https://twitter.com/StockBoardAsset/status/1004397868340400128 Corporations should take the $2.5 trillion in corporate buybacks and pay off the $1.5 trillion in student loans — then maybe millennials will consume again. — Alastair (@StockBoardAsset) June 6, 2018
via Hussman Funds: Ever-increasing amounts of debt, taken on by those least able to pay it back. As the current Everything Bubble inflates to ever-more-absurd levels, larger loans must be sold to people who have almost no chance of ever paying them back. Who eventually pays for these sure-to-default bad loans? You do. Or your … Read more
https://twitter.com/RonStoeferle/status/1004270803448422401 that means most countries have diminishing marginal productivity of debt and are headed to #EconomicHeatDeath KW
https://twitter.com/OccupyWisdom/status/1004522695860674560 1999 – Why profits don’t matter for IPOs The Wall Street Journal has a heads-up article in Monday’s paper that says the percentage of companies going public this year that aren’t yet profitable is higher than at any time since the dot-com bubble. (The article, here, is available for free.) The paper notes that there are … Read more
via CNBC: Jamie Dimon, the chairman of the Business Roundtable, said the group of CEOs has thrown its support behind companies backing away from the practice. “When companies get where they’re sort of living by so-called making the numbers, they do a lot of things that really are counter to the long-term interests of the … Read more
Ouch. Investors betting against Tesla lost more than $1 billion Wednesday, according to estimates from financial technology firm S3 Partners. Tesla bears have lost nearly $5 billion in mark-to-market losses since 2016, S3 finds. The electric car maker is one of the most heavily shorted stocks in the U.S., as well as the most heavily … Read more
via goldtelegraph: The official news bulletins on the economy are positive. Officially, unemployment is at 3.8 percent, a low not seen in two decades. The big picture looks great as companies are making record profits and consumers are spending again. But for some people, a 9 to 5 job is still a dream. Many have become … Read more
by ITS_JUST_LOW_T In investing it’s essentially the ability of an asset to change in price rapidly. This doesn’t mean it’s always changing in price necessarily, just that it has the potential to. Bonds are generally a fixed rate of return paid out at the end of the bond’s term. Their current price is subject to some … Read more
It’s the stock buybacks. Companies are expected to buy back 10% of their market cap this year. They are borrowing money to do it. Likely be a huge credit crisis and crash in the future from it, but enjoy the ride while it lasts. What Is Driving The Stock Bull Market Higher? The performance of … Read more
Chart: VIX is below 12 again – pic.twitter.com/JnyAc2HIZj — (((The Daily Shot))) (@SoberLook) June 7, 2018 we are in the latter innings of an economic cycle. pic.twitter.com/NbKonj1Xyh — Alastair (@StockBoardAsset) June 5, 2018 FT: Eurozone GDP data confirm first-quarter growth slowdown — Alastair (@StockBoardAsset) June 7, 2018 some interesting facts 504 % rally in 8 … Read more
Authored by Ryan McMaken via The Mises Institute, When governments subsidize goods and services — or provide them directly through government-owned institutions — the effect is to lower the price to consumers, thus increasing demand. Put another way: if the price of, say, a college education is near-zero to the consumer, then consumers are likely … Read more
June’s OPEC meeting might be one of the worst since 2011, says expert from CNBC. The forthcoming meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers like Russia could be one of the most fractious in recent years with competing interests and demands at play. OPEC’s production policy will dominate the agenda when the world’s major oil … Read more
https://twitter.com/FerroTV/status/1004657021835149313 UST10Y & $SPX Soar as DXY & WTI Negatively Diverge pic.twitter.com/dALWBQ7zYD — Alastair (@StockBoardAsset) June 7, 2018
via Economica : Population demographics in the developed world paint a grim economic picture. Rapidly aging populations and plummeting birth rates mean drastic declines in productive population and a commensurate drop in energy consumption. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your viewpoint), we know what happens when this occurs over a longer time horizon, as it has … Read more
via The Future of Freedom Foundation: “What do you have to lose?” Such was the grand sum total of Donald Trump’s appeal to minority voters in his presidential campaign. Essentially, “Yes, I have nothing to offer you and don’t care about you, but how well are you doing having voted for Democrats decade after decade?” … Read more
by Michael Snyder One of the primary reasons why the middle class in America is disappearing so rapidly is because of skyrocketing health care costs. Families all over the country are being absolutely crushed by extremely high health insurance premiums, ridiculously high deductibles and very large out-of-pocket expenses that were not anticipated. In fact, medical bills are the … Read more
by Michael Snyder We haven’t seen anything like this since Hawaii first became a state back in 1959. Kilauea began erupting on May 3rd, and it hasn’t stopped rumbling yet. In fact, authorities are telling us that Hawaii has been struck by “over 12,000 earthquakes” during the last 30 days. That is an extraordinary amount of shaking, and … Read more
Venezuela recovers its gold from Citigroup. Argentina is trying to move away from the central bank. The IMF is pushing austerity on the people and the people are angry. There are now more job openings than there are unemployed people to fill them. So then why don’t we see people switching jobs and want don’t … Read more
via Jill Mislinski Here is a summary of the four market valuation indicators we update on a monthly basis. The Crestmont Research P/E Ratio (more) The cyclical P/E ratio using the trailing 10-year earnings as the divisor (more) The Q Ratio, which is the total price of the market divided by its replacement cost (more) The … Read more
Wolf Richter wolfstreet.com, http://www.amazon.com/author/wolfrichter “Veterans in this industry are saying this is the best freight market they have ever seen.” But shippers struggle with rising costs. Orders for Class 8 trucks – the heavy trucks that haul trailers across the US – surged 114% in May, compared to a year ago. With 35,200 orders, it … Read more