ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY INVESTMENT DECISION
May 23, 2024 | Home Sales Whacked by Mortgage Rates. Active Listings & Price Reductions Jump to Highest in Years. But Sales of High-End Homes Surge
Sales of existing homes of all types were still dogged by the 7% mortgage rates, but a shift has been taking place that took amplitude in April: Many more higher-end homes came on the market and sold, while fewer mid-range homes sold. This shift impacted all kinds of metrics, from inventory for sale to the […]
May 22, 2024 | Danielle on Thoughtful Money
Danielle was a return guest on Thoughtful Money with Adam Taggart. You can watch a video clip of the segment here.
May 22, 2024 | US Stock Build Adds To Downside Price Pressure – A Breach of US$75/B is Likely in the Near Term
Market bulls lifted the Dow over 40,000 last week but worries about interest rates and Treasury record refundings have pulled it back to 39,800, a still overvalued level. Everyone is waiting on the market’s Santa Claus ‘Nvidia’ to show steller new AI products and record profits to give the M7 bulls another reason to push […]
May 22, 2024 | Creeping Fascism, Part 1: Just The Beginning
I keep a “creeping fascism” file with the intention of tracking governments’ erosion of their citizens’ rights and freedoms. But the file is filling up so fast that the first few articles in this series will have to be “data-dump” cut-and-past jobs rather than in-depth analyses of any specific depredation. So here goes: JK Rowling […]
May 21, 2024 | Saying No to Aging: My Own Story
We all get older – but that doesn’t mean we can’t put up a hell of a fight before we go down. As many of my Timing Letter readers know, staying healthy and fit – and slowing down the aging process – has always been my highest priority. The interesting thing is that […]
May 21, 2024 | Where You (Shouldn’t) Store It: Nine Places
A marketing email just came from Michael Major, author of a book called No Grid Survival Projects, on where NOT to hide your valuables. His ideas are sometimes counterintuitive, which makes them potentially useful: 9 Hiding Spots In Your House Where Looters Always Look First You may think you already have it figured out for how […]
May 21, 2024 | Buy Now Pay Later was Always a Bad Idea
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is much worse than layaway plans of yore. Layaway plans allowed people to make installments toward an item and pick it up on the last payment. BNPL allows people to take the item with the promise to pay for it in installments over time. Cash-strapped consumers have been using BNPL […]
May 21, 2024 | Klaus Schwab is NOT Leaving the WEF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let me explain something. Klaus Schwab is NOT retiring, nor is he leaving the WEF. Because of all the toxic hatred hurled at Schwab personally, he has only stepped down from the executive position. That is no different from the Chairman of a Board, who is also the CEO, steps down from only the […]
May 20, 2024 | The Lost Decade
Happy Monday Morning! It’s a big week for central bank watchers and debt holders alike. The CPI report for the month of April drops tomorrow, it’s the last CPI before the Bank of Canada meets on June 05. Markets are currently pricing in just shy of 50% odds that Tiff cuts in June. It’s a […]
May 20, 2024 | Envisioning Bottom Up Energy Systems
An extremely important and enlightening discussion. The energy future is bright!! Worth listening. Here’s a direct audio link.
May 20, 2024 | US Consumer Sentiment Reaches 6-Month Low
Consumer sentiment is continuing its decline amongst Americans. The University of Michigan’s survey monthly survey revealed sentiment fell to a six-month low of 67.4 in May, down from 77.2 in April. Inflation is the primary reason for the loss in confidence, followed by interest rates and geopolitical issues. Incoming data would lead one to […]
May 19, 2024 | Silver Eager to Settle a Score
The white-collar thieves who manipulate bullion appear to be losing their grip. Silver bulls have long wondered how prices could languish even when demand for physical appeared to overwhelm dealer supplies. Blame paper proxies for precious metals, since many if not most investors would rather store and swap the stuff in virtual form than pay […]
May 19, 2024 | Correlations Explained
It is crucial to understand correlations as EVERYTHING fluctuates! There is absolutely nothing that remains constant. You MUST understand that correlations are NOT one for one, and often show changes in advance of turns. It is a lot to keep track of but this is why I try to post a global view to help you see the […]
May 18, 2024 | Trading Desk Notes For May 18, 2024
Gold and copper hit all-time highs this week; silver rallied to 12-year highs June Comex gold futures closed at an all-time high on Friday at ~$2,420, up ~$80 from Monday’s low. The Gold Miners ETF closed at a two-year high. Comex copper rallied above $5 a pound to close higher than the previous record set in March 2022 […]
May 18, 2024 | Tech Talk for Saturday May 18th 2024
The Bottom Line The “bulls” regained control of U.S. equity markets last week. S&P 500 Index, Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite Index broke to all-time highs. Leadership was provided by technology sector: Technology SPDRs (Symbol: XLK) moved above $212.00 to an all-time high. A speculative spike in the “Meme stocks” also contributed to […]
May 17, 2024 | Retail Sales Falling in the US – a Softer Tone
Retail sales in the US fell short of expectations this month, according to data compiled by the Commerce Department. Retail spending decreased 0.6% from April to March, undermining forecasts of a 0.4% decrease. Yet, Americans are spending MORE on the essentials such as groceries. How is this a shocking admittance to anyone? Even online sales […]
May 17, 2024 | The Biden Tariffs Against China Imports are a Mistake
The Biden administration has announced increased tariffs on goods imported from China in several categories, including electric cars, batteries and solar panels. The announcement cites “China’s unfair trade practices” especially in technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation. Will these tariffs achieve Biden’s goals? The tariffs are designed to protect American workers and businesses from China’s […]
May 17, 2024 | Why The Gold Rush Is Just Beginning, In Six Charts
Gold blew through $2400/oz this morning: And the world’s central banks continue to add gold to their monetary reserves. Note that the real action coincided with the outbreak of the Ukraine war, when the US started slapping sanctions on everyone in sight. De-dollarization is a trend with legs. A case can be made that China alone is […]
May 17, 2024 | Danielle on Thoughtful Money
Danielle was a return guest on Thoughtful Money with Adam Taggart. You can watch a video clip of the segment here. If you haven’t seen the 2022 film Dumb Money, it’s worth a look. Here’s the trailer link. Evidently, the capital wipeout from 2021 through 2023 was not enough to kill the gambling fever, see Is the […]
May 17, 2024 | The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in Canada: Spring Rally Fizzles, Prices -14% from Peak in Feb 2022, Below Sep 2021
Home prices in Canada were unchanged for the second month in a row in April from March, after a series of declines, seasonally adjusted, according to the Composite MLS Home Price Index from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) on Wednesday, as prices of single-family houses inched up 0.1% for the month, while condo prices […]
May 16, 2024 | WTI Breaches US$77/B on Weaker US Demand and Growing Inventories
Market bulls jumped all over the bond and stock markets on the tepid CPI report today. They have renewed the call for the Fed to cut rates at their September FOMC meeting. We suspect this is premature as PPI data was disconcerting and blew past forecasts. The CPI today came in at 3.6% year-over year, […]
May 16, 2024 | The Dow Hits First Target 40,000 – What’s Next?
COMMENT: It is baffling why you are not on the front page of the WSJ, Barons, London FT, NY Times, and every financial newspaper claiming to be interested in markets. In the ’80s, when the Dow was 1,000, you forecast it would reach 6,000 by 1996. On the day of the 1987 low, you […]
May 16, 2024 | Energy Evolution Booming for Economic Reasons
Despite naysayers who continually miss forests for trees, energy technology is rapidly evolving globally and “S” curve adoption is proceeding apace. With a shrinking population and rising unemployment, China sees the imperative of improving efficiency and lowering operating costs through technology. To this end, the country is leading the world in the production of electric […]
May 15, 2024 | Assassination Attempt May be Because He Cut Aid to Ukraine
The Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, has suffered an attempted assassination. The rumor is that the assailant was pro-Ukraine. Fico’s renewed leadership as prime minister began with his halting of military aid to Ukraine in January, and just last month, he pushed through plans to crap public broadcaster RTVS. Some have accused the […]
May 15, 2024 | China Ready To Write Down Real Estate Values. Who’s Next?
Governments worldwide are looking for ways to “ease the real estate crisis” now sweeping much of the developed world. The most popular ideas seek to prop up prices while enabling new buyers to obtain even more credit. After decades of epic malinvestment in real estate, China is at the forefront of the spreading property crisis. […]