Tuesday, December 19, 2017

New EU Rules For Cross-Border Cash, Gold Bullion Movements / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017

By: GoldCore

– 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

By: Paul_Rejczak

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:

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Recoverable VAT: how it compares to part-recoverable and non-recoverable Value Added Tax / Personal_Finance / Taxes

By: Boris_Dzhingarov

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.

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Gold Cycle is Down, as the Multimonth Consolidation Continues / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017

By: The_Gold_Report

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.

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

By: Jeff_Berwick

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.

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Christmas in an Amazon Culture / Politics / Amazon

By: BATR

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.  

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

FTSE 100: UK Stock Markets Influenced By Shifting Earnings Performance / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2017

By: Submissions

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. 

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Here’s Fiat Money’s Advantage over Bitcoin That Many Seem to Forget / Currencies / Bitcoin

By: John_Mauldin

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.

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Today’s Technological, Monetary, and Political Forces Are Raising a Perfect Economic Storm / Politics / Social Issues

By: John_Mauldin

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.

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Will the Bitcoin Bubble Last- Some Lessons From History / Currencies / Bitcoin

By: Steve_Marks

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.

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Samsung 64GB EVO 100mbs Micro SD Card Speed Test for Galaxy Smartphone's / ConsumerWatch / Samsung

By: HGR

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.

Monday, December 18, 2017

Gold and CPI and Retail Sales in November 2017 / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017

By: Arkadiusz_Sieron

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.

Monday, December 18, 2017

Bitcoin to Hashgraph: The Crypto Revolution (Hidden Secrets of Money) - Video / Currencies / Bitcoin

By: Submissions

Today, mankind stands at a crossroads, and the path that humanity chooses may have a greater impact on our freedom and prosperity than any event in history. In 2008 a new technology was introduced that is so important that its destiny and the destiny of mankind are inextricably linked. It is so powerful that if captured and controlled, it could enslave all of humanity.

But if allowed to remain free and flourish - it could foster unimaginable levels of peace and prosperity. It has the potential to replace many functions of Wall Street and even of government, as a tool to empower individuals. In the latest episode In the latest episode of Hidden Secrets of Money, Mike Maloney examines this technology and its incredible potential.

Monday, December 18, 2017

Bitcoin Conspiracy Theory / Currencies / Bitcoin

By: Michael_Pento

If you’re like me you must be wondering why there is so much media obsession around Bitcoin even though its market cap is just $300 billion, which amounts to only about 1/3 the size of Apple Inc.? And, more importantly, why the U.S. Government and Federal Reserve have become so enamored with cryptocurrencies.

Monday, December 18, 2017

Who Knows What Will Black Gold Do in Coming Week? / Commodities / Crude Oil

By: Nadia_Simmons

On Thursday, crude oil moved a bit higher as oil investors turned their attention to the North Sea supply disruption. Although the price of black gold increased, the technical picture of the commodity doesn’t bode well for oil bulls. Why? We invite you to check our Oil Trading Alert. Have a nice read.

Yesterday, crude oil came back above $57 as oil investors focused on the Forties pipeline, which carries North Sea oil to Britain. Nevertheless, we should keep in mind that the above-mentioned disruptions will physically mostly affect the North Sea region. In other words, we think that the shale drilling and the last week increase in the U.S. production (which approached the output levels of top producers - Russia and Saudi Arabia) are more important for the price of light crude. Therefore, in our opinion, it is worth waiting for today's Baker Hughes report before we get excited about yesterday's increase and its “bullish” implications. Having said that, let’s examine the technical picture of crude oil (charts courtesy of http://stockcharts.com).

Monday, December 18, 2017

Gold’s Shooting Star and Its Implications / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017

By: P_Radomski_CFA

After three weeks of declines, gold finally moved higher last week. Was this move surprising? Not at all, if you read our analysis of the previous week’s huge decline in platinum. The sizable slide in the latter was likely to trigger at least a small rally and that’s what we saw last week. However, gold reversed quite clearly on Friday and shooting star candlesticks, as these sessions are called, are signs of a reversal. Did we see one?

That’s not likely. There are several reasons not to believe the shooting start in gold. Let’s take a look at yellow metal’s chart for details (charts courtesy of http://stockcharts.com).

Monday, December 18, 2017

Balance Transfer Fees Fall to Lowest Level in Over a Decade / Personal_Finance / Credit Cards & Scoring

By: MoneyFacts

The quarterly Moneyfacts UK Credit Card Trends Treasury Report (recently published), which studies the UK personal finance market, highlights that the average balance transfer fee has fallen to reach the lowest level seen in over a decade.

At a time when the length of interest-free balance transfers faces scrutiny, it appears that providers are finding alternative ways to entice borrowers. As a result, the average balance transfer fee has hit 2.03%, down from 2.11% in September and 2.29% a year ago. The current average is the lowest seen since it hit 1.82% in October 2006.

Monday, December 18, 2017

UK Used Car Christmas From Dealers Buying Discount Sales Bargains / Personal_Finance / Money Saving

By: Nadeem_Walayat

A google search soon reveals that the consensus view of the best times of year to buy a used car in the UK tend to coalesce around the two plate changes of the year, i.e. 1st of March and 1st September as being the most commonly propagated online advice to buy just before and after the plate changes. Next often repeated are the dealers end of quarter sales targets for bonuses and other perks, namely by the end of March, June, Sept and December. And also often mentioned are expectations that the best used car deals tend to be in the winter months due to less consumer demand.

Monday, December 18, 2017

How To Play The 2018 Cannabis Boom / Companies / Cannabis

By: OilPrice_Com

Monday, December 18, 2017

Should You Consider Investing/ Buying Gold or Bitcoin? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2018

By: Chris_Vermeulen

Recently, we have been asked by a number of clients about the precious metals and what our advice would be with regards to buying, selling or holding physical or trading positions in the metals.  There are really only a few short and simple answers to this question and they are revolve around the concept of providing a hedge against risk, capital preservation and opportunity for returns.  Let's explore the details a bit further.