ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY INVESTMENT DECISION
February 28, 2024 | Recession Watch: Deficits And AI Versus The Real World
Two things are keeping the US economy afloat right now. First is massive deficit spending, as the US dumps about $2 trillion of borrowed money into the banking system each year: Second, the AI “instant bubble,” is sending huge amounts of capital into a handful of tech stocks, thus levitating the entire market. See the […]
February 27, 2024 | Unaffordable Homes are Dead Weight
Thirteen years of ultra-easy money (2009-2022) drove an epic malinvestment of resources on a global scale. Now, we are grappling with the weight of those choices. From here, there’s a lot of room to make wiser investments that will increase efficiency and free cash flow while reducing waste, especially around energy, housing, transportation and food. […]
February 27, 2024 | Getting To $100 Silver, Part 1: Rising Solar Demand, Stagnant Mine Supply
I visited a local coin shop last week to see what they had in stock. And the answer was…nothing. They had not a single silver bullion coin. How can a coin shop function without its most basic product? “Everyone wants to buy silver, and no one is selling,” explained the owner. So instead of maintaining […]
February 27, 2024 | NYC Trump’s Case is a Warning – Get the Hell Out of NYC
COMMENT: I have been considering the issues of whether the affirmative defense of qualified and other immunity defenses are or are not available to employees of states and cities if the complaint seeks only equitable relief and not money damages, and whether such defendants can avail themselves of the immunity defenses […]
February 27, 2024 | The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in America, Feb 2024 Update: 20-City Index Drops for 2nd Month from Double-Top. Biggest Price Drops from 2022 Peak: San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Dallas, San Diego
The overall home price index for the 20 metros that today’s S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index covers declined by 0.6% from the prior month, the second month in a row of declines. The index formed a double-top with the first peak in June 2022 and the second peak in October 2023. The close-up of the […]
February 26, 2024 | Murder and Rape Legal for Lawless Migrants
Laken Riley was a 22-year-old student on the Dean’s List at the Augusta University’s College of Nursing in Athens, Georgia, with a bright future ahead of her. She went for a run on a popular trail during the day and never returned home. Her body was found discarded in the woods and investigators, Democrat […]
February 26, 2024 | Real Estate Leading Economic Stall
Some illuminating facts on the ground in this segment. Starwood Capital Group CEO Barry Sternlicht says regional banks have a “giant skeleton in the closet” when it comes to real estate loans. Speaking on Bloomberg Television, Sternlicht also discusses the state of the real estate market and his support for presidential candidate Nikki Haley. Here […]
February 25, 2024 | IRS Told to Prepare to Shoot US Citizens
BREAKING: IRS official Alex Mena who works in “Criminal Investigations” says @IRSNews, ‘has no problem going after the small people, putting people in prison, and destroying people’s lives.’ Mena ‘doubts the constitutionality’ of his employer, the IRS, using AI to access… pic.twitter.com/KexsoTlMbz — James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) February 21, 2024 The Internal Revenue Service is a […]
February 25, 2024 | The Fallacy of the Wall of Worry
So much for the wall of worry! Optimists and visionaries supposedly climb it while ignoring troublesome signs that leave most investors on the sidelines, paralyzed with fear. Last week, as soaring shares of Nvidia tugged stocks higher around the world, speculators swarmed the wall like cockroaches gorging themselves on dried beer, glue and animal feces. […]
February 24, 2024 | Trading Desk Notes For February 24, 2024
The most important stock in the world NVDA market cap soared >$300 Billion on Thursday (day session and aftermarket) to >$2 Trillion. This was the largest ever one-day market cap gain by an individual stock. The increase was equivalent to over TWICE the market cap of RBC, the largest stock on the TSE. The rally […]
February 24, 2024 | Russia is Getting Stronger – Not Weaker
Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled the new strategic long-range Tu-160M nuclear-capable bomber on Thursday, in a move likely to be seen in the West as a pointed reminder of Moscow’s nuclear capabilities. This is a new giant swing-wing type plane, where the pilots posted on the side “MY POMPEII,” referring to the destruction of […]
February 24, 2024 | China Exporting Deflation To The World
Consumer prices in the world’s second-largest economy fell 0.8% in January compared with a year earlier–the most significant deflation in over a decade. With demand weak at home and inventories piling up, Chinese producers have the incentive to dump excess goods onto world markets, and they are. Chinese export prices have dropped steadily since […]
February 24, 2024 | Tech Talk for Saturday February 24th 2024
The Bottom Line Nvidia was the pleasant surprise last week: Its strength following release of “blow out” quarterly results powered the S&P 500 Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average to all-time highs. Nvidia extended its parabolic upside move following release of results on Wednesday.
February 23, 2024 | China Could Be The World Leader in Nuclear Power by 2030
China is growing its nuclear power generation capacity. Already the world leader in solar and wind, China threatens to take the lead in one of the most talked-about clean energy formats, nuclear power. Will China pass the U.S. and France in generating electricity from nuclear fission? China has announced aggressive targets for nuclear power generation […]
February 23, 2024 | Strategic Relocation, Part 3: Whales Fleeing Weaponized Courts
In January, a Delaware judge forbade Tesla from paying its CEO, Elon Musk, an amount to which the board and shareholders had previously agreed. Musk responded by moving the corporate registration of SpaceX from Delaware to Texas and threatening to do the same with Tesla. “Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware,” Musk posted on X following […]
February 23, 2024 | Mortgage Renewals Driving Shelter Inflation and Slower Economy
As I have been pointing out…years of easy money and housing speculation have left Canada’s economy between a rock and a hard place. Shelter costs (28% of Canadian CPI) are inflating as mortgages come up for renewal month after month. Households are cutting spending significantly in response. The result is stubborn shelter inflation and slowing […]
February 22, 2024 | 70% of American Cities in Debt – Pension Crisis will Cause Taxes to RISE
A study by Truth in Accounting (TIA) revealed that 70% of America’s largest cities fell into a deficit in fiscal year 2022. Out of the 75 cities studied, 53 simply did not have the funds to pay their bills. The study found that the total debt among the 75 cities had reached $288 billion, and despite the […]
February 22, 2024 | Locked and Loaded
We have now reached the point in silver (and gold) where it is difficult for me to see how prices don’t quickly explode. Everything I look at, from a physical supply/demand perspective to the paper positioning set up on the COMEX, tells me we are at the point where only an upward price surge makes […]
February 22, 2024 | Commercial Real Estate Stress is Spreading
In 2023, the national office space vacancy rate reached 19.6%, above the 19.3% historic peak in 1991. The overcapacity, over-valuation and debt write-downs needed in commercial real estate are themes that will persist for some time. No quick fix. Federal regulators in recent weeks have signaled concerns about commercial real estate, a financial sector that […]
February 21, 2024 | Inflation Retreating But Shelter Remains The Problem
Canada’s January Consumer Price Index (CPI) report came in softer than expected at an annualized rate of 2.9%, down from 3.4% in December and 8.1% from the cycle peak in June 2022. This brings the CPI within the Bank of Canada’s 1% to 3% target range for the first time since June 2023. The share […]
February 21, 2024 | Weak US Demand and Rising Commercial Stocks Likely To Cause Near Term Term Correction in WTI Price
GLOBAL ECONOMIC, POLITICAL & MILITARY UPDATE Mixed economic data in the US, with some indicators like manufacturing weakening are being offset by rising inflation after many months of declines. The Fed meeting notes out this week (from the last FOMC meeting) noted that they are concerned about lowering rates too quickly due to persistent price […]
February 21, 2024 | Mortgage Rates Rise Back to 7%, Housing Market Re-Freezes, Buyers’ Strike Continues. Prices Are Just Too High
The average conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 7.0% in the latest week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association today. The daily measure by Mortgage News Daily has been over 7% for days. These are the highest rates since mid-December, when they were on their way down. Mortgage rates had been flirting with 8% […]
February 21, 2024 | Inflation Dropped in Canada – So Why is the Cost of Living Unaffordable?
Statistics Canada reported that inflation slowed in January to 2.9%, beating expectations of 3.3%. So why are Canadians still struggling to afford basic necessities like rent and food? Mortgage interest costs remain the top noted driver of inflation after rising 27.4% YoY, while rentals increased 7.9% during the same period. Bank of Canada governor […]
February 21, 2024 | Inequality In 9 Charts And One Amusing Image
Graphs and charts showing America’s fatal case of financial inequality have become almost a separate art form: What Happens Now? Is railing against inequality just envy on the part of the less successful? Or is there a fundamental, functional reason that a society can’t be comprised of a handful of super-rich and a vast herd […]
February 20, 2024 | The Ruse of Bitcoin & Crypto
BlackRock CEO & World Economic Forum Trustee Board Member Larry Fink Turns Bullish on Bitcoin Larry Fink has changed his tune on crypto, saying suddenly it could “revolutionize finance,” endorsing an industry he once viewed with skepticism. Of course, as a board member of Scwab’s WEF, the crypto zealots cheered. Still, they think that Bitcoin […]