Tag: finance

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“Just as we did for the Occupy Wall Street protestors in Zucotti Park and the Snow Park encampment in Oakland, we are here to support your just cause…”

 

WB7:

Just sayin’

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/lJzecTrXzS8/story01.htm williambanzai7

Just after 10pm Eastern, a big block in the S&P futures, over 10k contracts, was dumped in the very thin Sunday night tape, sending the complex lower by over 10 points, and after opening at 1768.5, ES dumped as low at 1754 in a matter of seconds, before recovering some of the losses to 1760. The Nikkei was hit concurrently by correlation algos impacted by the same downdraft, which also pinged the various JPY pairs lower, if leaving the EUR largely untouched. Needless to say there was no news of note to prompt this move, which appears to have been either a partial fat finger, or someone trying to exit the market in a hurry ahead of next week’s FOMC festivities.

ES:

Nikkei likewise dropped:

If a reason for the drop manifests itself, we will update this post, in the meantime, we expect Overnight Ramp Capital to arrive promptly or else confidence in central-planning may take a hit ahead of the Wednesday Taperish FOMC, and Thursday’s double POMO.

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/_9sG53I9GQM/story01.htm Tyler Durden

Just after 10pm Eastern, a big block in the S&P futures, over 10k contracts, was dumped in the very thin Sunday night tape, sending the complex lower by over 10 points, and after opening at 1768.5, ES dumped as low at 1754 in a matter of seconds, before recovering some of the losses to 1760. The Nikkei was hit concurrently by correlation algos impacted by the same downdraft, which also pinged the various JPY pairs lower, if leaving the EUR largely untouched. Needless to say there was no news of note to prompt this move, which appears to have been either a partial fat finger, or someone trying to exit the market in a hurry ahead of next week’s FOMC festivities.

ES:

Nikkei likewise dropped:

If a reason for the drop manifests itself, we will update this post, in the meantime, we expect Overnight Ramp Capital to arrive promptly or else confidence in central-planning may take a hit ahead of the Wednesday Taperish FOMC, and Thursday’s double POMO.

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/_9sG53I9GQM/story01.htm Tyler Durden

Due to western central bank price manipulation, the mining sector is in critical condition, the supply line is all but halted, and the physical supply is being swallowed up by Asia. The last shoe to drop is for major mining companies to start closing down production at major mines. Though this would be perceived as the end for gold, speculators will be happy to know that this would be the beginning of the biggest Fed induced bubble in history! But unlike previous Fed bubbles where they support the price increase, the gold bubble will be a result of western central planners mis-managing the gold price for the past 3 decades and finally losing control. As Peak Resources explains in the brief clip, the perfect storm is coming for gold…

 

 

Via Peak Resources,

Friday October 11th, gold trading was shut down for 10 seconds according to the CME.

Why, because someone sold 2 million ounces of gold at one time. Who does this? Who sells nearly 2 and half percent of annual gold production in a single minute? The gold valued at over $2.5 billion could not have been sold by a small trader, and certainly not the smart money, institutional investors know that you don’t exit a large trade like this…

So who could it be? Try the dumb money, The Western Central Banks.

As noted by organizations like GATA, TF Metals Report, ZeroHedge, and Shtfplan, gold manipulation is out in the open. Friday October 11th is just one of the daily examples.

With the western central banks suppressing the price, the eastern central banks have been happy buyers.

However, PeakResources.org believes this gold price suppression scheme is nearing its end.

With the Federal Reserve on a fiat currency suicide mission with QE forever, and the U.S. federal government bankrupt, the days of dollar supremacy are in its last days.

For gold though, the central banks have really screwed themselves.

At a price of $1,250, gold mining companies can no longer make a profit. Recent studies show their all in cash cost anywhere from $1,400 to as high as $1,700. Liquid fuels, human energy, and new exploration are costly in the mining process, so it is unlikely these costs can be cut to accommodate the low gold price.

Since gold’s peak in 2011, the TSX Venture exchange, home to the worlds gold exploration companies, is down more than 59%

The gold juniors index, the GDXJ, is down 83%

And the large cap gold companies, despite seeing a 400% increase in the price of gold over the past 12 years, are trading at lower valuations then they did even 20 years ago.

As noted in our video Peak Gold, no major gold discoveries have been found in more than 10 years! Gold production as a whole has plateaued.

Remember, all mines have a limited supply of gold, at some point in time they either deplete themselves or become uneconomical. Uneconomical meaning companies can’t mine for profit, which is exactly the case for nearly all gold mines today!

Consider a very famous gold mining region, South Africa

In 1971 South Africa produced 47.5 million ounces of gold, accounting for 68% of global mine production.

In 2011, South Africa accounted for only 7% of gold production with about 8 million ounces of mine production.

Despite all the technological advances and billions in exploration and development, South African gold production is down 82%.

South Africa isn’t an anomaly either, here in the U.S. production in the past 20 years is down 30%.

Current discoveries are small, in remote areas, and are lower grade deposits.

PeakResources.org recently attended a gold mining event in London, what we learned was that exploration budgets were being slashed! No development, no exploration, and a scaling back of projects.

What this all leads to is a price spike in gold, just as gold rose rose from $35 to $850 in the 70s, The Dow Jones from 2,000 to 11,000 in the 1990, and Bitcoin from a penny to $1,200 more recently, so to can gold have a parabolic spike.

The perfect storm is coming for gold…

Due to western central bank price manipulation the mining sector is in critical condition, the supply line is all but halted, and the physical supply is being swallowed up by Asia.

The last shoe to drop is for major mining companies to start closing down production at major mines. Though this would be perceived as the end for gold, speculators will be happy to know that this would be the beginning of the biggest Fed induced bubble in history! But unlike previous Fed bubbles where they support the price increase, the gold bubble will be a result of western central planners mis-managing the gold price for the past 3 decades and finally losing control.

With fiat currency being pumped into the system daily and the gold sector in shambles, the central banks are in for a big surprise because sooner or later supply and demand economics will crush the very people who are behind the devastation we have seen in the gold mining and precious metal industry.

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/1sbiPsEYqgM/story01.htm Tyler Durden

David Stockman’s exclamation at the “betrayal” realized within the latest so-called “festerng fiscal” budget deal is taken a step further with Peter Schiff’s head-shaking diatribe on Congress’ inability to show that it is truly “capable of tackling our chronic and dangerous debt problems.” So America blissfully sails on, ignoring the obvious fiscal, monetary, and financial shoals that lay ahead in plain sight. I believe that will continue this dangerous course until powers outside the United States finally force the issue by refusing to expand their holding of U.S. debt. That will finally bring on the debt and currency crisis that we have created by our current cowardice.

Submitted by Peter Schiff via Euro Pacific Capital,

They Bravely Chickened Out

Earlier this week Congress tried to show that it is capable of tackling our chronic and dangerous debt problems. Despite the great fanfare I believe they have accomplished almost nothing. Supporters say that the budget truce created by Republican Representative Paul Ryan and Democratic Senator Patty Murray will provide the economy with badly needed certainty. But I think the only surety this feeble and fictitious deal offers is that Washington will never make any real moves to change the trajectory of our finances, and that future solutions will be forced on us by calamity rather than agreement.

There can be little doubt that the deal resulted from a decision by Republicans, who may be still traumatized by the public relations drubbing they took with the government shutdown, to make the 2014 and 2016 elections a simple referendum on Obamacare. Given the ongoing failures of the President’s signature health care plan, and the likelihood that new problems and outrages will come to light in the near future, the Republicans have decided to clear the field of any obstacles that could distract voters from their anger with Obama and his defenders in Congress. The GOP smells a political winner and all other issues can wait. It is no accident the Republican press conference on the budget deal was dominated by prepared remarks focusing on the ills of Obamacare. 

Although he had crafted his reputation as a hard nosed deficit hawk, Paul Ryan claimed that the agreement advances core Republican principles of deficit reduction and tax containment. While technically true, the claim is substantively hollow. In my opinion the more honest Republicans are arguing that the Party is simply making a tactical retreat in order to make a major charge in the years ahead. They argue that Republicans will need majorities in both houses in 2014, and the White House in 2016, in order to pass meaningful reforms in taxing and spending. This has convinced them to prioritize short term politics over long term goals. I believe that this strategy is wishful thinking at best. It magnifies both the GOP’s electoral prospects (especially after alienating the energetic wing of their party) and their willingness to make politically difficult decisions if they were to gain majority power (recent Bush Administration history should provide ample evidence of the party’s true colors). Their strategy suggests that Republicans (just like the Democrats) have just two priorities: hold onto their own jobs, and to make their own party a majority so as to increase their currency among lobbyists and donors. This is politics at its most meaningless.  I believe public approval ratings for Congress have fallen to single digit levels not because of the heightened partisanship, but because of blatant cowardice and dishonesty. Their dereliction of responsibility will not translate to respect or popularity. Real fiscal conservatives should continue to focus on the dangers that we continue to face and look to constructive solutions. Honesty, consistency and courage are the only real options. 

In the meantime we are given yet another opportunity to bask in Washington’s naked cynicism. Congress proposes cuts in the future while eliminating cuts in the present that it promised to make in the past! The Congressional Budget Office (which many believe is too optimistic) projects that over the next 10 years the Federal government will create $6.38 trillion in new publicly held debt (intra-governmental debt is excluded from the projections). This week’s deal is projected to trim just $22 billion over that time frame, or just 3 tenths of 1 percent of this growth. This rounding error is not even as good as that. The $22 billion in savings comes from replacing $63 billion in automatic “sequestration” cuts that were slated to occur over the next two years, with $85 billion in cuts spread over 10 years. As we have seen on countless occasions, long term policies rarely occur as planned, since future legislators consistently prioritize their own political needs over the promises made by predecessors.

The lack of new taxes, which is the deal’s other apparent virtue, is merely a semantic achievement. The bill includes billions of dollars in new Federal airline passenger “user fees” (the exact difference between a “fee” and a “tax” may be just as hard to define as the difference between Obamacare “taxes” and a “penalties” that required a Supreme Court case to decide). But just like a tax, these fees will take more money directly from consumer’s wallets. The bigger issue is the trillions that the government will likely take indirectly through debt and inflation.

The good news for Washington watchers is that this deal could finally bring to an end the redundant “can-kicking” exercises that have frustrated the Beltway over the last few years. Going forward all the major players have agreed to pretend that the can just doesn’t exist. In making this leap they are similar to Wall Street investors who ignore the economy’s obvious dependence on the Federal Reserve’s Quantitative Easing program as well as the dangers that will result from any draw down of the Fed’s $4 trillion balance sheet.

The recent slew of employment and GDP reports have convinced the vast majority of market watchers that the Fed will begin tapering its $85 billion per month bond purchases either later this month or possibly by March of 2014. Many also expect that the program will be fully wound down by the end of next year. However, that has not caused any widespread concerns that the current record prices of U.S. markets are in danger. Additionally, given the Fed’s current centrality in the market for both Treasury and Mortgage bonds, I believe the market has failed to adequately allow for severe spikes in interest rates if the Fed were to reduce its purchasing activities. With little fanfare yields on the 10 year and 30 year Treasury bonds are already approaching multi-year highs. Few are sparing thoughts for yield spikes that could result if the Fed were to slow, or stop, its buying binge.

So America blissfully sails on, ignoring the obvious fiscal, monetary, and financial shoals that lay ahead in plain sight. I believe that will continue this dangerous course until powers outside the United States finally force the issue by refusing to expand their holding of U.S. debt. That will finally bring on the debt and currency crisis that we have created by our current cowardice.

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/bf12rUwErjU/story01.htm Tyler Durden

David Stockman’s exclamation at the “betrayal” realized within the latest so-called “festerng fiscal” budget deal is taken a step further with Peter Schiff’s head-shaking diatribe on Congress’ inability to show that it is truly “capable of tackling our chronic and dangerous debt problems.” So America blissfully sails on, ignoring the obvious fiscal, monetary, and financial shoals that lay ahead in plain sight. I believe that will continue this dangerous course until powers outside the United States finally force the issue by refusing to expand their holding of U.S. debt. That will finally bring on the debt and currency crisis that we have created by our current cowardice.

Submitted by Peter Schiff via Euro Pacific Capital,

They Bravely Chickened Out

Earlier this week Congress tried to show that it is capable of tackling our chronic and dangerous debt problems. Despite the great fanfare I believe they have accomplished almost nothing. Supporters say that the budget truce created by Republican Representative Paul Ryan and Democratic Senator Patty Murray will provide the economy with badly needed certainty. But I think the only surety this feeble and fictitious deal offers is that Washington will never make any real moves to change the trajectory of our finances, and that future solutions will be forced on us by calamity rather than agreement.

There can be little doubt that the deal resulted from a decision by Republicans, who may be still traumatized by the public relations drubbing they took with the government shutdown, to make the 2014 and 2016 elections a simple referendum on Obamacare. Given the ongoing failures of the President’s signature health care plan, and the likelihood that new problems and outrages will come to light in the near future, the Republicans have decided to clear the field of any obstacles that could distract voters from their anger with Obama and his defenders in Congress. The GOP smells a political winner and all other issues can wait. It is no accident the Republican press conference on the budget deal was dominated by prepared remarks focusing on the ills of Obamacare. 

Although he had crafted his reputation as a hard nosed deficit hawk, Paul Ryan claimed that the agreement advances core Republican principles of deficit reduction and tax containment. While technically true, the claim is substantively hollow. In my opinion the more honest Republicans are arguing that the Party is simply making a tactical retreat in order to make a major charge in the years ahead. They argue that Republicans will need majorities in both houses in 2014, and the White House in 2016, in order to pass meaningful reforms in taxing and spending. This has convinced them to prioritize short term politics over long term goals. I believe that this strategy is wishful thinking at best. It magnifies both the GOP’s electoral prospects (especially after alienating the energetic wing of their party) and their willingness to make politically difficult decisions if they were to gain majority power (recent Bush Administration history should provide ample evidence of the party’s true colors). Their strategy suggests that Republicans (just like the Democrats) have just two priorities: hold onto their own jobs, and to make their own party a majority so as to increase their currency among lobbyists and donors. This is politics at its most meaningless.  I believe public approval ratings for Congress have fallen to single digit levels not because of the heightened partisanship, but because of blatant cowardice and dishonesty. Their dereliction of responsibility will not translate to respect or popularity. Real fiscal conservatives should continue to focus on the dangers that we continue to face and look to constructive solutions. Honesty, consistency and courage are the only real options. 

In the meantime we are given yet another opportunity to bask in Washington’s naked cynicism. Congress proposes cuts in the future while eliminating cuts in the present that it promised to make in the past! The Congressional Budget Office (which many believe is too optimistic) projects that over the next 10 years the Federal government will create $6.38 trillion in new publicly held debt (intra-governmental debt is excluded from the projections). This week’s deal is projected to trim just $22 billion over that time frame, or just 3 tenths of 1 percent of this growth. This rounding error is not even as good as that. The $22 billion in savings comes from replacing $63 billion in automatic “sequestration” cuts that were slated to occur over the next two years, with $85 billion in cuts spread over 10 years. As we have seen on countless occasions, long term policies rarely occur as planned, since future legislators consistently prioritize their own political needs over the promises made by predecessors.

The lack of new taxes, which is the deal’s other apparent virtue, is merely a semantic achievement. The bill includes billions of dollars in new Federal airline passenger “user fees” (the exact difference between a “fee” and a “tax” may be just as hard to define as the difference between Obamacare “taxes” and a “penalties” that required a Supreme Court case to decide). But just like a tax, these fees will take more money directly from consumer’s wallets. The bigger issue is the trillions that the government will likely take indirectly through debt and inflation.

The good news for Washington watchers is that this deal could finally bring to an end the redundant “can-kicking” exercises that have frustrated the Beltway over the last few years. Going forward all the major players have agreed to pretend that the can just doesn’t exist. In making this leap they are similar to Wall Street investors who ignore the economy’s obvious dependence on the Federal Reserve’s Quantitative Easing program as well as the dangers that will result from any draw down of the Fed’s $4 trillion balance sheet.

The recent slew of employment and GDP reports have convinced the vast majority of market watchers that the Fed will begin tapering its $85 billion per month bond purchases either later this month or possibly by March of 2014. Many also expect that the program will be fully wound down by the end of next year. However, that has not caused any widespread concerns that the current record prices of U.S. markets are in danger. Additionally, given the Fed’s current centrality in the market for both Treasury and Mortgage bonds, I believe the market has failed to adequately allow for severe spikes in interest rates if the Fed were to reduce its purchasing activities. With little fanfare yields on the 10 year and 30 year Treasury bonds are already approaching multi-year highs. Few are sparing thoughts for yield spikes that could result if the Fed were to slow, or stop, its buying binge.

So America blissfully sails on, ignoring the obvious fiscal, monetary, and financial shoals that lay ahead in plain sight. I believe that will continue this dangerous course until powers outside the United States finally force the issue by refusing to expand their holding of U.S. debt. That will finally bring on the debt and currency crisis that we have created by our current cowardice.

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/bf12rUwErjU/story01.htm Tyler Durden

Japanese stocks are confused this evening (whether good news is bad news or bad news is good news). The headline Tankan business conditions (soft-survey) beat expectations modestly (a la Europe’s in the summer as it rode a wave of short-lived optimism) and pressing to 6 years highs (oh no – less QE?) But, the more forward-looking “manufacturing outlook” missed expectations by the most since March 2012. On the services side, things were worse, as the outlook there missed for the 11th quarter in a row. And the triple-whammy was the Capex spend missing expectations significantly (what no investment? where have we seen that before). The result – mixed news is bad news – Nikkei futures are down 150 from Friday’s close and JPY crosses have drifted back lower.

Headlines are “good” but the details are “bad”

 

 

And stocks are disappointed…

 

Charts: Bloomberg

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/jd1HFLwjZEo/story01.htm Tyler Durden

Despite the ongoing declarations by Wall Street’s strategists and Washington’s leaders that recovery is here (or just around the corner), record numbers of Americans in poverty and government handouts suggest otherwise. However, the insidious chipping away at the possibility of the American Dream has been replaced by an IPO-chasing, zero-interest-income-earning, yield-reaching, insider-trading, ‘dance-while-the-music-is-playing’, beggars can be choosers, get-rich-quick-scheme nation of takers (and entitled-ers)…

 

 

h/t Sunday Funnies at The Burning Platform blog

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/IOvPRTw1n-s/story01.htm Tyler Durden

The S&P 500 is set to resume higher, according to BofAML’s Macneil Curry pointing to the week of December Triple Witching as historically one strongest of the year for the S&P500. With fundamentals a thing-of-the-past, paying attention to the technicals in a world of one driver of stocks (Fed balance sheet), for short-term trading signals may have some value. Of course, with an ‘event’ as potentially huge as the FOMC meeting this week, adding risk on an already good year (when the world already believes a taper is “priced in”) may be more greatest fool than momo monkey.

 

Via BofAML,

S&P500 set to resume higher

The week ahead should take its cue from US equities. This Friday is December Triple Witching (the term used for the quarterly expiry of US equity index futures, options on equity index futures and equity options). Consistently the week of December Triple Witching is one strongest of the year for the S&P500. In the 31 years since the creation of equity index futures, the S&P500 has risen 74% of the time during this week. More recently, it has risen in ten of the past 12 years. With equity volatility fast approaching a buy signal, the conditions are growing ripe for an end to the month long range trade and resumption of the larger bull trend (we target 1840/1850 into year-end). This should be bearish for US Treasuries with 10s targeting 2.95%/3.00% and 5s targeting 1.67%/1.69% (we are short TYH4). From an FX perspective, this environment should be bullish for the US $. We continue to look for a €/$ top and recommend sticking with $/¥ longs for 104.60/105.00. 

Chart of the week: The week of December Triple Witching 

 

The S&P500 historically performs very well during the week of December Triple Witching. Since 1982, it has averaged a rise of .63% and risen 74% percent of the time. To put this in perspective, the average weekly return since 1982 is .19% and the index has risen 57% percent of the time. This is a bullish setup 

S&P500 volatility says the correction is drawing to an end

In addition to positive seasonals; equity volatility says that the range trade/correction of the past month is drawing to a conclusion. Specifically, the VXV/VIX ratio (VXV is the BBG ticker for 3m SP500 Volatility) is about to reach levels that have repeatedly coincided with a resumption of the larger bull trend. While allowing for one last dip into 1775/1745 support, the bull trend is about to resume.

Stay bearish US Treasuries. TYH4 is resuming its bear trend

 

A resumption of the larger bull trend in US equities should put added weight on the US Treasury market. We remain bearish and short TYH4. We look for 10s to test 2.95%/3.00% in the weeks ahead, while 5s remain on track for 1.67%/1.69%. TYH4 targets 122-06+ following the completion of a 2m Head and Shoulders Top.

The US $ should do well. Stay bullish $/¥

 

The combination of bullish US equities and bearish US Treasuries should be supportive for the US $, particularly against the Japanese ¥. We continue to target 104.60/105.00 (and potentially beyond) into year-end. Pullbacks should hold 101.62, but $/¥ bears don’t gain control UNTIL A BREAK OF 100.62.

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/FyvgV7f5R4M/story01.htm Tyler Durden

The S&P 500 is set to resume higher, according to BofAML’s Macneil Curry pointing to the week of December Triple Witching as historically one strongest of the year for the S&P500. With fundamentals a thing-of-the-past, paying attention to the technicals in a world of one driver of stocks (Fed balance sheet), for short-term trading signals may have some value. Of course, with an ‘event’ as potentially huge as the FOMC meeting this week, adding risk on an already good year (when the world already believes a taper is “priced in”) may be more greatest fool than momo monkey.

 

Via BofAML,

S&P500 set to resume higher

The week ahead should take its cue from US equities. This Friday is December Triple Witching (the term used for the quarterly expiry of US equity index futures, options on equity index futures and equity options). Consistently the week of December Triple Witching is one strongest of the year for the S&P500. In the 31 years since the creation of equity index futures, the S&P500 has risen 74% of the time during this week. More recently, it has risen in ten of the past 12 years. With equity volatility fast approaching a buy signal, the conditions are growing ripe for an end to the month long range trade and resumption of the larger bull trend (we target 1840/1850 into year-end). This should be bearish for US Treasuries with 10s targeting 2.95%/3.00% and 5s targeting 1.67%/1.69% (we are short TYH4). From an FX perspective, this environment should be bullish for the US $. We continue to look for a €/$ top and recommend sticking with $/¥ longs for 104.60/105.00. 

Chart of the week: The week of December Triple Witching 

 

The S&P500 historically performs very well during the week of December Triple Witching. Since 1982, it has averaged a rise of .63% and risen 74% percent of the time. To put this in perspective, the average weekly return since 1982 is .19% and the index has risen 57% percent of the time. This is a bullish setup 

S&P500 volatility says the correction is drawing to an end

In addition to positive seasonals; equity volatility says that the range trade/correction of the past month is drawing to a conclusion. Specifically, the VXV/VIX ratio (VXV is the BBG ticker for 3m SP500 Volatility) is about to reach levels that have repeatedly coincided with a resumption of the larger bull trend. While allowing for one last dip into 1775/1745 support, the bull trend is about to resume.

Stay bearish US Treasuries. TYH4 is resuming its bear trend

 

A resumption of the larger bull trend in US equities should put added weight on the US Treasury market. We remain bearish and short TYH4. We look for 10s to test 2.95%/3.00% in the weeks ahead, while 5s remain on track for 1.67%/1.69%. TYH4 targets 122-06+ following the completion of a 2m Head and Shoulders Top.

The US $ should do well. Stay bullish $/¥

 

The combination of bullish US equities and bearish US Treasuries should be supportive for the US $, particularly against the Japanese ¥. We continue to target 104.60/105.00 (and potentially beyond) into year-end. Pullbacks should hold 101.62, but $/¥ bears don’t gain control UNTIL A BREAK OF 100.62.

via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/FyvgV7f5R4M/story01.htm Tyler Durden