The Donald Copperfield sitting in the oval office invoked Section 232 to investigate foreign copper imports—because nothing says “national security” like plumbing and Priuses. With U.S. stockpiles rising and Chinese ones shrinking, this tariff tease feels more like political theater than policy. And don’t hold your breath for more American copper—mines take years, even if there's plenty in the ground. As always in D.C., it’s less strategy, more stagecraft.

Zomia is a vast highland region stretching across parts of Southeast Asia—including northern #Myanmar, #Thailand, #Laos, #Vietnam, Yunnan (#China), and Northeast 3India—defined not by political borders but by its elevation and resistance to state control. Popularized by historian Willem van Schendel and anthropologist James C. Scott, Zomia represents a zone where diverse ethnic groups historically fled to avoid taxation, conscription, and domination by lowland states.

Far from being left behind, its inhabitants deliberately adopted stateless, egalitarian, and decentralized ways of life—using shifting agriculture, oral traditions, and dispersed social structures as tools of state evasion.
#Zomia challenges conventional views of history and development, offering a compelling example of autonomy beyond the reach of empires.

"The Art of Not Being Governed" flips the script on traditional history by telling the story of people who chose to live beyond the reach of the state. In this bold and provocative book, James C. Scott explores how the highland peoples of Southeast Asia—Zomia—intentionally resisted incorporation into empires and nations by embracing mobility, oral cultures, and statelessness.

This isn’t a tale of the forgotten margins—it’s a celebration of freedom, autonomy, and the radical art of saying no to being ruled.

https://politicalscience.yale.edu/publications/art-not-being-governed-anarchist-history-upland-southeast-asia

While ‘Donald Copper-Field’ lines up his next sleight of hand, the US Treasury quietly pulled off its own disappearing act—selling $39 billion in 10Y notes without a hitch. The auction priced smoothly at 4.362%, a touch below last month’s yield, and even stopped through the WI by 0.3bps. That makes five tails in a row, but hey—who’s counting when the magic trick works? Apparently, nothing calms nerves like a little bond-market hocus pocus.

The bid-to-cover came in at 2.61—up from June’s 2.52 and the highest since April—because nothing says “confidence” like piling into 10-year debt while ‘Copper-Field’ plays tariff roulette. It also beat the six-auction average of 2.56, proving once again that when in doubt, Wall Street will still show up for the magic show... especially if it pays 4.36%.

The internals weren’t quite as magical. Indirect bidders took 65.4%—a noticeable drop from 70.6% last month and the lowest since January, suggesting some foreign friends might be losing interest. Meanwhile, Directs staged a dramatic comeback, snagging 23.7%—their highest share since March 2014, after nearly vanishing in April’s market meltdown. Dealers were left holding just 10.9%, barely more than last month’s 9.0%, and still scraping near record lows. In short, plenty of buyers showed up… just not the usual suspects.

Overall, it was a solid auction—because when the ‘Magician In Chief’ waves his fiscal wand, Wall Street’s banksters and their ever-enthusiastic pundits can’t help but stare, hypnotized, as if deficits and debt ceilings were just smoke and mirrors.

The latest #FOMC Minutes read like a script from Eyes Wide Shut: Central Bank Edition—a foggy mix of confusion and cautious optimism.

The FED’s not quite sure how tariffs will shake out, but one thing they do agree on is this: growth’s going to hit the brakes. As for the balance sheet?

Apparently, shrinking it is going great... if you ignore that it’s still hovering near pandemic-era highs and $6.2 trillion in size. Most of the runoff has quietly drained from the Reverse Repo facility—because why upset reserves when you can slowly bleed the plumbing instead? Survey respondents now expect the runoff game to end in February 2025, conveniently after the election circus wraps. Until then, the #Fed continues its magic trick: pretending $2.9 trillion in reserves and a still-bloated balance sheet mean "mission accomplished."

In a nutshell, the Fed may not agree on tariffs, but they all see a slowdown coming—while quietly juggling a $6.2 trillion balance sheet like it's business as usual.

After selling out #Brexit voters and spreading DEI like a contagion, Rishi Sunak slithers back to #GoldmanSachs—his old coven—now cloaked as a "senior advisor." The vampire squid tightens its grip, feeding off the same revolving door it’s always owned. Still an MP, still serving himself, Rishi now pledges fealty to Mammon—offering "insights" to clients while the public gets none.

That’s Goldman’s game—play both sides of the table and rewrite the rules mid-hand. The so-called "revolving door" isn’t just spinning—it’s a high-speed turbine fuelling regulatory capture. From Rubin dismantling Glass-Steagall to Paulson bailing out AIG (and, by extension, saving Goldman while letting rivals burn), the pattern is clear: power is borrowed from public office to serve private gain. No investigations, no accountability—just strategic exits once the deed is done. And let’s not forget Alan Cohen, a #GS board member moonlighting as a court-appointed receiver in the seizure of Princeton Economics. It’s not a conspiracy; it’s business as usual in the House of Goldman.

The ‘Goldman Web’ is a sprawling, systemic network where power, policy, and profit swirl in a tight orbit around a single institution. The revolving door between Goldman Sachs and global governments isn’t just well-oiled—it’s practically fused. From Draghi to Mnuchin, Carney to Barroso, Turnbull to Spaijic, the firm has seeded its alumni into every level of political and financial command.

Why so many come from the same firm? Because Goldman has perfected the art of manufacturing technocrats who speak the sacred dialect of markets and regulation. They're not hired for ideology—they’re installed for obedience, loyalty, and fluency in the language of capital. Once in power, they ensure the system continues to serve its architect.
Investigate? Not likely. When your prosecutors dream of landing a corner office on West Street, and your regulators are future partners-in-waiting, accountability dies a quiet, expensive death. Charges are settled, not pursued. Scandals are monetized, not punished.

Call it regulatory capture, call it corruption, call it the modern aristocracy of finance—but in the world Goldman built, the rule of law is just another line item.

https://www.investopedia.com/news/26-goldman-sachs-alumni-who-run-world-gs/

At this point, blaming the Rothschilds is just lazy historical cosplay—Goldman Sachs is the real puppet master in a tailored suit. The firm doesn’t just move markets; it moves policymakers, regulators, central bankers, and entire national agendas with the subtle grace of a maestro conducting a symphony of self-interest. The revolving door isn’t a glitch in the system—it is the system. And as long as everyone keeps looking in the wrong direction, Goldman will keep writing the script from behind the curtain, uninterrupted and unchallenged.

The #Bitcoin-to-#Gold ratio has been the market’s drama queen for 15 years—spiking in good times, sulking in downturns.
Right now, it’s throwing a fit: Bitcoin’s losing ground to gold, and if history’s any guide, that spells trouble for stocks. Fun fact?

The only two years the S&P 500 finished in the red since Bitcoin’s birth also saw this ratio drop. Stocks may be up 6.5% in 2025 so far, but if this trend keeps sliding, brace yourself: gold’s the adult in the room, and crypto’s tantrum might just be forecasting a tariff-fuelled earnings hangover.

For anyone still confused about who Donald Copperfield really is behind that MAGA mask, here’s the ultimate proof: he’s just another proud member of the Deep State club.

As the illusion fades and Donald Copperfield’s true identity comes into focus, the U.S. Treasury conjured up a 29-year, 10-month bond auction—CUSIP UK2—casting it into the market at a spellbinding high yield of 4.889%. While a modest rise from June’s 4.84%, it still hovers near the record heights set in January at 4.913%. In a subtle sleight of hand, the auction stopped through the When-Issued rate of 4.890% by just 0.1 basis point—marking the second such magical move in a row. The long end of the curve, it seems, still has a few tricks up its sleeve.

The bid-to-cover ratio came in at 2.383—slightly below June’s 2.430 and just under the six-auction average of 2.399, keeping it within the recent range.

As for the internals, they were fairly unremarkable: Indirect bidders were awarded 59.8%, down from 65.2% last month and below the 63.0% recent average. Dealers took just 12.8%, while Direct bidders continued their strong showing, snapping up 27.4%—the highest since October 2011 and the third-highest on record.

Overall, this was a mediocre, forgettable auction—with yields inching toward record highs as Donald Copperfield’s monetary illusions are losing their spell. The once “risk-free” asset now comes with strings attached, and the only thing still shining through the smoke and mirrors is the one, the only, BIG BEAUTIFUL BULLION.

🤵 The Macro Butler Weekly Digest 🤵

🌐 Big Beautiful Bill? More like a big fat joke. When chaos reigns, it’s the Big Beautiful Bullion that preserves wealth. 🌐

Read more here: https://themacrobutler.substack.com/p/the-big-beautiful-bullion