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    Global Stocks Enter Bear Market

    With stock markets from every continent plunging (Japan most recently), it should be no surprise that MSCI’s world index has entered a bear market – dropping over 20% from its April 2015 record highs. However, as Gavekal notes, while much of the drag on global stocks is from collapsing emerging markets, the average developed market stock is down 23% in the past year. The World enters a bear market… at a crucial level… But as Gavekal Capital’s Eric Bush notes, the average stock in the developed world is off 23% from its 1-year high… And is down 8% over the past year. 52% of all developed world stocks are...
    On February 10, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    6 Points To Expect From Fed Yellen’s Testimony

    The testimony by Fed Chair Janet Yellen is the main event of the week (even if stock market crashes try to steal the show). Here are 6 points to focus on, courtesy of Nomura. Here is their view, courtesy of eFXnews: On Wednesday and Thursday, Federal Reserve Chair Yellen will deliver her semiannual report on monetary policy in testimony before the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee. (We expect her written testimony to be released at 8:30am Wednesday and her testimony will begin at 10:00am.) Yellen has a tough job. The performance of financial markets and the economy since the FOMC raised rates in December has...
    On February 10, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    A 918 Point Stock Market Crash In Japan And Deutsche Bank Denies That It Is About To Collapse

    On Tuesday junk bonds continued to crash, the price of oil briefly dipped below 28 dollars a barrel, Deutsche Bank was forced to deny that it is on the verge of collapse, but the biggest news was what happened in Japan. The Nikkei was down a staggering 918 points, but that stock crash made very few headlines in the western world. If the Dow had crashed 918 points today, that would have been the largest single day point crash in all of U.S. history. So what just happened in Japan is a really big deal. The Nikkei is now down 23.1 percent from the peak of the market, and that places it solidly in bear market territory. Overall, a total of 16.5...
    On February 10, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Gold Stalls Ahead Of Yellen Testimony

    Gold snapped seven consecutive days of gains as investors grew cautious ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s appearance before the House Financial Services Committee. Failing to sustain a push above the $1193/1 region also weighed on the market. The XAU/USD pair tried to hold beyond this barrier yesterday but stalled as some investors used this opportunity to cash in gains from a recent rally to a 7-1/2-month high. As a result, prices closed just below the $1191 level. Fed Chair Yellen is scheduled to deliver her semiannual report to Congress on the outlook for the U.S. economy. Her remarks could provide insight into the pace o...
    On February 10, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    How Systems Break: First They Slow Down

    Alternatively, we can cling to a state of denial, and the dominant system will be replaced by archetypal systems that are not necessarily positive. Understanding our current socio-economy as a system of sub-systems enables us to project how and when unsustainable sub-systems will finally unravel. The reality that cannot be spoken within the conventional media is that all the primary financial systems we believe are permanent and indestructible are actually on borrowed time. One way to assess this decline of resilience is to look at how long it takes systems to recover when they are stressed, and to what degree they bounce back to previous le...
    On February 10, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Solar Stocks Drop After SolarCity Reports Q4 Results

    Solar stocks followed SolarCity (SCTY) down after the company reported its fourth quarter results and gave guidance for the first quarter and fiscal 2016. WHAT’S NEW: SolarCity reported Q4 earnings per share of ($2.37) against analyst expectations of ($2.59), and Q4 revenue of $115M, against consensus estimates of $105.62M. The company reported Q4 installations up 54% to 272 mega watts. Q4 commercial installations were up 82% to 51 MW while residential installations were up 49% to 221 MW. Operating Lease and Solar Energy Incentive revenue was up 53% to $75M in Q4. SolarCity sees Q1 adjusted EPS ($2.65)-($2.55), against analyst expectati...
    On February 10, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Platinum And Palladium Analysis

    We look at Platinum and Palladium metals from the technical side in this video. These often neglected metals are pretty unique and special in their own right, and can offer some great trading setups.  (Video length 00:14:24)...
    On February 10, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Capital Flight Intensifies In Italy And Spain; Curiously, Money Flows Into French Banks

    Money continues to pour out of Italian and Spanish banks for safer havens. This month I note a curious side effect: A huge amount of money went into French banks instead of German banks. The following table shows the winners and losers. Target 2 Imbalances in Billions of Euros Country Symbol Dec Target2 Balance Nov Target2 Balance Month-Over-Month Change Comment Spain ES -254.1 -241.8 -12.3 Highest Since 2012 Italy IT -248.9 -229.6 -19.3 Highest Ever Greece GR -94.4 -97.3 2.9 Lowest Since 2014 Q4 ECB ECB -83.8 -73.8 -10 Highest Ever France FR -29.2 -73.5 44.3 Remarkable Comeback Germany DE 584.2 592.5 -8.3 Second Highest Since 2012 Luxembourg...
    On February 10, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Chart Of The Day: Why Banks Stocks Are Cratering – It’s The 2-10 Spread Going Flat

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    On February 10, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Germany At A Crossroads

    Germany, which accounts for an estimated 21% of the European Union’s GDP and has an unemployment rate that is less than half as high as the EU average, is now facing five big economic challenges: 1. Germany has one of the oldest populations in the world: it’s old age dependency ratio is as high as Greece’s and higher than any other country apart from Italy and Japan; the share of its population aged 80 or older is higher than in any European country apart from France or the “PIGS”. The largest part of Germany’s population is between 45-60 years old. Old age is beckoning. 2. Whereas Britain, France, Italy, Russia, India, China, a...
    On February 10, 2016 / By