A Difference of Opinions In his various writings, Murray Rothbard argued that in a free market economy that operates on a gold standard, the creation of credit that is not fully backed up by gold (fractional-reserve banking) sets in motion the menace of the boom-bust cycle. In his The Case for 100 Percent Gold Dollar Rothbard wrote: I therefore advocate as the soundest monetary system and the only one fully compatible...
Read More »First ZeroHedge Symposium and Live Fight Club
For over four decades, many of the planet’s biggest trouble makers and assholes have met each year in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum with the humble mission of, “Improving the state of the world.” Each year since 1978, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City has sponsored a symposium in Jackson Hole on an important issue facing the world’s bankers and their pet politicians and government bureaucrats....
Read More »Silver’s Got Fundamentals – Precious Metals Supply-Demand Report
See the introduction and the video for the terms gold basis, co-basis, backwardation and contango. Supply-Demand Fundamentals Improve Noticeably Last week was another short week, due to the New Year holiday. We look forward to getting back to our regularly scheduled market action. Photo via thedailycoin.org - Click to enlarge Gold and Silver Prices The prices of both metals moved up again this week. Something very...
Read More »Trump Is Set To Label China A “Currency Manipulator”: What Happens Then?
While China has been banging the nationalist drums in its government-owned tabloids, warning daily of the adverse consequences to the US from either a trade war, or from Trump’s violating the “One China” policy, a more tangible concern for deteriorating relations between China and the US is that Trump could, and most likely will, brand China a currency manipulator shortly after taking over the the Oval Office. Even Bank...
Read More »Silver’s Got Fundamentals – Precious Metals Supply-Demand Report
See the introduction and the video for the terms gold basis, co-basis, backwardation and contango. Supply-Demand Fundamentals Improve Noticeably Last week was another short week, due to the New Year holiday. We look forward to getting back to our regularly scheduled market action. Photo via thedailycoin.org - Click to enlarge Gold and Silver Prices The prices of both metals moved up again this week. Something very...
Read More »Weekly Sight Deposits and Speculative Positions: SNB Intervenes, Speculators Short CHF again
Headlines Week January 09, 2017 Who has read Milton Friedman knows that the Trump reflation trade is now showing its positive side. US wages are rising by 2.5%, while inflation is still relatively low. According to Friedman, inflation will increase only later. This implies that speculators are long the dollar and short the Swiss franc and the euro during the weak inflation period. The last ECB meeting showed that the...
Read More »Weekly Speculative Positions: CHF and GBP net shorts are slowly rising again
Swiss Franc Speculators were net short CHF in January 2015, shortly before the end of the peg, with 26.4K contracts. Then again in December 2015, when they expected a Fed rate hike, with 25.5K contracts. The biggest short CHF, however, happened in June 2007, when speculators were net short 80K contracts. Shortly after, the U.S. subprime crisis started. The carry trade against CHF collapsed. The...
Read More »SNB announces 24 bn CHF profit for 2016 thanks to rising stock markets.
The Swiss National Bank has announced 24 bn profits from 2016. Profits came from the dollar, yen and Canadian dollar, while the pound retreated by 15%. The EUR/CHF is only slightly weaker, mostly because the SNB actively supported the euro. SNB profits on USD, CAD and JPY, loses on GBP . The SNB mostly profited on rising U.S. stock markets, in particular the S&P500. SNB Profit Increases Thanks to Well Performing...
Read More »FX Weekly Preview: Macro Forces Underpin Dollar, Equities and Yields
Summary: Odds of a March Fed hike edged up last week, and Q4 GDP figures were revised higher. Many continue to expect the new US Administration to pursue pro-growth tax reform, deregulation and infrastructure spending. Although many other high income countries are growing, near trend divergence of monetary policy continues. United States The major US equity indices reached record highs before the weekend even...
Read More »US Jobs Details Better than the Headline
United States The dollar and US yields are recouping more of yesterday’s decline. A break of $1.0480-$1.05 would suggest the euro’s upside bounce is exhausted. A dollar move above JPY116.80-JPY117.25 would also hint that the greenback was going to make an other run toward JPY118.30-JPY118.60. Sterling support is seen in the $1.2285-$1.2310 area. The Canadian dollar is struggle to sustain it upward momentum. A US dollar...
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