Monday, April 25, 2016

US Debt Hotel California or the Hotel Marriner Eccles / Interest-Rates / US Debt

By: DeviantInvestor

In 1977 the Eagles spoke to us about “Hotel California.”  Lyrics are here.

A few lines from the song …

“On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair…

Up ahead in the distance I saw a shimmering light…

Then I was thinking to myself this could be Heaven or this could be Hell…

Monday, April 25, 2016

Is July 5th the Next Stock Market Bottom? / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2016

By: Brad_Gudgeon

The chart below shows a repeating pattern of 115 trading day tops on the S&P 500 virtually shadowing the 100 trading day cycle to cycle lows. The 100 TD lows can run anywhere between 85 and 115 trading days. This low is commonly referred to as the 20-week low. The 20-week low is half of the dominant 9-month low that usually runs about 40 weeks .

Monday, April 25, 2016

Stock Market S&P 500 Below 2,100 Mark - Uptrend Reversal Or Just Correction? / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2016

By: Paul_Rejczak

Briefly: In our opinion, no speculative positions are justified.

Our intraday outlook is neutral, and our short-term outlook is neutral. Our medium-term outlook remains bearish, as the S&P 500 index extends its lower highs, lower lows sequence:

Intraday outlook (next 24 hours): neutral
Short-term outlook (next 1-2 weeks): neutral
Medium-term outlook (next 1-3 months): bearish
Long-term outlook (next year): neutral

Monday, April 25, 2016

2.8 Million Bank Switches Create Current Account Storm / Personal_Finance / Current Accounts

By: MoneyFacts

In previous years banking customers have had little incentive to switch their current account, but since the launch of the Current Account Switch Guarantee in 2013, almost three million people have ditched their old account*. As a result, a veritable current account storm has been created as providers compete to attract new customers.

Monday, April 25, 2016

Interesting Silver Debate: Do Old Indicators Matter Or Is Physical About To Overrun Paper? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2016

By: John_Rubino

For as long as most gold and silver investors can remember, the paper markets — that is, banks and speculators placing bets with futures contracts — have set the price of those metals. And within the paper markets, “the commercials” — fabricators and big banks — have time-and-gain fooled speculators like hedge funds into piling in (both long and short) at exactly the wrong time.

Monday, April 25, 2016

Stock Market Dangerous Divergence / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2016

By: James_Quinn

The chart below would appear to be in conflict with the results of a recent Gallup poll regarding stock ownership by Americans. The ratio of household equities to money market fund assets is near a record high, 60% above the 2007 high and 30% above the 1999 internet bubble high. The chart would appear to prove irrational exuberance among the general populace.

Monday, April 25, 2016

USD/CHF Meets Heavy Resistance At 0.9850 / Currencies / Forex Trading

By: Submissions

Market Bulls writes: We have seen some interesting activity in the USD/CHF over the last few months as most of the market is still looking to weigh-in on the potential for interest rate changes as the US Federal Reserve.  At this stage, there are not many global central banks that can even consider raising interest rates, so the developments here at the Fed will be critically important for those trading in the currencies space.  The first step in the process here is to determine the price levels that will be required to form a basis and argue for or against bullish trend activity in the USD/CHF.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Gold and Silver Management of Perceptions / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2016

By: Jesse

Gold took a $20 hit after the European close today, moving down from 1250 to 1230.

And the theme of the day seemed to be 'buy paper, don't worry' with the pushing of the SP 500 futures, even though techs kept threatening to roll over here on weak to bad earnings reports.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Gold Miners Nub is the Sweat of the Sun / Commodities / Gold and Silver Stocks 2016

By: Richard_Mills

Gold miners, because the number of discoveries was falling and existing deposits were being quickly depleted, have had to diversify away from the traditional geo-politically safe gold producing countries, ie Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. The move out of these “safe haven” countries has exposed investors to a lot of additional risk.

In many parts of the world capitalist hating Marxist governments are becoming greedy. Many countries might come to mind as places where shareholders could, without warning, receive news that their operations have been taken over, expropriated, by the government and/or its friends, or that permits are suddenly suffering delays or have been cancelled outright.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

US Dollar Price Forecast / Currencies / US Dollar

By: Austin_Galt

Is the US Dollar in a new bull market or is it about to crash? Opinions seem divided on this issue and mine is a mixture of both depending which time frame is used.

Let's begin the analysis with the short term outlook followed by some big picture analysis.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Stock Market Upside Objective Reached / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2016

By: Andre_Gratian

Current Position of the Market

SPX Long-term trend: The beginning of a lengthy correction may be underway!

SPX Intermediate trend: Potential rally top.

Analysis of the short-term trend is done on a daily basis with the help of hourly charts. It is an important adjunct to the analysis of daily and weekly charts which discuss longer market trends.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Why Leftist Greeks have more reasons than Liberals to favour Entrepreneurship and Support Entrepreneurs / Economics / SME

By: Submissions

Petros Diplas writes: Recently I read  it and said “There goes another myth."

"It is an indisputable fact that Leftism and Entrepreneurship in Greece are incompatible concepts."
Everybody blames the Greek Left - and I insist on Greek – to be against entrepreneurship.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

The Dow Jones is a Catalyst for Misplaced Stock Market Optimism / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2016

By: Dylan_Waller

The Curious Recovery of the Dow Jones

After delivering stellar gains after America’s economic recovery in 2008, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has stalled, with a 1 year decline of 0.19%.   A further examination of the components of the Dow Jones, and most importantly how stronger performing components have replaced some of the sub par links, reveals that its strong benchmark of success after 2008 has been a catalyst for misplaced optimism for America’s stock market. Its current mediocre performance is further troublesome, as one can holistically examine a flurry of sell offs this year  in multiple sectors, such as the energy, biotechnology, and banking sectors. The Dow Jones stands as a misleading rosy shaded picture of how America, and most specifically its stock market, has recovered and continues to prevail.  Weak fundamentals can easily be seen by examining areas of America’s economy, particularly areas the middle class is most vulnerable to, as well as the stock price losses experienced in other crucial sectors of America’s economy.  A list of 30 companies is certainly too small of a sample size to holistically represent America’s stock market, yet I think the modifications and strategic exclusion of vulnerable areas makes the impact of its distortion of reality much stronger than one would initially assume.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Why Russia Harasses U.S. Aircraft and Ships / Politics / New Cold War

By: STRATFOR

Since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, tension with the West has been high, affecting eastern Ukraine, Syria and hot spots across the former Soviet sphere. Less overtly, Moscow has been working to protect areas vital to Russian interests by raising the stakes of U.S. operations there. This has manifested in numerous aggressive interceptions of U.S. military aircraft in flight, especially over the Black and Baltic seas. The interceptions, which are reportedly occurring more frequently, aim to dissuade Washington from operating in that airspace. 

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Stocks Bull or Bear Market Rally? / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2016

By: Tony_Caldaro

The market started the week at SPX 2081. On Monday it dipped down to SPX 2074 and then started to rally to new uptrend highs. By late Wednesday the SPX hit 2111, and then started to decline. By Friday morning the SPX hit 2081, then bounced to end the week at 2092. For the week the SPX/DOW were +0.55%, the NDX/NAZ were -1.10%, and the DJ World index gained 0.70%. Economic reports for the week were mostly positive. On the downtick: building permits, housing starts and the Philly FED. On the uptick: existing home sales, the FHFA index, leading indicators, the WLEI and weekly jobless claims improved. Next week’s reports will be highlighted by the FOMC meeting, Q1 GDP and the PCE. Best to your weekend and week!

Saturday, April 23, 2016

A Bright Future for Solar Power in the Middle East / Commodities / Solar Energy

By: STRATFOR

Forecast

• Geography and demographic challenges have made parts of the Middle East and North Africa a prime location for solar power installations.
• While solar will not supplant the role of hydrocarbons, it will enable countries such as Morocco and Jordan to improve energy security and potentially become electricity exporters.
• Countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will seek to maintain their position as energy exporters, in part by adopting strategies likely to include renewables development.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Silver Commitments of Traders – Halloween is Arriving Early This Year / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2016

By: Dan_Norcini

By that I mean, it just keeps getting scarier and scarier.

My guess is that every speculator on the planet is long silver/short gold or outright long silver.

That of course is an exaggeration but I am not exaggerating when I categorically state that the silver market is a train wreck just waiting to happen. As I have said before, and will say so again – I would rather miss any more upside in this market than get long now, not with a trade so lopsidedly jammed with speculators on the long side. I will leave that for the daredevils and others who like driving the stagecoach as close to the edge of the mountain pass road as they possibly can.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Good News, Bad News, Both Favor Gold And Silver / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2016

By: Michael_Noonan

First, the good news and taking a moment to celebrate the recent unstoppable rally in both gold and silver where, as has been expected, silver is outperforming gold. While we have stayed clear of paper futures from the long side, over the past few years, almost each and every week we have continued our mantra of buying and accumulating the physical metal. It is beginning to pay off, especially for purchases made throughout last year and this one.

This is not yet a victory lap, for the market remains in its transitioning phase, but the faithful, for what has always been considered the only true form of money: gold and silver, can relax more and shed the deer-in-the-headlights look after seeing both pummeled to the downside so relentlessly over the past several years by the money changers.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Mish's Sure Fire Proposal to End Japanese Deflation / Economics / Deflation

By: Mike_Shedlock

It's rather amusing that Japan cannot destroy its currency even though it has tried, and tried and tried.

Abenomics has been a huge failure. Keynesian "solutions" of all sorts have failed to rid Japan of the alleged scourge of deflation.

Some think handing out free money is the obvious solution, but what if people don't spend it?

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Mish Shedlock: “EXCUSE ME MR. PRESIDENT, IS THAT A JOKE?” / Companies / Banking Stocks

By: Gordon_T_Long

FRA Co-founder Gordon T. Long is joined by Mish Shedlock in discussing the rigging of gold and silver by Deutsche Bank and the reliability of so called “casino banks” and the state of global banking institutions.

Mike Shedlock / Mish is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. He is also a contributing “professor” on Minyanville, a community site focused on economic and financial education.