In a region fraught with geopolitical turmoil, Eastern European central banks are loading up on gold. Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic have been among the top gold buyers this year, with Poland leading the way. According to a statement by National Bank of Poland Governor Adam Glapiński in September, the county held 420 tons of gold “on behalf of all Poles.” Gold makes up about 16 percent of the country’s total reserves. Glapiński has committed to increasing gold holdings to 20 percent of reserves. https://activistpost.com/2024/12/eastern-european-countries-loading-up-on-gold-as-chaos-hedge.html

In late September, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement signed a $2 million one-year contract with controversial Israeli spyware vendor Paragon Solutions. The contract involved Paragon’s US subsidiary based in Chantilly, Virginia and ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations Division 3. Paragon claims its tools can help law enforcement and governments remotely crack encrypted messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, and Facebook Messenger. The agreement calls for Paragon to provide ICE with a “fully configured proprietary solution including license, hardware, warranty, maintenance and training.” https://activistpost.com/2024/11/meet-the-spyware-companies-preparing-to-unleash-their-tech-during-trumps-2nd-term.html

OTTAWA, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Canada's budget deficit for the first six months of the 2024-25 fiscal year jumped by more than a half to C$13.01 billion ($9.28 billion) as program expenses and debt payment costs rose faster than the gain in revenues, the finance ministry said on Friday. The deficit in the same period a year earlier had been C$8.17 billion, it said in a statement. Program expenses rose 11.2% on increases across all major categories of spending. Public debt charges jumped by 22.5% largely because of higher interest rates, the ministry said. On a monthly basis, Canada posted a deficit of C$3.17 billion in September, slightly narrower than C$3.88 billion deficit seen in September 2023. https://www.kitco.com/news/off-the-wire/2024-11-29/canadas-budget-deficit-first-six-months-202425-expands-c1301-bln

Starting in late September, Russia had unveiled its expanded nuclear doctrine which proposed a lowered threshold for Russian strategic forces' use of nukes. This was due to the "emergence of new sources of military threats and risks for Russia and our allies" - amid fiercer drone and missile attacks coming across the border from Ukraine. This change in nuclear doctrine has now been formally signed into effect by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, two days after President Biden authorized Ukraine to begin conducting long-range strikes inside Russia with US-made missiles. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/lavrov-says-west-escalating-conflict-just-after-putin-signs-nuclear-doctrine-expanse

This is a continuation of Part 1 which documents the ATIPs at Health Canada and the presence of SV40 sequences. Health Canada, SV40 and ATIPs: Part 2 September to October 2023 https://open.substack.com/pub/mariagutschi/p/health-canada-sv40-and-atips-part-5e7?r=9rvsu&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Canadians are getting used to spending more and getting less, even when it comes to building permits. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows total building permits made monthly progress in September, nearing new highs in seasonally-adjusted nominal terms. Before getting too excited, this growth was almost exclusively driven by state stimulus which tends to have an inflationary impact. Inflation-adjusted data shows the real dollar value peaked earlier this year and has slid in recent months. https://betterdwelling.com/canadian-building-intentions-improve-but-inflation-killed-real-growth/

Canadian consumers have generally been feeling the pinch and filing for more insolvencies. The OSB received 135,368 filings in the 12-month period ending in September, an increase of 15.4% compared to the same period last year. Not quite at the most recent peak observed in February 2020, but according to most economists, things are supposedly fine. What does a downturn look like if things are fine and these numbers are marching higher? https://betterdwelling.com/canadian-consumer-insolvencies-continue-climbing-towards-new-highs/

CREA’s benchmark price shows a typical home made an even sharper drop last month. The composite fell 0.8% (-$5,500 ) lower to $707,700 in October, following a 0.6% (-$4,600) drop in September. This marks the sixth consecutive monthly drop, with prices 2.7% (-$19,800) lower than last year. Home prices remain where they were roughly 3 years ago, even with backward-looking revisions to the index. https://betterdwelling.com/canadian-real-estate-prices-make-another-sharp-drop-despite-rising-sales/

FINANCIAL, REAL ESTATE, U.S. Who Really Owns The U.S. Housing Market? The Complete Roadmap September 27, 2024 https://www.coreysdigs.com/real-estate/who-really-owns-the-u-s-housing-market-the-complete-roadmap/

Trudeau's billion-dollar satellite loan doesn't mandate internet connection: report! Prime Minister Trudeau announced September 13 that Telesat would build a $2.1 billion satellite constellation that connects Canadians to the internet. Though terms of the agreement remain confidential, a cabinet inquiry says Telesat is not required to connect households. 🇨🇦 #NoMoreLiberalsAndNDP 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 #SayingTheQuietPartOutLoud 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 #resigntrudeau 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 #JustSayNoMore 🇨🇦 https://www.rebelnews.com/trudeau_s_2_1_billion_loan_to_build_satellites_doesn_t_mandate_internet_connection_report