Sunday, August 28, 2016
Janet Yellen At Jackson Hole / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2016
The equity markets are bouncing along support on the lower bound as they wait to hear what Chairman Yellen has to say about the Fed's perspective tomorrow and what else is said over the next few days at Jackson Hole.
As for gold and silver, they went down in honor of the option expiration on the Comex for the most part this week, and today is just the anti-climax.
Traders claim to be 'confused' about what the Fed is up to. So for their benefit and yours, here is a brief cheatsheet.
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Sunday, August 28, 2016
Bigotry and Racism in the Donald Trump Core / ElectionOracle / US Presidential Election 2016
Donald Trump, who is commanding all of 1 percent of Black voters, according to an impartial Quinnipiac poll, says he could get as much as 95 percent of the Black vote in a second term. In June 2011, he had said, “I’ve always had a great relationship with the blacks.” It’s nothing less than political hyperbole in a campaign for a first term, and meant to get a few thousand more votes in key states. However, Trump’s past actions don’t mitigate whatever future plans he has.
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Sunday, August 28, 2016
Theresa May Instructs Police, NHS Gp's, Public Sector To Stop Racial Discrimination in Service Delivery / Politics / UK Politics
The whole spectrum of the public sector from the Police, to the NHS, to education is not governed by the pursuit of excellence for all recipients so as to maximise competitive advantage and increase market share but instead operates under the fundamental principles of delivering that which is free at the point of delivery. In which respect whether someone gets good or bad service is dependant upon the public servants own prejudices, usually dictated by stereotyping, the mass media and what's said in the gossip columns or on social media.
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Saturday, August 27, 2016
Ignore Yellen and Buy the Dip in Precious Metals / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2016
Investors worldwide have been on pins and needles in eager anticipation of a speech from our economic overlords. Friday morning FED chair Yellen finally opened her mouth and said a whole lot of nothing.
Markets didn’t know exactly how to react to her nothingness. Stocks were up and then down. Gold was down and then up. The USD index plunged and then rallied nearly 1%. Will the FED raise rates in 2016 or not? The drama continues as Yellen of Oz pulls the levers behind the curtain.
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Saturday, August 27, 2016
SPX Downtrend Should be Underway / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2016
The market started the week at SPX 2184. After a decline to SPX 2176 on Monday the market rallied to 2193. A pullback followed to SPX 2170 on Thursday, then a gap up opening on Friday, rally to 2188, selloff to 2160, then ended the week at 2169. For the week the SPX/DOW lost 0.75%, and the NDX/NAZ lost 0.40%. Economic reports for the week were mixed. On the downtick: existing home sales, Q2 GDP, consumer sentiment, and the Q3 GDP estimate. On the uptick: new home sales, the FHFA, durable goods orders, plus weekly jobless claims improved. Next week’s reports will be highlighted by monthly payrolls, ISM and the PCE. Best to your week!
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Saturday, August 27, 2016
Yellen Plays Both Sides Again... Stock Market Doesn't Trust Her.... / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2016
The market had spent weeks ahead of the Jackson Hole, Wyoming speech by fed Yellen before making any type of move that included some volatility and a try higher with some force. The thinking was different depending on who you asked. Some thought she'd simply say nothing other than the usual, which was she'll raise when it's appropriate meaning she's looking at the data that comes in from report to report. Others thought she'd definitely talk about raising rates in September. That she'd give a definitive date and then we'd see how the market responds. She played the middle ground. She's very good at being vague. She said that employment is full, and that things are better and that rate hike is coming. We already know one is coming Ms. Yellen. But when? She didn't say. Same old. She'll see. When she feels like it she will.
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Saturday, August 27, 2016
Unraveling the Secular Economic Stagnation Story / Economics / US Economy
Secular stagnation is said to be present when economic growth is negligible or nonexistent over a considerable span of time. Today, secular stagnation has become a popular mantra of the chattering classes, particularly in the United States. The idea is not new, however.Alvin Hansen, an early and prominent Keynesian economist at Harvard University, popularized the notion of secular stagnation in the 1930s. In his presidential address to the American Economic Association in 1938, he asserted that the U.S. was a mature economy that was stuck in a rut. Hansen reasoned that technological innovations had come to an end; that the great American frontier (read: natural resources) was closed; and that population growth was stagnating. So, according to Hansen, investment opportunities would be scarce, and there would be nothing ahead except secular economic stagnation. The only way out was more government spending. It would be used to boost investment via public works projects. For Hansen and the Keynesians of that era, stagnation was a symptom of market failure, and the antidote was government largesse.
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Saturday, August 27, 2016
The Precious Metals Sector and the Fed. . . / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2016
Technical analyst Clive Maund reflects on how Federal Reserve statements may affect markets, and explains why he thinks the precious metals markets are due for a correction.
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Saturday, August 27, 2016
A Bit More Downside Potential in Gold Stocks / Commodities / Gold and Silver Stocks 2016
Last week we projected 5% to 10% downside in the gold stocks. Well, not to butter my own bread but GDX and GDXJ both lost 9% on the week. That being said, I believed that the weakness would be limited and miners could rebound to new highs in September. While that possibility remains, there is a chance this correction could go a bit deeper and perhaps last longer.
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Saturday, August 27, 2016
Bitcoin Is Just a Bit Player / Currencies / Bitcoin
Over the last few years, so-called "crypto-currencies" – digital equivalents of a monetary exchange unit, have been all the rage. The most well-known in the category, Bitcoin, has had quite a run.
Starting out as a "virtual penny stock" it rose in 2014 to the elevated height of $1,150, before crashing back to earth. This "electronic currency" is created and stored in a computerized "wallet." Purchases and sales are made via a "blockchain" which keeps a memory of every transaction conducted. Private keys (supposedly) provide assurance that a Bitcoin holder's account is safe.
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Saturday, August 27, 2016
Stock Market - All Is Calm, All Is Not Right / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2016
With every passing year since 2008, support for the idea of free markets and open competition without constant intervention by central banks has been declining. The idea of trust your central banker to always “assist” the markets has lead the public at large into the false illusion that stocks can always be engineered to return to all time highs in the US, even if just reaching these levels recently.
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Saturday, August 27, 2016
This America, this house divided ... cannot stand / Politics / US Politics
In an election cycle that has scored the lowest in human decency, civilized behavior and speech; a cycle characterized by hate, viciousness, competing scandals, voluminous unproven allegations, scapegoats, fear-mongering, incitements to violence, death threats, and general moral decline bordering on decadence, I advise no child be exposed to any of it – none!
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Friday, August 26, 2016
Gold Junior Stocks Q2 2016 Fundamentals / Commodities / Gold and Silver Stocks 2016
The junior gold miners and explorers have soared dramatically in an amazing year, before falling hard this week. This sharp correction is doing its job in rebalancing bull-market sentiment, crushing greed and leaving traders wary of this sector. But gold juniors’ recently-released second-quarter financial and operational results prove their fundamentals are strengthening dramatically, a very bullish omen for stock prices.
The junior gold stocks are rightfully considered the Wild West of the gold sector. Most of the hundreds and hundreds of these small companies won’t prove successful. They won’t be able to secure funding to explore sufficiently, won’t be fortunate enough to find an economic deposit of gold to mine, or won’t be able to make the herculean leap from explorer to miner. The odds are stacked heavily against the gold juniors.
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Friday, August 26, 2016
How Extreme Oversold Markets Can Be Profitable / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2016
The trading week was starting to look as though it was going to end without any excitement. Wow, did that ever change on Friday!
On Wednesday Aug 24th, the stock market sold off to a level which I consider to be an extreme oversold condition for the week. While I do have several criteria as to why and how I come to the conclusion, the chart and indicator below show me when the market is oversold and ready for a bounce.
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Friday, August 26, 2016
EUR-USD pattern still on track / Currencies / Euro
The Euro has spent the last year consolidating against the US Dollar, however it appears as though this long consolidation was just a breather in a longer term down trend. Our updated daily forecast pattern below, shows how we think this consolidation will end during the next few months.
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Friday, August 26, 2016
Buy Gold’s August Dip? Gold’s Monthly Sweet Spot In September / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2016
Gold bullion has had its biggest gains in September over the past 20 years. Seasonally gold is entering the sweet spot with the Autumn being gold’s best season and with September being gold’s best month in the last 20 years.
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Friday, August 26, 2016
The Impact of Brexit on the U.S. Economy and Gold Market / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2016
In the previous edition of the Market Overview, we analyzed briefly the consequences of Brexit vote. We stated that “the most important economic effect of the Brexit vote is so far a significant rise in uncertainty”. It applies particularly to the political future of Great Britain (Will the UK disintegrate? Will the UK really exit from the EU? When and how will it happen?) and the European Union (Will the EU break apart?). However, Brexit could also hurt the U.S. economy. This is why we would like to focus on the impact of Brexit on the U.S. economy and the gold market.
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Friday, August 26, 2016
The IMF’s Internal Audit Reveals Its Incompetence and Massive Rule Breaking / Politics / Global Financial System
To understand the sordid tale of the IMF, we need to look back at Greece. We think of Greece as the epicenter of the eurozone debt crisis, but it had company.
As the Fed’s initial QE program pushed US stocks higher, Greece’s growing budget deficit led credit agencies to downgrade its sovereign debt rating in late 2009. So, the government cut spending… but not by enough.
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Friday, August 26, 2016
Commodities Are the Best Bargain Now—Here’s What to Buy / Commodities / Investing 2016
TONY SAGAMI writes: What kind of investor are you? Are you the buy-high-sell-higher (trend continuation) type? Or are you a bargain hunter who likes beaten-down (trend reversal) opportunities?
The former type of investor is now in heaven. With the stock market at new highs, there are many stocks on fire.
But if you’re looking for bargains, the pickings are pretty slim.
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Friday, August 26, 2016
Dividend Fund Choices for Long-Term Investors / Companies / Dividends
Market Bulls writes: With global interest rates holding at historically low levels, many long-term investors are looking for new ways of generating income returns. One of the most attractive choices in the space is the Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index Fund (VHDYX), which is an open-end fund. The central aim of the fund is to track the share price and dividend performance seen in the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index, which is comprised of common stocks that offer higher dividends when compared to the sector averages.
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