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Thursday January 11 ,2018

// January 11th, 2018 // Comments Off on Thursday January 11 ,2018 // Daily News

China just reminded the United States that Beijing is its banker
Bond markets took a hit following a report that China could trim its U.S. Treasury holdings
China delivered a statement soothing those worries on Thursday
China is the biggest holder of U.S. Treasurys
The U.S. government uses Treasurys to help finance itself

CNBC.com

Markets took a hit following a Bloomberg News report that cited unnamed sources as saying that officials in Beijing have recommended China, the largest holder of U.S. Treasurys, to slow or even halt its purchases of that debt.
U.S. stocks on Wednesday snapped a six-day winning streak, and Treasury yields, already in an upswing, moved higher with the 10-year reaching 2.597 percent, their highest level since March 15. Bond yields rise when bond prices fall.
China’s foreign exchange regulator publicly refuted the Bloomberg report on Thursday, saying it cited “false information.” But the jolt to markets may have been designed as a warning to Washington, which is clashing with China over trade and other issues.
Political message?
China holds $1.2 trillion of U.S. debt — more than any country. When it buys U.S. bonds, it is effectively lending money to the United States. Washington uses bond sales to China and others to help finance itself.
The curve thrown into markets this week comes as President Donald Trump appears poised to counter China on its huge trade surplus with the United States, and as Washington loses patience with Beijing over its handling of the North Korea nuclear crisis.
On Thursday, the Chinese regulator soothed market worries when it said it was already diversifying its foreign exchange reserves, and its Treasury holdings are “market driven.”
But China is sending another message as well, Rajeev de Mello, head of Asian fixed income at Schroders Investment Management, told CNBC on Thursday.
China “will not just lay passive if the U.S. administration imposes tariffs,” he said. “I think that’s the position they want to be in, that they are a major player and not a small country on the receiving end of the U.S. big stick.”
Beijing’s indication that it’s not “tied to U.S. bond-buying” indicates more “hardball’ between the world’s two biggest economies, said Vishnu Varathan, Mizuho Bank economist.
“It has to be seen as a prelude to possible trade tension, without being a very explicit threat,” added Jens Nordvig of Exante Data.
Making ‘the Treasury’s job harder’
In a note Wednesday, brokerage firm Jefferies said that “If China stops buying Treasuries, the market could suffer.”
U.S. spending is seen rising this year, and most independent analysts expect U.S. tax revenue to fall under the GOP’s new tax plan.

Today’s Inspiration

So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.
— Romans 8:8 (AMPC)

JANUARY 11, 2018

Are You Following the Holy Spirit or Your Emotions?
– by Joyce Meyer
I talk a lot about how we need to follow the Spirit, not our emotions. However, I find that a lot of people don’t even understand how our emotions operate in the first place.

Emotions are in the realm of the soul. Our soul is made up of our mind, will and emotions—it tells us what we think, what we want and how we feel. Of these three areas of the soul, it’s our feelings that get stirred up the fastest.

In other words, the wisdom and discernment of the Holy Spirit in our spirit become easily drowned out by the cries of our emotions.

The Bible says that this “life of the flesh” doesn’t please God. This doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love us. What it does mean is that He is not satisfied with nor will He accept fleshly behavior.

However, once you understand how negative emotions work, you can overcome them. Our souls may be strong, but our spirits can be stronger if we strengthen them by spending time in God’s presence. Get in the Word today, and give your spirit the strength to overcome your emotio

Tuesday January 9, 2018

// January 9th, 2018 // Comments Off on Tuesday January 9, 2018 // Daily News

Highly classified US spy satellite appears to be a total loss after SpaceX launch

CNBC.com
A highly classified U.S. government satellite appears to have been totally lost after being taken into space by a recent launch from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, according to a new report.
Dow Jones reported Monday evening that lawmakers had been briefed about the apparent destruction of the secretive payload — code-named Zuma — citing industry and government officials
The payload was suspected to have burned up in the atmosphere after failing to separate perfectly from the upper part of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the report said.
According to Dow Jones, the absence of official word on the incident means that there could have been another chain of events.
The missing satellite may have been worth billions of dollars, industry officials estimated to the wire service.
Northrop Grumman, which built the satellite, told Dow Jones through a spokesman: “We cannot comment on classified missions.”
A SpaceX spokesman told the news service: “We do not comment on missions of this nature, but as of right now reviews of the data indicate Falcon 9 performed nominally.”
The Zuma spacecraft was attached to one of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets and launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Falcon 9 successfully landed back to base.
Landing and reusing rockets is the main aim of SpaceX scientists, who argue that it reduces the cost of launches and allows it to perform more missions.
SpaceX did not reveal the purpose of Zuma because it is classified, but the mission marked Elon Musk’s company’s first in 2018.
—CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report.
For more on the apparently lost satellite, see the full report from Dow Jones.

Today’s Inspiration

The mind of the wise instructs his mouth, and adds learning and persuasiveness to his lips. Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body.
— Proverbs 16:23-24
Thoughts and Words Are Intimately Connected
– by Joyce Meyer

Proverbs 16:23-24 shows us that our thoughts and words are intimately connected. They are like bone and marrow—so close, it is hard to divide them (see Hebrews 4:12). Because of this, it’s important that we have pleasant thoughts so we can also have pleasant words.

Our thoughts are silent words that only we and the Lord hear, but those words affect our inner man, our health, our joy and our attitude. The things we think about often come out of our mouths and sometimes make us look foolish, but if we live God’s way, our thoughts and words can make our lives more enjoyable.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can let your thought life run in any worldly direction and then “fake it” by speaking godly words. Either both are pleasing or both are negative and sinful. There is no middle ground.

Begin to operate in the mind of Christ, and you will step into a whole new realm of living. As you spend time letting Him adjust your thinking, you won’t have to think about speaking pleasant words. It will just happen naturally!