Crashing oil prices and a rising US dollar will put a halt to any interest rate increases from the Fed. Weak Holiday sales and increasing unemployment in 2015 are a possibility especially as I expect layoffs in the once booming fracking sector. Don’t be surprised to see another QE in 2015. The Holiday Season is…
Much like last year, the Standard & Poor 500 (SPX) has continued its Bull Run in 2014. The S&P 500 has so far hit record highs on 49 occasions this year and boasts a year-to-date return of 12%. Also, the index has outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s (DJI) year-to-date return of 7.4%, but is…
Andrew Kaip, managing director of mining equity research at BMO Capital Markets, says the stark reality is that the precious metals sector is only part way through a down cycle and that structural issues will result in a fresh phase of consolidation. He adds that the small to intermediate producers will lead the consolidation charge….
OPEC is pointing the finger at speculators as well as Non-OPEC countries, but especially US shale producers for the crude price crash. Let’s explore that idea in a series of charts. But first let’s take a look at the allegation. The Wall Street Journal reports Gulf Oil Exporters Blame Non-OPEC Producers for Glut. Gulf oil…
Here is a fascinating interview with Ned Naylor-Leyland, a precious metals expert with Quilter Cheviot Investment Management. Naylor-Leyland explains the coming divergence between the physical and paper gold markets and how mainstream media doesn’t grasp just how large the daily gold market is. He also discusses the ongoing Eastern demand for physical gold, especially in…
Sovereign Bond Buying by ECB No Longer Taboo Reuters reports that the governor of Belgium’s central bank and ECB council member Luc Coene has come out in support of full-fledged quantitative easing by the ECB in the form of sovereign bond purchases. Not surprisingly, he too is singing from the “deflation danger” hymn sheet: “The European…
In China the government has been trying to contain population growth for decades and certain parts of the population are only allowed to have 1 child. The government has become a lot more flexible in this regard, however, and many parents are allowed 2 children already. Another country that is growing like crazy is India….
Helmerich & Payne (HP) provides contract drilling services to primarily US based oil & gas producers. The company is a pioneer of horizontal drilling which has driven growth. Helmerich & Payne has seen revenue per share grow at over 13% a year over the last 10 years. In total, Helmerich & Payne has 302 land…
It all looked so rosy just a few short hours ago. WTI crude has slipped from over $58.50 (once again testing that upper band of resistance) to back below $56 and down almost 2% from Friday’s close (not stabilizing). While the S&P and Dow (futures) remain green, the Nasdaq has tumbled into the red on the heels…
