News

by Tyler Durden on August 14, 2018 at 6:00 am

Via GEFIRA, The global establishment goes out of its way to increase the number of immigrants in Europe. If the governments of particular states such as Hungary, Poland or now Italy oppose these activities, they are internationally marginalized. And if an action goes counter to the plans of international organizations, they are trying to come up with new legal interpretations that will be binding on the parties concerned. All of which is only possible because the EU member countries have relinquished their sovereignty and transferred it to international institutions. The Italian […]

by Tyler Durden on August 14, 2018 at 5:00 am

China has been stepping up its maritime combat readiness, according to analysts responding to official reports that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) had staged at least three naval drills over the past week.  On Monday, the Southern Theatre Command acknowledged over social media that a frigate fleet had recently performed drills - including simulated anti-submarine attacks and live-fire exercises, aimed at putting PLA forces through increasingly complex and realistic training scenarios.  The command, which is one of five such units established by President Xi Jinping […]

by cmullen on August 14, 2018 at 4:13 am

https://www.reuters.com/article/global-precious/precious-gold-stabilises-as-dollar-pulls-back-from-13-month-high-idUSL4N1V5144 The post Gold stabilises as dollar pulls back from 13-month high appeared first on Gold Review. […]

by cmullen on August 14, 2018 at 4:05 am

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikkei-leads-asian-market-rebound-following-turkish-currency-jitters-2018-08-13 The post Nikkei leads Asian-market rebound following Turkish currency jitters appeared first on Gold Review. […]

by Tyler Durden on August 14, 2018 at 3:45 am

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Oriental Review, The head of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff Valery Gerasimov asked his closest American counterpart Joseph Dunford to assist his country in jointly stabilizing Syria. Gen. Joe Dunford (left) and Gen. Valery Gerasimov (right), Helsinki, Finland, June 8, 2018 Reuters reported that the proposal to cooperate on the repatriation of refugees and reconstruction projects in the Arab Republic was met with an “icy reception” by US decision makers, though this could have been expected considering that Washington had previously […]

by Tyler Durden on August 14, 2018 at 3:33 am

Submitted by Russell Napier of ERIC Regular readers of the Fortnightly will know that The Solid Ground has long forecast a major debt default in Turkey. More specifically, the forecast remains that the country will impose capital controls enforcing a near total loss of US$500bn of credit assets held by the global financial system. That is a large financial hole in a still highly leveraged system. That scale of loss will surpass the scale of loss suffered by the creditors of Bear Stearns and while Lehman’s did have liabilities of US$619bn, it has paid more than US$100bn to its unsecured […]

by Tyler Durden on August 14, 2018 at 3:25 am

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Google is actually tracking you even when you switch your device settings to Location History "off".  As journalist Mark Ames comments in response to a new Associated Press story exposing Google's ability to track people at all times even when they explicitly tell Google not to via iPhone and Android settings, "The Pentagon invented the internet to be the perfect global surveillance/counterinsurgency machine. Surveillance is baked into the internet's DNA." In but the latest in a continuing saga of big tech tracking and […]

by Tyler Durden on August 14, 2018 at 3:25 am

When the history books are written after the robot uprising, should we survive, a sad chapter will be devoted to the day humans were bested at yet another simple feat by one of our silicon overlords; finding Waldo. According to The Verge, creative agency Redpepper has created There's Waldo - robotic metal arm made by Ufactory with a Vision Camera Kit and a floppy prosthetic hand attached to it, all powered by a tiny Raspberry Pi computer. The camera takes a photo of the page, which then uses OpenCV to find the possible Waldo faces in the photo. The faces are then sent […]

by Tyler Durden on August 14, 2018 at 3:05 am

Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog, Technocrats rule the world, East and West alike. We are in a very peculiar ideological and political place in which Democracy (oh sainted Democracy) is a very good thing, unless the voters reject the technocrat class's leadership. Then the velvet gloves come off. From the perspective of the elites and their technocrat apparatchiks, elections have only one purpose: to rubberstamp their leadership. As a general rule, this is easily managed by spending hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising and bribes to the cartels and […]

by Tyler Durden on August 14, 2018 at 2:45 am

The FBI is warning of an "imminent" global cyberattack on ATM machines that could result in millions of dollars withdrawn from bank accounts far and wide, in a similar "cash-out" attack to one in 2009 which hit ATMs worldwide to the tune of $9 million.  "The FBI has obtained unspecified reporting indicating cyber criminals are planning to conduct a global Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cash-out scheme in the coming days, likely associated with an unknown card issuer breach and commonly referred to as an 'unlimited operation'," according to an FBI alert to banks that was […]

by Tyler Durden on August 14, 2018 at 2:39 am

Update 2: Strzok's attorney Aitan Goelman has issued the following statement which reads in part: Late Friday afternoon, the Deputy Director of the FBI overruled the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and departed from established precedent by firing 21-year FBI veteran Peter Strzok. ... This decision should be deeply troubling to all Americans. A lengthy investigaiton and multiple rounds of Congressional testimony failed to produce a shred of evidence that Special Agent Strzok's personal views ever affected his work."  FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok has […]

by Tyler Durden on August 14, 2018 at 2:25 am

Authored by Neels Heyneke and Mehul Daya via Nedbank, It's not just Turkey, the dollar liquidity storm is ahead of us – buckle up. Bottom line: Should Global $-Liquidity and Global financial conditions fail to improve or even contract further we can expect a deflationary environment to materialise. In this environment we prefer to maintain defensive investment portfolios i.e. Cash over bond over equities. We cannot stress enough the importance of the 95 level on the US Dollar index. A confirmed break above this level will mark the beginning of the next risk-off phase. More […]

on August 13, 2018 at 10:18 pm

Gold took out support at $1,195, triggering more long liquidating sell stops that took it down to $1191.80 – an 18-month low. The DX ticked down to 96.35, and gold clawed back to $1,194. Gold was $1,193 bid at 4PM with a loss of $18. […]

on August 13, 2018 at 8:19 pm

While the causes of the Great Recession remain completely unaddressed and the risk and debt levels that will trigger the next one are worse now than they were then, let's all take a moment to eulogize what we could have individually done with that $70,000 per person that the Fed and Wall St. vaporized without giving us a choice. […]

by King World News on August 13, 2018 at 8:14 pm

With the price of gold and silver breaking below the key psychological levels of $1,200 and $15 respectively, today James Turk spoke with King World News about the takedown in the metals. The post James Turk – Relentless Gold & Silver Takedown Continues appeared first on King World News. […]

by cmullen on August 13, 2018 at 7:32 pm

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-slides-flirts-with-17-month-low-as-turkey-crisis-again-buoys-dollar-2018-08-13 The post Platinum ends 10-year low as Turkey roils; gold sinks to 1 ½-year nadir appeared first on Gold Review. […]

by cmullen on August 13, 2018 at 7:32 pm

https://www.reuters.com/article/global-precious/precious-gold-hits-17-month-low-as-investors-seek-refuge-in-dollar-idUSL5N1V43LS The post Gold hits 17-month low as investors seek refuge in dollar appeared first on Gold Review. […]

on August 13, 2018 at 7:04 pm

Should the Turkish government collapse as it buckles under the weight of 16% inflation and a currency rapidly being devalued (i.e. goes full Venezuela), Turkey's geographic significance matters far more than for world currency reasons alone. […]

on August 13, 2018 at 6:47 pm

Emerging-market shockwaves continue to ripple through world financial markets in the wake of the collapse of the Turkish lira, which is weakening even further today, down another 9% against the USD, after plummeting almost 20% on Monday. […]

on August 13, 2018 at 6:34 pm

Big banks. No matter how you feel about them, they're linchpins of the financial system and they control vast amounts of capital. Here are a dozen investment banks and their gold price forecasts for 2018 and beyond. […]

by King World News on August 13, 2018 at 5:19 pm

With the gold market getting hit along with stocks and crude oil, many are wondering if we are about to see contagion take hold. The post Worries About Turkish Contagion Are Spreading Across The Globe appeared first on King World News. […]

on August 13, 2018 at 2:39 pm

The inevitable end for fiat currency is no laughing matter. Venezuela is now the most dangerous country in the world as its currency careens toward worthless and only Maduro's control of the military, which is enforcing martial law across the country, stands between any semblance of order and anarchy. […]

by cmullen on August 13, 2018 at 12:49 pm

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-08-13/gold-tumbles-below-1200-welcome-sign-global-contagion The post Gold Tumbles Below $1200 In Welcome Sign For Global Contagion appeared first on Gold Review. […]

by cmullen on August 13, 2018 at 12:49 pm

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-10/investors-ask-why-do-i-need-gold-amid-rate-hikes-stock-rally The post Investors Ask `Why Do I Need Gold?’ Amid Rate Hikes, Stock Rally appeared first on Gold Review. […]

by cmullen on August 13, 2018 at 12:48 pm

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-elon-musks-420-tweet-could-signal-gloom-for-the-stock-market-2018-08-13 The post Why Elon Musk’s $420 tweet could signal gloom for the stock market appeared first on Gold Review. […]

by cmullen on August 13, 2018 at 12:48 pm

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-slides-flirts-with-17-month-low-as-turkey-crisis-again-buoys-dollar-2018-08-13 The post Gold slides, flirts with 17-month low as Turkey crisis again buoys dollar appeared first on Gold Review. […]

by cmullen on August 13, 2018 at 12:47 pm

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-turkey-currency/turkish-lira-pulls-back-from-record-low-markets-rattled-idUSKBN1KY0B6 The post Turkish lira pulls back from record low, markets rattled appeared first on Gold Review. […]

by cmullen on August 13, 2018 at 12:47 pm

https://www.reuters.com/article/global-precious/precious-gold-hits-17-month-low-as-investors-seek-refuge-in-dollar-idUSL4N1V433K The post Gold hits 17-month low as investors seek refuge in dollar appeared first on Gold Review. […]

on August 13, 2018 at 12:28 pm

"The world economic landscape is undergoing some profound changes. As China becomes bigger and more powerful, it will challenge the value system established by the West. Printing money for other countries is an important step.," Beijing Institute of Technology professor Hu Xingdou said. […]

on August 13, 2018 at 12:12 pm

Investors are starting to eye other emerging-market currencies with increased skepticism in light of the ongoing rout in the Turkish lira, and stampede mentality is forming. When a fiat like the rand starts to bolt to the downside, nobody wants to be the last out the door. […]

by King World News on August 12, 2018 at 8:56 pm

On the heels of the continued weakness in the gold market, today one of the greats in the business was kind enough to allow his gold report (that is only sent to his institutional and high net worth clients) to be shared exclusively with King World News readers around the world.  This is not something that is normally allowed and we thank him for his generosity. The post GOLD UPDATE: Special Gold Report Shared Exclusively With KWN’s Global Readers appeared first on King World News. […]

on August 12, 2018 at 2:46 pm

After France's Total was forced to exit a giant Iranian natural gas project due to US sanctions, China immediately stepped into the breach and ponied up $1B for an 80.1% share of the massive South Pars project. […]

on August 12, 2018 at 2:36 pm

America doesn't import much from Russia, so without tariff weaponry to respond to sanctions, Russia goes after the USD. "We have significantly reduced our investment in US assets. In fact, the dollar, which is considered to be the international currency, becomes a risky tool for payments." […]

by King World News on August 11, 2018 at 5:11 pm

As the world edges closer to the next crisis, today the man who has become legendary for his predictions on QE and historic moves in currencies, warned King World News that the ECB will issue emergency liquidity as the Turkish contagion spreads. The post Greyerz – ECB To Issue Emergency Liquidity As Turkish Contagion Spreads appeared first on King World News. […]

on August 10, 2018 at 8:52 pm

The US 10-year bond yield rebounded from 2.853% to 2.879%, while the DX remained nervous and choppy between 96.22 - 96.36. Gold traded narrowly between $1,210.50 - $1,212.50 and was $1,211 bid at 4PM with a $1 loss. […]

by King World News on August 10, 2018 at 8:17 pm

Bullion banks are now in one of the most bullish trading positions in the gold market in the past decade, plus a look at silver. The post MAJOR ALERT: Bullion Banks Now In One Of The Most Bullish Trading Positions In Gold In The Past Decade! appeared first on King World News. […]

on August 10, 2018 at 8:07 pm

Cut taxes, ramp spending, print currency. We are watching the well-established blueprint for a fiat currency going to zero, in real time. […]

by King World News on August 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

There is some very rowdy trading taking place in the currency markets and gold on the heels of the continued plunge in the Turkish lira. The post Turkish Contagion, Gold And The US Dollar appeared first on King World News. […]

on August 10, 2018 at 4:20 pm

"Cargo ships have been sailing in circles because of the ongoing US-China trade war. The Amsterdam-based trading company Louis Dreyfus is reportedly paying about $12,500 per day to keep the Pegasus afloat in an attempt to wait out the trade war." […]

on August 10, 2018 at 3:42 pm

Eurozone finance structure is a lot like a half-mile-long shoelace tied in 10,000 knots throughout a woman's long, frizzy hair, all coated with about 5 pounds of chewed bubble gum. It's just a really nasty, beyond-repair situation, and nothing's going to fix it except razing the whole thing and starting over again. […]

on August 10, 2018 at 2:28 pm

As the Turkish lira implodes, market participants are well-served to remember that with all of the smoldering geopolitical, currency, and economic fires sparking and smoldering around the world, we never know exactly which one, when, will fell the dominoes that spell global financial crisis. […]

on August 10, 2018 at 1:19 pm

Between Fed language changes indicating an "extremely strong" economy and now rip-roaring inflation from the Fed's favorite indicator, those wishing for further economy-stoking rate cuts, or least a pause in rate hikes, are likely out of luck. […]

on August 10, 2018 at 12:37 pm

After admonishing the Turkish people to sell the USD and buy gold several months ago ("Turks Follow Erdogan's Call to Get Rid of Dollars & Buy Gold"), the dictator-in-all-but-title now commands them to sell that gold and buy more-worthless-by-the-day lira in his bid to maintain political control. […]

on August 10, 2018 at 12:22 pm

Asserting its status as an equal, elephantine power on the same level as the US, China offers a sarcastic rebuke to those who have it tone down its response to Trump's tariffs, dismissing the idea it should stand down so "the United States will raise its hand high in mercy." […]

on August 10, 2018 at 12:08 pm

Closer and closer to the abyss of fiat no return. The SNB has been buying stock in dividend-yielders like AT&T (in addition to tech high flyers like AMZN and AAPL) on the open US market. With what? Currency they print out of thin air, of course. Then they sit back and rake in fat USD dividend checks. […]

on August 10, 2018 at 11:35 am

As Erdogan adheres to the Maduro corruption and hyperinflation playbook, he continues to get similar results. And in true despot fashion, as he runs the country into chaos and poverty, he tells citizens that starvation and violence won't be problems, because, "God." […]

by King World News on August 9, 2018 at 8:51 pm

Trading looked relatively calm but today was all about Tesla and a silver surprise. The post Today Was All About A Silver Surprise appeared first on King World News. […]

on August 9, 2018 at 6:35 pm

The stock market is priced for absolute perfection going forward, And even if it's delivered (can't be, won't be), little upside remains to be won. If anything at all goes wrong? Historical averages suggest Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq declines in the 60%-70% range. […]

on August 9, 2018 at 6:13 pm

"What is strange is that the U.S. already has a space-based military footprint: The sky is teeming with spy satellites and other platforms that support government surveillance, communications, weather forecasting and other activities. The Air Force also has a top-secret aircraft, the X-37B, built by Boeing Co., which orbits the earth for extended periods. But why spend less, when one can spend more?" […]

on August 9, 2018 at 6:10 pm

"Consumer debt rose 4.8% in the second quarter from a year earlier, or by $176 billion, to $3.87 trillion (not seasonally adjusted), the highest ever, according to the Federal Reserve. This includes credit-card debt, auto loans, and student loans, but not mortgage-related debt." […]

by King World News on August 9, 2018 at 3:55 pm

As the world awaits the next crisis, trouble is now spreading across the globe. The post Trouble Is Now Spreading Across The Globe appeared first on King World News. […]

on August 9, 2018 at 2:34 pm

The central bank first hides its reports on just how vulnerable and overextended big banks are for 30 years, refusing to release them to the public. Then it destroys them. […]

on August 9, 2018 at 1:34 pm

As swampy as swampy gets, as fine-print manipulation sends more billions in fresh debt spending straight to banks. "How many members of Congress, let alone members of the public, understood that ‘financial services' didn’t mean banking, and therefore that bankers would get a massive tax cut?" […]

on August 9, 2018 at 1:19 pm

How much is the nicest mansion in America worth post-apocalypse when 1,000 zombies are marching up the driveway? If you can't move an asset out of the way of clear-and-present, immediate danger, it ain't worth much. Physical gold? Highly portable. […]

on August 9, 2018 at 1:06 pm

Nobody is left to refinance at this point. Homeowners had a solid decade to refi at as close to 0% as the market had ever been, so it's entirely sensible that the refi market is closed. What's a desperate mortgage broker to do? It's hard out there selling bubble-priced houses to bad credit risks. […]

on August 9, 2018 at 12:49 pm

Ghost cities. Imagine the outcry if President Trump decided to debt-spend billions to build empty buildings that house no one in the name of "economic progress." Yet that has been exactly what China has done. This ghost city in Baodi District, about 70 miles from Beijing, has an occupancy rate of 10%. […]

on August 9, 2018 at 12:14 pm

At a time when you can throw a rock and hit a "Never in the history of the stock market have stocks been this expensive" metric, this one stands out. A new ceiling for the absurd: an indicator that indicates 100%-greater current overvaluation than at the peak of the biggest bubble ever. […]

on August 9, 2018 at 11:46 am

Here before you were born, here long after you're gone. Gold's extraordinary ability to pass on value through 50 generations on display in the form of a horned-animal-design earring dating back to the early Hellenistic period. […]

on August 8, 2018 at 9:02 pm

Gold was $1213 bid at 4PM with a gain of $2 – again unable to breach and hold above the key down trendline at $1214. […]

by King World News on August 8, 2018 at 7:59 pm

Today the top trends forecaster in the world, Gerald Celente, issued a major trend alert. The post Gerald Celente Just Issued A Major Trend Alert! appeared first on King World News. […]

on August 8, 2018 at 6:02 pm

Are we having fun yet? The world's least-exciting, most-damaging, all-loser ping-pong match continues unabated. […]

by King World News on August 8, 2018 at 3:17 pm

With the trade war ramping up, here is where things stand in major markets. The post With The Trade War Ramping Up, Here Is Where Things Stand In Major Markets appeared first on King World News. […]

on August 8, 2018 at 1:15 pm

The Fed, by way of "solutions", only has options that further compound the mistakes of its past at its disposal. Trapped in a system of its own creation that is now broken beyond repair, all it can do is delay the inevitable while giving disingenuous, empty speeches about how it has everything under control. […]

on August 8, 2018 at 12:37 pm

Managed Money Net Gold Futures are almost *never* out-and-out short. And they are right now, to the largest extent they have been in over a decade. The stuff historically-over-negative-sentiment inflection points are made of. […]

on August 8, 2018 at 12:34 pm

"Gold and silver hedge funds have the least exposed position to the gold market since 2016. We are seeing one of the largest negative correlations ever. All the other times that they were this extreme, the gold market bounced substantially." […]

on August 8, 2018 at 12:27 pm

The difficult work that is required when you're right about the fundamentals of hyper-overvalued markets, and the crash they indicate is inevitable, is sticking to your guns and being early (which appears at the time to be "wrong") and contrarian for a while. You never know how long the greed-delusion feeding frenzy will last. But it can't, and won't. […]

on August 8, 2018 at 12:12 pm

Pressed with economic and social issues within their own borders, the members of the European Union are increasingly retreating into themselves, seeking national solutions, and in direct conflict with the goals upon which the EU was founded. […]

on August 7, 2018 at 8:49 pm

The 10-year yield ticked up to 2.977%, but the DX slipped back to 95.17. Gold was $1210 bid at 4PM with a gain of $2. […]

on August 7, 2018 at 5:52 pm

The most plausible explanation for the recent tick-for-tick correlation between the Chinese yuan and the gold price. China is no longer valuing gold in US dollars, but in the yuan, and bidding accordingly. Both in size and at ever-declining prices as its currency falls. […]

on August 7, 2018 at 5:34 pm

Chinese state media indicated that Apple should share its profits with the Chinese people, who disproportionately contribute to the $1T-market-cap tech company, and warn that anti-US economic sentiment in the country could be brought to bear upon it. […]

on August 7, 2018 at 3:42 pm

Join GoldSilver's Jeff Clark as he explores economist Steve Keen's harrowing look into Zombie Nations (and those who are starting to undergo their own metamorphosis into the terminal-debt dead) in his book "Can We Avoid Another Financial Crisis?" Spoiler alert: No. […]

on August 7, 2018 at 3:01 pm

Has the market finally found what it deems to be a risk too great to take? On the one hand, Goldman is calling for the total demise of the entire Turkish financial system. But on the other...20%! […]

on August 7, 2018 at 12:34 pm

A disturbing trend sees bankruptcy rates directly correlated with aging just as America's population beings a demographic shift that will leave it significantly older, on average, than it has ever been. […]

on August 7, 2018 at 12:18 pm

"In 2015, the top 1% of Americans made 26.3 times as much income as the bottom 99 percent. The top 1% of Americans took home more than 22% of all income. That’s the highest share since a peak of 23.9% just before the Great Depression in 1928." […]

on August 7, 2018 at 12:02 pm

The schoolyard namecalling between the two largest economic powers in the world continues as they prioritize posturing over progress. The no-winners, all-losers trade-becoming-currency war chugs along, doing pointless economic damage to both sides. […]

on August 7, 2018 at 12:01 pm

As the amounts of unrepayable debt in the eurozone mount, explanations for how that's somehow not a problem get more farcical. The un-aptly named 'Eurointelligence' says it doesn't matter because the debt is "virtual." Much as the US's $20T in debt isn't actually printed in paper currency held by foreign states. So it must not matter either. […]

on August 7, 2018 at 11:38 am

With a fresh round of sanctions against Iraq, the ball is now squarely in the Chinese, Russian, Indian, Turkish and much of Europe's court. And in Iran, where inflation is ramping out of control and there is already significant civil unrest due to economic conditions, external pressure with an eye toward regime change is ratcheting up. […]

on August 6, 2018 at 6:03 pm

In this masterful overview and deep dive into the Great Recession, an exploration of the economic shockwaves that reverberated through the entire country, and the rubble many are still sifting through. […]

on August 6, 2018 at 5:42 pm

The best way to ensure no lessons are learned from an avoidable crisis is to shield those who caused it from any meaningful consequences for their actions. […]

on August 6, 2018 at 2:24 pm

"Amid the corruption and mismanagement, the only thing helping the country pay its bills right now is gold. Two years ago, it had the world’s 16th largest gold reserves. Today it stands at number 26 as it’s sold off more than half its holdings since 2010." […]

on August 6, 2018 at 2:20 pm

All the world 'round, through thousands of years, the story has been and remains the same: In times of financial crisis and currency inflation, gold is the failsafe fallback that never, ever loses its store of value. […]

on August 6, 2018 at 2:15 pm

"Facebook has asked large U.S. banks to share detailed financial information about customers, including card transactions and checking account balances, as it seeks to boost user engagement." […]

on August 6, 2018 at 2:09 pm

And as if that wasn't enough to rain on an administration already "not happy" about rising Fed rates, he continued:: "You better be prepared to deal with rates 5 percent or higher – it’s a higher probability than most people think.&rdquo […]

on August 6, 2018 at 1:50 pm

Household equity allocation, price/sales ratio, price/book ratio, Q ratio, Buffett’ Indicator, dividend yield, Shiller P/E (‘CAPE’), Price/earnings ratio: All agree we are in a market well-extended beyond its underlying value. […]

on August 6, 2018 at 1:26 pm

“Does this mean stocks will crash tomorrow? Probably not (it’s anybody’s guess when). But we’ve seen the ‘smart money’ already bailing out of equities. And when the downside does come — it’s sudden and swift.&rdquo […]

on August 6, 2018 at 12:55 pm

"The mainstream financial media swallows the bogus 'growth' story without question because that story is the linchpin of the entire status quo: if it's revealed as inaccurate, i.e. statistical sleight of hand, the whole idea that 'growth' can effortlessly fund all future obligations goes up in flames." […]

on August 6, 2018 at 12:54 pm

A new level in the perpetual Fed rah-rah that everything is great now and always will be great in the future, even though they are batting .000 with this longtime approach. James Bullard, St. Louis Fed President, thinks the Fed can interfere in markets enough to do away with recessions altogether. […]

on August 6, 2018 at 12:44 pm

When debt added to debt piled on more debt yields less and less economic growth, and your solution is...more debt. […]

on August 6, 2018 at 12:08 pm

What is worth spending tax receipts on is an endless debate about value per dollar spent. But currency that is used to pay interest on past debt? Nothing in return. Zero value. A half trillion in USD will get hoovered into this great vacuum of nothing this year alone, and as interest rates and the federal deficit rise, ever more. […]

on August 3, 2018 at 6:47 pm

Economically, it's not just job creation that matters, it's what kind of jobs are being created. "As the latest data reveals, the recent surge in hiring of less than college grads, confirms two things: wage growth will remain anemic at best, and productivity - that key component of GDP - will continue to shrink." […]

on August 3, 2018 at 3:02 pm

"Although Trump claimed last week that his administration had cut the trade deficit, it’s actually still going up. The U.S. trade deficit added up to $291 billion in the first six months of 2018, compared with $272 billion in the first half of 2017." […]

on August 3, 2018 at 2:19 pm

"But, but, but... there's no slack in the labor force, we're at maximum employment, this is the best economy ever?" When all the spoils of short-term, debt-rigged economic "growth" are hyper-concentrated among the wealthiest. […]

on August 3, 2018 at 1:57 pm

The highest-mortgage rates in years won't help. "The recent rate rise comes even as momentum in the housing market appears to be sputtering. Sales of previously-owned homes fell to the lowest point in five months in June, and sales of newly-constructed homes also tumbled. Even the white-hot price growth of the past few years seems to be decelerating." […]

on August 3, 2018 at 1:08 pm

Why is federal debt skyrocketing despite the economy's gaudy macro headline numbers? "Booming economic growth has not been sufficient to lower the budget deficit — in fact, the deficit and Treasury borrowing are headed sharply higher, and virtually no one in Washington seems to care." […]

on August 3, 2018 at 12:39 pm

“If we get two more rate hikes this year, as everybody expects, next year nearly 20% of bank profits will be interest on excess reserves paid by the Federal Reserve to the banks and that could potentially become a big political issue. Why are we giving them this giant subsidy?&rdquo […]

on August 3, 2018 at 12:30 pm

Since tariffs were announced, China has devalued the yuan almost 10%, thereby completely negating the effects of 10% tariffs. […]

on August 2, 2018 at 6:43 pm

For the first time since 2006 (shortly before the housing bubble popped and the economy collapsed), the Fed has called the US economy "strong." And it's on the back of the same massive ramp in residential construction that led the Fed to call it "strong" 12 years ago. Did we mention new housing starts just plunged 12% in June? The Fed was dead wrong in 2006, and the Fed is dead wrong now. […]

on August 2, 2018 at 4:48 pm

From tech to the stodgiest old-economy names: flat-out ridiculous valuations, across the board: "Even if we take an index like the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which includes not one FANG stock, the message remains: investor euphoria, as manifest in equity valuations, is more extreme and more pervasive than ever before." […]

on August 2, 2018 at 4:21 pm

One minute you're enjoying some time off from your job in pest control, headed out for a nice bit of charity-related metal detecting in a field in Crewkerne, and the next you're holding a unique piece of priceless Roman antiquity dating back to 200 A.D. […]

on August 2, 2018 at 12:58 pm

"Global trade sharply dropped and is now negative on a 3-month (3M) annualized basis." Because the more you interfere with free markets and the more aggressively you attempt to manipulate them, the more damage is done to all participants, across the board. […]

on August 2, 2018 at 12:41 pm

By extending credit to weaker economic regions and participating in immense worldwide infrastructure building, China has dramatically extended its reach by building a global empire built on debt. […]

on August 2, 2018 at 12:22 pm

"Investors in gold need not fear that bitcoin will replace it as the preeminent global store of value. That is the implication of a recent study by Eric Budish, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago. The National Bureau of Economic Research published the paper—“The Economic Limits of Bitcoin and the Blockchain”—in June." […]

on August 2, 2018 at 12:14 pm

"Based on the most current projections, by the end of the year 2023, the U.S. is on track to increase cumulated deficit from USD 12.227 trillion at the end of 2016 to USD 20.466 trillion. This would imply an average annual uplift of USD 1.177 trillion, which is significantly higher than the average annual increase in deficits of USD 838.3 billion recorded over the 2009-2016 period." […]

on August 1, 2018 at 5:34 pm

And a whopping 77% of all West Virginia college grads owe something. Even in Utah, the state with the lowest debt per graduating student, the average bill is $19,975. Put it all together and you end up with the single largest "asset" on the federal balance sheet: student loan debt of $1.5T, which is already in default at a double-digit percent rate that will only increase as interest rates continue to rise. […]

on August 1, 2018 at 5:00 pm

Nearly every day now there is a new data point suggesting that the big wave that is the US housing market has crested and is starting to crash. As this perception ripples through the market, expect the supply glut that typically accompanies the mad rush to cash out at the top, and then the price plunge that follows. Mortgage rates are at 6-year highs after years at all-time lows; how many would-be buyers are left? […]

on August 1, 2018 at 4:43 pm

Real estate prices look to be topping out. Gold and silver prices are back at 2010 levels. As the relative pricing of these two assets reverses over the coming years, it will afford those with a meaningful holding of precious metals the opportunity to buy a house outright. […]

on August 1, 2018 at 4:17 pm

It's a time of extremes for gold; valuation relative to stocks at a multi-generation low, and now non-commercials shorts at a new since-1993 high. As the investor sentiment pendulum overreaches in one direction and then overcorrects in the other, gold's strongest attributes, durability and resiliency, move to the fore. […]

on August 1, 2018 at 3:26 pm

But as long as risk markets continue to boldly go to valuations where no risk markets have gone before, nobody really cares. Only after the fact, when fortunes are lost, will there be the same recycled outrage that rose, grandstanded, and affected nearly no change a decade ago. […]

on August 1, 2018 at 2:49 pm

The Purchasing Managers' Index is a keen insight into what is taking place in the analytical minds of economic decision-makers as they examine the health of their businesses and plan for the future. The message from this data set? "Present isn't great, future will be worse." […]

on August 1, 2018 at 1:40 pm

As we wish a fond farewell to Chris Hamilton's "Economica" blog, we reiterate its important (and severely underreported) message: Global productive population levels in developed nations are falling fast and will continue to do so. This most basic of demographic shifts highlights a huge problem: In the future, who will drive all the economic consumption we've already banked on by spending debt today? […]

on August 1, 2018 at 12:47 pm

Welcome back to the heyday of zero-earnings companies with billion-dollar valuations...'Present Situation' sentiment is again wildly out of line with fundamentals and intrinsically wrong. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence hit its highest level since March 2001, as short-term junk-policy Kool-Aid drinkers rejoice en masse. […]

on August 1, 2018 at 12:22 pm

The latest international gold find to hit the headlines comes to you from the remote Tarbagatai mountains of Kazakhstan. Bury it, melt it, freeze it, sink it to the bottom of the ocean for a thousand years: gold is indestructible and relentless in its ability to protect value over any amount of time. […]

on August 1, 2018 at 12:11 pm

A short-term, Independence Day-driven patriotic blip on the radar or an indicator that gold's recent price decline is starting to spur bargain-hunting physical demand? […]

on August 1, 2018 at 12:03 pm

Until pensions and their retiree participants alike face the reality that they're not going to get nearly what they were initially promised, this garish carnival of broken math will only grow more warped and absurd over time. And the days of being able to default to head-in-sand as coping strategy, on both sides of the table, are drawing to a close. […]

on July 31, 2018 at 6:15 pm

UK outsourcing giant Carillion, which once employed over 43,000 people, collapsed when it was revealed to have hidden debt via an obscure loophole known as "reverse factoring", which allowed the now-bankrupt behemoth to disguise bank-owed debt as far-more-benign-looking accounts payable. […]

on July 31, 2018 at 3:31 pm

Access to cash, both in the US and worldwide, is more limited than it was a decade ago. A decade from now, cash itself may be viewed as a strange, dirty, expensive anachronism of another age. So what? Who cares? If you value one of the last bastions of privacy over which you can exercise a fair amount of meaningful control, you should. […]

on July 31, 2018 at 2:48 pm

Yet another real-world data point that flies in the face of the ongoing government narrative that everyone is just doing so great, thank you very much. […]

on July 31, 2018 at 12:39 pm

The macro gold supply story plods along behind the scenes and far from the headlines. Costs are rising and new discoveries are few, small, and far between. Existing mines are yielding less and less. It is a burgeoning supply shortage awaiting a demand increase and a long-term catalyst for higher gold prices. […]

on July 31, 2018 at 12:24 pm

A rare moment of candid clarity from one of the market's most tireless cheerleaders: "I don't want to scare the public, but we've never had QE," Dimon said. "We've never had the reversal. Regulations are different. Monetary transmission is different. Governments have borrowed too much debt, and people can panic when things change." […]

on July 31, 2018 at 12:14 pm

Hot on the heels of the US Treasury indicating/announcing/confessing they will need to print a horse-choking $1.33T in new debt this year alone to make up for enormous tax shortfalls, another potential initiative to cut taxes even further, aiming to hand such freshly printed federal debt money directly to the wealthy. […]

on July 31, 2018 at 12:09 pm

Because cutting taxes while spending recklessly does have consequences. But until that shock and awe moment when the world realizes this debt is never getting paid back, the executive branch will have fun, fun, fun, 'til the market takes its t-bills awaaaaaaaaaaaaaay... […]

on July 31, 2018 at 11:48 am

"Rising debt servicing costs will be a far bigger political problem than the economic costs of the rate increases. If Chairman Powell wishes to get out ahead of the presidential tweets then he OUGHT to raise rates tomorrow." […]

on July 31, 2018 at 11:39 am

And demand at the latest auction was still weak. Over time, earning a pittance for the mirage of safety will reveal itself to be an especially unwise bet. But for now, how long can the Fed continue to walk the "must-raise" anti-inflationary tightrope in the face of a weak economy and an openly antagonistic president? […]

on July 30, 2018 at 9:24 pm

In the afternoon, US equities pared some losses (S&P finished -16 to 2803) as the 10-year yield ticked up to 2.98%. The DX recovered to 94.37, and gold drifted down to $1221. Gold was $1221.50 bid at 4PM with a loss of $1.50. […]

on July 30, 2018 at 8:03 pm

"Morgan Stanley was the one bank which on July 8 'went out on a limb' downgrading tech stocks to Sell and as their Chief Equity Strategist Michael Wilson comically added, 'truth be told, we haven't had much interest from clients wanting to follow us down this path.'" […]

on July 30, 2018 at 7:29 pm

MS with a blanket-bearish note recommending shorting...well, damned near everything, either outright or via options by buying puts. "Tech is a potential market issue because it represents the intersection of so many different investor types, including fundamental HFs, quant HFs (who tend to have a momentum bias), and active mutual funds." […]

on July 30, 2018 at 6:56 pm

Citi uses typical mealy-mouthed banker-speak to say that nothing has been fixed of the real-world issues that justifiably caused the market plunge earlier this year and that stocks are more expensive again because you're all followers. "Absent a catalyst, herding behavior can be very persistent and can feed on itself." […]

on July 30, 2018 at 6:36 pm

"Falling gold prices in the absence of rising real yields indicate that gold has cheapened relative to other U.S.-denominated flight-to-quality assets, like TIPS and Treasuries. In our view, the recent price moves have been driven by investors placing too much emphasis on the value of the dollar and too little on real yields." […]

on July 30, 2018 at 5:34 pm

What can learn about blockchain from the centuries-old stone-block currency system of the Micronesian Yap islanders? […]

on July 30, 2018 at 1:43 pm

As wages remain essentially the same a generation later and real estate, education, healthcare and other costs continue to spiral out of control in the wake of Fed money printing, more and more Americans find themselves unable to afford a basic middle-class life. […]