Stock Volatility to Return in February as Money Drains Out of Markets

via thefinancialcourier: The stock market has been a roller coaster since October.  Equities took a nose-dive in October.  They then rallied in early November.  Fell again steeply in December.  Finally, stocks rallied strongly in January.  However, the same market forces that knocked stocks down late last year will trigger stock volatility to return in February. First, we need … Read more

Don’t Cry For NY

by Chris “They are investors, they have accountants, they are making informed decisions,” Cuomo said. “This is going to be the tipping point and people will now be making a geographical change.” Yes, the informed decision is that paying the state up to 8.8% of your income (top bracket), up to 4.75% sales tax, and then … Read more

The Employment Report Is Not All It’s Cracked up to Be

via knowledgeleaderscapital: Today’s “blowout” employment report, while strong in some respects, should be taken with a grain of salt. It’s important to remember that employment is a lagging indicator. Payroll employment often peaks either at the beginning or middle of recessions, so it provides virtually no warning of impending danger. Better indicators of employment strength are … Read more

Eurozone Warning: EU Banks Panic at Huge Italy Debt

BANKS in France, Germany and Belgium are most at risk of contagion from Italy’s deepening debt crisis, new data has revealed. Domestic banks in the Mediterranean nation are already encumbered with some £1.3 trillion (€1.5 trillion) of public debt as the cash-strapped government in Rome grapple with a weak economy which tumbled back into recession … Read more

New Trucks are Hot, Prices Surge. But Cars Face Carmageddon. And Total Sales Fall

Wolf Richter wolfstreet.com, http://www.amazon.com/author/wolfrichter Americans love paying big profit margins for big equipment, and automakers love them for it, but total sales are declining, and something doesn’t add up. The average transaction price of the vehicles sold by Fiat Chrysler jumped 5% in January compared to a year ago; for vehicles sold by Ford Motor … Read more

Is The Debate Over? New Survey Discovers That Religious People Are Far More Likely To Be “Very Happy”

by Michael Snyder A shocking new public opinion poll seems to have settled the debate about whether religious people or non-religious people are happier.  In recent years, more people than ever are “throwing off the shackles of religion” in an attempt to find personal happiness, but it looks like they have been running the wrong … Read more

YERS AND LAYERS OF FACT-CHECKERS AND EDITORS

Shot: I do not record. I’ve never recorded. I’m a very fast note-taker. When someone kind of says the “it” thing that I have really wanted, I don’t start scribbling right away. I have an almost photographic memory and so I wait a beat or two while they’re onto something else, and then I write … Read more

Did Ruth Bader Ginsberg actually appear at the Notorious RBG concert last night, or did WaPo and the AP make the whole story up?

by EdmondDantes777   The MSM presented us with a simple story yesterday: https://www.apnews.com/b94fea4b4a2a408fabcf756da790ff27 WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is making her first public appearance since undergoing lung cancer surgery in December. The 85-year-old Ginsburg is attending a concert at a museum a few blocks from the White House that is being … Read more

Oil Rally Halts On Economic Concerns

By Tom Kool Oil prices have been choppy in recent days, although WTI and Brent are holding onto their gains near multi-month highs. (Click to enlarge) (Click to enlarge) (Click to enlarge) (Click to enlarge) – The International Maritime Organization has new regulations taking effect on January 1, 2020 that will slash the concentration of … Read more

Is there a more deflationary chart than the Baltic Dry Index of global freight rates?

Is there a more deflationary chart than the Baltic Dry Index of global freight rates? pic.twitter.com/3XajzZVIzY — David Rosenberg (@EconguyRosie) February 5, 2019 Chart: US non-manufacturing export orders (weak!!!!!) pic.twitter.com/5qHTFXW7je — mcm-ct.com (@mcm_ct) February 5, 2019 Given the sharp slowdown in credit card transaction data, safe to say that retail sales will miss to the … Read more

Reddit to raise $150M to $300M for Series D led by Tencent at a $2.7B pre-money valuation.

https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/05/raiseit/ ​ Reddit  is raising $150 million to $300 million to keep the front page of the internet running, multiple sources tell TechCrunch. The forthcoming Series D round is said to be led by Chinese tech giant Tencent at a $2.7 billion pre-money valuation. Depending on how much follow-on cash Reddit drums up from Silicon Valley … Read more

The V bottom in the stock market in 2019 looks similar to previous market collapses in 2001 & 2008

https://twitter.com/OccupyWisdom/status/1092829883330383873 https://twitter.com/RealDavidJensen/status/1092855301055770624 $10 trillion in corporate debt will be refinanced within 2 years. And looks like nothing's changed since Dec 26. I don't understand the joy some brainless trolls are having. I made 310 handles in Dec. You took 50 back so far. So go get yourself an ass-aid before it evaporates pic.twitter.com/9nZR0B5f4r — xTrends … Read more

S&P 500… The massive recovery has been fully driven by dovish central banks, despite unexciting earnings and guidance.

S&P 500… The massive recovery has been fully driven by dovish central banks, despite unexciting earnings and guidance. pic.twitter.com/laRBMWxj9g — Daniel Lacalle (@dlacalle_IA) February 5, 2019 The whole problem in markets has been the Fed and China. Both have had a major interest in keep markets afloat into 2 things State of the Union – … Read more

Trump Organization Adopts E-Verify; Mandatory Nationwide Use Could Follow

via Kevin Lynn Last week, the Trump Organization, an umbrella group that oversees more than 500 companies which list Donald Trump, the United States President, as sole or principal owner, announced that it would use the federal E-Verify program to confirm the work eligibility status of its new employees. Because of a little-known provision in immigration law … Read more

The Most Depressing Stat Of The Month: The U.S. National Debt Is About To Pass The $22 Trillion Mark

by Michael Snyder  The U.S. national debt is wildly out of control, and nobody in Washington seems to care.  According to the U.S. Treasury, the federal government is currently $21,933,491,166,604.77 in debt.  In just a few days, that figure will cross the 22 trillion dollar mark.  Over the last 10 years, we have added more than … Read more

How Dividend Stocks Can Almost Double Your Returns

BY ROBERT ROSS Investing is all about making the right choices. And one of them is owning dividend stocks. Let’s look at two companies as examples: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM). Since the 2008 financial crisis, both stocks have more than doubled: JPMorgan Chase gained 141%. Berkshire Hathaway shot up 113%. That’s a pretty … Read more

Schumer and Sanders to Investors: We Want Your Money

By Rodney Johnson Senators Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer have proposed legislation that would stop public companies from paying dividends or buying back their shares unless they first meet certain conditions. The senators aren’t worried about viability (companies are financially stable before they send cash back to their shareholders). Instead, they want to verify that … Read more