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US equity futures are little changed, reversing earlier losses as much as 0.5%, as global markets are broadly in the green amid a burst of positive sentiment, which even pushed JPM's recently bearish trading desk to turn tactically bullish this morning (more in a subsequent post). As of 8:00am ET, S&P and Nasdaq futures are down 0.1%, but well off session lows. Nvidia shares fell 1% in premarket after the Wall Street Journal reported China’s Huawei Technologies is getting ready to test a new and powerful artificial intelligence processor that the company hopes can replace some products made by Nvidia; other Mag7 names are mixed with Cyclicals/Semis under pressure and Defensives catching a bid. Europe's Estoxx advanced 0.5% over early London session with gains led by info tech and consumer staples; Asian stocks were also broadly higher with Japan erasing all post-Liberation day losses.  US equities are focused this week on the tech sector, with Microsoft, Apple, Meta and Amazon all reporting earnings. The week also includes the April US jobs report, due Friday. Bond yields are higher as the curve bear steepens and the USD starts the session stronger. This is a data-heavy week but today’s focus is on regional Fed activity but the key’s this week are NFP, JOLTS, ISM-Mfg, and 25Q1 metrics.

In premarket trading, Nvidia shares slip after the WSJ reported that Huawei is getting ready to test an artificial intelligence processor that the Chinese tech giant hopes can replace some Nvidia products; others Mag7 stocks are Alphabet 0.06%, Meta Platforms +1%, Amazon +0.1%, Tesla +0.8%, Nvidia -1.5%, Microsoft -0.2%, Apple 0.6%. Boeing rises 1.5% as Airbus SE agreed to take over some assets and sites from Spirit AeroSystems, clearing the way for Spirit to be acquired by Boeing. Also, Bernstein upgraded Boeing to outperform, noting that the aircraft maker is now “making the progress it needed for the growth trajectory.” Eli Lilly slips 1.6% after HSBC double downgraded the stock to reduce — a sell-equivalent rating — from buy, saying the drugmaker’s risk-reward “is not attractive.” Here are some other notable premarket movers:

• CG Oncology (CGON) soars 40% after presenting data on cretostimogene grenadenorepvec monotherapy data at the American Urological Association annual meeting.
• Jack in the Box (JACK) rises 4% after Stifel upgrades to buy, saying new CEO Lance Tucker “has created a viable plan to strengthen the balance sheet.”
• Peloton Interactive (PTON) gains 6% after Truist Securities upgraded the fitness company to buy, saying the stock is finally nearing a point where the company’s improving fundamentals should support a recovery in shares.
• Revolution Medicines (RVMD) climbs 5% after presenting initial data from a Zoldonrasib study in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

US futures posted modest moves as investors awaited reports from American companies worth $20 trillion, including four mega tech names AAPL, AMZN, MSFT and META, and watched for progress in US trade talks with Asian partners. Wild gyrations sparked by Trump’s April 2 tariff announcements have eased somewhat, but investors will be scrutinizing this week’s key company reports for the earnings impact of US trade policies. Fresh readings on the state of the American economy may support hopes of earlier-than-expected Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts. 

Four of the Mag 7, Microsoft, Apple, Meta and Amazon,  are due to report earnings this week. Analysts expect the group to deliver an average of 15% profit growth in 2025, a forecast that’s barely budged since the start of March despite the flareup in trade tensions. In terms of market capitalization, it’s the busiest week of the year for earnings, with S&P 500-listed companies worth $20 trillion reporting.

Investors are also watching for any signs of progress in US trade negotiations after Trump suggested another delay to his higher tariffs was unlikely. Asian economies, facing some of the highest US “reciprocal” tariffs, are leading the way over their western counterparts in talks with the administration.

“Ultimately, it seems that we’re moving towards a place where these policies start to make a little more sense,” Themistoklis Fiotakis, global head of FX strategy at Barclays Plc, told Bloomberg TV. “If this starts shaping up in a place where markets can understand it, can quantify it, then I think that things are going to normalize.”

To help manage the next steps, the Trump team has drafted a framework to handle negotiations with about 18 countries, including a template that lays out common areas of concern to guide the discussions. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration is working on bilateral trade deals with 17 key partners, not including China. Bessent reiterated the administration’s argument that Beijing will be forced to the negotiating table because China can’t sustain Trump’s latest tariff level of 145% on Chinese goods. Its standoff with China will likewise limit the potential benefits the US can reap from deals with Asian trading partners, according to Phoenix Kalen, global head of emerging markets research at Societe Generale SA.

“Already there has been a lot of investor sentiment and positioning for some deals to be done, especially with Japan, especially with South Korea,” Kalen told Bloomberg TV. “But the scope is going to be relatively limited and hampered. The concern especially for Asian trade partners around how China will respond to the terms will limit the extent to which they can agree to certain terms with the Trump administration.”

Meanwhile, Friday’s US non-farm payrolls figures will also turn attention to the health of the American economy. “In general I think this week’s data won’t be too bad for the economy because it really precedes the announcement of tariffs,” Kathy Jones, chief fixed income strategist at Charles Schwab & Co., told Bloomberg TV. “The inflation numbers shouldn’t be too bad. But I’ll really be watching the ISM numbers at the end of the week and of course, the jobs data where we could see some softness.”

The S&P 500’s recovery month-to-date from a 14% drop to -1.5% as of Friday’s close is one of the best rebounds since 1950. Still, the bounce has been too narrow to instill much confidence in a sustainable longer-term rally. Traders may stay cautious as gains have been largely headline and short-covering driven. Volatility is abating but remains elevated. It’s also coming up to the 100-day mark for Trump’s presidency.

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 is set to extend its winning streak to a fifth session as it climbs 0.7%, boosted by M&A news out of Italy as Mediobanca made a €6.3 billion ($7.1 billion) offer for the wealth management arm of Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali SpA.  Food & beverage, travel & leisure and bank stocks are leading gains while real estate and industrials lag. Here are some of the biggest movers on Monday:

• Deliveroo stock soars as much as 18% to 173p after the food-delivery firm said that DoorDash has made a cash takeover proposal at 180p a share, and it would be “minded to recommend such an offer” to shareholders.
• Traton shares rise as much as 5.5% after the German truckmaker posted first-quarter results, with analysts welcoming a strong order intake.
• Interpump shares rise as much as 4.1% in Milan trading after BNP Paribas Exane analysts upgraded the Italian hydraulics and pumps manufacturer, saying it is “an overlooked M&A story with positive risk/reward.”
• ITV shares drop as much as 3.8% after a report that France’s Banijay Group is working on plans for a takeover offer for the entire broadcaster or its studio arm. Analysts note reports of interested bidders are building, but a deal isn’t a certainty.
• Fraport drops as much as 4.5% after Jefferies downgrades the airport services provider to underperform from hold, saying it’s overexposed to slowing transatlantic and business traffic.
• Nagarro shares fall as much as 16%, to a record low, after the German IT services firm postponed the publication of its full-year results.
• BoneSupport falls as much as much as 6.6% after the company announced its CEO Emil Billback is stepping down after more than seven years in the role.
• Valneva shares drop as much as 20% after French regulators decided to suspend the use of its chikungunya vaccine Ixchiq for people aged 65 years and older.

Earlier in the session, Asian shares also rose as focus shifted to a slew of major earnings from the region, while signs that trade tensions may have peaked, at least for now, helped sentiment.  The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose as much as 0.8%, adding to last week’s 2.2% gain. Japanese benchmarks outperformed following a report on Toyota Motor Corp. chairman’s proposal to buy out Toyota Industries. Indian shares resumed their climb amid foreign inflows, while Chinese stocks were range-bound as officials reiterated their plan to strengthen support for employment and the economy. The flood of tariff-related headlines has slowed somewhat, and investors are turning their attention to earnings to gauge how Asian firms are prepared to tackle higher levies. The region is facing its busiest earnings week this season, with China’s biggest banks including Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of China Ltd. set to release results. 

“Broadly, we’re seeing some relief positioning as there is some refocusing on fundamentals, which I would say is tariff fatigue,” said Billy Leung, senior investment strategist at Global X ETFs in Australia. On China’s earnings, markets want to see more commentary from corporates on domestic confidence, he added.

In rates, treasuries were cheaper across the curve, with futures extending a drop into the early US session as investors digest news around US trade talks with Asian partners.  US yields were cheaper by 2bp to 5bp across the curve, with intermediates underperforming slightly, flattening 5s30s spread by 2bp on the day. US 10-year yields traded around 4.27%, down 4 bps from Friday's close; European bonds also decline with bunds lagging by 1bp and gilts outperforming 1bp. Next Treasury coupon auction is scheduled for May 5.  

In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index is flat; New Zealand dollar lags G-10 peers and the pound leads gains, rising 0.3% against the greenback.

In commodities, spot gold falls $42 to around $3,278/oz. Oil prices are steady with WTI just below $63 a barrel. 

In crypto, bitcoin rose 1.1% to $95,344.86; ether rose 0.9% to $1,819.53.

Looking at the US economic calendar, it's quiet - we only have the April Dallas Fed manufacturing activity at 10:30am. Fed officials are quiet due to blackout period. This week also includes JOLTS, consumer confidence, PCE, GDP, ISM manufacturing and April payrolls. Fed’s external communications blackout ahead of the May FOMC meeting started Saturday.

Market Snapshot

• S&P 500 mini -0.2%
• Nasdaq 100 mini -0.2%
• Russell 2000 mini -0.3%
• Stoxx Europe 600 +0.6%
• DAX +0.7%
• CAC 40 +0.8%
• 10-year Treasury yield +3 basis points at 4.26%
• VIX +0.7 points at 25.51
• Bloomberg Dollar Index little changed at 1226.26
• Euro -0.2% at $1.1347
• WTI crude -0.2% at $62.92/barrel

Top Overnight News

• Trump posted on Truth that “When Tariffs cut in, many people’s Income Taxes will be substantially reduced, maybe even completely eliminated. Focus will be on people making less than $200,000 a year. Also, massive numbers of jobs are already being created, with new plants and factories currently being built or planned. It will be a BONANZA FOR AMERICA!!! THE EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE IS HAPPENING!!!”. Trump also posted that “…this is a crucial week to work on “THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,” which will contain Massive Tax Cuts, Strong Border Security Measures, Major Military Advancements, Dramatic Deregulation, Powerful Spending Reforms, and more!”
• Trump will meet with House Speaker Johnson at 2pm ET and will be signing executive orders focused on restoring law and order and securing the homeland at 5pm ET on Monday.
• Mark Carney is seeking a fourth Liberal win in Canada in today’s election. Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives chipped away at his lead in the final days of the campaign, but surveys still point to a probable Liberal victory. BBG
• Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he’s hopeful for a lasting peace after talking with Trump, who questioned whether Vladimir Putin genuinely wants to end the war, and floated further sanctions. BBG
• Huawei is developing an AI processor that it hopes may replace some Nvidia products, the WSJ reported. BBG
• Trump’s trade war with Beijing is starting to affect the wider US economy as container port operators and air freight managers report sharp declines in goods transported from China. FT
• The drastic reduction in goods from China hasn’t been felt by many Americans yet, but that’s about to change. By the middle of May, thousands of companies — big and small — will be needing to replenish inventories. Giant retailers such as Walmart Inc. and Target Corp. told Trump in a meeting last week that shoppers are likely to see empty shelves and higher prices. BBG
• China’s top economic officials said the country could do without American farm and energy imports as they vowed to achieve a 5% GDP growth target for the year despite the trade war with the US. FT
• China has rejected US President Donald Trump’s claims that he received a phone call from Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The Trump administration has repeatedly asserted over the past week that the US president had spoken by phone with Xi and trade talks took place. SCMP
• A senior South Korean government official ruled out on Monday that Seoul would agree to a trade package with Washington by the time the country holds a presidential election on June 3, and flagged challenges to reaching a deal even before early July. RTRS

Tariffs/Trade

• Chinese President Xi and US President Trump have not had a call recently, according to China's Foreign Ministry; says the US and China have not conducted negotiations and consultations on tariffs.
• USTR’s office was reported on Friday to have prepared a framework for staggered reciprocal trade negotiations aimed at streamlining talks with 18 partners on a rolling basis over the next 2 months until the US’s July 8th deadline, according to WSJ.
• US Treasury Secretary Bessent said he had interaction with his Chinese counterpart in Washington last week and thinks the Chinese will see the tariff level as unsustainable and he also thinks there is a path to an agreement with China on tariffs, according to ABC News. It was separately reported that Bessent had met with Japanese Finance Minister Kato on Thursday and held productive discussions across a broad range of bilateral issues including reciprocal trade, while he was said to be encouraged by discussions with South Korean officials that focused on an ‘expanded equilibrium’ which encourages rather than restricts trade.
• US Agriculture Secretary said the US is holding daily conversations with China over tariffs.
• China has reportedly quietly exempted some US-made products from tariffs with Beijing said to have been canvassing companies and waiving duties on US goods in sectors where there is a lack of alternatives, according to WSJ.
• Shein is said to have raised US prices on some items by as much as 377% ahead of tariff increases, according to Bloomberg.
• Fox’s Gasparino posted on X that the Trump Administration would like to roll out trade deals this week, at least the outlines that have been agreed upon, citing sources close to the matter.” However, he also noted there are a lot of moving targets that could delay matters, while the deals on deck include India, Japan and maybe South Korea and Australia, although the White House spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.
• Pershing Square CEO Ackman posted on X that the US could choose to unilaterally pause China tariffs to better facilitate US companies transitioning supply chains out of China, while he believes the US and China are incentivised to take tariffs down to more reasonable levels of 10%-20% as quickly as possible.
• South Korean's Vice Industry Minister says no chance of reaching an agreement on a trade package with the US before the June 3rd snap elections.

A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

APAC stocks were mixed amid a lack of major catalysts from over the weekend and with a very quiet calendar to start a busy week of earnings results and key data releases including the latest US NFP report. ASX 200 was led higher by outperformance in tech, healthcare and energy, while miners lagged after mixed production updates. Nikkei 225 advanced at the open as participants digested earnings releases and M&A news in which Toyota Motor's  chairman and founding family made a takeover proposal for Toyota Industries. However, the index has since pulled back from today's peak after failing to sustain a brief return above the 36,000 level. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp lagged amid some disappointment from Beijing's press conference on policies and measures for stabilising employment, ensuring stable growth and promoting high-quality development which was conducted by the deputy heads of government agencies and the PBoC and lacked any major concrete policy measures. Japan's TOPIX Index erases all losses since the April 2nd US tariff announcement.

Top Asian News

• China held a press conference about policies and measures on stabilising employment, ensuring stable growth and promoting high-quality development which was attended by deputy heads of Chinese government departments and the PBoC.
• PBoC Deputy Governor said China will cut RRR and interest rates at an appropriate time, as well as guide financial institutions to guarantee financing demand for foreign trade firms. Furthermore, the PBoC is studying plans to enrich policy kits and will roll out new policies when needed, while it will boost financing support for private firms, allowing private firms to issue more debts.
• MOFCOM Vice Minister Sheng said China will further improve the second-hand car markets and will smooth consumption of used car market this year, while China will push the expansion of healthcare and childcare services and actively expand imports.
• China NDRC vice chief said will closely monitor domestic and external changes and improve policy toolkits, while they will unveil new policies based on changes in the economic situation and some new policies will be rolled out in Q2.
• China’s Finance Minister said China will adopt more proactive macroeconomic policies to promote the realisation of the growth target and that China is willing to further open up its super large markets to the world to achieve mutual benefits.
• China’s Cabinet passed the draft law of China’s medical security and will submit it to the NPC Standing Committee for deliberation, while it also approved the Sanmen nuclear power plant in Zhejiang province.
• China issued a notice on further improving tax refund policies for foreign tourists to boost inbound consumption and will promote the expansion of tax refund stores at shopping centres, scenic spots, airports and hotels.
• Chinese President Xi said China will use various policies to support development, while he urged for the healthy and orderly development of AI.
• China’s top market regulator said regarding a media report of separating the Panama Port from the CK Hutchison (1 HK) deal, that they are paying close attention to the transaction and will review it in accordance with the law. Furthermore, the regulator said parties to the transaction must not use any means to avoid a review.
• TikTok owner ByteDance plans to enter online shopping in Japan as it seeks to expand outside of the US.
• Huawei approached some Chinese tech companies about testing the technical feasibility of the new chip called Ascend 910D, according to WSJ.
• Rumours were circulating in social media that DeepSeek’s R2 AI model is nearing release which is set to feature double the parameters of R1.
• Following the Politburo statement on Friday, which flagged further interest rate cuts, a Reuters source close to the PBoC said it was in no rush to trim rates as the impact of tariffs is still unclear.
• BoJ Quarterly Schedule of Outright Purchases of JGBs: pace maintained for May.

European bourses (STOXX 600 +0.4%) opened modestly firmer across the board, and have traded rangebound throughout the morning thus far given limited fresh macro drivers. European sectors hold a strong positive bias, but with the breadth of the market fairly narrow. Food Beverage & Tobacco takes the top spot, joined closely by Autos. Real Estate sits at the foot of the pile, given the relatively higher yield environment today.

Top European News

• BoE Governor Bailey and US Treasury Secretary Bessent held discussions on financial markets and the regulatory environment.
• ECB’s Centeno said uncertainty is dominating economic analysis which was largely being caused by US trade policy.
• ECB’s Kazaks urged cautious steps and said the ECB should only lower interest rates into accommodative territory if the growth outlook continues to deteriorate much further, according to Bloomberg.
• ECB's Knot said the ECB June meeting is going to be really complicated, according to European press cited by Bloomberg.
• ECB’s Simkus said the ECB may have to cut rates a couple of more times as US tariffs weigh on economic growth and as inflation continues to slow, according to Bloomberg.
• ECB's Villeroy says he "does note see any extra inflation for Europe; says we still have margin for rate cuts in Europe".
• ECB policymakers reportedly are becoming increasingly confident about a rate cut in June although there is little to no appetite for a big move, according to six sources cited by Reuters. It was also reported that the central bank established a task force to simplify banking regulation.
• SNB adjusts the remuneration of sight deposits; lowers the threshold factor to 18 (prev. 20), effective June 1st.

FX

• A choppy session for the Dollar, but ultimately flat on spot month end in what has been the quiet before the storm in terms of news flow thus far, with the rest of the week packed with risk events including the first look at Q1 USD GDP and the US labour market report. There was minimal major and new tariff news, but US consumers may soon feel the impact (e.g. Shein raising prices by up to 377%, logistics slowdown in air freight and imports). DXY currently resides in a relatively tight 99.46-99.84 range.
• EUR is subdued, albeit marginally, against the backdrop of a string of relatively dovish ECB rhetoric, whereby policymakers are becoming increasingly confident about a rate cut in June. EUR/USD resides in a 1.1330-80 range.
• Flat trade for the JPY amidst a lack of major updates over the weekend. US Treasury Secretary Bessent met with Japanese Finance Minister Kato on Thursday and held productive discussions across a broad range of bilateral issues including reciprocal trade. USD/JPY resides in a 143.29-143.90 range.
• GBP is slightly firmer in a quiet session thus far to start the week. In terms of UK trade headlines, UK Chancellor Reeves said she met with US Treasury Secretary Bessent, says the goal is reaching an agreement that is in both their national interests. GBP/USD trades in a 1.3280-1.3346 range.
• Antipodeans are lower intraday amid the cautious risk tone alongside ongoing tariff uncertainty between the world's two largest economies, whilst domestic updates have been light. AUD/USD dipped under Friday's trough in a 0.6369-0.6406 intraday range.

Fixed Income

• USTs are contained, but do hold a downward bias. Newsflow on the tariff/trade front included indications of a potential path to a US-China agreement, however, specifics have been light with major catalysts ex-geopols a touch light. Amidst this, USTs find themselves in a thin 111-14+ to 111-22+ band. Ahead, the docket is focussed on the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Business Index before the Treasury Financing Estimates ahead of Wednesday’s Quarterly Refunding.
• Bunds are in-fitting with USTs and as such are also in a relatively modest 131.32 to 131.76 band. Developments for the bloc, ex-earnings, have been light. The slight underperformance seen in EGBs vs USTs/Gilts is likely a function of some concession into upcoming EZ supply where over EUR 5bln is expected to be sold across three lines. On the ECB front, Reuters reported that officials are increasingly confident on a June move, though there is little/no appetite for a big move.
• Gilts are essentially unchanged in a very narrow 93.10 to 93.33 band. As above, updates light as we await further details on the meeting between US Treasury Secretary Bessent and BoE Governor Bailey, a discussion on regulation and financial markets which was reported as being “good”.

Commodities

• Crude benchmarks have been trading very choppy on either side of the unchanged mark, as traders digest the latest US-Iran talks and Ukraine peace talks. On the former, talks are reportedly progressing, but there is still a lot of work to do. WTI and Brent trade at USD and 63.50 and 65.70/bbl respectively.
• Gold is softer, and underperforms within the metals space in a continuation of the sell-off from record highs, printed Tuesday at USD 3500/oz, currently, the yellow metal is trading either side of the USD 3,280/oz mark, with eyes on the USD 3300/oz mark, a level which it retreated from overnight.
• Base metals are mixed, given the flimsy risk tone and after China's press briefing on policy underwhelmed. 3M LME Copper sits in a busy USD 9,316.15-9,402.85/t range.
• China is stockpiling oil amid Trump tariff shocks impacting crude prices as imports of crude to China surged in March and continued to accelerate in April with imports at nearly 11mln BPD vs 8.9mln BPD in January, according to FT citing Kpler data.
• China Q1 gold consumption fell around 6% Y/Y to 290.5 metric tons and gold production rose 1.5% Y/Y to 87.2 metric tons, according to the China Gold Association.

Geopolitics: Middle East

• Israel's Defence Minister said Israel conducted an attack on a site in Lebanon’s capital of Beirut which stored precision missiles.
• Qatar’s PM said he saw some progress in Thursday’s Gaza talks.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister Araqchi said the next round of nuclear talks with the US could occur next Saturday with the venue to be decided by Oman, while he added that both sides are showing seriousness and determination. Furthermore, a senior US official said the third round of nuclear talks with Iran were positive and productive with progress made on getting a deal but noted there is still much to do.
• Oman’s Foreign Minister said US-Iran talks will continue with a further high-level meeting provisionally scheduled for May 3rd and core principles, objectives and technical concerns were all addressed in US-Iran talks on Saturday.
• Israeli PM Netanyahu called for the complete dismantling of Iran's nuclear programme, insisting that any deal with Tehran must also address its ballistic missile capabilities, according to AFP News Agency.
• A huge explosion at a key Iranian port killed at least 40 and injured around 800 others. It was separately reported that an Iranian Defence Ministry spokesperson said there was no military material in the port affected by the blast, while - Russia will send several planes to Iran to help extinguish the fire at Iran’s port.

Geopolitics: Ukraine

• US President Trump met with Ukrainian President Zelensky at the Vatican for 15 minutes which Zelensky’s staff said was constructive, covered a lot of ground and they agreed to meet again, while the White House said the meeting was very productive.
• US President Trump said the meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky went well and we'll see what happens in the next days, while Trump is very disappointed with Russia and wants Russian President Putin to stop shooting and reach a deal. Furthermore, Trump said the confines of a deal are there and that Zelensky is calmer now and wants to make a deal, while it was separately reported that President Trump said he thinks Ukrainian President Zelensky is ready to give up Crimea, according to Al Arabiya.
• US President Trump said there was no reason for Russian President Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns over the last few days which makes him think that Putin doesn’t want to stop the war and is just ‘tapping’ him along, while Trump added too many people are dying and this has to be dealt with differently through banking or secondary sanctions.
• US Secretary of State Rubio said Russia and Ukraine are generally closer to a peace deal than in the last three years and a peace deal needs to happen soon, while he added that the US has options to hold responsible those that don’t want a Ukraine peace deal, according to NBC.
• Russian President Putin confirmed Russia’s readiness to negotiate with Ukraine without preconditions during a meeting with US envoy Witkoff, according to IFAX.
• Russian President Putin said Kyiv’s adventure in the Kursk region completely failed and Chief of General Staff Gerasimov said Ukrainian saboteurs in Russia’s Belgorod region have been liquidated. Furthermore, Russia’s military commander told Russian President Putin that scattered remnants of Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region will be destroyed soon, according to RIA.
• Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said Russia will continue to target sites used by Ukraine’s military, foreign fighters and military instructors sent by Europe, while he added that Russia would be willing to store Iran’s enriched nuclear material if both the US and Iran believe that was useful.
• Ukrainian military said Moscow’s assertion it has ended Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region is not true and operations inside Kursk continue, while its forces are still on active operations in the Belgorod region.
• French President Macron said he had a very positive exchange with Ukrainian President Zelensky and that Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire, while the coalition of the willing will continue working on a ceasefire and lasting peace in Ukraine.
• German Defence Minister Pistorius said US demands for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia are going too far.
• North Korea confirmed troop deployment to Russia and said it will faithfully implement its agreement with Russia, according to Yonhap. Furthermore, South Korea said North Korea's confirmation of Russia troop deployment is an admission of a criminal act and the US State Department noted it is concerned by North Korea's direct involvement in Russia's war in Ukraine, while it added that North Korea's military deployment to Russia and any support provided by Russia to it in return must end.

Geopolitics: Other

• US President Trump said American military and commercial ships should be allowed to travel free of charge through the Panama and Suez Canals, while he asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to immediately take care of and memorialise this situation.
• India test-fired missiles on Sunday as tensions rise with Pakistan following the Kashmir attack.
• China’s move to claim sovereignty over a disputed reef in the Spratly Islands by planting a flag triggered a stand-off with the Philippines in which the latter sent navy, coastguard and maritime police officers to Sandy Cay and two neighbouring sandbanks to uphold its sovereignty, rights and jurisdiction and displayed the national flag there, according to FT.

US Event Calendar

DB's Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

It was a joyous but painful weekend as Liverpool won the Premier League for only the second time in my adult life but I broke a toe cooking the kids’ dinner! Given you’re no doubt wondering how, I basically caught my right little toe on the kitchen island as I was walking round it. It was extremely painful and ballooned up to nearly the size of a golf ball.
While trying to take my mind off the pain, this week will be the first for a while where data and earnings will compete with tariff headlines as it’s a bumper week on this front. In terms of data the main highlights in the US are payrolls (Friday), core PCE inflation and US GDP (Wednesday), ISM manufacturing (Thursday) and the latest JOLTS and consumer confidence tomorrow. In Europe flash CPI numbers get released from Spain tomorrow, Germany, France and Italy on Wednesday, with the Eurozone aggregate on Friday (our economists’ preview is here). On Wednesday, Q1 GDP reports are due for Germany, France, Italy and the Eurozone. In Asia, the focus will be on the BoJ meeting (Thursday - our preview here) and April PMIs in China (Wednesday).

An avalanche of corporate earnings will centre around results from Microsoft and Meta on Wednesday and Apple and Amazon on Thursday. This will contribute to a whopping 40% of S&P 500 market cap reporting this week. It's fair to say that these Mag-7 earnings will go a long way to dictating the tone of the week. As I mentioned last week remember that before Liberation Day the main theme bubbling in the background was the Mag-7 underperforming due to DeepSeek, worries about extreme levels of Capex needed to power AI forward, valuations and a disappointing Q4 reporting season around the end of January. Three months on we'll see what earnings look like.

Elsewhere we see the federal election in Canada today. Remember the ruling Liberal Party were frequently 25pp behind in the polls in early-mid January even after Trudeau had announced his resignation as leader. However after the "51st state" rhetoric and aggressive tariffs, the rally round the flag movement has propelled the Liberals into a 3-4pp lead in current poll of polls which if replicated today would likely give them a small majority. So a remarkable turnaround. Elsewhere in politics, Wednesday will mark President Trump’s first 100 days in office. So expect lots of reflections on this landmark. The UK holds local elections on Thursday with the main point of interest being how well the populist Reform Party does given they have recently edged ahead of the ruling Labour Party in national polls.

So its fair to say its a busy week. Let's go into more detail on some of the main data points. Firstly, in terms of payrolls, our economists forecast that headline (+125k forecast vs. +228k previously) and private (+125k vs. +209k) payrolls will mean revert after a strong March, particularly within the leisure/hospitality and retail sectors. Our econ team point out that March and April can get whipped around due to the timing of Easter and school spring breaks. Unemployment should remain steady at 4.2% though.

Wednesday's advance Q1 GDP will be interesting as the consensus suggests only +0.4% annualised growth in the quarter (+1.1% expected at DB vs. +2.4% in Q4) so that will raise some concerns if it materialises. At the same time we see March personal income (+0.5% DB vs. +0.4% last month) and spending (+0.6% DB vs. +0.4%) data. This will also contain the latest reading on the core PCE deflator (+0.1% vs. +0.4%) which is expected to be on the softer side this month. This will be welcome but remember this is all largely pre-tariffs.

The day by day week ahead is at the end as usual, including the highlights from a busy week for earnings on both sides of the Atlantic. One final thing to note is the US Treasury’s updated borrowing estimates (today) and the subsequent refunding announcement (Wednesday). This normally gets released without too much fuss but remember that in Summer 2023 (end July/early August) this quarterly announcement helped cause brief but great stress in markets due to higher than expected borrowing and more long-dated issuance. Since then the Treasury has managed the process with a view to minimising market fears but in an era of large borrowings these events are always worth keeping an eye out for. Our strategists’ preview and forecasts are here.

Asian equity markets are mixed this morning with local markets mostly higher but US futures notably lower. As I check my screens, the S&P/ASX 200 (+0.81%), the Nikkei (+0.51%) are comfortably higher with the KOSPI (+0.15%) seeing more minor gains. Chinese equities are mostly trading around the flatline but S&P 500 (-0.52%) and NASDAQ 100 (-0.60%) futures are lower.

Recapping last week now and markets put in a strong performance thanks to several factors. First, Trump signalled that he wanted to make a deal with China, and he said that tariffs on China could fall “substantially” from the 145% level at present. Second, Trump rowed back on his previous criticisms of Fed Chair Powell, saying that he had “no intention” of firing him, which reassured investors concerned about central bank independence. And third, there were increasing signs that the US economy was still holding up relatively well in the circumstances, as data like the weekly jobless claims and the April flash PMIs weren’t signalling a recession.

Against that backdrop, the S&P 500 recovered +4.59% over the week (+0.74% Friday) to close at its highest level since Liberation Day. In fact, the latest moves now leave the index just -2.57% beneath its level on April 2. That move was supported by a very strong performance for the Magnificent 7, which surged +9.17% (+2.86% Friday). And that strength wasn’t just confined to the US, as last week also saw gains for the STOXX 600 (+2.77%), the Nikkei (+2.81%) and the MSCI EM index (+2.67%).

That easing in market stress was evident from several other indicators last week. For instance, US HY credit spreads tightened for a third consecutive week, falling -38bps (-8bps Friday) to 360bps. US real yields also fell back, with the 10yr real yield down -12.3bps (-4.8bps Friday) to 1.97%, closing beneath 2% for the first time in over two weeks. In addition, the VIX index of volatility was down for a third consecutive week, ultimately falling -4.81pts (-1.98pts Friday) to 26.33pts, marking its lowest closing level since Liberation Day.

With the more positive headlines on tariffs and the economy, US assets more broadly began to stabilise, including the US Dollar itself. That saw the dollar index finally post a modest weekly gain after 4 consecutive declines, up +0.24% (+0.09% Friday). Similarly, US Treasury yields moved lower, particularly at the long-end of the curve, and the 10yr yield fell -8.9bps over the week (-8.0bps Friday) to 4.24%, marking its second consecutive weekly decline.

Via SchiffGold.com,

The CME Comex is the Exchange where futures are traded for gold, silver, and other commodities. The CME also allows futures buyers to turn their contracts into physical metal through delivery. You can find more detail on the CME here (e.g., vault types, major/minor months, delivery explanation, historical data, etc.).

The data below looks at contract delivery where the ownership of physical metal changes hands within CME vaults. It also shows data that details the movement of metal in and out of CME vaults. It is very possible that if there is a run on the dollar, and a flight into gold, this is the data that will show early warning signs.

Gold

The Comex has seen unprecedented delivery volume in gold since the election as highlighted in previous articles. This has been driven by an arbitrage between the spot and futures market. This can be seen in the chart below. It has normalized some, but is still showing erratic behavior.

Figure: 1 Spot vs Futures

The chart below shows the total delivery volume for major months in gold. As can be seen, April had the second highest delivery volume on record, clocking in at 64,514 contracts delivered, equivalent to $21.3B!

Figure: 2 Recent like-month delivery volume

There was something particularly wild about April. The chart below shows a few metrics:

• The contracts outstanding the day before delivery starts (blue)

• The contracts on delivery day (green)

• • This is usually a big step down from the day before as contracts roll

  • This number is the sum of contracts open + delivered on day 1 to show what the outstanding amount was on day 1 of delivery

• Net new contracts opened during the month for immediate delivery (red)

• Delivered contracts (orange)

As highlighted above, you typically see a big drop in contracts from the day before to the day of, presented by the blue and green bars respectively. This month the opposite happened! On the final day, someone took on a huge position. The next day, they then settled these without delivery. This is represented by the negative red bar as the contracts were cash settled rather than delivered.

Figure: 3 24-month delivery and first notice

This activity can also be seen below. A huge number of contracts came into the first delivery day but then cash settled.

Why? What happened? Is it possible someone was smelling blood in the water and wanted to test the Comex? Did someone get incentivized to cash settle since there might not have been enough physical gold to satisfy demand? If so, I bet they got paid a big premium to do cash settle.

Unfortunately, the data can only tell us so much. We can conclude that something happened behind the scenes in a way that has never happened before. The pressure continues to build!

Figure: 4 Cumulative Net New Contracts

Even with the large cash settlement, we then saw over 10k contracts open for immediate delivery (upward slop the in the red line above). This would have ranked second all-time behind only the large amount from February ~17k contracts.

Switching to physical inventories….

Inventory levels have actually dropped since the beginning of April. This could be tied to the event from above. Maybe someone was promised some gold and some cash for cash settling. That suspected investor(s) apparently pulled the physical right out of the vault.

Figure: 5 Inventory Data

Once gold and silver were announced to be excluded from tariffs, people started suggesting that the arbitrage would collapse and movement of gold from London to the US would be halted. While inventory levels have stabilized and even dropped some, demand for futures and physical delivery is not slowing. First, as shown above, April was a huge month. As we approach May, we are seeing an increase of demand into the delivery period. See chart below.

Figure: 6 Open Interest Countdown

With the massive surge in inventory the open interest relative to physical stocks is not as massive as the raw number.

Figure: 7 Open Interest Countdown Percent

Silver

Silver is a minor month in April. While delivery volume was elevated (second only to February), it was a big step down from where it was in April.

Figure: 8 Recent like-month delivery volume

A similar situation took hold in silver with the large cash settlement (albeit on a smaller scale).

Figure: 9 Cumulative Net New Contracts

Silver inventories have continued to increase unlike gold which has leveled off.

Figure: 10 Inventory Data

Registered silver is also seeing a massive increase.

Figure: 11 Inventory Data

As we approach April, the silver contract is right in line with recent trends.

Figure: 12 Open Interest Countdown

On a relative basis, open interest is actually quite low because of how much the Comex has restocked silver inventories.

Figure: 13 Open Interest Countdown Percent

Conclusion

The data continues to show that there is a lot of movement going on behind the scenes in the gold market. The price of gold has reflected this, hitting new all-time highs multiple times in April before seeing some profit taking.

This is not your ordinary gold market. The market is under pressure and there are a lot of people fighting over limited supply of physical gold. The tariff exclusion did not seem to slow the demand of physical.

It may take several more months for all this to play out, but one thing is for sure… the fireworks are not slowing. The Comex data is sending up loud signals. Physical gold is in demand. Do you have enough?

About a month after Elon Musk's xAI Holdings acquired the X platform in an all-stock deal valuing the social media company at $33 billion, whispers have emerged that xAI is in talks with investors to raise $20 billion — a move that could push the startup's valuation north of $120 billion. 

Citing anonymous sources, Bloomberg News reported Friday that xAI is in talks with investors to raise $20 billion. According to PitchBook data, the deal would mark the second-largest startup funding round on record, behind only OpenAI's $40 billion raise earlier this year. The funding would push xAI's valuation north of $120 billion if successful. 

Last week, sources told CNBC's David Faber that Musk was seeking to place a "proper value" on xAI.

Here's more color on Faber's conversation with sources:

The comments came during a call with xAI investors last week, sources familiar with the matter told Faber. While the Tesla CEO didn't explicitly address an upcoming funding round, the sources interpreted the comments as a sign that xAI is getting set up for a significant capital raise in the near future.

. . .

The sources also said the company discussed revenue at a potential run rate of $1 billion or more on the call.

Back to the Bloomberg report, Musk and xAI executives have been probing investors about their appetite for a $20 billion funding round. One source said the funding round could be much higher. 

The latest Bloomberg data shows Musk's net worth at around $335 billion. Year-to-date, his net worth has declined by about $100 billion, with Tesla's market capitalization halving due to gloomy sales figures and Democrats' war on the company.

Late last year, Musk's rocket company, SpaceX, became the most valuable startup after a private transaction valued the company at $350 billion. 

Musk's companies include many of the technologies that will dominate 2030 and may even determine the fate of the US empire as the great power fight with China rages on. 

Via Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com,

Catherine Austin Fitts (CAF), publisher of “The Solari Report,” is back to update us about the “Fast-Approaching Digital Control Grid.”  (CAF) told us last time here on USAW, “There is no bigger ongoing battle for lovers of freedom than the battle taking place over the freedom killing idea of digital ID.”  

But it’s more that just ID, it’s an entire control grid that is being quietly built that is like a frog being put into pot and the water being brought to a boil.  

CAF explains, “You know our goal at Solari is each person has a free and inspired life.  So, we have been working for several years to stop financial transaction control."

"  If you get the ability to track each person and control their transactions, so if they don’t do what you say, they can turn off your money.  That is game over for the Constitution and for human liberty.  If you look at how the control grid is coming together, there are many different pieces.  There is digital ID, all digital currency or transaction system to a social credit system to the management to certain kinds of data and back-up energy.  There are many different pieces.  We look at the pieces, and we look at them as one-off things such as, oh, I don’t mind having a ‘Real ID’ because I can see why they might want a federal ID, or a passport or whatever.  Each one of these things looks nonthreatening and even convenient, but when they snap together, they are in a control grid, and it’s completely something else.  When Trump was elected, I was shocked to see, almost immediately, the President announce the Stargate AI initiative with the mRNA vaccines, which to me is the internet of bodies.”

CAF put together a long list of Trump Administration actions that are speeding up what looks like a control grid.  It’s called “The Fast-Approaching Digital Control Grid.”  It lists things such as crypto friendly currency actions, private Central Bank Digital Currency, shrinking banking sector, DOGE, undisclosed Epstein files and many more red flag items that could be used to allow crime to continue and build a digital prison for “We the People.”  While the Trump Administration brings change at a record pace, not a single thing has been done to find out about the “$21 Trillion Missing Money” that has been well documented by CAF and Michigan State Professor Dr. Mark Skidmore.  The money has been stolen from America, and the silence about this is deafening.  CAF says,

“We know there has been tremendous fraud in the financials of the US government.  We know that has happened.  If you look at all the things that you or I would do to figure out what had happened, where the money went and how do we get it back, that’s not what they are doing. . . . If you look at how we would do a successful operation to reengineer government and identify the real fraud and stop it, I don’t see any indication that they are doing that.  I do see some selected efforts that are probably sincere. . . . They are shutting things down lots of us would like to see shut down. . . . We know how to stop the death and disabilities that come from the Covid 19 vax injection, but you go the CDC website, and they are still recommending the Covid injections.”

The massive crime going on with government accounting makes it necessary for the control grid.  CAF explains, “What happened in the last Trump Administration is they adopted FASAB 56.  FASAB 56 basically said they could take the books of the US government dark."

"A secret group of people, by a secret process, could remove operations from the financial statement, and they don’t have to tell people what they removed.  

So, we have no idea what is in the financials. . . . This includes the big banks and contractors who do business with the government.  

So, looking at the US stock market and bond market, I have no idea what is true or not. . . . We are flying blind.”

CAF still likes gold for an investment.  She is also very bullish on silver as it takes about 100 ounces of silver to buy a single ounce of gold.  The gold/silver ratio is at record spreads.  CAF says, “At some point, the gold/silver ratio will revert to something more sensible.”

In closing, CAF says, “Everyone tell your Senator and Congressman and President Trump on X or Truth Social stop the control grid.  Stop with the control grid, and we can do this. . . . If we can face it, God can fix it all.”

There is much more in the 44-minute interview.

Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he goes One-on-One with the Publisher of The Solari Report, Catherine Austin Fitts, as she looks ahead for what’s coming in 2025 for 4.26.25.

*  *  *

To Donate to USAWatchdog.com Click Here

There is a lot of free information on Solari.com.

Authored by Anders Corr via The Epoch Times,

On April 14, a local government administrator in the United States sent my relative a letter that she suspected of including artificial intelligence (AI) content. Sure enough, an AI detector found 83 percent generated by AI GPT.

She said it was the best letter she had ever received from a politician—and she writes to her representatives frequently. She praised the letter for responding to every single point she raised in her own letter, something no unaided politician had ever done.

We toyed with the idea of confronting the administrator publicly. If AI wrote a better letter than the administrator himself, perhaps he could be replaced with the technology, and his salary redeployed for more substantive taxpayer benefits. It was a tongue-in-cheek idea. But the logic is nevertheless disturbing.

If artificial intelligence is now better than one politician for one task, according to one constituent, is it plausible that in 10 or 20 years, AI could be better than all politicians for all their tasks, according to most constituents?

At that point, voters might just vote for an AI politician rather than a human one. Human politicians are, after all, time-constrained by their need to sleep, eat, and hobnob with their elite donors and other benefactors.

My relative decided not to confront the politician at his next public meeting. She wants to influence his decisions in the future, and public shaming is probably not the best way to do this. So he gets a pass to continue using AI on unsuspecting constituents. Even his tiny hold on power at the local level protected him from the truth.

If he can get away with it, perhaps many other politicians are doing the same. This empowers AI-using politicians at the expense of the old-fashioned types who simply do not have enough time to respond to every point of every letter of every constituent, but try anyway. AI politicians then gain an advantage in the next election, and over time, due to natural selection, all politicians will use AI, as those who don’t get voted out.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a small autocratic country in the Middle East, is already way “ahead” of this slow “democratic” transition to AI. In a world first, the UAE is using AI to both track the effects of existing legislation and write drafts of new legislation. Presumably, the president of the UAE will review the legislation prior to enacting it. Let’s hope so, as there would then be at least one human in the loop.

The UAE considers using AI to write legislation to be 70 percent more efficient than relying on human legislators to write laws. How that remarkably round number was arrived at is unclear. But as UAE citizens cannot vote, they could essentially become forced laborers working not only for the president of the UAE but also for AI, given that nobody understands exactly how AI comes up with its recommendations.

Now, consider expanding this to everything. A new startup in Silicon Valley, called Mechanize, audaciously wants to use AI to automate all jobs. The startup, launched on April 17, expects to start replacing white-collar jobs, such as those of accountants, lawyers, and authors (full disclosure: this author is an author, so may be biased in favor of humans).

But the company also envisions pairing AI with robots to mechanize other jobs, for example, in agriculture, construction, and manufacturing. Companies like Waymo, Zoox, Tesla, and Lyft are already well on their way to populating our streets with robotaxis that could eventually lead most of us to dump our cars, perhaps in compliance with a government fiat written by AI.

That the military could also be automated, despite the promises of AI companies to do no such thing, is obvious given the rise of armed drones on the battlefields of Ukraine, and the interest of the U.S. and Chinese militaries in matching AI with drone warfare. One reason the United States denies the fastest AI semiconductors to China is that they are needed for the small AI devices onboard military drones that must learn from the adversary’s strategies mid-flight. The drone that learns the fastest and adapts its tactics to enemy drones before returning to base will survive.

The Israel Defense Forces reportedly used AI to target as many as 37,000 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) suspects with a 90 percent accuracy rate. This was paired with some “acceptable” level of civilian casualties per target to arrive at those approved for aerial bombing, with not-too-accurate dumb bombs. AI saved a lot of time for the targeters, though.

Communists have long promoted the idea of full mechanization to “free” humans of the need to labor. In their “utopian” schemes, full mechanization would allow humans the free time to pursue whatever they want, including leisure, art, and family. With the rise of mechanization, automation, robots, and AI, a new utopianism is coming that will appeal to the “Silicon Valley proletariat” of coders, programmers, and other tech workers.

With AI, this coming “tech vanguard” can seek an AI communism, in which humans frolic in nature while being watched over by the machine. It sounds dystopian and easily manipulable by Leninists if not Stalinists. But its rosy-glassed adherents will see it the other way around. They have likely read Richard Brautigan’s 1967 poem envisioning a “cybernetic ecology”:

where we are free of our labors and joined back to nature, returned to our mammal brothers and sisters, and all watched over by machines of loving grace.

Brautigan was not specifically communist, though he was counter-culture.

In the mid-2000s, a British movement developed a concept similar to being “watched over by machines of loving grace” that would become known as “fully automated luxury communism.” It was described by The Guardian in 2015 as “an opportunity to realise a post-work society, where machines do the heavy lifting and employment as we know it is a thing of the past.” This was before AI became popular. With AI, even the white collar workers will be “free.”

AI is being touted, by even those who know its dangers more than others, as a carrot and stick, a necessary evil, like nuclear weapons, in the competition with China. This could be considered an “anti-communist” or “anti-authoritarian” use of AI. The idea is that, if the United States does not deploy the most sophisticated AI to both entice Beijing to reform, and deter Beijing from attack, market democracy could be at a disadvantage.

In any conflict that occurs, Beijing will certainly deploy all technologies at its disposal. This puts those who would prefer to go slowly and carefully, or avoid any future of AI, in a bind. Use AI fire to fight fire, or not? And what if the fire blows back on the freedom of the individual in a market democracy, after burning the authoritarian adversary?

Handing over so much power, up to and including “AI communism,” whether in the form of political power to legislate or industrial power that replaces trillions of dollars worth of human labor, is an immense concentration of power in the hands of whoever controls AI. That could be a dictator, an oligarchy, an elected official who accrues too much power, or a hacker. It could even be AI itself, if it goes rogue or is irretrievably granted that power at some point in the future.

The advent of AI is likely a disaster for human agency, especially if it later develops malign rather than benign attitudes toward humanity. A benign AI is in no way guaranteed if we relinquish power to an immensely powerful technology that even its creators do not fully understand, and are not confident they can control.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

Russian as well as independent regional media sources have revealed that a high-ranking CIA official's son was killed while fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine last year. 

The news and story of the young man's death is highly unusual, given his mother is a US intelligence information warfare and 'disinfo' expert: the CIA’s Deputy Director for Digital Innovation Juliane Gallina Gloss.

Michael Gloss in Moscow’s Red Square before he reportedly joined the Russian army, via IStories

The New York Post among other US media outlets described the CIA official's son, a longtime global traveler and activist, as having been 'radicalized' against the US and its foreign policy.

Michael Alexander Gloss, 21, died on April 4, 2024 - based on a family obituary posted by a funeral home in Fairfax, Virginia - but on Friday investigative outlet IStories reported that Russian authorities only informed his family of his death in October. His official obituary only related that he was "tragically killed in Eastern Europe."

IStories apparently had access to his phone records, given that it published a live recording of Gloss informing his parents that he traveled to Russia, along with many photos including showing life in a Russian barracks with fellow soldier friends who appear to be foreign fighters.

Juliane Gallina Gloss has been the CIA's deputy director for digital innovation since being appointed in February 2024, and is a career CIA and US Naval intelligence officer.

It is reported that the son of CIA deputy director Julianne Gallina Gloss, 21-year-old Michael Gloss died in Ukraine as a Russian soldier. He signed a contract with Russia’s MoD. His father, Iraq vet Larry Gloss, develops secure software for U.S. and NATO forces pic.twitter.com/HmMyAnym5N

Among the more interesting parts of the story is how the young man wanted to "defeat the military-industrial complex":

In the same message, Michael vaguely described his future in which he would “defeat mortality and the military-industrial complex:” “I find myself more and more alive by the minute. Hungry for blood and glory. And basking in the pleasure of knowing that it all is still to be done... But as of now. I might have just incarnated in time to defeat mortality AND the military industrial complex.”

When asked exactly how he plans to defeat the military-industrial complex, Michael replied: “If I told you my real plan you wouldn’t believe me anyway.”

The Amsterdam-based Moscow Times writes that "Gloss was one of more than 1,500 foreign nationals from 48 countries listed in the leaked recruitment database since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022."

The highly detailed IStories Russian investigative report begins below...

Via CIA/US gov website: Juliane Gallina Gloss was named the CIA’s deputy director for digital innovation in February 2024.

In a video, a thin young man with long hair tied in a messy bun carefully releases three tiny chicks from a box onto the grass. A tattoo of a peace sign — the emblem of the anti-war movement — is visible on his finger.

“We found some baby chicken in the [Turkish] local market and Itthobaal had the idea to get a few of them and maybe he will travel with them. He bought maybe three or four chickens and put them in a nice little box with straw and everything he could find. But the next one of the chickens died and the second one too. He was quite sad about it and felt very stupid that he had this dream of a whole journey together with this little new family.”

A year later, Itthobaal — one of the many names that 21-year-old American Michael Gloss used to introduce himself — signed a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry and died in Ukraine. IStories has reconstructed his final route.

This is the story about how a young anti-fascist, environmental activist and women’s rights advocate from the family of a CIA deputy director dreamed of traveling light around the world, but ended up in the Russian army.

Michael Gloss is one of more than 1,500 foreigners who passed through the Russian military recruitment center during the war in Ukraine, whose identities were established by IStories.

IStories: Gloss put a photo taken at the regiment’s base on his avatar in his Odnoklassniki profile. Photo: Odnoklassniki

Read the full detailed report here.