China Pushing To Be The World Leader In AI
While the media is caught up in crpytocurrency mania, the true game changing technology that investors should be focused on is artificial intelligence. From self-driving cars to Dr. Robot, AI is going to change our lives in profound ways in the near future. Russian President Vladimir Putin says, “Artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russian, but […]
EUR/USD Maintains Above 1.2000 As USD Weakness Continues Into 2018
The U.S. Dollar’s down-trend just celebrated a birthday. It was just a year and a day ago that DXY set a fresh 14-year high at 103.82. As we came into last year, little looked to stand in the way of the Greenback’s bullish ascent, as the ‘Trump Trade’ aka the ‘reflation trade’ continued to drive investors into […]
WTI/RBOB Rise After Biggest Crude Draw Since August
WTI/RBOB were sinking into the DOE data, despite API’s solid crude draw data, after tagging $62/$1.81 overnight. Official data confirmed API’s with the seventh straight week of crude builds (biggest crude build since Aug) and gasoline draws but it was distillates’ massive build (most since Dec 2016) that stood out. A pull-back in prices might be seen if builds […]
‘What Goes Up’: Everything
On Wednesday in “The Bernie Madoff Market,” we described how 2017 was so unusual, the gains so predictable, the consistency so implausible, that if global equities were a fund, regulators would suspect it might be a ponzi scheme. That assessment was inspired by the following quote from SocGen’s Andrew Lapthorne: Not only did global equity […]
Some In Congress Are Still Trying To Open Banking Service To Canabis Businesses
As California joins the list of states that have legalized recreational marijuana, limited access to banking services continues to be a problem for producers, retailers, and other businesses in this rapidly growing sector. Because marijuana businesses cannot, in most cases, open bank accounts, accept credit cards, or make electronic payments, the sector remains largely cash […]
December 2017 Initial Unemployment Claims Rolling Again Marginally Worsens
Hurricanes continue to impact claims taking procedures in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The market expectations for weekly initial unemployment claims (from Bloomberg / Econoday) were 239 K to 242 K (consensus 240,000), and the Department of Labor reported 250,000 new claims. The more important (because of the volatility in the weekly reported claims and […]
US Corporate Pensions’ Funded Status Improves
New analysis by Willis Towers Watson presents a case for the strengthening funding status of the largest US Corporate Pensions. According to the insurance and advisory company, the end of 2017 saw the funded status of these US firm’s pension to be highest it has been in recent memory. US corporate pensions have not seen these […]
Grantham: US Asset Bubble To Pop In 2019
Veteran value investor Jeremy Grantham put a missive up on his firm’s website yesterday outlining his view that we won’t see an imminent end to the US bull market. He expects a melt-up, not a meltdown. But Grantham goes on to say that we will see an asset bubble implosion in 2019, with as much […]
Perrigo Rises After Deutsche Bank Highlights Sales Via Amazon White-Label
Shares of Perrigo (PRGO) are on the rise after Deutsche Bank analyst Gregg Gilbert told investors in a research note that Amazon (AMZN) has begun to sell a number of over-the-counter healthcare products, sourced by the company, under a brand called “Basic Care.” AMAZON ‘BASIC CARE’ SOURCED BY PERRIGO: In a research note this morning, […]
Gold: Rejects Lower Prices, Risk Remains Higher
Gold still faces its broader upside pressure as it saw a rejection of lower prices on Thursday. On the downside, support comes in at the 1,300.00 level where a break will turn attention to the 1,290.00 level. Further down, a cut through here will open the door for a move lower towards the 1,280.00 level. […]
