Australia’s “Grim” Retail Sector “Clearly In Recession”, Warns National Australia Bank

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via Zerohedge: A leading Australian business survey has concluded that the continent’s retail sector is “clearly in recession”.  New data from NAB shows Australia’s “Index of Business Conditions” falling by 2 points in May, putting it well below its long run average. The data comes a week after Australia’s Reserve Bank was forced to cut interest rates to its lowest … Read more

Unprecedented U.S. Weather Chaos Continues: 120F In The West, More Record-Setting Flooding In The East

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by Michael Snyder Global weather patterns are dramatically shifting, and week after week we keep seeing things happen that we have never seen before.  As far as our weather is concerned, this is definitely the strangest year in modern American history, and many believe that what we have witnessed so far is just the beginning.  Up … Read more

What should you pick: forex pairs or CFDs?

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When it comes to choosing what to trade, there are all kinds of options available out there. From stocks and shares to rental properties, there are plenty of vehicles that you can use to invest and grow your money. Two of the most popular modern assets, though, are foreign exchange currency pairs and CFDs. What … Read more

Cuba Rations Food As Its Socialist Economy Enters Crisis Mode

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by Jose Nino via Mises Wire While it is fashionable to talk about Venezuela and its notorious shortage of basic goods such as toilet paper, flour, and milk Cuba is now implementing a rationing program to combat its very own shortages of basic goods. A CBC report indicates this program would cover basic items such as chicken, eggs, rice, beans, and soap. What has … Read more

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is Already Demanding Higher Pay, and Says She Will Become Corrupt if Not Rewarded.

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via redstate: Alexandria’s current salary in Congress is $174,000. This is far greater than the US average salary of workers without a high school diploma ($27+K), or those who graduated high school ($37+K). Even looking at those with a college education she earns nearly triple the rate of $66+K annually. So here is the woman, who … Read more

Escalating Trade War Signals More Pain For Oil

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By Nick Cunningham Trump backed off his proposed trade war with Mexico in the face of intense pressure from business groups and even his own party, but his faith in tariffs remains unbowed. In fact, Trump may have internalized a lesson that presents further risks to the global economy and to oil markets. “If we … Read more

Before You Pay Your Hospital Bill, Read This

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by Nilus Mattive of Daily Reckoning Have you run up a huge hospital bill that you’re having difficulty paying? The stress can be overwhelming, especially while you’re recovering from a complicated procedure and feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck.  But you’re not alone… The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found that 43 million Americans have overdue … Read more

As Amazon’s Alexa Passes 100 Million Units Sold, It Will Now Be Always-On And Always Recording And Storing All Conversations In Your Home

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by Geoffrey Grider Amazon’s patent application for an always-on feature for Alexa, its popular voice-activated personal assistant, has raised a lot of concern. Understanding of Bible prophecy is a lot like driving into a smog-filled city like Los Angeles, where I lived for a time before getting saved back in the last 1980’s. When you view LA from a … Read more

‘China Bad debt approaching 25% of total credit’

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by Danielle Park via Juggling Dynamite I have long noted that the leverage, securitization and off-book accounting gimmicks that imploded enery-giant-ENRON in the early 2000s were adopted far and wide over the last 20 years.  Bailouts to those instrumental in the 2008 implosion, along with central bank liquidity-pumping globally, enabled a continuation of similar antics in … Read more

Hong Kong risks its future as global business hub

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by Katrina Hamilton via Reuters HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) – Carrie Lam’s government could squander Hong Kong’s privileged position in the eyes of foreign governments. A bill that would allow extradition to the mainland prompted hundreds of thousands to protest on Sunday. If the chief executive ignores the message, Washington, Brussels, and others may reconsider their … Read more

Chiraq Mayor Lori Lightfoot holds “accountability” meeting after another weekend of gun violence

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by DCG There is no such thing as “accountability” in Chiraq. Demorats have been in charge since 1931 and yet the gun violence CONTINUES. From MyFoxChicago: City leaders met Monday following another violent weekend. The second weekend of June saw 39 people shot, three of them fatally. Police were also able to arrest 36 people on gun-related charges and remove … Read more

AOC & Buffett Think Alike?

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by Martin Armstrong Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) attacked corporate politics, influence, and greed. She echoed Warren Buffett who recently told shareholders that if a bank needs a government bail-out, the responsible CEO and his or her spouse should lose their net worth. Interesting comment on Buffett’s part when he lent $5 billion to Goldman Sachs to prevent their … Read more

Is the S&P 500 making a very bearish pattern right now?

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via Troy: After a big 5 day rally, the stock market is stalling. Today’s headlines: Canary in the coal mine: small caps underperforming large caps NASDAQ’s breadth Interest rate cuts Crash pattern Job openings Tech’s surge Go here to understand our fundamentals-driven long term outlook. For reference, here’s the random probability of the U.S. stock market going up on … Read more

What does it actually mean to have negative interest rates? Why is it bad? What caused this? Specifically who is responsible?

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by Ilogy QE is far more than simply the Fed buying Treasuries in mass quantities. After all, that was already how the Fed set interest rates prior to 2008, through the buying and selling of short-term Treasury bonds. Why QE was so controversial was because the Fed was given the power, by congress, to print money … Read more