Monday, April 05, 2021
Will Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Rebuild Gold? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
By: Arkadiusz_Sieron
Biden just announced an ambitious and expensive infrastructure plan. Will it rebuild gold?Yesterday (Mar. 31), President Joe Biden announced the big infrastructure plan , the second major legislative initiative after the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan passed in early March. The proposal includes about $2.2 trillion in new spending over eight years, boosting government expenditures even further .
Despite the name, the plan assumes that only a part would be spent on infrastructure. To be more specific, Biden wants to spend $600 billion on transportation infrastructure (such as bridges, roads, airports, etc.), and more than $300 billion on improving utilities infrastructure (drinking-water pipes, electric grids, broadband). He also proposes to put more than $300 billion into building and upgrading housing and schools, $400 billion to care for elderly and disabled Americans, and almost $600 billion in research and development infrastructure, manufacturing, and job training.
That doesn’t sound bad at all (after all, infrastructure is critical), but there is a catch. The plan assumes that all the spending will be financed by tax hikes. Biden proposes to raise the U.S. corporate tax rate from the 21 percent set by Trump to 28 percent, as well as to eliminate all fossil fuel industry subsidies and loopholes. So, according to the proposal, the tax reforms will add about 0.5 percent of GDP in fiscal revenues, which are believed to fully pay for investments within the next 15 years.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, April 05, 2021
Stocks All Time Highs and Gold Double Bottom / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2021
By: Monica_Kingsley
Bullish run in stocks that lost steam before the close – does that qualify as a reversal? Given the other moves such as in the Dow Industrials, Russell 2000 and emerging markets, it‘s unlikely that the S&P 500 met more than a temporary setback. Just look at the rush into risk-on assets as an immediate reaction to the infrastructure and taxation plans – see the high yield corporate bonds moving higher (and this time also investment grade corporate bonds finally) as long-dated Treasuries keep losing ground, and the dollar noticeably wavered.
Yes, emerging worries about how this will be all paid for – not that an ideological challenge to modern monetary theory would be gaining any traction, but rather what would be the (quite predictable) effect of steep tax increases? Reduction in economic activity, unproductive moves to outset the effects, decrease in potential GDP? Remember the time proven truth that whatever the percentage rate, the government always takes in less than 20% GDP in taxes. The only question is the degree of distortions that the tax rate spawns.
Monday, April 05, 2021
All Tech Stocks Revolve Around This Disruptor / Companies / Tech Stocks
By: Stephen_McBride
Silicon Valley is the birthplace of American tech. Giants like Google and Apple have become the face of California’s disruption hub. But long before we were typing Google searches into our iPhones, Silicon Valley got its name by creating the world’s most important industry: computer chips.Computer chips, also called semiconductors, are the “brains” of electronics. These days, the entire world runs on semiconductors. There would be no iPhone, Amazon Webstore, or online messaging apps without them.
Temperature sensors in air conditioners are powered by tiny microchips. Rice cookers cook rice to perfection because built-in semiconductors control the heat. The chip inside pacemakers sends electrical pulses to the heart to keep it beating regularly.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, April 04, 2021
Silver $100 Price Ahead / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
By: The_Gold_Report
Peter Krauth, editor of Silver Stock Investor, discusses the macroeconomic environment for silver and why he is embracing the metal's volatility. Being a silver investor over the last few weeks has become more psychologically challenging.
That's true even for us die-hard silver enthusiasts.
After all silver had a standout 2020, having gained about 47% in its best year since 2010. That easily outpaced gold's own impressive 25% return.
But the reality is that so far in 2021, silver is down 9%. And meanwhile, nearly all the fundamental market drivers have remained intact. It seems the pressures on silver prices are likely from two angles. The first is after such an impressive 2020, it was due to correct. That's what bull markets do.
The second pressure point is a rising U.S. dollar index, likely thanks to rising long-term bond yields. However, it's important to consider that this trend will also run its course and exhaust itself. That could happen naturally, or the Fed could intervene by imposing Yield Curve Control.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, April 04, 2021
Is Astra Zeneca Vaccine Safe? Risk of Blood Clots and What Side Effects During 8 Days After Jab / Politics / Coronavirus 2021
By: N_Walayat
Is the Astra Zeneca Vaccine safe? Is there a high risk of blood clots given most countries have restricted it's use? What side effects to expect over the first 8 days after an Astra Zeneca Jab in your arm, lets find out in this video of what the actual experience is of getting the Astra Zeneca jab.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, April 04, 2021
Are Premium Bonds A Good Investment in 2021 vs Savings, AI Stocks and Housing Alternatives / Personal_Finance / Saving Bonds
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Savers starved of rates due to the continuing bailout of the bankrupt banking sector as the Bank of England literally stuffs hundreds of billions onto their balance sheets by means of artificial profits. So it's no wonder that many millions of Brit's have plowed a large chunk of their savings into government backed Premium Bonds. Here give them a good 1 year test run to see what prices (returns) they generate on a sizeable £32,500 investment. Will I beat the premium bond interest rate of 1%, maybe I will be one of the lucky ones and win a big prize, find out in my latest personal finance video.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, April 04, 2021
Penny Stocks Hit $2 Trillion - The Real Story Behind This "Road to Riches" Scheme / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2021
By: EWI
By Steven Hochberg : Penny stocks are an investment vehicle that really has garnered the attention and speculation of investors in early 2021. They're plunging headlong into off-exchange shares.
I remember back when I started in the early 1980s at Merrill Lynch, there was a guy that walked in the office and he had pieces of paper that were pink, and I didn't know what they were.
I was 23 years old, just starting out. I went over to him and said, "What are you looking at?" And he turned to me and he said, "Son, this is your road to riches right here." And then he was looking at the OTC bulletin board pink sheets of these off-penny stocks.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, April 04, 2021
Should Stock Markets Fear Inflation or Deflation? / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2021
By: EWI
How about both.
You can't go ten minutes on financial media these days without coming across a reference to inflation. That is, consumer price inflation to be more exact -- the measurement of changes in the prices of consumer goods and services that the entire world has been hoodwinked by central banks into thinking is the definition of inflation. The proper definition of inflation is the expansion of money and credit in an economy. On that definition, most major economies have been experiencing high inflation for decades.
Sigh, nevertheless, the focus for the markets at this moment is on a potential rise in consumer price inflation. The general underlying narrative from conventional analysts is that this is a good thing for markets because it is preferable to consumer price deflation. But is it?
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, April 03, 2021
Dow Stock Market Trend Forecast 2021 / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2021
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Stocks Bear Market / Crash Indicator (CI18) - Current Risk is VERY LOW. The Crash Indicator is one of the neural nets I am working on as my AI takes baby steps into understanding how to interpret the stock market. It's task is to state the current risk of a bear market or crash being imminent i.e. within the next week or so. So an independant indicator that acts as a warning to HEDGE stock portfolios ahead of a high probability declines in the market. Where my preferred hedging tool is to go short stock index futures so as to capitalise on any drop delivering fresh funds to buy more AI stocks at deep discounts just as I did during March 2020. The last time this indicator triggered a warning was late February, so it is not a trading indicator but instead a Hedge your portfolio warning indicator.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, April 03, 2021
Gold Price Just Can’t Seem to Breakout / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
By: P_Radomski_CFA
Confirmed, unconfirmed, verified, and invalidated: breakouts and breakdowns are now ubiquitous. And the implications are bearish for gold.
Let’s start today’s analysis with a discussion of the key market that everyone is interested in – gold.
Gold’s Failed Breakout – A Sell Sign
In short, gold just invalidated its small breakout above the declining blue resistance line. The previous breakout was small and thus it required a confirmation. It never got one, and instead gold plunged, invalidating the move. This is yet another sell sign that we saw.
Saturday, April 03, 2021
Stocks, Gold and the Troubling Yields / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2021
By: Monica_Kingsley
Yesterday‘s consolidation in stocks was a bullish one, and the S&P 500 upswing has good prospects of proceeding unimpeded. Strange but true if you consider that also a plan to considerably raise taxes would be announced today, so as to help pay for the stimulus wave. The bond markets are calmly overlooking that so far, enabling the run to the 4,000 mark.
And it still appears a question of time. Inflation isn‘t yet biting (forget about the German CPI data for now), fresh money keeps hitting the markets, and Archegos is about to become a distant memory. Stocks seem immune to the rising yields spell at the moment, meaning that value trades can remain at elevated levels while technology is stuck in no man‘s land and defensives are consolidating recent sharp gains (consolidating until the rising yields come back with vengeance).
And there is little reason given the Fed‘s stance why they shouldn‘t. Much of the marketplace is buying into the transitory inflation story, and inflation expectations aren‘t yet running too hot. As the economic growth is stronger than current or future inflation, we‘re still at a good stage in the inflation cycle – everyone benefits and no one pays.
Saturday, April 03, 2021
What can you buy with cryptocurrencies? / Currencies / BlockChain
By: Sumeet_Manhas
...
Friday, April 02, 2021
What a Long and Not so Strange Trip it’s Been for the Gold Mining Stocks / Commodities / Gold and Silver Stocks 2021
By: Gary_Tanashian
The Gold Miner correction was well earned, but it was not a bubble
Even today there is some pablum out there talking about how if inflation is good for gold it is especially good for gold miners. I will simply repeat once again that if gold usually does not benefit fundamentally by cyclical inflation (i.e. inflation promoted for and currently working toward economic goals) the gold miners never do, unless they rise against their preferred fundamentals as they did during two separate phases in the last bull market, which were justly resolved with crashes.
Here are a couple charts we used in NFTRH 648 in a segment written to set the record straight. We have also used these charts – especially the first one – since the caution flags went up last summer, visually by the first chart and anecdotally by the usual suspects aggressively pumping the unwitting masses. Buffett buys a gold stock!… okay, well so much for that. Sentiment became off the charts over-bullish and now, as we prepare for the final act of the correction, it’s the opposite. That’s perfect.
HUI had far exceeded the Gold/SPX ratio and so it was very vulnerable from a macro fundamental perspective. Why on earth would players want to focus on miners digging a rock out of the ground that was starting to fail in a price ratio to the stock market? They wouldn’t, and since last summer they didn’t.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 02, 2021
WD My Book DUO 28tb Unboxing - What Drives Inside the Enclosure, Reds or Blues Review / Personal_Finance / Computing
By: HGR
Here's the unboxing of the 28tb MONSTER WD MY Book DUO external drive! Find out exactly what you get un the box and what drives are in the enclosure! Are they Red or Blue? Find out now! And also how not to get the drives out of the enclosure!
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 02, 2021
Markets, Mayhem and Elliott Waves / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2021
By: EWI
Dear reader,
We are one year into the bull market that began in March 2020 -- and 12 years into the bigger bull market than began in early 2009.
You are probably getting anxious -- what's next for stocks, interest rates, gold and other commodities?
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 02, 2021
Gold And US Dollar Hegemony / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
By: Kelsey_Williams
The US dollar is the world’s reserve currency. That isn’t likely to change anytime soon.
All currencies are substitutes for real money, i.e. gold. And because all governments inflate and destroy their own currencies, any potential alternatives to the US dollar are as bad or worse.
That doesn’t stop the dollar bashing, of course. In a general long-term sense, the condemnation is well-deserved. After all, the US dollar, under the care and watch keeping of the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States, has lost more than ninety-eight percent of its purchasing power.
The possibility of gold reasserting itself as the international medium of exchange continues to increase; but, a lot more bad stuff has to happen before we get to that point. Also, governments around the world have too much at stake to capitulate when it comes to ceasing to issue ‘funny money’.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 02, 2021
What Biden’s Big Infrastructure Push Means for Silver Price / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
By: MoneyMetals
The federal government is spending and redistributing newly created cash so rapidly, it’s becoming difficult to keep track of which trillions are going where.
This week, President Joe Biden will pitch a $3 trillion “green” infrastructure package. That’s on top of the $1.9 trillion economic “relief” bill he recently signed into law.
Next month, Biden is expected to roll out plans for additional trillions to be spent on healthcare, education, housing, and more.
Republicans in Congress may object to some of the proposed spending. But they have a lousy track record – even during times when they were the majority – when it comes to actually reining in federal outlays.
Friday, April 02, 2021
Stock Market Support Near $14,358 On Transportation Index Suggests Rally Will Continue / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2021
By: Chris_Vermeulen
An interesting Fibonacci Measured Move pattern has set up in the Transportation Index (TRAN) recently. The Transportation Index is an important component of the future US economic expectations. As the Transportation Index rises, one could assume greater economic activity is expected in the near-term 3 to 6+ future months. As the Transportation Index declines, one could assume weaker economic activity is expected in the near-term 3 to 6+ future months. My research team and I watch the TRAN as a type of confirming indicator for US major index and sector trends. When we see the TRAN rising sharply, we can often assume various US sector trends will also move higher.
The Transportation Index Daily chart below shows two key elements we find interesting. The first RED price range on this chart represents a 100% Fibonacci Measured Price move from the early November 2020 bottom to the mid-January 2021 peak. If we extend that same range to the early February lows, we see a major support level exists near $14,358 (a full 100% Fibonacci Measured Price move). The TRAN price has recently broken above this level and we believe this support level will likely hold and prompt another moderate rally attempt above $14,750.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 02, 2021
Crypto Mine Bitcoin With Your Gaming PC - How Much Profit after 3 Weeks with NiceHash, RTX 3080 GPU / Personal_Finance / Crypto Mining
By: N_Walayat
Crypto mania is reaching new heights with the likes of Bitcoin trading above above $60,000 which means virtually anyone with a decent enough GPU in their Gaming PC can make easy money crypto mining and here's how much I have actually made crypto mining in the background with my desktop PC over the past 3 weeks, as a real world example of what to expect if you have something like an RTX 3080 GPU in your system, all whilst continuing to work on the PC as normal with the the likes of NiceHash crypto mining in the background, where you get paid in BITCOIN and not useless obscure crypto coin, so do check out Nicehash to start crypto mining with your desktop PC.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 02, 2021
UK Lockdowns Ending As Europe Continues to Die, Sweet Child O' Mine 2021 Post Pandemic Hope / Politics / Coronavirus 2021
By: N_Walayat
Britain is moving towards an end to the nightmare that is the Chinese Wuhan bio lab leak virus. This is our hoping for a Post Pandemic future Sweet Child O' Mine.
Read full article... Read full article...