Friday, November 27, 2015

Economics Is About Scarcity, Property, and Relationships / Economics / Economic Theory

By: MISES

Michael J. McKay writes: The other day I was having coffee with a new friend, a retired businessman who had customized luxury cars in California. I mentioned I had recently retired from owning an investment firm and had studied economics for many years, especially Austrian economics.

Like so many people, he said, “I really don't understand economics and always have been confused by it.”

Friday, November 27, 2015

China’s Coming of Age: Yuan To Join SDR Basket As IMF Reserve Currency / Commodities / China Currency Yuan

By: GoldCore

Christine Lagarde and the IMF Executive Board recently announced their intention to include the Chinese renminbi (RMB) in the Special Drawing Rights’ (SDR) valuation formula.  This would bring the Chinese currency into an exclusive group – alongside the US dollar, the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen - of 5 global currencies that make up the IMF’s own reserve currency.  

Friday, November 27, 2015

Terrorism on American Soil / Politics / US Politics

By: Walter_Brasch

Friday, November 27, 2015

UK Immigration Crisis Hits New Extreme of 336k Net Migration, up 32% on 2014 / Politics / Immigration

By: Nadeem_Walayat

Britains unrelenting immigration crisis just keeps getting worse with each ONS data release as the latest record busting net migration figure of 336,000 in the year to June 2015 illustrates, an increase in the rate migration of 32% on 2014. Which literally translates into a DAILY flood of near 1000 people turning up on Britain's shores and demanding housing, education and school places, jobs with benefits such as tax credits, health & social services that have been buckling, breaking and ultimately freezing as the social housing has in many cities already for several years in the wake of a 15 year long trend of out of control immigration.

Friday, November 27, 2015

Erdogan Megalomania / Politics / Turkey

By: Stephen_Lendman

He’s a despotic loose cannon, a close US imperial ally, one of 28 NATO members - part of its killing machine war on humanity.

Downing Russia’s aircraft was an act of war - Washington the likely orchestrator, both nations acting conspiratorially - part of longstanding US-led Putin-bashing, the one world leader above all others challenging America’s imperial agenda forthrightly, deserving universal praise and support.

Friday, November 27, 2015

Did Washington Order Russian Aircraft Shot Down? / Politics / Syria

By: Stephen_Lendman

A personal note. I’m not writing from my usual location, comfortably at home on my desktop - currently hospitalized, hopefully released soon.

I’ll be briefer than usual, conserving strength - thankful to maintain daily communication with readers, best as able when less than par.

Let’s not mince words. Washington is no Russian partner. Its policy is adversarially hostile, notably during the Cold War, especially throughout Putin’s leadership years - a preeminent world leader/peace champion polar opposite rogues running America, perhaps one day able to turn the tide against their hegemonic agenda.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Vauxhall Zafira B Fire Danger Recall - What to Do Video / ConsumerWatch / Auto Sector

By: N_Walayat

It seems each week brings a new crisis for the auto manufacturers that is apart from the alleged emissions fraud that the likes of Volkswagen have been engaged in prompting a recall of 9 million cars. Whilst today's news is of Nissan forced to issue a recall for 1.6 million SUV's due to the risk of air bag injury. Meanwhile in the UK at least Vauxhall has been forced to recall all 220,000 UK Zafira B models that are at a real risk of catching fire and even exploding! As prompted by countless customer experiences of Zafira's catching fire over the past few years and hence prompting Vauxhall to finally act.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

U.S. Bond Market Not Destined to Crash in 2015 / Interest-Rates / US Bonds

By: Sol_Palha

Always do what you are afraid to do. Ralph Waldo Emerson

The trend in bonds was bullish for a long time, and one can see how bonds ran up during that time frame. Currently, its neutral and that also has to be viewed through a bullish lens as it should have turned negative given the run-up. Bonds need to close on a weekly basis above 160.00 relatively soon. In fact, there is a good chance that if the next run up fails to take out the August highs of 161-23, bonds will be paving the way for a move down to the 152.00 ranges and then 147-148 ranges.  Traders willing to take on a bit of a risk could consider opening long positions at both levels.  Some funds could be deployed at 152 or better and some at 148 or better.  Market Update, Nov 1st, 2015.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Triggers In US Dollar Collapse / Currencies / US Dollar

By: Jim_Willie_CB

To be sure, groups of oil rags are accumulating in the Western financial basement. They await an incident to light them on fire to produce the grandest bonfire in modern history. Many incidents, events, and decisions created the current broken untenable wrecked set of conditions that together comprise the structural breakdown, upon which systemic failure is witnessed each day. The 1990 decade saw the creation of bank derivatives, which compensated for Western bank system insolvency. It was the dirty secret in backfire from a decade of outsourcing US industry to the Pacific Rim. The refusal by Greenspan to permit a recession early in the 2000 decade interrupted a normal housing correction, and initiated another credit stimulus. The result was the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis which will forever bear the Greenspan signature. The Lehman Brothers killjob was important to force the big Western banks to share the load, to tie (lash) themselves together, and to assure the systemic failure in an inexorable march to ruin. The LIBOR rate scandal confirmed that the London hive did not produce honey, but rather scum and dross.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Apple Stock is a 10-Year Short - Bear Market Environment / Companies / Apple

By: EconMatters

Holiday Melt Up in Stocks

Apple and most stocks do routinely well during the 4th quarter, and especially the last couple of months of trading after earnings are out, and the fund managers are pushing everything up with the goal of making their trading numbers by year end window dressing. It is amazing more people don`t realize this phenomenon and just buy December expiration calls on the SPY after the usual selloffs that happen in the third quarter, and wait for the holiday rally where stocks routinely melt up at year end.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

The Republican Party - Extremism & Democracy / ElectionOracle / US Presidential Election 2016

By: EconMatters

The Republican Party has been hijacked by the right wing Christian conservatives, the gun toting NRA extremists, the Tea Party extremists and the racially and culturally narrow-minded factions across the country. The party is a complete mess, it really has lost its way, and is destined to lose the Presidential Election to Hillary Clinton. The emergence of front runners in the Republican campaigning season of Donald Trump and Ben Carson speaks volumes regarding how far this party has lost its way.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

U.S. Federal Reserve Rate Hike / Interest-Rates / US Federal Reserve Bank

By: EconMatters

The Federal Reserve has been telegraphing to markets that they are going to raise the fed funds rate by 25 basis points next month at its December Fed Meeting. The financial markets think they are serious this time and have been pricing in this 25 basis point rate hike for the past 6 weeks. The real question is that since the Fed has told us that they are Data Dependent for the past 7 years regarding changes to monetary policy, what has really changed in the economic data for the positive? Why now of all times do they decide to raise rates? Are they raising rates for the right reasons? These are just some of our concerns as the Federal Reserve embarks upon their final FOMC Meeting on December 16th 2015.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

George Osborne's War on Buy to Let Sector Trending Towards Doomsday / Housing-Market / Buy to Let

By: Nadeem_Walayat

The clocks counting down to doomsday for Britain's buy to let sector as the latest announcement in a long list of measures such as the scrapping of mortgage interest tax relief are all aimed at whittling away the profits of buy to let landlords, and now a stamp duty tax hike is set to come in force from April 2016. That of an EXTRA 3% stamp duty tax charged on all additional owned properties i.e. all second homes that will hit buy to let sector investors when buying properties, a tax hike to raise an estimated £1 billion extra per year.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

... / Politics / Syria

By: Nadeem_Walayat

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

George Osborne’s Autumn Statement and Spending Review Full Text / Politics / UK Tax & Budget

By: Submissions

Mr Speaker, this Spending Review delivers on the commitment we made to the British people that we would put security first. To protect our economic security, by taking the difficult decisions to live within our means and bring down our debt. To protect our national security, by defending our country’s interests abroad and keeping our citizens safe at home. Economic and national security provide the foundations for everything we want to support. Opportunity for all. The aspirations of families. The strong country we want to build.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Gold Market Goes Quiet – Do We Hear The Echo Of The Bottom? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2015

By: GoldCore

Demand for gold is soaring according to the World Gold council’s latest report. The report shows that overall worldwide demand for gold rose by a very significant 33% with the US, Europe, China and Russia all stocking up and pushing demand. Central bankers, lead by Russia, are stocking up aggressively.

With fundamentals like these, why are gold prices not soaring? Crowd psychology might be one reason. Sol Palha of Technical Investor explains.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Will Fresh QE From ECB Boost Gold? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2015

By: Bob_Kirtley

The threat of deflation in the Eurozone is an issue that continues to plague the ECB. The current easing measures have failed to drive inflation above 0.3%, which is far short of the 2% inflation target that the ECB is mandated to reach. This has led ECB President Mario Draghi to begin the discussion of further QE to stimulate prices in the region. Just last week Draghi commented that:

“We consider the APP [asset-purchase programme] to be a powerful and flexible instrument, as it can be adjusted in terms of size, composition or duration to achieve a more expansionary policy stance… We will do what we must to raise inflation as quickly as possible. That is what our price stability mandate requires of us.”

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

George Osborne's 2015 Autumn Review will Exacerbate UK Housing Crisis - Video / Housing-Market / UK Housing

By: Mario_Innecco

Today I'm gonna be talking about the autumn spending review which is like a budgets temporary budget by the UK government. Chancellor Osborne will be making a statement today 12:30 London time the main focus be according to Bloomberg News at this stage you will be the housing market. George Osborne will say that there's a crisis housing prices in the UK in and there's a shortage of homes that he will be focusing on, he's expected to spend billion pounds extra into the into the help build new homes schemes because the reasoning behind his actions is that there's not enough and that's what we hear from from almost everyone in the mainstream media.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Sheffield, Yorkshire and Humberside House Prices Forecast 2016-2018 / Housing-Market / Sheffield

By: Nadeem_Walayat

Sheffield is Britain's fifth largest city with an estimated current population of 575,000 that occupy's the south west quadrant of the county of South Yorkshire, part of the Yorkshire and Humber region. Sheffield given its central UK position, prominent rail and motorway links is a favourable destination for national and international migrants from nearby towns and further afield given its relatively affordable house prices, especially when compared against the South East.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Terrorism - Grinch that Stole Christmas / Politics / Shopping

By: BATR

The usual holiday cheer that underpins the throngs of shoppers may be missing this season. Political pundits are eager to blame potential terrorist risks as a compelling reason to avoid the crowds at malls, but knowing the sentiments of the consumer culture, it is difficult to accept that retail businesses will be empty. Nevertheless, will the economy incentivize the bargain hunters to brave the added security obstacles to storm the doors for the reward of super discount pricing?