Tag Archive: newslettersent

Durable Goods Groundhog

2017-02-28

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2017-02-28

Durable Goods New Orders, NSA 1993-2017
If the economy is repeating the after-effects of the latest “dollar” events, and it does seem more and more to be that case, then analysis starts with identifying a range for where it might be in the repetition. New orders for durable goods (ex transportation) rose 4.3% year-over-year in January 2017 (NSA, only 2.4% SA), the highest growth rate since September 2014 (though not meaningfully faster than the 3.9% rate in November 2016).

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Virtue-Signaling the Decline of the Empire

2017-02-28

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2017-02-28

Top 1% US Pre-Tax Income Share, 1913-2012
Virtue-signaling doesn't signal virtue--it signals decline and collapse. There are many reasons why Imperial Rome declined, but two primary causes that get relatively little attention are moral decay and soaring wealth inequality. The two are of course intimately connected: once the morals of the ruling Elites degrade, the status quo seeks to mask its self-serving rot behind high-minded "virtue-signaling" appeals to past glories and cost-free...

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It Was ‘Dollars’ All Along

2017-02-28

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2017-02-28

Giant Sucking Sound 1960 - 2015
Ross Perot famously declared the “giant sucking sound” in the 1992 Presidential campaign. The debate over NAFTA did not end with George H. W. Bush’s defeat, as it simmered in one form or another for much of the 1990’s. Curiously, however, it seemed almost perfectly absent during the 2000’s, the very decade in which Perot’s prophecy came true. Americans didn’t notice because there was a bubble afoot.

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It Is Time To Short The Swiss National Bank!

2017-02-27

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2017-02-27

SNB Balance Sheet 2009 - 2016
The current Article will take a closer look to the incredible rise of the Swiss National Bank stock and suggest why taking a short position could be the right trade at this level. The Swiss Central Bank: Mandate and Monetary Policy. According to the Swiss Federal Constitution (Art. 99) the Swiss Central Bank is an independent institution with the mandate to conduct the monetary policy in Switzerland by ensuring price stability, while taking into...

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FX Daily, February 27: Asia Stumbles, Europe Recovers, Waiting for Trump

2017-02-27

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2017-02-27

chess
The late recovery in US equities before the weekend did little good for Asian markets. Nearly all the Asian equity markets moved lower, led by the 1.0% decline in Japan's Topix. It was the third successive loss for the Topix, which is the long losing streak of the year so far. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.6%, further pushing it off the 17-month high seen last week.

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Employment barometer in the 4th quarter 2016: Employment growth remains stable

2017-02-27

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2017-02-27

Switzerland Employment Level Q4 2016
In the 4th quarter 2016, total employment (number of jobs) rose by 0.3% in comparison with the same quarter a year earlier (+0.2% with previous quarter). In full-time equivalents, employment in the same period grew by 0.1%. The Swiss economy counted 3,800 more vacancies than in the corresponding quarter of the previous year (+7.8%). The other indicators also showed positive growth.

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The Big Myth

2017-02-27

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2017-02-27

Dodd Frank and All Other Laws 2009 - 2015
Don Watkins of the Ayn Rand Institute wrote an article, The Myth of Banking Deregulation, to debunk a lie. The lie is that bank regulation is good. That it helped stabilize the economy in the 1930’s. And that deregulation at the end of the century destabilized the economy and caused the crisis of 2008.

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US Mint Releases New Fort Knox “Audit Documentation” The First Critical Observations.

2017-02-27

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2017-02-27

US official gold reserves
In response to a FOIA request the US Mint has finally released reports drafted from 1993 through 2008 related to the physical audits of the US official gold reserves. However, the documents released are incomplete and reveal the audit procedures have not been executed proficiently. Moreover, because the Mint could not honor its promises in full the costs ($3,144.96 US dollars) of the FOIA request have been refunded.

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Each Week the Same: Another SNB Intervention Record

2017-02-27

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2017-02-27

Sight deposits February 27 2017
Once again: another record in SNB intervention record for the period after Trump's election: an increase of 4.7 billion CHF in sight deposits. The trend for EUR/CHF versus parity getting confirmed.

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Weekly Speculative Position: More EUR Shorts, Less CHF Shorts .. Again

2017-02-27

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2017-02-27

Speculative Positions Commitments of traders Swiss Franc 27 Feb
Speculators increased their EUR net short position against the dollar, but lowered their CHF net shorts (vs. USD). This tendency confirms our view that EUR/CHF will move towards parity.

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FX Weekly Preview: Macroeconomics and Psychology

2017-02-27

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2017-02-27

There is a broad consensus around the macroeconomic picture. The headwinds slowing the US economy in H1 16 have eased, and above trend growth in H2 16 appears to be carrying into 2017. Q4 16 GDP is expected to be revised to 2.1% up from 1.8%. Many economists appear to accept that a good part, though not all, of the decline in the estimated trend growth in the US, is a function of demographic considerations.

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Emerging Markets: Preview of the Week Ahead

2017-02-27

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2017-02-27

EM FX ended last week on a soft note despite lower US rates. The dollar regained some traction that it lost over the course of the week, when markets pushed out Fed tightening beyond March. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin also seemed to push out fiscal stimulus. There is a full slate of Fed speakers this week, and Wednesday sees the release of the Fed’s Beige book that was prepared for the March 15 FOMC meeting.

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Video: The Swiss National Bank Is Acting Like A Hedge Fund

2017-02-26

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2017-02-26

Mario Draghi ECB SNB
We discuss the fact that Central Banks have basically morphed into Hedge Funds with similar risky investing strategies, except they buy without any regard to the underlying fundamentals of the assets they are buying. When did the Swiss Citizens say it was the proper role for the Swiss National Bank to be buying US Stocks? How is this stimulating the Swiss Economy?

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FX Weekly Review, February 20 – 25: Ranges in FX: Respect the Price Action

2017-02-26

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2017-02-26

Trade-weighted index Swiss Franc, February 25
It is difficult right now to talk about the foreign exchange market using the dollar as the numeraire. The dollar was stronger against most of the major currencies last week, but not the yen or sterling. The Dollar Index itself was little changed, rising less than 0.15%.

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Gold Sector Update – What Stance is Appropriate?

2017-02-26

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2017-02-26

HUI Compared to Gold September 2015 - February 2017
We wanted to post an update to our late December post on the gold sector for some time now (see “Gold – Ready to Spring Another Surprise?” for the details). Perhaps it was a good thing that some time has passed, as the current juncture seems particularly interesting. We received quite a few mails from friends and readers recently, expressing concern about the inability of gold stocks to lead, or even confirm strength in gold of late. In light of...

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Farewell, Welfare State

2017-02-25

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2017-02-25

Otto von Bismarck
The tweet was never sent and never received: “Lying Otto von Bismarck set us up for bankruptcy! What was he thinking? Sad!!” Instead, Mr. Trump said last weekend that, far from trying to curb the promises and cut the costs of the welfare state, he was nearly ready to unveil a plan to replace Obamacare with something better: a plan that would provide “insurance for everybody.”

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Swiss Industrial Production Q4: Minus 0.8 percent YoY, Construction: Minus 2.1 percent YoY

2017-02-25

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2017-02-25

Switzerland Industrial Production, Q4 2016
Secondary sector production declined 0.8% in 4th quarter 2016 in comparison with the same quarter a year earlier. Turnover fell by 2.1%. This is shown by provisional results from the Federal Statistical Office.

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Emerging Markets: What has Changed

2017-02-25

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2017-02-25

PBOC tweaked its process for determining the yuan reference rate. Singapore is reportedly studying measures to boost revenue, including higher taxes. Moody’s upgraded the outlook on Russia’s Ba1 rating from negative to stable. Nigerian President Buhari extended his stay abroad. Nigerian central bank tweaked its FX restrictions, but was aimed at retail demand. Brazil political risk is back on the table. Brazil’s central bank hinted at a faster pace...

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There’s a Difference: Fake News and Junk News

2017-02-25

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2017-02-25

U.S. Unemployment Rate 1950 - 2017
The mainstream media continues peddling its "fake news" narrative like a desperate pusher whose junkies are dying from his toxic dope. It's slowly dawning on the media-consuming public that the MSM is the primary purveyor of "fake news"-- self-referential narratives that support a blatantly slanted agenda with unsupported accusations and suitably anonymous sources.

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Not Recession, Systemic Rupture – Again

2017-02-25

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2017-02-25

Pyramid - Total US Gold Stock, January 2017
For the very few in the mainstream of economics who venture further back in history than October 1929, they typically still don’t go much last April 1925. And when they do, it is only to further bash the gold standard for its presumed role in creating the conditions for 1929. The Brits under guidance of Winston Churchill made a grave mistake, one from which gold advocates could never recover given what followed.

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