Wednesday, November 18, 2015
European Union Challenged from Right and Left / Politics / European Union
By: John_Browne
The heinous ISIS attack in Paris is a game changer in Europe. In addition to the horrific amount of individual casualties, the attack has also threatened severe damage to the long term survivability of the European Union as a political entity. Based on the unpopularity and unfeasibility of immigration controls under the EU's Schengen Plan, the events have opened up the Union to renewed attacks from the right, just as its support from the left is crumbling as a result of opposition to EU-mandated fiscal austerity. This two-front onslaught may be too much for the Union to endure.
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Wednesday, November 18, 2015
The Stock Market Global Central Bank Put Option / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2015
By: Bob_Kirtley
Highly accommodative monetary policy and the increased responsiveness of central banks globally to economic shocks and other crises has led to a situation where, if such a shock occurs, then central banks ease monetary policy quickly in response. This action calms markets, resulting in minimized selloffs and contained volatility while driving equities higher.
This phenomenon can be described as the Central Bank Put Option, as the situation effectively means that investors have a put option given to them by the central banks. We will discuss its origin and how it is currently in play, and then cover different strategies that can be used to take advantage of the put. Following this we will also look to analyse whether the Central Bank Put will be in play next year and how it may be traded going forward.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Saudis Planning For A War Of Attrition In Europe With Russia's Oil Industry / Commodities / Crude Oil
By: OilPrice_Com
Russia's central bank recently warned about the growing financial risks to the Russian economy from Saudi Arabia encroaching upon its traditional export market for crude oil. Russia sends 70 percent of its oil to Europe, but Saudi Arabia has been making inroads in the European market amid the oil price downturn.The result is a heavier discount for Russia's crude oil, the so-called Urals blend. Bloomberg reported that the Urals typically lands in Rotterdam, a major European destination, at a discount to Brent of around $2 or less. But the discount has widened to $3.50 lately due to increased competition from Saudi Arabia. "Oil supplies to Europe from Saudi Arabia are probably adversely affecting Urals prices," the Russian central bank warned in a recent report.
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Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Gold Stocks Buckle / Commodities / Gold and Silver Stocks 2015
By: Dan_Norcini
There is absolutely nothing good that can be said about the mining stocks at this point. Then again, there has been little good to say about these things for a long, long time.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Paris Terror Attacks, Death Pangs of a Dying Religion, and Impact on BrExit EU Referendum / Politics / ISIS Islamic State
By: Nadeem_Walayat
It's 4 full days since 8 Islamic State terrorists went on a bloody rampage in 6 separate locations across Paris, with the latest death toll put at 129 killed and with some 55 people critically ill in intensive care. Whilst the people of Paris and France have been in a state of shock, grieving at the magnitude of the death toll, remembering and paying tribute to all those who were killed, Hollande's government has already launched its first retaliatory strikes against ISIS, dropping 20 bombs Monday night alone on the Syrian city of Raqqa, and vowing to destroy Daesh / Islamic State.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
SPX Repelled at the 200-day MA / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2015
By: Anthony_Cherniawski
SPX pulled away from the 200-day Moving Average at 2064.17 and mid-Cycle resistance at 2061.53. Currently it is just above its Orthodox Broadening Top trendline at 2045.00 and Intermediate-term support at 2043.17. The 50-day Moving Average at 2011.90 may not hold the falling SPX at this point. A close above it would invite a gap down at the next open, IMO.
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Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Robotics Are Key to New Millennium Surgeries / Companies / Healthcare Sector
By: TLSReport
Interventional radiology has been described as the surgery of the new millennium by Stanford Healthcare, offering less invasive procedures, more precise placement of catheters and, often, fewer complications for patients and higher throughput for healthcare facilities. Robotics is making this new area of medicine possible. Cary G. Vance, CEO of Hansen Medical Inc., tells The Life Sciences Report about disruptive advances in interventional radiology and Hansen's own revolutionary robotic catheters.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Stock Markets - Have Men and Money Schemes Changed? / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2015
By: Doug_Wakefield
Week after week as we have come through 2015, there have been warnings from global markets and the global economy that our current juncture was unsustainable and slowing down. Yet the central banking rock stars were regularly plastered across the “tabloids” as having another interventionist solution, while high speed computers and stock buybacks created a world of “never fear reality” presented to the public, thus helping prices soar back up to produce the latest “all time high” of the day.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
A Half-Century of Gold, War, and Costs / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2015
By: DeviantInvestor
In round numbers, these wars (in today’s dollars) were tremendously expensive:
Vietnam War: Estimated cost is $740 Billion
War on Drugs: Estimated cost is $1,000 Billion
War on Terror, including Afghanistan and Iraq: Estimated cost is $1,700 Billion and counting
War on Poverty: Estimated cost is $22,000 Billion
Total estimated war costs – about $25 Trillion. Really? Value received?
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Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Three Shocking Charts That Prove Gold Price Rally Is Coming / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2015
By: Investment_U
Sean Brodrick writes: I thought I’d seen the most shocking gold chart this year. Turns out I was wrong.
Lately, I’m seeing one chart after another that paints a picture in stark contrast to current low prices in the metal.
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Tuesday, November 17, 2015
CFPB - Another U.S. Government Agency Running Wild / Politics / Government Intervention
By: Rodney_Johnson
Everybody likes to get money back from the government. Now there’s a new way to cash in on Uncle Sam.But like many government programs, this one has a few issues.
If you bought a car in the last few years, you might get a check from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau(CFPB), as long as you live in the right (or I guess, the wrong) neighborhood and have a certain-sounding last name.
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Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Is a Major Stock Market Top Forming? / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2015
By: Harry_Dent
I warned in early October that stocks looked like they were setting up for another sharp crash into the height of the “crash season” in mid-October.Instead, we got rate cuts in China, rumblings of stronger QE in Europe, and a continued rally at home.
In other words – central banks delayed the inevitable. Again.
So let’s look at where the markets are today…
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Tuesday, November 17, 2015
SPX Probing at the 200-day Moving Average / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2015
By: Anthony_Cherniawski
SPX ramped above the Broadening Top lower trendline in the final hour of yesterday’s session. The SPX Premarket is up about 5 points as I write, but still beneath its ultimate resistances, the daily mid-Cycle resistance at 2061.97 and the 200-day Moving Average at 2064.38.
Today and tomorrow are both Pivot days. Tomorrow is the stronger one. I had originally surmised that tomorrow would be a low with a ramp into options expiration. The timing of this retracement changes things, with potentially devastating consequences. A decline through options expiration would certainly magnify the volatility during such an event.
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Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Is COMEX the Center of World Silver Price Discovery? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2015
By: Dr_Jeff_Lewis
In our recent LIVE Q&A interview with renowned silver analyst, Ted Butler, the following question came up. Below is the transcript of Butler’s response.Ted: Its a great question. COMEX is the center of the gold and silver universe.
Technically, there is trading on these other exchanges. Take the LBMA for example.
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Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Gold Price Hovering Above Support / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2015
By: Dan_Norcini
Just as the Euro is hanging by a thread above its chart support zone, so too is gold hanging by a thread above a critical chart support zone. The bottom of that zone is the July low near $1070 with the zone extending upward towards $1080.
Gold drew a bit of support in today’s session ( Monday) out of safe haven buying tied to the horrific carnage in Paris but as is always the case with gold, rallies that come from geopolitical events, generally do not last long, especially when the underlying fundamentals for gold are as poor as they currently are.
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Tuesday, November 17, 2015
The Gig Economy Is the New Normal / Economics / Employment
By: John_Mauldin
An already-confusing employment environment grew even more complicated this past week. Many readers responded to my “Crime in the Jobs Report” letter with their own stories. Some confirmed what I wrote, while others disputed it. Some of the stories I read from readers who are stuck far from where they want to be in this job market were very moving. I think everyone agrees the labor outlook is uncertain. I sense a lot of nervousness, even from those who have secure jobs that pay well. In today’s letter, I’m going to respond to some of the observations and data that came in this week on employment.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Terrorism.... Weakening Economy... Stock Market Finally Bounces.... / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2015
By: Jack_Steiman
It's old. It's boring. It's pathetic. It's inhuman. It's a lot more than all of that, but what's left to say that hasn't already been said. Terrorism is a sad reality in our world, and will likely never go away in our lifetime, or the lifetime of many generations to come. It seems to be in the DNA of humanity. We had a very sad display of terrorism late Friday night in Paris. Too many perished on suicide bombings. A terrible act toward human life, unfortunately. We're in the business of the stock market, and, of course, the initial reaction of the market was to blast lower after hours on Friday. The S&P 500 was down as many as seventeen points, with fair value included. With the market hanging on by a thread at key, 2020 support on the S&P 500, things looked really bad for the bulls. When terrorism happens a day, or so, when the market is closed, often times the futures start coming back up as the world has grown sadly used to this type of behavior.
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Tuesday, November 17, 2015
What Every Investor Needs to Know About the Diamond Market / Commodities / Resources Investing
By: The_Gold_Report
Investing in diamond equities is quite different from investing in gold equities, explains Matthew O'Keefe, vice president and senior analyst with Dundee Capital Markets, one of a handful of Canadian analysts covering the diamond space. O'Keefe says diamond deposits require "an order of magnitude" greater study than gold deposits in order to properly determine grade, and says diamond prices are almost exclusively driven by consumer demand. In this interview with The Gold Report, O'Keefe sheds some light on two undervalued diamond producers, as well as three promising developers.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
The Final Gold Chapter / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2015
By: Bob_Loukas
This is the final chapter of this intermediate gold Cycle, and it’s likely to get ugly. If you’ve followed the blog these past few months, you would have been prepared for most of this move as it unfolded in real-time. The first post back on October 1st was Gold Cycle Running Out of Steam and was then followed up (Nov 1st) with Don’t Trust Gold Here. In both cases, I highlighted how the Weekly Cycle had topped and how similarly past Cycles behaved . It was why I argued that this Cycle appeared to be no different to the preceding failed, bear market Cycles since 2011. This is where gold finds itself today, standing on a ledge before a significant fall. For the patient (and protected) bulls, it may well become the final chapter of this great bear market.
Monday, November 16, 2015
Bond Traders have not been this Short Since Early 2010 / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2015
By: Anthony_Cherniawski
ZeroHedge reports, “Bond traders have not been this speculatively short Treasuries since early 2010. Since The Fed turned uber hawkish at the last FOMC, and convinced the market that it will raise rates in December - despite dismally dropping data everywhere, speculators have drastically increased their short positions across the entire Treasury spectrum. The last time the world was this short Treasuries, the 10Y yield collapsed from 3.94% to 2.39% in just 3 months.”