December 7, 2023 | Stock Markets in 2024

Gold and other Commodities

December 6, 2023 | Subprime Comes Home to Roost for Specialized Auto Dealers, Lenders & Investors: Car-Mart Was Next to Confess

Subprime is re-getting into trouble, after having somewhat gotten out of trouble during the free-money pandemic, when folks used some of the free money to catch up with past-dues. In the auto industry, subprime is largely confined to older used vehicles. Less than 5% of new vehicle sales are financed with loans or leases to […]

December 6, 2023 | Moody’s Downgrades Chinese Debt

  Moody’s has downgraded the outlook on China’s credit rating from “stable” to “negative” due to concerns about the country’s post-pandemic recovery, weak consumer and business confidence, a persistent housing crisis, and a global economic slowdown. The downgrade reflects the rising evidence that financial support will be provided by the government and wider public sector […]

December 6, 2023 | De-Dollarization Watch: It’s Definitely Happening

De-dollarization events that would once have been a big deal have become common lately. Some examples: UAE officially stops using dollar for oil trades (Watcher) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is asking BRICS countries to settle oil trade in local currencies and not the U.S. dollar. The Middle Eastern nation is aiming to diversify […]

December 6, 2023 | Economic Weakness is Leading Interest Rates Lower

This morning, weaker-than-expected US job creation in November adds to the growing list of negative economic surprises globally and reinforces the expectation that the Bank of Canada today and the US Fed next Wednesday will make no rate changes for the fifth consecutive meeting. Before this morning’s data, the futures market was pricing in 120 basis points […]

December 5, 2023 | Kerry – WEF – First Movers Coalition

  John Kerry declared that America would adhere to the Power Past Coal Alliance and partner with 56 other nations in eliminating coal power. Kerry committed $3 billion to the cause which should come as no surprise since Kerry collaborated with the World Economic Forum to launch the First Movers Coalition (FMC) back at the […]

December 5, 2023 | Art of the Collapse, December 2023

Henry Kissinger died in November, launching a zillion memes: Back in the land of the alive but hungry, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman declared that inflation is not nearly as bad as ignorant Americans believe. Some begged to differ: A big holiday thanks to the FBI for protecting us from an upsurge in terrorist activity: FBI Closely […]

December 5, 2023 | Easing Cycles are No Quick Fix

After 475 basis points (bps) of rate hikes between March 2022 and July 2023, Canada’s economy has ground to a halt, with economic activity contracting at a 1.1% annualized rate in the third quarter. Per capita, Canadian GDP has contracted for the past five quarters (below courtesy of RBC Economics). The rate of change matters most, and […]

December 4, 2023 | Rate Cuts and Density

Happy Monday Morning! On the heels of inflation slowing to 3.1% last week, we got more evidence rate hikes are indeed working through the system. Demand continues to weaken, households have stopped borrowing money, and as a result, the economy is circling the drain. GDP fell at an annualized pace of 1.1% in Q3, well […]

December 3, 2023 | Digital IDs Ramping Up in Australia

Australian federal Finance Minister, Senator Katy Gallagher, has introduced legislation for a national digital ID. The new program aims to create a single platform that unites a person’s identification documents and connects it with government services such as myGov, Centrelink, and the Australian Tax Office. The government claims that the digital ID will have strong […]

December 3, 2023 | Healthcare, a Minor Major Problem

Back in the Great Financial Crisis era, someone quipped that the federal government had become a giant hedge fund with an army attached. That wasn’t far off. Various agencies and entities were absorbing all kinds of risky assets to stabilize an overleveraged system. It was ugly but worked, more or less…. with a heavy dose […]

December 3, 2023 | My Brash Call for a Top

  They don’t ring a bell at the top, as the saying goes, but it’s hard to see how Mr. Market can avoid it this time. The stock market’s heedless, nutty short squeeze since October will end when Microsoft hits $430, probably early in the new year. It’s that simple.  How do I know this? […]

December 2, 2023 | Trading Desk Notes For December 2, 2023

Stocks, bonds and gold soar; the US Dollar falls as markets anticipate Central Bank cuts The DJIA has rallied ~4,000 points (~12.5%) in five weeks and is only ~2% away from All-Time Highs. It is up ~26% from October 2022 lows. The Nasdaq 100 has rallied ~13% in five weeks and is only ~5% away from ATH. […]

December 2, 2023 | US DC Court of Appeals Just Destroyed America

  The legal system is clearly trying to absolutely destroy Donald Trump for simply going to Washington to “Drain the Swamp,” which he discovered included both sides. We now have a ruling that is so BIASED against Trump that it has now effectively removed all immunity for anyone in Congress and even prosecutors. All you […]

December 2, 2023 | This Week in Money

• Ross Clark: Stock Markets, Canadian Dollar, Gold
• John Rubino: (10:32) Gold, Silver, Housing Bubbles, Disease in China, E-Bikes
• Wolf Richter: (37:13) Consumer Spending, Credit, Recession, Rents

December 2, 2023 | Tech Talk for Saturday December 2nd 2023

The Bottom Line Momentum by North American equity markets remains strong during its current period of seasonal strength from late October to the first week in January. A word of caution! Strength frequently is damped temporarily by yearend transactions for tax purposes between now and December 15th. Thereafter, the Santa Claus rally ‘kicks in” until […]

December 1, 2023 | Canada Heads into an Economic Contraction

Canada’s economy is shrinking, based on per capita GDP numbers. GDP results showed a contraction for the quarter ending September 30, 2023. Is Canada in a recession? Will there be a household debt crisis? Canadian GDP numbers, adjusted for inflation and population growth, showed a negative result for the third quarter. This means that there’s […]

December 1, 2023 | Someday This Will Happen To Silver And Everything Will Change

In March 2022, there was a disruption in the nickel market that spiked the metal’s price. The lucky investors and market-makers who owned long futures contracts made fortunes. Just kidding. The exchange on which the futures traded canceled them and stiffed the contract owners. Some of the victims understandably brought suit and were awarded a […]

December 1, 2023 | Fauci to Testify Before Congress

  Pandemic orchestrator and former NIH Director Anthony Fauci is set to testify before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on January 8-9. Fauci has yet to appear before the 118th Congress for his involvement in the pandemic as his legal team successfully delayed the hearing for nearly a year. “Americans deserve trusted […]

December 1, 2023 | Will Market Rally Continue into 2024?

China’s economic woes piling up

December 1, 2023 | Sri-Kumar: Base Case is Something Breaks Soon

Komal Sri-Kumar, president of Sri-Kumar Global Strategies, joins ‘Squawk Box’ to discuss the latest market trends, the Fed’s inflation fight, why he believes the Fed will hold rates steady again at its next policy meeting because ‘they just don’t know what to do’, and more. Here is a direct video link.