CLICK ON CHART TO ENLARGE Over the years Copper has been viewed as a leading global indicator for economic conditions and often stock market performance. The chart below takes a peek at year-to-date performance of Copper ETF (JJC), Freeport McMoran (FCX) and the S&P 500, showing weak performance in the Copper sector, with the opposite happening in…
Here is the big picture view of the 10yr-2yr Treasury yield spread with gold shaded in the background. People who successfully get through this bear market in gold will have done so because they tuned out hype like Indian and China demand (funny how promoters always tout the demand but never the supply, unless ranting…
Sorry Vlad! Putin played the Game of Thrones this year in Ukraine and, like many in the TV show, he’s lost it all in his grab for power. As you can see from the RSX chart on the right, the Russian market (which Vlad had about $50Bn tied up in) is down 10% in two days and…
Today, Congress is going to pass quietly behind the scenes changes to the BANKRUPTCY LAWS illustrating the growing fear that we are going to see a sharp economic decline ahead. The proposed new law would eliminate protections for certain financial contracts that made big bank bankruptcies nearly impossible in the past. Under the current law, if a…
The Nigerian Naira and Russian Ruble have been the hardest hit in the last few days as oil-producing nations across the world see their currencies come under increasing pressure. With both hitting new record lows against the USDollar (with the Naira at 184.5, already exceeding the recently devalued currencies upper peg band at around 176 per USD),…
There is a perfect word that describes the current condition of governments and consumers around the world today. The word is obdurate, and it means to be stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing. The word comes to mind when witnessing the renewed enthusiasm of central banks to re-inflate old asset bubbles and to endlessly debase their currencies…
US equities (Russell 3000) took the lead with performance among the major asset classes in November, posting a solid 2.4% total return. US real estate investment trusts (REITs) were in close pursuit with a 2.0% advance, which builds on October’s spectacular 10.0% surge, based on the MSCI REIT Index. In third place: foreign stock markets…
Source After categorically denying it would ever plan to buy government bonds since the ECB was created, the opposition against such a plan seems to be decreasing as the central bank has stated that it plans to do everything it can to increase the liquidity in the system and to avoid a possible (and increasingly…
OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS December E-mini S&Ps (ESZ14 -0.40%) this morning are down -0.41% and European stocks are down -0.67% on global growth concerns after manufacturing data from China and the Eurozone disappointed. A slump in crude oil prices to a 4-1/3 year low has also undercut energy producers and oil service operators with Exxon Mobile and Schlumberger both down -1.3% in…
