Gold and silver took a sharp jump higher about 10 AM, when the economic news came in weekly, and stocks sold off. I am not too sure how much importance to give to the markets today, since it seemed that the algos were in charge, with some of the junior staff to tend to their…
It is the first time since 2008 where the last day of the prior year, and the first day of the new year were both down. This is the 4th down day in a row… we suspect everyone needs to remember the following… The early strength this morning was what everyone expected after Friday’s flush…
<< Read: Variables For An Effective Demand Limit To The Business Cycle Part 1 << Read: New Variable For Effective Demand Limit Part 2 The effective demand equation has made great progress in the last week in spite of me being really sick with fever and congestion. And so I continue the development of the effective demand equation…
The headlines say construction spending declined this month – the data is volatile and backward revisions distort the picture. However, the rate of growth looking at the unadjusted rolling averages has been stable. Noteworthy is a continued softness in private sector construction with some strengthening in public sector construction. The backward revision this month again…
2014 was a relatively sluggish year for international markets. While the U.S. indices were setting new all-time highs seemingly year round, most international economies were reeling under global pressures. Per MSCI, the World ex USA index is down 5.9% so far this year, while countries within the European Monetary Union (EMU) have turned out to…
Here is a update in response to a standing request from a couple of sources that I also share with regular visitors to my Advisor Perspectives pages. The request is for real (inflation-adjusted) charts of the S&P 500, Dow 30, and Nasdaq Composite. In response, I maintain two overlays — one with the nominal price,…
I think most of the adults had the day off today, making it a four day weekend for the senior traders and all but the most hard core of punters, whose life seems empty when the market are not open. Stocks opened like gangbusters, reflecting the jump in the overnight futures, but fell rather sharply…
The crises of yesteryear almost seem quaint. Did investors really need to fret the possibility of the world’s 44th economy (Greece) exiting the euro-zone back in 2011? The stock market ultimately prevailed. Why did the fiscal cliff, sequestration and government shutdown concerns cause so much anxiety in 2012? U.S. stocks eventually powered ahead by roughly…
The 2014 year-end closing in the Dow was strong, but not quite ready for liftoff. The failure to close above the 18500 level only keeps the Dow in a base-building position for what is to come. Only a closing below 16978 will signal a brief pause in trend. We will be addressing this in a…
French economist Thomas Piketty, author of the surprise best-selling Capital in the 21st Century turned down France’s top award, the Legion D’Honneur. “I do not think it is the government’s role to decide who is honourable”, said Piketty. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman called it “the most important economics book of the year – and maybe of…
