Friday, July 02, 2021
US Labor Shortage May Be Permanent / Economics / Employment
According to some business owners and Wall Street pundits, US employers can’t hire enough people because unemployment benefits are too high. We’re paying people not to work, they say.Certainly, some people who could work are milking the system. That’s sad, but is it the only reason all those jobs are unfilled? Probably not.
Nonetheless, several governors have decided to end the federally funded enhanced benefits. Instead of the planned September expiration, they will now disappear as soon as next week in some states.
If, in fact, benefits are what’s keeping people from working, labor shortages should ease in the states that end them. I think there’s more to the story, though. This problem was already there before those extra benefits. It’s more the result of larger trends that aren’t stopping. If anything, they are getting worse.
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Friday, July 02, 2021
NFTs Continue to Grow in Popularity – Can they affect the broad cryptocurrency market? / Currencies / cryptocurrency
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Thursday, July 01, 2021
ABBVIE - ABBV 116 - Cheap Low Risk Pharma Stock Investing - Risk 1 / Companies / BioTech
Life Sciences Biotech Smaller Cap High Risk Stocks Investing Binge
Why has my focus shifted to biotech stocks and not more tech stocks?
Firstly, I have been investing in biotech stocks for DECADES, it's just that since 2015 my focus shifted to the emerging AI mega-trend to make sure I was invested to capitalise on a trend that was clear to me would span DECADES, at the time I thought I was probably getting in late on the AI Mega-trend but clearly that is always the case! WE ALWAYS THINK we're late to the party but this trend is going to run right into the end of the 2030's
This also explains why I hold the likes of GSK and JNJ amongst a string of smaller cap biotech stocks many of which have been disappearing from my portfolio over the years usually due to being taken over as it looks likely to be the case for GW Pharma later this year. So I need to replenish this once much loved and now neglected stock sector with a string of new smaller cap high risk stocks for the next 5 to 10 years.
Secondly, our beloved AI stocks have been BID UP to high valuations, yes including Google, so they are not CHEAP, even after a 10% to 15% correction i.e. the likes of Microsoft and Amazon are discounting a lot of future earnings growth! Of course that does not necessarily mean that they are about to fall to what I would consider to be fair value let lone cheap levels as they did during March 2020 because at the end of the day they are GOOD stocks so usually command a healthy premium to invest in.
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Thursday, July 01, 2021
INVESTING LESSON - AI Stocks Relative Strength - Why Selling Google or Facebook is a Big Mistake! / InvestorEducation / Learning to Invest
Stock market corrections are useful in gauging what is going on under the hood of corporations long before any information makes it into the public arena. For instance looking at the relative strength of the top 5 AI stocks shows Google and Facebook showing relative strength, whilst Apple and Amazon are showing relative weakness with Microsoft in the middle. What this is saying is that one should definitely NOT make the mistake of....
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Thursday, July 01, 2021
Credit Spreads Declined Unprecedentedly. Will Gold Follow? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
When credit spreads narrow, it’s bad for gold. But this time there is a silver lining we can look for, although it’s quite adverse for the economy.There are several important factors affecting gold prices. Many analysts focus mainly on the US dollar and real interest rates . However, what is sometimes even more important is economic confidence. Of course, the level of economic confidence is partially reflected in the strength of the greenback and the bond yields . However, I would like to focus today on credit spreads , an often overlooked indicator of economic confidence.
Why such a topic? It’s simple, just take a look at the chart below. As you can see, the ICE BofA US High Yield Index Option-Adjusted Spread, which is a proxy for a spread between the yield on below-investment-grade-rated corporate debt and Treasuries of the same duration, has recently declined to a very low level. To be more precise, the analyzed indicator slid from almost 11 in March 2020 to 3.1 at the end of June (the lowest reading since July 2007 , the time just before the Great Recession started).
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Thursday, July 01, 2021
Stock Market Bull Run Ignoring Inflation / Stock-Markets / Stock Market 2021
S&P 500 reached new highs powered by technology, even as value or Russell 2000 took a daily breather. With VIX going nowhere, and the put/call ratio turning complacent, the path of least resistance remains higher, and not even emerging markets are derailed by the strong dollar. While yesterday‘s stock market upswing was a defensive one as the credit markets and tech internals reveal, there is little to upset the cart – Thursday‘s ISM manufacturing will probably show solid expansion, and it would be only Friday‘s non-farm payrolls (better said what effect these could have on the Fed‘s labor market rationale for keeping the punch bowl available) to bring about volatile trading.
With the Fed support intact and fiscal one not retreating either, with inflation expectations not spiking, the current data are disregarded to a degree. Incorrectly in my view as Friday‘s:
(…) PCE deflator ... figure aligned with the inflation camp much better, yet the marketplace arguably expects better inflation data ahead - the transitory inflation thesis is the mainstream one, but I‘m still of the opinion that inflation wouldn‘t decline as meaningfully, especially when measured through CPI, PPI, and import-export prices, proving more persistent than generally appreciated.
The Fed is behind the curve in taking on inflation even according to El-Erian, and its monetary actions support both the Treasury markets and the red hot real estate. The lull in Treasuries is likely to last into the autumn, and the ensuing yields increase would reflect both the economic recovery and newfound appreciation of inflation. I maintain we‘re still in a reflation – a period of economic growth stronger than inflation – in a multi-year economic expansion, and also that inflation will surprise those considering it transitory (as if this word had any meaning still attached, after all the time length redefinitions). As a side note, if only consumer price inflation was measured without substitution, hedonistic adjustments, and owner‘s equivalent rent. In this environment, tech is unlikely to be derailed, and value will play catch up.
Thursday, July 01, 2021
Games to Try in Casinos Without Depositing / Personal_Finance / Gambling
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Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Will ‘Infrastructure’ Spending Collapse the U.S. Dollar? / Currencies / US Dollar
Recent collapses of bridges and a Florida condo building highlight what can go wrong when basic structural and foundational elements are neglected and allowed to deteriorate.
As corrosion and cracking spread, they may go little noticed at first, with repairs and upgrades put off. Meanwhile, the risks steadily build of a single point of failure leading to catastrophic consequences.
America’s deteriorating infrastructure is badly in need of fixing. On that issue, there is wide bipartisan agreement.
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Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Don’t be Another Statistic! Take out an Extended Warranty / Personal_Finance / Insurance
There are few things in life more frustrating than having your car breakdown. It always seems to happen at the worst possible moment and it can occur at any moment in a car’s lifetime. Statistics show that there are a staggering 250,000 breakdowns on motorways alone along with an estimated 2.5 million roadside assistance callouts each year - this equates to 7,000 a day. You won’t want to be stranded on the side of the road and footing the bill, which is why you need an extended warranty.
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Wednesday, June 30, 2021
The “Long COVID” Economy / Economics / US Economy
According to some analysts, higher inflation is on its way. Americans will spend like crazy and drive prices higher as the pandemic recedes.That’s the theory. It may be right, for a while, but we also have other problems. For one, the pandemic hasn’t ended; it’s simply become optional.
Most US adults can now “opt out” by getting vaccinated. The shots, while not perfect, are proving highly effective. Unfortunately, many are opting to stay vulnerable. We also can’t yet vaccinate children under 12.
This may be an economically significant problem soon. But even if the virus disappears, we are going to spend years repairing the economic damage already done… and more may be coming.
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Wednesday, June 30, 2021
USDX, Gold: The Hunter and the Prey / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
Just before the hunt begins, the hunter needs to be sure its prey feels safe. Will we see a promising short-term rally in gold?
After the USD Index reasserted its dominance once again, its bellowing howl sent shivers down the spine of currency traders. When the U.S. Dollar Index is on the hunt, the precious metals are often its prey. The alpha wolf is poised to lead the pack over the medium term, and the sheep will likely be sent to the slaughter, but the predator needs to gather force first; a peaceful period of prosperity should ensue over the next several days. And this short-term decline could help uplift gold, silver, and mining stocks.
To explain, I warned last week that a short-term decline was likely after the USD Index’s RSI (Relative Strength Index) jumped above 70. And after eliciting some weakness, another pullback to the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level also aligns with the price action that we witnessed in 2016.
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
How Central Banks Murdered the Markets / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2021
The Japanese Government Bond market is nearly $10 trillion in size. It is the 2nd biggest bond market in the world. However, it comes as a shock that this humongous market barely trades any longer.The government of Japan has systematically supplanted and killed the entire private market for its bonds. Meaning, there are almost no private investors who will touch it any more. The Bank of Japan has bought so much debt that it forced interest rates below zero percent back in 2016; and the result is the free market has subsequently died.
Investors are now refusing to buy JGBs, which are guaranteed to lose principal in nominal terms—and deeply negative results after adjusting for inflation. But at the same time, are not in any hurry to sell their existing holdings because they understand the government will be propping up bond prices.
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Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Beat the Street - Sheffield Summer Fun! / Local / Sheffield
Eliza explains what the fun and free to play Sheffield city wide game Beat the Street is all about in unique Tiny Planet.
So watch the video and then join us to play Beat the Street! It's FREE! and Will get you out and about shedding those lockdown pounds going into Summer.
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Wednesday, June 30, 2021
The Best Stocks to Buy Now / Companies / Tech Stocks
US stocks have done relatively well during the coronavirus pandemic. The Dow Jones, Nasdaq 100, and S&P 500 indices have all risen to the highest level on record. In total, these indices have almost doubled from their lowest level in 2020. Let us look at some of the best stocks to buy now.
Tesla (TSLA)
Tesla has grown from a relatively small niche electric car company to becoming the biggest automaker in the world. It has a market capitalization of more than $592 billion, meaning that it is bigger than Toyota, Ford, and General Motors combined.
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Tuesday, June 29, 2021
Demand-Driven Price Hikes Are Underway / Economics / Inflation
James Bianco, president of Bianco Research, thinks most of the near-term inflation he foresees will be demand-driven. The fact that a lot of people have a lot of spending money will push prices even higher.At Mauldin Economics' 2021 Strategic Investment Conference, he posed the question: Where did this cash come from? Check out this chart...
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Tuesday, June 29, 2021
Is There a Next Housing Bubble That Will Make Gold Shine? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
Home prices are surging, making some investors worry about the housing market. These fears seem to be exaggerated, but bubble-like conditions are widespread.House prices are surging. As the chart below shows, the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index has reached 239 in February 2021, the highest number in history and about 30% higher than during the 2006 peak.
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Tuesday, June 29, 2021
Jumping the Fed Tightening Ship / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2021
S&P 500 powered higher after the daily pause, yet its solid gains don‘t have such a risk-on feel as the credit markets do. Depending on tech heavyweights for the lion‘s share of gains isn‘t though an immediate concern – the market breadth is slowly improving after value stocks were bombed out post-FOMC. Signs of life are returning, facilitated by the Fed‘s $8.1T and growing reasons to celebrate, so don‘t be spooked too many lower knots in VIX when there is no panic in the options arena either.
As tech-reliant as the S&P 500 is, the path of least resistance is still higher – and in the same way (tight trailing stop-loss) Nasdaq could be approached too, so as to protect our open profits while letting them grow.
PCE deflator readings often come below CPI thanks to the „weighted substitution effect“ at play, and it would come back to haunt the Fed. Taken to extremes, you downgrade from a steak to a hamburger, and then what? Cat or dog food? Obviously, this measure is favorable to the Fed as it defers the taper speculation further to the future.
Together with the redefinition of how long transitory used to last earlier, and what transitory (inflation) means now, the central bank wins in leaving the punch bowl available for longer (the job market offerrs plenty of excuses too). If last week gave us any lesson, it was that market players are all too quick to sell both the winners and losers. The spike in Treasuries was a clear warning sign of stress.
Tuesday, June 29, 2021
Gold Miners require a unique macro-economic backdrop / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
When gold stock bulls complain about a “smack down”, a “hit” or a “smash” against the poor gold stock sector what they should be thinking about is what a relatively small market the gold stock universe is compared to the multitude of galaxies populated by cyclical and risk on stocks and commodities and the massive bond market. The gold stock sector’s noise to trading volume ratio must be far and away the biggest bull market on the planet (I know because I am part of it :-)).
And once in a while the sector actually warrants all that noise. Like in 2001 when markets were beginning a bear phase and economies were faltering. Like in Q4, 2008 when gold stocks were crashing to unwind previous inflationary excesses, leading stocks and commodities into a terrible crash and rebounding first. Like in March of 2020 when the miners crashed and ‘V’ bottomed to lead what is to this day an ongoing economic recovery born of the inflation that gold and gold stocks first sniffed out.
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Monday, June 28, 2021
Apple between US China Wars / Companies / Apple
America's most valuable $2 trillion company is no longer immune to US geopolitics. Apple's global success is an anomaly to the protectionist Trump-Biden administrations - for all the wrong reasons.Recently, Apple announced a set of additional privacy protections. The “private relay” feature will not be available to users in China. After the announcement, New York Times reported that Apple had given in to Beijing.
In fact, in addition to China, the privacy feature will not be available to users in many countries, including Belarus, Colombia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkmenistan, and Uganda.
Yet, Times only targeted China.
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Monday, June 28, 2021
Four Best Cryptocurrencies to Start Spot Trading / Currencies / cryptocurrency
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