Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Japan Ageing Population Still a Problem With No Solution / Economics / Japan Economy
By: Rodney_Johnson
There’s a village in Japan where the dead outnumber the living, and I don’t mean the ancestors in the cemetery. The bodies are dispersed around the small town of Nagoro.It’s a small community of some 35 people, most in their 60s or older. The place is so sparsely populated that the locals consider their 150-plus dead a part of their community.
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Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Are Free Markets The Solution? / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2015
By: Harry_Dent
You’ve probably seen the Jack Link’s Beef Jerky commercials where unsuspecting campers think it would be fun to mess with Sasquatch – an eight-foot tall, 400-lb. freak of nature.I like these commercials. What kind of idiot thinks they can get away with that?
When you mess with Mother Nature, she knocks you out with a fist to the face or a kick in the ribs.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Gold Hammered “Unprecedented Attack” / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2015
By: GoldCore
- Gold market comes under “unprecedented attack” – Telegraph
– “Sharp drop bore similarities to bear raids by Chinese funds” – FT
- Paper contracts for 57 tonnes of gold dumped onto market in two minutes
- Gold still holding up in euros, Canadian dollar and other currencies
- Very negative sentiment towards gold signals close to bottom
- Physical gold still vital financial insurance despite simplistic anti gold narrative
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Down with the U.S. Constitution! / Politics / US Politics
By: Antonius_Aquinas
It has been quite an eventful and productive couple of weeks for the forces of statism in the former “land of the free, and home of the brave.”
The federal government’s highest court has enshrined “perversity” into law, guaranteeing untold amounts of future litigation while infringing on the right of freedom of association and, just as important, “disassociation” for those who rightly consider sodomy an abomination which wantonly mocks the Author of the natural law.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2015
The Turkish Enigma / Politics / Turkey
By: STRATFOR
By George Friedman: In my "Net Assessment of the World," I argued that four major segments of the European and Asian landmass were in crisis: Europe, Russia, the Middle East (from the Levant to Iran) and China. Each crisis was different; each was at a different stage of development. Collectively the crises threatened to destabilize the Eurasian landmass, the Eastern Hemisphere, and potentially generate a global crisis. They do not have to merge into a single crisis to be dangerous. Four simultaneous crises in the center of humanity's geopolitical gravity would be destabilizing by itself. However, if they began to merge and interact, the risks would multiply. Containing each crisis by itself would be a daunting task. Managing crises that were interlocked would press the limits of manageability and even push beyond.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Bank Current Account Overdraft Fees Hit a High, Attacking Careful Customers / Personal_Finance / Current Accounts
By: MoneyFacts
Research by Moneyfacts.co.uk reveals that considerate customers who plan their authorised overdraft are being rewarded with higher fees, while those who fall into an unauthorised overdraft are seeing their costs reduce.
Providers traditionally charged interest on the amount customers borrowed in their overdraft, but in recent years other fees, such as usage fees, have been introduced. These fees sit either alongside the usual interest rate or in its place, and are designed to make bank charges clearer.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2015
I Am A Citizen of the World And My Religion Is To Do Good / Politics / Religion
By: Michael_T_Bucci
"I am a citizen of the world and my religion is to do good," said Thomas Paine, American revolutionary and pamphleteer. He didn't use a gun; he used a pen. Like today, a tangible paradigm shift occurred that shook the foundations of the old monarchial order to clear a path for 'the rights of man'. Those rights are under fire today in America, Great Britain and the EU. Market forces have appropriated democracy for itself. The Seven Deadly Sins have become beatitudes and virtues. God died in the 1960's, said Time magazine. Today, Divinity is called Universe and Universe includes Planet Earth, should it survive.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Gold and Silver: The Final Capitulation Commences / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2015
By: Bob_Kirtley
The first 10 years of the bull market in gold was in hindsight plain sailing allowing us to generate profits by sticking with the trend. Alas all bull markets come to an end and so it did in 2011 when gold peaked at $1900/oz. Silver, despite having numerous industrial uses also felt the draft and fell dramatically along with the mining sector which lost approximately 70% of its value during a 3 year period of pure carnage.This pattern of falling stock prices interrupted by sudden price hikes has characterized the precious metals sector for the last three years or so. Unfortunately the bounces were rarely of the same magnitude of the preceding falls in prices and so we have witnessed the Gold Bugs Index, the HUI, fall from a high of 630 to a close today of 113, recording a drop of some 80% in the value of these stocks.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Stock Market No Fireworks Yet, But We May Have Seen the Top / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2015
By: Anthony_Cherniawski
I was amazed this afternoon to see the top come in 61 days from the high on May 21, very close to 3:30 pm on both days. Due to the July 4 holiday, this turned out to be precisely 43 market days, to the hour, from top to top.
This is no guarantee of a top, but as I mentioned earlier, today was indicated by the Cycles Model as an important Cycle high. In fact, my earlier prognostications suggested that today might be a lower high in SPX, which it was. But I am marking it as a slightly truncated Wave 5 of (5) high, since it is only 190 ticks lower than the previous high.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Is Gold a Stupid "Pet Rock" or a Bedrock Asset? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2015
By: MoneyMetals
Greece defaulted at the end of June, and metals investors expected higher prices in July. What we expected isn’t what we got. It isn’t the first or last time markets surprised investors. Do lower spot prices mean precious metals are failing as a safe-haven investment?
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Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Are Gold Investors Finally Capitulating? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2015
By: John_Rubino
Sprott Asset Management’s Rick Rule is one of the smartest guys in the resource investing world — and one of the most reasonable — which has made his interviews of the past few years a little disconcerting. Along with the obligatory positive thoughts on the long-term value of gold and silver and the resulting bright future for the best precious metals miners, he always points out that the sector hasn’t yet endured a capitulation, where everyone just gives up and sells at any price, tanking prices and setting the stage for the next bull market.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Greater Israel Setback from Iranian Nuclear Agreement / Politics / Israel
By: BATR
Israel has never been a victim. Zionist belligerents work diligently to expand their control in the region. This objective is not widely accepted in mainstream political circles since critical criticism is a risky endeavor when confronting truth to power. The turmoil in Egypt and subsequent regime change, the over throw and elimination of Gaddafi in Libya and the ongoing Israeli ISIL induced conflict in Syria all benefit the Khazar usurpers. Well before the NeoCons commandeered U.S. foreign policy, Jewish influence over their Congressional puppets and administration stooges was prevalent, awaiting the time when U.S. forces would be used to serve the designs of Zionism inroads.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
U.S. Housing Market: Is the Roof About to Cave In (Again)? / Housing-Market / UK Housing
By: EWI
"This is clearly not a bubble" says National Association of Realtors chief economist
Editor's note: You'll find a text version of this story below the video.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2015
British Pound Still Rallying Against Swiss Franc / Currencies / British Pound
By: Richard_Cox
Forex markets have posted some significant trends so far in 2015. But when we look at the overall value of the British Pound (GBP), the comparisons are generally made against either the Euro or the US Dollar. There is a strong basis for this fact, as both of these currencies see much larger trading volumes than some of the other selections that are available in the currency markets.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Worker Productivity and Modern-Day Horse Manure / Economics / Economic Theory
By: John_Mauldin
“They just use your mind and they never give you credit. It’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it.”
Almost everyone wants to be more productive. I include myself in that group – there are lots of ways I could be more productive. When I have conversations with people I think are very productive, they almost always tell me they wish they were more productive. What more could anyone expect from them?
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Tuesday, July 21, 2015
RCI Bank UK’s Freedom Savings Account / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: MoneyFacts
RCI Bank UK is bound to shake up the easy access market yet again with an increase to its Freedom Savings Account, which now pays 1.65% from a minimum investment of £100.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Now that Greece is Guaranteed in the Euro, the Euro is Down / Currencies / Euro
By: Atlantic_Perspective
One of the mantras repeated to exhaustion over the last few months was “if Greece leaves the Euro, the Euro is over”. Is it? The charts say the opposite. When the prospect of Grexit reached its peak, the Euro didn´t crash. Quite the opposite, it got stronger. Now that Greece seems “secure” in the Euro, the Euro is down. Could the Grexit mantra be wrong?
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Monday, July 20, 2015
Gold Price Just a Little Bit More / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2015
By: Bob_Loukas
Back in May, I sent followers of this public blog a Gold Cycle Update, outlining how gold had a 75% chance of failing to rally, resulting in an unexpected downturn. And then 3 weeks later, I sent a follow up article (Approach An Endpoint), where I outlined how gold was heading for a major Investor Cycle failure below $1,136. As was predicted, the Gold sector was hammered this past week, with new lows being achieved in every nook and cranny of the precious metals complex. Silver and platinum crossed that threshold weeks ago, but for the Miners and for Gold itself, Friday's high volume decline pushed them to new, multi-year lows. The Miners are especially concerning. Gold's decline has been tame by normal standards, but the Miners are back at the depths of the 2008 plunge, having completely erased the gains of the last Cyclical bull market.
Monday, July 20, 2015
Gold Investors Opportunity to Potentially Double Their Money / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2015
By: Ned_W_Schmidt
Rarely does childish selling of the Street and massive forced selling in China give Gold investors an opportunity to potentially double their money. That is what it may be happening at this very time in Gold and Silver markets. Now may be time to sell all exposure to the Lofty Lunacy, those internet / technology / growth / biotechnology fantasy stocks, your first born male child, your home, your dog, and whatever to add Gold and Silver to your portfolio. Last time the Street was as bearish on $Gold was 2007 when the price closed out the year at $830. $Gold went on to more than double.
Monday, July 20, 2015
Let's Talk About Gold / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2015
By: Gary_Tanashian
For what seems like forever we have been mechanical in managing the precious metals because they have been bearish; period. This has been based on short and long-term technical indications and incomplete macro fundamentals. Gary the robot has had no difficulty whatsoever holding this stance despite Gary the human's unwavering view that the value of gold is in its insurance and long-term retained value qualities.