Monday, June 07, 2021

Why "Trouble is Brewing" for the U.S. Housing Market / Housing-Market / US Housing

By: EWI

"Home price declines follow home sales declines"

In many parts of the country, the price of homes has been skyrocketing.

Indeed, the index of home prices across 20 large cities increased at a yearly pace of 13.3% in March, according to a well-known home price index.

That statistic appears to represent a sign of health for the housing market. So, you may ask: "Why is trouble brewing?"

Monday, June 07, 2021

Stock Market Volatility Crash Course (VIX vs VVIX) – Learn How to Profit From Volatility / Stock-Markets / Volatility

By: Chris_Vermeulen

Volatility is the most common way to measure risk in the financial markets. While there are a plethora of methods, calculations, and derivatives to calculate volatility, they are all trying to accomplish the same goal: what is the price of a security going to do in the future? Without a crystal ball, there’s no perfect answer, but let’s go through a few common ways that we can estimate future volatility.

Monday, June 07, 2021

Computer Vision Is Like Investing in the Internet in the ‘90s / Companies / Tech Stocks

By: Stephen_McBride

Did you hear that NASA put a self-driving car on Mars? Its Perseverance rover has been cruising around the red planet since February, and unlike previous space robots, this one features a big technological breakthrough: It drives itself!

Prior versions of the rover had to constantly stop and take static photographs to figure out where to go. It’s no wonder the furthest any rover had traveled in one day is 700 feet. But Perseverance can “see” where it’s going in real-time. Now it spends its days poking around a dried-up river bed looking for signs of alien life.

A world-changing disruption made this breakthrough possible. I’m talking about computer vision. Computer vision is the kind of disruption that only comes around once a generation.

Monday, June 07, 2021

MAPLINS - Sheffield Down Memory Lane, Before the Shop Closed its Doors for the Last Time / Local / Sheffield

By: N_Walayat

MAPLINS - Sheffield Down Memory Lane. This electronics store situated across the road from Sheffield Town Hall that started off as an airfix model kits store is now long gone, so here's a step down memory lane in it's last few days before it closed its doors for ever, and the shop.

Monday, June 07, 2021

Wire Brush vs Block Paving Driveway Weeds - How Much Work, Nest Way to Kill Weeds? / Personal_Finance / Home Maintenance

By: HGR

Wire Brushes to get rid of driveway block paving weeds, is it worth the effort, find out in our latest video which is in response to the videos we posted where we used a Karcher K7 pressure washer to blast away driveway weeds where many said to get a wire brush and other manual tools to get rid of weeds instead of using a pressure washer, we'll we had already been there done that hence this video. So now you get to compare the two methods of getting rid of driveway weeds and can make up your own minds of which to go for!

Monday, June 07, 2021

When Markets Get Scared and Reverse / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021

By: Monica_Kingsley

S&P 500 wasted another good opportunity to rise – one where the credit markets were largely aligned. Is it a sign of upcoming tremors that the 500-strong index couldn‘t defend the daily gains? Commodities weren‘t under pressure, the dollar wasn‘t surging (looking at the closing prices), precious metals did well, and even lumber enjoyed a white candle again.

Inflation expectations retreated, and so did Treasury yields – what‘s holding stocks then? Neither uncertainty about the Fed policy, nor surging inflation cutting into P&L, nor crashing bonds – what we‘re seeing is run of the mill volatility as stocks move both into a structurally higher inflation environment, and await Fed moves which are much farther down the time line than the markets appreciate. Heck, even the option traders keep undergoing the earlier announced shift to complacency.

Yes, the taper talk has dialed back the inflation trades to a degree, but hasn‘t knocked them off in the least. In a reflation, both stocks and commodities do well, and we‘re still far away from worrying about weakening GDP growth rates (today‘s ADP and unemployment data are a good proof thereof) – in my view, worries about inflation not retreating nearly enough during this Treasury market lull (taking up this summer) would come into the picture first.

Reopening trades aren‘t over, the housing market activity (housing starts, new home sales) has slowed down a little while XLRE keeps running, financials remain as strong as value (yes, there is more juice in that trade still), and no mad rush into tech (growth) is underway. Capacity utilization isn‘t at the top of the pre-corona range exactly, and oil prices (these serve as additional tax, a drag on the economy) aren‘t biting nearly enough. The job market isn‘t at the strongest either, and the hours worked don‘t match prior extremes either. Last but not least, global supply chains haven‘t entirely recovered to meet the reopenings-boosted demand.

Monday, June 07, 2021

Is A New Superfuel About To Take Over Energy Markets? / Commodities / Energy Resources

By: Oilprice_Com

Sunday, June 06, 2021

Why Tether USDT, Stable Scam Coins Could COLLAPSE the Crypto Markets - Black Swan 2021 / Currencies / cryptocurrency

By: Nadeem_Walayat

To get my crypto bear market investing ball rolling I recently opened an account with Binance (10% trading fees discount). Deposited £3600 sterling that I quickly converted into USDT so as to initiate my initial limit orders on mainly BTC and ETH, aiming to add more funds and limit orders over the next few weeks. Unfortunately, on taking a closer look at USDT Tether stable coin which probably holds true for all so called stable coins is that they are NOT backed 1 for 1 by that which they seek to represent i.e. from what I have gleaned at best USDT is backed by 75% of dollar 'safeish' assets with most of the remaining 25% may not even exist i.e. PRINTED MONEY! Likely to cover losses incurred to date such as the $800 million USDT's parent company lost some years ago etc,. So USDT's true value is somewhere between 15% and 25% LESS than that of the US Dollar given it's actual reserves, more in my recent video on this subject.

Sunday, June 06, 2021

Stock Market: 4 Tips for Investing in Gold / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021

By: Mark_Adan

Investment involves taking a risk. It involves putting your money on something with the hope that it will increase in value. Therefore, it will be difficult for you to participate in the investment if you are not a risk-taker. Anything can happen at any time, and you might end up incurring losses or profits. For someone who only had hopes of making a profit, the losses may discourage him/her.

 Investing in gold can be the best decision to make if you want to diversify your investment. Gold is always considered the safest asset because it does not depreciate. It means that its prices keep increasing with time. Therefore, you are sure of making a profit when you invest in it. Below are some of the tips for investing in gold.

Saturday, June 05, 2021

Apple (AAPL) Summer Correction Stock Trend Analysis / Companies / Apple

By: Nadeem_Walayat

I have been bearish on the prospects for Apple to go higher since last November and so far Apple has lived upto my expectations, and it's the first big stock on my list to be down on the year. Apple is trading on an an EC of 81 that is even higher than the 76 of last November. So despite the stock having gone nowhere for the pasty 8 months, I can't see what's going to propel it higher in the near future. Not a good buy at current levels so the Buy % is 35%.

Saturday, June 05, 2021

Stock Market Sentiment Speaks: I 'Believe' We Rally Into A June Swoon / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2021

By: Avi_Gilburt

It is now approaching almost a decade since I began writing public articles outlining my analysis in various markets. And, I have learned a lot about the general investor community based upon many of the comments I have received during that time.

One of the things that I find quite pervasive is the drive for "common-think." But, even that is a misleading classification. You see, I do not believe investors think anymore.

Rather, I see investors often grab onto something they read or hear in the media, and take personal "ownership" over that idea because it resonates with them for whatever reason. It then becomes the basis for their entire view of the market, and they seek articles which provide confirmation to their bias, and argue with articles that do not. So, rather than seeking out the truth in the market and continually testing their perspective in an objective fashion, most investors simply adopt a personal opinion and ignore or attack anything that disagrees with that opinion. Therefore, truth and profit in investing no longer seem to be the ultimate goal.

Saturday, June 05, 2021

Stock Market Russell 2000 After Reaching A Trend Channel High Flags Out / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2021

By: Chris_Vermeulen

The Russell 2000, which had experienced an incredible 48% upside price rally after the November 2020 US elections, has recently peaked near an upward sloping price channel that originated shortly after the 2010 Housing Crisis bottom.  The incredible aspect is that the post-COVID price rally accelerated at such an extreme rate that the current peak level (highlighted by the MAGENTA circle on the chart below) represents an extreme rally phase in price.  Unquestionably, at this point, the markets are searching for a new trend and the IWM has consolidated into a sideways Flagging price formation.

I believe global traders are currently searching for new opportunities and have taken the past 45+ days to re-evaluate the extent of the post-COVID rally in the markets.  Ironically, the IWM and SPY show similar types of extreme rallies to a previous (2009~2010) price channel high.  It is the opinion of my team and I that the markets have entered an over-enthusiastic rally phase to reach these levels and are currently stalling while searching for a new trend.

Saturday, June 05, 2021

Money Is Cheap, Own Gold / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021

By: The_Gold_Report

Peter Krauth of the Gold Resource Investor discusses rising inflation and the role of hard assets. Sure Mr. Biden, money is cheap. But whose money is it?

The White House recently sent a $6 trillion budget plan to Congress.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Biden's first wide-ranging budget calls for big spending on infrastructure, education and, of course, climate change. His plan lays out $6 trillion in spending against just $4.2 trillion in revenues. That's an enormous 37% bump up from 2019 spending levels, and it suggests a deficit of $1.8 trillion, nearly double that of 2019.

The idea is to spend now while money is cheap, with interest rates at historical lows. In fact, they're at the lowest levels in 5,000 years of history.

Friday, June 04, 2021

Bitcoin and Ravencoin Cryptos CRASH Bear Market Buying Levels Price Targets / Currencies / Bitcoin

By: Nadeem_Walayat

Whilst my in-depth analysis is pending completion, however I have been flagging for several months that the crypto's are in a bubble that will burst / crash / plunge enter into a bear market for which we received a taste of what to expect a few days ago. So my message and strategy has been NOT to hold any meaningful amount of crypto i.e. the only crypto I have is what I have mined with a couple of existing desktop PC's and even then most of the funds generated (80%) have been SPENT because I know that the price of most of not all crypto's is going to head a lot lower.

So in response to patron requests and in advance of my more in-depth analysis on the crypto space that is about 50% complete, then here are the approx range of buying levels that I have had penciled in for Bitcoin for sometime of where I would be tempted to look at actually buying Bitcoin with fiat, though attempts to fund my Coinbase account with fiat has so far failed but I will leave that for my next analysis.

Friday, June 04, 2021

Scan Computers - How to Test New Systems CPU, GPU and Hard Drive Stability With Free Software / Personal_Finance / Computing

By: HGR

New Computer, just delivered? Here's what to do to quickly test your system to make sure it is working properly before you start transferring valuable data onto it as we did with this new system bought form Scan Computers UK, a custom built PC that cost £3,300, will it pass the tests? Utilising free download off the net software, Cinebench, ATTO disk, MSI Kombuster, 3D Mark and Passmark as well as helpful utilities such as Hardware Info and Crystal Disk Info.

Friday, June 04, 2021

Hedge Funds Getting Bullish on Gold / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021

By: MoneyMetals

The gold market has seen many momentum shifts in recent months. At the end of the day, however, the market really depends on one simple factor: Are the big money inflows trending in a bullish or bearish direction?

Near market lows, speculative interest tends to be heavily on the short (bearish) side. That sets the stage for buying pressure to be released when rallies force short sellers to cover their positions.

As traders shift to taking on more long (bullish) positions, momentum builds for higher prices.

Friday, June 04, 2021

THERE ARE NO SOLUTIONS When the Media is the VIRUS / Politics / Coronavirus 2021

By: James_Quinn

“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. …We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. …In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons…who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.” – Edward Bernays – Propaganda – 1928

“For the first time in its history, Western Civilization is in danger of being destroyed internally by a corrupt, criminal ruling cabal which is centered around the Rockefeller interests, which include elements from the Morgan, Brown, Rothschild, Du Pont, Harriman, Kuhn-Loeb, and other groupings as well. This junta took control of the political, financial, and cultural life of America in the first two decades of the twentieth century.” – Carroll Quigley – Tragedy & Hope – 1966

Friday, June 04, 2021

Investors Who Blindly Trust the ‘Experts’ Will Get Left Behind / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2021

By: MoneyMetals

The country has largely been divided into two camps. The first camp is full of people who just don’t pay too much attention. They have unshakable faith in Wall Street and government institutions.

The typical investor buys stocks for the long haul. It might be because financial advisors are just as unquestioning, knowing they are rarely criticized for following the herd.

Sadly, mainstream advisors still snicker whenever a client brings up gold – even though the naysayers have been wrong about gold for 20 years.

Friday, June 04, 2021

US Stock Market Indexes Consolidate Into Flagging Pattern – Watch For Aggressive Trending Soon / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2021

By: Chris_Vermeulen

Over the past few weeks, the US major indexes have consolidated into a sideways price channel.  This is most obvious on the NASDAQ and SPY charts as we’ve seen moderately deep pullbacks through the months of April/May 2021.  My research suggests this sideways price Flagging might be concerning for active traders/investors. 

When the market flags into a sideways price pattern and near an Apex level, price tends to act in a very aggressive manner while attempting to establish a new trend. The longer price continues to trade within that sideways/flagging price range, the more aggressive and violent the new trend may be when it finally breaks free of the sideways price channel.

Thursday, June 03, 2021

Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Trend Analysis / Companies / Microsoft

By: Nadeem_Walayat

3. MICROSOFT - $252.5

Microsoft is up 12% since my last update, and is now over priced on an EC of 70, against fair value of 55. Unless I am missing something, the stock needs to consolidate it's powerful advance before considering going higher as it is not healthy for a stock to keep becoming more expensive. Maybe it's the 2.1% dividend yield that's attracting investors? But on an EC of 70 it is a little expensive for my taste. Not a good buy at current levels so the Buy % is 35%.