ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY INVESTMENT DECISION
March 31, 2024 | Why We Fail to Fix Things
[My colleague Charles Hugh Smith is a true outside-the-box thinker who tackles big questions with intellectual rigor and bold imagination. In the commentary below, he explains why neither our political system nor technological wizardry have been able to solve problems that threaten to topple the global economy and destroy our quality of life. You can support excellence […]
March 31, 2024 | Art of the Collapse, April 2024
Gold is interesting again … … because everything else is terrifying: New Boeing 737 Toy Features Wings That Really Fall Off (Babylon Bee) – A new airplane toy modeled after the Boeing 737 features “real in-flight damage” in which the jet’s wings really fall off. “Wow! The wings really fall off, just like in real […]
March 31, 2024 | Monetary Dilemma
Leaders take a lot of criticism. In fact, that’s part of the job. Presidents, governors, CEOs, football coaches, other top decision makers and even your humble analyst all have to answer for what happens on their watch—even when it’s not their fault. Then-general Dwight Eisenhower prepared a letter for release in case the 1944 Normandy […]
March 30, 2024 | Trading Desk Report For March 30, 2024
We’re in no rush to cut interest rates Fed Chairman Jay Powell and Fed Governor Chris Waller reminded markets this week that they are in “no rush” to cut interest rates until they see clear evidence that inflation is returning to the Fed’s 2% target. Equity markets (outside China) reflect the belief that Central Banks […]
March 30, 2024 | Tech Talk for Saturday March 30th 2024
The Bottom Line World equity markets were mixed last week, typical when intermediate momentum indicators are overbought: U.S. equity indices moved in a narrow trading range. S&P 500 Index gained 0.39% and the NASDAQ Composite Index slipped 0.30%. ETFs representing European, Canadian and Merging Markets were slightly higher. ETFs representing Far East markets were slightly […]
March 29, 2024 | The US Government’s Plan for Social Security
When questioned about the future of Social Security by the Senate Finance Committee, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen admitted that Biden “doesn’t have a plan.” There could be no possible plan for an ongoing Ponzi scheme that will fail once the fund runs out of money. Estimates believe Social Security will reach insolvency before 2034. “I […]
March 29, 2024 | Canada Declares an Emergency as Economic Productivity Growth Lags Far Behind
“Well, it’s time to break the glass,” said Carolyn Rogers from the Bank of Canada in a recent speech, referring to the emergency situation in the lack of improvement in productivity in Canada’s business sector. The Bank of Canada cares about productivity because “productivity is a way to inoculate the economy against inflation.” […]
March 28, 2024 | PBS on the Plastic Recycling Scam Promoted by Oil Cos
The world produces an average of 430 million metric tons of plastic each year. The United States alone produces tens of millions of tons of plastic waste annually. Yet on average, only about 5 to 6 percent of plastic in the U.S. is recycled. NPR correspondent Michael Copley joins Ali Rogin to discuss a new […]
March 28, 2024 | How Inflation Hurts Our Kids, In 5 Charts
In 1971 the US, along with most of the rest of the world, tried something new. They ditched their previously gold-backed money in favor of “fiat” currencies backed only by citizens’ trust in central banks and politicians. The results were profound, as the dollar lost about 90% of its purchasing power. But the real damage […]
March 28, 2024 | Who was Francis Scott Key?
With the bridge debacle, the name Francis Scott Key has been a topic of controversy. Francis Scott Key was an American poet, author, and lawyer from Frederick, Maryland. He witnessed the British bomb Fort McHenry in 1814, inspiring him to write numerous works of art, the most popular of which is the “Star-Spangled Banner.” […]
March 28, 2024 | Amid Canada’s Huge Immigration Surge, Population Growth Hits 3.2%, Fuels 10% Rent Inflation, even as Home Prices Drop
Canada’s population jumped by 1.27 million people in 2023, to 40.77 million by January 1, an increase of 3.2% from a year ago, the highest year-over-year growth rate since 1957 (3.3%), Statistics Canada said today in its report on the exploding growth of Canada’s population, driven by a huge wave of immigrants; 98% of the […]
March 27, 2024 | Rosenberg: Business Cycle Update 2024
Economist, David Rosenberg reveals the potential for significant economic downturn and wealth erosion in 2024. With an uncanny blend of humor and insight, he exposes the misleading job reports, the phantom strength of the housing market, and the precarious position of the consumer credit bubble. This discussion stretches beyond the US, offering a grim look […]
March 27, 2024 | US Crude Inventories Rise For Commercial Stocks and at Cushing. WTI Likely To Fall Below US$80/B Shortly
GLOBAL ECONOMIC, POLITICAL & MILITARY UPDATE Rising inflation pressure globally and decent economic growth are making it harder for the Fed to reduce interest rates. Investors have an expectation that the first of three 25 BP cuts will occur in June. With the rise in crude prices to US$82/b (nearly US$12/b over the last two […]
March 26, 2024 | Get Out of NYC – NOW!!!!!
QUESTION: This prosecutor in New York says she will start seizing Trump’s real estate in New York and will take his golf course tomorrow. What would you do? WH ANSWER: I would let her seize the property and sell it. If he wins on appeal, she is liable for all the damages. But let […]
March 26, 2024 | Spring Market Demanding More Realism
Nationally, the average Canadian home sale price in February 2024 was $719,400, -11.9% from the cycle peak of $816,720 in February 2022. Year-to-date, sixty percent of homes in the Greater Toronto Area sold below their asking price, 71% in Vancouver, and 48% in Calgary (the trend over the past three years is shown below). The […]
March 26, 2024 | The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in America, March 2024 Update: Biggest Price Drops from 2022 Peak: San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Phoenix, Dallas, Las Vegas
The home price index for the 20 metros that the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index covers declined by 0.1% from the prior month, the third month in a row of declines. Year-over-year, the index was up 6.6%. Year-over-year, wait a minute… today’s “January” 2024 reading is three months off the October 2023 peak, while […]
March 25, 2024 | Beware the Ides of May
The Western Press continues to report only the propaganda from the NEOCON mouthpiece, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which Victoria Nuland’s sister-in-law runs. I have warned that they were trying to start war BEFORE the election, and the two main targets in time were May and July. Be very careful of any […]
March 25, 2024 | Bottom Not In
US commercial real estate prices have declined an average of 33% since early 2020, with a 60% decline in the office sector. Similar trends are unfolding in Canada. US office loan delinquencies of 30 to 60 days (dark blue below, courtesy of Bespoke) and over 90 days (light blue) have spiked in the past year […]
March 25, 2024 | Elites, Commoners, And The Shrinking Trust Horizon
Charles Hugh Smith is doing a great job of covering inequality and the pathologies it creates. Here, he explains why the trust horizon is shrinking for some but not others: Why Social Trust Is Cratering: The Difference Between Elites and Commoners We trust what we own / control, and the difference between elites and commoners is […]
March 25, 2024 | The Immigration Relief Valve
Happy Monday Morning! Housing affordability is front and center these days, as it should be. We are currently sitting at the worst levels of housing affordability since the 1980s. If housing doesn’t get fixed, and quickly, the political careers of JT and his liberals are finished. With the next federal election less than eighteen months […]
March 24, 2024 | Bullish and Bored? Here’s the Cure…
The Fed’s main job supposedly is to manage our expectations, but have Powell & Co. painted themselves into a corner? At the moment, it would appear that investors have no clue what to expect. That wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, except that their default mode has been to push stocks with multitrillion dollar […]
March 24, 2024 | Climate the Movie
March 24, 2024 | Powering the AI
If, like me, you’re old enough to remember the 1990s internet bubble, today’s AI excitement might be giving you flashbacks. The parallels are unmistakable. Back then, a new technology was grabbing public interest and investment dollars because it promised to dramatically improve our lives. Most people didn’t really understand how it worked but could see […]
March 23, 2024 | Trading Desk Notes For March 23, 2024
Leading stock indices rallied to new All-Time Highs as Western Central Banks signalled interest rate cuts this year After closing lower for the past two weeks, the S&P and NAZ futures surged to new highs this week following dovish signals/cuts from the FOMC, the Swiss National Bank, the Bank of England, and the Banco de Mexico. […]
March 23, 2024 | Tech Talk for Saturday March 23rd 2024
The Bottom Line Responses by North American equity market to FOMC news released last Wednesday were a pleasant surprise. S&P 500 Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average quickly moved to all-time highs. The TSX Composite Index tested its all-time high at 22,213.07 set on April 5th 2022. Responses were triggered by comments by Federal Reserve […]