts (“SMAs”). These investment strategies offer investors access to curated, thematic investment strategies rooted in American values and priorities. 

The initial lineup of SMA strategies includes: 

 • Faith & Values 

 • Liberty & Security 

 • Energy Independence 

 • Made in America"

Index Technologies Group is part of Arax Investment Partners, which is sponsored by Redbird Capital, a private equity underwriter (PEU).  (Redbird Capital has Jeff Zucker of CNN fame as an Operating Partner and former CalPERS CEO Nicole Musicco was once with Redbird.)  

Wait a minute.  Didn't Trump Media already announce specific funds in a February press release?

The launch of Truth.Fi is part of TMTG's financial services and FinTech strategy that includes the investment of up to $250 million to be custodied by Charles Schwab, which will partner with TMTG to develop the SMAs.

How does this partnership fit in with that?  TMTG's press release stated:

The SMAs will complement a slate of ETFs planned to launch later this year through a partnership between TMTG and Crypto.com. 

The ETFs and SMAs, both of which TMTG is planning to invest in via its own cash reserves, are part of a TMTG financial services and FinTech strategy using up to $250 million to be custodied by Charles Schwab.

What happened to Schwab's "partnering with TMTG to develop the SMAs?"

Trump Media already had deals with Yorkville, a small New Jersey financial firm.  Fortune reported Yorkville Advisors helped Trump Media raise $450 million in 2024.  

Surely, Trump Media is proud of this relationship with Yorkville and wants the public to know the firm that raised significant funds for DJT will also have your back.

About Yorkville America Equities 

Yorkville America Equities is a Florida-based asset management firm focused on delivering innovative, America-first investment products. With deep expertise in capital markets and a strong commitment to client-focused solutions, the firm specializes in strategies that support U.S.-based companies aligned with national values.

That description makes one wonder if it's the same Yorkville.  It is.

Yorkville America Equities is owned by Yorkville Advisors according to the Florida Department of Corporations.  The document indicates a 2,364 square foot, three bedroom home in Jupiter, Florida as the location for Yorkville America Equities.  

That address shows a number of Florida corporations, most under the names of Troy Rillo or Ana Rillo.  Troy Rillo is a partner with Yorkville Advisors and Co-Chairs the firm's Investment Committee.  Ana Rillo is a realtor serving high end property owners and buyers in the Jupiter area.  

It's not the Ugland House in Grand Cayman but not many people have seven corporations registered at their home address.

So why the headfake?  Yorkville Advisors was accused of valuation shenanigans within a hedge fund but was exonerated when a court ruled the SEC charge lacked proof. 

Back to Index Technologies Group, the third leg of the TMTG's new SMA partnership.  It is relatively new, formed by Arax Investment Partners in January 2024.

Index Technologies Group already has a Faith and Values fund, as well as a Liberty and Security offering.  Jon Duprau is ITG's Managing Director, but plays a number of roles under the Redbird/Arax umbrella.

Duprau is the master behind Arax's specialized financial products.

It would be interesting to hear why Trump's company left the Schwab SMA development partnership, assuming it existed to begin with.  Also, I'd like to learn why it was important to paint Yorkville America Equities as a Florida based asset management firm.

Some things are for dough, some for show and some are for both.  Four!

Trump's Various Nightmares

The Red Team raised the prospect of a "nightmare communist state" when winning candidate and Blue Teamer Barack Obama wanted to increase taxes on the wealthy in 2008.  That 4.6% tax increase somehow would invite communist hoards into government operations.  The increase occurred and had no impact on the fortunes of the super wealthy.

Seventeen years later the Red Team is ready to go further, all the way to 40% for people earning $1 million or more.  This tax increase is needed in order to pay for extending Trump's prior tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations.

So we have to raise taxes on the wealthy to continue tax cuts for the wealthy/corporations?  Just like tariffs have to kill the economy in order to save it.  

How many members of Congress will rise to call Trump II's 40% tax a "nightmare communist" move?  My money is on "none" or "zero."

So what other indicators, besides a tax increase to around 40% would suggest a nightmare communist state? 

1.  Ignoring court rulings with impunity

2.  Large military parades

3.  Compliant Politburo (Congress)

4.  Violating citizen's rights, also with impunity

5.  Appointing cronies into key government positions

Who knew Sarah Palin's 2008 "nightmare communist" warning would be so prescient and that it would be her party that made good on that particular tax plan?  

Bessent Logs Time in Buenos Aires

Bloomberg interviewed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Buenos Aires yesterday.  Bessent visited to support Argentina's President Javier Milei's leading his country "back from the precipice." 

Milei had gone to Mar-a-Lago the week before after President Trump set the economic globe on fire with his optional tariffs.  Milei gifted DOUGEBAG Chief Elon Musk a special chainsaw at CPAC.  

Back to the Bessent Bloomberg interview where the Treasury Chief talked about Argentina's three adjustments.  The first fiscal adjustment involved large government budget cuts.  

...reductions included capital spending (-80%), transfers to provinces (-70%), public sector wages (-26%) and pensions (-23%)

The second adjustment was a significant reduction in monetary supply.  Bessent was there for the third adjustment which allows the Argentinian peso to float within a range.  Citizens saw an immediate 10% loss of purchasing power.

Bessent also talked about "unfair trade" arrangements and illuminated five things to look for.

The interviewer used the word "combat" in a question on China.  Bessent quickly noted that to be "an aggressive word."  Investment legend Warren Buffett called tariffs "an act of war to some degree."  It's becomes more aggressive when the U.S. mischaracterizes a trade deficit as "ripping us off."

The last two items on Bessent's unfair trade practices are subsidization of labor and facilities.  That is a regular thing in San Angelo.  Most local economic development efforts involve some form of subsidy for labor and/or facilities.

Red Team Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin subsidized Armed Forces Brewing in summer 2023.  The state beat out Maryland and Florida.  

The brewery opened in early 2024 and after a year of operation announced it would relocate.

Note every economic development deal works out but state and local governments subsidizing labor, equipment and facilities are not rare events in the U.S.   Beware the log in your eye, Mr. Bessent, when you point out the stick in another's.

Trump's optional tariff regime has also been framed as an adjustment.  I hope the Donarch is not using Argentina as a model.  The point is to avoid third-world "imploded economy" status, not imitate it.

Update 4-16-25:  Naked Capitalism's story on Bessent's trip to Argentina is excellent and worth the read.

Update 4-22-25:  Bessent referred to the current trade situation with China as "unsustainable" and "an embargo."

Update 4-29-25:  Commerce Chief Howard Lutnick told CNBC that Bessent has the China trade deal to work out, while Howard has the rest.  I can the tire marks, Scott.

TechGods Are Cheapy Cheaters

MSN reported:

Can intellectual property survive as AI advances and allegedly uses copyrighted work as training material?

Allegedly?  Google founder Eric Schmidt confessed AI was scooping up gobs of copyrighted materials at a Stanford lecture and it was something the lawyers would settle after the AI product became commercially successful.

Twitter (now X) co-founder Jack Dorsey recently weighed in on the debate, taking to X on Friday to call for an end to intellectual property law, which covers areas like copyright, patents, and trademarks — and Elon Musk approved of his stance. 

"Delete all IP law," Dorsey wrote on Friday evening in a post that has been viewed more than 10 million times. An hour later, Musk responded, "I agree."

As usual, these guys are pushing their own book.  Elon has Grok AI and Dorsey recently launched Goose, an AI agent building platform.  

For decades the U.S. raised concerns over China appropriating our intellectual property.  Now billionaire TechGods want to take for free what others have legally created?  

I get that TechGods need copyrighted information given the garbage that is widespread on the internet.  They don't have a product without it and as a result, have been stealing intellectual property for years.

If you needed someone's knowledge to make your business venture go, you'd find a way to partner with them.  TechGods are cheapy cheaters who don't know how to play nice with others.  No wonder they are such a good fit with politicians, the very people who failed to protect us from big tech's predatory nature.  

TechGods want it all for free and if the pattern holds, a Presidential Executive Order will give it to them.

Update:  My wise friend noted:

Imagine if you're Elon Musk And one of your dreams is to abolish IP And you occupy the White House With a president that has herded the largest law firms throughout the land. HMMN sounds like we might have a plan? Are there any objections? Or maybe you would like to visit El Salvador?

El Salvador?  Yes, there is an implied threat. 

Palantir Bores Into IRS Databases

Wired reported another TechGod stands to sell more to Uncle Sam:

DOGE wants Palantir’s Foundry software to become the “read center of all IRS systems.” 

Foundry is a Palantir platform that can organize, build apps, or run AI models on the underlying data. Once the data is organized and structured, Foundry’s “ontology” layer can generate APIs (interfaces) for faster connections and machine learning models. This would allow users to quickly query the software using artificial intelligence to sort through agency data, which would require the AI system to have access to this sensitive information.

Palantir has key people inside DOUGEBAG (Department of Ungodly Greedy Executives Biased Against Government).  Other TechGods have loaned people to DOUGEBAG, keeping their stock options, seniority and benefits intact.  It would not surprise me if Palantir did likewise.

Palantir's TechGods include CEO Alex Karp and co-founder Peter Thiel.  Both men serve on The Bilderberg Group's Steering Committee.  Other TechGods on that committee include Eric Schmidt, who noted AI's penchant for stealing intellectual property (one of the U.S.'s main issue with China), and Microsoft Chief Satya Nadella.

Palantir cut its teeth protecting the Bilderberg Group Annual Confab, which first tackled AI in 2015.   Three years ago Bilderberg had "disruption of global financial system" on its agenda.  "Artificial Intelligence" made the discussion list again in 2023.   

Both are front and center as Trump II, the digital Caligula, ravages the global financial system with his tariff whimsy and DOUGEBAG destroys government operations with AI.  

TechGods seek a greater portion of Uncle Sam's budget.  Palantir's Foundry is ringing that cracked bell.  

Update 5-11-25:  A decade later The Asia Times is calling Alex Karp "the most dangerous man in America."  Ken Griffin sounded the alarm on tariffs, saying they are ushering in an era of crony capitalism.  Both warnings are at least ten years too late.

Update 5-21-25:  Naked Capitalism reposted a piece on Alex Karp and Palantir.  It notes that America's security state is focused on protecting the rich.  And that's how Karp/Palantir cut its teeth, guarding the Bilderbergers.  

A mix of politicians, think tanks and PEUs came up with Project Esther which has twisted the Gaza situation so that U.S. citizens cannot speak out against the deliberate starvation of children and babies in Gaza.  

Distasteful Things of TechGod, PEU Variety

Bill Kristol's The Bulwark interviewed former Blue Team New Jersey Governor and disgraced MF Global CEO Jon Corzine for insight into Trump's incoherent and disastrous tariffs.  Former CNN anchor John Avlon conducted the interview.  Avlon ran for Congress in New York as a candidate for the Blue Team.  He did not win.  

Early on Corzine noted that Trump's tariffs were "filled with conflicts."  That is something Corzine knows well as Jon paid a $5 million penalty for MF Global's usurping customer funds when his firm's many financial bets went bad.  Corzine got a lifetime ban from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.  Avlon's introduction neglected to mention Corzine's "failure to diligently supervise the handling of customer funds."

So the non-Insane portion of the Red Team wants to hit Trump II, the Digital Caligula hard but does not want to elevate any members of the Blue Team as reasonable alternatives.  Corzine would be the perfect get for that.

It makes me want to wash my hands of the whole thing, but that is not an option.  PEU Report has covered the Government-Corporate Monstrosity for decades  to the point I regularly wrote:

Politicians Red and Blue love PEU (private equity underwriters) and increasingly, more are one.

Recently TechGods decided to imitate their PEU brethren, throwing gobs of money at political candidates, in return for access to Uncle Sam's wallet and the chance to weight government scales even further in their favor.  

A journalist noticed and below is her recent TED talk:

In a dark twist this journalist's employer changed hands and is now owned by a PEU like entity, billionaire backed Tortoise Media.

Trump's TechGods include Peter Thiel, JD Vance, David Sacks, Alex Karp, Sam Altman and the Giants that attended his coronation.

Recently, Trump advisors Peter Navarro and Howard Lutnick revealed America's manufacturing renaissance will be automated, done by robot.  This is yet another nod to the TechGods and their anti-people visions.

Last distasteful thing for today:  British PEU CVC Capital indicated it may bid on Golub Capital, a frequent financier of private equity affiliates.  

Why would leveraged equity be interested in private credit?  Because in a downturn private credit gets the keys to the insolvent PEU affiliate.  If you can't sell your affiliates, getting someone else's for nearly free is the ticket to massive future profits.  CVC could also use the Golub platform to fund their affiliates needing to roll over debt.  (Golub would be in addition to CVC's current credit offerings.) 

Financial crises occur when the big money boys no longer trust each other to make good on their debts.  Players hold their cards and throw nothing into the pot.  A Lord of the Flies scenario develops inside the PEU as founders and senior executives decide which affiliates to "Piggy."  

If anyone thinks the carnage will remain at the top is unaware of this group's penchant for jettisoning responsibility and clutching the grossly excessive possessions they've accumulated in their richly deserved rise to PEU Lord/TechGod.  

Excrement flows widely and wildly from the people at the top.  Examine closely before ingesting.

Update 4-14-25:  Bonus TechGod information:  Peter Thiel's and Alex Karp's Palantir is working with DOUGEBAG on a super interface that aggregates IRS data.  Palantir cut its teeth protecting the Bilderbergers.

FT ran a story titled "Private Equity is More Stuck than Ever..."

Maher Gets Trump "All In" Treatment

Comedian Bill Maher dined with President Trump in late March at the White House and shared his experience on his show, "Real Time with Bill Maher."  

Trump needed someone to say he is a real person, even likable after upending the global economy (like an infantile deity throwing blocks around).  Maher called Trump gracious and inquisitive.  

Donald J. Trump is an entertainer and can put on the charm when it behooves him.  Flashback to June 2024 when candidate Trump courted the Silicon Valley's gang of four, the "All In Podcast." 

 

Three of the four hosts are immigrants and yet to be deported.  Trump picked JD Vance as his running mate based on advice from the TechGods.  The message was Donald's not deranged, even likeable.

Similarly, Maher noted:

“A crazy person doesn’t live in the White House. A person who plays a crazy person on TV a lot lives there, which I know is fucked up. It’s just not as fucked up as I thought it was.”

What if it's the opposite, the "crazy person on TV a lot" played a sane person for a few hours for entertainment purposes?

Everybody likes Trump, admit it!  Sure, Donald is familiar, like Archie Bunker was familiar.  Every person raised in a dysfunctional household can wear Trump like a wool sweater in Death Valley in late July.  It makes you sweat, itch and generally uncomfortable.   You can't wait to remove it, for it to go away. 

Right off Maher showed Trump that he was not usurpable by having Donald sign a list of insults he'd leveled at Bill Maher over the years.  Now that we've acknowledged both of us have "said things" about the other, let's dine.  

Trump knows how to host.  That skill is second only to firing people and he has that covered with Musk's AI employee eliminator.  He gave entertainer Bill Maher a "nice dinner and quality time" and in return the comedian made room for Trump's humanity after he'd done the inhumane (upended the global economy) after the inhumane (stealing from the poor to give to the rich).

Trump's laugh may not have been fake but nearly everything else may have been.  Especially as The Trump Store in Trump Tower is full of goods, none made in America.  My wise friend wrote:

If he believed in his MAGA storyLINE just on principle he would not have a store selling FOREIGN manufactured goods. 

The whole charade is about him creating Leverage for himself using the consumer and our military as his strong arm for payment. The wannabe gangster never had the muscle to engage in extortion, his gig has always been fraud, deception, bankruptcy , DEBT, and cooking the books.

This Apple exemption and other high tech basically weakens his whole premise. So he created all this chaos for whom? So he could say he saved the bond market after breaking it? Narcissism at its best.

"Make America Great Again" by selling MAGA merch made in a foreign country.  Bill Maher may want to check the label of his Trump merch from the White House "blowjob office."

Update 4-13-25:  The Trump TechGod alliance is far more than installing Vance as VP, it intends to usurp everything.

Update 4-14-25:   Trump's byzantine tariff plan/non-plan shocked the economic world into shambles, after which Trump said "I know what I'm doing" when he clearly does not.  Even The Apprentice staff had to reverse engineer Donald's inaccurate decisions.