“Gold could be one of the few assets to profit from the political and economic turbulence in the United States as the “fiscal cliff” approaches, potentially creating a rally in the precious metal later in 2012 for it to reach $1,900 per ounce by the end of the year, analysts at HSBC said.”
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The Story: Merkel backing bond buying has the markets in rally mode. A tepid rally i might add as we approach overhead resistance of 1405 S&P.
[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sxyXa8Y8Ug 450 300] Comments »Earnings have been lack luster and everyone’s sentiment has been down. Think were going into recession ? $GS says the economy is improving.
Comments »In the back of your mind you may be wondering what is at stake with all your private info on the web. For a small fee here is how you may become a ghost on the interwebs….
Comments »FORTUNE — One question keeps arising in the saga of Knight Capital and its $440 million software glitch: why did Knight, one of the premier U.S. market makers that handles more than 10% of total stock trading, introduce glitchy software into the market?
CEO Thomas Joyce explained in a television interview that the company’s new software program sent thousands of erroneous trades into the market because of “a large bug.” This was software Knight introduced Wednesday in conjunction with the New York Stock Exchange’s new platform that allows market makers like Knight (KCG) to offer slightly discounted stock prices to retail investors.”
Comments »“The three recent central bank meetings — the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve — made very good cases for additional stimulus measures, though they failed to specify what these would be.
Equities and certain bonds that had surged on the basis of verbal assurances by central bankers and political leaders sold off. There was no panic given central bankers’ promises to do more in the future should additional action be needed. This is what the standard narrative has been.
But it misses important context, and there is more at play here. The unfortunate reality is that, unlike during the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, central banks can’t be the saviors this time around for a struggling global economy. Other government entities, with better-suited policy tools, need to step up to the plate.”
Comments »See how the game is being played and why it may be a serious problem for investors.
Comments »“The second quarter earnings season is almost over with 87% of companies reporting. And so far it has been an unmitigated disaster, with only 51% of companies beating on the far easily fudgible bottom line number (which further facilitates the transition of America to a “part-time worker society” as repeatedly demonstrated here), but a stunning 60% of all S&P member missing on the top line. More importantly, for the first time since the Lehman collapse, year-over-year revenue “growth” will be negative, declining at 1% from Q2 2011. Whether the reason is due to FX exposure in a world in which the USD suddenly found a major bid in the past 3 months, or because of corporate unwillingness to reinvest their cash into their business and increase CapEx is unknown. But one thing is certain: absent central bank intervention, which for some inexplicable reason has seen the PE multiple of the S&P rise to 2012 highs, the stock market would not be where it is today if corporate fundamentals had anything to do with actual stock price.”
Comments »“Chinese companies are warning they will be reporting either losses or declining profits for the first half. Corporate results are forcing stock markets down and pointing to a contraction in the country’s economy.
China Rongsheng Heavy Industries, China’s largest private shipbuilder, lost 19% of its value when it issued a profit warning at the end of last month. Yards in the country are in a terrible state—the industry’s orders for new vessels in May were half of what they were a year earlier—yet Rongsheng’s poor prospects had largely been discounted. The company’s shares tumbled not only because it hadn’t announced any shipbuilding orders this year but also because the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission implicated Zhang Zhirong, its chairman and founder, in an insider trading scheme relating to the acquisition of Canada’s Nexen by CNOOC, a unit of one of China’s state oil giants.
We can perhaps dismiss Rongsheng as an aberration, but poor results at other companies are indicative of the state of the country’s increasingly troubled
economy. ”
Comments »Want a chance at interest rate payments in the 7+% range…..i should think not when it has more than just subprime issues at hand.
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