Sunday, December 17, 2017
Never Mind Tea Leaves, Here’s a Strong Signal from the Economic Dashboard / Economics / US Economy
By: F_F_Wiley
We’ve been seeing more and more commentaries discussing bad stuff that can happen when the Fed tightens policy and, as a result, the yield curve flattens. (See, for example, this piece from Citi Research and ZeroHedge.) No doubt, the Fed’s rate hikes will lead to mishaps as they usually do—in both markets and the economy. But most forecasters expect the economy to expand through next year, believing that the Fed and the yield curve aren’t yet restrictive enough to trigger a recession.
Sunday, December 17, 2017
As Bitcoin Breaks All-Time Highs Near $18,000 Its Future Has Never Been So Uncertain / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Jeff_Berwick
Bitcoin has yet again hit another all-time high today of $17,645.89 on the Coindesk Price Index.
Yet, while much of the traditional financial world are piling into bitcoin, the direction of bitcoin has perhaps never been so unsure.
I’ve posited my conspiracy theory of how Blockstream and others may have surreptitiously hijacked bitcoin. But, whether that is the case or not, one thing is absolutely for sure; Bitcoin has changed dramatically in the last year from its initial intention and objectives as outlined by Satoshi’s white paper.
The title of the white paper itself, after all, was “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.”
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Saturday, December 16, 2017
Best Time / Month to Buy a Used Car From a UK Dealer / ConsumerWatch / Motoring
By: Nadeem_Walayat
So far 2017 has not proved to be a productive year in terms of my traditional market analysis i.e. stocks, commodities and derivatives, as I tend to analyse that which grabs my attention rather than following a pre-set schedule, and for this year my attention has been on non traditional markets such as politics, where we had BrExit rammed down our throats to exhaustion point, culminating in the June 8th election disaster and its aftermath. Nevertheless my market analysis has continued this year, unfortunately it's been in non traditional markets such as the local city housing markets rather than national or international, and in this analysis of the UK near new Used car market of 2017 so as determine the best time of year to buy a Used Car of less than 3 years age from a UK dealer.
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Relief Rally in Gold Mining Stocks / Commodities / Gold & Silver Stocks 2017
By: Jordan_Roy_Byrne
In recent days the gold stocks (GDX, GDXJ) traded within 1% of our downside targets of GDX $21.00 and GDXJ $29.50. Last week we wrote: “the miners are getting oversold and a bounce could begin from those levels.” GDXJ troughed first last week at $29.84 while GDX printed a low of $21.27 on Monday. From their September peaks down to those lows, GDX and GDXJ had declined nearly 17% and 21% respectively. They are oversold, nearly touched good support and now the rate hike is behind them. We expect a rally in the sector well into January.
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Amid Bad Fundamentals, Gold Sector Rally May Have Begun / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017
By: Gary_Tanashian
We have been expecting a seasonal rally in gold, silver and the miners off of a bottom due in either December or January, as is typical of the sector. I’ve marked up Sentimentrader‘s seasonal gold pattern to show the secondary low made (on average over 30 years) in December and the January ramp up that follows (on average).
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Gold Bullish on US Fed Interest Rate Hike / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017
By: Zeal_LLC
Gold has been battered lower in recent months as gold-futures speculators fled in dread of the Fed-rate-hike boogeyman. As universally expected, the Fed’s 5th rate hike of this cycle indeed came to pass this week. When gold didn’t collapse as irrationally feared, the cowering futures traders were quick to start returning. Past Fed rate hikes have actually proven very bullish for gold, and this latest one will be no exception.
Back in early September, gold was sitting pretty near $1348. It had rallied dramatically out of its usual summer-doldrums low in its typical major autumn rally, blasting 11.2% higher in just 2.0 months. But even way back then, Fed-rate-hike fears for the FOMC’s December 13th meeting started creeping in. When gold peaked on September 7th, federal-funds futures implied December rate-hike odds running just 32%.
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Saturday, December 16, 2017
The LORAX Explains What Happened to Sheffield's Street Trees 2017 / Local / Sheffield
By: Anika_Walayat
We are the LORAX and we speak for the trees and I'd like to say a few words if you please, regarding the story your about to see it actually happened just take it from me. BUt there is more to this story than whats on a page so please pay attention whilst I set the stage. We open in Sheffield a city they say that was made of steel and coal and they liked it that way. A town hall without nature, not one living green , so what happened to our trees, cue the music lets see....
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Land Rover Discovery Sport Fuel Tank Litres Capacity Test / ConsumerWatch / Motoring
By: HGR
There is conflicting information online on the capacity of the Land Rover Discovery Sport's fuel tanks, which tend to range from as high as 70 litres to as low as 50 litres, so we undertook a test by filling up a HSE Black to confirm the actual fuel capacity of these cars as the video illustrates.
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Bitcoin Trading Alert: Bitcoin Pauses – Will Appreciation Follow? / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Mike_McAra
Bitcoin was directly mentioned during Janet Yellen’s last scheduled conference as Fed chair. On CoinDesk, we read:
Yellen, whose term in office expires in February, spoke to reporters today on a range of topics. About thirty minutes into the presser, Yellen was asked about bitcoin.
She noted that, in the Fed's view, bitcoin "plays a very small role" in the U.S. payment system, going on to explain:
"It is not a stable store of value and it doesn't constitute legal tender. It is a highly speculative asset and the Fed doesn't really play any role, any regulatory role with respect to bitcoin other than assuring that banking organizations that we do supervise are attentive that they're appropriately managing any interactions they have with participants in that market, and appropriately monitoring anti-money laundering [and] Bank Secrecy Act responsibilities that they have."
Friday, December 15, 2017
SanDisk Ultra 128gb 100mbs Micro SD Card for Smartphone's Speed Test / ConsumerWatch / Mobile Technology
By: HGR
Here is a speed test for currently one of the most popular micro SD cards on the market, the 128gb SanDisk Ultra that is speced to operate at upto 100mbs that many smartphone users such as for those in the Samsung Gallery range, the S6, S7 and S8 are opting for. 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.
Friday, December 15, 2017
Stock Market Aggressive Sell Signals, but Discretion is Warranted / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2017
By: Anthony_Cherniawski
SPX futures are higher with the expectation of the passage of the tax reform bill. Yesterday’s decline may not be impulsive and did not make it to Short-term support. Let’s see how the bounce develops before taking positions. I would suggest that Short-term support should be broken before short positions are added.
ZeroHedge reports, “U.S. equity index futures point to a higher open, having rebounded some 10 points off session lows with the VIX stuck on the edge between single and double digits, while European and Asian shares decline as investors assess central banks’ shift toward tighter monetary policy and concern over tax overhaul ahead of final plan. “
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Friday, December 15, 2017
Inflation is Spiking Globally… Bond Bubble Bursts in 3… 2… / Economics / Inflation
By: Graham_Summers
I believe 2018 will be the year inflation arrives.
The reason, as I’ve noted throughout mid-2017, is that multiple Central Banks, particularly the European Central Bank (ECB), Bank of Japan (BoJ) and Swiss National Bank (SNB) have maintained emergency levels of QE and money printing, despite the fact that globally the economy is performing relatively well.
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Friday, December 15, 2017
Sheffield's 'Real' LORAX Defending the Trees From the Labour City Council Patrol Units / Local / Sheffield
By: N_Walayat
Here are just a few of Sheffield's many thousands of LORAX who speak not just for the street trees but also for freedom, free speech, and democracy. Against which are martialed the forces of the establishment, a Labour controlled Sheffield city council and it's £2.2 billion PFI contractor Amey. Where we are increasingly witnessing the deployment of patrol units on the streets that go far beyond the realms of what one would expect from a British local city council, let alone a LABOUR COUNCIL! We are witnessing on a daily basis what resembles militias patrolling Sheffield's streets along with their green vested evidence gatherers that are akin to something out of an eastern european dictatorship.
Friday, December 15, 2017
Stock Market Decline Signals are Near / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2017
By: Anthony_Cherniawski
SPX appears to have begun its decline. However, it may bounce at the two trendlines intersecting with Short-term support at 2644.74. Relief may be coming for those who have remained short the past two weeks.
While I will be discussing the signals from the VIX and Hi-Lo, I wish to point out that the best short entries are often at a bounce. Aggressive short entries will be subject to whipsaw. Thus, smaller portions are recommended until fully confirmed.
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Friday, December 15, 2017
Trends in the U.S. Unemployment rate and the U.S. Yield curve / Interest-Rates / US Interest Rates
By: Donald_W_Dony
The trends in both the U.S. Unemployment rate and the U.S. Yield curve are linked to similar economic pressures.
The Unemployment rate rises and falls due to a number of key reasons and reflects the changes in the economy.
The U.S. Yield curve acts as a tool for the Fed to conduct its monetary policy in its goal for the long-term health (ie stable prices and sustainable employment) of the economy.
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Thursday, December 14, 2017
Santa Is Putting Christmas On The Blockchain And Saving Billions / Currencies / BlockChain
By: OilPrice_Com
So, you think that you know all there is to know about Christmas?
Maybe you string enough lights on your roof to give Clark Griswald a run for his money. Maybe you can identify mistletoe and holly in the wild, chop down your own Christmas tree, and know exactly how many Hallmark Keepsake ornaments they’ve issued since 1973. You can rattle off all of Santa’s reindeer—backwards, starting with Rudolph and ending in Dasher, and know all the words to O’ Tannenbaum. Including all the verses. In German. You own White Christmas—which is indisputably the best Christmas movie ever—on Blu Ray, DVD, VHS, and Betamax (I’ve included a link if you have no idea what that is). And heck, you even make figgy pudding on Christmas Eve.
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Thursday, December 14, 2017
The Unprotected, the Protected, the Vulnerably Protected Classes—Which Are You? / Politics / Employment
By: John_Mauldin
Last month I shared in Outside the Box (subscribe here) a new McKinsey report on job automation. Every year, reports like this reflect a process that’s occurred many times in human history.
People discover or invent something useful: fire, the wheel, iron, gunpowder, coal, oil, the steam engine, electricity, the automobile, the airplane, the computer, etc. Life changes as the new knowledge spreads. People either adapt or they don’t.
Those who don’t adapt fade into the background. In the last few decades of their working lives, they end up taking the very lowliest of jobs in order to get some food, clothing, and shelter, but it’s not a comfortable life.
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Thursday, December 14, 2017
Strap Yourself In - We Are About To See Some Big Moves In Precious Metals / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017
By: Avi_Gilburt
Recent price action
The last week has seen the metals and miners drop down into support regions. As I write this, we are sitting just over major support for most of the charts I follow.
Whereas the GDX likely provides the cleanest picture of the market potential right now, I will be providing you guidance about the GDX in my analysis below. And, while I maintain a strong bullish bias for 2018, the action we see in the coming weeks will tell us when we can begin to take a more immediate bullish perspective.
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Thursday, December 14, 2017
December 2017 FOMC Meeting and Gold / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017
By: Arkadiusz_Sieron
Yesterday, the Fed released its most recent monetary policy statement. How can it affect the financial markets?
In line with expectations, the Fed raised the federal funds rate target by 25 base points to the 1.25-1.50 percent range. This way, the U.S. central bank delivered the third hike this year, and the fifth rate increase in the post-crisis period. The most important paragraph of the released monetary policy statement is, thus, as follows:
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Thursday, December 14, 2017
Gold’s Upside Target / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017
By: P_Radomski_CFA
In our Monday’s analysis, we emphasized that a lot changed from the short-term point of view, even though price changes in gold and silver were small. On Tuesday, we argued that closing our short position on Tuesday had been justified. Mining stocks soared by over 3% making yesterday’s session the biggest daily rally since August. A lot has changed indeed. Will the rally continue for much longer?