Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Euro Bull Market Confirmation / Currencies / Euro
A break of this trend line will confirm that the Euro has entered a bull market and the dollar has entered a bear market. Gold is expected to finally be released from its year-long basing pattern
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Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Trading View: Is It Time To Take Profits From This Stock Market? / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2017
I have been teaching investment and trading technique since 1995 and in all those years never have I sensed such anxiety in students, colleagues and readers. For the last 6 months, almost on a daily basis, I have been asked the same question: is now the time to get out of this market and go to cash?
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Wednesday, December 20, 2017
How To Get Bitcoin In Your Stock Portfolio / Currencies / Bitcoin
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Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Bitcoin and Friends in 2018? Let’s ask some crypto geeks / Currencies / Bitcoin
We are the real deal, readers, sleep-on-a-mattress-in-front-of-the-keyboard crypto-currency geeks.
‘How will cryptos behave overall in 2018?’
If you haven’t figured out yet that cryptos are a basically political phenomenon, you are behind the curve. Fiat currencies are an insight into the soundness of national economies. National economies are failing in slow motion. Their representative fiats thereby look less and less appealing. People want to get out of those. So cryptos are going to boom.
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Eclipse of US Free-Trade Legacy in Americas and Asia Pacific / Economics / Protectionism
Recently, all major US free trade deals in North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific have fallen under fire. As American legacy in free trade is dimming, there is a new opportunity for real free trade in Asia Pacific.Recently, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau concluded a visit to China. The joint talks about a free trade pact began over a year ago. As Trudeau left Beijing, Western media headlined “Trudeau leaves China empty-handed,” while Chinese Foreign Ministry said that “both China and Canada showed willingness to negotiate and sign a free trade agreement.”
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Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Stock Market Trap Has Been Set / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2017
The problem with Triangle formations is that many are irregular as is this one. The six-week-long whipsaw is about to end badly for many traders who are short treasuries. In fact, this “breakout” will bring in more shorts who do not know that this is a reversal signal. Wave [c] will be a powerful one because of this crowded short trade that will only realize too late that they are trapped going the wrong way on a one-way street.
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Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Toys R Us Teetering on the Brink of Collapse, UK Retail Sector Crisis Perfect Storm / Companies / Retail Sector
The British arm of Toys R Us has been teetering on the brink of collapse for several months now following it's american parent company filing for bankruptcy protection in September 2017 that triggered a downsizing programme through rapid store closures that are likely to see at least 200 of it's 866 US stores close in an attempt at reducing its $5 billion debt mountain which dates back to its leveraged buy out of 2005 that costs Toys R Us $400 billion a year in interest payments.
So it should not come as that much of a surprise that the British arm of Toys R Us with its 106 stores could now be heading for at least a similar fate if not a 'Woolworth's' moment, that could unfold rapidly, all within a matter of days that could see the retailer plunged into administration with the potential loss of 3200 jobs. The triggering factor for which is a £30 million black hole in its employees pension fund that the Government Pension Protection Fund is demanding a near immediate payment of £9 million into to cover 3 years worth of past pension contributions, against which the distressed retailer is offering just £1.6 million and thus the current crisis.
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Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Yellen’s December 2017 Press Conference and Gold / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017
The latest FOMC meeting was accompanied by Janet Yellen’s press conference. Let’s analyze the implications of her remarks for the gold market.
Solid Growth, Strong Labor Market, and Subdued Inflation
In her opening remarks, Yellen noted that economic activity has been solid recently, the labor market has been strong, but inflation has been running below the Committee’s 2 percent longer-run objective. She, thus, upgraded the macroeconomic outlook, as she used to speak about a moderate pace of economic growth and about a strengthening, but not necessarily strong labor market. Although inflation continued to run below the Fed’s target, Yellen said that the FOMC members “continue to believe that this year’s surprising softness in inflation primarily reflects transitory developments that are largely unrelated to broader economic conditions.” Hence, her introductory remarks sounded rather hawkish, which is not good news for the gold market.
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Tuesday, December 19, 2017
New EU Rules For Cross-Border Cash, Gold Bullion Movements / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017
– War on cash continues and expands to affect non-criminals including gold owners
– New definitions of “cash” to be drawn up by EU to include gold and precious metals
– Claim cash and gold bullion “often used for criminal activities such as money laundering, or terrorist financing”
– Legislation will allow authorities to seize assets from those ‘without a criminal conviction’
– New rules usurp those currently in existence since 2005
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Stocks Extended Friday's Rally, Topping Action Today? / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2017
Briefly:
Intraday trade: Our Monday's intraday trading outlook was neutral. It proved partly accurate. The S&P 500 gained 0.5% following higher opening of the trading session (+0.4%). Overall, the intraday trading range was relatively tight following daily gap-up opening. The S&P 500 index got close 2,700 mark on Monday. We still can see technical overbought conditions. However, there have been no confirmed negative signals so far. Therefore, we prefer to be out of the market again, avoiding low risk/reward ratio trades.
Our intraday outlook is neutral today. Our short-term outlook is neutral, and our medium-term outlook is neutral:
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Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Recoverable VAT: how it compares to part-recoverable and non-recoverable Value Added Tax / Personal_Finance / Taxes
Taxes are an integral part of the governments where we reside. They are compulsory contributions under certain conditions and classifications such as income, consumption or sales, among others. There are many tax laws that are unique only to certain countries, while there are also some countries with similar tax structures.
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Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Gold Cycle is Down, as the Multimonth Consolidation Continues / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017
Technical analyst Jack Chan charts the latest movements in the gold and silver markets, noting speculation has reached 'bull market values'.
Our proprietary cycle indicator is down.
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Tuesday, December 19, 2017
If You Listen to Youtube Commenters Gold Is Dead And Crypto Will Never, Ever Go Down In Price / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017
If you read the Youtube comments, many people think I am crazy for suggesting that those who have held crypto for the last year, or longer, and who have gains of 2,000-600,000% might want to take some profits and invest in an unloved sector like precious metals and gold stocks.
This is very interesting, because for the last six years, whenever I would mention that people should invest in cryptocurrencies as well as precious metals, many Youtube commenters would jeer me as being crazy for investing in a Ponzi scheme or scam such as bitcoin.
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Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Christmas in an Amazon Culture / Politics / Amazon
Remembering the days when you shopped until you dropped seems to be from a time when socializing meant actually interacting with other people. Toys "Я" Us has lost its appeal because the reverse dynamics of spoiling the toddlers resists the challenge of braving the elements and cold temperatures to put wrapped presents under an artificial tree. Now, if it cannot arrive at the door delivered by USPS, UPS or FedEx; it's just not desirable. The consumer culture has made a giant leap into the cyber space of emptiness and irrelevancy. Spending money and spreading the wealth no longer operates under the same rules that enriched the growth in the (PCE) personal consumption expenditures. The void of satisfaction in buying trendy gadgets and stylist apparel feeds a basic isolation from meaning or contentment.
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Tuesday, December 19, 2017
FTSE 100: UK Stock Markets Influenced By Shifting Earnings Performance / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2017
Dividend Investments writes: Those that are looking to trade or invest in UK markets will need to contend with the possibility of higher interest rates when structuring your positions. Instruments like the FTSE 100 are highly indicative of corporate earnings performance within the region and these types of assessments are critical given the fact that the region is still sifting through the long-term ramifications of the Brexit event.
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Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Here’s Fiat Money’s Advantage over Bitcoin That Many Seem to Forget / Currencies / Bitcoin
BY PATRICK WATSON : Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know bitcoin prices have gone bananas. I’m not even going to quote any numbers. Anything I say will be laughably wrong by the time you read this.
Could some virtual currency that only exists on a computer screen really be worth these crazy prices?
Maybe. If you think it will become a major medium of exchange, bitcoin is far underpriced.
That’s a big “if” we’ll discuss in a minute.
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Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Today’s Technological, Monetary, and Political Forces Are Raising a Perfect Economic Storm / Politics / Social Issues
Identifying incentives is key to analyzing trends and forecasting what different players will do next.
Those who control the tech are intent on bringing the era of superautomation forward as fast as possible. That’s obvious. But between dicey Federal Reserve policies and possible tax reforms, all kinds of businesses seem to get new incentives to automate sooner rather than later.
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Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Will the Bitcoin Bubble Last- Some Lessons From History / Currencies / Bitcoin
Everyone is talking about bitcoin. The new cool story in the news is an interview with someone whose friend gave them ten bitcoin for a present or to pay of food or gas on a trip, who is now putting a deposit down on a house. The explosion and growth of bitcoin has caught a lot of people by surprise and has left a number of people kicking themselves they didn’t pick some up when it was considerably cheaper than its current price of around $17,000 per bitcoin. It is incredible how much it has grown and it has spawned all manner of debate about whether it is a bubble set to pop or if it will just continue to grow and grow and grow before becoming one of the most valuable possessions in the history of the world.
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Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Samsung 64GB EVO 100mbs Micro SD Card Speed Test for Galaxy Smartphone's / ConsumerWatch / Samsung
Here is a speed test for a popular micro SD card, the 64gb Samsung EVO that is rated as operating at upto 100mbs that many smartphone users in the Samsung Gallery range tend to aquire for their S6, S7 and S8's. However, are smartphone users wasting their money by paying extra for a fast 100mbs card? Find out in my speed test review of exactly what performance is likely to be achieved when used in a smartphone.
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Monday, December 18, 2017
Gold and CPI and Retail Sales in November 2017 / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017
Last week, the reports on U.S. consumer inflation and retail sales were released. What do they imply for the gold market?
Consumer prices jumped 0.4 percent in November, following a 0.1 percent rise in October. However, the move was driven mainly by higher costs of gasoline and fuel oil. The energy index increased 3.9 percent last month. Hence, the core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased merely 0.1 percent. On an annual basis, the core CPI was 1.7 percent, which means a drop from 1.8 percent in October. The overall index soared 2.2 percent, rising from 2.0 percent in October and exceeding the Fed’s target again. Therefore, there was a slight shift up in the overall index, but a minimal slowdown in core inflation, as one can see in the chart below.
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