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  • Finance 0

    Gold – The Bounce

    Naturally, the gold promoters are out in force. The problem with their theories has always been that they are dead wrong. The REAL BULL MARKET will see the metals rise with equities. Right now, they focus on the stock market and yell “buy gold” because a depression is here. Here we need to see a weekly closing above the 1143 level to raise any hope of a temporary low. Without that, we have a turning point in February which can be a high with a low moving into the next Benchmark target. A closing for January below the 1103 level will warn there is inherent weakness still lingering within this market. Next month, watch the 1097 le...
    On January 29, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    EC How The Chinese New Year Might Affect Financial Markets

    It’s no secret that the Chinese stock market was off to a terrible start this 2016, as the government considered lifting emergency measures only to end up adding more uncertainty into the financial markets. This led US equities to chalk up their worst weekly open since records began, wiping off billions in value from the markets in just a few days. According to the Chinese horoscope for the year, the next few months could be mired in even more uncertainty. Volatile moves could be seen, perhaps even worse than those seen last year. What else could the Chinese New Year may bring for the financial markets? The Lunar New Year is officially set ...
    On January 29, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Euro-zone Core Inflation Beats With 1% – EUR/USD Ticks Up

    Inflation could be worse in the euro-zone: headline inflation rose to 0.4% as expected and core CPI beat with 1%. This is a small comfort to the ECB and its efforts in battling deflation danger. However, we have another round of inflation figures until the next meeting in March, and this move up is quite marginal. EUR/USD does not seem to get too excited, at least not initially.Update: after not moving in the immediate aftermath, EUR/USD is grinding its way up 10 pips or so to 1.0910. The preliminary inflation numbers for January 2016 were expected to show headline inflation picking up from 0.2% to 0.4% y/y and core inflation remaining at 0....
    On January 29, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    US Growth Slows Sharply In 2015’s Fourth Quarter

    US economic output weakened in last year’s fourth quarter, according to this morning’s initial estimate of GDP. The pace decelerated to 0.7%, down from Q3’s 2.0% rise (seasonally adjusted annual rate). The softer trend was broad based, showing up in virtually every corner of the major components in the calculation of the GDP data. The question now: Is the Q4 stumble a sign of things to come or just a slow patch that, as in previous years, will quickly right itself via stronger growth? The answer is unknown at this point, but clarity is coming in the next round of data, including next week’s January update on nonfarm payrolls. Meanti...
    On January 29, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    “Peddling Fiction” – US Economy Grew A Paltry 0.69% In The Fourth Quarter, Missing Expectations

    And so the final quarter of 2015 is in the history books and we can officially accuse the US Bureau of Economic Analysis of “peddling fiction” about the US recovery, because at a growth rate of 0.69%, the annualized rate of economic growth was the lowest since the first quarter of 2015 when it grew an almost identical 0.64% which was blamed on the harsh weather. This time however, there is no easy scapegoat. The breakdown was as follows: Fixed Investments, that residual from the oil collapse, tumbled although at 0.03% annualized it was still a contributor to growth. Expect this to change Inventories, as expected, subtracted -0.45%...
    On January 29, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Gilead Slips As Another Drug Enters Hepatitis C Virus Space

    Shares of Gilead (GILD), a leader in the hepatitis C virus treatment space, are sliding this morning after one competitor’s hep C drug was granted FDA approval and another’s sales disappointed. Additionally, Gilead reported its own news, announcing a shakeup of the roles held by its top executives. MERCK APPROVAL: Merck (MRK) announced last night that the FDA has approved Zepatier for the treatment of adult patients with chronic hepatitis C virus, or HCV, genotype, or GT, 1 or GT4 infection. Merck has established a list price of $54,600 for a 12-week regimen of Zepatier, which the company said it believes to “be in the range...
    On January 29, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Tech Could Be In Trouble, On A Break Below Here, Says Joe Friday

    Today is the last day of the first month of the year. I favor monthly charts over weekly and weekly charts over daily. Wanted to take a long-term view of the Nasdaq 100 on a monthly basis on this last Friday of the month. As you can see, the NDX rally off the 2002 and 2009 lows had it back to the highs it hit, at the peak in 2000. At the same time it was getting back to its 2000 levels, it was creating a well defined rising wedge and the apex of this wedge, came into play at the 2000 highs level. Since hitting 2000 highs and the apex of the rising wedge, the NDX has broken rising support of the wedge. The lowest monthly close since breaking ...
    On January 29, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Don’t Abandon The Dollar: Here Is Why – BNPP

    The US dollar seems to be on the back foot following a cautious FOMC statement and poor data. BNP Paribas says dollar bulls can keep the faith: Here is their view, courtesy of eFXnews: The FOMC’s 27 January statement made a subtle shift towards a more cautious message, notes BNP Paribas. “The statement dropped language indicating that risks were balanced and instead noted that the Committee is “closely monitoring global economic and financial developments and is assessing their implications for the labor market and inflation, and for the balance of risks to the outlook.” The implication is that the Fed needs more time and data to d...
    On January 29, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Inovio Rises As CEO Says Zika Vaccine Could Enter Human Testing This Year

    Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO) shares are rising again this morning as the Zika virus continues to gain attention and its CEO says the company is “ahead of the pack” in developing a vaccine to combat the disease. YEAR END TESTING POSSIBLE: Joseph Kim, CEO of Inovio, said making a vaccine available by the end of this year is aggressive, but possible, according to Reuters, which quoted Kim as saying, “I believe this will be the first to go into human testing. We believe we’re ahead of the pack in the race for a Zika vaccine.” WHAT’S NOTABLE: The head of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, said the...
    On January 29, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    February 2016 Stock Considerations

    With the final trading day of January upon us, it’s time once again, to outline my potential stock buys for the upcoming month. The point of these posts is to help take some of the guesswork out of where I plan to allocate my fresh capital going forward. By making my selections ahead of time I find it easier to commit to buys as all the homework and investment thesis has already been completed on my end. All that’s left to do is pull the ‘buy’ trigger. Of course, I always qualify these posts with the notion that Mr. Market may present new buying opportunities not mentioned here, and with all the volatility we have been witnessing rece...
    On January 29, 2016 / By