... --- ... SPRING'S May-24-2019 = AUTOS BACK UP! & Trump GIVES BARR-G0-DECLASS & Trump Orders FBI, CIA To "Fully Cooperate" With Barr & Suddenly US Service-Sector Growth Dives & SpaceX launched sats

THE SAVAGE INTEL...
SGT. SAVAGE SAYS...
FELLOW AMERICANS, I'VE JOINED FORCES WITH IKE, WE NEEDED SOME LEADERSHIP

IKE HERE, WE , NEED TO STAND TOGETHER TO HELP THIS REPUBLIC.
HOSTILES HAVE TAKEN MANY OF THE OFFICES AND FORCE THEIR WILL ON AMERICA, IT'S PEOPLE AND THE REST OF THE WORLD!! COME TOGETHER AGAINST THIS COMMON ENEMY!!
THIS IS GOD'S EARTH! AND THIS COUNTRY WAS BLESSED BY GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER!
I'M ASKING ALL OF YOU TO PRAY TO HIM OUR ANOINTED SAVIOR YESHUA (JESUS) AND ASK FOR HELP IN THWARTING THIS EVIL AND THE MINIONS THAT BRING DESTRUCTION FOR THIS ENTIRE PLANET!
BE VOICEFULL AND STAND TOGETHER

GOD BLESS Q=17, PRESIDENT TRUMP & PATRIOTS!

1. AUTO INDUSTRY SHOWING CRACKS: FORD BEGINS FINAL ROUND OF LAYOFFS AS UNSOLD CARS KEEP PILING UP


2. Trump GIVES BARR-G0-DECLASS


3. Trump Orders FBI, CIA To "Fully Cooperate" With Barr; Grants "Full And Complete Authority To Declassify"


4. Suddenly US Service-Sector Growth Dives, Manufacturing Gets Even Weaker


5. SpaceX just launched a Falcon 9 loaded with Starlink internet satellites

#1
https://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/auto-industry-showing-cracks-ford-begins-final-round-of-layoffs-as-unsold-cars-keep-piling-up_05212019

not over til the fat lady sings... which is about to happen!
might be time to stop mass production and take orders?
oopsy... too late
wanna see our 2017 top of the line Volvo S60 bought new in 2019 for half price.. even the dealer that did maintenance never saw one like it and had to check computer to see where it had been for 2 yrs! See separate post

AUTO INDUSTRY SHOWING CRACKS: FORD BEGINS FINAL ROUND OF LAYOFFS AS UNSOLD CARS KEEP PILING UP
Mac Slavo
May 21st, 2019
SHTFplan.com
Comments (36) Read by 2,493 people

Ford Motor Co. is finishing up their final round of layoffs today. About 7,000 workers worldwide are losing their jobs in this “booming economy” as unsold vehicles continue to pile up in the once empty parking lots of closed retail establishments.
CEO Jim Hackett notified employees in an email Monday that Ford was nearing the end of its months-long bout of white-collar layoffs that would eliminate 7,000 jobs globally, roughly 10% of the automaker’s global salaried workforce, according to Detroit News. When the U.S. layoffs wrap by June, Ford would have cut around 800 jobs in addition to 1,500 buyouts that occurred late last year, or around 7% of its U.S. salaried workforce.
The first 500 employees to be laid off are being told today.  Both sets of layoffs are largely a result of a slowing auto market and looming economic recession. Ford’s layoffs are part of a $25.5 billion pool of cost cuts expected to roll out over the next few years.

Ford layoffs aim to prune management levels, which would allow for quicker ascension through executive ranks and quicker decision-making. Anderson said Ford’s job cuts aim to answer a tougher problem than GM’s. “Ford set a target for a gross number of management jobs to be reduced,” Anderson said. “That is harder to achieve and keep a successful company than it will be for General Motors. … It’s going to be harder for Ford to maintain the quality they have with this significant headcount reduction.”
But the auto industry is barely holding on right now, and it wouldn’t be too surprising if Ford laid off more workers by the end of this year as well.
Dealers Scramble To Deal With 4.2 Million UNSOLD CARS

Quote :

Abandoned factories, forgotten shopping malls, and undeveloped parcels of land have become parking lots full of new cars as dealers try to figure out what to do with mounting inventories of unsold vehicles, according to OKCFox, a local Oklahoma City Fox News affiliate reported. But the mainstream media keeps saying the economy is great, and even though stocks have fallen on the news of a heightened trade war, there isn’t much other real truth happening when it comes to reporting on the economy. –SHTFPlan

Of the over 4 million unsold cars and light trucks, over half are from General Motors, Ford or FCA brands. May sales have slumped as consumers just cannot afford to buy at this time. Auto loan delinquencies are also rising at a time when unemployment is low and the economy is in excellent shape (if you listen to the mainstream media.)  But the cracks in the economy are showing through the auto industry.

#2
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7064937/President-Trump-accuses-Democrats-using-investigations-thousand-stabs.html
VIDEO @ LINK

Trump accuses Democrats of using investigations to destroy his administration with a 'thousand stabs' and says 'FBI lovers' Peter Strzok and Lisa Page committed 'TREASON' during the Russia probe

• President said tweet last week that his campaign was the subject of illegal spying and those responsible committed treason
  
• Attorney General Bill Barr has appointed a U.S. Attorney who is a former special prosecutor to investigate how the Justice Dept.'s Russia probe began
  
• Trump insists he didn't direct Barr to launch a formal probe 
  
• Trump said Thursday statements by Peter Strzok and Lisa Page were 'treason'
  
• Also described Democratic investigations as part of a 'thousand stabs' 
  
• A new executive order empowers Barr to declassify information in connection with the probe of law enforcement actions 
  

By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 18:34 EDT, 23 May 2019 | UPDATED: 20:43 EDT, 23 May 2019

President Donald Trump accused Democrats of trying to take him down with a 'thousand stabs' – as he said a pair of former FBI agents committed 'treason' during the Russia probe.
Trump made the statement as he fielded questions at a trade-related event on a day when he called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi 'crazy.' He once again inveighed against Democratic investigations – and accused 'FBI lovers' Peter Strzok and Lisa Page of treason.
He also singled out former FBI director James Comey and former deputy director Andrew McCabe. 
'They don't feel they can win the election, so they're trying to do the thousand stabs. Keep stabbing. Let's have a financial, let's have – and if you look for $40 million, I would think seriously that Bob Mueller and his group of 18 killers have gone over my taxes, they've gone over my financial statements to a level that nobody has gone over them before and they were not discussed even. They weren't discussed or brought up,' Trump said, referencing Democratic demands for his tax returns and information about his business.
Trump made the comments shortly before the release of a new executive order that empowers Attorney General William Barr to declassify information in connection with the probe of law enforcement actions.
[size=10][size=18]President Trump goes after Strzok, Page and the Democrats




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+9


'That's treason,' said President Trump, describing communications of FBI lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page
He referenced a claim for the cost of the Mueller probe, which for now stands at closer to $25 million. 
Then Trump added: 'I have great statements,' referencing his financials. 
The president was asked which individuals committed treason – a crime that carries the death penalty – following a tweet days ago that said Treason 'means long jail sentences.' Trumps statements followed repeated calls to 'investigate the investigators,' and Attorney General Bill Barr naming a U.S. attorney to examine the early days of the Russia probe. 
'If you look at Comey. If you look at McCabe; if you look at probably people – people higher than that,' he saids. 
'If you look at Strzok, if you look at his lover, Lisa page, his wonderful lover,' Trump said at the White House. 'Two lovers. They talked openly. They didn't use their private server because they didn't want to get caught. So they used the government server,' Trump said of the two FBI agents whose relationship was revealed following an inspector general's report. 
'That was not a good move,' Trump advised. Then he brought up a Strzok text about an 'insurance policy,' which Strzok made while discussing a probe of Trump even when he was not favored to win the election.
'He talked about the insurance policy just in case crooked Hillary loses. And that didn't work out well for them. So you look at them, they want an insurance policy, so that should she for any reason lose, remember, 100 million to 1, maybe he said 100 million to nothing. But should she lose, we'll have an insurance policy and we’ll get this guy out of office,' Trump fumed.
That comment brought the number of people Trump claimed committed treason to four, in addition to the unnamed higher-ups. [/size]

#3
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-23/trump-orders-fbi-cia-fully-cooperate-barr-authorizes-full-and-complete-authority




Trump Orders FBI, CIA To "Fully Cooperate" With Barr; Grants "Full And Complete Authority To Declassify"




[size=10]by Tyler Durden
Fri, 05/24/2019 - 05:03[/size]




President Trump on Thursday announced that he has directed the US intelligence community to "quickly and fully cooperate with the Attorney General's investigation into surveillance activities during the 2016 Presidential election," adding that Attorney General William Barr has been given "complete authority to declassify information pertaining to this investigation. 

Quote :

Donald J. Trump

:heavy_check_mark:@realDonaldTrump

 · 15h


[ltr]“Today, at the request and recommendation of the Attorney General of the United States, President Donald J. Trump directed the intelligence community to quickly and fully cooperate with the Attorney General’s investigation into surveillance activities....[/ltr]

Quote :

Donald J. Trump

:heavy_check_mark:@realDonaldTrump

[ltr]....during the 2016 Presidential election. The Attorney General has also been delegated full and complete authority to declassify information pertaining to this investigation, in accordance with the long-established standards for handling classified information....[/ltr]

5:19 PM - May 23, 2019
Twitter Ads info and privacy

In a third tweet, Trump added that "Today’s action will help ensure that all Americans learn the truth about the events that occurred." 

Quote :

Donald J. Trump

:heavy_check_mark:@realDonaldTrump

 · 15h

Replying to @realDonaldTrump


[ltr]....during the 2016 Presidential election. The Attorney General has also been delegated full and complete authority to declassify information pertaining to this investigation, in accordance with the long-established standards for handling classified information....[/ltr]

Quote :

Donald J. Trump

:heavy_check_mark:@realDonaldTrump

[ltr]....Today’s action will help ensure that all Americans learn the truth about the events that occurred, and the actions that were taken, during the last Presidential election and will restore confidence in our public institutions.” @PressSec[/ltr]

5:19 PM - May 23, 2019
Twitter Ads info and privacy

Quote :

Steve Herman

:heavy_check_mark:@W7VOA

 · 15h


[ltr]Memo issued by @POTUS directing intelligence agency heads to cooperate with the attorney general's "review of intelligence activities relating to the campaigns in the 2016 Presidential election and certain related matters."[/ltr]

Quote :

Steve Herman

:heavy_check_mark:@W7VOA

[ltr]Here's the @PressSec statement on the @POTUS memo to the intelligence agency heads. pic.twitter.com/83u2rlu25C[/ltr]

5:19 PM - May 23, 2019 · Washington, DC
Twitter Ads info and privacy

The pending declassifications were announced on Tuesday night by The Hill's John Solomon and Fox News's Sean Hannity, whose inside sources told them of the wide swath of information about to hit. 
Among the documents slated for release, according to their sources, will be the so-called "Bucket Five" - documents which were originally presented to the Gang of Eight in 2016, which included everything the FBI and DOJ used against Trump campaign aide Carter Page - including the FISA surveillance application and its underlying exculpatory intelligence documents which the FISA court may have never seen. 
https://youtu.be/gpq70B4R1E4



We can only imagine what's going on deep in the bowels of DC right now... 

[ltr][/ltr]

Quote :

Josh Caplan

:heavy_check_mark:@joshdcaplan

[ltr]Live look at @Comey rn[/ltr]

5:32 PM - May 23, 2019

#4
https://www.sgtreport.com/2019/05/suddenly-us-service-sector-growth-dives-manufacturing-gets-even-weaker/



Suddenly US Service-Sector Growth Dives, Manufacturing Gets Even Weaker

May 24, 2019




by Wolf Richter, Wolf Street:
Slowest growth in orders since Oct 2009. Cleanest dirty shirt gets dirtier.
These are just the “Flash” Purchasing Managers’ Indices (PMI) which are reported a week before the final PMIs at the end of the month, and they represent just one view, but these are big moves, both, in US manufacturing and US services, big moves in the wrong direction, simultaneously, with both sectors now only by a hair still in expansion mode. The report by IHS Markitnoted for manufacturing and services combined, with disconcerting implications going forward, that the rise in new orders “was the softest recorded since the series began in October 2009.” So one by one.

Manufacturing gets even weaker:

The IHS Markit Flash US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell two full points from 52.6 in April to 50.6 in May. Above 50 means growth, so this is still growth, but it’s a heck of a lot slower growth than a month ago, and very near the zero-growth red line in the chart (data via Investing.com):

Manufacturing has been weakening around the world, with PMIs falling below 50 in some major manufacturing countries. In Germany, it fell into the dreadful mid-40s, and therefor into steep contraction mode. In this context, the US manufacturing PMI had been the cleanest dirty shirt, but that advantage is fading quickly.
The report:

Quote :

Underlying data indicated a broad-based slowdown in the rates of expansion for output, employment and pre-production inventories, while new orders declined for the first time since August 2009.

And new orders are a problem: “New orders were stymied by reports of weaker overall demand conditions and hesitancy among clients to place orders. The fall in new business was only fractional, but signaled a marked turnaround from the solid rise seen in April. Data suggested that demand from both domestic and foreign clients declined during the month, as exports also fell.”
This type of slowdown in manufacturing is “consistent” with annualized GDP growth of 1.2% in May. But…
“Worse may be to come, as inflows of new business showed the smallest rise seen this side of the global financial crisis. Business confidence has meanwhile slumped to its lowest since at least 2012, causing firms to tighten their belts, notably in respect to hiring. Jobs growth in May was the weakest seen for over two years.”
PMIs are based on surveys of industry executives without disclosing their names and companies. The “panelists” are asked whether certain aspects of their business are increasing or decreasing, compared to a month ago, such as new orders, new export orders, employment, backlog, inventories, supply chain delays, input costs, etc. Their responses form the sub-indices. For the headline PMI, they’re asked an overall question: “Is the level of business activity at your company higher, the same or lower than one month ago?”
PMIs are a boots-on-the-ground instant view by executives about how their company is being impacted by economic developments and precede by a good margin monthly or quarterly data released by corporate and government entities.
The manufacturing sector has been weak since February, but the PMI survey suggests that “the sector’s woes intensified in May to mean factories will therefore likely act as an increasing drag on the economy in the second quarter.”
“Trade wars remained top of the list of concerns among manufacturers, alongside signs of slower sales and weaker economic growth both at home and in key export markets,” the survey said.

Services now dragged down too.

The IHS Markit Flash U.S. Services PMI Business Activity Index dropped 2.1 points from 53.0 in April to 50.9 in May, after a 2.3-point drop in the prior reading. The first quarter in services had been strong, but the drop in April and May combined of 4.4 points was the steepest two-month drop since March 2016 when the services PMI dipped below 50 into contraction mode. May’s reading is still in expansion mode, above the red line, but by just a hair (data via Investing.com):

In the service sector, new orders “increased only slightly, as the rate of growth eased for the third successive month amid softer demand conditions and intense competition,” and the backlog of work contracted.
Growth in employment “dipped to a 25-month low.” The service sector is still increasing employment, but at a slow pace.

Manufacturing and services combined.

The IHS Markit Flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index, which combines the manufacturing and services PMIs, dropped from 53 in April to 50.9 in May, barely in expansion mode, the slowest expansion in overall business activity since May 2016, “as a struggling manufacturing economy was accompanied by a notable downshift in gear in the service sector.”
Recall that 2016 was the year that GDP grew a miserably slow 1.6%, the slowest expansion since the Great Recession.
“Growth of business activity slowed sharply in May as trade war worries and increased uncertainty dealt a further blow to order book growth and business confidence,” the report said.
Fears are now rising that the manufacturing “malaise” is spreading to the service sector, “growth of which slumped in May to one of the weakest since the global financial crisis.”
The service sector is the largest component of the US economy, and its performance is “a key gauge of the health of domestic demand.” And this slowdown spreading into services “poses downside risks to the outlook.”
Concerning inflation pressures and the much-threatened but mysteriously missing impact of tariffs on prices, the report said: “Input price inflation eased for the third month running in May, despite continued comments from panelists regarding the ongoing impact of tariffs. The slower increase in costs and greater competitive pressures underpinned a renewed fall in output charges, the first such decline since February 2016.”
And so the outlook by these businesses for the coming 12 months deteriorates: “Business expectations fell to their lowest since the series began in July 2012. Reduced confidence was commonly attributed to hesitation among clients and increased uncertainty, which were both often linked to global trade tensions.”
The weakness in manufacturing has been well-documented. But this sudden deterioration in the all-important service sector, from still strong in the first quarter, to hitting the skids in April and May, according the IHS-Markit PMI, is disconcerting.
Read More @ WolfStreet.com

#5
https://www.engadget.com/2019/05/23/spacex-starlink-launch/

SpaceX just launched a Falcon 9 loaded with Starlink internet satellites

These are the first of thousands. (beast system finish-up)


[size=15]Richard Lawler, @Rjcc
13h ago in Space
 [/size]


[size=16]
[size=18]After a pair of scrubbed launch attempts last week, SpaceX's first rocket loaded with 60 Starlink satellites has successfully taken off from Cape Canaveral. One hour and two minutes after the 10:30 PM ET launch the satellites are scheduled to begin deployment, heading toward their operational altitude of 550km above the Earth. The 227kg units will use Hall thrusters and energy pulled in from a single solar array to form a network that provides internet access around the globe.
The rocket's first stage has already landed safely on a waiting drone ship -- this was its third flight -- and having a reusable booster will be key to launching all the satellites required. Plans SpaceX filed with the FCC said it intends to have 12,000 of the Starlink units in orbit by the mid-2020s, providing internet connections capable of up to 1Gbps even in rural areas.[/size]
[size=18]Update: And just over an hour after launch, SpaceX successfully deployed the 60 flat-packed Starlink satellites.[/size][/size]