The Cboe Skew Index tracks the implied volatility of deep out-of-the-money options – that is, contracts that need a large move in the market before they come into play – on the S&P 500 .SPX. On Friday it surged a massive 9%.

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by mark000 CHART of the Cboe Skew Index .SKEWX showing last Friday’s move Article from Thursday: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/black-swan-index-flashes-yellow%3A-wall-street-is-not-scared-2019-12-12 NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters) – The options-based Black Swan index may be signaling surging demand from investors for protection against a stock market crash, but Wall Street analysts see little reason to panic. The Cboe Skew Index … Read more

Are we in a digital advertisement bubble?

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by VCUBNFO This article makes a pretty good case about how much of online marketing seems to be not worthwhile. There are a lot of details in the article, but this little excerpt best describes it. Picture this. Luigi’s Pizzeria hires three teenagers to hand out coupons to passersby. After a few weeks of flyering, one … Read more

Margins, Debt, & S&P 500 Profits

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by UPFINA Most onlookers see this as an unusual cycle at face value because annualized GDP growth has been low and this expansion is over 10 years long. In this article, we will discuss the cycle in terms of profits, margins, and debt. It’s safe to say viewers are correct; this is an unusual cycle. As … Read more

Valuations don’t matter. Earnings don’t matter. Fundamentals don’t matter. Stock returns are being driven by one primary force right now – Fed liquidity.

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Valuations don’t matter. Earnings don’t matter. Fundamentals don’t matter. Stock returns are being driven by one primary force right now – Fed liquidity. https://t.co/PnA4cwlvOs — David Kudla (@David_Kudla) December 15, 2019 More Central Bank Stimulus Will Not Work. pic.twitter.com/pDCHQcLgQb — Daniel Lacalle (@dlacalle_IA) December 15, 2019 https://t.co/9t03cr4jgD — Alastair (@StockBoardAsset) December 14, 2019 Since the … Read more

The US Economy Is Being Japanified – Thanks To The Fed

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Authored by Andrew Moran via LibertyNation.com, Japan has not recovered fully from the lost decade of the 1990s. The Asian financial crisis was exacerbated by the dot-com crash and then a few years later the global economic collapse. Tokyo has tried everything to combat anemic growth and deflation, and resolve the zombification of the Japanese economy through … Read more

Kevin Shipp – We Are Headed for the Financial Rapids, Eric Holder Reveals Deep State Running Scared

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Former CIA officer and counter-intelligence expert Kevin Shipp says the hoax of Russia collusion and the impeachment sham of President Trump is distracting us from other very big problems such as the extreme debt the country and the world is facing. Shipp says, “Trump inherited a financial monster that was not his doing. When he … Read more

The State of the Canadian Debt Slaves, How They Compare to American Debt Slaves, and the Bank of Canada’s Response

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“The high household debt load is the most important risk facing the financial system”: Bank of Canada Governor Poloz, another central banker that bemoans the effects of this handiwork. By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET. Canadian households, rated near the top of the most indebted in the world, accomplished something awe-inspiring: They got even more indebted and their … Read more

Fed Pauses Rate Cuts, But More Printing Cometh – With Dave Kranzler

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by Chris Marcus with Dave Kranzler via Arcadia Economics Today the Federal Reserve held its latest policy meeting and left interest rates unchanged. But with repo-mania continuing on with no end in sight, Dave Kranzler of Investment Research Dynamics joined me on the show to discuss the latest actions by the Fed. He also gave his forecast for what he’s expecting in the gold … Read more

Donald J. Trump: “Ron Paul is right when he says we are wasting lives and money in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

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  Donald J. Trump Verified account @realDonaldTrump Ron Paul is right when he says we are wasting lives and money in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ron Paul is right when he says we are wasting lives and money in Iraq and Afghanistan. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2011 Trump admin intends to announce withdrawal … Read more

The Trump Administration is planning to withdraw 4,000 troops from Afghanistan starting as early as next week

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WASHINGTON — The Trump administration intends to announce the drawdown of about 4,000 troops from Afghanistanas early next week, according to three current and former U.S. officials. The withdrawal will leave between 8,000 and 9,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the officials said. The announcement comes just days after Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad rejoined … Read more

Reports saying that Democratic Rep. Jeff Van Drew will imminently FLIP to the REPUBLICANS; he was one of the 2 Dems to vote against impeachment

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https://twitter.com/Daily_elections/status/1205941412396556288 It seems like the party switch is a done deal: “Officials said Saturday said that Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, a vocally anti-impeachment Democrat, will join the Republican Party in the coming days following a Friday meeting with President Trump.” It seems like the party switch is a done deal: "Officials said … Read more

Prosecutors say a man stole $88,000 from a bank vault. The FBI caught him after he flashed stacks of bills on social media.

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(CNN)If you’re systematically stealing money from a bank vault, it may not be a good idea to post the evidence on your social media pages. A bank employee in Charlotte, North Carolina, allegedly stole $88,000 from the bank’s vault, according to a release from the United States Attorney’s Office Western District of North Carolina. And he wasn’t … Read more

Big Rise Coming in Food Prices

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by Tom McClellan Food prices are poised to see their biggest rise in several years, and not just because China is going to become a buyer again of U.S. agricultural goods.  There is a different reason for expecting food prices to rise, and it is contained in this week’s lead chart. Gold prices act as a … Read more

Peggy Grande: Democrats beware — British election is final nail in the coffin of the globalist experiment!

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This historic election is the final nail in the coffin of the globalist experiment. It has failed in dramatic and spectacular fashion and with the U.K.’s imminent exit now from the EU, there will likely be other countries lined up right behind them also plotting their plan of escape. Watch the latest video at foxnews.com … Read more

Why Late Stage Bubbles Are Brutal

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by Chris Martenson Asset bubbles are brutal. The most difficult time to remain centered and focused is during their last stages as everyone around you is going nuts. Logic has been tossed out the window, sentiment is manic, and every narrative – the stories we hear and use to make sense of our world – … Read more