Tuesday, December 17, 2019
ONS UK Unemployment Statistics Paint a FAKE Picture of Falling Unemployment / Economics / Unemployment
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Today the ONS published it's latest labour market statistics which include headline grabbing news that unemployment has continued to fall to an historic low of just 1.28 million as the below graph illustrates, far below the trough before the financial crisis hit Britain. However there is a fly in the ointment of this rosy picture that the Governments economic propaganda arm (ONS is painting which is that official unemployment statistics have been manipulated lower by successive governments all the way to the point that on their own they are pretty much meaningless. For instance there are over 8.6 million people of working age who are ECONOMICALLY INACTIVE, that's another word for UNEMPLOYED!
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Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Economic Tribulation is Coming, and Here is Why / Economics / Great Depression II
By: Michael_Pento
The global fixed income market has reached such a manic state that junk bond yields now trade at a much lower rate than where investment-grade debt once stood. Investment-grade corporate debt yields were close to 6% prior to the Great Recession. However, Twitter just issued $700 million of eight-year bonds at a yield of just 3.875%. That is an insanely low rate even for investment-grade corporate debt. But, the credit rating on these bonds is BB+, which by the way, happens to be in the junk category.One has to wonder how fragile the fixed income world has become when investors are tripping over each other to lock up money for eight years in a junk-rated company that is offering a yield only 1.5 percentage points above the current rate of inflation. And, in a company involved in the technology space, which is a sector that evolves extremely rapidly with a high extinction rate. Oh, and by the way, Twitter missed on both revenue and earnings in its last quarterly report. Nevertheless, this issue was so oversubscribed that the dollar amount for the offering was boosted by $100 million just days before coming to market.
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Monday, December 16, 2019
Why Every Investor Should Own Hazardous Waste Stocks / Companies / Sector Analysis
By: Robert_Ross
There’s only one guy in history who’s built three Fortune 500 companies.
His name was Wayne Huizenga.
Wayne founded automotive retailer AutoNation. He was also instrumental in Blockbuster Video’s growth. He wisely sold his stake for $8.4 billion in 1994.
But Wayne’s crown jewel was Waste Management, Inc. (WM).
Waste Management is the largest trash collection, disposal, and recycling company in North America. It runs a very dirty but very profitable business.
Monday, December 16, 2019
Pittsburgh Evolves into a Technology Hub / Companies / SME
By: Sumeet_Manhas
Steel is the first thing that comes to mind when many people think of the city of Pittsburgh. Nicknamed "The Steel City" and "Home of the Steel Curtain," this once global hub for manufacturing created the infrastructure needed to make the United States what it is today.
Fast forward several decades and the city began to lose its image. Steel production continued to fall in favor of imports. Homes lost their value, and businesses slowly left the once famous city. Since then, it's been a journey for the city to find itself an image, but luckily it has.
Technology has begun to become a focal point for the city as it reinvents itself. If Silicon Valley is our tech city of the west, then Pittsburgh is the tech city of the east. Companies have formed and thrived, producing technologies and intellectual property that are used throughout the industry.
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Monday, December 16, 2019
Who Will Win The Streaming War In 2020? / Companies / Gaming
By: OilPrice_Com
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Monday, December 16, 2019
How Ofer Nimrodi has Transformed Israeli Infrastructure / Companies / Israel
By: Boris_Dzhingarov
When talking about Israeli infrastructure and development, the name Ofer Nimrodi is hard to avoid. The businessman and developer has left his mark on the Israeli landscape and continues to push the future of the nation forward with various projects. But his accomplishments go far beyond real estate and infrastructure as this son of a diplomat is also involved in energy and media. Let’s take a closer look at how Ofer Nimrodi has and is continuing to transform Israeli infrastructure.
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Monday, December 16, 2019
Precious Metals, Copper, CRB Commodity Markets Step By Step , Inch by Inch / Commodities / Gambling
By: Rambus_Chartology
Tonight I would like to update some commodities charts we haven’t looked at in a while. There have been some subtle changes taking place that need to be addressed. Just like the PM complex that topped out in 2011 many commodities also topped out that same year and have been correcting ever since. With the US dollar at an important inflection point it may be time for commodities in general to show some relative strength which they haven’t done for a very long time.
Lets start with this very long term monthly combo chart which has the CRB index on top with the US dollar in the middle and gold on the bottom. Back in April of 2011 the CRB index topped out while the US dollar bottomed out exactly at the same time with gold topping out 5 months later in September. As you can see there is a mild correlation between the CRB and gold with their 2011 trendline both sloping down while the US dollar is sloping up.
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Monday, December 16, 2019
Stock Market Market Review / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2019
By: Andre_Gratian
Current Position of the Market
SPX: Long-term trend – There are no signs that the bull market is over.
Intermediate trend – Most likely approaching an intermediate top.
Analysis of the short-term trend is done on a daily basis with the help of hourly charts. It is an important adjunct to the analysis of daily and weekly charts which discusses the course of longer market trends.
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Sunday, December 15, 2019
Gold Stocks Vs Gold – Not A Good Bet / Commodities / Gold & Silver 2019
By: Kelsey_Williams
Earlier this year, various gold stock indices (XAU, HUI, GDX) gained more than fifty percent in just three months. Most of the negativity associated with the sector was brushed aside and replaced by positive expectations for the future.
Of course, the 90-day rush to this year’s highs did not occur in a vacuum. The price of gold rose by twenty percent over the same three-month period. The mining shares, however were considerably stronger.
Going back to the fall of 2018, the price of gold increased by thirty percent and gold mining shares increased by about sixty-five percent. The resulting differential of more than 2-to-1 in favor of the mining shares lends possible credence to the argument for shares over bullion.
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Sunday, December 15, 2019
Silver Price Remains in 'Corrective Downtrend' / Commodities / Gold & Silver 2019
By: The_Gold_Report
Technical analyst Clive Maund charts the longer term picture for silver.
Like gold, silver has been in a corrective downtrend following its peak early in September, and it looks like it has further to run before its done, partly of course because we have a downside target for gold in the $1360–$1400 area before it turns up.
On the 6-month month we can see how it has been stumbling lower within a downtrend and it looks like it will break down through the lower boundary of this downtrend to drop to a final downside target probably at support in the $15.30–$15.60 area. It outperformed gold during the summer run up and has underperformed on the subsequent reaction, which is normal, and as we know, silver is weaker than gold during the early stages of a bull market, so this near-term downside target seems reasonable.
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Sunday, December 15, 2019
Amazon - Snow Falling Effect Christmas Lights Outdoor Projector Review / Personal_Finance / Shopping
By: HGR
With Christmas just around the corner we have been on the hunt for various types of christmas lights to brighten up our home for the festive season. And this snow flurry projector sold by UKEER on Amazon for £29.99 (https://amzn.to/2BcpUu7) caught our attention as it appeared to offer a much wide coverage than the usual animated projectors.
Firstly the projector was delivered very quickly in about half the original estimated delivery time.
Secondly, it's main powered with 5 metres of cable.
Thirdly comes with two attachments to set it in place, a stand to attach to a wall and a ground spike.
Fourthly it is water proof to IP65, so should be fine for outdoor weather.
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Sunday, December 15, 2019
How to FIX Dirty Disk Windows Hard Drive Volume Error 0X80071AC3 / Personal_Finance / How to Guides
By: HGR
Eventually virtually every Windows user is going to come across the Dirty Disk error message that basically locks a hard drive from being able to write to it as a protection. Which ususally coincides with an unexpected loss of power be it your computer being switched off without shutting down or more usually an external hard drive being unpligged whilst data is being writtne to it. Nine times out of ten, your drive will be fine, but there will evertnaully be that one time when you find that you are no longer ablto to write data to the drive.
What's basically happened is that Drive has had it's Dirty Bit set, and to get to write again that dirty bit needs to be cleared. Which can prove more difficult to do than many web sites and youtube suggest to run CHECKDISK and the problem will be fixed. Instead in reality you will find that you have less than a 50% chance of Checkdisk working.
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Sunday, December 15, 2019
Raffaele Riva and AUREA Are Breaking New Ground in Financial Services Across Europe / Companies / Corporate News
By: Sumeet_Manhas
AUREA Multi Family Office is a company that offers international financial services, helping clients navigate various financial terrains such as pRivate investment, wealth and asset management, trusts, and estate planning. Under the leadership of renowned international businessman Raffaele Riva, AUREA tailors individual services for wealthy clients managing diverse assets.
Founded by Riva in 2008, AUREA regulates various subsidiaries, including Swiss firms Aurea Gestioni Patrimoniali SA, and Aurea Consulenti Associati SA; the London-based BGB AUREA Ltd; and Milano Fiduciaria S.r.l. in Italy. Riva maintains active participation in these subsidiary companies, overseeing important negotiations and transactions and managing special pRivate investments.
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Saturday, December 14, 2019
Canadian Cannabis Stocks CRASH as Canopy Growth Hits a Dead End / Companies / Cannabis
By: Stephen_McBride
It was supposed to be a routine police raid…
But when the cops stormed an illegal pot operation in California earlier this year, even grizzled veterans were shocked by what they found.
They went in expecting to confiscate marijuana plants from a farm. Instead, they found a pot factory cranking out 500 pounds of pot a day. That’s nearly enough pot to supply all legal pot shops in California!
As you may know, California legalized recreational pot in 2018… an act that was supposed to put an end to the illegal pot black market. Instead, the total opposite has happened. Black market pot is thriving.
Saturday, December 14, 2019
Australian Dollar At an Important Juncture / Currencies / Austrailia
By: Nadia_Simmons
It can be certainly said that AUD/USD has surprised on the upside recently. Having reached several important resistances, and attempting breakout above them, what else can be said about the pair’s current and upcoming performance?
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Saturday, December 14, 2019
Retail Sector Isn’t Dead, and These 6% Dividend Paying Stocks Prove It / Companies / Retail Sector
By: Robert_Ross
I’m sure you’re familiar with the “retail apocalypse.” Brick-and-mortar retailers are dying off as people buy more stuff online, or so the story goes.
This trend has taken out household names like Circuit City, Blockbuster Video, and Payless ShoeSource. Even luxury retailer Barneys filed for bankruptcy this year.
All told, about 9,000 brick-and-mortar stores closed in 2019. Meanwhile, e-commerce sales are growing around 5% per year. But there’s more to this story...
Despite the headline-grabbing bankruptcies, about 90% of US retail sales still happen in person.
Saturday, December 14, 2019
Top 5 Ways to Add Value to Your Home / Housing-Market / Home Improvements
By: Justin_Weinger
How can you add long- and short-term value to your house? Here are what experienced real estate professionals say are the five best ways to ramp up the potential resale price of your dwelling:
Redo the Bathrooms
At the top of home-shoppers’ lists, fresh, newly redone bathrooms are a key selling point for old and new houses. It’s not the cheapest value-adding task you can opt for, but you will definitely get your money back in the selling price, and then some. If your place has more than one bathroom, try your best to budget for both to be redone. Choose a contractor based on a combination of experience and price and be clear that you want the renovated bathrooms to match.
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Friday, December 13, 2019
Beware Gold Stocks Downside / Commodities / Gold and Silver Stocks 2019
By: Zeal_LLC
The gold miners’ stocks have largely been consolidating high following last summer’s powerful upleg. That resilience has left sentiment relatively bullish, with traders mostly expecting this sector to soon start surging again. But the jury is still out on whether gold stocks will be lucky enough to evade a bigger correction. Major downside risks still abound, primarily in gold which dominates gold-stock price trends.
The reversal in gold-stock fortunes this year has been radical. This is readily evident in their leading benchmark, the GDX VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF. Comprised of the world’s largest gold miners, GDX is this sector’s most-popular trading vehicle. The gold miners weren’t faring well for most of the first half of 2019, with GDX down 4.4% year-to-date in early May. Traders wanted nothing to do with gold stocks.
That sector slump reflected a lack of enthusiasm for gold, which was down 0.9% YTD. The gold stocks are effectively leveraged plays on gold, as their earnings really amplify changes in prevailing gold levels. But as May ended, some surprising news started sparking life back into the moribund gold realm. Trump threatened to impose big tariffs on Mexico until it stopped illegal immigration across the US southern border.
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Friday, December 13, 2019
Fed Says No Interest Rate Hikes In 2020. What About Gold? / Commodities / Gold & Silver 2019
By: Arkadiusz_Sieron
The Fed kept the interest rates unchanged in December. The statement was rather hawkish, while the dot-plot rather dovish. What does such a mix imply for the yellow metal?
Fed Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged
Yesterday, the FOMC published the monetary policy statement from its latest meeting that took place on December 10-11th. In line with expectations, the U.S. central bank left the federal funds rate unchanged at 1.50 to 1.75 percent:
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Friday, December 13, 2019
The ABC’s of Fiat Money / Currencies / Fiat Currency
By: Rob_Kirby
The machinations and bravo sierra excuses that are being “served up” attempting to explain the onset of massive Fed liquidity “adds” are fogging up my glasses. As a savant I once worked with in the institutional capital markets told me many, many years ago when I first parked my butt in a chair on a trading desk fresh out of University told me, “Kirby, what happens in here is really quite simple – we deal with money and the only things you can do with that are: buy it, sell it, borrow it or lend it. It isn’t rocket science”.When the Fed adds “liquidity” [aka fresh fiat money] they purchase debt – either on a temporary basis [repo] or a permanent basis by outright purchases [expanding their balance sheet]. Fresh fiat money is the oil that greases the wheels of our debt based money system. When the Fed purchases debt they are signalling concern that the wheels of our money system are seizing up.
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