Poor Ghislaine Maxwell. The woman got a 20-year sentence yesterday, for ‘sex trafficking’.

The subject matter is far beyond the scope of our mission here at the Letter. But we aim to connect the dots and Ms Maxwell’s trial is one of the most flagrant examples of NOT connecting dots that we’ve ever seen.

Nowhere in the mainstream press did we ever see a reporter, a lawyer, a judge — anyone — making any effort to get to the bottom of it. Where did Jeffrey Epstein get his money? Why was he flying Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Prince Andrew…and many others…back and forth, in his own private jet, to Florida, Europe or ‘Orgy Island’, his getaway in the Virgin Islands? The plane was a huge Boeing 727. On it, Bill Clinton was a passenger 26 times, according to press reports. Donald Trump was on-board seven times.

What was Epstein up to? Why would he spend so much time and money befriending — and putting in compromising positions — the US’s former and future presidents?

Ms Maxwell’s father, the British press lord Robert Maxwell, was allegedly a spy for Israel. When he died, apparently falling from his yacht, the ‘Lady Ghislaine’, he was given a lavish funeral in Jerusalem. Among the many ‘it’s a small world’ dots left unconnected was this gem: reciting the Kaddish at the funeral was none other than the stepfather of the US’s current Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken.

Let’s see. Two US presidents. The son of the Queen of England. Bill Gates. The US Secretary of State. Nobody wants to connect those dots! The Epstein Affair was reported as a salacious sex scandal. End of story.

Dot…dot…dot…

But there’s always more to the story. Only part of it is ‘fit to print’. Any news item that interferes with the preferred narrative never makes it to prime time. A story that portrays the Russians as bad guys and the Ukrainians as noble heroes, for example, is quickly slapped on the front page. It doesn’t even matter if it is true…or even plausible. But where are the stories about the puppies rescued by Russian troops…the Russian victories…the destroyed Ukrainian tanks? You won’t find them.

So too with a whole range of mainstream themes — climate change, diversity, white supremacy, disease control. News coverage must fit neatly into a tidy narrative. Reports that don’t fit in the box — or the elite don’t want you to hear — are silenced.

The trouble — in the financial world — is that markets won’t shut up. They keep bringing more dots to connect. And the dots can’t be ignored. This from Forbes: ‘Dow Plunges Nearly 500 Points, Recession Fears Resume As Consumer Confidence Hits New Low’:

‘Stocks fell for a second day in a row on Tuesday as markets failed to build on last week’s strong rebound from 2022 lows, with investors once again selling off shares amid looming recession fears and new economic data showing that consumer confidence plunged to a 16-month low.’

The Fed giveth. Mr Market taketh away. Prices go up. Prices go down. And yesterday brought more signs that the first wave of ‘inflation’ is rolling over. From CBSNews: ‘U.S. gas prices continue to decline as oil costs fall’:

‘American motorists are getting a measure of relief at the gas pump, with the cost of filling up sliding for a second consecutive week as oil prices tumble.

‘The national average on Tuesday stood at $4.88 for a gallon of regular, down nearly 9 cents from a week ago, according to AAA. Worries about the rising risk of a global recession has reduced demand for oil, with the price of crude falling to around $107 a barrel from $110 last week, the travel club noted in a news release on Monday.’

And here’s Fox News:

‘During an interview on Mornings with Maria, Tuesday, market expert Dominick Tavella said that the economy is “definitively” slowing down and that consumers are pulling back on spending.

‘[We used to have] “10 or 15 people bidding on houses,” said Tavella. “Now it’s down to two or three people bidding on houses. So it’s clearly starting to have an effect in the economy. The economy’s definitively slowing down, whether it’s the Fed or higher energy prices.”’

USA Today adds:

‘Several companies, including Netflix, Microsoft and PayPal, rolled out layoffs and hiring freezes, anticipating a downturn in the economy.’

And the Financial Times warns of a ‘pan-Atlantic recession’:

‘Economists on both sides of the Atlantic told the Financial Times they had become increasingly pessimistic after the Federal Reserve’s jumbo rate rise to counter soaring inflation, and as concerns mounted over the security of European gas supplies this winter as Russia reduces exports.

‘Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank, said the balance had “tipped” in favour of an economic contraction next year in the US and Europe. “What used to be a rising risk has now turned into the base case”.’

We may never know what actually happened in the Epstein Affair. But the dots will come together in the financial world, whether we like it or not.

Stay tuned.

Regards,

Bill Bonner,
For The Daily Reckoning Australia