Howard Lutnick is arguably one of the slickest and most corrupt operators in modern finance.

We now know he was close friends with Jeffrey Epstein, despite him previously denying it. That link was confirmed in the Epstein files. He also has documented ties to Tether and Bitcoin market manipulation.

Now a brand new scheme has surfaced involving Cantor Fitzgerald, run by one of his sons.

The firm has been buying the rights to U.S. tariff refunds at massive discounts.

Here is how this scam works:

1. U.S. companies paid billions in tariffs that were later ruled illegal.

2. Cantor approaches those companies and offers immediate cash: 25 cents for every dollar they are owed.

3. Companies take the money to avoid waiting years for litigation and bureaucracy.

4. When refunds are issued, Cantor collects the full dollar.

They bought claims at 25 cents on the dollar. After today’s Supreme Court ruling, those claims could be worth 80 to 90 cents.

It’s worth nothing that Lutnick also literally helped architect the tariff regime. He pushed Trump to implement it, likely knowing it would collapse and create this exact arbitrage opportunity.

The potential payout is in the billions. This is insider-level extraction hiding in plain sight.

#Gold/S&P moves in a large trading range. Each cycle within that range takes roughly ~1 decade from peak to bottom.

The seizure of Russian assets marked the current cycle top ~4 years ago.

Assuming current S&P levels hold, to reach:

- The 2008 low, gold would need to trade at ~$8,300/oz
- The 1979 low, gold would need to trade at ~$40,000/oz

Interestingly, if you had gone all-in on gold in the late 1960s, you would have outperformed the S&P for over 6 decades.

The current gold cycle has just begun and has further room to run.

China controls the majority of global tungsten supply.

Western governments are going to do whatever it takes to secure onshore supply.

It's the second hardest material on earth (only behind Diamonds) and has a melting point of 3,422°C.

If the US can't get access to #Tungsten, then their rockets will not compare to Chinas.

#USD/CHF H4 #Indicator #Signal #Trading #GlobalOneAI

$MP $UUUU $UAMY $USAR $LAC $CRML | EXIM Chairman John Jovanovic on Project Vault: "The President challenged us to do something we’ve never had in American history: a Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve."

$AMD $NVDA $CRWV $ORCL | AMD to backstop a $300M loan for Crusoe, guaranteeing to rent its own chips if the startup lacks customers.

The Goldman Sachs deal mirrors Nvidia’s playbook, leveraging 6% interest rates to accelerate AMD’s AI infrastructure footprint.

🚨⚡️The🇬🇧UK and🇫🇷France clashing Over Power Links

An epic battle between energy authorities and regulators in the UK and France is unfolding behind the curtains of energy markets.

Trump: The phone call with Xi was excellent.

Xi: Financial institutions should start reducing US Treasuries.

Countries around the world are turning to #gold instead of USTs.

🔺 Infrastructure activation precedes public announcements. Always has.

Kuwait 1991: Payment systems operational in February. Rate announcement March 24th. The sequence matters because it reveals the mechanism—infrastructure activates, transactions flow, THEN the world gets told.

Here's why that pattern matters right now:
Kurdistan digital salary rollout went live this week. Teachers, civil servants, police receiving payments through IMF-compliant digital backbone. Not a pilot. Operational infrastructure executing transactions.

The separation between "system ready" and "public rate policy" isn't delay—it's the standard sequence.

Systems first, announcements after.

🧵

What stacked today:

• Treasury endorsing crypto as strategic infrastructure (policy layer)

• Kurdistan executing digital salary payments (operational layer)

• Geneva timeline negotiations with dual carrier groups offshore (geopolitical layer)

• Federal Supreme Court potentially overriding parliamentary deadlock (political layer)

• IMF-compliant payment backbone processing transactions (institutional layer)

Five different domains.

One 48-hour window.

The question isn't whether systems are ready.

Systems are executing transactions right now in Kurdistan.

The question is what triggers the sequence from "infrastructure operational" to "rate policy published."

Iraq's got operational infrastructure.

They've got IMF compliance.

They're negotiating geopolitical framework.

Federal Supreme Court may force political resolution if Parliament stays deadlocked.

Every prerequisite except political framework completion is checked.

That's the last variable—and it's compressing.

Something's being synchronized that wasn't two weeks ago.

🧵 Iraq just froze personal remittances.

Not business transfers. Not commercial flows. Just individuals moving money out.

Same 72 hours: government pulled 27 trillion dinar from two banks to cover payroll.

One move stops currency leaving. The other forces immediate liquidity need.

20 trillion from Rafidain.
7 trillion from Rasheed.
Civil servant salaries due.

MP Duha Al-Bahadli is now demanding CBI Governor Al-Alaq explain the "cash liquidity fluctuation" in Parliament.

Controlled pressure.
Create urgency.

Seal the exits.
Force a decision.

National Bank of Iraq went live with Temenos core banking and payments platform last April. Implementation completed in under 12 months.

Modern banking infrastructure for payments and FX handling now operational.

The technical layer for managed exchange rate transitions exists.

Meanwhile: Maliki's nomination just became radioactive.

US told Coordination Framework—drop him or three ministries get sanctioned.
Including oil.

Eight alternatives now being vetted.

Atlantic Council confirms: "Trump's rejection of Maliki is unwavering."

Iraq's Treasury holdings jumped from $23.4B (January) to $40.8B (December)—74% surge.

S&P affirmed B-/B rating. Inflation down to 1.9%. Fiscal deficit shrinking.

WTO files complete.

ASYCUDA handling 90% of trade.

Fifth Third Bank confirmed as "playing very big part in exchange process."

Freeze remittances. Force liquidity crisis.

Demand Al-Alaq explain to Parliament.

Sanction Iranian proxies.

Stack US Treasuries.

Banking infrastructure operational.

Ramadan starts tomorrow. Runs through March 18.

Every constraint just activated in the same three-week window.

What I am watching 👁️

• Geneva talks outcome / US carrier positioning
• CBI remittance statement
• Maliki sanctions threat (Feb 16 deadline missed)
• Parliament presidential vote

12 KC-135 tankers airborne across the Mediterranean yesterday.

Steady C-17 Globemaster stream into theater.

You don't sustain that kind of aerial refuelling footprint for signalling.

That's either a strike rotation backbone or extended combat air patrol over denied airspace.

The logistics tell you what the diplomats won't.

Feb 28 just went from a date to a deadline with infrastructure behind it.

Iraq's political blockade is fracturing in real time.

7 of 12 Coordination Framework delegates now voting against Maliki — up from initial resistance.

US sanctions threat against three ministries including oil forced the math.

Eight replacement candidates being vetted while Kurdish delegation prepares Baghdad return next week.

HCL can't move until the PM seat is resolved. The PM seat can't hold with Maliki in it.

That bottleneck is breaking.

Two clocks running simultaneously.

Military: tanker surge, carrier groups, C-17 stream — operational architecture being staged across the Mediterranean with a Feb 28 window.

Political: Maliki collapsing, Kurdish delegation incoming, March 1 electronic billing deadline.

Iraq 2003 — the currency swap happened under military occupation.
Not after stability.
During operations.

Financial restructuring in this region has never waited for peace. It happens under the umbrella.

SocGen just expanded its euro stablecoin to XRP Ledger.

Modern Treasury integrating stablecoin settlement alongside traditional rails.

While the Gulf stages for whatever comes next, the financial plumbing is being rewired in parallel.

Two tracks. One military. One monetary. Both accelerating into the same window.

The question from two weeks ago — whether preparation and activation had collapsed into the same timeline — just got 12 tankers worth of confirmation.