Wednesday, December 06, 2017
Germany’s Grand Coalition Is Collapsing / Politics / Germany
By: John_Mauldin
BY GEORGE FRIEDMAN : Germany has the fourth-largest economy in the world and the largest in Europe.
This country has been the stable center of the European system for decades. Amid social and political tensions that have torn the European Union since 2008, Germany has been the solid rock on which Europe has rested.
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Wednesday, December 06, 2017
When Will Quiet Precious Metals Markets Get the Catalyst They Need / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017
By: MoneyMetals
Fear and greed drive the precious metals markets, but there hasn’t been much of either pushing gold and silver prices lately. Investors have grown tired of worrying about geopolitical events, ever increasing federal debt ceilings and ever inflating equity bubbles.
Meanwhile, greedy trend traders continue piling in to hot markets.
With the exception of palladium, metals prices have been stagnant for most of the year. For the time being, gold and silver are looking pretty boring relative to the hefty gains in stock prices and the explosive rise in Bitcoin.
Wednesday, December 06, 2017
Crude Oil and Negative Divergences / Commodities / Crude Oil
By: Nadia_Simmons
On Friday, crude oil increased and approached the November peak, but did this increase change anything in the broader perspective? Is it possible that the non-USD chart of crude oil give us more clues about black gold future moves?
Wednesday, December 06, 2017
EU Bailins Coming – 114 Italian Banks Have NP Loans Exceeding Tangible Assets / Stock-Markets / Financial Crisis 2017
By: GoldCore
– Italy opposes ECB proposal that holds banks to firm deadlines for writing down bad loans
– Italy’s banks weighed down under €318bn of bad loans
– New ECB rules could ‘derail’ any recovery in Italy’s financial system
– Draft proposal requires banks to provision fully for loans that turn sour from 2018
– ECB insists banks have better access to collateral on delinquent debt to solve problem
– Investors should secure assets as proposal suggests more bailins on horizon and banks remain at risk
Wednesday, December 06, 2017
How to Top Up Your Vauxhall Zafira's Brake / Clutch Fluid Reservoir / Personal_Finance / Money Saving
By: HGR
If when driving your Zafira the brake symbol starts coming on and off randomly on the dashboard, then that's a warning that your brake / clutch fluid may need topping up, as the brake symbol light should only come on when the hand brake is on. When driving there should be no warning symbol appearing. So even if your car appears to be driving perfectly well, you should never ignore the brake / clutch light symbol i.e. if ignored your brakes may fail!
Tuesday, December 05, 2017
Bitcoin Doesn’t Exist / Currencies / Bitcoin
By: Raul_I_Meijer
A while ago, I asked a regular commenter at the Automatic Earth, who goes by the moniker Dr. D, to try and write an article for us. Not long after, I received no less than 31 pages, and an even 12345 words. Way too long for today’s digital attention spans. We decided to split it into 5 chapters. After we work through those 5, we’ll post it as one piece as well. Dr. D, who insists on sticking with his nom de plume, picked his own topic, and it’s -fittingly- bitcoin. A topic about which one can cover a lot of ground in 12345 words.
Tuesday, December 05, 2017
Big Banks Finally Raise Savings Interest Rates, But was it worth the wait? / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: MoneyFacts
As we enter the festive month of December, savers will finally see some positive change in the variable savings market as many of the biggest brands have decided to increase their savings rates, but has the wait been worth it?
While many may assume it’s worth celebrating, the latest research from moneyfacts.co.uk can reveal that not all savers will be delighted, as some of the more popular deals have not had the full 0.25% Bank of England rate rise passed on. In fact, the average easy access rate has risen by a pitiful 0.07% in the last month, from 0.39% to 0.46%, and even those banks that do offer the full 0.25% rise can still be easily beaten by alternative brands, as challenger banks continue to dominate the Best Buys.
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Tuesday, December 05, 2017
Are We Ready For A Gold And Silver Rally? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017
By: Avi_Gilburt
Many of you who follow my analysis have learned quite well how I look at the market. And, those of you who have read me in the past know that I do not view fundamentals as being relevant to determining when we can see a major turn in the metals market.
In fact, in 2011, the fundamentals for the metals market were exceptionally strong, with most everyone believing in the certainty of gold exceeding the $2,000 mark, just before we began a multi-year pullback.
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Tuesday, December 05, 2017
Advantages of Car Insurance to Protect a Vehicle / Personal_Finance / Insurance
By: Aaron_Abel
Car insurance is important by law because it is illegal to drive your vehicle around in numerous countries. If your country doesn't need a car insurance, you still should have this to protect your vehicle. cheap car insurance companies allow you to protect you from financial damages related to car accidents. Vehicle insurance will help you to get a loan from a bank. A complete insurance offers protection against vehicle damage caused by accident on the road or any incident unrelated to the road. Insurance will cover you from different incidents, such as third-party cover, legal liability, theft and injuries of the third party. There are a few benefits of cheap car insurance:
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Tuesday, December 05, 2017
Central Banks Won’t See Our Sympathy / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: Rodney_Johnson
It’s official. Lending institutions are having a tough time making loans.Don’t get me wrong, they still make money the old fashioned way: by borrowing from us through deposits on which they pay almost no interest, and then lending it long term to anyone that qualifies. But they’ve had to jack up their other fees because the traditional business plan just isn’t cutting it.
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Tuesday, December 05, 2017
How High Will Gold Go? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017
By: Harry_Dent
No. I’m not flip-flopping!As I told subscribers to our Boom & Bust monthly newsletter in November, I stand by my forecast that gold must still lose about 65% of its current value before we hit the bottom of this latest commodity cycle, around 2020 or 2023. And when the markets unravel, as they must, gold will tumble, just like it did in 2008. It’s NOT a safe haven in a deflationary environment, like it is in an inflationary one!
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Tuesday, December 05, 2017
The Loonie Takes Flight -- BUT a "Labor Miracle" is NOT the Reason Why / Currencies / Canadian $
By: EWI
One day before the jobs numbers went viral, Elliott wave analysis already called for a USDCAD decline
Friday December 1 was a lucky break for loonie bulls. That day, the government agency Statistics Canada revealed the nation's economy added 79,500 new jobs in November, "blowing past" the 10,000 that economists expected. As one major news source described it:
"Canadian dollar posted its biggest gain in nearly three months against its U.S. counterpart on Friday after a stronger-than-expected domestic jobs data fueled expectations for further Bank of Canada interest rate hikes early next year..."
"The labor miracle in Canada continues." (Dec. 1 Reuters)
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Tuesday, December 05, 2017
Gold and Silver Price Bottom Soon / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017
By: The_Gold_Report
Gold and silver are on track to hit a yearly low this December, as they have for the past five years, says Bob Moriarty of 321 Gold, who explains his reasoning and why he welcomes these moves.
Silver and gold have hit a new a low for the year during December in each of the last five years. They are on track for repeating their journey this year if we are to believe sentiment matters. And I do.
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Tuesday, December 05, 2017
The True Meaning of Bitcoin's 'Success' / Commodities / Bitcoin
By: The_Gold_Report
Precious metals expert Michael Ballanger discusses Bitcoin, currency devaluation, and gold and silver. In the year 301 AD, the Roman unit of barter was the denarius, which had originally been 95% pure silver when introduced by Augustus at the end of the first century BC but by the time of Diocletian's rule, it had moved to 50,000 denarii to a pound of gold. Ten year later, it took 120,000 denarii to buy a pound of gold and by 337, that figure was 20,000,000. What had occurred in a mere 400 years was that a slow and agonizing erosion in the purchasing power of the Roman currency accelerated to full fiat disintegration and that complete and total disregard for the denarius was attributed as one of the underlying causes of the Fall of the Roman Empire. Nothing was more evident in the underlying rot permeating Roman society, economics and national security than the refusal by the Barbarian armies to accept anything but gold as payment for their leaving the Roman legions alone. Rejection of the currency of the Roman Empire was complete and irreversible.
Tuesday, December 05, 2017
Gerald Celente: Middle East Wild Cards Could Bring Down Markets, Drive Up Gold / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017
By: MoneyMetals
Mike Gleason: It is my privilege now to welcome Gerald Celente, publisher of the renowned Trends Journal. Mr. Celente is perhaps the most well-known trends forecaster in the world and it's always great to have him on with us.
Gerald, thanks for taking the time and welcome back.
Gerald Celente: Thanks for having me on.
Mike Gleason: Well, Gerald, to start off here, we still have the equities markets ripping and roaring and there is seemingly no news that can derail the train. So, as we head into the end of the year, what does your forecast show for the crowd on Wall Street? Is the party going to end anytime soon?
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Tuesday, December 05, 2017
Geopolitical Risk Isn’t Driving Rising Oil Prices / Commodities / Crude Oil
By: John_Mauldin
By GEORGE FRIEDMAN AND XANDER SNYDER : At the end of October, Brent crude prices crossed $60 per barrel for the first time in two years. They peaked at around $64.
Experts explained the spike with vague references to “geopolitical risk,” without really detailing what those risks entailed. Such explanations are not wrong, but they are careless.
A proper geopolitical risk assessment goes beyond vague wording. It contains a deep understanding of relevant economic, political, and military factors.
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Monday, December 04, 2017
McKinsey: Automation May Wipe Out 1/3 Of America’s Workforce By 2030 / Economics / Robotics
By: John_Mauldin
McKinsey & Co. has come out with a comprehensive report on the predicted near-future effects of automation on employment.
Entitled “Jobs Lost, Jobs Gained: Workforce Transitions in a Time of Automation,” the report takes us a big step closer to understanding the massive impacts of the transformation we are now embarked upon.
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Monday, December 04, 2017
Heaven Forbid Peace Should Break Out Between the US and North Korea! / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Antonius_Aquinas
As long as the US Empire can be funded and maintained on the backs of its taxpaying public, the chance of de-escalation of tensions not only on the Korean peninsula, but throughout the world are practically nil. And, as long as the nation’s current interventionist ideology holds sway, it will only be through a financial meltdown that the US’s role as global policeman will come to a much-needed end.
Monday, December 04, 2017
Silver’s Positive Fundamentals Due To Strong Demand In Key Growth Industries / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2017
By: GoldCore
– Increased efforts in green energy and advanced technology set to boosts silver’s demand
– Four-year supply deficit set to increase due to fewer mine openings and discoveries
– Bank manipulation may be why silver under performing
– TD Securities and the Bank of Montreal expect silver to be best performing precious metal in 2018
– Growing industrial demand combined with monetary safe haven makes silver an excellent diversifier
Monday, December 04, 2017
Stock Market Positive Expectations, But Will S&P 500 Continue Higher? / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2017
By: Paul_Rejczak
Briefly:
Intraday trade: Our Friday's intraday trading outlook was bearish. It proved accurate because the S&P 500 reached our intraday profit target level of 2,615 (daily low at 2,605.52). the index fell sharply following relatively neutral opening of the trading session. The market has managed to close neutral (-0.2%). We still can see some short-term technical overbought conditions. However, there have been no confirmed negative signals so far. Therefore, we prefer to be out of the market today, avoiding low risk/reward ratio trades.