European gold-backed exchange-traded funds added more than double the amount of tonnes that North American ones did in 2017, growing their assets by 13.9 percent, the World Gold Council said on Tuesday.Though North America contained more than half the amount of global exchange-traded fund holdings, European funds added the most to their gold-backed ETFs last year. The additional 148.6 tonnes were...Read More
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/BloombergU.S. consumer credit outstanding rose in November by the most in 16 years as credit-card balances surged, Federal Reserve data showed Monday.Highlights of Consumer Credit (November)Total credit rose $28b (est. $18b) or at an 8.8% annualized rate after a $20.5b gainRevolving credit outstanding increased $11.2b, the most in a yearNon-revolving debt outstandin...Read More
Stanford's Hall calls Phillips Curve a 'terrible idea'Former Fed Vice Chair Fischer concedes it has less value nowBetting on the Pace of Fed Rate HikesMilton Friedman put a nail in the coffin of the original version of the Phillips Curve 50 years ago when he correctly foresaw that the U.S. could simultaneously suffer from high unemployment and lofty inflation. A growing number of economists are no...Read More
Stocks traded mixed on Monday, Jan. 8, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished higher at new records as investors looked to extend the recent global market rally following the best start to a new year in more than a decade. The S&P 500 climbed 0.17%. Led by the tech sector, the Nasdaq traded up 0.29% after tumbling earlier. The Dow declined by 0.05%. U.S. stocks last week had&...Read More
Jack ChanPosted Jan 8, 2018GLD – on buy signal.***SLV – on buy signal.***GDX – on buy signal.***XGD.TO – on buy signal.***CEF – on buy signal.***GDXJ – on buy signal.***Speculation is in bull market values.Speculation recovered sharply from the lowest level in years.The breakdown on USDis supportive for overal higher metal prices.SummaryLong-term – on majo...Read More
Corporate earnings may dictate next direction for equitiesPound falters as premier May begins overhaul of ministersBloomberg Intelligence's Alison Williams previews earnings season for the banking sector.U.S. stocks rose for a fifth straight day, with technology shares bolstering major indexes, as investors continue to price in the impact of tax cuts before corporate earnings start later in the we...Read More
Stocks turned mixed on Monday, Jan. 8, as investors held back from extending the recent global market rally following the best start to a new year in more than a decade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 57 points, or 0.2%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.11%. The Nasdaq traded up slightly after tumbling earlier. The moves pared gains from earlier in the premarket session that ...Read More
U.S. equity futures slipped into negative territory Monday, while gains for European stocks eased, as investors held back from extending the recent global market rally following the best start to a new year in more than a decade. Contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were marked 21 points, or 0.08%, to the downside while those tied to the S&P 500 were edged 5.25 points, or...Read More
European stocks opened higher Monday, while U.S. equity futures looked to extend their best start to a new year in more than a decade as investors continue to take markets higher amid bets on synchronised global economic growth, robust corporate earnings and supportive central banks. Futures prices suggest another run at record highs on Wall Street Monday after the best first week of a new tradi...Read More
Investing.com - Gold prices fell on Monday as the stronger dollar weighed after Friday’s weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report did little to alter expectations for further Federal Reserve rate hikes this year.Comex gold futures were trading at $1,317.00 a troy ounce by 03:54 AM ET (08:54 AM GMT).Prices of the precious metal were pressured lower as the dollar moved higher against a basket of...Read More
The Buritica mine construction is underway. After it's completed, it should produce 253,000 toz gold per year at an AISC below $500.The trial mining provided excellent results. The gold and silver production from the stopes was much higher than expected.An extensive drill program is underway; multiple drill targets will be tested in 2018.The Buritica project looks very good, and there are var...Read More
It may be a new year, but Russia makes no secret of its long-term dissatisfaction with U.S. politics, the dollar and, by extension, U.S. monetary hegemony in the world.Russia has been under U.S./Western economic sanctions for over three years. Meanwhile, oil prices have been "lower for longer," as the saying goes, due to global competition for market share from U.S. fracking. The overall impact of...Read More
The gold miners have had two solid years of returns in a row.Despite the strong gains over the last 2 years - and the spirited finish to 2017 - bearishness is still quite high in the gold stock complex.The final part of this consolidation is wrapping up (or has already) and this sector is about to enter Phase 2 of the bull market.This still oversold reading in the gold stocks, in combination with...Read More
Dear Reader,My readers know I'm not a bitcoin proponent. I don't deny that it's made some people a lot of money, but I believe bitcoin is a massive bubble right now.Yet it's been reported in some circles that I've recently come out in favor of bitcoin.It's not true.Now, it is true that I've stated my belief in blockchain technology, which is the technology behind bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies...Read More
Crazy volatility hit the cannabis markets last week after Attorney General Jeff Sessions shifted the Department of Justice's stance toward on pot.Previously, the DOJ was restrained by what's known as the "Cole Memo". An internal directive to not pursue cannabis companies operating legally according to state laws.When news broke that Sessions was rolling back this measure, pot stocks took a major n...Read More
Don’t look now, but things are starting to look up for Bitcoin again!(You can be forgiven if you didn’t realize that Bitcoin was NOT looking up just a week ago.)You see, midway through December, Bitcoin lost nearly half of its value, falling from a peak near $20,000 to below $11,000 in less than a week’s time. Naturally, such a dramatic decline took a lot of the excitement out of...Read More
The market's just four trading days into 2018 and we're already witnessing some downright crazy action...The major averages have posted a perfect record so far this year. The S&P 500 is up 2.6% after 2018's opening week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is up almost 3.4%. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies continue to go berserk. Dogecoin, an "altcoin" that was named after an internet meme, just saw its market...Read More
Dear Reader,More men die of jealousy than die of cancer, said Joseph Kennedy.Today, a brief reflection on that ignoble but staggeringly human emotion...It is said a man is jealous of his betters.But it is only partly true.The average man harbors no jealousy for the great man.He is not jealous of the Alexanders... the Caesars... the Napoleons of this world.These are men stamped from a finer metal.....Read More
The wrong people - rebels, outsiders, nerds and techies - got on the cryptocurrency boat while their insider/rentier “betters” blew it and are now raging bitterly onshore, watching the crypto boat sail away.The psychology of money, wealth and speculative manias is endlessly fascinating. Most of what’s written on these subjects focus on the process of building wealth as if it were...Read More
I'm calling 2018 "The Year of Living Dangerously."That description might seem odd to lot of observers. Major U.S. stock indexes keep hitting new all-time highs. 2017 went down as the first calendar year in which the Dow Jones industrial average was up for all 12 months.Even in strong bull market years there are usually one or two down months as stocks take a breather on the way higher. Not last ye...Read More