Known more for confidence than curiosity, the Manipulator-in-Chief might pause before adding yet another layer of price controls to his résumé. History’s quiet but consistent lesson is that price controls never fix problems created by reckless politicians—they simply rebrand them as shortages, distortions, and, eventually, popular misery. And when misery compounds long enough, it tends to end not in policy success but in revolution—those inconvenient, grassroots regime changes driven by public sentiment, which history shows are far more effective than the export-grade regime changes that have been a staple of imperial American policy since World War II.

Putting corporate diplomacy into refreshingly plain English, Exxon’s Darren Woods politely translated the obvious: Venezuela remains “uninvestable,” which in CEO dialect means “we’ve already been robbed twice and aren’t lining up for a third round.” Yes, the oil is abundant, but so are asset seizures, legal uncertainty, and political roulette—small inconveniences investors tend to dislike. Unsurprisingly, Exxon and ConocoPhillips are staying on the sidelines, Chevron is cautiously tiptoeing without opening its wallet, and smaller players are waving around checkbooks measured in millions, not the $100 billion daydream floated by Donald Copperfield. In short, Venezuela has plenty of oil—just not enough rule of law to go with it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLl2umofu9Y

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In the latest episode of Progress Is Freedom, OpenAI has unveiled ChatGPT Health—a “secure” space where you can generously connect your medical records, smartwatch data, diet apps, workouts, and presumably your pulse of existential dread. Apple Health, Peloton, MyFitnessPal, Weight Watchers—because nothing says wellness like centralizing your biology in one convenient place.

We’re told this is about empowerment: understanding test results, preparing for doctor visits, optimizing diet and exercise. History, however, gently clears its throat and reminds us that every centralized database eventually finds a second career—as leverage. Political, financial, legal—pick your dystopia.

Of course, we’re reassured the data won’t be used for training. Privacy will be respected. Safeguards are in place.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpqy29d0yjgo

Governments and institutions always say this at the beginning of the movie, never at the end. The real question isn’t what the system promises today—it’s what it will quietly require tomorrow.

Health data isn’t just personal; it’s power. Once digitized and centralized, it becomes subpoena-ready, hackable, and irresistibly interesting to regulators with “good intentions.” HIPAA won’t save you from the state, and no database in history has remained untouched forever.

But don’t worry—this is all for your own good.

After all, Big Brother doesn’t want to control you. He just wants you healthy.

The Macro Butler sat down with Christian White of Marbella Media to make sense of the latest tremors rattling the planet, as geopolitics once again opened Pandora’s box and promptly lost the lid.

https://themacrobutler.substack.com/p/interview-with-christian-white-08012026

In today’s episode of Freedom Is Rate Cuts, Donald Copperfield—never shy of exporting the Don-Roe Doctrine even domestically—has reportedly invited the ‘Department of Just-Us’ to consider a criminal investigation into Fed Chair. Weaponizing justice to block political rivals was yesterday’s outrage; weaponizing it to bully interest rates lower is the bold new innovation. Powell, committing the ultimate thoughtcrime, replied that these were mere “pretexts” and reminded the Party that the Fed sets rates based on what serves the public—not presidential preference. In Orwellian terms: independence is obstruction, pressure is policy, and coercion is now monetary easing.

https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20260111a.htm

Seventy-five years ago, President Truman tried to strong-arm the Fed into capping rates so he could fund the Korean War. It didn’t work then, and history suggests it won’t work now. If Donald Copperfield believes he can swap the “Central Banker-in-Chief” for a compliant chimpanzee with a rate-cut button, the United Socialist America may be in for a spectacular post-2027 hangover.

https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/treasury-fed-accord

A sharp surge in volatility is forming on the horizon, and the Manipulator-in-Chief is about to collide with the one force he cannot bully: the free market. As confidence erodes, investors will increasingly treat the U.S. like a Banana Republic—ditching promises and paper contracts in favour of stocks and gold, the few assets that tend to thrive when chaos becomes policy.

While still angling for a Nobel Peace Prize, the Warmonger-in-Chief has unveiled plans for a $1.5 trillion “Dream Military” by 2027—a tidy 50% jump from today—sold as prudence in “dangerous times” and conveniently funded by magical tariff revenues that also, somehow, reduce debt. Washington’s sudden enthusiasm for defence spending is less about peace and more about preparation, with the timing lining up neatly with reality: a U.S. increasingly on its own, footing the bill, while allies hesitate and enthusiasm for new adventures quietly evaporates.

An extra $500 billion is meant to preserve America’s “most advanced military” status—just as China accelerates its war footing and Russia tests doomsday weapons designed to erase cities by radioactive tide. As confidence slips, capital flees to private assets and politicians rediscover the timeless cure for fiscal failure: foreign enemies. The 2026 panic cycle fits the pattern perfectly—debt stress meets geopolitics, distraction replaces discipline, and what’s coming isn’t the start of war, but its predictable escalation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifiGDrsO14I

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Returning to his core competency, Donald Copperfield—also known as Tariff Man, now rebranded as Tariff Is Peace—has once again reached for tariffs to advance the Don-Roe Doctrine. This time, not to “liberate” a Latin American nation, but to generously “help” his Zionist supporters in the Middle East. In classic Orwellian fashion, protection is declared free trade, coercion is called diplomacy, and tariffs are lovingly reintroduced as an act of benevolence—for the greater good, of course.

In this context, the real bargain today is volatility: with the geopolitical Pandora’s box now wide open, chaos is the only export likely to grow—making higher volatility less a risk and more an inevitability.

The Treasury rang in the new year with a $58 billion 3-year note auction that squeaked through with a yield of 3.609% versus a 3.610% when-issued—technically a win, practically a shrug. Demand was just good enough to avoid embarrassment, markets barely blinked, 3-year yields drifted about 1.5bp higher on the day, and the curve obligingly steepened, as if on autopilot.

Buyback-access volatility resurfaced, with direct bidders grabbing a record 29.5% of the issue. Primary dealers absorbed 14%—their largest share since August 2025 and above the recent six-auction average—though their $87.4 billion in bids (up from $82.9 billion previously) helped soften the impact of the heavier takedown.

In short, January’s 3-year Treasury auction opened the 2026 supply cycle on reasonably solid footing despite recent fiscal-driven volatility. A “B” grade feels appropriate, as investors increasingly recognize that the asset once marketed as “risk-free” is becoming one of the most geopolitically exposed holdings in a world where Pandora’s box is wide open.

Fresh off a politely acceptable B-grade 3-year auction, the Treasury followed up with a 10-year sale—$39bn priced at 4.173%, essentially unchanged from December, confirming that duration remains firmly frozen in place. Stopping 0.7bp through the WI, the strongest result since September, the auction suggests demand is alive and well—at least as long as yields go nowhere and everyone pretends that paralysis is stability.

More proof that the Treasury market is running on autopilot: the bid-to-cover came in at 2.554, essentially unchanged from December’s 2.550 and right in line with the long-running 2.50–2.60 comfort zone that has defined the past decade. Internals told the same story—Indirects took a hefty 69.7%, Directs jumped to 24.5% (the highest since 2014), and Dealers were left holding just 5.8%, one of the lowest shares on record—confirming strong end-user demand and a market perfectly content to drift, confidently paralyzed.

Overall, this was a relatively strong auction, suggesting that many investors may not yet have received the memo that the once “risk-free” asset is no longer free of risk in a world where the rule of law is increasingly eroding.