The great bull market in its last stages?

[katsung47]

The great bull market in its last stages? U.S. car sales fall sharply in June; Silicon Valley begins to crack visibly; October doom? Ron Paul predicts gold up 50% stocks down 25% this October
BY IWB · JULY 4, 2017

http://investmentwatchblog.com/the-...dicts-gold-up-50-stocks-down-25-this-october/

 

[katsung47]

UK At ‘Edge of Worst House Price Collapse Since 1990s’
BY IWB · JULY 4, 2017

https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content...pe-3-x-2new01.jpg?strip=all&quality=100&w=750

UK At ‘Edge of Worst House Price Collapse Since 1990s’ – InvestmentWatch
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[yeshuaslavejeff]

The great bull market in its last stages?

< shrugs > ..... the problems in the past,
are like kindergarten.... compared to what's about to happen.... (already ....)

 

[rambot]

Economists: Economic Doom will befall us
Trump: Hold my beer.





Misses triple bogey.

 

[katsung47]

Ron Paul: Not a 'total shock' if stocks plummet 25% and gold soars 50% by October

Stephanie Landsman | @stephlandsman
Sunday, 2 Jul 2017

A painful correction is coming and there's little that can be done to prevent it, according to former Republican congressman and libertarian firebrand Ron Paul

Ron Paul says it won't be a 'total shock' if stocks plummet 25% and gold soars 50% by October

 

[katsung47]

Goldman Sachs Says That There Is A 99 Percent Chance That Stock Prices Will Not Keep Going Up Like This
By Michael Snyder, on July 31st, 2017

– North Korea is threatening to nuke the US
– Donald Trump is firing his entire cabinet
– The Federal Reserve has dropped interest rates to record lows and drowned the world in trillions of dollars of cash
– Debt levels are at record highs
– Entire banking systems, especially in Europe, are in need of massive bailouts
– The US government will run out of money in less than 90-days and hit the debt ceiling once again


Goldman Sachs Says That There Is A 99 Percent Chance That Stock Prices Will Not Keep Going Up Like This

 

[katsung47]

Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan Ominously Warns That The Biggest Bond Bubble In History Is About To Burst
By Michael Snyder, on August 4th, 2017

Are we right on the verge of one of the greatest financial collapses in American history? I have been repeatedly warning that our ridiculously over-inflated stock market bubble could burst at any time, but former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan believes that the bond bubble actually presents an even greater danger. When you look at the long-term charts, you will see that an epic bond bubble has been growing since the early 1980s, and when it finally collapses the financial carnage is going to be unlike anything we have ever seen before.

“The current level of interest rates is abnormally low and there’s only one direction in which they can go, and when they start they will be rather rapid,” Greenspan said on “Squawk Box.”

Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan Ominously Warns That The Biggest Bond Bubble In History Is About To Burst

 

[katsung47]

De-Dollarization Accelerates: China Readies Yuan-Priced Crude Oil Benchmark Backed By Gold

by Tyler Durden
Sep 3, 2017

The world’s top oil importer, China, is preparing to launch a crude oil futures contract denominated in Chinese yuan and convertible into gold, potentially creating the most important Asian oil benchmark and allowing oil exporters to bypass U.S.-dollar denominated benchmarks by trading in yuan, Nikkei Asian Review


De-Dollarization Accelerates: China Readies Yuan-Priced Crude Oil Benchmark Backed By Gold | Zero Hedge

 

[katsung47]

Venezuela's Maduro says will shun U.S. dollar in favor of yuan, others

Reuters Reuters•September 7, 2017
By Deisy Buitrago and Corina Pons

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday hiscash-strapped country would seek to "free" itself from the U.S. dollar next week, using the weakest of two official foreign exchange regimes and a basket of currencies


Venezuela's Maduro says will shun U.S. dollar in favor of yuan, others

 

[katsung47]

Goldman's Bear Market Indicator Shows Crash Dead Ahead, Asks "Should We Be Worried?"

Tyler Durden's picture
by Tyler Durden
Sep 16, 2017

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...s/user5/imageroot/bear market risk teaser.jpg

Goldman's Bear Market Indicator Shows Crash Dead Ahead, Asks "Should We Be Worried?"

 

[katsung47]

It’s Over for Sears Canada
by Wolf Richter • Oct 10, 2017 •

Liquidation too for Toys “R” Us? The company filed for bankruptcy in the US and Canada to restructure, but it can’t solve what’s killing it.

It’s Over for Sears Canada

 

[katsung47]

Peter Schiff Warns Of "Calm Before The Storm"

by Tyler Durden
Oct 20, 2017

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...303/imageroot/2017/10/17/20171020_schiff1.jpg

But interest rates are now at just 1.25%. If the stock market were again to drop in such a manner, the Fed has far less fire power to bring to bear. It could cut rates to zero and then re-launch another round of QE bond buying to flood the financial sector with liquidity. But that may not be nearly as effective as it was in 2008. Given that the big problem at that point was bad mortgage debt, the QE program’s purchase of mortgage bonds was a fairly effective solution (although we believe a misguided one). But propping up overvalued stocks, many of which have nothing to do with the financial sector, is a far more difficult challenge. The Fed may have to buy stocks on the open market, a tactic that has been used by the Bank of Japan.

It should be clear to anyone that since the 1990s the Fed has inflated three stock market bubbles. As each of the prior two popped, the Fed inflated larger ones to mitigate the damage. The tendency to cushion the downside and to then provide enough extra liquidity to send stock prices back to new highs seems to have emboldened investors to downplay the risks and focus on the potential gains. This has been particularly true given that the Fed’s low interest rate policies have caused traditionally conservative bond investors to seek higher returns in stocks. Without the Fed’s safety net, many of these investors perhaps would not be willing to walk this high wire.

But investors may be over-estimating the Fed's ability to blow up another bubble if the current one pops. Since this one is so large, the amount of stimulus required to inflate a larger one may produce the monetary equivalent of an overdose. It may be impossible to revive the markets without killing the dollar in the process. The currency crisis the Fed might unleash might prove more destructive to the economy than the repeat financial crisis it's hoping to avoid.

Peter Schiff Warns Of "Calm Before The Storm"

 

[katsung47]

Peter Schiff Warns Of "Calm Before The Storm"

by Tyler Durden
Oct 20, 2017

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...303/imageroot/2017/10/17/20171020_schiff1.jpg

But interest rates are now at just 1.25%. If the stock market were again to drop in such a manner, the Fed has far less fire power to bring to bear. It could cut rates to zero and then re-launch another round of QE bond buying to flood the financial sector with liquidity. But that may not be nearly as effective as it was in 2008. Given that the big problem at that point was bad mortgage debt, the QE program’s purchase of mortgage bonds was a fairly effective solution (although we believe a misguided one). But propping up overvalued stocks, many of which have nothing to do with the financial sector, is a far more difficult challenge. The Fed may have to buy stocks on the open market, a tactic that has been used by the Bank of Japan.

It should be clear to anyone that since the 1990s the Fed has inflated three stock market bubbles. As each of the prior two popped, the Fed inflated larger ones to mitigate the damage. The tendency to cushion the downside and to then provide enough extra liquidity to send stock prices back to new highs seems to have emboldened investors to downplay the risks and focus on the potential gains. This has been particularly true given that the Fed’s low interest rate policies have caused traditionally conservative bond investors to seek higher returns in stocks. Without the Fed’s safety net, many of these investors perhaps would not be willing to walk this high wire.

But investors may be over-estimating the Fed's ability to blow up another bubble if the current one pops. Since this one is so large, the amount of stimulus required to inflate a larger one may produce the monetary equivalent of an overdose. It may be impossible to revive the markets without killing the dollar in the process. The currency crisis the Fed might unleash might prove more destructive to the economy than the repeat financial crisis it's hoping to avoid.

Peter Schiff Warns Of "Calm Before The Storm"

 

[katsung47]

"This Is Most Worrying": In One Year, Central Bank Liquidity Will Collapse From $2 Trillion To Zero Today at 12:25 pm


Is it complacency, or simply trader paralysis?

A question we first asked three months ago is getting a second wind this morning, when in a report by Deutsche Bank's Alan Ruskin - "Vol: freeze or flight?" - the macro strategist points out that "the new 2017 Nobel laureate for Economics is not the only one at a loss to explain low stock market volatility, and thinks investors are in ‘freeze mode’ in the midst of global uncertainties."
According to Ruskin, however, it's all about to change.

But why? And what is "the most likely causes of a shift to ‘flight mode’ and a rise in volatility? Here’s one possibility: by the end of next year, the combined expansion of all the major Central Bank balance sheets will have collapsed from a 12 month growth rate of $2 trillion per annum to zero."

"This Is Most Worrying": In One Year, Central Bank Liquidity Will Collapse From $2 Trillion To Zero

 

[katsung47]

How sky-high housing costs make California the poorest state

By CALMATTERS | CALmatters.org
PUBLISHED: September 27, 2017

When the cost of living is factored in, the Golden State has the highest poverty rate in the country. More than 20 percent of its residents struggle to make ends meet, according to recently released Census figures.That’s nearly 8 million people.

In the less sophisticated “official” measure, a family of four in San Francisco or Los Angeles or San Diego faces exactly the same poverty threshold—$24,339 annually—as a family in rural Mississippi. That’s despite the fact that you can rent a three-bedroom, two-bathroom 1,200-square-foot house in Horn Lake, Mississippi, for the same price ($850 a month) as half a living room in the Bay Area.

How sky-high housing costs make California the poorest state – Daily Breeze
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[katsung47]

CBO: the Senate Republican tax bill takes billions from the poor
Updated by Dylan Matthews Nov 27, 2017,

From the perspective of rich people benefiting from slashing the corporate tax rate, the bill the Senate is currently considering — and could vote on this week — is a tax cut bill. But from the perspective of America’s poor, the bill looks more like a health care cut.


CBO: the Senate Republican tax bill takes billions from the poor

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[katsung47]

Gold Will Soar... As China Kneecaps The Dollar

by Tyler Durden Dec 13, 2017

Chris Lowe: To catch up real quick, why is the petrodollar at risk?

Nick Giambruno: Under the current petrodollar system, all global oil sales are made in dollars. However, the Chinese government recently announced a new mechanism that will allow oil producers anywhere in the world to trade oil for gold.

China’s new mechanism will totally bypass the US dollar and the US financial system… along with any restrictions, regulations, or sanctions from Washington. So for many oil producers, it will be much more attractive than the petrodollar system.

I call it China’s “golden alternative” to the petrodollar. Whatever you call it, though, it will allow for the large-scale trade of oil for gold, instead of dollars.

Here’s how it will work. The Shanghai International Energy Exchange is launching a crude-oil futures contract denominated in yuan, China’s currency. This will allow oil producers around the world to sell their oil for yuan.

Of course, the yuan is a fiat currency, just like the dollar. And most oil producers don’t want large stashes of yuan. The Chinese government knows this. That’s why it’s linked the crude-oil futures contract with the option to efficiently convert yuan into physical gold through gold exchanges in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Chris Lowe: How soon will this new system be up and running?

Nick Giambruno: I spoke with officials at the Shanghai International Energy Exchange. They told me they plan to go live with it before the end of the year, or shortly thereafter.

Chris Lowe: But isn’t that a good thing? Isn’t gold, as a currency, more reliable than the dollar?

Nick Giambruno: I think it’s high time gold played a more central role in the global monetary system. The problem is ditching the petrodollar would negatively affect the US economy.

Think about it. If Italy wants to buy oil from Kuwait… or Argentina wants to buy oil from Brazil… they have to buy dollars on the foreign exchange market first.

This creates a huge artificial market for dollars.

It means the US can simply print dollars and exchange them for real things like French wine, Italian cars, Korean electronics, or Chinese manufactured goods.

It also helps create a deeper, more liquid market for US Treasury bonds. This pushes up prices… and pushes down yields… which allows the US federal government to finance enormous and permanent deficits.

The petrodollar has allowed Washington to spend astronomical amounts of money on welfare and other benefits for over half the population. This gives Americans a much higher standard of living than they would have otherwise. Most of them don’t know this or understand how it affects their everyday lives.



Gold Will Soar... As China Kneecaps The Dollar
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[katsung47]

AT&T workforce stricken with over 2000 layoffs U.S-wide days after $1000 tax reform bonus check
By Mike Wuerthele
Tuesday, December 26, 2017, 02:34 pm PT (05:34 pm ET)

In the days before Christmas, AT&T and DirecTV gave layoff notices to a large number of landline, legacy service, and home installers spanning the country —and more are coming.

AT&T workforce stricken with over 2000 layoffs U.S-wide days after $1000 tax reform bonus check

 

[katsung47]

GE is cutting 12,000 jobs
by Chris Isidore @CNNMoney
December 7, 2017:

The company says the job cuts will mostly be outside the United States. The power division's headcount will be reduced about 18%. About 295,000 people worked for GE overall at the end of last year, but the company has cut jobs and costs throughout this year.

GE layoffs: It's cutting 12,000 jobs

 

[katsung47]

Bankruptcy fallout: Toys R Us closing up to 182 stores
Joan Verdon, The (Bergen County, N.J.) Jan. 24, 2018

Toys R Us late Tuesday filed court documents outlining plans to close up to 182 stores as part of its bankruptcy reorganization plans.

Bankruptcy fallout: Toys R Us closing up to 182 stores