ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY INVESTMENT DECISION
July 7, 2024 | Nostalgic for Summer Doldrums?
The dog days of summer have returned with a vengeance to Florida this year, especially in my home. The air conditioner’s condenser coil sprang a leak, which is hardly unusual considering that it’s eight years old. What is unusual, and causing more than a little inconvenience, is that the broken part will take a month […]
July 7, 2024 | Meditations on Independence
I am writing this letter on the afternoon of July 4th, so it is natural to think about our government and independence. I want to comment on the Chevron case which is blowing up my X (Twitter) feed as well as my news feeds, both for and against. It is both less and more than […]
July 6, 2024 | Necons Should Be Tried for Treason
My sources have confirmed that not only did Russia make a stop in Cuba, but China is also present, and they are constructing spy installations to watch what is going to take place, especially with our elections. Most likely, they will put missiles in Cuba in retaliation for this Proxy War to conquer Russia. […]
July 6, 2024 | Trading Desk Notes For July 6, 2024
Big-cap tech leaves the rest of the market behind The NAZ closed green on each of the four days markets were open this week, once again powered by Big-cap tech. It is up ~21% YTD. The Russell 2000 closed lower this week and is slightly lower YTD. The DJIA, which includes AMZN, MSFT and AAPL, is […]
July 6, 2024 | Tech Talk for Saturday July 6th 2024
The Bottom Line The Summer Stock Market Rally from late June until at least the end of July has started. Corporate focuses this week are on second quarter results released on Friday by U.S. money-centered banks (including JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Bank of New York Mellon): According to www.FactSet.com “Bank earnings season […]
July 5, 2024 | Fed Balance Sheet QT: -$34 Billion in June, -$1.74 Trillion from Peak, to $7.22 Trillion, Lowest since November 2020
otal assets on the Fed’s balance sheet dropped by $34 billion in June, to $7.22 trillion, the lowest since November 2020, according to the Fed’s weekly balance sheet today. Since the end of QE in April 2022, the Fed has shed $1.74 trillion. At its FOMC meeting in May, the Fed outlined how it will slow […]
July 5, 2024 | An Early Indicator of Recessions is Very Useful For Investors
On July 5, 2024, the unemployment rate in the U.S. was announced at 4.1 percent. This report appears to have triggered an extremely reliable recession indicator. The Sahm Rule, named after former Federal Reserve economist Claudia Sahm, says that if the unemployment rate rises by 0.50 percent from the bottom a recession has already […]
July 5, 2024 | Study: Vaccines had “NO Beneficial Effects”
YouTube recently removed an interview I participated in with Palisades Radio for mentioning this study. I have posted the video on Rumble at the bottom of this article and it can also be found on X and Spotify. “Differential Increases in Excess Mortality in the German Federal States During the COVID-19 Pandemic”conducted by Christof Kuhbandner, PhD, Professor […]
July 5, 2024 | US Commercial Stocks Fell Sharply Last Week Lifting WTI Prices. Exports Rose To 4.4 MB/D.
Politics is front and center as the debate last week showed President Biden is not up to the job now and definitely not for a second term. Even members of his own party are disillusioned and are looking for someone to grab the baton at the August Democratic convention (August 19-22). Elections in the UK […]
July 5, 2024 | Treasuries See Recession-Style Employment Trends, Stocks Should Too
The US unemployment rate in June ticked up to 4.1% (from 4% in May, red line below since 2021, and 70 basis points above the 3.4% cycle low in 2022). Full-time job creation fell to a 39-month low and part-time job creation reached a 33-month high while April and May job estimates were revised lower. […]
July 4, 2024 | Where You Store It: Choosing a Country for Offshore Gold
Deciding to store gold and/or silver offshore is just the first step in a long process. Choosing a country and a storage service, then contracting to buy or ship the metal, are all make-or-break decisions. And very few newcomers to offshore storage understand everything. So here’s a just-released article from offshore specialist Nestmann Group that answers the […]
July 4, 2024 | Real Estate Bust Has Compound Impacts
The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is home to approximately 8 million Canadians (about 20% of the country’s population) which account for some 20% of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). For context, the GTA is as important to Canada’s economy as the eight largest US cities are to the American economy. In terms of provincial per […]
July 3, 2024 | The Reason Biden Was Permitted to Debate Trump
The first presidential debate of the year was a humiliating moment for our nation. Does one even need to bother discussing the questions mentioned when the public was in utter shock at the current president’s physical and mental state? Joe Biden was sent to the podium as the sacrificial lamb of the DNC. His […]
July 3, 2024 | From the Archives: Ancient Evil…
As this newsletter’s archives expand, it’s becoming clear that some posts didn’t age well at all. They should stay buried. But others were early and have actually become more relevant as things unfold. So once a week I’m going to republish one of the latter posts The following (from July 28, 2023) needs no explanation in light […]
July 2, 2024 | Trump’s Sentencing Called in Question Moved to September
We have a MOST interesting problem in this New York case where Trump was found guilty on 34 counts concerning the falsified documents that were created in 2017, while President Trump was in office as President. Trump’s lawyers are NOT arguing that the Trump Organization checks the president signed were official duties. However, the prejudice of the prosecutor and […]
July 2, 2024 | Art of the Collapse, July 2024
FBI Firearm Training Facility Replaces Paper Targets With Copies Of The Constitution Babylon Bee, Washington, D.C. — In a completely innocuous and in no way concerning recent update, the FBI Training Facility for Firearms and Small Weaponry has replaced all of its paper targets with copies of the Constitution of the United states. According to […]
July 1, 2024 | Supreme Court Rules on Trump’s Immunity
Trump Immunity Decision The Supreme Court’s decision on Trump’s immunity is out today. The Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that presidents enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution for official, but not unofficial, acts. They also noted that even comments that he thought the election was rigged as so many other people, “So most of a President’s […]
July 1, 2024 | Hussman on Thoughtful Money
Happy Canada Day! Today’s guest is one of those who smartly navigated the past 2 great market corrections. He now thinks we stand at the precipice of a 3rd — and he’s ringing a bell for anyone who will listen. To hear why and what he advises we do about it, we have the great […]
June 30, 2024 | Debtors and Creditors
The giant federal debt we’ve been talking about isn’t just borrowed money. It is also lent money. Loans are two-party transactions. One side receives temporary use of cash which it agrees to repay with interest. The other gives up the current use of that cash in exchange for receiving interest. Ideally, it works out for both… […]
June 30, 2024 | Brussels has More Power Than Rome – Italy Balks at Climate Change Agenda
Italy’s new PM, Giorgia Meloni, is learning that she cannot pick and choose what policies Italy would like to adopt from the ruling authority in the European Union. I was willing to give Meloni the benefit of the doubt after she rose to power from virtually nowhere as a perceived anti-establishment, right-winged nationalist candidate […]
June 30, 2024 | Dollar Derangement Syndrome
Of all the markets tracked by Rick’s Picks, the dollar arguably has been the most interesting. This might seem paradoxical, given the relatively placid look of the Dollar Index chart above. Although there has been moderate turbulence since early last year, the overall impression is of a transoceanic flight cruising within a vertical range of several […]
June 29, 2024 | Trading Desk Notes For June 29, 2024
The bond market had a bad Friday This week, price action across asset classes was “mid-summer quiet” ahead of Thursday’s Presidential debate and Friday morning’s PCE report. There were no dramatic market moves immediately following the debate, and the PCE data early Friday was pretty much as expected, perhaps even a shade “benign” in that […]
June 29, 2024 | Health Prepping: Microbiome Maintenance is Key to…Everything
Among the keys to a long, healthy life are exercise, sunshine, and not smoking. But the most important of all might be maintaining a balanced microbiome. Here’s a quick primer: The term “microbiome” refers to the trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microscopic living things that exist mainly inside our intestines and on our […]
June 29, 2024 | Tech Talk for Saturday June 29th 2024
The Bottom Line The stage is set for the Summer Rally. See comments below Economic News This Week June ISM Manufacturing PMI released at 10:00 AM EDT on Monday is expected to increase to 49.0 from 48.7 in May. May U.S. Construction Spending is released at 10:00 AM EDT on Monday. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell […]
June 28, 2024 | Trump vs Biden Debate – The Setup for Hillary
Welcome to the fix. CNN was proud to announce that this was the first debate to ever take place BEFORE each candidate was actually nominated by their respective parties. The reason for this was to set the stage for Democrats to move to replace Biden with Hillary. CNN moderators did an amazing job of […]