ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY INVESTMENT DECISION
July 26, 2022 | Chinese on US Real Estate Spending Spree
The Chinese are keen on investing in tangible assets, namely real estate. Canada implemented restrictions on foreign buyers after accusing them of the real estate shortage and sky-high prices. Chinese buyers are now targeting the American housing market. In fact, Chinese buyers outnumbered buyers from any other foreign country and spent over $6 billion on US real […]
July 26, 2022 | The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in America, July Update: Whittling Down the Crazy Price Spikes
Signs are now everywhere that the crazy housing market is turning the corner. Earlier today the Census Bureau reported some chilling data on new house sales and prices, which plunged in June, as inventory surged to the highest since 2008. The National Association of Realtors reported last week that existing home sales in June also […]
July 25, 2022 | Historic Correction Underway
Another month, another record inflation print. Canada’s CPI inflation printed 8.1%, the highest level since January 1983. The silver lining is this was actually lower than market expectations of 8.4%, sending bond yields lower on the premise that inflation is likely peaking and a recession is becoming nearly inevitable if we aren’t in one already. […]
July 25, 2022 | Worldwide Inflation in June 2022
There is a common misconception that the United States has the highest rate of inflation in the world. I see it questioned in numerous emails The United States does have a major problem when it comes to inflation, but its currency has not depreciated to the point where it is weak. Let us compare data […]
July 25, 2022 | It’s Not Safe Or Effective
Christian Szell: Is it safe? Babe: I don’t know what you mean. I can’t tell you something’s safe or not, unless I know specifically what you’re talking about. Christian Szell: Is it safe? Babe: Tell me what the “it” refers to. Christian Szell: Is it safe? Babe: Yes, it’s safe, it’s very safe, it’s so […]
July 24, 2022 | The Solution to this Insanity
QUESTION: Hi Martin, thank you as always for your incisive explanations of what’s going on in the ever-roving mind’s eye of SOCRATES. In your July 24 interview with Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog, you started to explain that a form of “Great Reset” is necessary–because taxpayers’ $ has been spent hog-wild and wilder for 90 years, […]
July 24, 2022 | Why Liberals Dump Their Oldest Friends
[With stocks in a boring, stage-managed bear rally, we go well off the beaten path in this week’s commentary with a discussion of the amygdala. Let me explain. Since 2020, I’ve lost four close friends over political differences. I’d known all of them for at least 30 years and one for 65 years. All had […]
July 24, 2022 | Trading Desk Notes For July 23, 2022
Is anything going right in Europe? Germany reported a monthly trade deficit in May for the first time since 1991 (following the reunification of East and West Germany) as a direct result of soaring imported energy costs. Energy shortages across the Eurozone may result in rationing later this year, exacerbating the current economic slowdown. […]
July 24, 2022 | Hubris at the Fed
Finding just the right word brings great pleasure to writers like me. As I think and write about the Federal Reserve, the word “hubris” keeps coming to mind. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines hubris as “exaggerated pride or self-confidence.” The entry notes the concept originated in ancient theater. “In classical Greek tragedy, hubris was often a […]
July 23, 2022 | Japan Surpasses China as Top Holder of US Debt
For the first time since 2010, China holds less than $1 trillion in US debt. China held $980.8 billion in US debt in May, a $23 billion decline from April and a $100 billion decline from a year prior. In fact, the US Treasury Department noted that China has been reducing its holdings for the […]
July 22, 2022 | The Chinese Residential Property Market Crisis Deepens
The Chinese residential property market is in deep crisis. Thousands of apartment buyers have stopped paying their mortgages because they are upset that the unit they bought has not yet been built. Will this crisis affect China’s stability? Starting about a year ago, China’s residential property market was the focus of many articles when a […]
July 22, 2022 | China Banking Crisis & the Unsuspecting World
While authorities have accused a private financial group of misleading members of the public with promises of high-return wealth management products, what is not being said publicly is the fact that the rise in the dollar is a significant factor undermining emerging markets in which China participated. The Chinese government warned the provinces and private […]
July 22, 2022 | Looking Better
The unprecedented default in the London Metals Exchange in nickel on March 8 by the largest concentrated short seller sent a wake-up call to the concentrated short sellers in COMEX gold and silver, resulting in them rushing to cover their short positions. The changes in commercial positioning on the COMEX have been so extreme since […]
July 22, 2022 | Easy Money Has Cost a Ton
For three decades, the theory was that ultra-low interest rates allow borrowers to save on interest costs. In reality, low rates prompt most to borrow more and go deeper into debt. Last year, Bank of Canada (BoC) research acknowledged that thirty years of lower interest rates had worked to inflate home prices and attract capital from productive […]
July 21, 2022 | CDC Stops Reporting Cruise Ship COVID Outbreaks
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will no longer report COVID outbreaks on cruise ships. Per the CDC’s website: “As of July 18, 2022, CDC’s COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships is no longer in effect. CDC will continue to publish guidance to help cruise ships continue to provide a safer and healthier environment for […]
July 21, 2022 | Bottoming is a Process
From the June 17th low to yesterday, the 50 most shorted stocks (in blue below courtesy of DailyShot.com) surged 20% and helped to pull broad stock indices higher (S&P 500 in black gained 7.76%) as speculators covered their bets to book profits. As shown below, courtesy of Michael Kantro, this was the fourth such […]
July 20, 2022 | Peak Housing Unaffordability? Are We There Yet?
[Exerpt from July 15, 2022 Timing Letter] As reported by NAR, the U.S. Homebuyer Affordability Index for the nation fell from 124.0 in March 2022 to 102.40 in May. That was the lowest reading since July 2006 – which was near the peak of the last housing bubble. In the aftermath of that bubble, the […]
July 20, 2022 | What Happens in China, Doesn’t Stay in China
In 2021, the median Canadian home price was $531,000 and some 161% of the median Canadian household net worth ($329,000 per the latest available StatsCan data 2019). In February 2022, the average Canadian home price at $816,720 was some 145% of the average Canadian household net worth ($562,000 in 2021). Other studies estimate that real estate makes […]
July 20, 2022 | Republicans Fail to Reject NATO Expansion
We spend too much on the military, but we should give all our money to Ukraine. Make it make sense! Sweden and Finland made their grand debut in NATO this week. The Democrats helped push that into law in a vote that passed 394-18. Only 18 dissenters, all Republicans, saw the flaw involved with expanding […]
July 19, 2022 | The Government is Tracking You
Yes, the government is tracking your movements. You do not need to have a COVID pass installed on your phone nor do you need to be a criminal. The location data industry has become a $12 billion market that is actively growing. It recently came to light that the Trump Administration began tracking mobile data […]
July 19, 2022 | A Monstrously Strong Dollar Is Stalking the Markets
There was a point last Thursday when virtually all of the hundred or so market symbols I track were ‘red’ except for the U.S. Dollar Index. This was unusual and unsettling but hardly mysterious, since the dollar’s strength was the reason everything else was falling in value. The trend unfortunately is only just beginning and […]
July 19, 2022 | Average Canadian Home Sale Price Down 18 Percent Since February
Canada’s housing market continued to weaken for the third month in June, with an average selling price of $665,850, down 18.5% from a record $816,720 in February 2022. Sharply higher interest rates and some of the world’s most unaffordable home prices have shrunk the pool of able and willing buyers even as Canadian unemployment remains near […]
July 19, 2022 | The Saretsky Report – July 2022
I’m a bit later than usual in writing this report and it’s probably for the best. As of this writing on July 13th, the Bank of Canada raised interest rates a monstrous 100bps, the single largest increase since 1998. This will have significant ramifications for the housing market, not just psychologically but financially.
July 18, 2022 | Fauci Set to Retire
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Mr. COVID himself, announced that he would retire at the end of Joe Biden’s term. Fauci hinted in an interview that he fears an investigation into his personal dealings if the conservatives take back control next year. “They’re going to try and come after me, anyway. I mean, probably less so if […]
July 18, 2022 | Front Loading
Another month, another jumbo sized rate hike from the Bank of Canada. Tiff Macklem and crew surprised markets with a 100bps rate hike, the largest move since 1998 when the central bank was trying to support a weak Loonie. It was just two years ago when the Bank of Canada was rather irresponsible in encouraging […]