Biden's Assange Pardon Makes Him Look Weak(er)

Morning Rundown

VBL

Jun 25, 2024

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Housekeeping: Good Morning.

After Getting His Clock Cleaned on Bitcoin, Biden moves to minimize further Blindside Smackdowns by Trump headed into Debate

Today:

Premium: GS on CTA flows
Commentary: Biden's Assange Pardon Makes Him Look Weak

Session Recap:

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Comp retreated on Monday amid a decline in tech shares.

Premium / Markets:

Goldman on CTA Activity: The Long Unwind is complete, with little damage done

Continues in Premium…

Assange is Free and Biden is In Trouble

Julian Assange will plead guilty to leaking US national security secrets and return to his native Australia, under a deal with Biden's DoJ that ends a nearly 15-year battle nightmare for the WikiLeaks founder.
After spending more than a decade holed up and imprisoned in London - mainly to avoid being sent to the US - Assange, 52, is expected to be sentenced to time served (62 months in a Belmarsh prison - a high security facility in South-East London) during a court appearance Wednesday in Saipan, in the US Northern Mariana Islands, avoiding a potentially lengthy sentence in an American prison.

Finally, while this is excellent news for Assange and his family - and journalistic freedom everywhere - we can't help but wonder if this outstanding result would have occurred were it not for Biden heading into the first debate with Trump with his poll numbers in the toilet... - ZH

Yes, it is.

After Getting His Clock Cleaned on Bitcoin, Biden moves to minimize further Blindside Smackdowns by Trump headed into the Debate

Comment…

Market News:

"Nvidia has shed more than $500bn in market value since briefly becoming the world’s most valuable company last week, as its shares fell almost 7 per cent on Monday. ." Source: FT

"The Federal Reserve has shown other US regulators a three-page document of possible changes to their bank-capital overhaul that would significantly lighten the load on Wall Street lenders... The revisions would walk back key parts of the landmark proposal — including one that might have had a large effect on big banks with sizable trading businesses." Source: Bloomberg

"Don’t expect rate cuts from the Federal Reserve before the November election, according to David Rubenstein. " Source: CNBC

Geopolitics:

US State Department said Israel told them that they are getting close to an end to major combat operations in Rafah
There were initial rumours on social media that something of note occurred in the Black Sea and that a US drone had been shot down although there was no confirmation, according to Faytuks News via social media platform X.
Russian President Putin said in a message to North Korean leader Kim that his recent visit to North Korea raised ties to an unprecedentedly high level of partnership, while he added that Kim is an honoured guest Russia waits for, according to KCNA..

Some headlines via NewSquawk or DataTrek