Sunday, April 13, 2014

Your Horoscope Says 'Sell'


Your Horoscope Says 'Sell'
Traders, watch the skies. The stars say that the Nasdaq Composite Index's worst decline since 2011 this week may be just the start of a stock-market rout.
In the third week of this month, Pluto, Uranus, Jupiter and Mars will fall into an arrangement astrologers call a Grand Cardinal Cross, which is when four of the planets oppose one another in the shape of a cross. According to Olga Morales, who runs Astrology for Gann Traders from Melbourne, Australia: "This tension creates tremendous instability on our earth."
Traders don't seem like the types to check their horoscopes before deciding whether to dump stocks, so before scoffing, hear this. In the early 1990s, I was invited to the treasury department of the newly established European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Halfway through my visit, a computer pinged in a corner of the room, and a trader leapt into action, buying this and selling that. A software program that combined technical analysis with astrology had identified a market opportunity.
I saw my first broker note yesterday pointing to the forthcoming planetary commotion, albeit with a healthy dose of skepticism. Astrology advocates, moreover, claim that the Fibonnaci series technical analysts rely on for buy or sell signals derive from what used to be called the movement of the spheres. The web is littered with sites offering books, training courses and newsletters that can help you use the planets to make money in financial markets, suggesting that somebody out there is trading on star movements.
Here's the twist about the imminent Grand Cardinal Cross. The last time this constellation visited the heavens seems to have been in 1932. Morales has been sending charts to her subscribers highlighting the market moves from that year: The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 20 percent. So to some, the 2.45 percent decline seen so far this year is looking prescient.
"This clearly is good reason to consider getting a jump on the 'sell in May' crowd," says Henry Weingarten, who has run The Astrologers Fund Inc. since 1988. "If you believe the risk/reward of today's stock market is increasingly less favorable to bulls, and you dislike elevated risk, then either hedging, writing calls, or adding portfolio protection is cosmically prudent."
There's something else to watch in the heavens above and worry about in the trading rooms below: blood moons. This month features a total lunar eclipse of the full moon on April 15, and a solar eclipse of the new moon on April 29. Because of the way light bends around the earth before it reaches the moon, the moon can appear reddish in hue, hence the bit about blood, says Malcolm Bucholtz, author of the Astrological Trading blog.
Not all of the cosmic crowd are bearish. Ted Hammack of Sinewave Astrology notes that the coming arrangement doesn't include Saturn, which he calls "the big mover and shaker in mundane events." Saturn, it seems is "stationary this July at 16 degrees Scorpio" -- which means nothing to me, but to Hammack it says Saturn isn't making trouble and we're safe(ish).
"Hence I don't think the current Grand Cross will show up primarily in the global financial markets unless the geopolitical trends -- Russia in Ukraine, global earthquakes etc. -- get out of hand," Hammack says.
I will leave the final word, though, to Bucholtz of Astrological Trading: "You will know the height of stupidity has been reached when you hear Bloomberg and CNBC talking about blood red moons."
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Your Horoscope Says 'Sell'

Warning: Stocks Will Collapse by 50% in 2014

Warning: Stocks Will Collapse by 50% in 2014
It is only a matter of time before the stock market plunges by 50% or more, according to several reputable experts.

“We have no right to be surprised by a severe and imminent stock market crash,” explains Mark Spitznagel, a hedge fund manager who is notorious for his hugely profitable billion-dollar bet on the 2008 crisis. “In fact, we must absolutely expect it."

Unfortunately Spitznagel isn’t alone.

“We are in a gigantic financial asset bubble,” warns Swiss adviser and fund manager Marc Faber. “It could burst any day.” 

Faber doesn’t hesitate to put the blame squarely on President Obama’s big government policies and the Federal Reserve’s risky low-rate policies, which, he says, “penalize the income earners, the savers who save, your parents — why should your parents be forced to speculate in stocks and in real estate and everything under the sun?” 

Billion-dollar investor Warren Buffett is rumored to be preparing for a crash as well. The “Warren Buffett Indicator,” also known as the “Total-Market-Cap to GDP Ratio,” is breaching sell-alert status and a collapse may happen at any moment. 

So with an inevitable crash looming, what are Main Street investors to do?

One option is to sell all your stocks and stuff your money under the mattress, and another option is to risk everything and ride out the storm.

But according to Sean Hyman, founder of Absolute Profits, there is a third option.

“There are specific sectors of the market that are all but guaranteed to perform well during the next few months,” Hyman explains. “Getting out of stocks now could be costly.”

How can Hyman be so sure?

He has access to a secret Wall Street calendar that has beat the overall market by 250% since 1968. This calendar simply lists 19 investments (based on sectors of the market) and 38 dates to buy and sell them, and by doing so, one could turn $1,000 into as much as $300,000 in a 10-year time frame. 

In a 2012 interview on Bloomberg Television, Hyman correctly predicted that Best Buy would drop down to $11 a share and then it would rally back up to $40 a share over the next few months. The stock did exactly what Hyman predicted.

Then, during a Fox Business interview with Gerri Willis in early 2013, he forecast that the market would rally to new highs of 15,000 despite the massive sell-off that was haunting investors. The stock market almost immediately rebounded and hit Hyman’s targets.

“A lot of people think I am lucky,” Sean said. “But it has nothing to do with luck. It has everything to do with certain tools I use. Tools like the secret Wall Street calendar and my Crash Alert System.”

With more financial uncertainty that ever, thousands of people are flocking to Hyman for his guidance. He has over 114,000 subscribers to his monthly newsletter, and his investment videos have been seen millions of times.



Read full news on Newsmax.com 

Aluminum industry says auto demand will provide biggest wave since beverage cans

Aluminum industry says auto demand will provide biggest wave since beverage cans
The aluminum industry expects the automotive sector will generate the biggest wave of new demand since manufacturers started using the lightweight metal to make beverage cans.
“For us, it’s equivalent to the invention of the (aluminum) can which was introduced to many markets about 50 years ago,” said Aluminum association of Canada president Jean Simard Friday.
Automaker giant Ford plans on reducing the weight of its F-150 pickup truck by increasing the amount of aluminum used to 315 kilograms from 45 kg on current models.
Simard called the move a “game-changer,” prompting competitor General Motors to become less reliant on heavier steel for some of its models.
Aluminum producers have faced a rough few years with high inventories causing prices to crater.
But industry leaders say that the longer-term outlook for aluminum is brighter, largely due to big changes in the transportation industry.
They say vehicles such as cars, trucks, buses and planes already consume about one-quarter of global aluminum production each year but demand from the transportation sector is expected to grow by four to six per cent annually.
Demand is also expected to be spurred by new fuel efficiency standards in the United States.
Aircraft manufacturers including Bombardier are also increasing the use of aluminum and composite materials on their new products to reduce fuel consumption. The electrification of bus networks is also prompting transit companies to use more aluminum.
Representatives from Rio Tinto Alcan, Alcoa and the Alouette smelter said Friday they will press Quebec’s new Liberal government to lower electricity rates to make aluminum production in the province more globally competitive.
But Alouette CEO Andre Martel says he doesn’t expect the tone of negotiations will change much with the change of government.
The large smelter and other producers are seeking “significant” rate reductions that would allow facilities to be expanded, and create new jobs.
Martel declined to say what rates it is seeking, noting they must be globally competitive.
In February, Alcoa reached a rate deal with the Parti Quebecois after threatening to close three Quebec smelters if Hydro-Quebec didn’t lower its electricity rates.
Rio Tinto Alcan is also seeking a reduction to compete with lower cost production in the Middle East.
“We are always in discussions with Hydro-Quebec because when we implement plants we are doing that for 50, 60, 70 years so we need to always be able to predict the future,” said Jacques.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Is This Why Copper Is Tanking?

From "world renowned" Dennis Gartman's letter to investors (sent overnight):  
"NEW RECOMMENDATION: our interest in copper is piqued and we’ll “punt” copper this morning from the long side, buying May copper at or near to $3.0630/lb. as we can, with stops at this morning’s low of $3.025. We look for copper to make a run to $3.15 or even higher and on a close above $3.07 today… if possible... we’d add a 2nd unit to the trade."
Sure enough, first thing this morning:

Is This Why Copper Is Tanking?

Europe Folds As Putin Tells It To Pay Ukraine's Gazprom Bill, Or Else ...

 Europe Folds As Putin Tells It To Pay Ukraine's Gazprom Bill, Or Else ...
Another day ending in "y" means another day in which Putin plays the G(roup of most insolvent countries)-7 like a fiddle.
The latest: Europe should provide aid to Ukraine to ensure uninterrupted natural-gas deliveries to the region, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said as reported by Bloomberg.
"Russia is the only country helping Ukraine’s economy with energy supplies that are not paid for,"  Dmitry Peskov told reporters today in Moscow,  commenting on President Vladimir Putin’s letter yesterday to 18 European heads of state. “The letter is a call to immediately review this situation, which is absurd on the one hand and critical on the other.
Said otherwise: PUTIN SAYS EUROPE GAS TRANSIT DEPENDS ON UKRAINE: IFX
Or, as we explained yesterday, Russia is quite happy to keep the EU gas flowing... as long as Ukraine has enough gas in storage to assure Gazprom it won't syphon off gas destined for Europe. So how much gas does Ukraine need to pre-stock? About $4-5 billion worth. The problem is that Ukraine doesn't have a dime to spend on gas.
So putting the question aside if Ukraine will or won't import even one bcf of Russian gas ever again (thanks to some fracking or US natgas exporting magic), what Putin just said is that if Europe wants an uninterrupted supply of gas it better find a way to fund Ukraine to the tune of up to $5 billion, or else the gas may just get shut off.
And guess what: Putin is about to win yet again:  
European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger is working on a plan to help Ukraine pay some of its gas bills to Russia, he told Austria's ORF radio on Friday, saying there was "no reason to panic" about Russian gas supplies to Europe.

"We are in close contact with Ukraine and its gas company to ensure that Ukraine remains able to pay and the debts that the gas company has to Gazprom do not rise further," he said, adding he would meet Ukraine's energy and foreign ministers on Monday.

"I am preparing a solution that is part of the aid package that the IMF, the European Union and the World Bank is giving to Ukraine and from which payment for open bills will be possible."

Friday, April 11, 2014

Marc Faber Warns "The Market Is Waking Up To How Clueless The Fed Is"

"I think it's very likely that we're seeing, in the next 12 months, an '87-type of crash," warns a somewhat excited sounding Marc Faber, adding that he thinks "it will be worse."
Marc Faber Warns "The Market Is Waking Up To How Clueless The Fed Is"

The pain is just getting started as Faber notes that "the market is slowly waking up to the fact that the Federal Reserve is a clueless organization." Internet and Biotech sectors (growth stocks) are "highly vulnerable because they're in cuckoo land in terms of valuations," and fully expects the selling to spread as The Fed "have no idea what they're doing. And so the confidence level of investors is diminishing," and that means we will see a major decline.

Copper, iron ore imports defy China weakness

Copper, iron ore imports defy China weakness










Markets were shocked on Thursday by surprisingly weak trade data from China, the world's second largest economy, that showed overall imports falling by double digits and exports declining 6.6%.
But China's appetite for raw materials like iron ore and copper appear undiminished.
Chinese steel mills and iron ore traders made the most of soft prices for the commodity in March, ramping up imports 21%.
After a steep drop off, mostly attributed to seasonal factors, in February of more than 25 million tonnes from the record setting pace in January, imports jumped to just under 74 million tonnes in March.
First quarter imports are 19% higher than last year and at 222 million tonnes imply an annualized tally of almost 890 million tonnes, compared to 2013's 820 million tonnes.
The surge in imports also come despite iron ore stockpiles at China's ports reaching fresh highs of 108 million tonnes this week.
Long a practice in the copper market, some estimates put the portion of the country's iron ore stockpiles used as collatoral for trade credit at 40%.A factor boosting imports is tightening domestic credit conditions in China which encourage imports as part of financing deals.
The benchmark price of iron ore was down slightly on Thursday, but is up 14% from 18-month lows suffered early March.
According to data from the The Steel Index, the import price of 62% iron ore fines at China's Tianjin port lost $0.30 to $119.10 per tonne on Thursday, down from $134.20 at the start of the year.
Copper shipments also defied weakness in China, rising a whopping 31.4% on year to 420,000 tonnes. That's up from 379,000 tonnes in February due to the Lunar New Year holiday, but down from a particularly strong 536,000 tonnes in January this year.
China's copper imports are very price sensitive and the red metal fell to a near four-year low in March of $2.92 a pound.
The copper price has since recovered to above $3.00 a pound, but is down more than 10% year to date and a new study suggests more pain is in the offing.
The closely-watched Thomson Reuters GFMS Copper Survey forecasts a period of copper market surpluses as global mine supply ramps up and predicts the average price to test $2.75 a pound ($6,000/tonne) in the second half.