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S&P 500 Analysis & ETF Trading

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TimeFrames .... CCI intraday cycles
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handsdo Free
10/09/23 10:42 PM
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circlem Free
09/11/18 12:05 PM
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Re: #19,855: @kiy - $$$...these last few points was about a lower dollar
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Oddlot Free
09/08/18 1:41 PM
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Re: #19,855: @kiy - $$$...these last few points was about a lower dollar
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circlem Free
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circlem Free
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08/20/18 12:36 PM
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circlem Free
08/16/18 12:13 PM
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kiy Free
08/15/18 5:59 PM
Post #19,851
Re: #19,850: @kiy - 2839/2840...the 10day average is pivot...above 2843 you could
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kiy Free
08/14/18 12:01 PM
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kiy Free
08/13/18 3:28 PM
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kiy Free
08/10/18 2:22 PM
Post #19,848
Re: #19,846: @kiy - Close 2857 at 2861 minus 4 S&P points...
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kiy Free
08/09/18 3:27 PM
Post #19,847
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kiy Free
08/09/18 10:41 AM
Post #19,846
Re: #19,840: @kiy - Add short 2857...its a little early so follow stops...
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kiy Free
08/08/18 4:06 PM
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kiy Free
08/08/18 3:05 PM
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kiy Free
08/08/18 11:29 AM
Post #19,843
Re: #19,842: @kiy - 5minute...did 5 minute do enough damage to give
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kiy Free
08/08/18 11:22 AM
Post #19,842
Re: #19,841: @kiy - 2857...early on the last post was because 5
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kiy Free
08/08/18 11:00 AM
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kiy Free
08/08/18 9:53 AM
Post #19,840
Re: #19,838: @kiy - close 2860 at 2862(2861.61)... minus 2 S&P points...zip...no
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kiy Free
08/07/18 12:44 PM
Post #19,839
Re: #19,838: @kiy - close 2860 at 2862(2861.61)... minus 2 S&P points...zip...no
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kiy Free
08/07/18 12:26 PM
Post #19,838
Re: #19,836: @kiy - add short 2860...I'll start following stops if this
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kiy Free
08/07/18 12:21 PM
Post #19,837
Re: #19,835: @circlem - Kidney stones? Ouch. Bears feel your pain.
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kiy Free
08/07/18 11:40 AM
Post #19,836
Re: #19,831: @kiy - add short 2849...tight stop...
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circlem Free
08/07/18 10:58 AM
Post #19,835
Re: #19,832: @kiy - 2850...I wasn't expecting price above 2850...
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easycome92 PremiumMember
08/06/18 8:47 PM
Post #19,834
Re: #19,832: @kiy - 2850...I wasn't expecting price above 2850...
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08/06/18 3:57 PM
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kiy Free
08/06/18 3:51 PM
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Re: #19,830: @circlem - First grind bears into dust. Then let market
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kiy Free
08/06/18 1:56 PM
Post #19,831
Re: #19,829: @kiy - add short 2833
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circlem Free
08/06/18 11:53 AM
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kiy Free
08/03/18 11:04 AM
Post #19,829
Re: #19,826: @kiy - add short 2824...tight stop...
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kiy Free
08/02/18 12:29 PM
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kiy Free
08/01/18 4:50 PM
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kiy Free
08/01/18 11:13 AM
Post #19,826
Re: #19,818: @kiy - Cover 1/4 2840 at 2809...plus 31 S&P points
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kiy Free
07/31/18 3:27 PM
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kiy Free
07/30/18 5:06 PM
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kiy Free
07/29/18 5:50 PM
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Re: #19,820: @kiy - Astro-O-Ology..."Does the concept of a “status quo” even
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kiy Free
07/29/18 5:11 PM
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kiy Free
07/27/18 1:20 PM
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kiy Free
07/27/18 1:08 PM
Post #19,818
Re: #19,811: @kiy - add short 2840...this is early...
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kiy Free
07/27/18 12:18 PM
Post #19,817
Re: #19,812: @kiy - UVXY...I'm long at $9.22...not expecting much...and of course
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kiy Free
07/27/18 12:10 PM
Post #19,816
Re: #19,802: @kiy - $RUT...sell...big engulfing candle yesterday...
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kiy Free
07/26/18 4:14 PM
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kiy Free
07/26/18 4:08 PM
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kiy Free
07/26/18 1:49 PM
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Re: #19,809: @circlem - Farcebook sharts the bed. Massively overbought going into
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kiy Free
07/26/18 10:46 AM
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kiy Free
07/26/18 10:24 AM
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Re: #19,807: @kiy - close 2829 at 2833...close 2825 at 2833 zip...
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kiy Free
07/26/18 10:04 AM
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This page is rather long; so click on "Hide Intro" over on the right...or take a look...


 
A worldwide survey was conducted by the UN. The only question asked was: "Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?" The survey was a huge failure. In Africa they didn't know what "food" meant. In Eastern Europe they didn't know what "honest" meant. In Western Europe they didn't know what "shortage" meant. In China they didn't know what "opinion" meant. In the Middle East they didn't know what "solution" meant. In South America they didn't know what "please" meant. And in the USA they didn't know what "the rest of the world” meant. http://www.laughfactory.com/jokes/political-jokes.

 

"It is your responsibility to prepare for the unseen opportunity. Because when it comes, you'll be ready. If you are not prepared, it will pass you by and you won't even know it." George Romney.

It is their Casino...all of Wall Street’s past decade of scandals, schemes, and misdeeds. From insider-trading convictions, Ponzi schemes, sexual harassment cases, pay-to-play ethics violations, misleading recommendations based on banking relationships, mortgage fraud, and rate-rigging scams, bank bailouts...


Another Market CRASH Right now, the same series of events are unfolding that took place in 2008. Namely, too much debt. Back then, it was mortgage debt. And when the default rates on those mortgages hit 4%…That was enough to send America’s economy into a tailspin.

Fast forward a decade, and Americans have nearly piled on another $1 trillion in additional debt.
That time it was mortgages.  This time it’s rising student loans. And just like 2008, defaults on those loans have begun to roll in. Except they’re much higher than anything we saw during the mortgage crisis.
During the Great Recession, the mortgage default rate was only 4%. Default rates on student loans are already at 11.5%.That’s nearly three times as high.

And once again, bankers have figured out a way to profit off of it.
ABC reports that:

“Investment bankers on Wall Street are once again ‘cutting and dicing up [student loans] into collateralized loan obligations.’"

These derivatives have been rolled up into a market worth more than $8 trillion.

For government insiders, the writing is on the wall. Former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chair Sheila Bair agrees, saying the unfolding student loan debt defaults are set to “drag” the U.S. economy into a tailspin.

According to an expert at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, we have:

“…swapped a housing debt bubble for a student loan bubble.”

And this bubble now stands at a staggering $1.34 trillion dollars. But remember that Wall Street is effectively leveraged at a 3:1 ratio. Which means that if a $1 trillion dollar domino falls, $3 trillion in borrowed money could evaporate with it. That’s over 20% of the entire U.S. GDP.

Citibank calls our present situation:

“Eerily reminiscent of the mortgage crisis.”

And unfortunately…Even if you and your family have nothing to do with student loans or higher education… You WILL feel the shockwaves when a quarter of the U.S. economy simply evaporates!

The ability of our propped-up system to sustain itself is reaching its end. And if you’ve looked at the DOW recently, you’ve seen for yourself.

In early February, the DOW lost 1,175 points in a single day. That was the largest single day drop in history. Larger than Black Monday during the Great Depression…

Larger than any day during the dot-com bubble… And larger than any day during the Great Recession.
Reality is finally catching up with us.  I expect this data to emerge in the next six months to a year – but frankly it could be much sooner.
And just like in 2008, all the major banks, from Wells Fargo, to Goldman Sachs, to Deutsche Bank, will see the money they used to make these risky bets simply evaporate.

Once the dominoes start falling, we will see a collapse the likes of which our current system simply can’t withstand.

Mark Spitznagel made over $1 billion in profits for his Universa hedge fund by betting against the U.S. economy right as it collapsed. He even predicted the 20% correction of 2011, almost down to the day.
Here’s what he’s saying right now:

“We are … living in the age of government-mandated financial repression – which has created a forced, false financial stability.

Thanks to almost a decade of unprecedented market interventions by global central banks (which have collectively acquired assets totaling over $20 trillion), everywhere you look there is repression of yields [and] repression of market volatility, [Which leads to]Exploding asset valuations (to heights not seen since shortly before past historic crashes), financial-engineered debt, leverage, stock-buybacks, cryptocurrency-insanity, “short volatility” and all manner of reckless yield-chasing investment schemes.

This is an age of massive artificial economic imbalances and systemic risks.”

Spitznagel sees what’s coming: We are long overdue for another crash of epic proportions…
Only this time, we won’t be crashing from the heights of a thriving economy. We’ll be crashing from the true lows. Moneypaperpress.com

With valuations currently pushing the 2nd highest level in history, it is only a function of time before the second-half of the full-market cycle ensues.
That is not a prediction of a crash.
It is just a fact.”
\
Bullish or Bearish
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

07/15/18  U.S. consumer prices barely rose in June, but the underlying trend continued to point to a steady buildup of inflation pressures that could keep the Federal Reserve on a path of gradual interest rate increases.
07/08/18 President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would consider imposing additional tariffs on $500 billion in Chinese goods, should Beijing retaliate. U.S. tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods kicked in on Friday. Another $16 billion are expected to go into effect in two weeks and potentially another $500 billion, Trump told reports aboard Air Force One on his way to a rally in Montana before the tariffs kicked in. First “34, and then you have another 16 in two weeks and then as you know we have 200 billion in abeyance and then after the 200 billionwe have 300 billion in abeyance. Ok? So we have 50 plus 200 plus almost 300," Trump said. – Chloe Aiello, https//www.cnbc.com, July 52018.
The Big Picture of Today  ...comments by Dennis Slothower
07/08/18 With soaring U.S. deficits, a strengthening U.S. dollar, rising U.S. interest rates (and Libor rates), and central bank quantitative tightening which will run into 2020, liquidity is drying up. This is making the global markets extremely fragile, especially for high oil prices, which is why the President wants oil prices down. They are killing global growth.

84% of the S&P 500 gains this year have come from four companies. Amazon (AMZN) represents 36% of the gains for the S&P 500 this year. Microsoft (MSFT) accounts for 18%. Apple (AAPL) represents 15% of the gains and Netflix (NFLX) has also added 15% of the gains to the S&P 500 index. When just four companies account for 84% of the gains of all S&P 500 companies for half of the year, we have a serious problem. In truth, it is just 10 companies that account for 100% of the gains for the S&P 500 (AMZN, MSFT, AAPL, NFLX, FB, GOOG, MA, V, ADBE, and NVDA). ????... What this means is 490 companies are struggling in 2018 within this index. There is no sugarcoating this, especially when we note that the global stock market is breaking down.
While the financial media such as CNBC, Fox Business, and Bloomberg etc. speak of how glorious the economy is, let’s be clear: they are paid to be promoters. They are not watchmen on the tower to help you guard against loss. As I have warned you, the market is struggling with $75 crude oil, burgeoning debt, sky-high health insurance premiums, and a Federal Reserve determined to keep raising interest rates and draining liquidity. This isn’t a market environment you can trust.
A storm is coming. Up until now, we’ve only seen the advancing wind that is doing some damage. We’ve seen this storm brewing for quite some time. While the storm hasn’t come ashore yet, we’ve been warned and that’s an advantage.

06/29/18 Does a good economy leave 48% of Americans living in danger of poverty? Does a good economy mean, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, more Americans age 18-34 live with their parents than with a spouse? Does a good economy mean almost 60% of Americans can’t even cover a $500 emergency expense?

And the effects of our underperforming and overheated economy are manifesting in immense social unrest. From West Virginia teacher walkouts to Florida school shootings…To the rise of violent protesters like Antifa and the re-emergence of white Supremacist groups.

The signs grow stronger every week, as the social fabric that has kept America so strong slowly gets torn to shreds. Once-peaceful communities are now being rocked by vicious mass shootings… Immigrants are flooding towns with violence, drugs, and crime… NFL players refuse to stand for the National Anthem, even as their fans pay for ever-more expensive tickets to see them play…And Congress, more divided than ever, can barely keep the doors open.

These may all seem like unrelated events, but in fact, they are all side-effects of the same disease.
A growing divide between those who work hard and build our society – “givers” – and those who expect everything to be handed to them: “takers.”
Politicians call it “wealth inequality” and paint it as the root of all our social ills. Keep in mind that 93% of Obama’s recovery money went straight to “takers.”
It didn’t go to the plumbers and electricians and engineers who actually build this society…It went to the bankers, the mortgage companies, Sallie Mae, and Freddie Mac.
When it was all said and done, only pennies were left over for regular Americans.... 


June 30, 2018 Traders chose to ignore new economic data that was not encouraging on Wednesday. The Commerce Department reported that first quarter GDP was not as healthy as expected, coming in at a weak 2% compared to previous estimates of 2.2%. It was fortunate that it didn’t fall below 2%. The weaker than previously estimated growth reflected downward revisions to private inventory investment, consumer spending, and exports.
While we continue to expect a pretty good second quarter GDP, the estimates of 5% and more are likely to disappoint. And with broad weakness from consumers, particularly as we come to the end of the second quarter, the average GDP for the year is not going to be as good as everyone is talking about.

Another surprise, from the Labor Department this time, showed that initial jobless claims are growing and exceeding expectations. For the week ending June 23rd, jobless claims rose to 227,000 — an increase of 9,000 more than the previous week.

Real Commodity Prices In Bear Market An unusual deviation in commodities has recently occurred that we have not seen before. With the fairly recent advent of ETF funds for almost any investment vehicle, the diverse speculation in ETFs as a group has hidden a very important economic signal — commodity price trends. Commodity prices are some of the early signals that the economies of the world are about to shrink. When the demand for raw materials shrinks it is because manufacturer pipelines of finished goods are narrowing. This heads-up signal has been somewhat hidden with the introduction of so many different ETFs 

As of Wednesday's 6/13 rate hike; the Fed still intend to hike rates 2 more times...this may invert the yeild curve...
Markets already know the Federal Reserve will deliver more rate hikes this year. They're just not prepared for how much it will hurt, according to Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer of Bleakley Advisory Group. Of the last 13 rate hike cycles, 10 have resulted in a recession, says Boockvar. Markets are taking another 25 basis-point hike from the Fed at its June meeting as a near certainty, based on CME Group fed funds futures.  Karis Lahiff, “The Fed is About to Deliver a ‘Punch in the Face,’ that Markets are not Prepared For,” www.cnbc.com, May 12, 2018

***...strong retail sales are based largely on soaring gasoline prices. Gas station sales drove 23% of the value of growth in retail sales, YoY. Gas station sales are up 17% YoY — because crude oil has been trending up.
Take out gasoline, auto parts, and fuel-related costs, and we arrive at the truth... not much growth in sales.

PROFIT CYCLE PEAKING
This is the worst start to the second quarter since the Great Depression. Notice how the President is no longer taking credit for the stock market’s performance!
We are now close to the Minsky moment when a sudden collapse of asset values is part of the credit or business cycle and that comes when all technical supports are breached and sell stops are triggered on margined positions.
Imagine what a persistent bear market would be like in a full mauling, where primary supports
are violated with great force and program trading bots automatically unload waves and waves
of sell programs, triggering margin calls on the largest amount of capital on margin in recorded
history.
As the market begins to crash, mutual funds are forced to liquidate positions by panicky
investors on each down wave, especially in the ETF funds. We know the conditions are such
that it can happen fast, we just don’t know how fast! Yet, it doesn’t take much imagination to
figure this one out.
\
This chart illustrates the negative balance or what is on margin that investors have comparably since 1995. Notice that in the recession of 2000-2002 and in the recession of 2008, the negative balance (Red), or what was on margin, went to a positive balance sharply and violently (Green). 
Notice that since the Great Recession of 2008, assets on margin have gone ballistic.

****When the market starts to break major long-term support and begins to develop a downtrend, investment banks’ risk substantially skyrockets.

Consequently, margin calls will be generated to maintain positions in a developing bear market and as stocks fall faster, more capital will be required to maintain margined long positions. This causes investment banks to automatically begin selling customers positions to maintain the proper ratios of capital on margin.

In fast market conditions with so much on margin and so much on the line for investment banks’ capital, the Minsky moment can happen very fast.

This can happen when corporate earnings are at their best or at “peak earnings.” When the stock market fails to rally on exceptionally good earnings releases it means investors are looking forward and not at last quarter’s earnings announcements.

Remember, corporate earnings always look the best at peak earnings at the top of the market and they always look the worst at the bottom of the economic cycle.

Notice the massive difference in 2018 from 2017. Most of this buying is occurring in the big tech sector in extremely high valuations at the top of the economic cycle.

This is what is causing the market distortion. Take out this corporate buying from these companies and the U.S. would be declining with the rest of the global slowdown!

These are financially engineered profits with the real economy getting weaker. This is why Fed Chairman Powell acknowledged this past week that median real wages have been declining for the last three quarters.

You can’t keep raising interest rates, mortgage rates, and rents while we're seeing soaring debt, higher gasoline prices, higher health care premiums, and now tariffs from all of our major trading partners, without creating a ticking time bomb.

This is the chart showing all the recessions predicted by the Fed.

Impressive chart wasn't it? The Fed isn’t in the business of forewarning of recessions! It is in the business of protecting big banks, which means misleading about oncoming recessions.

Oil...Dollar
We’ve had seven consecutive quarters of accelerating growth, largely because of two principle factors — a plunging U.S. dollar and rising crude oil prices. 
July 25. 2018

I think we are going to find that corporate earnings actually peaked in the first quarter, that the surging dollar in the second quarter will have slowed earnings growth from the previous quarter, and that the third quarter will slow even more.

The trade wars will also impact corporate earnings, the strong dollar, and the vast majority of stocks. I think the January highs will likely still be the highs for the year.

The bulk of the growth in S&P 500 earnings in the first two quarters have come from one sector — Energy. It dwarfs all other sectors at 145.3% for the quarter.

When Trump came into office, a barrel of oil was approximately $44 and reached $75.27 early this month. This is a 71% increase in the price of oil.

This is where the S&P 500 growth has come from. It is oil-manipulated prosperity, not real economic growth. Remember, energy prices represent an expense for most companies.

Oil production is soaring. The state of Texas is about to surpass Iraq and Iran to become the world’s number 3 oil powerhouse!

U.S. crude oil output is now hitting 11 million barrels a day, the most in history. We are swimming in oil, just as the weather cools into the second half of 2018.


Daily

The leading sector within the S&P 500 index has been the energy sector.  Though cash flow for oil majors is set to be the highest in 12 years, stocks have largely fallen out of favor because of fears that abundant supply will soon face a peak in demand. These earnings are clearly not sustainable!

With the Fed drying up liquidity by draining or selling Treasury bonds, yields cut off the supply of money. That, along with higher interest rates, will soon slow the economy down and cut off the demand for energy.

IS THE U.S. DOLLAR BOTTOMING?
One of the first things President Trump did when he came to office was to start to fight economic battles for the U.S. and in part this began with a plunge in the U.S. dollar to make U.S. goods more competitive.

The bearish downtrend in the U.S. dollar relative to the euro has made European goods very expensive and it is hurting the European economy and other economies. Notice what has been happening globally since the first of the year.

Much of this is related to the U.S. dollar being weak for much of  2017 but, most recently, the U.S. dollar has been picking up momentum and was challenging its 200-day moving average at the end of April.

However, though the U.S. dollar has recently rallied, it still remains in a bear market. If the U.S. dollar turns back down again, European goods will continue to climb in price, but if the dollar continues to rally, crude oil prices will peak and turn down.

French President Emmanuel Macron was in Washington at the end of April to discuss with President Trump, principally, the Iranian nuclear deal. Macron was leading an effort by France, Britain, and Germany to find a fix in hopes of persuading the President not to abandon the Iranian nuclear agreement. The EU is getting cheap Iranian oil and Europe would like that to continue. President Trump wants to stop enriching Iran and Russia and to import U.S. oil to Europe.
Therefore, President Trump wants Iran to not only submit to nuclear inspections, but to stop its ballistic missile program. However, what the U.S. wants most of all is to stop the “sunset” provision in the current Iranian deal that Obama allowed that gives the nuclear bomb to Iran in a few years.

***oil wars...currency wars...trade wars...war wars...
Oil surged in April over concerns that should Trump tear up the Iranian Nuclear deal, as many as 1 million barrels of Iranian exports would be eliminated from the market as a result of a return to trade sanctions.
Remember, Iran, Russia, and China are bypassing the U.S. dollar to trade in oil in the petroyuan, sidestepping the petrodollar. The U.S. is determined to fight back. (...currency wars, trade wars, war...???) 
Higher gasoline prices are now hurting the consumer. It drains capital from the economy at a time when the Fed is draining capital from the banking system. That’s a dangerous combination.

We are in an economic war and I figure because Iran, Russia, and China have ditched the petrodollar, President Trump will look to strike a new deal with more solid foundations.

In a stern warning to Iran, President Trump said that if Iran ever threatens the United States, “they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid.” Thousands of U.S. troops and marines have recently arrived in Jordan, near Syria.
Allies in Europe — Romania, Poland, and Sweden, among others — are rapidly ratcheting up their defense spending. Trump repeatedly scolded NATO allies for falling short of the group’s defense spending target (2% of GDP), instead relying on the presence of U.S. forces.
Political tensions have been rising around the world, and acts of war are becoming more prevalent and more brazen. No doubt, Donald Trump’s rhetoric and assertion that NATO is “obsolete” have had an effect on military spending in Europe. But so, too, did Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  Over the past few years, Russian forces have routinely harassed Swedish and Finnish planes and ships in the Baltic Sea. The country even sent a submarine near Stockholm. Finnish Defense Chief General Jarmo Lindberg indicated these actions convinced his country to reevaluate its military and preparedness. “The overall military activity in the neighborhood of Finland has been growing,” Lindberg said. “Russia, as we all know, has been active ever since Crimea. NATO has brought on forces to the Baltic states, and in Poland it has forward presence. There is a U.S. Marine Corps unit in Norway. Sweden has brought the forces back to the island of Gotland, and they also ran a huge national exercise—19,000 soldiers—this September." He went on: “So overall military activity all around Finland has been growing for the last four, five years. That means that also we are in a situation where we have been analyzing our military capabilities, our military readiness—and based on our analysis, it is changing. So more reserve, it is better readiness and it is better spearheading of capabilities for all the services.” Baltic states — led by Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania — have increased their spending, as well. They’re now spending more than twice as much on defense as they were in 2004.

Early estimates suggest collective military spending by NATO members will rise nearly 4% in 2018.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, China is menacing its neighbors, claiming the entirety of the South China Sea and building military bases on artificial islands to enforce that claim. There’s also been speculation about an invasion of Taiwan. China has also been pouring money into warships, stealth combat aircraft, advanced missiles, and other weapon systems in recent years. Its military spending is forecast to reach $203.3 billion in 2018, up nearly 6% from $192.5 billion last year.  Japan has been so unnerved, not just by China, but North Korea, that it abandoned its post-WWII pacifist policy and raised defense spending to a record-high $45.76 billion. The spending will focus mainly on U.S. equipment. In all, global defense spending is forecast to reach $1.67 trillion in 2018, the highest level since the end of the Cold War.

But again, it is the United States that will lead the way. The U.S. government has already earmarked $716 billion for defense spending in 2019. That’s an $82 billion increase from 2017, and one of the biggest defense budgets in modern American history.


$USD 2 year view...

July 25, 2018
On Wednesday, housing starts reportedly “declined 12.3%” month-over-month in June, while permits declined 2.2%.

July 20, 2018 

Democrat Keith Ellison got Powell to actually acknowledge that median full-time wages have been declining for the previous three quarters!

Furthermore, Powell’s testimony indicated that the Fed is uncertain just how the trade wars are going to affect the Fed’s forecasts: “We don’t know ultimately where this process will lead.”

Some are now raising concerns that the Fed may be forced to end its quantitative tightening (QT) process by the end of the year rather than in 2020. The chief concern seems to be that the liquidity shortage in U.S. dollars is posing a destabilizing effect on emerging markets, where debt is off the charts.

Don’t be surprised to suddenly get disappointing economic news given the fact that the spread is less than 25 basis points from inverting the yield curve.


Government spending and debts are rapidly accelerating. That’s a serious problem when you are at $21 trillion in debt. We are about to enter the next recession with the highest government and corporate debt ever recorded. This is an approaching train wreck.

May 19, 2018 The 10-year Treasury yield in six to eight months could be closer to 4%! What we are seeing is the cost of energy, the cost of borrowing, the cost of doing business, the cost of soaring debt, costs of soaring rents, costs of mortgages, etc. All are weighing on the economically-sensitive sectors.

06/15/2018 The euro on Friday was headed for its biggest weekly loss in 19 months after the European Central Bankunexpectedly said it would keep interest rates at record lows well into next year. The ECB's crisis-era stimulus of massive bond purchases aimed at boosting the euro zone economy will end this year but interest rates will remain steady at least through the summer of 2019, the ECB's president Mario Draghisaid on Thursday. Euro bulls who expected the ECB to hike rates at an earlier juncture were caught out as the single currency slumped nearly 1.9 percent, sending traders piling into the dollar and yen… positioning (the euro) to have its biggest weekly loss since November 2016. – Reuters, www.cnbc.com, June 15, 2018.

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Corporatocracy is a term used as an economic and political system controlled by corporations or corporate interests. It is a generally pejorative term (contempt/disapproval) often used by critics of the current economic situation in a particular country, especially the United States. This is different to corporatism, which is the organisation of society into groups with common interests.
Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are privately owned, supply, demand, price,  distribution, and investments are mostly set by the private sector and  market forces rather than by economic planning by the government;  profit is distributed by owners who invests in businesses. It also refers to the process of capital accumulation.
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Capitalism... is the old system. It is based on greed and selfishness and has run its course. Debt has been used to degrade everything including human lives to a monetary calculation that eliminates all social obligations to each other. This is especially observable in the later development of "capitalism that has reduced society to a system of practical debt slavery." Government debt to private parties has been used to manipulate and corrupt government for private ends, particularly, in the present debt paradigm called capitalism.

And it has damaged the planet and countless numbers of people in its greedy exploits.
...the idea that we have to rely on each other - as opposed to institutions like banks and government - is the idea that is spreading and it is reaching critical mass in human society in general.
Corporations are persons who have no moral conscience.
They are special kinds of persons which are designed by laws to be concerned only for their stockholders.
Corporations have no soul to save and they have no body to incarcerate.
 
15minute


02/12/18 the Golden Goose... The eggs that the Golden Goose (Federal Reserve and other world central banks) has laid, have cracked. They will try to put it back together again, just as they did when a similar crack first happened in January 2008. It worked for a while then. But a few months later in 2008, there was a more serious crack that all the king’s men couldn’t put back together again. They had to create a new golden goose to lay new golden eggs, and they named her ZIRP. But ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy) is mature now and not able to inspire such a comeback as was possible in those days right after her birth. Oh, she will probably have some sort of a comeback. But this time she has less arrows in her quiver to use to secure the fuel and food to support everyone (all the politicians) who depend upon her. And her weight (debt) continues to grow.
02/09 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-stocks-could-charge-up-10-from-here-unless-bitcoin-gets-in-the-way-2018-02-08?dist=markets
 January 31. mmacycles.com It is an interesting way to end a month of several record highs in stock indices. Lunar eclipses are symbols of conflicts between the new and the old ways of doing things, and between the urge for freedom and independence, versus the wish for safety and security. We are in the midst of “The Great Reset.” But when the forces of change demand a “new normal,” and no one quite knows what that “new normal” is about, there is bound to be a wish for things to go back to the way they were by some people, even perhaps by many people. But this eclipse is a time to look forward, not backward. It is a new day, and this is just the start of “The Great Reset” throughout the world in terms of collective psychology, world economics, and governance.
 

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE...We the People Issue...is this your president... A demagogue, a popular leader, a leader of a mob, or rabble-rouser is a leader in a democracy who gains popularity by exploiting prejudice and ignorance among the common people, whipping up the passions of the crowd and shutting down reasoned deliberation. Demagogues overturn established customs of political conduct, or promise or threaten to do so. Demagogues have appeared in democracies since ancient Athens. They exploit a fundamental weakness in democracy: because ultimate power is held by the people, it is possible for the people to give that power to someone who appeals to the lowest common denominator of a large segment of the population. Demagogues have usually advocated immediate, forceful action to address a national crisis while accusing moderate and thoughtful opponents of weakness or disloyalty. 
"They must find it difficult ...Those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than truth as the authority."  - Gerald Massey

SPECULATION STOCKS  location

Some RULES for this I-Hub Board............READ THIS...or ... 
You and only You are responsible for your trades...
This board will be used for analysis of charts ranging in different time periods to determine signals for trading of various instruments=individual stocks, etf's and options. Please direct your comments towards technical indicators that everyone can see on a price chart:  we are talking about signals and technical indicators here, not opinions or predictions or forecasts of  when the next grand slam will be... share technical signals and charts with the group and if you have an active position......  Rather than being opinionated and letting your subjective bias determine which side of the market to be on,  try to maintain objectivity based on technical analysis.  Remember...Intellect is the capacity for understanding, thinking, and reasoning, as distinct from feeling or wishing.  If you feel you do not need to answer questions on this board ...then why are you here.... your post may be challenge, be willing to answer. If you feel you must GAMBLE and encourage gambling from the 5 minute or lower time frames you will be asked to take  your message to the "gamblers board"...If you feel you  "must  offer an opinion or off topic comment; please do it after trading hours. Charts and signals at signal lines is what we want..
I-Hub's rules state:  It is the burden of each poster to ensure that their posts do not contain content that qualifies them for removal. It doesn't matter if your post contains the cure to the common cold or the best stock tip since (fill in your favorite ticker here), if it contains other content that is a violation of the site's rules of conduct, then it qualifies for removal.  ...
One of the key items to remember as investors/traders is that the market doesn't always reflect reality. Oftentimes it reflects belief. And belief can prove to be a delusion. 
"A belief held without objective examples that everyone can see is a delusion."
“Opinion is that exercise of the human will which 'lets' us make a decision without objective information and objective examples.” 
“Discussion is an exchange of knowledge; an argument an exchange of ignorance.”
Dysfunctional attitudes and behaviors often comes with "self will run riot," it's not a process that builds "character".  It's not common decency, nor  any form of kindness...it can only be destructive. Self Destructive... Building character is a project you never complete. We form our character in defining moments because we commit to irreversible courses of action that shape our personal and professional identities. We reveal something new about us to ourselves and others because defining moments uncover something that had been hidden or crystallize something that had been only partially known. We must test ourselves because we'll discover whether we will live up to our personal ideals or only pay them lip service. The Market is one place where YOU WILL BE TESTED...take the test...
IF you don't know yourself..the Stock Market is an expensive place to find your true self...
It is no disgrace to be wrong... disgrace happens when you choose to stay wrong...
Thank You... Kiy...ki...theMatrix                         You are only as good as your next trade...Kiy
This release may contain "forward-looking statements" that are within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are identified by certain words or phrases such as "may", "will", "aim", "will likely result", "believe", "expect", "will continue", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "contemplate", "seek to", "future", "objective", "goal", "project", "should", "will pursue" and similar expressions or variations of such expressions. ...
"I am tempted to say that stupid and drunk is another bad combination, but that would be disingenuous. It is after all one of the great combos that humanity has brought forth upon this big blue marble, right up there with high crimes and misdemeanors, drawing and quartering, and the biathlon (frozen snot rules). But stupid, drunk and posting? That's a losing trifecta, always has been and always will be."  (...LOL...I won't say who posted this; found it on the "JailHouse Board...I haven't been sent there...yet...)
                                                              http://thespiritualscience.net/inspirational-quotes/
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https://www.streetwisereports.com/
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May 5, 2018 https://www.thestreet.com/investing/jim-cramers-seven-deadly-sins-of-investing-14580426
"Seven Deadly Sins" can kill your portfolio in the current market conditions, Jim Cramer said Saturday. "You must avoid [these things] if you're going to pick the right stocks," the expert said, according to his prepared remarks. Here's a rundown of seven things that Cramer said can wipe out your stocks:
Rising Interest Rates Higher rates can hurt stocks of companies like homebuilders, which rely on affordable mortgage rates for their customers. "Nobody trusts the homebuilders past the day they report because the litany is always: 'This is the last good quarter when it comes to Lennar (LEN - Get Report) , Toll Brothers (TOL - Get Report) , D.R. Horton (DHI - Get Report) , Taylor Morrison (TMHC - Get Report) and PulteGroup (PHM - Get Report) .'"
Bond Yields That Compete With Dividends Cramer said that with the risk-free 10-year U.S. Treasury bond yielding around 3% right now, a stock with a 3% dividend yield "means nothing now. ... That's why the consumer-packaged-goods stocks -- almost all yielding 3% -- not no traction until late last week when rates simmered down."
Higher Input Costs Can Be Deadly Rising prices for a company's inputs can be bad news for any stock, Cramer said. "When anyone sees a spike in any raw cost line -- whether it be lumber, chemicals, freight, you name it -- that stock's going lower."
Trump Cramer said President Donald Trump no longer stops with just one nasty tweet about a company he dislikes like Amazon (AMZN) . "Your new rule is that when the president attacks, it's the beginning not the end of the war," he said. "So, keep your powder dry for multiple ripostes."
China "These days, anything with a China input of any sort is pretty much too dangerous to own," Cramer said. "It doesn't matter if we sell it in China or if we import it from China -- any Chinese [exposure] is a simple negative because of the tit-for-tat" reactions in any U.S.-Chinese trade dispute. "The only problem is that our president has to deal with the rule of law. ... The Chinese government can order a boycott on everything from the iPhone to Starbucks (SBUX) to KFC, but the president has not been similarly inclined on our end." However, Cramer did have some positive advice about dealing with China. "The one thing I tell people is that if you want surefire China trades: you go long Yum Brands (YUM) and short Yum China (YUMC) , as they have similar growth rates and similar price to earnings multiples, but only one can be brought low by the [People's Republic of China]."
The 'Death Star': Amazon "There's only a handful of companies that can beat Amazon at its own retail game," Cramer said. The only ones he sees are Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR) , Dollar General Corp. (DG) , TJX Cos.  (T) , Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) , Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST  Home Depot Inc. (HD  and Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc. (OLLI) . The stockpicker said these companies "all come underneath Amazon's pricing, with the exception of Home Depot, but it has customer-service technology that is superior to that of Amazon, and that's why it's still a buy. Contractors do not want to buy through Amazon. "Everyone else? Guilty until provide innocent," Cramer said. For instance, he warned that you should "never trust a supermarket stock again. They simply exist at the behest of Amazon. If the Death Star chooses to adopt the Whole Foods roadmap that existed before [Amazon bought Whole Foods], there will be 800 new Whole Foods built in the next couple of years. They have the sites. They have the cash. They will flood the nation with new Whole Foods and charge much less than everyone else, as is their way."
Beware of Autos Stocks Cramer said many view U.S. auto stocks as value traps, due to a combination of big problems. For instance, he said automakers need to spend billions of dollars developing self-driving cars at the same time when they can't politically move U.S. plants to Mexico. "So, they have to stay with $30-an-hour [U.S.] employees instead of $3-an-hour [Mexican] workers—with high health care costs instead of the state paying for medical, and very high absenteeism," Cramer said. "If that weren't enough, we have a sharing economy where kids no longer yearn for cars as soon as they can buy them."

AIEQ... an ETF based on the results of a proprietary, quantitative model (the "EquBot Model") developed by EquBot LLC ("EquBot") that runs on the Watson platform. EquBot, the fund's sub-adviser, is a technology based company focused on applying artificial intelligence ("AI") based solutions to investment analyses. The fund is non-diversified.
This artificial intelligence can think for itself and learns as it goes...The fund’s software “constantly” analyzes information for roughly 6,000 U.S.-listed stocks, according to the company, scanning through regulatory filings, news articles, social media posts, and traditional financial metrics—including factors pertaining to correlations and valuations—to find investments it perceives as undervalued. Daily turnover is high compared with other actively managed funds, EquBot said. ...from MarketWatch  http://etfdb.com/etf/AIEQ/    http://www.equbotetf.com/fund/#holdings 
https://ycharts.com/companies/AIEQ/holdings  https://www.moneygeek.ca/weblog/2017/11/06/thoughts-equbots-ai-powered-equity-etf-aieq/    http://www.equbotetf.com/fund/
A portfolio of 30-70 companies is selected by the AI optimising for lower risk and capital appreciation.
Unlike mutual funds, active ETFs, or self-directed investing, this fund is free of human error and biases which can impair performance.
A.I.SapientBot ETF AIEQ ...The AI system is constantly learning based on new information which would make it more powerful as time goes on.

  LIT CandleGlance     LIT Global Lithium ...hit oversold level on 01/22/2018...give it some time still...01/31 double dip in oversold...can start buying ( although don't expect much if S&P 500 continues to go down)  
Jan. 2018 UBS  Jan 2018, "no change to the outlook for lithium." Between now and 2025, UBS forecast that demand for lithium will triple, continuing to support prices and profit margins for lithium suppliers even if supplies increase.
...FMC(T/$90-95-98-106-112),
***SQM, (T/$60-65-70) the lowest-cost lithium producer, its increased production should give it greater power to take market share from other lithium producers. SQM has struck a deal with Chile's Corfo development agency, which could enable SQM to quadruple its production quota for lithium by 2026, and permit it to supply a greater proportion of global demand for lithium, gobbling up market share. Tesla is discussing the idea of building a processing plant in Chile itself, there to process lithium as it is produced by SQM. FT described Tesla's offer as a move by Tesla to "lock in" lithium supply for its own use, and at the same time cut processing costs by availing itself of cheap Chilean solar power. (Chile has some of the cheapest rates for solar-produced energy in the world.) Motley Fool.com
ALB (T/$130-140-160), CBAK (), FLUX (). ENS(T/$77-79), TSLA (), ****BYDDF(BRK.A,B holding)BYDDY you buy BYDDY apparently BYDDF is complicated?) BYD partnership with MSFT on autonomous driving)), PCRFF (Panasonic), ***OROCF, *****GALXF, JCI(T/$42-45),  LIXXF ?***NTTHF,  ***LAC(T/$10)  AVLIF, PEMIF, PILBF,  PLLLY, KATFF, BRGRF, ARRRF, , CMCLF , ***AVLIF, ALTAF, FRRSF, ILHMF, *LRTTF, LTUM, *MGXMF, MLNLF, NRGMF,    http://www.buyupside.com/sample_portfolios/lithium.php https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/LIT/holdings/ ; ....  https://www.marketwatch.com/story/an-electric-vehicle-etf-revs-up-2018-01-22-7465154

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NEWS that may be of interest...
May 25 (President signed bill)https://seekingalpha.com/news/3358442-house-votes-bill-easing-dodd-frank?source="email_wsb&ifp=0" "="" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">; rel="nofollow" style="color: rgb(18, 75, 152); text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">The U.S. House has approved a Senate-passed bill that would raise the level at which banks are considered "systemically important," exempts smaller banks from rules banning proprietary trading and loosens minimum standards on certain home mortgage loans. It marks the biggest rewrite of financial laws since the Dodd-Frank reform act passed after the financial crisis. (...imo...helping the bankerCOOKS...nothing new is it...

Apr. 8, 2018 
TRADE WARS the losers are pretty obvious right off the bat. Automakers GM, Ford and even Tesla. Tesla doesn't produce a lot of cars, but they sold almost 15,000 in China last year. Heavy machinery manufacturers Caterpillar and Gear. U.S. soybean prices are tanking. Tyson Foods would be a loser, which I think is an interesting thing because the Chinese meat giant, WH Group, bought the U.S. pork producer Smithfield Foods a few years ago. Now China accounts for one-third of all U.S. pork exports, which is roughly about $1 billion. And the U.S. is the world's largest pork exporter. You’re going to have losers in aluminum and steel. AK Steel and Alcoa will get hammered. Things people don't think about, like generic drug makers Mylan. It will have to pay higher costs for raw materials. So the losers will be widespread and vast.

Now, who wins? Nobody - at least, not in the U.S. or China. The winners are going to be companies in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, who is already worried and warned that this trade skirmish is going to impact it and that its people should be prepared. South Korea should see some benefit with its semiconductors. But the soybean exporters in Brazil and Argentina are the big winners. China is the largest buyer of soybeans, purchasing 60% of the world's soybean crop. It could take out the U.S. and then go to every other soybean producer in the world to get new supply. The same with pork. This trade war benefits pork producers in Denmark, Germany, Spain and even Russia. And as for European aircraft manufacturers, not everyone's going to switch from Boeing to Airbus immediately, but if the tariffs are long term, that's what you're going to see.
So if this boils over, investors would realign their portfolios by focusing on those Asian, European and Latin American counterparts. Because the biggest winners in a trade war are the countries and companies not involved in the trade war.  https://www.investmentu.com/article/detail/58703/forward-guidance-matthew-carr-investing-trade-war#.WsrJ_9T4-Us

Mar. 26, 2018
 

Mar. 3, 2018 Tariffs... Reciprocal Tariff Act of 1934. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act (RTAA) into law in 1934. RTAA gave the president power to negotiate bilateral, reciprocal trade agreements with other countries. ... At the same time, countries in Europe enacted protectionist policies. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reciprocal_Tariff_Act, “The “Reciprocal Tariff Act” - Wikipedia
Feb. 23, 2018  VIX Funds Face Fresh Scrutiny From U.S. Regulators - Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/.../vix-fund-blowups-spur-u-s-to-probe-if-misconduct-pl...
Feb. 20, 2018   Government/National Debt and other debt...America's Impending Debt Crisis
Feb. 2018 SpaceX CEO Elon Musk launched his now-famous red Tesla Roadster into space, atop the first Falcon Heavy rocket. Cameras mounted on the car live-streamed the Starman’s journey for a few hours, giving us some unforgettable shots of Earth before going black. But if you want to know where the first car cruising our Solar System is right now, there’s a website for that — aptly called Whereisroadster.com.
Feb. 15, 2018 "It (Trump’s budget) fails as sound fiscal policy," said Justin Bogie this week, of the notably conservative Heritage Foundation's senior policy analyst in fiscal affairs, noting that just last year the Trump administration proposed balancing the federal budget within a decade. "This proposal would add an additional $7 trillion to the national debt — something not even a big spender like President Obama ever proposed," he said. "U.S. wage and price inflation are rising briskly, putting intense downward pressure on financial markets," Albert Edwards, global strategist at Société Générale said in the note, adding that "the post-mortem will identify President Trump's ludicrously timed fiscal stimulus as a key trigger for the collapse." – Natasha Turak, “Economists Rip Trump’s Spending Spree as “Foolhardy,” “Ludicrous,” and “The Dumbest.” www.cnbc.com
Feb. 9. 2018 The dollar rose on Friday, putting it on track for its strongest week against a basket of currencies in nearly 15 months as some traders piled into the greenback in a week of tremendous swings felt in stock and bond markets around the world. “Dollar Poised for Best Week in 15 Months Amid Market Turmoil,” Reuters,
Dollar. Very few markets did well last week, except the U.S. Dollar, which is interesting, because that means traders and investors still look to the U.S. Dollar as a safe haven. And this also makes you wonder: with the Dollar having fallen so hard in the past year, why do traders still look to it as a “safe haven?”
The inflation pipeline has three stages. The first stage is the price of raw materials. The second stage is the price companies pay for raw materials (producer price inflation). The third stage is what companies charge consumers for their products (CPI inflation). It all starts with the direction of commodity prices. Strangely, that's the part that economists (and the Fed) pay no attention to. How can economists expect to predict the final stage of CPI inflation, if they ignore the first stage which is the direction of commodity prices?  ...John Murphy StockCharts.com
Jan. 19, 2018  The S&P 500 has gone 394 days without a 5% drawdown, according to Goldman Sachs. That’s tying the longest stretch in the market’s history. We’re facing an overstretched market, and it’s looking for an excuse to let off a little steam in the form of a pullback. 5% down from 2872 = 2728.40 S&P 500

TIME TO BUY GOLD...?.. a real currency war, not just our Fed or other Central Banker's manipulation... an Oil Yuan backed with Gold Jan. 16, 2018

30 Market Risks for 2018 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-should-investors-worry-about-in-2018-heres-a-big-fat-list-of-risk-factors-2017-12-28
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The Saudi Purge is a Global Crisis  (...do a search on You Tube Saudi Purge...
9/11 Trillions: Follow The Money  (...do a search on You Tube 9/11 Trillions...) BitChute.com Corbertt Report...
THE 12-POINT MANIFESTO OF THE ALT-RIGHT 

The Speech and the Executive Order that got US President John F. Kennedy Killed
Corporate elite will destroy US... Chris Hedges
The Men Who Crashed the World
Putin's  Secret Riches
a Minsky Moment increasing speculation using borrowed money.

The Real Threats to the American Dream http://www.heritage.org/poverty-and-inequality/report/defending-the-dream-why-income-inequality-doesnt-threaten-opportunity
The suffocating web of regulation and laws that flow from the limitless state and restrict opportunity, The collapse of the family and the devastating, long-lasting consequences that it has on children. The dependence fostered by the welfare state, The erosion of our culture of work and the rise of a slacker culture that disparages hard work and celebrates indolence, The failures of the public education system that deny countless children the rudimentary skills they need to move ahead in life, and The looming fiscal crisis that has already saddled the next generation with an unconscionable level of debt.

Nov. 20, 2017 Mr. Trump is doing well overall on economic policy, with deregulation and support for tax reform. But his Achilles’ heel is his protectionist trade agenda and his lack of knowledge about the international economy. – “A Nafta Recession?” Wall Street Journal, November 13, 2017.

Mohamed A. El-Erian on BREXIT
Brexit has accelerated what I have characterized in my recent book as the journey to the neck of a T junction – that is to say, the exhaustion of the current road that the global economy is on, and the possibility of two contrasting transitions.  In the event that governments finally step up to the economic policymaking responsibilities and stop relying excessively on central banks, the recent period of low growth and artificial financial stability would evolve into high growth and genuine financial stability. The improvements would be turbo charged by the productive engagement of cash that currently resides on the balance sheets of companies, as well as technical innovations. 

But if politicians continue to disappoint, low growth would turn into periodic recessions, and artificial financial stability would give way to disruptive instability. The inequality trifecta – that of income, wealth and opportunity – would worsen. Already-alarming youth unemployment would get even more deeply embedded in the structure of the economy. Political tensions would increase, as would the trust deficit in business and political elites, as well as expert opinion. 

What is key to stress is that there is nothing pre-destined, at least as yet, when it comes to the road out of the T junction. It depends in large part on the political decisions that will be made in the comings months and quarters. 

If you were forced to opt for just one outcome for Europe what would that be? 
Having suffered short-term disruptions, both the EU and the UK would have regained their economic and financial footing in three years. The UK would have an association agreement with the EU that allows for the smooth trade in goods and services, and that lowers the risk of tariff wars. The EU would be a somewhat smaller but much more coherent, confident and operational unit. 

And your biggest fear in the short-term? 
It would be that de-stabilizing combination of policy mistakes and financial accidents.
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According to Grantham, "Investment bubbles and high animal spirits do not materialize out of thin air. They need extremely favorable economic fundamentals together with free and easy, cheap credit, and they need it for at least two or three years. Importantly, they also need serial pleasant surprises in such critical variables as global GNP growth."
Very fast indeed. No time is wasted on analysis as the RoBoTs do it all at light speed. Crooks best hopes the RoBoTs don't crash as in virus city. The pros don't know how to trade manually anymore. Just a bunch of math geeks spurging out algos. In times of high volatility it looks like fast is going to be the new normal. Cirlem 02/12/18

SENTIMENT...MOMENTUM...MEAN REVERSION
 ...from SeekingAlpha

There is a method of reading the crowd... "Method to the Madness of Crowds" and you can find it and define it on the charts...Technical Charting takes away some of the fear/doubt in trading... and then all you need is patience while waiting for the chart to tell you when the momentum/sentiment turns...Kiy... 
Tell me do indicators serve a purpose or are you a price pattern person...a fundamentalist...or a seat of your pants trader...? 
MOMENTUM...looking at the price chart below;... the technical indicators above the price bars are momentum indicators...the goal is to buy low/sell high...oversold/overbought "relative" to what = CCI 20...%B...Stochastics...and ULT ...these indicators are all about "PRICE" MOMENTUM.  Technical indicators "indicate"... "point direction" they are best read when the indicator is at one of it's "signal" lines and when price is at certain price levels such as Support/Resistance lines.
Stochastics is an important indicator, learn all you can about this one. Developed by George C. Lane in the late 1950s, the Stochastic Oscillator is a momentum indicator that shows the location of the close relative to the high-low range over a set number of periods. According to an interview with Lane, the Stochastic Oscillator “doesn't follow price, it doesn't follow volume or anything like that. It follows the speed or the momentum of price. As a rule, the momentum changes direction before price.” As such, bullish and bearish divergences in the Stochastic Oscillator can be used to foreshadow reversals. This was the first and most important, signal that Lane identified. Lane also used this oscillator to identify bull and bear set-ups to anticipate a future reversal. Because the Stochastic Oscillator is range bound, is also useful for identifying overbought and oversold levels.

The "key" to trading anything is the recognition that you can control risk.  The key to trading is to manage risk. You must set parameters for a trade and stick with them. Taking a loss should be routine. That is how you manage risk.
NOTE: If you have the momentum indicators on your side the risk is less...If you think you can trade against these indicators on the Daily chart your trading account is going to shrink...General Expert...SeekingAlpha Blog

Regression to the Mean/Mean Reversion  is the most powerful law in financial physics  This is the Bollinger Bands 20,2... 20 is the centerline of the Bands...it is the 20 day moving average= a very important signal line...
Mean reversions out of extremes are the most powerful and profitable forces in all the financial markets. Riding one has enormous benefits for your wealth.  Financial-market prices and sentiment are like a giant pendulum. The farther they are pulled to one extreme (overbought/oversold) by excessive greed or fear, the farther they necessarily swing to the opposite extreme in the subsequent mean reversion. Like pendulums, these reversions don’t magically stop right in the middle at normal again. Their kinetic momentum carries them through to the opposite ends of their arcs. But overshot extremes don’t last for long, as the universal greed necessary to fuel them quickly burns itself out.

https://ih.advfn.com/stock-market/AMEX/spdr-s-p-500-SPY/trades

Next...Note the last 2 graphs on the above chart,... below the On Balanced Volume indicator... Note how the price bars change color when price closes above or below the 10 day average. Maybe a green price bar is telling you to buy because a potential trend may form; maybe a green price bar is saying don't sell...maybe = its saying both buy-don't sell ...
Maybe a red price bar says sell or maybe its saying don't buy... maybe both...
Maybe a blue price bar is neutral about Direction/Trend; maybe its saying to listen to the last green or red price bar on the price chart...?... 
... maybe now you are an expert, but don't know it.  Test it... You can look back at a chart from 5years ago or look at this chart 5years from now...I will not have to change any parameters on this chart and all the definitions above will remain the same...
(please note: these colored price bars are part of the Elder's Impulse System  which is based on two indicators, a 13-day exponential moving average and the MACD-Histogram. The moving average identifies the trend, while the MACD-Histogram measures momentum. As a result, the Impulse System combines trend following and momentum to identify tradeable impulses. This unique indicator combination is color coded into the price bars for easy reference. I (Kiy) have added some speed to it with the use of the 10day moving average (also the 10day average relates to the Grail averages and it just so happens the colored price bars work very good with the 10day average also.) And (Kiy) does not use MACD for momentum, I like Stochastics....I leave it to you to use the link above to see how Dr. Elder interprets  the colored price bars.) (...Any way you look at the colored price bars; they are very helpful...better than Candlesticks ; you can test it and learn.)
"Trader's Sentiment Indicators"
SENTIMENT On the above chart...look at the indicators starting with VOLUME...  I use these indicators as SENTIMENT INDICATORS..."trader's sentiment indicators" ...Volume=volume speaks volumes...Accumulation/Distribution... Money Flow Index (MFI) is also both a momentum and sentiment indicator...On Balanced Volume (OBV)...(and on an intraday chart VWAP=Volume Weighted Average Price which I consider both a MOMETUM and SENTIMENT indicator ...from Wikipedia The VWAP can be used similar to moving averages, where prices above the VWAP reflect a bullish sentiment and prices below the VWAP reflect a bearish sentiment. Traders may initiate short positions as a stock price moves below VWAP for a given time period or initiate long position as the price moves above VWAP.  Institutional buyers and algorithms will often use VWAP to plan entries and initiate larger positions without disturbing the stock price.)

The crowd is always taking action...The sentiment indicators are telling you what the "crowd" is doing/thinking... These Sentiment Indicators "indicate"... "point direction" (it really is ALLLL about UP/Sideways/DOWN...) Sentiment indicators are best read when price is at certain price levels like Support/Resistance Lines or at certain Moving Average Lines like the 10day, 20day and 50day moving average. Markets are not about beliefs/opinions, but about sentiment. And, If you can measure sentiment... then you are in a position to make your investment account grow without the need for excuses. (...this really is all you need to know about the Markets... and it should be carved in stone...kiy)  (https://seekingalpha.com/article/1719142-how-should-you-trade-silver-with-all-the-manipulation) (note Kiy; does not advocate Elliot Wave)
The stickie note "Sectors ...Daily" on the Speculation Board has a long list of charts based on the technical indicators noted above: https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=141247347
Investors focus on a wide range of measures to gauge the current state of the stock market.  Financial analysts generate elaborate financial models. Technical analysts interpret charts and complex indicators. Quant investors design intricate algorithms. 
Each of these approaches are legitimate in its own right. But each ignores the elephant in the room: market sentiment. 
Maybe that's because market sentiment is hard to quantify, making it the red-headed stepchild of market analysis. 
But in the real world, market sentiment often matters more than a market's fundamentals. https://www.investmentu.com/article/detail/58940/end-of-bull-market-does-not-feel-like-this?src=email#.WuAAJhvRWUs

Bernard Baruch, an exceptionally successful American financier and stock market speculator who lived from 1870-1965, identified the following long ago:

All economic movements, by their very nature, are motivated by crowd psychology. Without due recognition of crowd-thinking ... our theories of economics leave much to be desired. ... It has always seemed to me that the periodic madness which afflicts mankind must reflect some deeply rooted trait in human nature - a trait akin to the force that motivates the migration of birds or the rush of lemmings to the sea ... It is a force wholly impalpable ... yet, knowledge of it is necessary to right judgments on passing events.

During his tenure as chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan testified many times before various committees of Congress. In front of the Joint Economic Committee, Greenspan noted that markets are driven by "human psychology" and "waves of optimism and pessimism." Ultimately, as Greenspan correctly recognized, it is social mood and sentiment that moves market.
In my humble opinion, I believe that, as more and more study is conducted into the social aspect of economics, especially into market sentiment, we will ultimately abandon the use of "fundamental analysis" as a main research tool in identifying changes to market direction. In fact, many noteworthy scholars and economists have begun to recognize that using fundamental analysis to determine market turning points is akin to driving a car blindfolded, while facing the rear window.
 https://seekingalpha.com/article/4020394-sentiment-speaks-sentiment-trumps-fundamentals-news

Grail Averages   Grail Averages =3day (green line) cross 5 day average...3day cross 10 day average...simple...triggers... 



Trading bands are one of the most powerful concepts available to the technical
Bollinger Bands...Using Bollinger Bands by John Bollinger (...there is  a PDF file over on StockCharts.com...)  
http://stockcharts.com/school/doku.php?id=chart_school:technical_indicators:bollinger_bands
Stocks & Commodities Magazine Articles
Bollinger Bands by Amy Wu
Dec 2001 - Stocks & Commodities V. 20:1 (78-79)
Using Bollinger Bands by John Bollinger
Jan 1992 - Stocks & Commodities V. 10:2 (47-51)ly based investor, but
they do not, as is commonly believed, give absolute buy and sell signals based on price touching the
bands. What they do is answer the perennial question of whether prices are high or low on a relative
basis. Armed with this information, an intelligent investor can make buy and sell decisions by using
indicators to confirm price action. 
The earliest reference to trading bands I have come across
in technical literature is in The Profit Magic of Stock Transaction Timing; author J.M. Hurst's approach
involved the drawing of smoothed envelopes around price to aid in cycle identification.
"Asking the market what is happening is always a better approach than telling the market what to do". 
In the late 1970s, while trading warrants and options and in the early 1980s, when index option trading
started, I focused on volatility as the key variable. To volatility, then, I turned again to create my own
approach to trading bands. I tested any number of volatility measures before selecting standard deviation
as the method by which to set band width. I became especially interested in standard deviation because of
its sensitivity to extreme deviations. As a result, Bollinger Bands are extremely quick to react to large
moves in the market. Bollinger Bands are plotted two standard deviations above and below a simple moving average. The data
used to calculate the standard deviation are the same data as those used for the simple moving average. In
essence, you are using moving standard deviations to plot bands around a moving average. The time
frame for the calculations is such that it is descriptive of the intermediate term trend. 

The easiest way to identify the proper average is to choose one that provides support to the correction of the first move up off a bottom. (...I've never tried this) 
The average that is selected should be descriptive of the chosen time frame. This is almost always a different average length than the one that proves most useful for crossover buys and sells. The easiest way to identify the proper average is to choose one that provides support to the correction of the first move up off a bottom. If the average is penetrated by the correction, then the average is too short. If, in turn, the correction falls short of the average, then the average is too long. An average that is correctly chosen will provide support far more often than it is broken. Bollinger Bands can be applied to virtually any market or security. For all markets and issues, I would
use a 20-day calculation period as a starting point and only stray from it when the circumstances compel me to do so.
As you lengthen the number of periods involved, you need to increase the number of standard deviations employed. At 50 periods, two and a half standard deviations are a good selection, while at 10 periods one and a half do the job quite well.
In most cases, the nature of the periods is immaterial; all seem to respond to correctly specified Bollinger
Bands. I have used them on monthly and quarterly data, and I know many traders apply them on an intraday basis.
For the stock market and individual stocks, a 20-day period is optimal for calculating Bollinger Bands.
It is descriptive of the intermediate-term trend and has achieved wide acceptance. The short-term trend seems well served by the 10-day calculations and the long-term trend by 50-day calculations.

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02/12/18...also... the only way to change a falling average is for PRICE to get above the average...until PRICE SPENDS SOME TIME ABOVE THE 10 DAY AVERAGE...YOU CAN BE CERTAIN THE TREND IS STILL DOWN...PRICE needs to break that downtrend...On the list above I'd want to see a series of Higher LOWS and it doesn't have to be intermediate...just higher lows...and break the DOWNTREND... Kiy

Art Cashin...nice quote..."Nothing's as strong as a Market that changes it's mind."

"When an honest man discovers he is mistaken, he will either cease to be mistaken or cease to be honest." -Anonymous

Economic Calendar       Economic News Calendar     Bloomberg Calender
Zero Hedge     Bespoke
finviz futures
forexpros futures   Futures Summary-Live  Forex Market

                                    MONEY...!!!...first the National Anthem by Pink Floyd ...   Price Tag
Our shared understanding of the value of that green-tinted piece of paper, that Krugerrand, ether token, or pound coin, is all that counts. And that shared understanding has no fixed meaning; it’s in eternal flux. The “value” of all money, all stores of exchange, is unstable and abstract, even in the face of every attempt to secure it?—?say, with a set rate of exchange against various assets?—?or to regulate its flow by setting interest rates. Money is only a shifting network of agreements made in and on behalf of the hive, and that’s all it has ever been—a fragile thread in a web of human trust.
                                          
IntraDay TimeFrame Charts   ...Swing Trading theS&P500  If someone comes along and wants to see a intraday cycle in real time; just ask and I will post charts every hour showing which chart is to be focused on...
Color Codes Colors are based on the CCI 20 (Commodity Channel Index signal lines) ... if "letters" are colored =Green =UP...Red=down...lighter colors = less confident in direction...if letters/stock symbols are Boxed=Green =oversold  ..Red=overbought... you should expect a reversal...§=Reverse of a Signal line(main focus is the CCI centerline)... ¥= first stock to turn UP after the Group/Sector has been oversold.

Aug 8... Swing Traders...Focus on CCI Commodity Channel Index 10...15...30...60 minute charts... then daily Bias and weekly chart.
60minute  CCI 20 bias is Down...Oversold 60 minute chart can act as a proxy for the daily chart...best trades are when both 60 minute and daily bias are working together.
Daily Bias is DOWN...  always trade in the direction of the daily bias... any index or ETF... this should be carved in stone...
Weekly chart  CCI 10 Bias is UP...Overbought... it is always nice when both the Weekly and Daily bias are working together=pointing in the same direction...but, remember the daily chart is the driver.

TimeFrames .... CCI intraday cycles
One Minute chart...I don't encourage trading this chart...but it shows intraday support/resistance/trend lines...what you see on this chart needs to start to show "with signals" on a 10 or 15 minute chart for it to maybe be a trade signal... 
1Minute  http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=%24SPX&p=1&yr=0&mn=0&dy=1&i=p53060300972&a=578125069&r=1518802300785
5MINUTE  http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=%24SPX&p=5&yr=0&mn=0&dy=5&i=p09374124324&a=441813683&r=932
10 minute Chart...when CCI 20 crosses CCI centerline on this 10 minute chart= you step UP to the signals on the 15 minute chart
 15minute... 
WHEN 15 minute CCI crosses centerline  you step UP to the 30 minute chart signals and you become exclusive 30minute signals...KEEPS YOU IN THE TRADE FOR THE CYCLE

UVXY and SVXY..very Very VERY big chart  https://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=%24SPX&p=15&yr=0&mn=0&dy=10&i=p08728785202&a=584935028&r=1521744614237
TVIX  http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=%24SPX&p=15&yr=0&mn=0&dy=10&id=p48433033604&a=548819665&listNum=1
$NYAD http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=%24SPX&p=15&yr=0&mn=0&dy=5&id=p58189769111&a=438807494&listNum=1
15MIN NYadv/NY/DEC  http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=%24SPX&p=15&yr=0&mn=0&dy=10&id=p58612809856&a=499871359&listNum=1
15 minute $TICK.... $TICK...Histogram

30 minute chart...This is swing trading (not day trading) the intraday cycle...aka...30 minute exclusive trading is 10minute CCI cross centerline=you step over to use the 15minute chart signals...15 minute CCI cross centerline step over to 30 minute chart and  the 30 minute chart becomes exclusive = 30 minute CCI signals= will keep you in the cycle/trade longer and not let 10 or 15 minute chart signals take you out of a trade. The 60minute chart's role is as proxy for the daily chart; intraday 60minute CCI tends to be a laggard within this intraday cycle; so all you want to see is 60minue turning while in oversold or overbought to say the intraday cycle is ending and at the same time you will see 30 minute will be ready to signal a change in direction or has already signaled at the +/- 100 CCI signal line. (...and if anyone is wondering; the 5minute chart is a cycle unto itself...with many major YoYo/false signals....plus the daily and weekly charts also have their own cycle...)
30 Minute


http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=%24NYAD&p=30&yr=0&mn=0&dy=10&i=p28358166888&a=528251665&r=151154371245 
http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=%24SPX&p=30&yr=0&mn=0&dy=10&i=p17840099703&a=548799407&r=885
60 MINUTE Chart...

http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=%24SPX&p=60&yr=0&mn=1&dy=0&i=p78382695179&a=577480674&r=235
The commodity channel index (CCI) is an oscillator originally introduced by Donald Lambert in 1980. Since its introduction, the indicator has grown in popularity and is now a very common tool for traders in identifying cyclical trends not only in commodities, but also equities and currencies. The CCI can be adjusted to the timeframe of the market traded on by changing the averaging period. 
Cumulative Charts 

CCI 11 settings
http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=%24SPX&p=60&b=5&g=0&i=p93872393137&a=501420218&r=1485208410835
60minute
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=127213332    
3point bricks
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=%24SPX&p=60&yr=0&mn=0&dy=10&id=p94120869774&listNum=1&a=573280226
Daily Chart... Daily... Cheat Sheet


Weekly CCI 10 Bias is 

Monthly
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=%24SPX&p=M&yr=10&mn=0&dy=0&id=p55270036158&listNum=1&a=560001437
Notes 
Always trade with the direction of the Daily CCI 20. 
Swing trades= intraday to 3-5 days. Always trade in the direction of the daily bias even for short term trades...if you really feel you must trade against the daily bias...you need a hair trigger...get out quick if the position moves against you. The S&P 500 Average  Range for SPX usually runs around 15 points. This range inceases as volatility increases
Remember...What you're looking at on an intraday 60 minute chart is a daily candle or OHLC price bar "uncompressed" from the daily chart. Kind of a "micro" view of the Macro daily chart...and a daily chart would be a micro view of the weekly chart... 
Front Running a Daily chart signal. (...The 60 minute chart can be considered as a proxy for the daily chart and will lead daily chart signals when daily CCI is getting ready to come out of oversold overbought  levels...it just takes patience to get the timing..) Rather than only trade the intraday cycle you can use the intraday charts to front run a daily CCI signal. When the Daily CCI is ready to move out of oversold or overbought... your goal eventually is to catch a trade from intraday that carries over onto the daily chart. It takes some practice and patience becoming comfortable with the  CCI cycles= Intraday/Daily/Weekly and as the 3 sometimes line up together= synchronized you may consider a larger position.
TimeFrames...Intraday Charts

SWING Trading and SPECULATION

According to Dalbar Inc., over the last 20 years, the average equity investor earned an annualized return of 4.67% while the S&P 500 returned 8.19% per year. The reason given for such poor performance among individual investors is - panic selling.  In other words emotion.   Most investors possess the intellect needed to analyze data, but very few are able to withstand the powerful influence of psychology and their own emotions.

The Market is a giant feedback loop, showing traders (and anyone who views the market) a thermometer reading of the social mood under which traders, and by extension society,  are operating. Most traders seem to think of the market as something that has some external value outside of the price attributed to it by traders. I prefer to think of it as a real-time gauge of a society’s view of their own productive capacity…or more simply put–social mood.
When Markets are understood, the idea that everyone can make money is not only inaccurate but impossible and laughable. Everyone making money means there is no market, because who would be willing to take the other side of the trade?
In addition, most traders feel they can move with the crowd to make a (paper) profit, and then get out before the crowd, turning that trade into a real profit. In theory this is sound, but remember everyone else is setting out to do the same thing. It is this crowd movement which allows traders to make money at times. Without a large portion of traders coming to the same decision markets simply would not move. It takes conviction by many traders to create a trend, then it takes euphoric acceptance that “this is the new norm” to end it and “bend it. ” It then takes mass disillusionment to crash it the other way. (vantagepointtrading.com)

 Regression to the Mean is the most powerful law in financial physics
Mean reversions out of extremes are the most powerful and profitable forces in all the financial markets. Riding one has enormous benefits for your wealth.
Financial-market prices and sentiment are like a giant pendulum. The farther they are pulled to one extreme by excessive greed or fear, the farther they necessarily swing to the opposite extreme in the subsequent mean reversion. Like pendulums, these reversions don’t magically stop right in the middle at normal again. Their kinetic momentum carries them through to the opposite ends of their arcs. But overshot extremes don’t last for long, as the universal greed necessary to fuel them quickly burns itself out.

Businessman scratching head in front of wall with arrows on it


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Kaufman's Adaptive Moving Average, the trend is your friend...
Developed by Perry Kaufman, Kaufman's Adaptive Moving Average (KAMA) is a moving average designed to account for market noise or volatility. KAMA will closely follow prices when the price swings are relatively small and the noise is low. KAMA will adjust when the price swings widen and follow prices from a greater distance. This trend-following indicator can be used to identify the overall trend, time turning points and filter price movements.KAMA can be found as an indicator overlay in the SharpCharts workbench. The default settings will automatically appear in the parameter box once it is selected and chartists can change these parameters to suit their analytical needs. The first parameter is for the Efficiency Ratio and chartists should refrain from increasing this number. Instead, chartists can decrease it to increase sensitivity. Chartists looking to smooth KAMA for longer-term trend analysis can increase the middle parameter incrementally.

3 Charts for Swing Trading...is PRICE above/below  the waterline...Kaufman's TRENDLINE

The 60minute and Daily chart need to get ready to work together coming out of oversold or overbought. When you see 60minute/Daily setting up,  you can enter the trade starting with the 15 minute chart signals...
When looking at the 60minute and daily charts I like thE RSI 7, VWAP, stochastics signals/at signal line and VTX with it's 9SMA signals.
Everything previously said about MOMENTUM and SENTIMENT still applies. Listen to these indicators; not yourself or other's opinions...
Rather then use the Grail Averages 3,5,10; I'll focus on the 4EMA/9SMA crosses...

15minute chart... A lower /declining VWAP suggests less conviction relative to price (you can see the same relative to the 9period average also) 

60minute

Daily

Just because the CCI 20 or some other esoteric indicator has signaled a change from overbought/oversold (sell high/buy low)...it only means that maybe the daily chart is waking up from an OVERSOLD/OVERBOUGHT level... you need some more confirmation=3cross 5day average... the smallest SETTING you should use on your charts is 3= that's a rule...3=like the stochastics 14,3 default setting or the 10,3 stochastics setting I use.
Anyway...the Key to the "GRAIL" simply is: the only way you are going to get this smallest of small indicators = the 3day average to change direction from oversold levels ...is price has to continue to move above the moving average. YOU ARE NOW AN EXPERT =MASTER TRADER...TRY NOT TO COMPLICATE IT.
And sometimes when I say the move is weak or failing = price action around the 3day average=no confirmation...3 isn't going to cross 5 day average...
What I'm doing with the 4day average is ignore or assume the signals are early if price can't stay above the 4day average...think about it...IF I say and many others agree that PRICE is the best indicator...maybe I better learn how to read price...I'm saying... as the technical indicators move out of an oversold condition...price above the 4day average suggests the signals are real...price below the 4day average suggest weak and signals are still early...so it helps to define "weak" and define "early"...so I CAN say that it's not an opinion or feeling(subjective)...it is something everyone can see on the chart...You can point at it as a fact...objectively. You can also TAKE the Grail trigger =3day cross the 5 day average... rather than price above the 4day and 4day cross 9day...sometimes I've waited for the 3day to cross the 10 day average...TO TAKE THE TRADE...AND I SAY YOU CAN RELAX AS THE OTHER INDICATORS ARE ALSO ON YOUR SIDE . Also; a 5day cross 8day is good...and so YOU "REALY" ARE AN EXPERT NOW =MASTER TRADER...TRY NOT TO COMPLICATE IT.
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http://stockcharts.com/public/1001240/tenpp/3 $SPXA200R is the % of stocks above the 200 day average 


60MINUTE

 


BONDS

http://stockcharts.com/public/520756/tenpp/4

11/10/2017 TEN-YEAR TREASURY YIELD BOUNCES OFF 200-DAY AVERAGE... 10-Year Treasury Yield ($TNX) testing its 200-day moving average. Chart 1 shows the TNX gapping 7 basis points higher today after finding support at its 200-day line. I also mentioned on Wednesday that the 10-Year Treasury yield was being held back by even bigger drops in foreign yields. Those foreign yields are also bouncing today, spurred mainly by strong economic news from Europe. Britain is the day's leader with its 10-year yield up 8 bps; French and German 10-year yields are bouncing 3 bps. All of which suggests that today's rebound in sovereign bond yields is global in scope. That means that bond prices are falling around the world.

Rising interest rate have two effects that tend to make gold and silver not as attractive.
1. ... rising rates boost the yields on bonds, CDs, and a number of interest-bearing assets. physical gold and silver don't pay a dividend. As lending rates rise, the opportunity cost of owning physical gold and silver rises.  If rates continue to remain low, then investors aren't giving up much to instead buy into the shiny yellow and silver metals, as well as their miners.

2. ... rising lending rates have the effect of pushing the U.S. dollar higher, and the dollar and gold tend to have an inverse relationship.

10 Year Yield chart...yield down value of the 10yr Note is UP...yield UP value of the Note is DOWN

03/29/18  A flattening yield curve happens when the difference between short- and long-term bond yields narrows. Right now, that's because long-term yields are falling and short-term yields are climbing.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield dropped this week to a six-month low, about 2.75%. Meanwhile the 2-year yield has been on the rise in anticipation of more Fed rate hikes. The yield hit nearly 2.30% earlier this month, a level not seen since 2008.  

Truth About the Inverted Yield Curve   https://banyanhill.com/inverted-yield-curve/
April 26, 2018
Headlines are ominous. They warn that the inverted yield curve signals a bear market.
But there’s a problem with that news: The yield curve is normal, not inverted.
The yield curve is the difference between interest rates. There are a number of ways to calculate it.
The simplest uses just two rates. If, for example, the interest rate on 10-year Treasurys is 2% and the interest rate on two-year Treasurys is 1%, the yield curve is at 1% (2% minus 1%). It’s a simple idea.
Normal yield curves are positive. The more time to maturity usually means a higher interest rate.
Sometimes, the curve “inverts,” which means short-term rates move above long-term rates. Then the yield curve carries a negative value.

The latest curve is the top line in the chart below.
\
The curve is at about 0.52%. Many analysts say it’s on the way to inverting.
In fact, it hasn’t fallen this low since 2005. Back then, the decline in the yield curve signaled the start of a rally in the stock market.
This also happened in 1994. But that was a great time to buy stocks.
After the yield curve fell to 0.52% in 1994, the stock market took off. The S&P 500 Index is at the bottom of the chart. The rally, highlighted in blue, lasted more than five years. The index gained more than 220%.

Could that happen again? It certainly seems unlikely.

Stocks are overvalued. The economy is weakening. Interest rates are rising.
It’s interesting that all those statements were true in 1994. History might actually repeat, and stocks could soar from current levels.

But that’s not the real lesson from the yield curve. When it does invert, a decline in the stock market is almost certain.
The lesson is that coming close to an inversion, the level seen now, is meaningless, according to history.
The truth is that we need to wait for an actual signal instead of jumping the gun and projecting our biases on the data
 
DOLLAR...




http://stockcharts.com/public/3421479/tenpp/24    ..from..."" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://stockcharts.com/public/3421479/tenpp/6 Europe Financials EUFN...DB (T/$18H)... Europe "short" EPV ... EURO short EUO..." rel="nofollow"> "" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://stockcharts.com/public/3421479/tenpp/6 Europe Financials EUFN...DB (T/$18H)... Europe "short" EPV ... EURO short EUO..." rel="nofollow">http://stockcharts.com/public/3421479/tenpp/6
 Europe Financials EUFN...DB (T/$18H)... Europe "short" EPV ... EURO short EUO...
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... this man was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board from 1987 to 2006.... “ I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant”  Alan Greenspan....

 Message to Congress on Curbing Monopolies. April 29, 1938  
To Congress
Unhappy events abroad have retaught us two simple truths about the liberty of a democratic people.The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is Fascism—ownership of Government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. The second truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if its business system does not provide employment and produce and distribute goods in such a way as to sustain an acceptable standard of living.

"They must find it difficult ...Those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than truth as the authority."  - Gerald Massey

... the fact is that quite frequently we behave as if controlled by little green men from outer space. We are the only species on the planet that is always at odds with each other, with practically all other species, and with the planet itself. We are the only species with wars, jails, ghettos and mental institutions, where we act and live worse than animals would anywhere.  What have we done to ourselves as a species? What is the force that binds us to selfish deeds?

It holds true that Humans aren't complicated they just complicate every thing...it also holds true that Humans seem to have to go to  extremes with everything before concensus asks to draw it in a bit to the middle road = seek some "balance" here people ...to an outside observer humans really do appear to be a bunch of YoYos...(Concensus in government seems to have come to a standstill...gridlock and laws come in packages of thousands of pages...perpetuates the insanity of the people in power ...and they think they're "Normal"...this isn't normal...why aren't there more humanitarians in congress...more mothers in congress...can't just have a bunch of people with law degrees that says they can argue any point about anything to absurdity...just look at who's running for president...more of the same or outright insanity...that's some great choices for a great country isn't it...so don't forget to vote... 

In philosophy, "the Absurd" refers to the conflict between (1) the human tendency to seek inherent value and meaning in life and (2) the human inability to find any. In this context absurd does not mean "logically impossible", but rather "humanly impossible". 

There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires. "No Easy Walk to Freedom" Nelsen Mandela
Big Brother is Watching 
The Brutal Truth About Today’s World The Sad Truth About Today’s World Illustrated By Steve Cutts  
Art isn’t all fairytale photoshoots and landscape shots – it can also act as catalyst of change. And Steve Cutts thinks that many things in the world should be different. Work shouldn’t be a grinding, soul-crushing rat race for the almighty dollar. Consumerism shouldn’t hold a vice-like grip on our lives. And social media, well, we need to throw-off the shackles we so eagerly put on ourselves. Wouldn’t life be better then?

                                                   ...........  Wish You Where Here ......... Comfortably Numb lyrics ...........
 ...Comfortably Numb 
                                                           ...... Hey You .....

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” ... Einstein  (The actual quote may be...;, A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The striving to free oneself from this delusion is the one issue of true religion. Not to nourish it but to try to overcome it is the way to reach the attainable measure of Peace of Mind." Here you can see the original letters, both typed and handwritten: http://www.onbeing.org/blog/einstein-sleuthing/3637  I was also intrigued by what you said about the word 'optical' and a possible lapse in translation. At the link I provided there's the original handwritten version both in German and in English. Optical seems correct, but it could well be illusion instead of delusion.)

                                                                                                                  Sound of Silence
The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it. ...Einstein ?

 “The only impediment to world peace is world leaders.” Or, perhaps, we should simply comply with the more current and popular thought that “…peace is only attainable through military strength.”  USA President Jimmy Carter

When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace. Jimi Hendrix  ...watch these links... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gQZTAhIjLc
... Star Spangle Banner ...Jimi Hendrix ....  comment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTypVpaCZNs

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. Martin Luther King, Jr.

There is no way to peace, PEACE is the way...    A.J. Muste ...American Gandhi and the History of Radicalism in the Twentieth Century  Muste's increasing horror as he understood the United State's emerging role a global force of violence and domination, perhaps even an existential threat to the world itself. The revolutionary potential of labor had been co-opted by a Democratic Party that was just as eager as the Republicans to build a national security state with an endless reach. America had sacrificed its soul, even as it achieved unparalleled economic and military superiority.  His penetrating analysis of what Eisenhower would term the “military-industrial complex” was even more prescient than he knew. As the Cold War gave way to the War on Terror, Americans have confronted the possibility of seemingly endless war. Muste would have seen the killing power of predator drones and the savage torture techniques of CIA interrogators not as accidents or regretful necessities in the long war to make the world safe for democracy, but as the logical, perhaps inevitable culmination of the “American Century.” One of Danielson's last anecdotes is of an elderly Afghanistan/Iraq War protester who was asked in 2010 if she really thought that her demonstration in front of Rockefeller Center would have any impact on American policy. She quoted Muste, who was asked a similar question while demonstrating against Vietnam in front of the White House: “I don't do this to change the country, I do this so the country won't change me” (336). Almost fifty years after Muste's death, Americans seem no closer to finding the way to peace.

It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. Epictetus (AD 50 – 135)
If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please.People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them. 
Epictetus taught that philosophy is a way of life and not just a theoretical discipline. To Epictetus, all external events are beyond our control; we should accept calmly and dispassionately whatever happens. However, individuals are responsible for their own actions, which they can examine and control through rigorous self-discipline.
                                  "Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest."  
Cognitive Dissonance, is the unseen enemy of mankind. It does more to prevent people from learning and changing than anything else. Tao Ming

==========================================================================================

"Once the crowd gains momentum in the direction of stupid, there is no stopping it."  not so famous quote by some guy...Circlem

Brad Kaysuyama says it the way it truely is What is killing WallStreet

 BUBBLES
http://money.cnn.com/data/fear-and-greed/
History matters because markets do indeed repeat themselves.  John Kenneth Galbraith was interviewed in the PBS documentary, The Crash of 1929, and he observed that every  30 years or so we predictably have a major market correction because that seems to be the length of time it takes each generation to forget the lessons of the previous generation.

At the time, (looking at the chart below)...the argument was that the Fed should have started to increase interest rates in 2013...?...
                   ...but don't worry, be happy...this time is different...and the crowd cheers on......2014, 2015, 2016, 2017...2018... 
                                                               
http://stockcharts.com/public/3421479/tenpp/9


 BUBBLES****Who is going to pay this out-of-control debt that the out-of-control government leaders of the world and USA are racking up for the younger generation by their out-of-control spending spree? Who cares? Apparently, hardly anyone cares today, because the subject does not attract votes. People want to only hear about what they are going to get, not what they are going to have to pay or sacrifice in order to get it.   Raymond Merriman  http://new.mmacycles.com/
http://time-price-research-astrofin.blogspot.com/2017/07/reasons-to-expect-usd-to-continue-to_19.html

Feb. 20, 2018 Government/National Debt and other debt... 
Politicians promise a lot when they are being elected, and they are expected to deliver once placed in office. However, the government doesn’t make nearly as much in tax revenues as it spends each year. For instance, U.S. Federal revenue is up by 82% since 2000, but Federal spending is up by a whopping 138%. The current Federal budget is underfunded by more than $700 billion, and with the new tax cuts, infrastructure projects and other increased spending, this gap is only going to widen in the foreseeable future. Debt, consumer and government, has climbed to absurd levels. The national debt is higher than 105% of GDP, and is only projected to soar higher from here.

from ... http://stockcharts.com/public/3421479
It's hard to visualize what a TRILLION Dollars is like...think of it in how many seconds it would take to reach a TRILLION.
60 seconds = minute... 60 x 60 minutes in an hour=3600 seconds... 3600 x 24hours=86,400 seconds in a day.... 1 million seconds = 12 days (1,036,800sec. )
1 Billion seconds = 31 years... 1 Trillion seconds = 31,000 years

The United States will be the last place the tsunami hits. And because it’s the world’s biggest economy, it will suffer the most. America also has the world’s worst debt, although politicians don’t like to talk about it. They’ll tell you it’s “only” 20 trillion dollars. But when you add all of the money our government owes to veterans …
Baby Boomer retirees … Medicare and Medicaid recipients … All the things Washington calls “unfunded liabilities” … Suddenly our debt looks more like 127 trillion dollars. Which would make it worse than Greece. Worse than Japan. Worse than any other country in the world.

THE FED
2007, the Fed’s balance sheet was just $890 billion. Now it’s $4.5 trillion and they’ve got nothing to show for it but a pile of their own lousy bonds.
The Federal Reserve's looming attempt to shrink its mammoth portfolio of bonds comes with an ugly track record: Virtually every time the central bank has tried it in the past, recessions have followed… The Fed has embarked on six such reduction efforts in the past — in 1921-1922, 1928-1930, 1937, 1941, 1948-1950 and 2000. Of those episodes, five ended in recession according to research from Michael Darda, chief economist and market strategist at MKM Partners. –Jeff Cox, “The Fed’s About to Try Something that Almost Always Has Ended in Recession,” cnbc.com, August 2, 2017.

August 4, 2017  Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan issued a bold warning Friday that the bond market is on the cusp of a collapse that also will threaten stock prices… the long-time central bank chief said the prolonged period of low interest rates is about to end and, with it, a bull market in fixed income that has lasted more than three decades. "The current level of interest rates is abnormally low and there's only one direction in which they can go, and when they start they will be rather rapid," Greenspan said…” – Jeff Cox, “Greenspan: Bond Bubble About to Break Because of ‘Abnormally Low’ Interest Rates,” cnbc.com, 

You can find more on Bitcion and Crypto related stocks https://investorshub.advfn.com/BlockChain-Crypto-35809/
If BUBBLES, FADS AND MANIA are a human characteristic...Humans be very flawed...
\
Bitcoin might be a fine speculation, but it is far from a safe haven. The question you have to ask yourself is what happens when Bitcoin finds its greatest fool and starts to tumble? Where does the money go when the bubble pops and that $135 billion in market cap flees?
SPECULATION STOCKS click on the link to see more about BitCoin
There are only a few investments left in the world that are undervalued: gold, oil, and emerging markets.
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Early 2018 BitCoin took over first place as far as bulles go, and then sold off more then 50%...

The bubble logic driving tulipomania has since acquired a name: “the greater fool theory.” Although by any conventional measure it is folly to pay thousands for a tulip bulb (or for that matter an Internet stock, (a BitCoin)), as long as there is an even greater fool out there willing to pay even more, doing so is the most logical thing in the world.
– Michael Pollan, The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World (2001)

After the crash in 2009, several gold companies went up more than 3,000%. The next crash is coming, and you want to be in position when it shows up. Energy and Capital.com

The best way to rob a bank is to own one." William Black
End the Fed! Who owns the Fed!
http://www.globalresearch.ca/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/10489
Thomas Jefferson on banking " Bold and bankrupt adventurers pretending to have money"

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered.... I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.... The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."

The Demonetising Effect: A Cashless Society
November 10, 2016...using the U.S. election as a diversion, the world's central banks just moved one step closer to achieving its goal of creating a cashless society.
At the height of the election drama Tuesday night, the Reserve Bank of India issued a surprise order that demonetized 500- and 1,000-rupee notes — making the country's largest bills now virtually illegal to use. This will effectively remove 80% of the physical rupees in circulation.

And the announcement of this surprise demonetization was no doubt purposefully meant to coincide with the U.S. presidential election, which was certainly going to be a huge distraction despite the winner.

Now think about what this surprise demonetization means to the Indian people for a minute...
You live in India. And you went to bed on Monday night with a 1,000-rupee note in your pocket. When you went to bed, that note was worth 1,000 rupees. When you woke up, the same note was worth nothing.

Now, people can still deposit the discontinued notes in banks and post office savings accounts until the end of the year and receive the full value. But the 500 and 1,000 notes are nevertheless discontinued, making them technically obsolete as currency. And after the end of the year, people won't be able to exchange them for digital currency.

As you can imagine, the currency ban caused a two-day mad scramble with hundreds of people standing in line at banks and in front of single ATM machines in some places.
\
So what was the point? And can this happen in the U.S.?

 Economic Collapse - Brexit - Euro collapse - America 2016 - Financial Crisis - Noam Chomsky and Yanis Varousfakis ...Yanis Varoufakis is a Greek economist, academic and politician, who served as the Greek Minister of Finance from January to July 2015, when he resigned.

Black Swan "First it is an outlier, as it lies outside the realm of regular expectations, because nothing in the past can convincingly point to its possibility. Second, it carries an extreme impact. Third, in spite of its outlier status, human nature makes us concoct explanations for its occurrence after the fact, making it explainable and predictable."

I'm from Goldman Sachs, and I’m here to help   May 3, 2016

Frightening Global Rise of "Agnotology"
Culturally Constructed Ignorance... "Agnotology"  “culturally constructed ignorance, created by special interest groups to create confusion and suppress the truth in a societally important issue.”

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Economics
Low interest rates can be a great tool to get an economy in slow-down mode going again, but there always is an unwanted side effect. If credit becomes too cheap and available for just anyone, there’s bound to be ‘abuse’ in the system, as households (and companies) can spend the borrowed cash on anything they want.
We have already warned you before about the share buybacks on the financial markets, as the increasing profits (per share) are mainly inflated by lower interest expenses and a lower amount of outstanding shares, rather than really seeing a substantial improvement of the business and sector those companies are operating in.
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“Many governments, including ours (USA), overtax their citizens to feed their own insatiable need for money. Then the legal thieves running the government and their cronies, unwilling to abide the tax levels they created, move their wealth off shore to places like Panama.”   - Daniel Henninger, “Panama Bernie,” Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2016.

 “To wit, the story here (about leaks of the Panama Papers) isn’t about tax evaders and offshore accounts, deplorable as they may be. It’s about public polices and incentives that make a career in politics an expedient route to personal enrichment.” Bret Stephens, “ ‘C’ is for Corruption,” Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2016.

“The Competitive Enterprise Institute finds that, last year 2015, Congress passed a mere 114 laws and federal agencies issued a whopping 3410 regulations… A Kauffman Foundation study cites a proliferation of ‘incumbent protection’ rules as a reason for a decline in small business entrepreneurship. A Brookings Institution study shows an unheralded change in American life, business closures exceeded business starts during much of President Obama’s tenure.”
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...the battle is on 3 fronts = Currency wars are not over...  the oil wars are not over....and import/export trade wars are happening...
Tarriffs/Trade Wars.  MAY 27, 2016 U.S. levies duties on corrosion-resistant steel from five countries Reuters 
Trade fight: China calls new U.S. steel import duties unfair USA TODAY 
U.S. panel launches trade secret theft probe into China steel Reuters 
U.S. ITC votes to continue probe of imports of certain carbon, steel plates Reuters 
China accuses U.S. of 'unfair methods' in steel dumping probe Reuters 
The U.S. Department of Commerce ("DOC") has made its final decision on anti-dumping investigations on imports of corrosion-resistant steel and concluded that China, India, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan are selling these products in the U.S. market below their fair values and therefore, are subject to anti-dumping duties. The ruling marks yet another major step in stemming the torrent of unfairly-traded foreign imports. 03/02/2016 Department of Commerce imposed tariffs of up to 266% on cold-rolled steel imports. The U.S. government announced preliminary anti-dumping duties of 266% for China, 71% for Japan, 39% for Brazil, between 6% and 31% for the U.K., between 13% and 17% for Russia, 7% for India and between 2% and 7% for South Korea.
Negative Interest Rates


                                                                                                                 Close to the Edge
                                                      Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ...Voltaire 1694-1778  
Propaganda Tools...information with a biase or misleading nature.
PSYOPS...the use of propaganda, threats, and other psychological techniques to mislead, intimidate, demoralize, or otherwise influence the thinking or behavior of an opponent. 

George Orwell said in his famous book 1984 that, “first they steal the words, then they steal the meaning”, accurately foreseeing the political actions of world leaders and their manipulation of public opinion. In Orwell’s novel, the state dominates and dehumanizes its citizens through psychological manipulations that strip them of their ability to think, be objective, consider ideas. People, thus have no alternative but to accept as necessary, true, and good, whatever the state declares to be so. He called it DOUBLESPEAK or NEWSPEAK. 
“Newspeak is a language devised to limit the range of thought by collapsing distinctions, undermining logic, and confining the vocabulary to a few easily pronounced and emotionally charged terms. A mind so limited cannot truly think at all; it can only respond as programmed. It will accept black as white, war as peace, hate as love; it will allow two plus two to equal five; it will adopt as ’‘goodthink” all ideas that support the state and dismiss all others as “oldthink” or “crimethink”; and it will let “doublethink” mask all contradiction. Reality itself thus becomes whatever those in authority decree - and history can be rewritten regularly to fit that reality.“ (csmonitor.com)

2016 Republican Platform
10/15 At Trump's election-night party last week, one of his prominent campaign aides, Omarosa Manigault, told the Independent Journal Review, "It's so great our enemies are making themselves clear so that when we get in to the White House, we know where we stand.... Mr. Trump has a long memory and we're keeping a list."

http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/50-shockingly-extreme-right-wing-proposals-2016-republican-party-platform
 Demonizing Our Opponents. 
One reason is the adverse effect demonizing our opponents has on the kind of public discourse democracy needs to succeed. Democratic societies require the free exchange of ideas among a populace willing and able to make informed judgments about them. But if we fail to engage in the rational examination of ideas and seek instead to work our will through vilification and personal attack, the democratic process is subverted. 

We become less able to see the strengths and genuine weaknesses of alternative viewpoints. Public discourse becomes more focused on the acquisition of power and less on the pursuit of truth, more enamored of sensationalism and less attentive to the deeper issues of our times, more interested in personalities and less in the plausibility of the policies these persons advocate. Emotionalism usurps reason; can't and prejudice prosper — and democracy suffers a dearth of meaningful social dialogue. 

There are also more directly moral reasons for concern. To demonize someone goes beyond saying he is mistaken or misguided. It is, as a rule, to denounce his character and to do so in moral terms. The moral status of one's character, however, is closely tied to the moral status of one's intentions. Thus, it is a conceptual confusion to say that a person's character is evil even though their intentions are good. 
So What Happened...?...election 2016
   
Nazi propagandist Josef Goebbels said:  “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

And what does Herr Goebbels’ statement have to do with the future of the US?  And why will everyone lose, no matter who wins the election?

We’ll continue to get more of what we have now:  war, inflated military and intelligence service budgets, and renewed focus on irrelevant and immaterial things.  Clinton’s hostility towards Russia, Syria, and Iran, plus her blind support for and deference to Israel does not bode well for America’s future.  Trump’s lack of intellectual vigor, his tendency toward erratic behavior, and vow to smash ISIL mean no real change for the better.  Worse, the bureaucracy, which supports the status quo, will likely operate from the shadows as the de facto government of the United States.

Steve Ballmer's project, called USAFacts Maybe there is a better way...another way.
http://www.internationalman.com/articles/doug-caseys-top-five-reasons-not-to-vote


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BONDS...Commodities...Currencies
DEFLATIONARY INFLUENCE MAY BE LIFTING ... One of the basic intermarket principles that has held up for decades is that bond prices and commodities usually trend in opposite directions. That's because commodity direction is viewed as a barometer of inflationary (or deflationary) trends.
COMMODITY PRICES EFFECT DIRECTION OF YIELD CURVE... One of the measures of economic confidence is the direction of the yield curve. The yield curve is the difference between 10 and 2-Year Treasury yields. A rising yield curve shows confidence in an economic recovery, which is usually accompanied by rising inflation. A falling yield curve suggests the opposite.  Commodity prices are often used to measure the strength of the global economy. A rising economy usually increases demand for raw materials. That's why commodity prices usually start rising during a strong economic upturn. Some price inflation is healthy. That allows companies to pass some of their costs on to consumers. That increases their bottom line and allows companies to pay higher wages. Falling inflation prevents that from happening. The Fed keeps saying that higher wages produce higher inflation. I suspect it's the other way around, and that rising inflation is necessary to produce higher wages. And both will probably require higher commodity prices. ...John Murphy StockCharts.com

The inflation pipeline has three stages. The first stage is the price of raw materials. The second stage is the price companies pay for raw materials (producer price inflation). The third stage is what companies charge consumers for their products (CPI inflation). It all starts with the direction of commodity prices. Strangely, that's the part that economists (and the Fed) pay no attention to. How can economists expect to predict the final stage of CPI inflation, if they ignore the first stage which is the direction of commodity prices?  ...John Murphy StockCharts.com

  Rising interest rates are usually bad news for physical gold and silver, because it increases the opportunity cost of owning precious metals. You see, neither gold nor silver offers investors a yield, whereas a U.S. Treasury bond does give a near-guaranteed return that's growing a bit larger with each interest rate hike from the Fed. A higher yield on Treasury notes is usually a recipe for precious-metal selling and bond buying.

                                                                  

The U.S. Dollar
Confidence in the dollar begans to crack. (Jim Rickards)
 Henry Kissinger and Treasury Secretary William Simon worked out a plan in 1974. If the Saudis would price oil in dollars, U.S. banks would hold the dollar deposits for the Saudis. These dollars would be “recycled” to developing economy borrowers, who in turn would buy manufactured goods from the U.S. and Europe. This would help the global economy and help the U.S. maintain price stability. The Saudis would get more customers and a stable dollar, and the U.S. would force the world to accept dollars because everyone would need the dollars to buy oil. Behind this “deal” was a not so subtle threat to invade Saudi Arabia and take the oil by force. 
I personally discussed these invasion plans in the White House with Kissinger’s deputy, Helmut Sonnenfeldt, at the time. The petrodollar plan worked brilliantly and the invasion never happened. Now, 43 years later, the wheels are coming off. The world is losing confidence in the dollar again. China just announced that any oil-exporter that accepts yuan for oil can convert the oil to gold on the Shanghai Gold Exchange and hedge the hard currency value of the gold on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. The deal has several parts, which together spell dollar doom.
The first part is that China will buy oil from Russia and Iran in exchange for yuan. The yuan is not a major reserve currency, so it’s not an especially attractive asset for Russia or Iran to hold. China solves that problem by offering to convert yuan into gold on a spot basis on the Shanghai Gold Exchange. This straight-through processing of oil-to-yuan-to-gold eliminates the role of the dollar. Russia was the first country to agree to accept yuan. The rest of the BRICS nations (Brazil, India and South Africa) endorsed China’s plan at the BRICS summit in China earlier this month.

Now Venezuela has also now signed on to the plan. Russia is #2 and Venezuela is #7 on the list of the ten largest oil exporters in the world. Others will follow quickly. What can we take away from this?
This marks the beginning of the end of the petrodollar system that Henry Kissinger worked out with Saudi Arabia in 1974, after Nixon abandoned gold.
Of course, leading reserve currencies do die — but not necessarily overnight. The process can persist over many years. For example, the U.S. dollar replaced the UK pound sterling as the leading reserve currency in the 20th century. That process was completed at the Bretton Woods conference in 1944, but it began thirty years earlier in 1914 at the outbreak of World War I. That’s when gold began to flow from the UK to New York to pay for badly needed war materials and agricultural exports. The UK also took massive loans from New York bankers organized by Jack Morgan, head of the Morgan bank at the time. The 1920s and 1930s witnessed a long, slow decline in sterling as it devalued against gold in 1931, and devalued again against the dollar in 1936.
The dollar is losing its leading reserve currency status now, but there’s no single announcement or crucial event, just a long, slow process of marginalization. I mentioned that Russia and Venezuela are now pricing oil in yuan instead of dollars. But Russia has taken its “de-dollarization” plans one step further. Russia has now banned dollar payments at its seaports. Although these seaport facilities are mostly state-owned, many payments, like those for fuel and tariffs, were still conducted in dollars. Not anymore.

This is just one of many stories from around the world showing how the dollar is being pushed out of international trade and payments to be replaced by yuan, rubles, euros or gold in this case.

Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2018. 
“For decades, central banks have held the bulk of their foreign exchange reserves in the dollar… central banks held about 63% of their reserves in dollars at the end of last year, the lowest level in four years. Meanwhile, allocations to the Euro rose 20% and reserves in the Japanese Yen rose to 4.9%.” Chelsea Dulaney and Joshua Zumbrun, “Dollar Reign Faces Threat,” 




http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=%24CRB&p=D&yr=0&mn=3&dy=0&i=p96616441327&a=529791618&r=1497641523070


https://www.thebalance.com/list-of-commodity-etfs-1214758
PICK...Global Mining Producers Index x Gold and Silver ... 
CPER...Copper ...JJC... FCX  (T/$16H-19H) 
SLX  Steel ... RIO,TX,VEDL,VALE,TS,

JJN Nickel ETN

COBALT
The draft list of critical minerals specifically identifies cobalt as a critical metal because of its use in rechargeable batteries such as in electric vehicles and to harden steel in jet engines and other high-tech applications.  Based on the U.S. Department of the Interior's and the USGS's publication titled "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2018", the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to be the world's leading source of mined cobalt, with 58% of cobalt production in 2017 coming from the Congo – an unreliable source because of significant political unrest.  China was the world's leading consumer of cobalt, with nearly 80% of its consumption being used by the rechargeable battery industry.  The report continues that "Growth in world refined cobalt supply was forecast to increase at a lower rate than that of world cobalt consumption, which was driven mainly by strong growth in the rechargeable battery and aerospace industries".
TMQ ()  Trilogy Metals Inc. $1.25 is pleased to announce that work has been initiated to estimate a cobalt resource for the Bornite Project.  Preliminary results from our on-going geometallurgical studies demonstrate our understanding of cobalt mineralogy and distribution to the point that warrants initiating a cobalt resource estimate, which, when established, would be in addition to the copper resource for the Bornite deposit. 
SLV.. Silver

SIL Silver Miners   WPM=SLW (T/$25-29) POYYF,  *****CDE (T/$9-13)...****PAAS (T/$17.50H-29), Silver mines ... ***HL (T/$5-8.50), SSRM, .........AGI. ****NDM.TO...***AG (T/$11-14)08/04 miss, First Majestic has historically been one of the better precious metal miners at generating cash flow per share ...*****EXK(T/$5-7.50),***FSM (T/$9),****GPL (T/$2)

GLD...Gold.

GDX Gold Miners NEM, ABX, FNV.TO, GG, AEM, WPM, GOLD, RGLD, KGC, SLW, AU...NGD  AUY (T/$4.50)... OGC.TO (T/$5)...
                         ****KLDX (T/$6.25), NCMGF.AX

GDXJ...Junior Gold Mines  BTG.TO,AGI,AG,PAAS,CELTF.L,HL,NG.TO,OKSKF.TO,IAG,

SPPP... PLATINUM/PALLADIUM...  PGM
Agriculture last update 01/09
VEGI Global Agriculture ...PAGG Global Agriculture ...JJA Agriculture Subindex... GRU Grains ... WEAT Wheat ...*CORN... DBA...  SANW (T/$6.5 )
UBC Livestock... ***COW........ ... MOO
JO coffee... http://www.buyupside.com/sample_portfolios/coffee.php     SGG sugar   
 $BDI...Baltic Dry Index   http://dynamiccommodities.com/     
https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/baltic
...Screening Criteria: Price > $5; Est 1 Yr EPS Growth > 25%; Est 5 Yr EPS Growth > 25%; Avg Analyst Rec > Buy
http://www.buyupside.com/index.html
*** http://x-fin.com/  ... intrinsic value of a stock index on a stand-alone basis should not be used for investment decisions: what is important is relative valuation of one index versus the other, as it allows identification of over- or undervalued sectors and national markets.  We've just introduced an entirely new metric for identification of market overbought and oversold conditions - the stock market validation index. It is a unique measure of the market, as it is based on intrinsic value of stocks and has nothing to do with technical analysis. Even though we are confident of the capacity of the validation index to predict stock market movements also over the short-term horizon, we do not have yet enough statistical data to prove it. So, we would recommend to use its indications with caution.

***https://finance.yahoo.com/screener
http://www.incrediblecharts.com/candlestick_patterns/candlestick-patterns.php www.mcoscillator.com 
https://www.tipranks.com/stocks/fcx
http://www.shadowstats.com/
https://www.marketbeat.com/
***http://www.tradingeconomics.com/japan/stock-market
http://technical-analysis.forexlive.com/
http://www.thelion.com/  ... ( http://www.thelion.com/bin/forum.cgi?cmd=most_searched )

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/index.html
http://www.highshortinterest.com/
http://www.miningmx.com/
http://biohealthinvestor.com/
http://www.biomedreports.com/
http://www.biospace.com/
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/
Leveraged S&P ETFs: Beware Of Volatility
http://www.barchart.com/cheatsheet.php?sym=USO
http://www.thechairmansblog.com/
http://etfdb.com/etf/

*****INDIA would be an interesting ETF and stocks to consider...Top ten economies of the world 2017;    1 U.S.A. 2 China 3 Japan 4 Germany 5 U.K. 6 France 7 India 8 Italy  9 Brazil 10 Canada 
Year 2021... According to projected GDP, the top 10 economies in 2021 will be:  1 China 2 U.S.A 3 India 4 Japan 5 Germany
6 Russia 7 Indonesia  8 Brazil 9 U.K. 10 France/Mexico 
Ishares 2017 GeoPolitical Calendar and related ETFs
World Markets CandleGlance
 Country ETFs...CandleGlance EZU  Europe CandleGlance) .....Austria *EWO... Belgium *EWK ... France EWQ.. Germany EWG ... Greece **GREK...  Ireland **IRL ...Italy EWI......Netherlands EWN...Portugal **PGAL...Spain EWP...Switzerland EWL ...Sweden EWD... Poland EPOL... Denmark *EDEN... 
Finland EFNL... Norway ENOR...United Kingdom EWU... Turkey TUR...

(AIA  IShares Asia 50).....Japan *EWJ... China *YAO....FXI.. China sm cap ECNS... Hong Kong *EWH... Malaysia EWM....Taiwan EWT...
S. Korea *EWY...  Indonesia ***IDX...Vietnam **VNM... Thailand THD...   Philippines EPHE.... Singapore *EWS...*** India *EPI... Australia *EWA...

(ILF Latin America)....Brazil EWZ... BRF... Columbia **GXG... Chile ECH... Peru EPU... Argentina ARGT... Mexico EWW...
Israel EIS... Egypt EGPT ...  Saudi Arabia KSA ... Russia RSX. ..RSXJ... Canada EWC...

   JAPAN


EWJ...Japan ....  EWV...short ...
WisdomTree Japan hedged Financials (DXJF)
iShares Japan Small Cap Index (SCJ) 
WisdomTree Global Ex-U.S. Growth (DNL) 
WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend (DFJ) 
WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ)

If you are REALLY bullish about Japan, there is a leveraged ETF that is designed to deliver double the return - both up and down - of the main Japanese stock market index: the ProShares Ultra MSCI Japan Index (EZJ).

There are also a handful of Japanese stocks that are traded on the NYSE and Nasdaq, such as Canon (CAJ), Honda (HMC), Kubota (KUB), Panasonic (PC) and Toyota (TM) to name a few.

EEM...Emerging Markets TCTZF,BABA,CHLKF,BIDU,IDCBF,..........EWX sm cap.......... EEV short
...other.... ..... 
   CHINA
“Of all the leaders on the international stage, Mr. Xi (Jinping) will be the most consequential. This is not simply because he rules a nation … and an economy that overtook the U.S. in 2014 to become the largest in the world (measured by purchasing power parity, which both the International Momentary Fund and CIA regard as the single best yardstick). By the end of his second term, China’s economy is on pace to be 40% larger than America’s. At that point, he will have firmly established Beijing as the capital and Xi Jinping as the man to which a world looking for growth and stability turns first.” – Graham T. Allison, “Behold the New Emperor of China. Wall Street Journal, October 19.


The yin and yang principles act on one another,
affect one another and keep one another in place.        - Chuang Tzu  ...and keep one another in balance.
China is still growing, whether at a rate of 7 or 5 percent. To put that in perspective, “China creates a new Italy every 18 months, a new Portugal every quarter, a new Greece every month and a Cyprus every week,” 
http://www.visualcapitalist.com/china-consumes-mind-boggling-amounts-of-raw-materials-chart/

      ...  YINN... China Bullx3  yinn ............... Shanghai  ....... Hong Kong....... TAO ...............  YANG...China Bearx3  yang.....  .............................................................. CHOP

Stock Buyers Worship Statue of Bull over Bear in Xiamen

http://en.people.cn/n/2015/0824/c90000-8940896.html

                                
China's $5 Trillion in Toxic Bank Debt Is About to Collapse
https://www.thestreet.com/story/13449814/1/china-s-5-trillion-in-toxic-bank-debt-is-about-to-collapse-here-s-how-to-profit.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO
\
China BEAR

China BULL


 2013 Unlike the Fed, the Chinese central bank can order commercial banks to lend money and directly pump liquidity into its economy.

Even though the U.S economy is about twice the size of China's, the Asian giant's M2 money stock is 70% greater than the U.S.
Just in Q1 of this year (2013), credit expanded by $1 trillion in China, equivalent to an entire year's Fed quantitative easing. Yet despite excessive money creation, the Chinese Yuan rose 9% against the dollar since 2008, making the Yuan more overvalued.
China's bankerCROOKS...nothing ever changes...crooks can ruin an economy anywhere they want to...


GERMANY

11/20/2017 Angela Merkel recently won re-election as Chancellor of Germany, and is also the senior leader of the G7. So she’s kind of a big deal over in Europe, which means she’s a big deal over here. As newly elected Chancellor, she is charged with putting together a coalition government. And therein lies the problem. Angie is an avowed globalist. This is not an opinion, it’s a known fact. She’s a big fan of the European Union (EU) and probably hasn’t slept a wink since the Brexit vote last year. On that front, opinions vary. Some folks over in Germany seem to be more interested in self-governance. That’s where the Free Democratic Party (FDP) comes into play. The FDP is about as far away from Merkel as you could be. Unlike Merkel, the FDP’s focus is on individual freedoms and away from excessive, intrusive governmental regulation. Its motto is “As much state as necessary, as little state as possible.” They want a balance budget, deregulation, privatization, reduction of governmental subsidies and a reduction in government debt. They also want a flat tax.

So there are a LOT of issues over there that definitely impact the direction of Germany, and hence the direction of the EU. And the FDP, along with a few other minority parties, aren’t really playing ball with Angie, so she’ll probably have to rule (er, I mean “govern”) with a minority government, or deal with a brand new election.

Either of these outcomes could roil the European markets, so keep an eye on them. Any issues over in the EU should be interesting, though I don’t expect them to have much impact on our domestic markets. 
http://stockmarketmentor.com/2017/11/morning-market-thoughts-745/?inf_contact_key=bb19f63b191c0fb21e890a107777caa636d4646b642ad346cac129d2ecbf8e8f


Trading Brazil ..EWZ...PBR...VALE...BRAQ Global X Brazil Consumer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

http://stockcharts.com/public/3421479/tenpp/24
Intraday sideVolume and Tracking CandleGlance

...from... http://stockcharts.com/public/3421479/tenpp/6
 Europe Financials EUFN...DB (T/$18H)... Europe "short" EPV ... EURO short EUO... 
oil  CandleGlance: USO, *XLE,*XOP, XES, UGA, KOL ...Accumulation/Distribution


Energy/oil...volatility
'VOLATILITY' 
Volatility refers to the amount of uncertainty or risk about the size of changes in a security's value. A higher volatility means that a security's value can potentially be spread out over a larger range of values. This means that the price of the security can change dramatically over a short time period in either direction. A lower volatility means that a security's value does not fluctuate dramatically, but changes in value at a steady pace over a period of time. 
Oil volatility index...

The Best Energy ETFs
Daily Chart    USO and UCO TimeFrames     BRENT...BNO ...    SCO short ...UCO
USO Intro page https://investorshub.advfn.com/United-States-Oil-Fund-USO-5547/?NextStart=10

Bearx3 ERY... ...XLE...Energy...TimeFrames  ... BPENER
XLE... 
Daily Chart


 XLE CandleGlance...  XOM...*CVX...SLB..EOG... PXD    HAL...OXY.... COP...NOV...APC...VLO...         *APA...(T/$97) 

ERY Bear x3 ERX BULLX 3
XOP...Oil and Nat.Gas Explor/Production       XOP CandleGlance ... **** WRD (T/$15-26) WildHorse...
PXD,   CHK(T/$6-11) 08/03) $4.53 disappointing production data offset a profit and revenue beat.,EOG,COP,
****HK (T$8H-10H-12)   ,DVN,SD,XEC, **WLL, **AREX (T/$3.50),CXO, **SWN (T/$10) 
XES...Oil and Gas Equip/Service      XES CandleGlance

 
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/16/502337471/usgs-announces-its-largest-oil-and-gas-discovery-ever
http://oilshalegas.com/wolfcampshale.html
UGA...Gasoline ETF

UNG...NatGas ...BOIL...NatGasx2

KOL...Coal...TimeFrames ...    KOL CandleGlance
XLB...TimeFrameS ... MON... DD...FCX ... DOW... PX... NEM... §PPG... APO... LYB... ECL..   XLBCandleGlance...BPMATE 

IYM...Basic Materials  ....     DD...FCX...DOW...PX...MEN...LYB...PPG...APD...IP...MOS...*GSM 

 Accumulation/Distribution
CandleGlance: GLD, GDX, SLV, SIL, XME, *SLX, ¥ JJU, URA, ¥*COPX, REMX  ...................

6/2016...SPDR Metals & Mining ETF (XME) , which includes a 50.5% weight in steel industry. The broader Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) has a 11.9% positions in metals and mining.
XME CandleGlance ......RGLD...CMP... TAHO... NEM...NUE...FCX   XME Metals and Mining Timeframes  AXU
RING ...Global Gold Miners
PICK...Mining Producers Index 

07/2016 Steel prices vs. China
 SLX CandleGlance... RIO ***VALE... PKX...BHP(T/$40H)... GGB... NUE(T/$55)  RS ... ****CLF  (T$9-10) .... ***X (T/25H-34-51) U.S.Steel  FSUMF...MSB
ATI (T/$17H-21H) AKS ($8)  ... STLD ...    TimeFrames (60minute daily)

COPX Global Copper Miners... JJC  ****FCX (T/$12H)...Freeport McMoran...TimeFrames .... *****NSU  (T/$4.20) ...*SCCO.(T/$42)..*****WRN (T/$2.25)

HBM... FQVLF...  TRQ copper/gold 

COPPER CandleGlance .........................................................RHWKF.PK...KGHPF>PK...IPMLF.PK...AAUK...AZC...
http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=COPX&p=D&yr=0&mn=6&dy=0&i=p45661278985&a=582989394&r=1520894806676
JJU...Aluminum ETF...  AA...*ACH... CENX...KALU  .....  Aluminum CandleGlance 

            Silver is the money of Merchants (Gentlemen)
            Copper (Barter) is the money of Peasant
            Debt is the money of Slaves"
Rising interest rates have two effects that tend to make gold and silver not as attractive. 
1. ... rising rates boost the yields on bonds, CDs, and a number of interest-bearing assets. physical gold and silver don't pay a dividend. As lending rates rise, the opportunity cost of owning physical gold and silver rises.  If rates continue to remain low, then investors aren't giving up much to instead buy into the shiny yellow and silver metals, as well as their miners.

2. ... rising lending rates have the effect of pushing the U.S. dollar higher, and the dollar and gold tend to have an inverse relationship.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePabW7XZX7I
The huge rise in the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones indexes occurred on the back of massive debt accumulation.  As I discussed in the interview, an individual with $1 million in assets and $1 million in debt has a net worth of ZERO.  Unfortunately, Americans had no idea that they have funneled hard-earned funds for several decades into the GREATEST PONZI SCHEME in history that is backed by nearly $20 trillion of debt.
Mainstream investors better be prepared for the GREAT FINANCIAL & MARKET ENEMA.  The debt is becoming unsustainable and it will take down the market with it.... as well as the value of most paper assets.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones flew high on Debt, and will Die on debt.
PRECIOUS METALS Will Be The Safe Haven, Especially Silver
When the markets finally CRACK... and crack they will, silver will be the best performing asset in the precious metals class.

Printing Money – Price of Gold – Preservation of Wealth by Egon von Greyerz – October 2012
Worldwide money printing continues unabated.  Just In 10 years $120 trillion have been printed making global debt $200 trillion .  
World GDP has gone from $32 trillion to $70 trillion 2001-2011.  Thus $120 trillion debt is required to produce a $38 trillion annual increase in GDP. 
The marginal return on printed money is negative in real terms.  Thus the world is living on an illusion of paper that people believe is money. 
This illusionary paper wealth will implode in the next few years.  The initial trigger will be the collapse of the world’s reserve currency – the US dollar.
The dollar is backed by $120 trillion of US government debt and probably NO gold.  All currencies will continue their race to the bottom and lose 100% in real terms against gold. 
This will create a worldwide hyperinflationary depression.  All assets financed by the credit bubble will go down in real terms. 
This includes stocks, bonds, property and paper money of course.  The financial system is unlikely to survive in its present form. 
The banking system including derivatives has total liabilities of around $1.2 quadrillion. 
With world GDP of $70 trillion, the world is too small to save a financial system which is 17x greater.
This is why there will be unlimited money printing and hyperinflation.  The only asset that will maintain its purchasing power is gold.
Gold has been money for 5,000 years and will continue to be the only currency with integrity.  Western countries’ 23,000 tons of gold is probably gone. See recent article by Eric Sprott. 
The consequence is that most of the gold in the banking system is likely to be encumbered.  
This means that Central Banks one day will claim it back against worthless paper gold IOUs. 
Thus gold and all other assets within the banking system involve an unacceptable counterparty risk.  Gold should be held in physical form and stored outside the bank.
 
Nov. 24, 2015 The rising demand worldwide of gold and its falling price seem to be conflicting. However, what is playing a crucial role in the determination of precious metals prices is most likely the potential interest rate hike scenario. The Federal Reserve is on a mission to raise rates, but the economy’s backing is required. Higher rates can only be sustained if the economy is growing.

Since interest rates may rise, the demand for treasuries could see a rise, and precious metals may retreat. Not even higher consumer demand worldwide is able to buoy precious metals prices.
$BPGDM
Gold/Silver Ratio 



GLD...Gold...TimeFrames ....UGLD......GLL shortx2... DGZ...  **************************GOLD = $2,700 in mid-2013... ******************************

GDX ...Gold Miners TimeFrames...  $BPGDM

Update 01/20
 GDX Miners CandleGlance     NUGT...  GGN Gabelli Global income trust... GOAU ...  
WPM (SLW)(T-$27-31)... FNV (T/$75H)  Franco Nevada (FNV) and Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM) provide miners with cash up front for the right to buy gold and silver in the future at reduced rates. This allows them to avoid the risks of operating mines and lets them lock in low prices and high margins through the cycle. Wheaton Precious Metals pays around $4 an ounce for silver and $400 an ounce for gold, well below the prices the metals fetch today on the spot market. And EBITDA margins at both Wheaton and Franco Nevada remained solidly in positive territory during the commodity downturn when precious metals miners were watching their margins dip deep into the red.    Miners agree to these deals for several reasons. The most important being that they get access to cash when other sources, like the capital markets and banks, are more expensive. The recent commodity downturn was a great time for this pair. In 2015 alone Wheaton inked $1.8 billion in new deals and Franco Nevada a $600 million deal. Both had record production in 2016.  
... there are a couple of subtle differences here. The first is diversification. Wheaton's portfolio of investments contains 29 mines, eight of which are development properties. Franco Nevada is much more diversified with 46 producing mines, 41 development projects, and 172 exploration investments. Both are diversified, but Franco Nevada is notably more diversified. Franco Nevada also has exposure to oil and natural gas, which Silver Wheaton does not. Franco Nevada's portfolio includes around 80 investment in oil and gas projects with these fuels making up about 5% of revenues. That number should grow over the near term, too, since the company is using the energy downturn as an opportunity to expand its reach in these commodities. So if you want a pure play metals company Wheaton is the better choice, even though gold and silver are the most important part of Franco Nevada's business.  ... the biggest difference between these two companies is going to come down to your dividend preference. Franco Nevada has increased its dividend every year for 10 consecutive years, including 2017 in that tally. Wheaton Precious Metals' dividend is pegged at 20% of the average cash generated by operating activities in the previous four quarters. This difference is a big deal since precious metals prices will have a notable impact on the top and bottom lines of both companies. Franco Nevada's goal is clearly to provide a consistent stream of income. Wheaton's goal is to reward investors during the good years while asking them to share the pain during the bad years.Don't instantly dismiss that as less desirable, however. Since gold and silver prices tend to go up when the broader market is going down, Wheaton's dividend is likely to be moving higher when your other investments are struggling and, perhaps, cutting their disbursements. Wheaton could be an interesting dividend portfolio diversification option. https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/04/better-buy-franco-nevada-corporation-vs-wheaton-pr.aspx
****ABX(T/23)...*GG.(T/17)..*NEM(T/43)... AEM (T-46)...   ¥KGC (T/5) Kinross
 **RGLD(T-80H)...*****EGO(T/2.40-4) Eldorado Gold...   ****AUY(T/$4)...May 2017 National Bank of Canada Analyst Don DeMarco maintained his Canadian-dollar price target of $5.50 ($4.02 in U.S. dollars) after Yamana reported first quarter results. He notes nothing much is new in the way of catalysts for the stock, but there was more "color" on assets and possible sales, and he maintained his outperform rating. Yamana has mines in Brazil, Chile, Canada and Argentina. $3.41 target of $5.50 is more than a 60% increase...
****AGI (T/$9)Alamos ... ... ***AU (T/$13)AngloGold... ***GFI (T/$3.50-4H)..****HMY (T/$1.60H)  ... *GOLD...  ******SBGL.(T/$9)..Sibanye(PALLADIUM and PLATINUM)...  ****BVN (T/$15)  ......****NGD (T/$6-7)....... *****VGZ Vista gold  ... TGZ.TO ... SA () A  Seabridge  ***SAND ()  Sandstorm... ***RIC () Richmont Mines...
PPP () A  Primero Mining... PVG (T/$13-16.50) ... PZG (T/$4)

GDXJ...Junior Gold Mines  
GDXJ Jr. Mines CandleGlance  ****BTG (T/$2.50H) B2Gold...**HL (T/$5) Hecla Mining  ****IAG (T/$6.50-7)... CDE (T-11)...  
PVG Pretium Resources...  AG ...  AAU...
*PMNXF...CGG.TO... AR.TO...NSU.....******MUX ...*GSV... DNGDF...***GAL.V...GGAZF... *IVPAF... JAGGF...LODE...MXSG...*NCX.V

**RVRCF... *SGF.TO ...  KLDX...Klondex Mines  *****GORO...***PGLC... **TRX...  ***GSS... RGC.V   *****AKG... KGC (T./$5.25)
 EDVMF () Endeavour Mining... TGCDF () Teranga Gold... CAGDF () Centerra Gold ... NG ()  Nova Gold Resources...  GSS (T/$1.25)
***JUNE 10, 2016... Barrick ABX remains committed to cut mining costs. Its all-in sustaining costs (AISC) fell roughly 24% year over year to as low as $706 per ounce in the first quarter of 2016. Enhanced efficiency through ongoing operating and capital cost savings actions led to lower AISC in the quarter.
The company’s AISC for the quarter was also lower than its major peers such as Goldcorp GG with $836 per ounce, Newmont NEM with $828 per ounce, Kinross Gold KGC with $963 per ounce, Iamgold IAG with $1,084 per ounce, Gold Fields GFI with $961 per ounce and AngloGold Ashanti AU with $860 an ounce. In fact, according to a recent report by SNL Metals & Mining, Barrick had the lowest AISC in the first quarter, lower than the group median of $836 per ounce.
Barrick also cut its AISC guidance for 2016 to $760-$810 per ounce from its earlier view of $775-$825 per ounce factoring in the impact of lower fuel prices, favorable currency rates and benefits from productivity & efficiency actions. The revised guidance also reflects a decline from $831 per ounce recorded in 2015.

http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=SBGL&p=D&b=5&g=0&i=p30491257041&r=1379559878233
 GLD/DUST ...DAILY SIGNALS...CHART BELOW IS A 60 MINUTE CHART...


Gold... "conspiracy theory" becoming "conspiracy fact."
http://visualizingeconomics.com/
Ritholtz: Lessons from Gold’s Rise & Fall 

10 Reasons Barry Ritholtz Is Wrong About Gold  

April 10, 2018 research note indicated that Beacon Securities Ltd. initiated coverage on Allegiant Gold Ltd. (AUAU:TSX.V; AUXXF:OTCQX) with a Speculative Buy rating and a CA$0.90 per share price target. The stock is currently trading at around CA$0.45 per share. "We consider Allegiant shares to be an attractive investment for exploration success, with a quality exploration team (with extensive experience and gold discoveries) working in a low political risk jurisdiction," wrote analyst Michael Curran.

Allegiant is a gold explorer with a Nevada focus but also assets in Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. 


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Silver
 ...rising interest rates are usually bad news for physical gold and silver, because it increases the opportunity cost of owning precious metals. You see, neither gold nor silver offers investors a yield, whereas a U.S. Treasury bond does give a near-guaranteed return that's growing a bit larger with each interest rate hike from the Fed. A higher yield on Treasury notes is usually a recipe for precious-metal selling and bond buying. However, we're also seeing inflation on the rise, and higher inflation levels usually counteract the negative influence higher interest rates can have on gold and silver. As the economy expands, the Fed expands the money supply, thus diluting the value of each dollar in circulation and making it more expensive to buy an ounce of gold or silver. In addition to inflation, uncertainty surrounding Trump's presidency and Britain's exit from the European Union are helping spot metal prices, as are constrained supplies of these metals. Considering the decline in gold and silver prices between 2011 and the end of 2015, many mining stocks sizably pared back on their capital expenditures, which meant less in the way of exploration and production. This lack of production growth alongside relatively steady demand growth has helped buoy precious-metal prices.
 

http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=%24SILVER&p=D&yr=1&mn=0&dy=0&i=p59135572218&a=479001174&r=1480118587727
Silver Manipulation
Intrinsic Value and the Final Battle for Silver
***PSLV: is the only fund I know of that is truely backed by 100% Physical Silver...all the others are ruled by the Morgue (JPM)
 SLV...Silver...TimeFrames  ...AGQ...Silverx2 ...ZSL...Silver shortx2........ AGQ .......... SLV  ..............SLV...3 cross 5 moving average ...SIVR
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http://www.silverinstitute.org/site/supply-demand/silver-production/
Silver's long-term fundamentals are solid. The demand for silver is expected to exceed global supplies  (2016), driven by a sharp contraction in mine supply.
Global silver supplies from mine production are expected to fall 5% this year 2016. This will be the first time global silver production has fallen in 15 years! 
And going forward from there, the world's silver production is expected to continue falling through 2019.

...From a post on ZeroHedge... Disregarding market manipulation and fraud, PM's are a storage of wealth because they are directly correlated to the energy required to mine each grain of PM. As ore mining and processing has become less manual labor and more automated, the correlation between PM and physical labor (energy) has taken a back seat to the correlation between PM and petroleum (energy.) Gold and Silver represent stored units of energy or calories. However, they no longer represent calories of food for a miner and his mule, they represent calories of fossil fuel burned to run the equipment. Rather than storing blood sweat and labor, silver is a storage of petroleum, specifically the energy equivalent of petrol.

Silver mining stocks 27 Aug 2016
 SIL...Silver Miners...
*****AG (T/$11-14)(08/03 miss 7.40)...  **** CDE (T/$9.50-13)...  EXK (T/$4.60-7.75) Endeavour... ****FSM(T/$9-11)...****HL (T-5.50H-8)... 
****GPL()... ¥*****PAAS (T/$19-22) ......***WPM=SLW (T/$27-29)Wheaton Precious Metals...  AXU ...¥***BHS.V ....****TAHO()  Lawsuit 08/04/47...
ASM (T/$4-5) Avino Silver & Gold... MAG (no debt)... SVM (T/$3.50)(no debt) ... GLP (T/18-21) ...  HL (T/$5)
DPMLF Dundee Precious... SCEXF Saracen... SVLKE Silver Lake... TMMFF TMAC... TORXF Torex...  ALIAF Alacer... 
RBC Capital Markets Stephen Walker writes that investors should own those with “attractive margins, solid balance sheets, organic growth opportunities and a consistent operating strategy.” His favorites include AngloGold (AU), Kinross (KGC), Newmont (NEM), Yamana (AUY), Alamos (AGI), B2Gold (BTG), Eldorado (EGO), Endeavour Mining (EDVMF), Tahoe (TAHO), Alacer (ALIAF), Dundee Precious (DPMLF), Guyana (GUYFF), Klondex (KLDX), Roxgold (ROGFF), Saracen (SCEXF), Silver Lake (SVLKF), TMAC (TMMFF), and Torex (TORXF).
SIL Silver Miners CandleGlance 


https://sdbullion.com/silver/royal-canadian-mint-silver-maple-coins/canadian-silver-maple-leaf
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PPLT Platinum


Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE/SWC), which is an American-based firm that not only produces platinum and palladium from mining operations, but also has recycling facilities for spent catalytic converters. The company is the largest producer of platinum and palladium outside Russia and South Africa.

Another option for playing mining stocks in this area is The Sprott Physical Platinum and Palladium Trust (NYSEArca/SPPP), a closed-end fund that holds both metals physically.

Let's face it: both of these precious metals are difficult to find and are located in only a few places around the world. We simply can't print more platinum and palladium. 
http://www.buyupside.com/sample_portfolios/platinumapr08.php
Platinum  (PPLT)....***(SPPP)   ... http://moneymorning.com/2013/03/13/stocks-to-watch-4-ways-to-ride-the-nanotech-revolution/AT..?.ELR.TO Eastern Platinum,  JLP.L Jubilee Platinum,  NKP.AX Nkwe Platinum,  PDL.TO North American Palladium,  PLA.AX Platinum Australia, ****PLG Platinum Group Metals,  NKL.V Prophesy Platinum Corp,  

$PALL ........................................................................ PALL
GLTR... gold silver platimum palladium  Physical Precious Mental Basket Shares ETF ...
Platinum...Palladium

What’s driving palladium?  Rick Rule, chairman of Sprott US Holdings, also recently made that case. Writing for Uncommon Wisdom, he noted that the fundamentals for palladium — as well as platinum — “are uniquely suited to the current investment environment,” laying out the main factors he sees as casting a bullish light on the metals.For instance, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Russia produce 90 percent of the world’s palladium, according to Rule, but supply from all three is being hampered by a variety of issues, including:

As supply dwindles, Rule believes that demand is set to grow, driven mainly by the following factors:

With demand set to grow as supply declines, Rule believes that “[p]latinum and palladium are still undervalued relative to the benefits they provide, but they cannot remain this cheap much longer.” They are set to go “higher, perhaps much higher — potentially creating a lot of wealthy speculators along the way.”
INFLATION
11/08/2017  COMMODITY/BOND RATIO MAY BE BOTTOMING... The Chart  below is a relative strength ratio of theBloomberg Commodity Index divided by the 30-Year Treasury Bond Price. The chart shows the ratio bottoming at the start of 2016. A second bottom in the middle of this year is keeping it rising. For the record, that's the best relative performance of commodities to Treasury prices since the period between 2009 and 2011. [Or, put the other way, the worst relative performance of bond prices versus commodities]. There may be a warning  and an opportunity. The warning is for bonds, and the opportunity in commodities. The strongest synchronized global economy in a decade is starting to increase demand for economically-sensitive commodities like industrial metals and energy. That's being reflected in rising commodity price indexes. That's usually an early sign that inflationary pressures are starting to build in the commodity pipeline. Rising inflation usually hurts bond prices. We may still be in the early stages of a transition out of the deflationary climate that helped bonds and hurt commodities over the past decade. But the transition appears to have started. The party may be ending for Treasury bond prices. But it may just be starting for commodities. Especially commodities tied to the strengthening global economy. And stocks tied to them in basic materials and energy sectors. An upside breakout in crude oil has made energy one of past week's strongest sectors.
John Murphy StockCharts.com

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Lithium/EV/Battery    
§BYDDF Electric vehicle China ...CBAK China Battery CCGI electric v ehicle (EV) charging stations... ENS EnerSys ***EGTYF Eguana...
*KNDI electric vehicle China...08/09BMO ***HPJ (T/$12.78) lithium,and nickel metal hydride rechargeable batteries...  HRG...
GELYF Geely Holding Co... *OGES  lithium ion large format prismatic cells; small format prismatic cells; and battery modules. **PCRFY Panasonic Corporation...
  TANH electric vehicles and power batteries ... *ULBI lithium battery...  UPGI  ...
OTHER/Related... RDRUY Neometals...LGEAF Korean Battery... FT.TO Fortune Minerals... LUN.TO Lundin Mining...EFLVF Electrovaya
New Battery better than Lithium...John Goodenough, the 94-year-old father of the lithium-ion battery

http://www.buyupside.com/sample_portfolios/battery.php -------- http://www.buyupside.com/sample_portfolios/batterydiversified.php
Energy Storage Utility-scale energy storage is expected to surpass 1.6 gigawatts by 2020- A new and developing area, so not easy to pick the winners here. Certainly the major battery manufacturers and lithium miners discussed above can benefit. Numerous others to choose from include... “Renewable energy is not a pipe dream; it’s already well on its way. From 2016 to 2018, solar and wind energy output is expected to grow 25 percent. in US and represent over one-third of all power produced,” according to Global X.
****ENPH (T/$1-4) Enphase Energy  recent Sept. 23, 2016 secondary stock offering=dilution The company's semiconductor-based microinverter system converts direct current electricity to alternating current (AC) electricity at the individual solar module level. The Enphase AC Battery is a key component of the Enphase Home Energy Solution, the industry's first and only truly integrated offering that combines solar generation, energy control, and storage, and provides homeowners the unique ability to manage their solar and storage together in an integrated fashion. 
Redflow (ASX:RFX), AES Corp. NEC (OTC:NIPNF), Sharp (OTCPK:SHCAY), Southern California Edison (SCE), General Electric (NYSE:GE), EnerSys (NYSE:ENS), Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI), Sony (NYSE:SNE), Sonnen (private) and Origin Energy (NASDAQ:ORG).
Electrovaya (EFL.TO) could well be the little company that could. Developer and manufacturer of portable Lithium-ion battery power solutions for the automotive, power grid, medical and mobile device sectors. The company is based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

AES (T/$12) AES Corp... Utility-scale energy storage is expected to surpass 1.6 gigawatts by 2020, edging out the old grid system and making it that much easier to integrate more renewable capacity — once the tech catches up! San Diego Gas & Electric chose a battery design by AES Corp. (NYSE: AES) to begin replacing one of its largest natural gas peaking plants with as much as 300 megawatts of battery storage. The company will also be upgrading the existing plant, but it notes that the end goal is to replace it with renewables later on. Southern California Edison has also contracted Tesla, in a move that should surprise no one by now, to continue building onto its existing 80-megawatt energy storage project in Mira Loma. The system is already online as of this year and can cover peak energy demand for as many as 15,000 California homes. Right now, it’s the biggest lithium battery station operating in the U.S. As it stands, electric cars are still set to be the biggest source of growth in lithium batteries in coming years, but that view could shift if this trend gains traction...
LIT Lithium research good read...

New Battery better than Lithium...John Goodenough, the 94-year-old father of the lithium-ion battery

ZINC  zinc-based batteries appeal is that they could pack TWICE the power as their lithium-based cousins.
ZZZOF ... GLNCY... HL... HBM... MUX... AG... VEDL (India) ... CZICF ... CZXMF... FWZ.V ...IZN.V ...KTNNF ...NZN.V ...

Colbalt   http://www.buyupside.com/sample_portfolios/cobaltallexchanges.php
 http://www.infomine.com/investment/metal-prices/cobalt/
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4066102-ecobalt-solutions-getting-u-s-equity-exposure-cobalt-metal-revolution
Cobalt metal is in high demand due to growth in the electric vehicle ("EV") market, which uses lithium-ion batteries to power these vehicles (cobalt being a main component). In conjunction, its growing supply deficit is leading the price of the commodity higher. Macquarie Research projected a supply deficit of 885 tonnes in 2018, 3,205 in 2019, and 5,340 in 2020. That comes to a supply deficit increase of 6x in just two years. For large-cap tech companies and automakers looking to produce electric vehicles, the need for cobalt has become increasingly clear given its role in the lithium-ion battery mix. The metal constitutes a little over one-third of a modern lithium-ion battery's composition (and greater than the amount of lithium used itself).
FTSSF ...Fist Colbalt... LEMIF colbalt
How the competition is doing - Larger mining companies also have cobalt operations ongoing, including Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) (T/$12-16), Katanga Mining (OTCPK:KATFF), Glencore (GLCNF), Fortune Minerals (OTCQX:FTMDF), Barra Resources (OTC:BRCSF), Tiger Resources (OTC:TRSDF), Lundin Mining (LUNMF), and Cruz Cobalt Corp. (OTCPK:BKTPF).
CTEQF ...
ECSIF eCobalt Solutions... Cobalt metal ... 



GLCNF
 New Battery better than Lithium...John Goodenough, the 94-year-old father of the lithium-ion battery
Goodenough is credited with creating the cobalt-oxide cathodes that make up the most powerful batteries we have today, including those used in electric vehicles like Tesla’s. From what we know of the new design, nothing has replaced the cobalt.

Right now, production comes mainly from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which, as Keith Kohl has explained before, is riddled with political discord that threatens the reliability of supply.

Which is rough, since the area produced around 66,000 tons of cobalt last year. The next largest haul came from China, with just 7,700 tons.

Any increase in China’s production will, of course, be going in large part to domestic use, much like its lithium.

Which means more global supply will have to come from the next runners up: Canada and Russia.

Canada, which produced around 7,300 tons last year, produces most of its cobalt as a byproduct of mining for copper and nickel. That may have to change now that cobalt demand is on the rise.

Russia has already seen the writing on the wall, and minister of industry and trade Denis Manturov has stated that the country will be upping production in the next few years from its 2016 total of just 6,200 tons.

Australia, though its cobalt production dropped from 6,000 to 5,100 tons last year, still has a shot, too.

According to the USGS, the country has the world’s second largest reserves at around 1 million tons, though that's less than a third of what can be found in the DRC, and it's held mostly in nickel and copper mines.

 
 

24/7 Wall St. reviews hundreds of analyst research reports each week. There are almost endless calls about stocks to buy and stocks to sell, but it is in these low-priced and small-cap stocks where the analyst calls seem to be the most aggressive. Some of these calls come with upside price targets higher by 50%, 100% or even more than current prices.

Investors need to understand that small-cap stocks and low-priced stocks generally have much more implied risk than S&P 500 stocks or Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks. There is a reason there are hardly any analyst reports calling for Dow or S&P 500 stocks to rise 50% or 100%, but there are in the small-cap and low-priced stocks. Please also keep in mind that small-cap and low-priced stocks would almost never pass a “widows and orphans” suitability test for investors.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FUEL CELL
Fuel Cell Technology    http://www.buyupside.com/sample_portfolios/fuelcellhydrogen.php ...
http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=PLUG&p=D&yr=2&mn=0&dy=0&i=p41546066704&a=457102205&r=1462143022615

Types of Fuel Cells
Ceramic/Solid Oxide Fuel Cells 
BLDP...about **BLDP *PLUG (T/$2H)...**FCEL ...*HYGS  (T/$10)

MagneGas 
MagneGas Corporation, an alternative energy company, creates and produces hydrogen based alternative fuel through the gasification of carbon-rich liquids in the United States and internationally. The company produces gas bottled in cylinders and distributes to the metalworking market as an alternative to acetylene. It offers MagneGas, a fuel that primarily comprises hydrogen; and Plasma Arc Flow refineries that produce gas. The company also sells and licenses the plasma arc technology for the processing of liquid waste. The company was founded in 2007 and is based in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
 

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https://www.ishares.com/us/products/etf-product-list#!type=ishares&tab=overview&view=list
GLOBAL
YINN China Bullx3 ....ASHS....... CHIX...BABA...CHL....HGSH (T-$3)...CEO...PTR...BIDU...LFC...SNP .*JD...CHIQ..YIN.....Tencent (OTCPK:TCEHY) - China's leading social platform owner  
............... YINN CandleGlance... YANG...China Bearx3


EWH Hong Kong
FXI...China 25 Index...FXP...China 25 Short
China ETF....CandleGlance  ...CCIH
China's Yuan will not become a reserve currency
09/16/2014  Bloomberg report said the People’s Bank of China would begin a 500 billion yuan standing lending-facility to the country’s five largest banks.



EWG...Germany ...........................EWG    DB
EWC...Canada ETF............ RY...BNS...SU...ABX...BMO...POT...CNQ ......CP..... Canada CandleGlance   Canadian dollar
EWW...Mexico ETF

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CARZ Global Auto Index Fund ...TOYOF,F,GM,HNDAF,DDAIF,SZKMF,TSLA,FUJHF,NSANF
...CALI  sells and trades in imported automobiles in China... F...GM... KNDI...BYDDF... KAR ...TSLA... Fiat FCAU... ...Daimler  DDAIF... 

 

  • Feb 10, 2017  https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2017/02/10/ford-invests-in-argo-ai-new-artificial-intelligence-company.html
    Ford is investing $1 billion during the next five years in Argo AI, combining Ford’s autonomous vehicle development expertise with Argo AI’s robotics experience and startup speed on artificial intelligence software – all to further advance autonomous vehicles
    Founded by former Google and Uber leaders, Argo AI will include roboticists and engineers from inside and outside of Ford working to develop a new software platform for Ford’s fully autonomous vehicle coming in 2021; through their equity participation, Argo AI employees will share in the startup’s growth

    Investment in Argo AI strengthens Ford’s leadership in bringing self-driving vehicles to market in the near term and creates technology that could be licensed to others in the future

DLPH 
Automotive supplier Delphi teamed up with- yes Mobileye- back in 2016 with the goal of producing fully autonomous cars by 2019 based on cameras and radar rather than lidar (an expensive detection system based on laser). The two companies debuted a prototype Audi SQ5 equipped with the system at CES 2017 conference- and out of all the driverless cars displayed this was the only car that dealt with highway exits and mergers. Despite border tax concerns (Delphi has big Mexican operations), it seems like the market is very bullish- as this TipRanks chart shows Delphi has strong positive signals across the board, from analysts and bloggers to insiders and hedge fund managers.

MOAT... Warren Buffett type stocks...http://www.investopedia.com/articles/fundamental-analysis/08/moats.asp
LNKD,PII,HOG,BIIB,ABC,LLY,VAR,CERN,MSFT,AMGN

The "Stealth Dividend" Strategy 
PowerShares Buyback Achievers (PKW)
BIDU BABA
TSLA
AAPL...TimeFrame    Samsung (OTC:SSNLF) Google
GS...Goldman Sachs
IBM...Intl Business Machines
CAT...Caterpiller...TimeFrames
NFLX ... Netflix TimeFrames
HD...PFE...GE...CVX...BA...PG...JPM... SBUX.. EADSY Air Bus
$VIX...TimeFrames ...TVIX ...$VIX Ratio
IEF...7-10yr
60minute...20period
UUP...TimeFrames ...UDN bear
UUP 60 minute
Investment rule: If a corporate officer quits his or her job unexpectedly, sell the stock first and ask questions later.
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Investment bubbles and high animal spirits do not materialize out of thin air. They need extremely favorable economic fundamentals together with free and easy, cheap credit, and they need it for at least two or three years. Jeremy Grantham
Fed Rate Hike  As for hiking rates, well we leave it to Ben Bernanke who said it best earlier this year: "No Rate Normalization During My Lifetime"
 

 Message to Congress on Curbing Monopolies. April 29, 1938       http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=15637
To Congress
Unhappy events abroad have retaught us two simple truths about the liberty of a democratic people.

The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is Fascism—ownership of Government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.

The second truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if its business system does not provide employment and produce and distribute goods in such a way as to sustain an acceptable standard of living.

Bubble Right In Front Of Our Faces
Universal Principles of Successful Trading

http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/resource_center/expert_insight/stocks

 http://www.investing.com/indices/major-indices
https://online.capitalcube.com/#!/etf/us/nyse-arca/uvxy
           "Bull markets are born on pessimism, rise on skepticism, mature on optimism and die on euphoria." -- Sir John Templeton
http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2015/09/links-for-09-17-15.html
              
...this is idiot  "doublespeak" and this jackass ran the biggest banking Crook outfit in the world... ... “I know you think you understand what you thought I said, but I’m not sure if you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”- Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve Board Chair...

................................................................... Unicorn Market= easy money= at very very low interest and companies buying back shares.................................................

                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                         MONEY MONEY MONEY                    
                                                                            ALL of 2017...was a BULL run
                                                                           
                                                                   Rub the Bronze Balls of Wall Street’s Charging Bull for Good Luck                  

                                                    

                           
                                                       

                                                    

                                                                                                             \  
, it has been well said, humans think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one." Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds ...Charles Mackay 1841
*****************************************************************************************Cognitive Dissonance*******************************************************************************
Cognitive dissonance is when one's brain holds two opposing ideas and believes both.
One needs to understand an elementary principle about human psychology: A person's wants and desires influence more than his behavior. They influence his thinking, as well, and even his powers of perception. This is true even with regard to things that would be otherwise intuitively obvious. Psychologists say that when a person is confronted by ideas or facts that are at odds with his pre-existing notions, what results is "cognitive dissonance," a sort of static in the human psyche. This "static" has the power to distort or even block perception.
When disturbing information creates "cognitive dissonance," the "static" discredits the information, so that a person does not feel compelled to cope with it, even if it is true. If a fact or idea is sufficiently contrary to his or her "status quo," the threatening data can be prevented from entering their consciousness at all! In effect, "cognitive dissonance" is a tremendously powerful "self-preservation" mechanism which can completely override the human desire for truth.
                                                                                            Meet the real Matrix Morpheus of today
Criminally INSANE and Mass INSANITY  Staying sane in a society gone mad is not easy. Millions of people believe themselves to be sane, but they have really just adapted to an insane society, so they appear sane within the warped paradigm of that insane society. The truly sane people appear to be insane in an insane society. It’s enough to drive a man crazy. ....and the same holds true for the Markets...sometimes more sometime less insane...our job is to show you how to step outside that insanity we call "The Markets" and make practical objective trades... not trades run from our subjective internal feelings...it really is easy and simple; its just that humans... they seem to complicate everything they touch...People are funny that way...quirky...
And so there you have it. The Crazy has been upgraded to Crazier, and there’s no reason evenCrazierStill isn’t just around the corner. People are funny that way. (...it proves my statement " Humans aren't complicated...they just complicate everything ...and then on top of complicated everything... Humans... they want a guarantee..." LOL...Lol...lol...LOL ....LoL ...                                                                                

Does this guarantee a Market drop in 2017...?... ABSOLUTLY!!! The guarantee is iron-clad. Well... of course it doesn’t guarantee a thing. It’s just……interesting...
Some key items to remember as investors/traders is that the market doesn't always reflect reality. Oftentimes it reflects belief. And belief can prove to be a delusion. 
Markets are not about beliefs, but about sentiment. And, if you can track sentiment, If you can measure sentiment... then you are in a position to make your investment account grow without the need for excuses.  (...this really is all you need to know about the Markets; ...       
                                                                                           
                                                                                          
                             "I am a Citizen of the World, and my Nationality is Goodwill." - Socrates 470/469 – 399 BC
                                                                           
                                                                                                                    ... ...    TIME    ... ... 
                                                                                                                ... ... ...  LUCKY  ... ... ...
                                                                                                       ... ... ... ...Ball of Confusion  ... ... ... ...
                                                                                      I'm Yours                    Cat Stevens                     Price Tag
                                                              Ka-Ching!   \ Lime in the CoCoNut
                                                                                                                                Give a little bit
                                                                                                                       MockingBird
                                                                                                            Holding Back The Years
                                        I'm worried we've lost our humanity, Abolish Capitalism
                                                                               
“A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his 
circumstances. James Allen, As a Man Thinketh

                             ...IF we are going to find answers...the desire for truth must be present... 

        "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profundly sick society." Krishnamerti

                                                 Patience is not the ability to wait but how you act while you are waiting.  Joyce Meyer
                                                                                      YES Symphonic...And You and I
                                                           The degree of TRUTH that can survive every test, will set men free to soar.

                   “We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.”   Stephen R. Covey 

                                                                                                                I Won't Give Up     
                                                                                                               Morning Has Broken
The legend says, the man killed the bird,...with the bird he killed the song, and with the song himself...a story about what happens when human beings destroy their environment, destroy their world, destroy nature and the revelation of nature?...  Sound of Silence
                                                                                                             Dust In The Wind
                                                                           I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone
                                                                           All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity
                                                                           Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind.
                                                                           Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
                                                                           All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see

                                                                          Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind

                                                                          [Now] Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
                                                                          It slips away, and all your money won't another minute buy.

                                                                          Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind
                                                                          Dust in the wind, everything is dust in the wind.
                                                                                                              Oh Very Young
                                                                                                CRYSTAL BLUE PERSUASION
                                                                                         Just look to your soul and open your mind
                                                                                            Maybe tomorrow when He looks down
                                                                                                Every green field and every town
                                                                                                  All of his children every nation
                                                                                         There'll be peace and good... Brotherhood

July 31st, 2017 What do you know Tom? Price extreme, pot odds and stock market bubbles, this market just doesn’t care. So, buy every dip, forget the short delta and finally join the party. But why am I being so stubborn. Well, I guess I needed a reason to be concerned about humanity, because humanity eventually normalizes greed. And as it turns out, that’s what we have Wells Fargo for. I have never seen a major company so dishonest, so disrespectful of corporate integrity and so criminal with their customers. They are worse than common thieves and it’s embarrassing to me as an advocate for financial know-how. I just don’t get it. Last week, in addition to defrauding and stealing from a few million people with fake accounts and made up charges, they also admitted to another ‘error in judgement.’ 800,000 more people were lied to and stolen from by being improperly charged for auto insurance. Tim Sloan, the new CEO of Well Fargo better not say in typical, insulting banker speak that, “We need to take responsibility for our mistakes.” What he better do is hop on the corporate jet, take his $25M salary and spend the next 20 years knocking on the doors of every single person WFC ripped off and personally apologize while also offering to do the dishes or clean their bathrooms. Oh yeah, back to the bubble stuff. WFC is still almost unchanged for the year and up sharply from when the scandal was first announced. Imagine if they beat by a penny, new highs. Scary!  ...Tom Sosnoff entrepreneur, options trader, co-founder of Thinkorswim and tastytrade, and founder of Dough, Inc. Senior Vice President of Trading and Strategic Initiatives at TD Ameritrade
                                                                                                                    Peace Train
        Big Yellow Taxi 1970 "They Paved Paradice".................  Both Sides Now  ......................... Woodstock .................Help Me (1974) ............ Free Man In Paris

                
                                                  Joni Mitchell... a gift from the universe   and ...Sara ... Say Goodbye To You

                              ...IF we are going to find answers...the desire for TRUTH must be present... 
                                
IT’S NOT THAT IT CAN’T BE DONE. IT IS JUST HARD TO GET EVERYONE GOING IN THE SAME DIRECTION WHEN SO MANY ARE OPERATING WITH A DIFFERENT UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WAS AGREED TO AND WHAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING. CLARITY OF PURPOSE AND ROLE IS IN SHORT SUPPLY.

 "They must find it difficult ...Those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than truth as the authority."  - Gerald Massey 

******... the fact is that quite frequently we behave as if controlled by little green men from outer space. We are the only species on the planet that is always at odds with each other, with practically all other species, and with the planet itself. We are the only species with wars, jails, ghettos and mental institutions, where we act and live worse than animals would anywhere.  What have we done to ourselves as a species? What is the force that binds us to selfish deeds?

It holds true that Humans aren't complicated they just complicate everything...it also holds true that Humans seem to have to go to the extremes with everything before concensus asks to draw it in a bit to the middle road = seek some "balance" here people.
......to an outside observer humans really do appear to be a bunch of YoYos...(Concensus in government seems to have come to a standstill...gridlock and laws come in packages of thousands of pages...perpetuates the insanity of the people in power ...and they think they're "Normal"...this isn't normal...why aren't there more humanitarians in congress...more mothers in congress...can't just have a bunch of people with law degrees that says they can argue any point about anything to absurdity...just look at who's running for president...more of the same or outright insanity...that's some great choices for a great country isn't it...so don't forget to vote... 

In philosophy, "the Absurd" refers to the conflict between (1) the human tendency to seek inherent value and meaning in life and (2) the human inability to find any. In this context absurd does not mean "logically impossible", but rather "humanly impossible". 
EGO is the original sin...
“It is selfish desire and anger, arising from the passions; these are the appetites and evils that threatens a person in this life.” ...the outbursts of our ego: anger, envy and hate.
Don Miguel Ruiz, in his work, The Four Agreements Companion Book, also talks about inorganic beings who feed on our fear and divisiveness, explaining it as mythology and allegory: Our own demons (fear, envy . . .) that can turn into allies (love, kindness . . .) depending on our energy and attitude. Don Miguel says that the Judge in us (ego), the Victim in us (also ego) grows to the point of becoming a Parasite that destroys our awareness and enslaves us. He explains that our Belief System (collective ego) reinforces the delusive program of our individual egos and magnifies the challenge. 
In Castaneda’s words: The protective guardian (ego) becomes a jealous, despotic guard who robs our energy to feed itself, while obliterating our connection to the Spirit.
Ramana Maharshi says, when the I thought sprouts at an early age. Whereupon the ego assumes separation and limitations, and we start creating our troubles. It seems that Satan, the Beast, Mara, the Flyer and the Ego are one and the same.
 For the fact is that as a species, we live in a state of constant  selfish preoccupation, which is causing great harm not only to ourselves but to all sentient beings. And it behooves us to control our pernicious ego, and discipline our minds, so that we can evolve into human beings with inner sight. ... although awakening is in the present moment, there is an effort to be made, for there is a habit to break: our internal dialogue. And we do need, as the Buddha teaches, the right effort. Presence is acquired with the right effort, for the ego will try to assert itself repeatedly; it will try until we see the necessity of a still mind with our very core.  Having a disciplined mind is the only way to control our ego-induced self-reflection, the darkness of selfishness. A disciplined mind is the key to happiness. “Let thine eye be single . . .”
The act of following our breath will immediately place us in the present moment, away from the morass of mental imagery. Basui and Ramana Maharshi also recommend the method of self-inquiry to arrive at inner silence.
“Who am I?” We must ask the question repeatedly, with the intention of bypassing the ego to find out who we really are.  Who is reading this? Who wants to know?
*  *  *
At times, when I am about to succeed at stilling my mind, a different dialogue pops up. This time the dialogue is about explaining to somebody what I am doing and how, so that they can do it also. This dissertation seems worthy but it’s also useless; there is no one there for me to explain anything. No matter how worthy the dissertation seems, it is empty talk; I am talking to myself, and probably the situation will never happen. 
And even if it did, it is not happening at the moment. It’s the ego again, the monster with three thousand heads. Zen Buddhist monks say that even thinking about the Buddha is a waste of time. Our sages do not want us to think about them or worship them; they want us to be like them, present. The right thought is the thought reflecting what is occurring right now.
Another thing worth considering is that upon gaining ground, a stream of negative thoughts can erupt in your mind. As if someone, who knows your weaknesses, is feeling threatened by your progress and trying to stall you. Sometimes the thoughts are incongruous or grotesque, and seem to pop out of nowhere; they are completely unrelated to the present moment. These intruding states of mind should help you realize that the ego is not only a foreign installation, but a foreign installation, who, although our own creation, has a will and an energy of its own. And it tries to reassert itself. The challenge is clearly cut out for us. The ego has to be taken for what it is, a mere point of reference in a dream. Our senses feed us incomplete and therefore misleading information. 
Life is full of paradoxes, isn’t it? The ego doesn’t really exist, it’s just a thought. But we need it to be able to operate in a world that is itself a thought, an interpretation of energy, a dream. The Toltecs call themselves warriors because the conquest of the self is the greatest of all conquests; it requires a sustained effort; it requires unbending intent. 
The following quotes go to the gist of the matter. The first one illustrates the challenge that we face; the second shows the way to meet that challenge:
“Lack of vigilance is like a thief, who slinks behind when mindfulness abates. And all the merit we have gathered in, he steals, and down we go to lower realms.” —Shantideva in The Way of the Bodhisattva
“The more I doubted, the more I meditated, the more I practiced. Whenever doubt arose I practiced right at that point.
 Wisdom arose. Things began to change. It’s hard to describe the change that took place. The mind changed until there was no more doubt. I don’t know how it changed. If I were to try telling someone, they probably wouldn’t understand.”—Ajahn Chah in Food for the Heart

According to what I have found there is not much of an "I" anywhere.
This "I" that we put so much stock on is not the same from day to day, or from moment to moment; everything is interconnected. I have verified that nothing in this world is actually explainable; it is all energy in motion. You see, magic is afoot, although we have the uncanny ability to ignore it completely. We live in a daze; we live in confusion, a confusion caused precisely by our undiciplined ego, our self-absorption. But who is this "I" anyway? Who are we really? I leave you with the question; for it behooves all of us to do our homework, our due diligence. Rio Guzman  https://plus.google.com/117689065373889967059

http://www.trueactivist.com/this-artwork-is-probably-the-most-accurate-and-scary-portrayal-of-modern-life-weve-ever-seen/#.VlspBpyN-5A.google_plusone_share

“The real hopeless victims of mental illness are to be found among those who appear to be most normal. "Many of them are normal because they are so well adjusted to our mode of existence, because their human voice has been silenced so early in their lives, that they do not even struggle or suffer or develop symptoms as the neurotic does." They are normal not in what may be called the absolute sense of the word; they are normal only in relation to a profoundly abnormal society. Their perfect adjustment to that abnormal society is a measure of their mental sickness. These millions of abnormally normal people, living without fuss in a society to which, if they were fully human beings, they ought not to be adjusted.”  ? Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited

Your mind is blocking and distorting most of the life coming to you. Your five senses sense life. Your mind produces and sends you things that it makes up. It creates and sends you thoughts, fears, desires, emotions, ETC. It converts life into its mental code for life. It attempts to turn all of life into words, mental pictures, abstract thoughts, or bytes of data. We need to get a hold of our minds quickly, they have become too powerful to let them control our lives. We need to take control of them, and we do that by learning the truth. The truth of life has been revealed and it turned out to be better than anything we could have imagined. The truth will set you free from the mind, and give you the best life here and now. Google Truth Contest and read the top entry. Why let your own mind hurt you? The age of the mind is coming to an end, the age of truth, understanding, peace, and love is here.
"The degree of truth that can survive every test will set men free to soar...."

...in The Beginning of the End of the old system...
The Holy man at the grocery checkout and the 100th Monkey... I make a comment about the people giving their money to the rich in the big tax give away recently. I feel like we're just cattle for the slaughter. He said something like we are seeing the beginning of the end of the old system. He was not concerned about the surface issue: artifacts of a dying system. He felt that change is already afoot and we are already on a path to major changes sometime in 3AD... ... 2012....2013...2014...2015...2016...2017....or is it 2018...?...WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG?

I commented on his positive attitude and he said "I'm not positive: I have transcended!"
And then he told me about the 100th Monkey Theory.  100 Hundredth Monkey Theory
The hundredth monkey effect is a supposed phenomenon in which a learned behavior spreads instantaneously from one group of monkeys to all related monkeys once a critical number is reached. By generalization it means the instantaneous, paranormal spreading of an idea or ability to the remainder of a population once a certain portion of that population has heard of the new idea or learned the new ability. The story behind this supposed phenomenon originated with Lawrence Blair and Lyall Watson in the mid-to-late 1970s, who claimed that it was the observation of Japanese scientists.
 
The Holy Man, as I now call him, out of basic respect, told me that the idea that we have to rely on each other - as opposed to institutions like banks and government - is the idea that is spreading and it is reaching critical mass in human society in general.

                                                                                  
 
The wikipedia article goes on to report that the idea of the '100th monkey effect' was discredited, it appears it had been somewhat overstated to begin with.
But as a teaching analogy for where humans are now particularly with our global telecommunications and travel, we are all more and more able to communicate. So a '100th monkey effect' is entirely possible with humankind without any sort of actual mysticism involved.
 
Capitalism is the old system. It is based on greed and selfishness and has run its course. And it has damaged the planet and countless numbers of people in its greedy exploits.
 
The most recent massive giveaway to the wealthy is part of the old pattern. Capitalists take from the poor and feather their own massive nests.
 
The Holy man seems to think that system is going to end far sooner than I do, that it is already underway and irreversible.
Here's hoping he's right.
                                                                                                            Sound of Silence
  'Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.'  Bobby Kennedy.

Criminally INSANE and Mass INSANITY creates an idiot culture...

Alice and Wonderland... 
Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' 
'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. 
'I don't much care where -' said Alice.'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat'
But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked. 
'Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: 'we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.'
'How do you know I'm mad?' said Alice. 
'You must be,' said the Cat, 'or you wouldn't have come here.'
 Mad Hatter - They're Coming to Take Me Away

"They must find it difficult ...Those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than truth as the authority."  - Gerald Massey

Democracy is not a free ride... Freedom...
Woody Harrelson 'Ethos Time to Unslave Humanity
"Our ethos is all that we currently hold to be true. It is what we currently act upon.
It governs our manners, our business and our politics." Howard Zinn

Ethos is an appeal to ethics, and its a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader.
Pathos is an appeal to emotion, and is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response.
Logos is an appeal to logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason.
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..................................................................................................... Takin' Care of Business  .................................................................................................................

What does 'what the market will bear' mean?

The phrase “whatever the market will bear” is typically used in economic discussions. Primarily, when discussing how fees for various products or services are set you’ll hear the phrase offered as some explanation for what is really exploitation of the market. It only works well in a non-competitive environment. Adam Smith, the pioneer of political economy who authored An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, would have considered this type of power — as unrestrained greed — that supports the idea of “whatever the market will bear” as a thing too terrible to imagine.

But then, Smith was passionate about liberty, reason, and free speech. He was a classical liberal, a believer in“natural liberty”, but not quite the free-wheeling laissez-faire libertarian those who frequently co-opt his theories apparently believe him to be.

Smith believed there was a danger in too much concentration of power which naturally occurs on the side of businesses and the rich in an unregulated environment. There are some interesting parallels between Smith’s concerns about the collusive nature of business interests and the problem of our dying Constitution and the consequent perversion of our criminal justice system. 

Self-interested competition in the free market, [Smith] argued, would tend to benefit society as a whole by keeping prices low, while still building an incentive for a wide variety of goods and services. Nevertheless, he was wary of businessmen and warned of their “conspiracy against the public or in some other contrivance to raise prices.”[footnote deleted] Again and again Smith warned of the collusive nature of business interests, which may form cabals or monopolies, fixing the highest price “which can be squeezed out of the buyers”. Smith also warned that a true laissez-faire economy would quickly become a conspiracy of businesses and industry against consumers, with the former scheming to influence politics and legislation. Smith states that the interest of manufacturers and merchants “…in any particular branch of trade or manufactures, is always in some respects different from, and even opposite to, that of the public…The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce which comes from this order, ought always to be listened to with great precaution, and ought never be adopted till after having been long and carefully examined, not only with the most scrupulous, but with the most suspicious attention.”

Smith also believed,
The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.

and 
The rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion. How amazing it is, then, that the rich and the conservative so frequently try to justify their dangerous and corrupting acquisition of power by relying upon Adam Smith.

But what has this to do with criminal defense and with the corruption of the criminal justice system?

A number of things, including that “collusive nature of business interests, which may form cabals and monopolies, fixing the highest price ‘which can be squeezed out of the buyers’” and the misplaced laissez-faire attitude of judges towards them. http://www.rhdefense.com/2011/03/11/whatever-the-market-will-bear

Corporatocracy is a term used as an economic and political system controlled by corporations or corporate interests. It is a generally pejorative term (contempt/disapproval) often used by critics of the current economic situation in a particular country, especially the United States. This is different to corporatism, which is the organisation of society into groups with common interests.
Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are privately owned, supply, demand, price,  distribution, and investments are mostly set by the private sector and  market forces rather than by economic planning by the government;  profit is distributed by owners who invests in businesses. It also refers to the process of capital accumulation.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Capitalism... is the old system. It is based on greed and selfishness and has run its course. Debt has been used to degrade everything including human lives to a monetary calculation that eliminates all social obligations to each other. This is especially observable in the later development of "capitalism that has reduced society to a system of practical debt slavery." Government debt to private parties has been used to manipulate and corrupt government for private ends, particularly, in the present debt paradigm called capitalism.

And it has damaged the planet and countless numbers of people in its greedy exploits.
...the idea that we have to rely on each other - as opposed to institutions like banks and government - is the idea that is spreading and it is reaching critical mass in human society in general.

Corporations are persons who have no moral conscience.
They are special kinds of persons which are designed by laws to be concerned only for their stockholders.
Corporations have no soul to save and they have no body to incarcerate.

"The World is a Business"  ... Mad as Hell ...  "We" Day...noApathy ...
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
THE REAL LEADERS OF THE WORLD
Slaves to DEBT
Get yourself a set of Balls and put them on...you're going to need them...
The Collapse of The American Dream Explained 
Debt = Money. This is the most important thing you can understand about modern finance.
America is now 17 Trillion dollars in debt. That is roughly $53,000 dollars per citizen. Most of this debt has been falsely imposed on America by the banking organization.
Collapse of The American Dream Explained ...more links.

Understand this first...DEBT...
Consider for a moment the broad stretch of financial history. It used to be that currency was backed by gold and loans were backed by tangible assets (e.g., mortgages are typically backed by homes). Both instruments gave their owners legal claims to real assets in the event of default. This approach helps establish trust between two parties in a transaction.
During much of the 19th century, the world operated on what is known as the classical gold standard, in which currencies were backed more or less one-for-one with gold. Why did this come about? Why did any country ever have a gold standard? Because people can trust gold — in an absolute sense. Governments can’t print gold. But the world has long since abandoned the classical gold standard, so the fundamental trust and stability conveyed by gold is almost always out of sample in the context of today’s data and mathematical tools.
Likewise, back in the 19th century, loans were fully backed by tangible assets. Lenders would let other people borrow only if they had the right to recover money if a borrower defaulted. And government debt typically traded with a risk premium over corporate bonds. By backing loans with collateral, borrowers don’t need income to fulfill their obligations to lenders. Collateral creates trust in the financial system.
Over time, however, the use of real assets to back these claims, whether currency or loans, has been whittled away by numerous small changes. Today, currency is no longer backed by anything, and loans are increasingly backed by nothing but the earning power of the borrower. So, the fundamental reason for people to trust currency and credit has slowly shifted from a sound claim on tangible assets to a speculative claim on future income. Now, so long as future income is healthy, there isn’t necessarily a problem. Trust is intact. But what happens when the future income fails to materialize? That’s right: default. So, the transition from relying on tangible assets to future income increases the risk to the entire system. This is systemic risk.
Where exactly does this systemic risk show up? Is it in time series data of security prices or spreads from the past 10, 20, or 30 years? No. Is it in your factor exposures relative to the benchmark? How could it be? Is it even showing up in interest rates or spreads? Hardly.
Curiously, over the last 25 years, the United States has seen a marked increase in credit without collateral in the form of credit cards, student loans, bank financing, junk bonds, government bonds, etc. With these instruments, borrowers repay by using their future income to meet obligations. By charging high rates of interest, lenders anticipate a percentage of borrowers won’t have adequate future income and will default. Therefore, lenders charge interest rates in excess of the expected default rate to earn a spread (among other things). But this comes with a cost. Borrowers must have income in order to repay. At the macro level, personal income must grow and jobs must be abundant in order to have healthy credit markets. In the absence of a healthy economy, it all comes racing back to trust. And without income or collateral, trust becomes scarce. http://blogs.cfainstitute.org/investor/2015/07/15/risk-is-the-dark-matter-of-portfolio-management/
... it all starts with the ability of a Leviathan government to fund itself through infinite debt that it never intends to repay.  Infinite money enables infinite government. (from comments on ZeroHedge.com)

Currency wars...and the strong dollar...oil...gold... 
Currency Wars
http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/bankrupt-germany.php  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
http://www.moneychimp.com/glossary/
Fundamentals... this is a need to know/understand...
...historical P/E ratio is 15.9...
2018...EARNINGS...so far I've seen as high as $144/145 for the S&P 500 
As of 12/29/2017
Reuters has $142.50... 

18.7 P/E TIMES 142.52=2665 LEVEL... 
20 P/E X 142.52=2850... 
16 P/E X 142.52=2280... 
http://lipperalpha.financial.thomsonreuters.com/2017/12/sp-500-17q1-earnings-dashboard/ 

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4117899-s-and-p-500-earnings-keeping-eye-2018-estimates-much-tax-reform-related 
It's possible 2018's current S&P 500 estimate of $145.69 could be lifted $4-$6 IF (and it's still a big if) tax reform legislation is passed, with cash repatriation. (That $4-$6 estimate is using other research firm's estimates I've seen, and is based on no homework done fundamentally.) 

We could see $150 per share in S&P 500 earnings in 2018. 
20x150=3000 S&P 500 
19x150=2850 
18x150=2700 
17x150=2550 
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
2017  After three consecutive years (2014, 2015 and 2016) of S&P 500 earnings of about $118, Thomson Reuters has $133 as an expectation for 2017.

FactSet Research is on the same page:

"The forward 12-month P/E ratio for the S&P 500 is 16.9. This P/E ratio is based on Thursday's closing price (2249.26) and forward 12 month EPS estimate ($132.79)."

Goldman Sachs estimates that although the median company currently pays an effective tax rate far below the statutory rate, the impact of an even lower rate could lift S&P 500 earnings by more than 10%. Even a statutory rate of 25% (roughly 29% including state and local taxes), which is more likely given deficit projections, could still boost earnings ex-financials by 8%. Project earnings to $145 over time, and you can see why the new found optimism is prevalent.

 

Rest assured, there will be speed bumps. Trump's corporate tax proposal, for instance, is likely to stumble in Congress. The usual bickering will start about which tax exemptions get eliminated in return for a simpler code. On top of that, a worsening fiscal backdrop will likely make many in Congress hesitant to support large deficit financed tax cuts. How the market reacts to these anticipated de

P/E ratios
***Book value/Residual value/Intrinsic value

Secular Bull Market - A look ahead

As we have witnessed, energy earnings, or lack thereof, have been discussed ad nauseum. Back in January, I noted that all market participants would have to reconcile what impact that would have on the earnings picture to formulate their strategy going forward. Now the strength of the USD has entered the earnings picture as well. In my case it has made me pause, reflect on all of the conflicting issues and wrestle with the possible outcomes. I did just that before I could decide on a confident outline to allow me to put forth a 6 month (end of '15), and 12 month (mid '16) projections.

The "Base", "Bull" and "Bear" cases for YE 2015 and Mid 2016
***Feb 22 ...as of the first 2 months of 2016...we are seeing $121 estimates for the S&P 500 and in the chart below =Economy stalls...Energy and Strong $Dollar issues deepen, earnings growth of 2-3%...PE's retract= PE of 15 or 16 times earnings...= the recent low was 1810 and the high of this week was 1930... so the next 3 charts and projections; for now appear overly optomistic for 2016 and beyond...


http://www.economicgreenfield.com/tag/sp500-earnings/

Year 2015 estimate: $119.23/share... Year 2016 estimate: $133.95/share.... Year 2017 estimate: $149.49/share


Sept. 01, 2015... CAPE (Cyclically Adjusted Price Earnings) ratio. It’s a cousin of the popular price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio.

The P/E ratio divides the price of an index or stock by its earnings-per-share (EPS) for the past year. A high ratio means stocks are expensive. A low ratio means stocks are cheap.
Robert Shiller's CAPE ratio is the price/earnings ratio with one adjustment. Instead of using just one year of earnings, it incorporates earnings from the past 10 years. This smooths out the effects of booms and recessions and gives us a useful long-term view of a stock or market. Right now, the S&P’s CAPE ratio is 24.6…about 48% more expensive than its average since 1881.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
 


 

                                                                                $$$ Live long and prosper $$$

                                                 

Markets are not about beliefs, but about sentiment. And, if you can track sentiment, If you can measure sentiment... then you are in a position to make your investment account grow without the need for excuses.  (...this really is all you need to know about the Markets ... 

Math aptitude will help you become a dealer, make Markets if you dare, excute customer orders, but you won't be able to make $$$ by speculating in the Markets. You can't, you're not smart enough. The Markets aren't predictable enough. 90% of all trading is "technical analysis" which you are too lazy to learn. The other 10% of Market movement comes from rogue waves of economic data shocks (NEWS true or just hype = news), which surprise and wash everyone overboard, destroying the latest chart pattern you were following. Its never been truer: How do you make a small fortune trading the Markets? Start with a large fortune and you might have a chance. You don't want to do this for a living. Get out while you can. ...ChrisRupkey ...True...?...Not True...?
 ======================================================================================================
What is the best technical indicator...?... in Kiy's opinion...
1. PRICE...is always the best indicator...UP/Sideways/Down......it really is easy and that simple; its just that humans... they seem to need to complicate everything they touch...People are funny that way... The Markets aren't as complicate as you think...you just need to stop thinking and learn to listen to the technical indicators.
2. Bollinger Bands...%B=all about how far PRICE deviates from the average price (the mean= the average)...Commodity Channel Index CCI...
A standard deviation is a statistical calculation that is used to define the number of data points in a
specific range. Generally one standard deviation covers 67% of the price points relative to a mean.
2-standard deviations measures approximately 95% of the data points within a range.
A Bollinger band high uses the default of 2-standard deviations above a specific moving
average. The Bollinger band low uses the default of 2-standard deviations below a
specific moving average. Bollinger bands are generally used as a mean reversion tool, but can also be used as a
momentum indicator. The most common practice used to generate trading ideas form
Bollinger bands is to purchase a security when it closes below a Bollinger band low, and to
take profit on the trade when it reverts back to the mean moving average. An investor can
also short a security when it closes above a Bollinger band high, and cover their short positions
when it reverts back to the mean.
Investors should consider using prudent risk management when stopping out of positions that
are initiated with Bollinger bands. Although a security is likely to revert back to its mean, it can
continue to trend for a while before it reverts back to its medium term mean.
   The Standard Deviation is a measure of how spread out numbers are. Deviation just means how far from the normal...the "mean".... the "average".
***Mean reversions out of extremes are the most powerful and profitable forces in all the financial markets. Riding one has enormous benefits for your wealth.(...maybe this is the 1st. Law of Trading and Investing=Buy LOW/Sell High=those "extremes", I need to KNOW how to act at those "extremes". Same as Oversold/Overbought. I need to know how to act at extremes.... Kiy...)
... it has been well said, humans think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one." Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds ...Charles Mackay 1841
(...the goal here is for you to become "one of the ones that can read the extremes"...variances/deviations...madness...)
   The symbol for Standard Deviation is σ (the Greek letter sigma).
   The formula is easy: it is the square root of the Variance. So now you ask, "What is the Variance?"
     Variance is... The average of the squared differences from the Mean. 

(...for the NERDS...) To calculate the standard deviation of numbers:
  1. Work out the Mean (the simple average of the numbers)
    Then for each number: subtract the Mean and square the result.
    Then work out the mean of those squared differences.
    Take the square root of that and we are done! 
    https://www.mathsisfun.com/data/standard-deviation-calculator.html (...fortunately the Bollinger Bands do all that nerdy work for you...read and lean all you can about them Bands...and then we can talk about %B...and CCI... Kiy :)

3. Stochastics ...Developed by George C. Lane in the late 1950s, the Stochastic Oscillator is a momentum indicator that shows the location of the close relative to the high-low range over a set number of periods. According to an interview with Lane, the Stochastic Oscillator “doesn't follow price, it doesn't follow volume or anything like that. It follows the speed or the momentum of price. As a rule, the momentum changes direction before price.”   http://stockcharts.com/school/doku.php?id=chart_school:technical_indicators:stochastic_oscillator_fast_slow_and_full
4. Volume...Volume speaks VOLUMES...Volume is the number of shares traded... relative to PRICE. There are many volume studies... 

How History Unlocks Deep Insights Within Today's Price and Volume Charts 
History matters because markets do indeed repeat themselves.  John Kenneth Galbraith was interviewed in the PBS documentary, The Crash of 1929, and he observed that every   30 years or so we predictably have a major market correction because that seems to be the length of time it takes each generation to forget the lessons of the previous generation.
Over decades of trading, I’ve developed a keen understanding of how history gets repeated.  I’ve absorbed the economics and history of the Roaring ‘20s from reading books.  I lived through the late 1980s when Japan was thought to be the unstoppable new global economic powerhouse.  I experienced the tech and telecom boom of the late 1990s when the revolution had supposedly transformed the rules of economics, permitting permanent rapid growth.  A key lesson from these experiences and many more is that fundamentals don’t matter during an emotional crisis – only the charts matter.

As the pendulum swings between the extremes of fear and greed, my charts accurately capture and quantify the collective psyche of millions of investors.  My charts are exactly the same as yours, with the same vertical lines representing the days’ highs and lows and with the same boxes below representing volume.  But what makes my charts more powerful is that I’ve watched, read and traded the pendulum swings enough times that these inanimate lines come alive to me. 
In my mind’s eye, I see crowds of wide-eyed buyers and sellers pushing each other back and forth on the battlefield of prices where the highs and lows of the day represent the battle’s boundaries for that particular day.  The tiny horizontal hash marks on the price chart are in fact immense banners.  The first banner erected on the battlefield represents the opening volley where the tug of war between buyers and sellers started on that day.  The second banner – and this is critical – is erected at the end of the day’s battle somewhere along the continuum of the field to celebrate and acknowledge victory or defeat by one of the two warring factions.  Some days the battlefield will be very narrow, representing an equilibrium or balance of sorts amongst these auction participants.  If relatively few shots are taken, then the volume will be low.
It is the complexion of this daily battle that evolves with the fluctuating fear and greed of the auction participants, thereby offering clarity and insights into the true nature of my charts.  I have come to acknowledge the fact that basic human emotions haven’t changed – whether I am studying the crash of 1929 or the recent housing bubble burst.  The civics might be different and the players changed, but investors’ feelings of euphoria and greed, their tendencies to fall prey to the lure of easy money or “get rich quick” schemes, even when they know that past booms have always led to busts, predictably play out in repeatable cycles over hundreds of years. 
Where others see simple price lines on a chart, I see human emotions and all the personal baggage that they bring to the table as investors.  I grow to understand individual markets and equities as they develop a particular normal “personality”.   As Jesse Livermore said, “Every stock is like a human being: it has a personality, a distinctive personality.  Aggressive, reserved, hyper, high-strung, volatile, boring, direct, logical, predictable, unpredictable,.  I often studied stocks like I would study people; after a while their reactions to certain circumstances became more predictable.”  It is when a chart’s normal healthy personality starts to change that my radar is set off. 
The time when I pay very close attention is when the battlefield starts to expand, when the daily banner placement upon the open and the close is no longer orderly, when the tug of war between buyers and sellers starts becoming one-sided.  What unlocks key nuances and insights in my charts is simply this embellished vision in my mind’s eye of the battlefield and how these very real buyers and sellers are truly expressing themselves. 
Try this exercise:  Rent from Netflix the film The Crash of 1929, the 60-minute PBS documentary made in 2009.  Watch the expressions of the participants as you track a price and volume chart in front of you through the year leading up to the crash.  The result will be that you associate these persons’ real emotions to the price and volume charts of that day.  The lesson I have learned is to look closely at the charts – to price and volume day-by-day – and to literally put faces on the players who are expressing their emotions by voting with their dollars.  This is what allows me to get a glimpse into their souls.  If you are able to embrace a similar metaphor, then you, too, will unlock deep timely insights within your charts.  Trade well; trade with discipline!-- Gatis Roze  http://stockcharts.com/articles/journal/2012/11/how-history-unlocks-deep-insights-within-todays-price-and-volume-charts.html?st=volume   ... https://seekingalpha.com/article/3986052-roze-tensile-trading  ... https://store.stockcharts.com/collections/new-additions/products/tensile-trading-1   ...(...this is not a sales pitch...just read some of the reviews about the book...Kiy...)


Buy low Sell high..."relative" to what?
 
Cognitive Dissonance is when one's brain holds two opposing ideas and believes both.
One needs to understand an elementary principle about human psychology: A person's wants and desires influence more than his behavior. They influence his thinking, as well, and even his powers of perception. This is true even with regard to things that would be otherwise intuitively obvious. Psychologists say that when a person is confronted by ideas or facts that are at odds with his pre-existing notions, what results is "cognitive dissonance," a sort of static in the human psyche. This "static" has the power to distort or even block perception.
When disturbing information creates "cognitive dissonance," the "static" discredits the information, so that a person does not feel compelled to cope with it, even if it is true. If a fact or idea is sufficiently contrary to his or her "status quo," the threatening data can be prevented from entering their consciousness at all! In effect, "cognitive dissonance" is a tremendously powerful "self-preservation" mechanism which can completely override the human desire for truth.
 

                          ...IF we are going to find answers...the desire for truth must be present... 

 
Criminally INSANE and Mass INSANITY  Staying sane in a society gone mad is not easy. Millions of people believe themselves to be sane, but they have really just adapted to an insane society, so they appear sane within the warped paradigm of that insane society. The truly sane people appear to be insane in an insane society. It’s enough to drive a man crazy. ....and the same holds true for the Markets...sometimes more sometime less insane...our job is to show you how to step outside that insanity we call "The Markets" and make practical objective trades... not trades run from our subjective internal feelings...it really is easy and simple; its just that humans... they seem to complicate everything they touch...People are funny that way...quirky...
And so there you have it. The Crazy has been upgraded to Crazier, and there’s no reason evenCrazierStill isn’t just around the corner. People are funny that way. (...proves my statement " Humans aren't complicated...they just complicate everything ...and then on top of complicated everything... Humans... they want a guarantee..."   Lol lol lol).

Good Trades...Trade what you know best...You are only as good as your next trade......Kiy...                             
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
 
You think you want to trade stocks...this is what you're up against...
 What Is A "Velocity Logic" Event? ...understand this and you can "own it ALL."

A little distraction here...about the "human" condition, before we get on to the Technicals...
 BUBBLE Cowboy

JP Morgan crooks

This Is Why There Are No Jobs in America

Economy and Culture

....thePEOPLE'S ISSUE:
The Federal Reserve was founded in 1913, 100 years ago.  At that time, gold was defined by law at $20/oz.  Today, the (maniuplated) market price of gold is $1,200/oz, a change by a factor of 60X. Instead of manipulating the amount of dollars in the accounts and wallets of every American, they have done something more evil, they have manipulated the value of the dollar.  Moreover, they did it primarily in an attempt to manipulate the behavior of citizens, by fooling them through suppressing the time-value of money.  
 
When coupled with income tax on the inflation in nominal value of capital assets like land, it amounts to the greatest theft of private wealth to the benefit of government in all of human history.
 
We have the opportunity, through a Convention to Consider Amendments to the Constitution, to peacefully redefine and repair the funcations and powers of the Federal Government.  In the past people were worried that such a convention would result in a net loss of precious rights.  I think it should be clear that the trajectory we are presently on shows that our rights are already being actively destroyed starting with our property.  Now it should be clear that government is also at war with our privacy. 
 
Thomas Benton said that in searching history he could find but one parallel to Andrew Jackson. That was Cicero, who destroyed the conspiracies of Cataline and saved Rome. He did for Rome what Jackson did when he destroyed the bank conspiracy and saved America.
Hedge Fund players... nice look at some of the hot shots... 

http://www.insidermonkey.com/hedge-fund/omega+advisors/49/

Another day another talking head pleading why it is different this time explaining that more Nascrap companies have earnings failing completely to understand that earnings are transitory and that the Fed has created a massive liquidity bubble the likes of which has never been seen that has only benefited equities. Sure it's different this time if the Fed can QE forever, but given the fact that the Fed keeps floating taper trial balloons and those balloons keep getting slapped down, it shows that the Fed is getting scared... damn scared. Well the talking heads will keep preaching it's different, it's not a bubble, stocks have more to go, blah, blah, blah. The talking heads are only interested in sucking in new money so the crooks can sell to a new generation of bag holders at all time record highs. Don't worry though, the talking heads will be shocked, shocked I tell you when the Fed finally blinks and the QE liquidity bubble goes pop taking the massively over leveraged equity market with it. Hmmm. I wonder how much more QE is going to be needed to soak up the Unaffordable Healthcare Act in 2014. I doubt the Fed has the stones to go there. Banker scum will only go so far when it is their arse on the line. Until then, can we get SPX 1900? Why not 2000? It's different this time so I am told. ...CircleM...

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=115622827
Every investment has the potential to be a pet rock. What differentiates "stocks, bonds, real estate and other financial assets" from gold is merely the ease at which we can come up with a story that we believe to be true about the investment's future.

Without income, or some other quantitative input that we perceive adds to a greater certainty of value, gold's story is simply harder for us to fabricate.
 
Anarchy is all about the ability of each individual to be in charge of his or her own life without predetermined restraints. If you injure someone or damage something, you’re responsible. Otherwise, society has no claims on you, certainly none enforced by the power of the state. There is no state ….
 
What The Government Doesn't Want You To Know About Your Rights
(This guy should run for governor AND FIX THE GOVERNMENT NOT SET PEOPLE UP TO BE ARRESTED...he needs to make it clear that a public protest is to make all traffic stops go to court and then maybe the government will stop their abuse... )

The People's ISSUE:

Greed is good, and high-speed trading is better—if you want to rig the market (Wikimedia Commons)

WE...thePEOPLES ISSUE:
High Frequency Trading and Front Running the news

I can't blame a soul for pulling out of the stock market after today. Without answers about what happened, it makes a ton of sense. Because this whole business of stocks has been sacrificed on the altar of high-frequency trading and the protected broker interests and nobody is protecting the little guy any more. Jim Cramer
 

                                              Silver Confiscation
                                              Economic Collapse

"To achieve world government it is necessary to remove from the minds of men their individualism, loyality to family traditions, national patriotism, and religious dogmas."
Brock Chrisholm, Director U.N. World Health Organization 1948-1953

Declaration of Independence says the following: 

"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." 

...................................................... Prudence ..........................................................................
We...thePEOPLE...
Has there ever been a time in the last 100 years that the people were more ready to "alter or abolish" our government?!
We the People should be  mad...
A  new law scheduled to commence on January 1, 2014 known as FATCA is engineered to keep folks from opening bank accounts outside of the country.
We have now joined the former East Germany, North Korea, Cuba, Iran, the former USSR, and 1930’s Germany on the list of countries with laws designed to keep our citizens from leaving the country, and in some cases prevent a return should they manage to leave.
The Story of Your Enslavement

SHE's so heavy ,...the last 30 seconds doesn't really work but this video is just toooooo good to skip over... 
The WALL

There is no pain you are receding...A distant ship smoke on the horizon...You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying...When I was a child...I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye...I turned to look but it was gone...I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown...The dream is gone
And I have become...Comfortably numb.
NUMB
"The TRIAL"
...waiting to Weed out the WORMS
...we now return your  sets back to regular programing...Money 
 ...just  ...another brick in the Wall
“If we have become a debt society, it is because the legacy of war, conquest, and slavery has never completely gone away.”

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."  Krishnamerti
Government debt to private parties has been used to manipulate and corrupt government for private ends, particularly, in the present debt paradigm called capitalism.
 
Debt has been used to degrade everything including human lives to a monetary calculation that eliminates all social obligations to each other. This is especially observable in the later development of capitalism that has reduced society to a system of practical debt slavery. http://www.monetary.org/review-of-david-graebers-debt-the-first-5000-years/2013/01
 
M2 Money Supply is considered to be a broader measure of the money supply—it includes savings accounts, deposits, and non-institutional money market funds, in addition to the currency already in circulation.
In 2000, the M2 Money Supply was around $4.5 trillion. Now it hovers close to $11.0 trillion.
Wait, there’s more! The Federal Reserve continues to create $85.0 billion a month in new money, pushing the money supply even higher. And “tapering” quantitative easing doesn’t mean the Federal Reserve will stop printing fiat currency; it just means they will slow the pace of printing.
 
The damage has already been done. While inflation may not be a concern to people today, going forward it could be a huge problem. Look at the fast rebound in gold bullion prices following the recent price correction; look at the jump in the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries—these are indicators of inflation ahead. An already strained U.S. consumer who needs to buy goods and services to run his or her household can vouch for this today.

The Libor scandal
"" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">; rel="nofollow" target="_blank" >http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-13/goldman-sachs-cdos-bet-against-clients-misled-congress-senate-panel-says.html[tag][/tag]
Everything you need to know that the media is not telling you...
We the people should be Mad...MAD AS HELL

...fear blinds us to opportunity; greed blinds us to danger - emotions cause "perceptual distortion'" where we only see the part of the picture that our beliefs allow us. ...Chowder SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/article/2801595-selling-guidelines-for-self-directed-investors

http://seekingalpha.com/article/2842626-project-3-million-dividend-results-objectives

http://seekingalpha.com/article/2742425-valuations-goals-and-the-stock-selection-process

http://seekingalpha.com/article/2723275-equity-investing-or-index-investing



Looking at some definitions first...and later I will provide some answers...Ki...Kiy...theMatrix

"To achieve satisfactory investment results is easier than most people realize; to achieve superior results is harder than it looks." - Benjamin Graham

Buy low... Sell high...relative to what...?

The central philosophy of contrarian investing is founded on the belief that the worse things seem to be, the greater opportunity there is for profit. The trickiness of contrarian investing is deciphering Mr. Market's rationality from its irrationality. (MF)

TimeFrame Trading... (... and it really is as easy as a simple moving average...don't let  WallStreet and economist's or bankerCROOKS  intimidate you...
 
Make sure you are trading in the direction of the trend. Buy dips if the trend is up. Sell rallies if the trend is down. If you’re trading the intermediate trend, use daily and weekly charts. If you are day trading, use daily and intra-day charts. In each case, let the longer timeframe chart determine the trend, and then use the shorter term chart for timing.
 
Moving averages provide "objective" buy and sell signals. They tell you if the existing trend is still in motion and help confirm a trend change. Moving averages do not tell you in advance, however, that a trend change is imminent.  (If you have been paying attention; you would know that the "GRAIL"  averages prove that last statement wrong...)

The bias of the market is to drift upwards in the absence of bad news. It goes up roughly 2/3 of the time and down only 1/3 of the time.
 
Oscillators help identify overbought and oversold markets. While moving averages offer confirmation of a market trend change, oscillators often help warn us in advance that a market has rallied or fallen too far and will soon turn. 

Mean reversion is a mathematical concept sometimes used for stock investing, but it can be applied to other assets. In general terms, the essence of the concept is the assumption that both a stock's high and low prices are temporary and that a stock's price will tend to move to the average price over time.
Jason Zwieg a wealth of commonsense.com
I long ago concluded that regression to the mean is the most powerful law in financial physics: Periods of above-average performance are inevitably followed by below-average returns, and bad times inevitably set the stage for surprisingly good performance.

Standard deviation is a measure of the dispersion of a set of data from its mean. The more spread apart the data, the higher the deviation. Standard deviation is also known as historical volatility.

Beta is a measure of the volatility, or systematic risk, of a security or a portfolio in comparison to the market as a whole.

The "what" (price action) is more important than  the "why" (News, earnings, so on). All known information is reflected in the price. Buyers and sellers move Markets based on expectations and emotions (fear and greed).  Markets fluctuate. The actual price may not reflect the underlying value.  (stockcharts.com)
 
Big Percentage movers. Stocks that are making big-percentage moves either up or down are usually in play because their sector is becoming attractive or they have a major fundamental catalyst such as a recent earnings release. Sometimes stocks making big moves have been hit with an analyst upgrade or an analyst downgrade.
 
Regardless of the reason behind it, when a stock makes a large-percentage move, it is often just the start of a new major trend -- a trend that can lead to huge profits. If you time your trade correctly, combining technical indicators with fundamental trends, discipline and sound money management, you will be well on your way to investment success. (theStreet.com)
The charts below are from Alex's "side volume" charts...larger volume at certain price levels may suggest Support/Resistance... Kiy's  charts with 6 period Moving Averages applied to the CCI 20 oscillator: CCI crosses the average; consider it a warning of "change"...especially when the crossover happens from the overbought or oversold levels... ***and when deciding how to act at centerline on the 30 minute and 60 minute charts...
Signals  at signal lines... listen to the signals...pick a price and act on it.

The psychological affect of the rapid rise in interest rates might begin to become a slight drag on economic growth.

The housing market comprises many variables, and interest rates are just one of them. Incomes, we know, are not rising rapidly, but the housing market inventory is extremely tight. That dichotomy has been bullish for home prices so far, but at some point, higher interest rates will begin to become a larger factor.

Because the overall economic growth of America is still relatively weak, if rates continue rising, this would have an impact on the housing market.

30 minute MFI...Money Flow Index

Mining CandleGlance
GDX CandleGlance ..... GDXJ CandleGlance
Silver Mining
10 yr Yield
Bond Market Misconceptions, Facts, and Fallacies; Bond Market About to Collapse?
http://forex.tradingcharts.com/
Paralysis By Analysis
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Flag of South Korea.svg
South Korean flag is the only flag that carries a philosophy...  the flag is called Taegukki (which means, "Great Extremes").

The white in this philosophical flag represents peace and purity. Symbolically, the Yin-Yang symbol represents opposites; it is the belief that all things in the universe have two, opposite aspects that cannot exist without the other. The kwae trigrams are from the I Ching; the broken bars symbolize yin (dark and cold) and the unbroken bars symbolize yang (bright and hot). The four Kwae represent: heaven (three unbroken bars), the Earth (three broken bars), water (one unbroken line between two broken bars), and fire (one broken bar between two unbroken bars). The Kwai trigrams are placed in such a way that they balance one another, heaven is placed opposite Earth, and fire is placed opposite water. 


The official lie is most effective when we want to believe the lie more than we wish to know the truth.
Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is when one brain holds two opposing ideas and believes both.
One needs to understand an elementary principle about human psychology: A person's wants and desires influence more than his behavior. They influence his thinking, as well, and even his powers of perception. This is true even with regard to things that would be otherwise intuitively obvious. Psychologists say that when a person is confronted by ideas or facts that are at odds with his pre-existing notions, what results is "cognitive dissonance," a sort of static in the human psyche. This "static" has the power to distort or even block perception.
When disturbing information creates "cognitive dissonance," the "static" discredits the information, so that a person does not feel compelled to cope with it, even if it is true. If a fact or idea is sufficiently contrary to his or her "status quo," the threatening data can be prevented from entering their consciousness at all! In effect, "cognitive dissonance" is a tremendously powerful "self-preservation" mechanism which can completely override the human desire for truth.
...the day the dream died
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDe6QCqFu4c&NR=1

bankerCROOKS and KILLERS

...and You and I...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYmeJlm7Gcg&feature=endscreen
Lyrics ...and You and I ...http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=QFyW_11Y_PQ&feature=endscreen<> 
III. The Preacher the Teacher (...a sense of a new world to look forward to...)
(***...a message from Aquarius...preachers and teachers best listen...   politicians...also) Yes - Soon

THERE CAN BE NO PEACE UNTIL WE FIND PEACE WITHIN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H7rk1rfp7c

Psychology...Singularity...I-robot...Borg...as humans become obsolete
...theMATRIX

the Illusion of Reality ~ consciousness & quantum theory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRkDicwjRQs&feature=endscreen
"All matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration. We are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is a dream, and we're the imagination of ourselves."
"The Matrix has you." - Want out?

Waking up from this Matrix- Training for Eternity- Seekers-

 A Wake Up Call For the Family of Light

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9HtZFb_VtM

Finite...INFINITE...12/21/12...winter solstice

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."  Krishnamerti
...Comments...
How can  our elected representatives in congress understand anything when they don't participate in the same health care, pension, or many other plans that American voters do?

It's time to remove the 2 party system and have one group that cares about what will rebuild this country to regain our place amoung the world leaders.

One bill one vote, line item vetoing, term limits for all of them, no pay when no balanced budget, accountability for misconduct, no more lobbyists, etc.
I know this will never happen because our system of government is so large and misguided that greed has taken over in place of what is right for this country. I hate what my kids are going to have to endure as they grow up.
...and lets cut out all the undecleared WARS ...now...Animals - We Gotta Get Out Of This Place

We were warned
"Even among the president's supporters, one is hard put now to find anyone who doesn't recognize that Mr. Obama's original appeal to hope and change has given way to search and destroy… The original argument for the Obama presidency was that this was a new, open-minded  and liberal man, intent on elevating the common good. No one believes that now." - Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal, January 31, 2013.

"Any one who will trade freedom for security deserves neither ...

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Intermission........  >>>>>> Forever Young >>> Feeling Good>>>>>>>Kashmir Cover  ...........Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? ..................Baker Street
...Do I dare Disturb the universe? In a minute there is time For decisions and revisions which in a minute will reverse. For I have known them all already, known them all— Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons; I know the voices dying with a dying fall Beneath the music from a farther room. So how should I presume? ...T.S.Eliot >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>presume, suppose, take it (as given), take for granted, take as read, conjecture, surmise,conclude, deduce, infer, reckon, reason, think,fancy, believe, understand, suppose to be the case without proof Dream On .......  War of the Worlds...The Spirit of Man...   WAR OF THE WORLDS 1hour:35minutes     Gold is MONEY...Pink Floyd...Ka-Chang.......MOnEY, MONEY...Price Tag...http://ibankcoin.com/
Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been
To sit with elders of the gentle race, this world has seldom seen
They talk of days for which they sit and wait and all will be revealed
Let me take you there. Let me take you there ... Kashmir

“I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.” 
 William Booth  Founder of The Salvation Army
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Free Trade Zones

STOCK MARKET...Tools...and More...

Why Technical indicators are the choice...The problem we run into is that valuation is not a timing tool. A momentum trader will tell you from personal experience that overpriced stocks can and do get more expensive. Value investors will tell you from their personal experience that cheap stocks can get a whole lot cheaper. Mean reversion does not occur immediately after an asset moves away from its long-term trend. Any bond trader can tell you that from their personal experience of the past 30 years.
 

Analyzing Price Action: Velocity and Magnitude Posted on April 14, 2015 by Cory Mitchell, CMT (...also follow some of the many links he has posted...

https://vantagepointtrading.com/archives/11068
Price is the ultimate indicator, it tells the real story. While other technical indicators may help interpret price data, price is the basis from which (most of) those indicators are derived. It follows that having advanced price-action-analysis skills will aid your trading. Use to confirm or filter out trade signals via price or other indicators.

Velocity and Magnitude: Why They’re Important When Analyzing Price Action

Every price wave within a trend can be judged based on velocity and magnitude. That means throughout the trend assessments can be made about the probability of trades in regards to that trend.

If a trend is strong based on velocity and magnitude we know that we want to take the next valid trade signal (based on our trading plan) that will get us into that trend. If velocity and magnitude are significantly weakening then the trend may be ending and therefore the next trade signal may be filtered out, or our expectation/target for the trade lowered.

Analyzing Price Action: Magnitude

Magnitude in regards to analyzing price action simply refers to the length of price waves, relative to other price waves of consequence. If the price runs for a long way in one direction without a significant pullback, then that run has strong or large magnitude. During a trend we want to see the impulse waves (waves in the direction of the trend) have large magnitude relative to the pullbacks.

Short waves have little or weak magnitude. The price is not moving aggressively in one direction. During a trend, pullbacks should have weak magnitude relative to the impulse waves of the trend.


 

Magnitude is not measured in absolutes, it is always relative. Waves are measured against recent waves, as well as the overall outlook. In figure 1 the trend is down because the impulse waves are larger than the smaller pullbacks. Toward the middle of the chart there are some stronger pullbacks, relative to recent down waves. While this may deter us from taking a short position for a period of time, looking at the overall outlook the pullback is not big enough to rival the major down waves.

Here are some basic guidelines for analyzing price action with magnitude:

  • The trend is confirmed by waves of large magnitude in the trending direction.
    A reversal has begun, or deeper pullback is underway, when a wave of large magnitude (relative) occurs against the prior trend.
    A trend may be losing momentum if small waves start to occur in the trending direction. The trend isn’t over yet, it is just potentially weakening (it’s possible to have several slow waves in the direction of the trend, only to be followed by another strong wave renewing the strength of the trend–this is why we don’t assume the trend is over just because there are small waves in the trending direction).
    Pullbacks of small magnitude, relative to the impulse waves of the trend, confirm the trend.

Compare a pullback to other pullbacks, impulse waves and the overall trend. Do the same for impulse waves; comparing them to other recent impulse waves, recent pullbacks and the overall trend.

It can also help to view another time frame as well. If trading off a 1-minute chart, (like above), it may help to view a 5 minute chart as well. This will provide a slightly broader perspective, and you may notice some relative strengths or weaknesses in waves that you hadn’t noticed on the shorter time frame chart.

Analyzing Price Action: Velocity

Velocity is how fast price covers distance, and is used in conjunction with magnitude.

A very fast price move which covers a significant distance (relative) shows greater conviction than a move that moves very slowly.

Figure 2 shows the same chart as above, yet we can also use velocity to analyze this chart, in conjunction with magnitude. Moves down are not only larger than pullbacks, but they occur faster than the pullbacks–the impulse waves down cover more distance in a quicker amount of time.

Having magnitude and velocity on the side of the market you are trading is ideal (ie. taking short positions when strong velocity and magnitude are to the downside).

Velocity is most applicable when combined with magnitude. A short burst of velocity isn’t particularly important, since it could just be one or two big orders being filled in the market. A move of large magnitude which also has velocity shows a lot of power and conviction, and may either confirm the trend (if in the trending direction) or indicate a reversal (if moving against the trend).

Extremely large moves with substantial velocity (both relative to recent price action) usually indicate some sort of news announcement or some unusual event. In such cases, technical analysis is generally useless, and it is recommended traders step aside until valid signals based on more stable market conditions emerge.

Analyzing Price Action – How to Use This Information

Analyzing price action is a constant task. Being able to adjust to new information is critical.

Traders may wish to develop some guidelines or rules about velocity or magnitude in their trading plan. While these concepts are relatively simple to understand in theory, I consider them advanced trading techniques because they have the potential to turn a rule-based system (which most new traders use) into a hybrid trading system–one which has rule-based elements incorporated with more subjective elements such as interpreting velocity and magnitude.

Subjective or hybrid type systems are harder to test. Basically you need to hone your price analysis skills in a demo account, and only when you see–over many trades–that using this information provides you with an edge should you attempt to implement this knowledge using real money.

Agreeing that something works, or can aid your trading, is very different than actually being able to do it, and use that knowledge in real time trading. Therefore, practice, practice, practice. It is always easier to do this in hindsight, yet this will be the starting point as you begin to practice using these concepts. Go through historical charts and analyze velocity and magnitude and how it impacted the trend, as well as potential trades you may have taken. Then proceed to trade using this information in a demo account, marking up charts in real-time, noting changes in velocity and magnitude, and how those changes affect the price waves that follow (see 5 Step Plan for Forex Trading Success).

Realize that velocity and magnitude are constantly in flux. We must look at an overall picture of what is occurring as well as note details about each wave. This is the study of current price waves relative to recent price waves. There is still an element of uncertainty. Everything can look great and we will still lose trades. By analyzing price action based velocity and magnitude–and being able to effectively act on the information we interpret and alter our expectations/targets–hopefully those losing trades will happen slightly less often for you. By Cory Mitchell, CMT  Follow me on Twitter @corymitc and check out our Facebook page.

 

Inflation relative to employment the Phillips Curve

The American people know... inflation is not well under control, for they know how far the purchasing power of a dollar has dropped when they go to the supermarket or service station.

They are pretty sure they are not getting reasonable value from the taxes they pay.

When an economist tells them that growing the nation's debt over the past 12 years from $6 trillion to $16 trillion is not a problem, and that doubling it again will still not be a problem, this simply does not compute. They know the trajectory we are on.

When politicians claim that this tax increase or that spending cut will generate trillions over the next decade,they are properly skeptical over whether anyone can truly know what will happen next year, let alone a decade or more from now.

 They are wary of grand bargains that kick in years down the road, knowing that the failure to make hard decisions is how we got into today's mess. They remember that one of the basic principles of economics is scarcity, which is a powerful force in their own lives.

 They know that a society's wealth is not unlimited, and that if the economy is so fragile that the government cannot allow failure, then we are indeed close to collapse. For if you must rescue everything, then ultimately you will be able to rescue nothing.

 They also know that the only reason paper money, backed not by anything tangible but only a promise, has any value at all is because it is scarce. With all the printing, the credibility of our entire trust-based monetary system will be increasingly called into question.

 And when you tell the populace that we can all enjoy a free lunch of extremely low interest rates, massive Fed purchases of mounting treasury issuance, trillions of dollars of expansion in the Fed's balance sheet, and huge deficits far into the future,they are highly skeptical not because they know precisely what will happen but because they are sure that no one else--even, or perhaps especially, the  policymakers—does either.
...Seth Klarman 

http://www.econmatters.com/
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Create Half a Million $ With $5 a day
https://medium.com/mcubedblog/create-half-a-million-with-5-a-day-ec73d56f7055
Literally everyone can build wealth the tried and true way.

The S&P500 Index, one of many indicators of stock market performance (by tracking big US businesses), averaged 9.5% annual returns from 1928 to 2015 

Now let’s take our $5 a day, which adds up to to $1,825 a year, and put it into an S&P500 or total stock market index or mutual fund. Which just means it should have similar performance, over the long term, as the S&P500’s 9.5% annual returns. We contribute this $5 a day in weekly or monthly chunks (this is important).

You start to accrue both the money you contributed, that $5 a day, and the 9.5% a year returns. Then those contributions and the returns, plus the second year’s contributions, earn another 9.5%. And so on and so fourth. This won’t be the exact case for the year 1 and year 2, because the stock market is SUPER unpredictable in the short term. But in the long term, you can expect decent returns.

After 25 years, we can reach over $180,000 dollars. Your contributions of $5 a day, only makes up 1/4 of that total sum. 75% of that is JUST EARNINGS.
After 35 years, we can reach half a million dollars. Can you spare $5 a day for a $500,000 payday? 87% of that is pure earnings!

Double you Money with the Rule Of 72
Perhaps the most tested way to double your money over a reasonable amount of time is to invest in a solid, non-speculative portfolio that's diversified between blue-chip stocks and investment grade bonds. While that portfolio won't double in a year, it almost surely will eventually, thanks to the old rule of 72.

The rule of 72 is a famous shortcut for calculating how long it will take for an investment to double if its growth compounds on itself. According to the rule of 72, you divide your expected annual rate of return into 72, and that tells you how many years it will take to double your money. Considering that large, blue-chip stocks have returned roughly 10% over the last 100 years and investment grade bonds have returned roughly 6%, a portfolio that is divided evenly between the two should return about 8%. Dividing that expected return (8%) into 72 gives a portfolio that should double every nine years. That's not too shabby when you consider that it will quadruple after 18 years.
 5 Ways To Double Your Investment https://www.investopedia.com/articles/stocks/09/five-ways-double-investment.asp#ixzz4yzJDbrde 
Double Your Money The Contrarian Way - Blood in the Streets 
Even straight-laced, even-keeled investors know that there comes a time when you must buy - not because everyone is getting in on a good thing, but because everyone is getting out. Just like great athletes go through slumps when many fans turn their backs, the stock prices of otherwise great companies occasionally go through slumps because fickle investors head for the hills.
As Baron Rothschild (and Sir John Templeton) once said, smart investors "buy when there is blood in the streets, even if the blood is their own." Of course, these famous financiers weren't arguing that you buy garbage. Rather, they are arguing that there are times when good investments become oversold, which presents a buying opportunity for brave investors who have done their homework.
Perhaps the most classic barometers used to gauge when a stock may be oversold is the price-to-earnings ratio and the book value for a company. Both of these measures have fairly well-established historical norms for both the broad markets and for specific industries. When companies slip well below these historical averages for superficial or systemic reasons, smart investors will smell an opportunity to double their money.

Double Your Money the ZERO-COUPON Way
Investors taking less risk by using bonds don't have to give up their dreams of one day proudly bragging about doubling their money. In fact, zero-coupon bonds (including classic U.S. savings bonds) can keep you in the "double your money" discussion.

For the uninitiated, zero-coupon bonds may sound intimidating. In reality, they're surprisingly simple to understand. Instead of purchasing a bond that rewards you with a regular interest payment, you buy a bond at a discount to its eventual maturity amount. For example, instead of paying $1,000 for a $1,000 bond that pays 5% per year, an investor might buy that same $1,000 for $500. As it moves closer and closer to maturity, its value slowly climbs until the bondholder is eventually repaid the face amount.

One hidden benefit that many zero-coupon bondholders love is the absence of reinvestment risk. With standard coupon bonds, there's the ongoing challenge of reinvesting the interest payments when they're received. With zero coupon bonds, which simply grow toward maturity, there's no hassle of trying to invest smaller interest rate payments or risk of falling interest rates.

Double Your Money The Speculative Way
While slow and steady might work for some investors, others may find themselves falling asleep at the wheel. They crave more excitement in their portfolios and are willing to take bigger risks to earn bigger payoffs. For these folks, the fastest ways to super-size the nest egg may be the use of options, margin or penny stocks.

Stock options, such as simple puts and calls, can be used to speculate on any company's stock. For many investors, especially those who have their finger on the pulse of a specific industry, options can turbo-charge their portfolio's performance. Considering that each stock option potentially represents 100 shares of stock, a company's price might only need to increase a small percentage for an investor to hit one out of the park. Be careful and be sure to do your homework; options can take away wealth just as quickly as they create it.

For those who don't want to learn the ins and outs of options but do want to leverage their faith (or doubt) about a certain stock, there's the option of buying on margin or selling a stock short. Both of these methods allow investors to essentially borrow money from a brokerage house to buy or sell more shares than they actually have, which in turn can raise their potential profits substantially. This method is not for the faint-hearted because margin calls can back your available cash into a corner, and short-selling can theoretically generate infinite losses.

Lastly, extreme bargain hunting can quickly turn your pennies into dollars. Whether you decide to roll the dice on the numerous former blue-chip companies that are now selling for less than a dollar, or you sink a few thousand dollars into the next big thing, penny stocks can double your money in a single trading day. Just remember, whether a company is selling for a dollar or a few pennies, its price reflects the fact that other investors don't see any value in paying more.

The Best Way to Double Your Money Employer tax plan

While it's not nearly as fun as watching your favorite stock on the evening news, the undisputed heavyweight champ of doubling your money is that matching contribution you receive in your employer's retirement plan. It's not sexy and it won't wow the neighbors at your next block party, but getting an automatic 50 cents for every dollar you deposit is tough to beat.

Making it even better is the fact that the money going into your 401(k) or other employer-sponsored retirement plan comes right off the top of what your employer reports to the IRS. For most Americans, that means that each dollar invested really only costs them 65 to 75 cents out of their pockets. In other words, for every 75 cents, most Americans are willing to forgo out of their paychecks, they'll have $1.50 or more added to their retirement nest egg.

Before you start complaining about how your employer doesn't have a 401(k) or how your company has cut their contribution because of the economy, don't forget that the government also "matches" some portion of the retirement contributions of taxpayers earning less than a certain amount. The Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contribution reduces your tax bill by 10 to 50% of what ever you contribute to a variety of retirement accounts (from 401(k)s to Roth IRAs).

The Bottom Line
There's an old saying that if "something is too good to be true, then it probably is." That's sage advice when it comes to doubling your money, considering that there are probably far more investment scams out there than sure things.

While there certainly are other ways to approach doubling your money than the ones mentioned so far, always be suspicious when you're promised results. Whether it's your broker, your brother-in-law or a late-night infomercial, take the time to make sure that someone is not using you to double their money.

 
Albert Einstein http://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/10/31/compound-interest/ 

Issues...We the PEOPLE Issues
Wealth And Income Have "Trickled Up" To The Top .5% 
"They say misery loves company, but so does mediocrity. Mediocrity is the quality of being not very good; not les than zero but abnormal.

Perfectly put... Chris Hedges. "Americans are living a fantasy"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_KHr6_MrWE  ...short version...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI_19vfB6ks   longer better version...
“Hope has a cost. Hope is not comfortable or easy. Hope requires personal risk. It is not about the right attitude. Hope is not about peace of mind. Hope is action. Hope is doing something. The more futile, the more useless, the more irrelevant and incomprehensible an act of rebellion is, the vaster and more potent hope becomes.
Hope never makes sense. Hope is weak, unorganized and absurd. Hope, which is always nonviolent, exposes in its powerlessness, the lies, fraud and coercion employed by the state. Hope knows that an injustice visited on our neighbor is an injustice visited on all of us. Hope posits that people are drawn to the good by the good. This is the secret of hope's power. Hope demands for others what we demand for ourselves. Hope does not separate us from them. Hope sees in our enemy our own face.”  

 

"Hope will come with the return of the language of class conflict and rebellion, language that has been purged from the lexicon of the liberal class. This does not mean we have to agree with Karl Marx, who advocated violence and whose worship of the state as a utopian mechanism led to another form of working class enslavement, but we have to learn again to speak in the vocabulary Marx employed. We have to grasp, as Marx and Adam Smith did, that corporations are not concerned with the common good." 
Chris Hedges
\  

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable.”  President John F. Kennedy
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is." Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut 
 

“We have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people… No better symptom exists of the compact breaking apart than the European Central Bank, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan. They epitomize the exhaustion of elite administrative intelligence. For seven years they failed at restoring even average economic strength, disappearing now into a black hole called negative interest rates.” – Daniel Henninger, “Government Hits the Wall,” Wall Street Journal, June 30, 2016.

In the parallel universe that financial markets inhabit... 

5 Brain Flaws that make you a lousy investor
This is your brain on stocks  .....




The 'monarchs of money' The case for more public scrutiny of the central banks. 
40% of Highest Paid CEOs Were Bailed Out, Booted, or Busted
JPMorgan FRAUD

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."  Krishnamerti

"Any one who will trade freedom for security deserves neither ...

Fascism, which rules the world today, is unjust because the people who are politically connected—not necessarily economically productive—do best. Doug Casey

Trinity: A deja vu is usually a glitch in the Matrix. It happens when they change something. 

Things are falling apart--that is obvious. But why are they falling apart? The reasons are complex and global. Our economy and society have structural problems that cannot be solved by adding debt to debt. We are becoming poorer, not just from financial over-reach, but from fundamental forces that are not easy to identify or understand. We will cover the five core reasons why things are falling apart:  ...there never has been a resumption of rapid economic growth with oil at or near $100 a barrel. The economic engines just don't rev on this expensive energy. 

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."  Krishnamerti
...and the PiPer will lead us to "reason."

Bankers...crooks...legislators...crooks...lawyers...crooks...

...that the Law ought to embody Justice - oftentimes, this is simply not the case. Indeed, when evil people author laws, it is only by accident or mistake that they coincide with justice at all.

The 19th century French scholar and author of The Law, Frédéric Bastiat, reminds us, "It is easy to understand why the law is used by the legislator to destroy in varying degrees among the rest of the people their personal independence by slavery, their liberty by oppression, and their property by plunder. This is done for the benefit of the person who makes the law, and in proportion to the power that they hold." 

Dodd-Frank itself, a sprawling document that employs 30,000 pages of rules to merely preserve the existing system. “If we want everything to stay the same, everything must change,” Wolf writes, quoting a character from the Italian epic The Leopard. - See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2014/09/12/Six-Years-After-Lehman-s-Bankruptcy-Wall-Street-Reckless-Ever#sthash.vBfwQqX4.dpuf

Lawmakers criticized the Federal Reserve and other government agencies for failing to hold individuals accountable for the actions that led to the financial crisis despite reaching record settlements with some of Wall Street’s biggest banks over mortgage misdeeds.

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2014/09/09/warren-faults-banking-regulators-for-lack-of-criminal-prosecutions/
The questions prompted Fed Gov. Daniel Tarullo, the regulatory point man at the central bank, to suggest the Fed could ban individuals at large banks from working again in the industry even if the bank reached a legal settlement with the government over misdeeds. Mr. Tarullo said during a Senate Banking Committee hearing Tuesday the Fed was “conducting investigations” to that effect, but didn’t elaborate.

(I still think she should run for president...)
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-DS345_Warren_G_20140716120535.jpg
“You are supposed to refer cases to the Justice Department when you think individuals should be prosecuted,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) told Mr. Tarullo and other regulators Tuesday, adding that hundreds of individuals were prosecuted after the savings and loan crisis in the 1980s. “Without criminal prosecutions, the message for every Wall Street banker is loud and clear. If you break the law, you are not going to jail but you might end up with a much bigger paycheck.”

Sen. Richard Shelby (R., Ala.), who could take the gavel of the committee should Republicans re-take the Senate in the November elections, said he agreed with Ms. Warren’s outrage over the lack of jail time for bankers – a noteworthy statement since the two don’t often agree on policy.

Mr. Shelby however laid the blame on the U.S. Justice Department rather than banking regulators who don’t have the power to bring criminal charges against bank executives.

No one in the financial sector or elsewhere should be “able to buy their way out from culpability when it’s so strong it defies rationality – I agree with her on that,” Mr. Shelby said. “Ultimately, it seems like the Justice Department seems bent on money rather than justice and that’s a mistake.”

The Justice Department has reached civil settlements with several big banks related to the sale of flawed mortgage securities ahead of the crisis, including a $13 billion deal with J.P. Morgan Chase JPM +0.68% & Co., a $7 billion settlement with Citigroup Inc.C +1.02% and a record $16.65 billion agreement with Bank of America Corp.BAC +1.07%

A Justice Department representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Tarullo, who was interrupted several times by Ms. Warren in his response, said regulators have at times asked firms to fire employees who did wrong and have “shared all the information that the Department of Justice needed.” The pair also had a testy exchange after the hearing, with Ms. Warren waving her arms as she appeared to express displeasure with Mr. Tarullo’s on-the-record answers.
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"We keep a few economists on staff to make the Astrologers look legitimate."

Astro-O-Ology

  StarShine...for the SUN worshippers... Aug. 21st solar eclipse...
                                                Rick Wakeman making of Morning has Broken        Morning Has Broken Cat Stevens        Rick Wakeman      
                                                                                                                        StarShine
                                                                                                                      Reality...
                                                                                                                  Ball Of Confusion
                                                           "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."  Krishnamerti
                                                                                                                     Ball of Confusion
                                                                                                                                    Gates of Delirium 
                                                                                                                    Oh Very Young
                                                                                                   Peace Train     Yusuf Islam - The Beauty of Islam (Cat Stevens)
                                                                                                               Here Comes The Sun ( The Sun King )
http://www.trickedbythelight.com/tbtl/religion.shtml

Jordan Maxwell has revealed that Christianity and all of the other major world religions are, in fact, descended from earlier solar, lunar and stellar cults, and represent the sun. In his book That Old Time Religion and his video series The Naked Truth, he explains since no one on earth can claim ownership of the sun, it must be "God's sun". Since it provides daylight, the sun of God is the "light of the world". Ancient man feared the cold, dark conditions of the night and waited each morning for "the risen sun". Without the energy which the sun sacrifices to sustain life on earth, we would die so it was said that the sun was "our saviour" and "sacrifices his life for us" so that mankind can have "everlasting life" on earth.

Jordan continues to explain how in Egypt, the sun was known as Horus and at daybreak Horus had risen on the horizon (Horus-risen) and was said to be "born again". When the sun died at night, we were ruled by the "Prince of Darkness" whom the Egyptians called "Set" because God's sun had "Set" at "sun-SET". When the sun died, it was said to wear a "crown of thorns" or a corona. The sun is said to begin its ministry at the age of 30 because it enters each house of the zodiac at the 30th degree and is said to die at 33 because it exits at the 33rd degree. He further explains how you can draw a cross over the circle of the sun, dividing it into the four seasons comprised of two solstices and two equinoxes, which is why you can look at the cross on top of most churches even today and see a circle over the top of it. "God's sun" is on "the cross".

To quote Jordan, "On December 22, the sun going south, reaches its lowest point in the sky (our winter solstice). At that lowest point, the sun stops moving on the sundial for three days, Dec. 22, 23, & 24th, in the Southern Constellation known as "The Southern Cross". Hence, our Savior (dead for three days) died on the cross. ... The "Southern Cross Constellation", that is. This is the only time in the year that the sun actually stops its movement in our sky. On the morning of December 25th, the sun begins its annual journey back to us in the northern hemisphere, bringing, of course, our spring. Therefore, on December 25th, our sun is "BORN AGAIN". And to this day, his worshippers still celebrate his birthday!"

...from  http://stockcharts.com/public/520756/tenpp/3
I wish someone would keep a chart like this... at least I haven't seen an updated chart in years...

SPX vs True Lunar Node Speed | August 2017
(...Note ...Aug 07 (Mon) = Full Moon = Partial Lunar Eclipse (not visible in New York) and Aug 21 (Mon) = New Moon = Black Moon = Total Solar Eclipse,...)
http://time-price-research-astrofin.blogspot.com/2017/07/spx-vs-true-lunar-node-speed-august-2017.html
Lunar Eclipses (e.g. Aug 07, 2017) occur at Full Moon and Solar Eclipses (e.g. Aug 21, 2017) at New Moon only when their alignments occur in three dimensions. Relative to Earth's orbit, the plane of lunar orbit is inclined. Mean Inclination of Lunar Orbit equals 5.1454 degrees. Eclipses only occur near the Nodes of Lunar Orbit intersection with the Solar Orbital Plane. Earth's Mean Orbital Plane is termed the Ecliptic (synonymous with eclipse). There are two nodal crossings of the ecliptic per nodal period, the ascending node and the descending node. Half the nodal period is the shortest possible interval between two eclipses. Solar and Lunar Eclipses are very distinct: The Moon's shadow during a total Solar Eclipse is only a narrow band on the earth. The Earth's conic shadow at the Moon's mean distance is over 9,000 km wide, nearly three lunar diameters. Only a small percentage of people experience each Solar Eclipse while half the world can view each Lunar Eclipse.
 
Before and after Lunar and Solar Eclipses the True Lunar Node starts wobbling (e.g. on Jul 30, 2017), quickly moving back and forth, retrograde, stationary, direct. Financial markets correlate with this 4 to 14 Day Cycle of the Retrograde-Stationary-Direct motion of the Lunar True Node. About every 86.655 days a so called Moon Wobble (lunar libration) occurs when the Sun is conjunct (e.g. on Aug 16, 2017), opposite and square (0°, 90°, 180°, 270°) the Lunar Node (4 * 86.655 days = 1 Nodical Year or Eclipse Year = 346.62 days). The Node starts wobbling about two weeks before the exact event and remains unstable until about one week after. If coupled with Solar and Lunar Eclipses, the wobble-effect can be extended. And as the Sun approaches conjunction and opposition towards the Lunar Node, it's motion is almost blocked (speed at or near zero). Notably these periods go along with exuberant mood and frenzy, most of the times correlating with rallies or crashes in financial markets. More charts on the correlation of the markets with the Rhythm of the Node

ASTRO-OLOGY    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LOEop2Hcr8

11/10/2017 CYCLES...the impressive rally to new highs in many world equity markets continued last week. All-time highs were noted on November 7-8 in the United States, Germany, Argentina, and India. Japan recorded another 25-year high, while Australia, Netherlands, and Hong Kong are nearing their highest levels in 10 years. China bounced back to record its highest mark since January 2016, as did Switzerland since August 2015. However, several of these market started to pull back into the end of last week, signifying that a correction may finally be underway. Many, like the Dow Jones Industrial Average, actually fell to their 15-day moving average for the first time in two months. This pullback is more in line with cycle’s theory, which postulates that if a stock market low doesn’t happen in weeks 5-7 of a primary cycle, it is very likely to happen in weeks 8-12. This begins the 12th week since the primary cycle began with the low of August 21, the day of the powerful solar eclipse and an MMA geocosmic three-star critical reversal date.  Raymond Merriman Astr-o-ology

07/17  CYCLES, in the stock market, our original studies revealed that there is a long-term 72-year cycle in the USA stock market - when the market declines by 50-90%. It actually has a range of 73-77 years in four historical instances, the last having bottomed in 2009, and before that, in 1932, 1857 and in Great Britain, in 1784. Based on that cycle, there won’t be another stock market crash in our lifetime like we witnessed 8 years ago. However, there may also be a 90-year stock market cycle, as measured from the historic lows of 1761, 1842, and 1932. There just isn’t enough historical data to decide yet which is more dominant. But, if there is a 90-year cycle, it is due in 2022 (+/- 15 years).
Uranus will also be in Taurus then, which indicates a major shock to the banking system. It happens every 84 years, +/- 7 years. But it is interesting that Yellen, the positive and optimistic Leo, sees no financial crisis in our lifetime, as indicated by the 72-year cycle, whereas Lagarde, of the more worrisome sign of Capricorn, sees a possibility as supported by the potential 90-year crash cycle. I think Lagarde may be a student of cycle studies. It is kind of natural for Capricorns (like myself) to be fascinated by the repetition of themes at regular intervals of time throughout history.

****07/20 ...The U.S. has a 16-year cycle crest and the Euro a 16-year cycle trough, corresponding to the USA election. Every 16 years a Republican is elected and the Dollar tops out within 6 months of January, when the new president is inaugurated (in this case, January 2017). Likewise, the Democrats win every alternate 16-year period when the US Dollar makes a low (in the last case, it was January 2009, and will be due again 16 years later in January 2025). The high in the U.S. Dollar and low in the Euro was right on time – January 3, 2017.


(...about the tRUMP the assofapresident...) You are going to read and hear a lot about “witch-hunts,” “leaks,” and “anonymous sources” who do not wish to be identified for their printed comments. You will also hear about how Donald Trump is a “victim” of a biased media and political forces, bent on getting him impeached. All of these terms in quotation marks are associated with Neptune. – This column, May 22, 2017. The point to be made here is that Mr. Trump is under some serious Mars transits through August, during which he is very vulnerable to “losing his cool” and behaving impulsively in ways that end up harming himself and maybe the nation. This column, July 3, 2017.
“If Jeff Sessions is fired, there will be holy hell to pay,” said (Senator Lindsay) Graham. “Any effort to go after Mueller could be the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency.” Byron Tan, “Senators Move to Block Trump Outing Sessions,” Wall Street Journal, July 28, 2017.
Even for this dramatic administration, the past seven days have been extraordinary… During this swirl of events, Team Trump portrayed Mr. Scaramucci’s appointment as a major reset… Mr. Trump’s ratings are sliding because of his own messages and actions, not those of his subordinates. –Karl Rove, “How Long Can the Trump Tumult Go On?” Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2017. 

...the Trump presidency would likely be defined, and the future of his term determined. As suggested in these columns, if he could control his impulses and focus on matters of importance to the nation, he could pioneer new ideas and programs that could truly revolutionize not just the USA, but the entire world. If not, either his term would be terminated early, or he would set the stage for a huge defeat in 2018. In either case, the second stage of a major reset in world politics, banking, and finances would be in the making, May-September 2017. The third and final stage of this reset (notice how others are now using this term that we titled in our mid-year webinar) would be the Sun/Saturn conjunction on the winter solstice of December 20, 2017, and would last through 2020. This is how I saw it from the perspective of a Mundane Astrologer and financial market timer, and the most critical time for Donald Trump would be right now - in Stage 2, and especially highlighted in August 2017.

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CROOKS...

Banker Crooks...this is very educational...

Sunday morning...some crooks you can appreciate if you are a crook...

\
These 5 crooks are the ones most responsible for the financial corruption presently in motion. These 5 crooks undermined The Glass Steagall Act which protected Americans from Bank exploitation thru derivative fraud. Later in 1999 they got Bill Clinton to sign the repeal of The Glass Steagall Act.

The Elites Responsible For Orchestrating The Destruction Of The Glass Steagall Act Of 1933:
Goldman Sachs:
Alan Greenspan
Rothschild Federal Reserve:
Alan Greenspan
Larry Summers
Citibank:
Sandy Weill
John Reed
Robert Rubin
Traveller’s Insurance:

This sea change in regulation was orchestrated by Sanford Weill and assisted by Robert Rubin, who became the second in command at Citibank after his stint at The U.S.Treasury.

Rubin, was Clinton’s Secretary of Treasury and was instrumental in getting The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act passed. Larry Summers, was then his current Secretary Of Treasury who is now one of Obama’s economic “advisors”. What goes around comes around, they are all culpable.
Jamie Dimon Puts His Money Where His Mouth Is

Too Big To JAIL
 
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."  Krishnamerti

http://www.roadtoroota.com/public/190.cfm
The system is now broken.
Hubruis...excessive  pride  or  self-confidence; arrogance...
"We see what we want to see unless we make a conscious effort to see what is really there." -...anon. 
...We live in unusual times of Yo&Yo ...maybe some understanding can be found here...to build from...

‘Trading in the Zone,’ by Mark Douglas 
‘Psychology plays a very important role in trading, and the development of a proper trader’s mindset should not be taken for granted. The unsuccessful trader has firm belief and expectations that are often not met by the market. When the outcome doesn’t match the expectation, the trader feels pain and often views the market in a threatening way. Once this occurs, traders are doomed to fail unless they can recognize what is wrong and develop the proper winning attitude of a successful trader.’ 
Adopt the following essentials for trading success: 
• Every moment is unique: The trade either works or it doesn’t 
• Anything can happen: Develop a resolute, unshakeable belief in uncertainty. The market has no responsibility to give us anything or do anything that would benefit us. 
• Markets are neutral: The market does not generate happy or painful information, therefore, no threat exists. Our expectations formed from our original beliefs are the sole source of any 
happiness or pain. 
• Losses are okay: Losing and being wrong are inevitable realities of trading since anything can happen. Taking small losses is part of a successful trader’s job. 
• Accept risk: Fully acknowledge the risks inherent in trading and accept complete responsibility for each trade (not the market). When a loss occurs, do not suffer emotional discomfort or fear. 
Think in probabilities. 
• Monitor emotions: Learn how to monitor and control the negative effects of euphoria and the potential for self-sabotage. 
• Abandon search for Holy Grail: Attitude produces better overall results than analysis or technique. ...hmmm...? 
• Rigid rules, flexible expectations: Adopt rigidity in your trading rules and flexibility in your expectations.’
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Please read/study//take to heart the following bullet points on the mental aspect of trading. Once a trader has a system that works, trading becomes 100% mental.
 • Note the paradox
• How do we stay disciplined and calm during constant uncertainty? 
 • Answer: Accept the risk
• Possibility of uncertain outcome must be accepted or conscious or unconscious you will try to avoid it
• Don’t be afraid, it causes you to freeze up and make costly mistakes (ex: sports – golf)
• The market doesn’t hurt you, you do
• Good traders are not afraid 
 • Good traders flow in and out of trades without emotion
• Ever changed a target or stop order? 
 • Scared of losing money (i.e. fear) 
 • …or scared of leaving money on the table (i.e. greed) 
• Retail traders have no boss and no rules – too much freedom. 
 • Trading is on 24/7, hence the danger 
 • You need to create the rules yourself
• Discipline, discipline, discipline!
• It’s not easy, but worth it in the end
• Stay true to a system or else you will not know what works. Build confidence
• You finally found what you were looking for -Trading offers ultimate freedom, hence the difficulty to insert rules. 
• The two biggest mistakes: 
 1. not predetermining stop-loss levels 
 2. not cutting losses at those levels 
 • Those are mental errors, nothing else… certainly not the market’s fault
• No reason to be afraid if you know the probabilities
• The outcome of any single trade is uncertain…
• On any given trade anything can/will happen 
 •…but the probabilities over time work in your favor
• So…it’s ‘simply’ a matter of sticking to your rules!
• The outcome of one trade has nothing to do with the outcome of the next. 
• When you get a signal, fire, don’t shy away and second guess
• Keep emotions at the sporting event
• Do not get angry or overly joyful over trades
• The more you stick to your rules, the more you start trusting yourself and build confidence 
 •And your rate of success goes through the roof

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1552372-distinguishing-alpha-from-noise

"Most of the time common stocks are subject to irrational and excessive price fluctuations in both directions as the consequence of the ingrained tendency of most people to speculate or gamble ... to give way to hope, fear and greed."   Benjamin Graham 
 

Robin Griffiths, the renowned technical strategist, once opined that “Trading is a traffic light system.  At a traffic light, you wait for it to turn green and then you go.  You don’t try to predict when it’ll go green.”

Unfortunately, far too many investors believe that to achieve success in the stock market one must become supreme master of the crystal ball by creating a complex methodology that will predict where the market is headed.  In reality, this is the absolute antithesis of what market wizards will tell you.  For that reason, I think Robin’s metaphor is spot on.

At a traffic light, you sit patiently with your foot on the brake; when the light turns green, you hit the gas and off you go.  It’s straightforward, and the average Joe who drives generally follows this program.  You don’t try to predict when the light will change; you simply respond appropriately when it does.   

There you have it – my trading methodology in a nutshell.  Occasionally, I do remind myself that I’m not in the business of trying to divine the market’s direction.  I’m in the business of reacting to it.

I maintain that Wall Street is the world’s most sophisticated disinformation machine ever devised.  Ask yourself how often you’ve witnessed the marketing and hype influencing the market so much more than the actual facts and data.  

It is exactly for this reason that I trust my charts, believing that their price and volume tell me everything I need to know to separate market noise from profitable trading signals.   I watch and I wait for their signals to turn ‘green’, then I take my foot off the brake, step on the gas and just click the ‘buy’ button.  

What this amounts to is ‘evidence-based trading for dummies.’  That’s not to suggest there’s no skill involved.  Stepping on the gas and clicking the ‘buy’ button still requires a trader to channel his or her unemotional android side.  Plus there is all the resourceful stalking, position sizing and stop-setting that should go on before you trade.  But my point is this:  don’t allow yourself to become confounded and bewildered, thereby freezing at the intersection .  Instead, when the light turns green, take your foot off the brake and step on the gas.      Trade well; trade with discipline! -- Gatis Roze

Where do stock market ‘experts’ learn their trade? 
The data used in economic forecasting models is based on surveys, estimates, sampling and good old-fashioned guessing. No surprise then that the track record of forecasters is no better than what one would expect from coin flipping and why economic data is often revised months after initial numbers are announced. Given the large number of forecasters, a few will make accurate calls through luck alone, achieving notoriety and keeping the forecasting sham alive. But random chance is a heartless task master. Few will repeat their success and their 15 minutes of fame will soon end. 

There are no economic theories whose adherents have a better forecasting ability than others. Consensus forecasts are no more likely to be correct than the individual forecasts on which they are based. There are no specialist forecasters who have demonstrated a predictive ability regarding the stock market or a particular economic statistic, such as interest rates or inflation.
Linda Raschke's 12 Rules for Technical Trading.

1. Buy the first pullback after a new high. Sell the first rally after a new low. 
2. Afternoon strength or weakness should have follow through the next day. 
3. The best trading reversals occur in the morning, not the afternoon. 
4. The larger the market gaps, the greater the odds of continuation and a trend. 
5. The way the market trades around the previous day’s high or low is a good indicator of the market’s technical strength or weakness. 
6. The previous day’s high and low are two very important “pivot” points, for this was the definitive point where buyers or sellers came in the day before. Look for the market to either test and reverse off these points, or push through and show signs of continuation. 
7. The last hour often tells the truth about how strong a trend truly is. “Smart” money shows their hand in the last hour, continuing to mark positions in their favor. As long as a market is having consecutive strong closes, look for up-trend to continue. The up trend is most likely to end when there is a morning rally first, followed by a weak close. 
8. High volume on the close implies continuation the next morning in the direction of the last half-hour. In a strongly trending market, look for resumption of the trend in the last hour. 
9. The first hour’s range establishes the framework for the rest of the trading day. 
10. A greater percentage of the day’s range occurs in the first hour then was the case in the past, and thus it has become increasingly important to trade aggressively if there are early signs of a strong trend for the day. 
11. There are four basic principles of price behavior which have held up over time. Confidence that a type of price action is a true principle is what allows a trader to develop a systematic approach. The following four principles can be modeled and quantified and hold true for all time frames, all markets. The majority of patterns or systems that have a demonstrable edge are based on one of these four enduring principles of price behavior. Charles Dow was one of the first to touch on them in his writings. 
Principle One: A Trend Has a Higher Probability of Continuation than Reversal 
Principle Two: Momentum Precedes Price 
Principle Three: Trends End in a Climax 
Principle Four: The Market Alternates between Range Expansion and Range Contraction! 
12. In the world of money, which is a world shaped by human behavior, nobody has the foggiest notion of what will happen in the future. Mark that word – Nobody! Thus the successful trader does not base moves on what supposedly will happen but reacts instead to what does happen.

Seasonality

To better understand and appreciate the trading systems seen on this board

Gambler's opinion... verses...Technical Assessment
Break a bad habit
 "The truth is that trading, both successful and unsuccessful, is more about psychology than tactics." - Jack Schwager

Multicollinearity... Bollinger Bands... CCI...
NOISE...RANDOM...CHAOS...ORDER...STRUCTURE ...if you don't know where you are at...how will you know where you're going?
Structure= creates Order out of CHAOS
Keep Keeping It Simple...Buy low...Sell high...relative to what...? (one day will edit)
Patience...Moving averages...CONFLUENCE..

3day moving average study...Grail QUESTion 
...it may cure that gambler in you...with understanding ...gambling/fear gets replaced with confidence and patience...
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=78642915

SLV...3 cross 5 moving average

Adapting Moving Averages to Market Action

Quest of the TREND
Definition for TREND...and...Momentum
Volume speaks VOLUMES...
Momentum volume and momentum Stochastics
Accumulation/Distribution and how to use the Candle Glance Charts
Price gaps occur when the range of a price bar does not include the range of the previous bar. It acts as a reliable level of support and resistance for subsequent price action and should always be monitored.
Does Momentum Investing Work?
Momentum Investing With ETFs
!PMOBUYALL...Percentage of PMO Crossover Buy Signals
Sentiment Extreme Gold Silver
www.vectorgrader.com

$VIX... "Black Swan"
$SPX:VTIX ratio


http://stockcharts.com/public/1842472
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http://www.informedtrades.com/trades.php?page=freetradingcourses
In search of a system...
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Plan B Economics...The Petrodollar | War Machine
***First...get the "direction" of the DOLLAR...dollar up S&P 500 down...
The US Dollar Index is a measure of the value of the United States dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies. It is the weighted geometric mean of dollar value vs the Euro (58%), Japanese yen (14%), British pound sterling (12%), Canadian 'loonie' (9%), Swedish krona (4%), Swiss franc (3%).
60 minute
 
Forex scalping
Emini Trading Strategies
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Economic Calendar
10 Laws of Technical Trading by John Murphy
  CORRELATED Market... for starters you want to know the direction of the Dollar...
dollar  down = Oil  up... which is  normal ...If the stock market is trading lower, it's safe to assume that the crude market will follow suit and vice versa.  Crude trades with the expectation that business activity is expanding.  The barometer of which is the equities or stock market. There is a logical framework that can be followed...when the "Markets are Correlated"...and then when they're not correlated; you need to find out why...?... 
...Ultimately...its the BOND Market that best get it right...so when the BOND Market is out of  "Correlation"...you most certainly want to know...WHY...?... 
How to exploit and profit from market correlation
...(Pick Your Days Wisely...chart below ***this is looking at futures Markets before cash Markets open...***Financials=Bond Market...
dollar down = indices are up 
dollar down = Bonds should follow...down ]
UST/UUP
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The anatomy of a pump and dump

http://www.highshortinterest.com/

After he had been deported to Italy, Lucky Luciano granted an interview in which he described a visit to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. When the operations of floor specialists had been explained to him, he said, 'A terrible thing happened. I realized I'd joined the wrong mob'" (1Ney, 8).
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I haven't read his books but I watch him on CNBC Half Time Report and read his blog frequently
Josh Brown: How the Punditry Business Works

S&P weighting...
http://www.bespokeinvest.com/thinkbig/2013/3/11/historical-sp-500-sector-weightings.html 


http://www.slickcharts.com/sp500 
SPY...  http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hl?s=SPY+Holdings
 
The Best Trader in the World
TRADING
Jesse Livermore ... Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
 
Direxion Daily S&P500 Bear 3X Shares
doubleBollinger

LVMUY interesting proxy for S&P Index
Gleno's Moving Average and CCI System
Northam43  Cycles
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=127816396
Ziko https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=88091446
ULT and LTL trendlines
My price projections are based on the averages of each phase, which the source of the data comes from my data sheets that I update/maintain each day as phases are confirmed. You can view all my data sheets (60 min, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Bull/Bear) at my SPX Cycles Database. 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MM-R0bBKysIw4P231E9jasa6g9QAI4fVUgRUgDvkgeQ/edit?usp=sharing 
The data that I collect from my data sheets feeds all of the reports that I post. 
Basic P1 confirmation rules for each time frame
Weekly Comments
Why 11 EMA for all timeframes
Bull Gap relates to distance between 3 and 8 period averages
1/17/2017 Summary
Ziko's...SPX-- Multi Time-Frame Analysis

Hypothesis..."What IF..." and "IF Then..."

Hypothesis...Master trading...price and Band outside 50,2BBs...
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Basic TimeFrame Charts
This first set of charts...the settings have not been changed in over 5 years...
http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=$SPX&p=5&b=3&g=0&i=p15343206561&a=153244594&r=260 
http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=$SPX&p=10&b=5&g=0&i=p47281977067&a=209189259&r=6446 
http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=$SPX&p=10&b=5&g=0&i=p73927284707&a=204070237&r=8484 
http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=$SPX&p=15&b=5&g=0&i=p44095237932&a=202389515&r=5316 
http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=$SPX&p=30&b=5&g=0&i=p78924320561&a=202389539&r=2291 
http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=$SPX&p=60&b=5&g=0&i=p83426028267&a=202389579&r=4984 
http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=$SPX&p=60&b=5&g=0&i=p19567325940&a=241456151&r=1009 
http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=$SPX&p=D&yr=0&mn=6&dy=0&i=p05637132117&a=202930972&r=2627 
http://stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=$SPX&p=W&b=5&g=0&i=p56314205415&a=204071390&r=458 


$TICK...Histogram

UCO TimeFrames etal
Technical Indicators
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=78161385
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B67apgoEBs4&feature=related 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B67apgoEBs4&feature=related 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlMYSD9R7gE&feature=related 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88n-a3rUmJQ&feature=related
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I long ago concluded that regression to the mean is the most powerful law in financial physics: Periods of above-average performance are inevitably followed by below-average returns, and bad times inevitably set the stage for surprisingly good performance.
 

These are ten of Bob Farrell’s most famous observations:

1.    “Markets tend to return to the mean over time.”  For those of you who’ve taken statistics, you know exactly what this refers to:  stocks often move too far in one direction as euphoria or pessimism clouds people’s thinking.  Investors lose perspective and start believing the little devil on their shoulders.

2.    “Excesses in one direction will lead to an opposite excess in the other direction.”  I think of it like bungee jumpers whose cords stretch out and then compress multiple times before they come to rest or achieve equilibrium.

3.    “There are no new eras – excesses are never permanent.”  As the latest hot sector climbs higher and higher, you inevitably hear variations of the chorus shouting “it’s different this time”.  Of course, human nature does not change so it never really turns out to be any different.
 
4.    “Exponential rapidly rising or falling markets usually go further than you think, but they do not correct by going sideways.”  The smart money locks in profits which leads to significant selling and inevitably to a correction.

5.    “The public buys the most at the top and the least at the bottom.”  It’s been this way since humans invented commerce.

6.    “Fear and greed are stronger than long-term resolve.”  Research in behavioral finance has shown that stock market gains make us exuberant; they enhance well-being and promote optimism which makes investors like to buy.  Losses, on the other hand, bring sadness, disgust, fear and regret.  Fear increases the sense of risk which thereby makes investors shun stocks.

7.    “Markets are strongest when they are broad and weakest when they narrow to a handful of equities.”  Think of it as strength in numbers.  Broad breadth (i.e. market participation) and big volume is important.  When wide ranging momentum channels into a small number of stocks, the top is near.
  
8.    “Bear markets have three stages – sharp down move, reflexive rebound and a drawn-out fundamental downtrend.”  

9.    “When all the experts and forecasts agree, something else is going to happen.”  Farrell suggests that patient buyers who raise cash in frothy markets and reinvest when sentiment is darkest can profit nicely.

10.    “Bull markets are more fun than bear markets.”  It has been my observation that historically the markets have rewarded optimists to a far larger degree than pessimists.  I prefer to play in the bulls’ camp.
Trade well; trade with discipline!-- Gatis Roze


“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it.”? Albert Einstein http://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/10/31/compound-interest/

Mean reversions out of extremes are the most powerful and profitable forces in all the financial markets. Riding one has enormous benefits for your wealth.

 Financial-market prices and sentiment are like a giant pendulum. The farther they are pulled to one extreme by excessive greed or fear, the farther they necessarily swing to the opposite extreme in the subsequent mean reversion. Like pendulums, these reversions don’t magically stop right in the middle at normal again. 

Their kinetic momentum carries them through to the opposite ends of their arcs.

 But overshoot extremes don’t last for long, as the universal greed necessary to fuel them quickly burns itself out.

86.5% of analyst recommendations are "BUY", they are wrong 50.2% of the time.

John Bollinger estimates that 85% of a security’s daily closing prices will fall within the channel.
Bollinger also devised a computation he refers to as %B, a ratio, to describe where the price rests within the channel. The calculation is the closing price minus the lower band, and this
difference is divided by the difference between the upper band and the lower band. 
The popular 20-period SMA, two standard deviation–version of Bollinger bands and %B. The upper limit of the channel is 1, while the lower limit is zero. Thus, a %B of 0.5 rests in the middle of the channel and a %B of 1 or zero rests on the edges of the channel. Bollinger believes the probability of a price trend event increases when %B rests on the edge of the channel.
%B is price within the Bollinger Bands
Bollinger Bands and Fibonacci
Buy low Sell high..."relative" to what?

Price is the best indicator...
On-balance volume is based on the assumption that volume trends lead price trends. Granville and Fosback are insistent that on-balance volume
leads price; further, Fosback states in Stock Market Logic that negative volume “is one of the best bull market prediction indicators in existence.”
EMV...Ease of Movement
stockRSI

Rule based system... 
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=79372319

Simple...Simple part 2... 
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=79373136

$TRIN...stochTRIN
***4th...If you're going to daytrade swing trade...You need to understand the $TRIN
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=79428243
Market Internals  http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/markets/default.asp
NYSE Tick & Breadth: Thinkorswim Chart Setup
The TICK is the number of NYSE stocks registering an uptick vs those registering a downtick.


http://spiraldates.com/


http://new.mmacycles.com/
Yet, according to what we have been stating here for the past two years, this historic and overly accommodative period is nearing its end, and the next bout of rate tightening is coming up in early 2016. Sometimes these aspects can start manifesting events symbolic of their dynamics a little before they actually hit, or during the time they are in strongest force, or even a little afterwards. In this case, we are looking at the Saturn/Neptune waning square, which makes its first exact passage on November 26, 2015, and its last of three passages on September 10, 2016. This single 36-year geocosmic signature has an exceptional correlation to the end of long-term interest rate cycles in the USA.
Moon Cycle... or is it...  Moon Psycho...in any case its a unique CYCLE and one day I may have more to say about it...
http://lunaf.com/english/moon-phases/lunar-calendar-2014/


Put/Call Ratio

Stochastics....Master it...
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=82516774

The Last Stochastic Technique
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Swing Traders Look for Fumbles and Interceptions
CandleSticks...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fB3EF7XeXU
CandleStick Basics

http://www.1option.com/
Options Links on Option Pricing

http://www.1option.com/index.php/global/categories/option_trading/how_i_trade_options/
Also try... 
http://whatstrading.com/ 
http://www.optionistics.com/ 
http://www.stockta.com/ 
http://www.optionpain.com/OptionPain/Option-Pain.php 
http://www.historicaloptiondata.com/ 
http://www.nasdaq.com/quotes/short-interest.aspx

Implied Volatility Introduction 

"Why Did My Call Options Decline on Positive Earnings?"

Option Volatility: Introduction

http://www.investopedia.com/university/optionvolatility/default.asp#axzz1kxDvtIBY
http://www.altenergystocks.com/archives/2009/09/hedging.html
http://www.optiontradingpedia.com/

Bear Put Spreads: A Roaring Alternative To Short Selling
http://www.optionsplaybook.com/option-strategies/covered-call/
http://whatstrading.com/wts-toolbox/
What is Implied Volatility?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
In the parallel universe that financial markets inhabit... 


Earnings forcast 2014
the price/earnings ratio 02/28/2014
http://www.multpl.com/shiller-pe/ 
 

PEG Ratio 
Lynch was a firm believer that investors should only buy stocks when the P/E ratio was below the company’s historical growth rate. This equates to a PEG ratio below 1 and ensures that investors do not overpay for stocks. We should be willing to “pay up” for fast growing companies, but not to absurd levels that will inhibit future returns.

 
  Fundamentals..."fair value" S&P 500

Correlation Matrix
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The U.S. dollar is what is known as a “fiat” currency. Fiat is Latin for “let there be,” as in fiat lux, let there be light; hence, fiat denarii, let there be lire, bolivars, dollars, and rubles. The temptation for leaders of nation-states to manufacture money has historically been practically irresistible. One evident result of this wantonness is inflation: The purchasing power of $1 in 1959 is now a little under 12 cents. 
https://medium.com/@mariabustillos/you-dont-understand-bitcoin-because-you-think-money-is-real-5aef45b8e952
The ways of Wampum...through Indian eyes.
 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The Federal Reserve raised U.S. rates for the first time in a decade last December 2015, and is expected to lift them further this year. Higher rates dent demand for non-interest-paying gold, while supporting the dollar.

CandleGlance: US Treasury Bonds We've seen money flow into perceived safer segments of the ETF market such as long dated Treasuries (TLT), high quality municipal bond funds (MUB) (CMF) and short duration credit (CSJ).
  AGG, BIV, BND, BSV, BWX, CFT, CIU, CSJ, ELD, EMB, HYG, IEF, IEI, JNK, LQD,MBB, MINT, MUB, PCY, SHM, SHV, SHY, TFI, TIP, TLT, VCIT, VCSH, WIP


Weekly 10 year



AGG...Aggregate Bond Index. The index measures the performance of the total U.S. investment-grade bond market. The index includes investment-grade U.S. Treasury bonds, government-related bonds, corporate bonds, mortgage-backed pass-through securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities that are publicly offered for sale in the United States. The fund generally invests approximately 90% of its assets in the bonds represented in the index and in securities that provide substantially similar exposure to securities in the index.
http://finviz.com/chart.ashx?t="AGG&ty=c&ta=1&p=d&s=l"" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">; style="height:340px; width:700px">
...from John Murphy, StockCharts.com
JUNK BOND DIVERGE FROM STOCKS ... Another caution sign is coming from the bond market. Treasury bond prices hit a new 52-week high in a flight to safety, possibly from growing overseas tensions (more on that later). High yield government bonds (junk bonds), however, have had a bad July. The daily bars in Chart 3 show the iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond iShares (HYG) falling during the first half of the month on rising volume. This week's bounce was turned back at its (blue) 50-day average, which is now acting as a resistance barrier (blue arrow). Junk bonds are the riskiest part of the fixed income space and are the most closely tied to the stock market. That July divergence between high yield bonds and the S&P 500 (black line) is another troubling divergence. That's because the two markets are highly correlated. Chart 4 show the two markets rising together over the last five years. The 50-week Correlation Coefficent (below chart) shows a positive correlation of .96 between the two. During 2011, both experienced large downside corrections. They've risen together since then -- until this month.

JNK

HYG...


10 Habits of Highly Profitable Traders
1. Create asymmetry in your trading by using stop losses. Profitable trading only happens by making more money than you lose. Big losses are the main cause of not being profitable. Eliminate big losses by cutting your loss when proven wrong. 
2. Have a great risk/reward ratio on entry. Give yourself the potential to make two or three times more if you are right than you could lose if you are wring. Let a winning trade run until there is a reason to exit. 
3. Trade with the odds on your side. Trade historical patterns and price action that has worked in the past. 
4. Trade a plan and a system using quantifiable signals instead of your own predictions and opinions. 
5. Trade your plan with discipline and perseverance. 
6. Limit your capital at risk on any one trade to eliminate your risk of ruin. 
7. Work so hard when the market is closed that all their is to do when the market is open is take your signals. 
8. Have a system that profits in up and down trends. 
9. Have a system that works in multiple markets. 
10. Trade position sizing that does not cause your emotions or ego to get louder than your trading plan.
 
Linda Raschke's 12 Rules for Technical Trading.

1. Buy the first pullback after a new high. Sell the first rally after a new low. 
2. Afternoon strength or weakness should have follow through the next day. 
3. The best trading reversals occur in the morning, not the afternoon. 
4. The larger the market gaps, the greater the odds of continuation and a trend. 
5. The way the market trades around the previous day’s high or low is a good indicator of the market’s technical strength or weakness. 
6. The previous day’s high and low are two very important “pivot” points, for this was the definitive point where buyers or sellers came in the day before. Look for the market to either test and reverse off these points, or push through and show signs of continuation. 
7. The last hour often tells the truth about how strong a trend truly is. “Smart” money shows their hand in the last hour, continuing to mark positions in their favor. As long as a market is having consecutive strong closes, look for up-trend to continue. The up trend is most likely to end when there is a morning rally first, followed by a weak close. 
8. High volume on the close implies continuation the next morning in the direction of the last half-hour. In a strongly trending market, look for resumption of the trend in the last hour. 
9. The first hour’s range establishes the framework for the rest of the trading day. 
10. A greater percentage of the day’s range occurs in the first hour then was the case in the past, and thus it has become increasingly important to trade aggressively if there are early signs of a strong trend for the day. 
11. There are four basic principles of price behavior which have held up over time. Confidence that a type of price action is a true principle is what allows a trader to develop a systematic approach. The following four principles can be modeled and quantified and hold true for all time frames, all markets. The majority of patterns or systems that have a demonstrable edge are based on one of these four enduring principles of price behavior. Charles Dow was one of the first to touch on them in his writings. 
Principle One: A Trend Has a Higher Probability of Continuation than Reversal 
Principle Two: Momentum Precedes Price 
Principle Three: Trends End in a Climax 
Principle Four: The Market Alternates between Range Expansion and Range Contraction! 
12. In the world of money, which is a world shaped by human behavior, nobody has the foggiest notion of what will happen in the future. Mark that word – Nobody! Thus the successful trader does not base moves on what supposedly will happen but reacts instead to what does happen. 

Trading Checklist
1. Risking only a fraction of your capital
2. Trade with the trend
3. Trade from an area of value
4. What is your entry tirgger
5. Where to exit if you are wrong
6. Where to exit if you are right
7. How will you manage the trade
8. Are you following your trade plan

Free trading articles http://www.trading-software-collection.com/Free%20Download/
"" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">;" href="http://seekingalpha.com/author/fraud-research-institute
" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://seekingalpha.com/author/fraud-research-institute
http://www.pennystockresearch.com/tag/pump-and-dump-alerts/ ... http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/5786461-penny-stock-realist/1344451-ltch-is-a-pump-and-dump
http://www.ddmachine.com/
Cloud 
http://www.campdenfb.com/article/copy-investing-3d-printing
.................................................................

The system is now broken.
Dodd Frank... Volcker Rule... Glass-Steagall Act  ...Sept. 6th, 2014

The Betrayal Of Adam Smith
The Corporation
An "existential danger" is one that either destroys humanity entirely or prevents any chance of civilization recovering. 
Walmart Working With FBI Dec 5,2015 ...  How Walmart Keeps an Eye on Its Massive Workforce
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The shareholders won't notice; we'll just loot this company for ourselves...

The shareholders won't notice; we'll just loot this company for ourselves...
Coca-cola...greedy pig bastards are running the company

...thePEOPLE'S Issues  Fall of the Republic
...Unresolved Issue...that should be at the top of everyone's list... Corporations...vs...Workers
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> In "Brave New World" non-stop distractions of the most fascinating nature are deliberately used as instruments of policy, for the purpose of preventing people from paying too much attention to the realities of the social and political situation.  Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

Is this you...?...

Murmurations of the Crowd
...thePeople's ISSUE:
Demosthenes (384-322 BC) stated that a democratic state perishes if the rule of law is undermined by wealthy and unscrupulous men, and that the citizens acquire power and authority in all state affairs due "to the strength of the laws". .....

Elites are busy at work replacing law with power.

US SLIPS TO 12TH IN ECONOMIC FREEDOM
 

...thePeople's ISSUE:
The 4 Horseman
“Our Political process... is badly flawed, because of the dependence of lobbyists, campaign contributions. That is why a lot of people view we need to restructure our political processes to give more voice to the ordinary citizen and less voice to the interest groups, to the money groups, to those who have taken a large roll in shaping our tax code, our regulations and so forth.” The Democrats and the Republicans are beholden to corporate interests and until they become unbeholded to those corporate interests  we will never have a well governed Republic."   Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, Former Chief of Staff to Colin Powell
FOUR HORSEMEN is free from mainstream media propaganda -- the film doesn't bash bankers, criticise politicians or get involved in conspiracy theories. It ignites the debate about how to usher a new economic paradigm into the world which would dramatically improve the quality of life for billions.
...thePeople's ISSUE:

...the PEOPLE'S ISSUE
Who's in charge here?

No wonder members of Congress scratch their heads when days after passage of spending bills, all sorts of last-minute wasteful insertions are discovered.

The movement was described in a column in Monday's Journal Star written by Kevin Ferris of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

One campaign in the movement calls for members of Congress to sign a pledge not to vote on health care reform until they personally have read the bill and until the final version of the bill has been posted on the Internet for 72 hours.

The congressional habit of approving massive bills inches thick that no elected members had time to read has bothered the editorial board for years. In 1998, the board opined, "The way the 105th Congress handled the $520 billion spending bill was irresponsible, dishonest, mindless and disgusting. The bill itself, which was 16 inches thick and weighed 40 pounds, is a monstrosity, something put together like the Frankenstein monster. We know this is true. Members of Congress themselves said so."

Giving the public a chance to read the legislation also holds potential. As Colin Hanna, of the conservative group Let Freedom Ring put it, "We have the technology to make complex legislation available for public and media inspection. We're not being true to the ideals of democracy if we don't take advantage of that technology."

Other organizations on the "read the bill" bandwagon are the Sunlight Foundation, the federation of U.S. Public Interest Research Groups, the Center for Responsive Politics, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the National Taxpayers Union, who support legislation that would require all legislation to be posted online 72 hours before they are debated.

Some members of Congress have declined to sign on the grounds they refuse to sign pledges of any kind. Fine. A verbal promise would do just as well for now, followed by a vote in support of putting legislation online.

...the PEOPLE's ISSUE...
CEO pay verses the lowest worker of the company...
"Wage labor is hardly different than slavery."
Go to 1:15 on video Plato said 6? to one was fair pay...1923 JP Morgan thought 20:1......I'd say 10:1 and that minimun wage laws would not be an issue if CEO and other management pay wasn't so out of balance)

IMBALANCE of CEO pay verses the lowest or average worker *** note date here is from 2010...
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jun/03/public-sector-pay-cameron-executive-bonuses
 

Statement by Ralph Nader on the Walmart Announcement Raising its Minimum Wage

February 20, 2015

After meetings with Walmart representatives, public letters to the company’s CEO, and picketing Walmart stores over the past several years (see timeforaraise.org and give1010avote.org), we see that Walmart now decides to be one step ahead of several pursuing state laws that are raising the minimum wage.

Still, Walmart’s increase to $9 an hour in April and to $10 an hour next February is less than what Walmart had to pay its workers in 1968, inflation adjusted. That would be $11 an hour.

Moreover, Walmart workers want more than part time hours to even try to partly make ends meet. Walmart’s announcement does not address this problem for their workers, beyond making part-time scheduling notices more predictable.

At $11,000 an hour plus lavish benefits, Walmart CEOs still have much to do to make it possible for their workers to make ends meet. 

Just what is fair pay? Plato said the income of the highest paid in society should never amount to more than five? times that of the lowest paid. ForDavid Cameron, a ratio of 20 times between the highest and lowest paid is the maximum tolerable – in the public sector, at least. The new prime minister has yet to state what the comparable private sector figure should be.

In the corporate world the figures speak for themselves. The pay gap between the boardroom and the shopfloor of Britain's top firms has almost doubled in size over the last decade. The chief executives of the UK's 100 largest companies overall earned 81 times the average pay of fulltime workers in 2009, against a ratio of just 47 nine years earlier. Hardly a Platonic relationship.

It is, of course, in banking that the scale of rewards has become most out of kilter. And it hasn't escaped the public's notice that only a year or so ago Britain's banks were saved from collapse by an unprecedented injection of billions of pounds of taxpayers' money.

My worry is that scepticism about the world of high finance is spilling over into other sectors: the public is questioning the very nature of business and its benefits for the wider community. "Why, the public will ask, should we continue to support a business structure where bosses simply see the aim as enriching themselves, with little regard for the environment or society generally?"

The public is also starting to grasp that the misalignment of bonuses with corporate strategies is threatening businesses's very survival. The cult of shareholder value has fostered a short-term focus which has led to excessive risk-taking and contributed to business collapse. In some industries long-term strategy and long-term sustainability have been relegated to minor roles.

So what should right-minded executives, directors and owners of companies do? 

Enron was a clear example – its corporate culture was based on a single performance metric: maximising its share price without regard for employees, customers or other stakeholders. More recently, the failure of Lehman Brothers has been linked to outsized executive pay deals. Analysis by the Harvard Law School found that the top executive team extracted $1bn in cash bonuses and equity sales during 2000-08, suggesting their pay deals encouraged them to take excessive risk.

This leads to the second principle, which is that there must be a close link between the potential rewards and the risks an employee is taking on behalf of the firm. For those who take long-term risks, such as building a mortgage book with a 10-year maturity, it seems sensible that bonus payments should be over a similar time. Bonuses could be paid annually in one-tenth parts, or retained in a fund until retirement, or paid only in shares of the employer.

The third principle is the most important – that there should be a better balance between the rewards given to the owners and the employees of a business. No single employee can deliver success alone. Every hotshot trader or hard-working manager depends on an overall strategy hammered out by their company, access to capital and market intelligence, corporate reputation and back-office support.

According to the New York authorities, Wall Street banks will pay $20bn in bonuses and retain $55bn in profits this year. Does this really reflect the contribution those individuals have made? This is a question that a company's remuneration committee, which has all the facts about the business at its fingertips, should be able to answer.

There is hope. Some bank executives have waived their bonuses. Moreover, investors are attempting to clamp down. Five company reports on pay were voted down by investors last year.

Not all bonus payments are bad. The fact that 70,000 partners in the John Lewis Partnership will share in a £151m bonus pool is seen as a fair and proportionate reward. But if the public can see no link between a bonus and performance, they are entitled to object.

Excessive bonuses are a market failure and it ought to be possible to solve them through market pressure. But owners must show they are prepared to take action. Any crackdown on public sector bonuses should send a clear message to the private sector: address excessive pay or it will be addressed for you.

Plato was right – there is an implicit agreement in society that the rich cannot simply exploit their power to unreasonably enrich themselves.

MEDIAN CEO PAY CROSSES $10 MILLION IN 2013 
Last year was the fourth straight that CEO compensation rose following a decline during the Great Recession. The median CEO pay package climbed more than 50 percent over that stretch. A chief executive now makes about 257 times the average worker's salary, up sharply from 181 times in 2009.

What is Wrong With Our Culture [Alan Watts]
...Change is the essence of life. It's extremely difficult to break free, but it's entirely possible. In order to initiate change, one must change their thinking. In order to change thinking one must acquire gnosis or new information. These type of lectures provide eternal truths for ears that can hear. Are you listening with entertained ego - or with the heart of seeking truth....
Dont hurt the PLANET. Or there will be hell to pay.
Dancing With The Breakaway Civilation ...if she wants to run for president I would support the campaign. Are we going to keep killing and stealing form other people or are we going to find a way to grow-up.
Map Reality or kiss up to the tapeworm

“We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.”   Stephen R. Covey

http://www.campaignforliberty.org/

RON Paul penned the book End the Fed in 2009, and is now the chairman for the Campaign for Liberty. The organization's website says its mission is to promote and defend liberty. As part of that mission, the non-profit organization opposes the Fed "for economic and moral reasons." It says the U.S. "central bank's ability to create money out of thin air transfers wealth from the most vulnerable to those with political pull," and that the Fed had "reduced the value of the dollar by 95 percent since it began in 1913." In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Senator Rand Paul ( R-KY), who is Ron Paul's son, said his preferred choice for the next chairman of the Federal Reserve would be either Friedrich Hayek or Milton Friedman, both of whom are dead.

BANKERcrook's insanity 
Nomi Prins...should run for congress and be on the Banking Committee
Minsky moment
Keiser Report: Bankers and miracles 
Keiser Report: Fanatical Central Banking

To keep America in the race, the Federal Reserve will print another $1.14 trillion in new money in 2013 through its so-called quantitative-easing activities, Martenson notes. "This is an unprecedented experiment, which might end well, or it might end badly." He believes the odds of an unforeseen shock to our fragile, debt-laden systems are a lot higher over time than the odds of the Fed's plan actually succeeding in spawning significant growth. 

Meantime, the Fed's money-printing schemes continue to widen the gap between America's rich and poor, ensuring more economic instability, he said. "The recent explosive widening in the gap between the uber-wealthy and everyone else is largely a matter of simple Fed policy, not a failure of tax code,"   http://www.peakprosperity.com/ 
The end results of "deregulation is crony capitalism...Dr. Paul Craig Roberts
http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast/Entries/2013/3/16_Dr._Paul_Craig_Roberts.html

"We're gonna keep growing......Okay? And, obviously, I'll say it: 'If you're growing, you're not in recession, right?'. I mean, we all know that!"  - Henry "Hank" Paulson, fmr US Secretary of the Treasury and Goldman Sachs Stooge

http://dollarcollapse.com/

"When you try to push problems into  future, you increase the severity of problem,"   Jeff Gundlach, CEO    DoubleLine Total ReturnBond  (DBLTX)  said, noting that is exactly what the Fed is doing with quantitative easing.

April 4, 2013 Bank of Japan came in with  a massive new quantitative  easing program akin to $75B+ a month. That is  almost as big as the Federal Reserve's $85B but  considering that the Japanese economy is a third the size of the U.S. it is massive in a relative sense. 

This announcement crushed the yen, and  drove the Nikkei up.The few Japanese stocks on U.S. exchanges also rolled higher  as we continue to live in a world of currency wars and central banks intervening in supposedly free markets. 

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."  Krishnamerti

Source: TARP Report, August 26, 2013  http://seekingalpha.com/article/1670612-what-is-the-most-dangerous-global-institution-and-banks-to-avoid-revisited?source=feed

Why Banks Are Fighting Against Any Limits On What They Can Do

Senior bank officials want to make a lot of money, and they can't justify their pay-checks if they can't take big risks. Taking risks are a win-win proposition for bank executives. If they guess right, they make a lot of money and justify their salaries. If they guess wrong, governments bail them out. Have any of the big bank presidents lost their jobs as a result of the banking collapse in 2008? No.

After the recent Morgan loss referenced above, Senator Merkley suggested to JP Morgan President Dimon: "If you want to be the head of a hedge fund, be a hedge fund…. Terminate your access to the Fed's discount window, terminate your access to deposits, and then we have no quarrel." Fine with me.

Conclusions

Bank gambling with depositors' money cannot be effectively managed. The Basel Accords are a joke.  What to do? Don't allow depository institutions to gamble. How? As I have been arguing since 2009, limit government deposit insurance to banks that hold the loans they make to maturity and do not trade on their own account. Does this sound like the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act? It does. The authors of that bill were right: trading is too dangerous for depository institutions.

Jim Rogers predicted it could be 2015 before the Fed begins to reduce its huge monetary stimulus, but there will be no avoiding the harm to an inflated stock market when the tapering finally begins.
"These are not very smart people," he said of U.S. central bankers such as outgoing Fed chair Ben Bernanke and Yellen. "They are government bureaucrats and they think like government bureaucrats."

VULTURES and Bootleggers

BANKERcrook's insanity 
Keiser Report: Bankers and miracles 

Keiser Report: Fanatical Central Banking


Bankers are..."Just doing God's work"
 

The Fed  JAN. 06, 2017 http://seekingalpha.com/article/4034920-s-and-p-500-weekly-update-outlook-2017-change-air-brings-new-highs-equity-markets 
Another issue that needs to be monitored closely is inflation expectations. Given that the yield on the 10-year note has risen 75 basis points from 1.7% to 2.4% since the election, it is clear that the market is concerned about a faster rate of inflation. If that develops the Fed comes back into the picture with a more aggressive approach to interest rates. 
At the moment, we still have tepid growth. Understanding that it will take time for any of the administration's pro growth policies to trickle down to the economy, I give the probability of two rate increases a higher chance of occurring than the three to four that is being forecast. The gap between expectations and what actually transpires would have to contract for me to get on the three to four increase train.

 

Your HERO...?... 
07/14/2016...Helicopter Ben is in Japan telling them how its done...

Bernanke ringleader of the counterfeiters and is known on the street as 'Helicopter Ben'. 

Known accomplices, Hank 'The Hammer' Paulson, Timothy 'Turbo' Geithner, Jack 'Citiboy' Lew, Jamie 'The Cufflink' Dimon, and Lloyd 'The Squid' Blankfein.

April 2015...
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-08-02/citadel-unit-barred-trading-china-after-regulator-suspects-automated-trading-manipul
By Andre Damon 18 April 2015
Ben S. Bernanke, the former Federal Reserve chairman who funneled trillions of dollars in government funds to Wall Street, has been hired by Chicago-based hedge fund Citadel LLC, where he will presumably make millions of dollars.

Bernanke’s new job constitutes little more than a kickback for services rendered to Wall Street and the financial elite more generally. As a result of policies he implemented during his eight years as Fed chairman, the profits of Wall Street banks and hedge funds, including that of his new employer, have soared to record highs.

If the United States were a genuine democracy, the announcement of Bernanke’s new job would prompt vituperative public denunciations by senators and congressmen; hearings would be held, documents would be subpoenaed, and federal bribery charges would be drawn up against him.

Yet, since the story broke Thursday, the silence has been deafening. Not a single public official has prominently commented on the development, and major newspapers responded to the news with, at most, a shrug of the shoulders.

While Bernanke’s pay package has not been publicly disclosed, commentators noted that it is likely to be at least seven figures. In the fourteen months since he left office, Bernanke has raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees, charging $200,000 per appearance, more than he made in a year at his job at the Federal Reserve.https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/04/18/bern-a18.html




As a cartel...aka...CROOKS...aka...Bankers

Currency Wars= "Ben Bernanke is more dangerous to the U.S. than al-Qaida."

Currency Wars and Economic Battles

Crisis

Put the CROOKS in jail
Crooks...a few names of the more crooked crooks
"Dollar depreciation leads to higher inflation and ultimately forces foreign creditors to question their rationale and indeed their sanity for continuing purchases of U.S. Treasuries." -Bill Gross

The right course of action is for the Congress to take back it's authority to print money from the Fed and start issuing interest-free currency. Without all that interest to pay, both the debt and the budget become more manageable. As it is, we can't possibly pay back all the federal debt because there isn't enough currency to pay both the principle and the interest.

Is there anyone out there suggesting a credible way to get back to some form of sound monetary policy in today's reality? One thing's for certain: it won't be the Federal Reserve. So what alternative ideas are out there?

In economist Edward C. Harwood's day (1900-1980), his suggestion would have been three-pronged:

First, reinstate the gold standard. Second, return the responsibility for credit creation to the commercial banks, basing it only on goods and services coming to market. Third, legislate the strict separation of commercial and savings banking from investment banking, a la Glass-Steagall. (For more about Harwood and his ideas, click here to access my newly published biographical sketch.)

But we seem far from these options today.

What about a market-evolved solution, like Bitcoins? In the abstract, it seems possible that the market would evolve towards some kind of sounder monetary system than what we have now if it were left to its own devices. But in reality, the political likelihood of our getting there is next to nil. Whether or not it's a viable alternative, Bitcoin producers and users are currently under attack from the government.

One of the reasons for this is that, now that the government has seized control of money creation through the Fed, even well organized citizens will find it hard to wrench that power from its hands to return it to the private sector. Very few governments in history, if any, have given up the right to control money without a fight to the death.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1818072-if-the-fed-wont-do-it-who-will?source=yahoo


The Fed Chairman has strapped a bomb to the markets and YOUR MONEY. Now, he's got to "delicately" disconnect $85 Billion QE from the Markets while preventing everything from exploding. GOOOOOD LUCK. 


http://www.usdebtclock.org/
 
World economy is a mess and all Europe...U.S.... Japan  et al can do is print more money.

Feb 2013  For four years the FOMC has been printing money to keep interest rates low in order to stimulate the economy. For just as long investors have been hand-wringing over the long-term dire implications of such quantitative easing. The basic idea is that the Fed will eventually stop printing and all assets would tumble, priced as they are relative to risk-free money. With the Bank of Japan, Europe, China and seemingly every other major economy now doing variants on this form of stimulus, the "race to debase" currency has become a national phenomenon. Note to Fed: Giving the Banks Free Money Won't Make Us Hire More Workers
"When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion; when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors; when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you; when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice-you may know that your society is doomed." --Ayn Rand
October 3, 2014
http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-big-jail
Attorney General Eric Holder’s resignation last week reminds us of an infuriating fact: No banking executives have been criminally prosecuted for their role in causing the biggest financial disaster since the Great Depression.

“I blame Holder. I blame Timothy Geithner,” veteran bank regulator William K. Black tells Bill this week. “But they are fulfilling administration policies. The problem definitely comes from the top. And remember, Obama wouldn’t have been president but for the financial contribution of bankers.”

And the rub? While large banks have been penalized for their role in the housing meltdown, the costs of those fines will be largely borne by shareholders and taxpayers as the banks write off the fines as the cost of doing business. And by and large these top executives got to keep their massive bonuses and compensation, despite the fallout.

But the story gets even more infuriating, the more Black lays bare the culture of corruption that led to the meltdown.

“The Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations all could have prevented [the financial meltdown],” Black tells Moyers. And what’s worse, Black — who exposed the so-called Keating Five — believes the next crisis is coming: “We have created the incentive structures that [are] going to produce a much larger disaster.”

The Federal Reserve is the "EVIL EMPIRE"...before the Federal Reserve... Mother Nature was in charge of all CYCLES.



http://www.peakprosperity.com/crashcourse

 “I know you think you understand what you thought I said, but I’m not sure if you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”- Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve Board Chair.

    “The economy has been performing well,” said Fed Chair Janet Yellen… Yet the economy isn’t growing well enough that it can survive a mere 25 basis point increase in short-term rates. This has become the endless pattern of the zero-interest rate (ZIRP) era, in which central bankers say their policies are either working so well they must continue or not working well enough so they must continue. – “Stuck on Zero,” Wall Street Journal editorial page, September 18, 2015.

Dear lady Crook Yellen...dear lady did you hear the wind blow, and did you know...your stairway lies on the whispering wind.

by James Rickards.Posted Aug 11, 2015
http://dailyreckoning.com/global-gain-means-global-pain/
Yellen has painted herself into a corner with no escape. She’s talking tough on raising rates at a time when the U.S. economy is slowing. The tough talk makes the dollar stronger, which is deflationary. This pushes Yellen further away from her inflation goals.

The time to raise rates was 2009-2012. Bernanke blundered by not doing so. The Fed missed an entire rate cycle. If they had raised then, they could cut now. But they didn’t, and they can’t.

Why does any of this affect China? The answer is that China has ambitions to join the world money basket printed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This world money is called the special drawing right (SDR).

The U.S. controls entry to the SDR basket. In effect, the U.S. has insisted that China peg the yuan to the U.S. dollar in exchange for the U.S. allowing China into the SDR.

The problem with that is when you peg your currency to another country, you outsource your monetary policy to that other country’s central bank. If the Fed tightens (or even talks about it), China has to tighten to maintain the peg.

The bottom line is that Yellen has caused the U.S. and China to tighten policy at a time when both should be easing. The U.S. and China are the world’s two largest economies, producing about 30% of global GDP. China broke the dollar peg this week out of desperation, but the damage to its growth has already been done.

Yellen’s forecast is in tatters, and her tough talk is slamming the brakes on global growth. This is as close to lunacy as central banking ever gets.

Yellen may not understand what she is doing, but markets do. The deflationary dynamic caused by the Fed is showing up in the 1,000-point decline in the Dow Jones index in the past three months, 60% declines in many commodity prices and record plunges in emerging-market currencies from Brazil to Turkey and Malaysia.

You should look for investment ideas that are not limited to just one theme but that are affected by the multiple connected forces moving the global economy. When the Fed takes aim, someone is always in the cross hairs.

http://thecrux.com/9-wealth-building-lessons-from-billionaires-7-is-priceless/ 
Most people, when they hear a new idea, think immediately about all the problems it might cause, or how difficult it might be to implement, or what obstacles one might have to overcome. When I see smart businesspeople doing this, I think to myself, “These people will never get beyond a certain point. They are limited by these instinctively negative mindsets.” 

When someone suggests an idea to me, I try to shut down the critical part of my mind and listen to the potential of the idea. If my positive mind likes the potential, then I allow the critical part of my brain to raise questions and concerns. I then use both sides of my brain to come up with answers and solutions. 

#7 was... 
“No one is saying they don’t like their wealth. What matters more is the innovation, the intense commitment they have to an idea, and the difference it can make. Money is a byproduct.” I find this to be 100% true. 

BEs are motivated primarily by challenge. They want to prove something – all kinds of things. They want to prove they are smart and their ideas are good and their critics are wrong. They want to show the world there is a place for better products and better services and things done the way they believe they should be done. These are their primary motivators.
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“In the short run the stock market behaves like a voting machine, but in the long term it acts like a weighing machine.” - Benjamin Graham
Economics...Goethe Predicted Dollar Slavery 
The Declaration of Natural Rights
How did it come to this? The answer is simple: arrogance, hubris and academics masquerading as leaders and experts.
Got a Revolution
One generation got old 
One generation got soul 
This generation got no destination to hold
...thePEOPLES Issue
We the People should be  mad...
A  new law scheduled to commence on January 1, 2014 known as FATCA is engineered to keep folks from opening bank accounts outside of the country.
We have now joined the former East Germany, North Korea, Cuba, Iran, the former USSR, and 1930’s Germany on the list of countries with laws designed to keep our citizens from leaving the country, and in some cases prevent a return should they manage to leave.
...thePEOPLES Issue
We the People should be mad...
Why doesn’t someone address the problem about the government using the social security, without reservation ,for things not intended. I think it would have plenty of money for years and years had they been barred from using it.
I also think they should be made to repay what they took out, with interest, which would help to rebuild it.
Don't forget to VOTE
A Message to the Future

Freedom Index
A Congressional Scorecard Based on the U.S. Constitution rates congressmen based on their adherence to constitutional principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, national sovereignty, and a traditional foreign policy of avoiding foreign entanglements.

"Anyone who will trade freedom for security deserves neither ...

..."truth is treason in an empire of lies” Ron Paul

Anarchy is all about the ability of each individual to be in charge of his or her own life without predetermined restraints. If you injure someone or damage something, you’re responsible. Otherwise, society has no claims on you, certainly none enforced by the power of the state. There is no state ….
http://www.thelocal.de/national/20130711-50803.html
 
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-u-tech-firms-weigh-100547220.html
 
"These firms are between a rock and hard place," said Kennedy of the Research Center for Chinese Politics and Business. "They can push the U.S. government to stop using them to spy, but that will alienate them from an important source of political support and business, and perhaps put them in violation of the (U.S.) Patriot Act or some secret executive order."
...Tell me we aren't under Stasi control...working words...Violation...Patriot Act...OR..."some secret executive order...

Anarchy is all about the ability of each individual to be in charge of his or her own life without predetermined restraints. If you injure someone or damage something, you’re responsible. Otherwise, society has no claims on you, certainly none enforced by the power of the state. There is no state ….

Try to imagine what has happened to America when Harvard and Berkeley law professors create legal justifications for torture and extra-judicial murder, and when US presidents engage in these heinous crimes. Clearly America is exceptional in its immorality, lack of human compassion, and disrespect for law and its founding document.

Hitler and Stalin would be astonished at the ease with which totalitarianism has marched through American institutions. Now we have a West Point professor of law teaching the US military justifications for murdering American critics of war and the police state.http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/29/west-point-

Welcome to America today. It is a land in which facts have been redefined as enemy propaganda, a land in which legally protected whistleblowers are redefined as “fifth columns” or foreign agents subject to extermination, a land in which America is immune from criticism and all crimes are blamed on those whom Washington intends to rule.

Barron, Bybee, Yoo, and Bradford are members of a new species—the Inhumanes—that has risen from the poisonous American environment of arrogance, hubris, and paranoia.  
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-03/paul-craig-roberts-rise-inhumanes

I suggest...your government is not your friend...we need term limits...end these wars and let Congress decide if we go to war; not the president and cut out the secretshit and executive orders...answer for yourself...why do so many countries Hate us...Our system is broken people...and get rid of the Federal Reserve...NOW.
Presidential Executive Orders
SWHC... A patriot's stock
"In times of change, the Patriot is a scarce man; brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot." -Mark Twain As The Fourth Amendment Fades Away Are We To Become The Obsolete Man? - Mike Swanson (06/12/2013)
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The QUEST...the Hero's Quest
 

Quantum Brain Power Subliminal

(...I'm not saying she's right or wrong...just interesting...) A very interesting interview...she slams the crooks, lawyers, and  judges in Hollywood... just another example of the ugly side of Capitalism...  Sophia Stewart [Mother of the Matrix] on Veritas Radio |
...theMatrix...

Trinity: The answer is out there, Neo, and it's looking for you, and it will find you if you want it to.
Morpheus: If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain

All we see & seem is but a dream within a dream

Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere, it's all around us, here even in this room. You can see it out your window, or on your television. You feel it when you go to work, or go to church or pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.
Morpheus: Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself. 
 ...follow the White Rabbit. Overall, the White Rabbit seems to shift back and forth between pompous behavior toward his underlings, such as his servants, and grovelling, obsequious behavior toward his superiors, such as the Duchess and King and Queen of Hearts, in direct contrast to Alice, who is reasonably polite to everyone she meets. The White Rabbit works for the Red Queen, but is also a secret member of the Underland Underground Resistance, and was sent by the Hatter to search for Alice.
Money is THEIR greatest weapon against us, they create it out of nothing, make us slave away our entire lives just to try and earn enough of it to survive. They use it to start and fund endless and pointless wars so they can send more 'useless eaters' off to kill and die for no reason other than they hate us and want us all dead. Now it's time for US to use their own weapon against them to expose and destroy them... and the irony is like icing on a cake!
Most of the paper money in circulation gets passed through more hands, more wallets, pockets and purses etc. than you could ever imagine and can often find it's way to every corner of the country and back again. By only writing on the white edge part of the bill you are not actually defacing it, therefore it is not a reason for it to be removed from circulation. This is something that only takes a minute of your time each day, but has the potential to ultimately change the course of history in a very positive way! The phrase 'Google: WTC7' is a simple but perfect introduction to the truth. Most people won't have any idea what 'WTC7' is and being that it's only four characters; many will type it into Google just out of sheer curiosity. However the results from that search and the path it will lead them down will change their life forever. So make this small thing a daily habit and pass it on so others will do it too. Copy and paste THIS to your channel, your facebook wall and anywhere else you can think of! Let's awaken this sleepy lion (aka humanity) and then we can feed it some elite assholes for breakfast and make this a much better world for everyone! 
Peace, love and laughter
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...more mundane stock market  stuff...starts about a quarter of the way down at "Stock Market ...Tools...and More"

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."  Krishnamerti

High-Frequency Trading Is Making a Joke of the Markets 
 
Jim Cramer, The Street.com, I think that unless we get something fixed here with the trading systems, unless we get answers, we will, once again, have still one more wave of people getting out of the market.
We never really recovered from the flash crash, which was more severe in terms of the psyche of the investor that almost anything other than the week of the Lehman collapse. Some would say it was worse than that because we could never trust the asset class again.
I can't blame a soul for pulling out of the stock market after today. Without answers about what happened, it makes a ton of sense. Because this whole business of stocks has been sacrificed on the altar of high-frequency trading and the protected broker interests and nobody is protecting the little guy any more.
 
Selling access 
Recently my CNBC colleague Eamon Javers broke news that Reuters had been selling early access to the University of Michigan's consumer-sentiment report, and his investigative reporting really shed some light on this despicable practice. For a rumored $20,000 per month, an HFT firm could buy access to data that would be released to the rest of the world two seconds later. Eamon, with the help of my friend Eric Hunsader of Nanex, a firm that tracks high-frequency trading and its impact on our financial markets, proved that the HFTs profited mightily from this early look at the market-moving data. 
When called out on live television about this practice, neither the University of Michigan nor Reuters said they saw anything wrong with letting a very small number of market participants have access to the reports ahead of the rest of us. I was shocked, and said both institutions brought shame on themselves by perpetrating this scam, but the SEC, FINRA and CFTC refused to comment.
 
Wake up...People
The System is broken ... 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUlnabPWq_g
Capitalism...
Listen to the first 2 minutes...at least... 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahMGoB01qiA
Columbia Economist Dr. Jeffrey Sachs speaks candidly about corruption in the United States: from Washington DC and Wall Street, including the entire financial/banking system- April 30th, 2013

 

"Among the many misdeeds of British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest." - Mohandas Gandhi, an Autobiography, page 446.

DECLINE of EMPIRES: The Signs of Decay

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."  Albert Einstein

Behind Surveillance Flap, Plunging Trust in Government
"Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers, too plainly prove a deliberate, systematic plan of reducing a people to slavery."  -Thomas Jefferson  
Where We are at...where We are headed ......     The Build up to WWIII & Civil War  ... is this the Path you want?...
 The REAL MATRIX prt 1 - Follow the White Rabbit - CHOICE and TRUTH 
The REAL MATRIX prt 2 ~ Harsh & Beautiful Truth Revealed!  

The RED pill; you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.

What is Wrong With Our Culture... Alan Watts
You Are What Happens To You

Go ask Alice or  the White Rabbit

"This is your last chance.  After this, there is no turning back.You take the blue pill; the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill; you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes."   -Morpheus, The Matrix  ... White Rabbit scene

YOUR Government at work...
"Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of today."Teddy Roosevelt, 1906 (He's not just a  Conspiracy Theory nut case is he...?... like certain powers want you to think they're allllllll nut cases...knowing what you see and know today...Rossevelt's message should have  have been heeded...)

"Now more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness and corruption." President James Garfield
"It's in our fallen, sinful nature for tyrants to rise up in every nation. And unfortunately, it's also in our nature that the vast majority in every nation is either too stupid or too apathetic to do anything about it until the tyrants have put up their barbed wire and spilled a lot of blood."
James Wesley, Rawles, Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse

"America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: it's patriotism, its morality, and its spiritual life. If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within." (Source unknown. Often attributed to Joseph Stalin)

"To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society."  Teddy Roosevelt

 Everywhere the world movement seems to be in the direction of centralised economies which can be made to ‘work’ in an economic sense but which are not democratically organised and which tend to establish a caste system. With this go the horrors of emotional nationalism and a tendency to disbelieve in the existence of objective truth because all the facts have to fit in with the words and prophecies of some infallible fuhrer.   ...George Orwell 
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/12/george-orwell-s-letter-on-why-he-wrote-1984.html
 
We have heard all our lives that ideas are the most powerful force and prevail over material interests. Perhaps this was once true, but that would have been in previous times when material interests did not control the media, the universities, and the publishing companies along with the government. Voices such as mine, that of a high US Treasury official, and that of Spence, a Nobel prize winner, cannot compete with the voices paid by Big Money. Today the bulk of the population knows nothing except the propaganda fed to them by the oligarchic interests. They sit in front of Fox News or CNN and ingest it all. Those who fancy themselves more sophisticated get the same dose of lies from the New York Times.
 
If those who speak truth cannot be bought off or shut up, they are ignored or demonized. Almost everything Americans need to know is off limits in public discussion. Anyone who broaches the truth becomes an "anti-American," a "terrorist sympathizer," a "commie-socialist," a "conspiracy theorist," an "anti-semite," a "kook," or some other name designed to scare Americans away from the message of truth.
 
The corrupt corporations, the corrupt media, and the corrupt US government have insulated the country from truth. The result will be a massive crash. A country built on lies is like a house built on sand:... PaulCraigRoberts.org

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."  Krishnamerti

WAKE UP GET OUT OF THE MATRIX
April 4th   In a bill that funds the government for another six month, and already signed by president Obama, a couple of interesting provisions were inserted into the bill. 
One provision prohibits the government from restricting genetically modified foods. A second provision negates the government's ability to enforce gun legislation. 
...thePEOPLES Issue
These provisions clearly do not belong in a bill to allow the government to stay in operation. Worse yet, members of Congress did not know they voted for them as no one ever bothers to read legislation.  The provisions were put in anonymously in committee. The person or persons amending the bill can do so without leaving fingerprints. 

One might think that a member of the president's staff would look at this stuff, but obviously there is no review any step of the way by anyone. 
...thePeople's Issue
As Nancy Pelosi says,  "We have to pass the bill to see what's in it". 
Read more at   http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/04/daily-show-monsanto-bill-in-buget-bill.html#uzP87YCGhj52ecAv.99

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."  Krishnamerti

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/04/daily-show-monsanto-bill-in-buget-bill.html#uzP87YCGhj52ecAv.99

...thePEOPLES Issue
Patent drug Generic drug war

...thePEOPLE'S Issue
European Commission to criminalize nearly all seeds and plants not registered with government  It will happen here next...

GMO Agribusiness and the Destructive Nature of Global Capitalism

U.S. dairy industry petitions FDA to approve aspartame as hidden, unlabeled additive in milk, yogurt, eggnog and cream
 http://www.naturalnews.com/039244_milk_aspartame_FDA_petition.html#ixzz2P2G8MkC7
(NaturalNews) You probably already know that the FDA has declared war on raw milk and even helped fund and coordinate armed government raids against raw milk farmers and distributors. Yes, it's insane. This brand of tyranny is unique to the USA and isn't even conducted in China, North Kora or Cuba. Only in the USA are raw milk farmers treated like terrorists.

But now the situation is getting even more insane than you could have imagined: the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) have filed a petition with the FDA asking the FDA to alter the definition of "milk" to secretly include chemical sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose.

Importantly, none of these additives need to be listed on the label. They will simply be swept under the definition of "milk," so that when a company lists "milk" on the label, it automatically includes aspartame or  sucralose. And if you're trying to avoid aspartame, you'll have no way of doing so because it won't be listed on the label.

http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2013-03-29/congress-passes-%E2%80%9Cmonsanto-rider%E2%80%9D-pushing-genetically-modified-foods-our-plate
"Monsanto Protection Act." In fact, more than 250,000 voters  signed a petition opposing the provision. And  Food Democracy Nowprotesters even  took their fight straight to Obama, protesting in front of  the White House against Section 735 of the bill. He signed it anyway.
Genetically engineered foods have, in fact, already been linked to  obesity,cancer,  liver failure,infertility and all sorts of other diseases 

"Anyone who will trade freedom for security deserves neither ...

Corporatocracy A Corporation has more "rights' than the INDIVIDUAL... They must maximize profits regardless of the social and environmental costs....go ahead and continual to think this world is about the individual. IT ISN"T.  You are and will become BORG

Agenda 21...New World Order...you-r-Borg (...before the implants the focus was conformity...through thought control...)

New World Order NWO

Breaking the illusion of limitation

THRIVE.Com (2 hour video...enjoy some truths) ......the Choice is your's... or we get Fascism  given to US.   The bottom line is that the super-elite have destroyed the American economy and the American system of government. We no longer have a capitalist system within a democratic republic. Instead, we have fascism, communist style socialism, kleptocracy, oligarchy or banana republic style corruption. 

We noted above that inequality in America today is worse than in modern Egypt, Tunisia or Yemen, many banana republics in Latin America, worse than experienced by slaves in 1774 colonial America, and much worse than in ancient Rome - which was built on slave labor. 

Arguably, we have lost almost as many liberties as people in those systems. There are two systems of justice in America … one for the big banks and other fatcats, and one for everyone else.  

America has suffered a catastrophic loss of both legal - and economic - freedom. 
Inequality, in both senses of the word - both economic and access to liberty and justice - is skyrocketing to historic levels. 
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/post_new.aspx?board_id=25187

PEOPLE
When an honest man discovers he is mistaken, he will either cease being mistaken, or cease being honest. Anonymous

..and You and I...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYmeJlm7Gcg&feature=endscreen

http://www.mindopenerz.com/emotions-effect-on-a-water-crystal/

http://www.mindopenerz.com/the-100th-monkey-effect-a-critical-mass/

 Social Networks and the Global Brain | THE RABBIT HOLE with Deepak Chopra

“I don't need to argue here that the evil in the world proves that the universe is not designed, but only that there are no signs of benevolence that might have shown the hand of a designer.” 
? Steven Weinberg   American physicist, awarded the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics (with colleaguesAbdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow) for combiningelectromagnetism and the weak force into the electroweak force. 
“All logical arguments can be defeated by the simple refusal to reason logically” 
? Steven Weinberg, Dreams of a Final Theory
“Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things.
But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.” 
? Steven Weinberg
“Many of the great world religions teach that God demands a particular faith and form of worship. It should not be surprising that SOME of the people who take these teachings seriously should sincerely regard these divine commands as incomparably more important than any merely secular virtues like tolerance or compassion or reason.
Across Asia and Africa the forces of religious enthusiasm are gathering strength, and reason and tolerance are not safe even in the secular states of the West. The historian Huge Trevor-Roper has said that it was the spread of the spirit of science in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that finally ended the burning pf the witches in Europe. We may need to rely again on the influence of science to preserve a sane world.It's not the certainty of the scientific knowledge that fits it for this role, but its UNCERTAINTY. Seeing scientists change their minds again and again about the matters that can be studied directly in laboratory experiments, how can one take seriously the claims of religious traditions or sacred writings to certain knowledge about matters beyond human experience” 
? Steven Weinberg
How To Live From The Heart? 
Living from the heart means to emanate your true essence. It means to become the embodiment of love, equanimity and freedom.

Spiritual life is not about knowing much, it is about loving much.
It is about getting in touch with our truest self. It is about opening out heart so wide, that "enemy" is not a concept which exists in our reality. And more than that, it is about opening the heart and living from the heart to such a degree that eventually there is also no such concept in our life as "other".

The Heart...which is...LOVE... Perfect Kindness.

http://haradimension.blogspot.com/p/the-hara-line-and-torus.html
Edits...
2012 Trading
Thoughts and Observations... 2012
New Age Dec. 2012
Trading...2013
Trading...2014
2015 swing trading
2016 S&P intraday Trading 2016 Swing Trading
 
"Mind is everything. What we think we become."  Buddha

"Be the change you want to see in the world." Gandhi

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."  Krishnamerti

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/euro-crisis-may-lead-to-explosion-of-violence-2012-12-27?siteid=rss&rss=1

Peter Galbraith, who was the first U.S. ambassador to Croatia in 1993, to the effect that the violent disintegration of Yugoslavia did not result from age-old ethnic conflict, but from new crimes committed for political and economic reasons.

"That's what kicked off those wars," James Galbraith told his Berlin audience. "And when the violence starts in an advanced, in a developed country, it moves quickly and the fractures are not clean. And I can assure you that if you talk to people in certain parts of Europe, and Greece particularly, you can hear already the anxieties that you could have heard in Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.

Volunteers of America...Revolution  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvTmeJabmmw&feature=related 
Got a revolution got to revolution 
One generation got old 
One generation got soul 
This generation got no destination to hold 

Anarchy is all about the ability of each individual to be in charge of his or her own life without predetermined restraints. If you injure someone or damage something, you’re responsible. Otherwise, society has no claims on you, certainly none enforced by the power of the state. There is no state ….

Arcturian Starseed ...teacher

Drop Your Fear of the Unknown: A Guided Meditation on Darkness ...
"Change Your Frequency To Change Your Reality"
Starseed...teacher... 
Teal Scott  ...................(welcome to 12/21/2012).................  In who's best interest...?...
Published on Oct 27, 2012   Ask Teal Website -  http://www.askteal.com 
Money...Follow the White Rabbit ...Teal Scott
 
 

The Hero’s Journey     http://adamhgrimes.com/blog/traders-journey-heros-journey/

The Hero’s Journey follows a path in which the aspirant begins in the normal everyday world, receives some kind of call to adventure, finds a mentor or guide, passes into an unknown mysterious world (there are often parallels with the Underworld here, or, in many cases, an actual journey underground), meets many challenges along the way, receives some kind of aid, and returns, victorious, to the everyday world with a boon—new powers to live in and to change that world. First, think through the basic pattern with the stories you may know: The Odyssey? Beowulf? Star Wars? The Lord of the Rings? Yes, all of the above (and many more) are basically the same story told in different ways.
                                                                                                           

The trader’s journey

I propose that there are also parallels here with the trader’s experience. How many of us have trading histories that look something like this?

  • A grand call to adventure. Who would not want to make a pile of money working from the comfort of your own computer screen?
    Finding a mentor. Good mentors matter! Few of us who have succeeded would have done so without some help.
    Crossing over into an “unreal” world. Markets are crazy. When we look deeply into markets, maybe we become a little crazy ourselves, and we certainly become disconnected from ordinary reality.
    Facing dire challenges. The emotional highs and lows of trading can be extreme. Is there a trader alive who hasn’t been awake at 4am wondering if they can ever do this, why they ever tried in the first place, how they could be so stupid to make the same mistakes over and over, and what they were going to do tomorrow? (This is probably not the time to mention that we only write stories about the heroes that complete the journey! A lot of dragons feasted very well, for a very long time.)
    Failure somehow, perhaps almost miraculously, is transformed to success.
    We figure out how to incorporate our trading activities into the everyday world, and discover that things probably weren’t quite as exotic or difficult as we had thought.

See? Trading is not truly about learning patterns. It is not about learning some math. It is not about skill development, and it is not even about risk management. All of these things are important, but the real work of trading is work on ourselves.

Institutional shortcuts?

As an aside, one of the interesting questions you might ask is why this is not true for institutions. Certainly, when the banks had big prop desks, they did not hire traders and expect them to go through some mythical journey, not get eaten by a dragon, and eventually make money, right? How about prop firms today? Guys on the floor did not spend a lot of time thinking about transpersonal psychology. If learning to trade really is such a journey of transformation, there should be no shortcut. Does the story break down here?

It does not break down; the same idea and rules apply, even within an institutional framework. A few things to consider: the success rates, even in prop firms, are extremely low, often a fraction of a percent. There’s no magic there. In a hedge fund or the old bank prop model, a trader would essentially be hired as an apprentice and spend a lot time watching experienced traders work before ever taking the reins themselves. This allowed learning to take place in a controlled and structured way, and many traders could make transitions to other roles if they discovered they were not cut out to manage risk. Furthermore, there are many types of trading, within the institutional framework, that are not quite the same thing. For instance, there are desks that hedge and lay off risk in derivative products. A trader doing a job like this (or working as a market maker) deals with risk in a different way than our fledgling discretionary trader—it’s not quite the same task of conquering the market. In general, the institutional framework provides useful guides and constraints, and we can replicate some of these structures for the private trader.

Taking the journey

So, what are the lessons here and who are they for? I think these lessons primarily apply to the independent, self-directed trader who makes and is responsible for the consequences of her own decision. (A few points: this trader may (and probably should) work in a team, and we have not addressed funding. This trader may trade her own account, or she may trade clients’ money; in either case, the key fact is that she is making the decisions.) There are probably also applications here for traders who are in the process of switching styles, or maybe even for institutional traders who are striking out on their own. (I saw many traders leave the floor and go through some variation of this journey, for better or worse. Sometimes the dragon wins.) So what are these lessons?

First, realize that learning to trade is a journey. It is a long and painful journey, and it will test you in ways you did not expect. Most people say that trading is the hardest thing they’ve ever done; in terms of constant second guessing and self doubt along the way, I could agree with that statement. Sometimes the journey is dark and the path is anything but clear. I don’t tell you this to discourage you, but rather to prepare you. Many of the traders I have seen who have failed were actually doing just fine, but they maybe weren’t prepared for how long and difficult the road was going to be.

Second, you really have to have a method that has an edge. You have to have confidence in that method. I’ve created a pretty extensive completely free (really, truly completely free with no upsell or “member’s area” or anything like that) trading course that might help set you in the right direction, and that will definitely emphasize the importance of doing your own testing and work to verify your edge. Get this wrong, and nothing good will happen in the end—you gotta have an edge.

Third, structure your experience. Work toward building a process that covers everything you need to do. Pay attention to your learning and your evaluation of your results, but also work on developing a process for trade selection, management, and review. Yes, create a trading plan and a business plan, but also work on fitting that into your life plan. It all has to work together.

Last, be open to the experience and to change. Trading is going to change you, and, as the Buddha said, much suffering comes from trying to hold on to impermanence. Don’t fight the change. I think there is great value in practices such as journaling, introspection, meditation, and perhaps even letting some of your energy bleed over into a creative outlet. You may find new intellectual areas that interest you, and you definitely must be open to new experiences. You are going to grow and you are going to change, so do what you can to shepherd that growth, and, above all, don’t be afraid of it.

I think this is a different perspective on the process of becoming a profitable trader, and the parallels with the Hero’s Journey offer some exciting new avenues for thought and research. No matter how hard and long the journey, it is worthwhile. Find your path, and take those first steps—even the longest journey begins with that single, first step.

http://www.standwithmainstreet.com/default.aspx

................................................................................................................STOP TRADING.....................................................................................................
Consider this...
Math aptitude will help you become a dealer, make Markets if you dare, excute customer orders, but you won't be able to make $$$ by speculating in the Markets. You can't, you're not smart enough. The Markets aren't predictable enough. 90% of all trading is "technical analysis" which you are too lazy to learn. The other 10% of Market movement comes from rogue waves of economic data shocks, which surprise and wash everyone overboard, destroying the latest chart pattern you were following. Its never been truer: How do you make a small fortune trading the Markets? Start with a large fortune and you might have a chance. You don't want to do this for a living. Get out while you can. ...Chris Rupkey
 
http://stockcharts.com/public/4998652

Truth needs witnesses...Albert Camus

Somewhere around 1945 we began to loot the future as a strategy for survival, some ethical norms were shattered.

Derivatives: The Unregulated Global Casino for Banks

The Harm that Wall Street Causes
____________________________________________    ...and in THE END                ____________________________________________________________
Radically Beneficial World
WHAT ....?... SHOULD BE the hot TOPIC for the "We the PEOPLE" ...
Get the "PEOPLE'S business taken care of... The rest will be easy...
Freedom
Constitution Party...where is it...and who would run for President.../
http://www.constitutionparty.com/our-principles/2012-2016-platform-and-resolutions/
http://www.constitutionparty.com/preamble/
The Constitution Party gratefully acknowledges the blessing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as Creator, Preserver and Ruler of the Universe and of these United States. We hereby appeal to Him for mercy, aid, comfort, guidance and the protection of His Providence as we work to restore and preserve these United States. 

This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions but on a foundation of Christian principles and values. For this very reason peoples of all faiths have been and are afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here. 

The goal of the Constitution Party is to restore American jurisprudence to its Biblical foundations and to limit the federal government to its Constitutional boundaries. 

The Constitution of the United States provides that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” The Constitution Party supports the original intent of this language. Therefore, the Constitution Party calls on all those who love liberty and value their inherent rights to join with us in the pursuit of these goals and in the restoration of these founding principles. 

The U.S. Constitution established a Republic rooted in Biblical law, administered by representatives who are constitutionally elected by the citizens. In such a Republic all Life, Liberty and Property are protected because law rules. 

We affirm the principles of inherent individual rights upon which these United States of America were founded:

That each individual is endowed by his Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are the rights to life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness;
That the freedom to own, use, exchange, control, protect, and freely dispose of property is a natural, necessary and inseparable extension of the individual’s unalienable rights;
That the legitimate function of government is to secure these rights through the preservation of domestic tranquility, the maintenance of a strong national defense, and the promotion of equal justice for all;
That history makes clear that left unchecked, it is the nature of government to usurp the liberty of its citizens and eventually become a major violator of the people’s rights; and
That, therefore, it is essential to bind government with the chains of the Constitution and carefully divide and jealously limit government powers to those assigned by the consent of the governed.
Why The Next 20 Years Will Be Completely Unlike The Last 20
  • Somewhere around 1945 we began to loot the future as a strategy for survival, some ethical norms were shattered.
     
DUOPOLY: A true duopoly is a specific type of oligopoly where only two producers exist in one market. In reality, this definition is generally used where only two firms have dominant control over a market. In the field of industrial organization, it is the most commonly studied form of oligopoly due to its simplicity. An interesting duoply is Air Bus and Boeing. Others are Visa and Master Card, Pepsi and Coca Cola,...

  • Capitalism... is the old system. It is based on greed and selfishness and has run its course. Debt has been used to degrade everything including human lives to a monetary calculation that eliminates all social obligations to each other. This is especially observable in the later development of "capitalism that has reduced society to a system of practical debt slavery." Government debt to private parties has been used to manipulate and corrupt government for private ends, particularly, in the present debt paradigm called capitalism.
And it has damaged the planet and countless numbers of people in its greedy exploits.
...the idea that we have to rely on each other - as opposed to institutions like banks and government - is the idea that is spreading and it is reaching critical mass in human society in general.

What's happening is that 8% of the world's people use 35% of the world's petroleum, and are ready to blow everybody off the map to keep it that way. This is nothing more than a manifestation of junkie psychology on a mass scale. We're addicted, they got it, we're happy to pay for it, but if they won't sell it we'll break into their house and take it, because by god it will go into our right arm. that's the plan.
  • If we are all god's children than why have we rigged the earth with dynamite and are flipping coins to see who gets to set it off...
     
  • The nightmare of every government on earth is a million people assembled in the town square of your capital city, demanding that you pack up to Switzerland. No body can say No to a million people on the streets.

"My greatest wealth is the deep stillness in which I strive and grow and win what the world cannot take from me with fire or sword" -- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
 
"Inflation is for little people. Fed doesn't recognize little people."    ...I think that thought is  "sick" and the 1% are laughing their asses off...
 
Why America is NOT the greatest country in the world, anymore.

David Stockman: We've Been Lied To, Robbed, And Mislead

What the 1% Don't Want You to Know

The top one percent of the world financial pyramid is protecting the one percent and they are causing major damage to the 99 percent in the US. The US has been the scene of protests since September 17, when a group of people who have dubbed themselves the 99 percent began rallying in New York's financial district to protest 'corporate greed' and top-level corruption among other instances of social inequality in the United States. US police have used violent methods to disperse or arrest protesters. The movement has now spread to major US cities and other countries, including Australia, Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Portugal...
 
 We cannot (should not) take a fundamental principle of the Constitution and turn it against a citizen. 

Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Have we become so... fearful, have we become so cowardly... that we must extinguish a man? Because he carries the blood of a current enemy?
You know, there are some words I've known since I was a school boy. With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably. Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie as wisdom and warning. The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today... 

Fall of the Republic    No "rant" just document some of the facts...

We the 99% RISE
 
...apparently money talks...
We are the 99%, in all of our tremendous diversity. We are the students and young people, the homeowners, the workers, the families, the immigrants, the seniors and retirees, and every other American sick of seeing their democracy serve only the interests of the 1%. United by a common vision, a common strategy, and a set of simple, clear guidelines, we work together in a decentralized movement where every community is empowered to take independent, creative action and every member is encouraged to develop as a leader.
 
The system is rigged and the people know it. 75% of Americans believe money buys results in Congress, and Congressional approval ratings are the lowest in our nation's history. There can be no doubt: our democracy no longer serves the People, it serves the worst of the 1% who buy it like an auction item in our corrupt elections. 
 
In the wake of Citizens United and the rise of Super PACs and dark money, never has it been so clear that we simply cannot solve our most urgent problems, we cannot build an economy that works for all, we cannot renew the promise of the American Dream until we free our democracy from the hidden dictatorship of the money of the 1% and put it back in the hands of the People. 
 
We face a choice - rise together now to reclaim democracy for the 99% or give up hope for a better future for us all.
 
If the crisis isn't clear to you already, consider these facts.
....apparently ...MONEY talks...but does it have a conscience...?...ki
Rule by Big Money: The Facts
Big Money Wins Elections. Candidates who raise and spend the most money routinely win more than 90% of federal elections in a given year. Hence why members of Congress spend 30%-70% of their time fundraising. Source: Demos/US-PIRG; Lawrence Lessig, Republic Lost, p. 138
Campaign Spending Has Skyrocketed. Between 1980-2008, the total spending by Presidential Candidates rose a staggering 1,435%. Between 1982-2010, spending by all candidates for Congress increased 525%. Source: OpenSecrets.org; Lessig, p. 91
Meanwhile, the 99% Has Been Left Behind. Since 1979, while top tax rates fell from 70% to 35% and the wealthiest 1 percent’s income grew 277% -- the three-fifths of Americans in the middle saw income growth of just under 40%. In 2010 alone, 93% of income gains went to the top 1 percent. Source: Tax Policy Center; Congressional Budget Office;  Washington Post
Money Buys Results in Congress. The ROI (Return-on-Investment) from corporate lobbying & political contributions is staggering:
- 5,900% - Big Oil’s ROI on lobbying for $20 billion in fossil fuel subsidies
- 22,000% - Multinational Corporations’ ROI on lobbying for a temporary tax break on offshore investments in 2004
- 77,500% - Big Pharma’s ROI on a 2003 lobbying campaign to keep prescription drug prices high by baring Medicare from bargaining for competitive prices
Source: United Republic
Unlimited “Outside Spending” Made the 2012 Election the Most Expensive in History. Experts project a total price-tag ranging from $9.8 to $11 billion. Post-Citizens United, billionaire and corporate spending on elections ads has jumped 1139%. Right-wing Super PACs alone are expected to spend over $1 billion on the 2012 elections. As of June, 47 individuals giving +$1 million dollars accounted for 57% of the $230 million raised by Super PACs - 1,082 donors giving +$10,000 accounted for 94% of that fundraising. Source: Ad Age;  Wesleyan Media Project; Politico;  Demos/US-PIRG
Outside Spending is Increasingly Bankrolled by Anonymous Funders. Nearly 90% of campaign ads aired through April came from so-called “dark money” groups - shadowy 501(c) nonprofits that don’t disclose their donors. At least $931 million of the outside spending since 2008 has been come from secret sources. Over 85% of presidential ads bankrolled by these 501(c)s contain lies or deception. Source: The Nation; Anenberg Public Policy Center
Rule by Big Money Blocks Big Change On All Fronts
This crisis of democracy blocks change on nearly every front in the struggle to win liberty and justice for all. For example: 
 
Economic Justice: In the groundbreaking 2004 study “Inequality and Democratic Responsiveness,” Princeton professor Martin Gilens concluded: “When Americans with different income levels differ in their policy preferences, actual policy outcomes strongly reflect the preferences of the most affluent but bear virtually no relationship to the preferences of poor or middle-income Americans.” Case and point: Wall Street spent $1.9 billion in 2009 alone to weaken efforts at financial reform. Source: Sojourners; Newsweek
Immigrant Rights: The ultra-right wing lobbying group ALEC and one of its corporate funders the Corrections Corporation of America - a for-profit prison firm that profits off of high incarceration rates - has been tied to Arizona's anti-immigration bill SB 1070 and other copycat laws across the country. Source: National Public Radio
Racial Justice & Civil Rights: ALEC spent millions to help push for discriminatory voter suppression laws - also known as “Voter ID” laws - that disproportionately target people of color. Attorney General Eric Holder likened them to Jim Crow-era poll taxes. Source: Brennan Center for Justice
Climate Change: For every $1 the Big Oil spends on lobbying and campaign contributions, they get $58 in freebie cash from Congress in the form of subsidies and other giveaways. A recent International Energy Agency study showed cutting fossil fuel subsidies globally would provide half the carbon cuts needed to solve climate change. Source: Price of Oil
Education Rights: For-profit colleges contributed $58 million to national elections in 2008. These schools secured 25% of all taxpayer-funded Pell Grants - they only enroll 9% of all college students. Source: United Republic; National Bureau of Economic Research
Universal Health Care: Health insurance companies secretly funneled over $107 million through the US Chamber of Commerce to elect Speaker Boehner’s anti-health reform congress. Source: National Journal
Share the facts ... build the movement...
“A state of war only serves as an excuse for domestic tyranny.” Alexander Solzhenitsyn

U.S. Marine General Smedley Butler said, “I served in all commissioned ranks from a second Lieutenant to a Major General. And during that time, I spent most of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street, and for the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer for capitalism.”

The Formula (1980) - Film
One person's crime is another person's profit. Capitalism is license to steal; the government simply regulates who steals and how much.
— Abbie Hoffman, Steal This Book

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."  Krishnamerti

What happens when you fail to report something on your taxes? You could go to jail...

What happens when a bank breaks the law and doesn't report something?
They pay a minor fine relative to the huge profits they made in the process...
This week, it was revealed that the world's largest bond dealers, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley, didn't properly report trades to the industry's price-tracking system.
But it wasn't just one or two oversights. They failed to report their deals more than 11,000 times. 
For JPMorgan, it failed to report a whopping 24% of all of their trades.
Failing to do so resulted in a fine... equal to a whole three minutes of the bank's annual profits.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined JPMorgan $95,000, and while it's the largest fine ever levied by FINRA, it's pocket change to the bank.

But if you're JPMorgan, you're laughing at this fine. And without a real deterrence (read: jail time or lifetime trading bans), it'll be difficult to get them to play by the rules any time soon.

The last few years has taught us quite a bit about the role of government in the lives of its citizens. I've long advocated that government is an essential part of a functioning society.
But I won't admit that it's highly efficient, benevolent, or good at allocating resources properly.
For a while, I had shaken my head at the fact that IRS workers, the very people who collect our taxes, had a strange inability to pay their own. 
Roughly 1% of IRS workers are behind on their debts.

It turns out that the IRS workers are better at meeting their obligations than the people who write the tax laws.
IRS workers are five and three times better, respectively, at paying their taxes than employees Inside the U.S House of Representatives and the Senate.
According to the IRS, nearly 5% of all House employees, including lawmakers, have unpaid tax liabilities to the tune of $5.8 million. 
I read these reports, and I just wonder if these staff members, particularly lawmakers ever look in the mirror and realize how out-of-touch they are on today's issues. Here they are spending other people's money like addict shoppers, and they can't even keep their own financial house in order. 
When I see reports like this, I always recall Charlie Rangel, a Congressman from New York, who sat as Chairman of the House Means and Ways Committee. That committee is in charge of tax law in the United States. And while ol' Charlie was its leader, he was cheating on his taxes by failing to report rental property income on a house he owns in the Dominican Republic. He got a slap on the wrist for failing to report $75,000 in income. 

What would happen to us if we tried to do the same? We'll, I assure you it wouldn't involve us keeping our cushy Washington job.

The biggest problem that this economy and this culture face in the future is a lack of accountability in government. 

Equal accountability under the law is the most important tenet a country needs in order to ensure its long-term success. From Wall Street to Washington, some laws don't apply for one group of people, while others are held to the full extent of the law. Americans need to start demanding consistency out of its legal system.
 http://click.moneymorning.com//v/CA/qYY/tMY/AB-f3Q/W6M/AA/AA/BMdx


............READ THIS...or ... ... ...

Inflation is for little people. Fed doesn't recognize little people...Circlem

First world governments adopted third world politics so that first world crooks could engage in third world corruption everywhere. Third world is everywhere now. There is no escape. Circlem

Shorts may increase positions here going into turnaround Tuesday, but if this fraud based market makes it over 1900, then shorts are going to be covering. Possible that the last half hour will give some clues. With central banks worldwide doubling down on insanity, there is a chance for an explosive breakout in the market. Fundamentals no longer matter and they would just be spun anyway. Central banksters are going to give out free money to crooks forever. Mrs. Doubtfire's QE taper is a huge joke. The Fed will just find another way to print free money for crooks. Corruption. Greed. Fraud. Theft. That is all that is left. ...Circlem  
 
"Do not be annoyed at my telling the truth; the fact is that no man in the world will come off safe who honestly opposes either you or any other multitude, and tries to hinder the many unjust and illegal doings in a state."
Thus spoke Socrates during his own defense, while standing trial for his life in 399 B.C. The great philosopher was accused of corrupting the youth and believing in gods in whom the State did not. 

Success... It’s living life on your terms without money ever being a limiting factor and growing every day, because if you’re not growing, you’re dying. 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When you see ..."thePEOPLE's Issues" below; ...consider it as where "our government" is not representing  "We thePEOPLE"...in fact, Congress and the Laws are failing the PEOPLE. In most cases it is at the expense  of "thepeople" aka slaves  while supporting the Corporations and the  Military Industrial Complex which  benefits  the few...the 1% at thePEOPLE's expense.

This is Corporatoracy which is functioning from the very ugly side of Capitalism of ever increasing profit margins or maintaining profit margins...from "whatever the MARKET will bear"...this is not the "supply/demand" that you are led to believe; its all about profit margins.
This is the debate...with some views from many others...

What's unsaid is that there's an implicit understanding that a person has a right to make a profit and a living but that the profit margin should be fair and reasonable.
Several things wrong here. First, a person does not have a right to make a profit. He has a right to try to make a profit. Second, people hardly ever agree on what is "fair and reasonable", so this criterion is meaningless.

Really, this is basic economics. If demand for a good is inelastic, then a lower price won't correlate to a large enough increase in quantity demanded - the seller makes less revenue. The cost of the good supplied does not matter here.

"What the market will bear" simply relects that at a given price, there will be some quantity (maybe zero) demanded for a good.

There is no implicit notion of "fairness" in market pricing. The idea is that prices will settle out to some kind of equilibrium based on what the demand is for it. What the "Market will bear" is the highest price that can be charged without losing sales.

There's no implicit notion of fairness here= I'd guess that McDonalds' cost in making a Big Mac is probably on the order of a dollar at most, giving them a gross margin of 50%. Cokes are even worse- $1.25 for a drink that costs them about 10 cents. What is important is that you won't pay more than $2 for a Big Mac because you don't feel it's worth it. That's the price that the market will bear. Any consumer notions of fairness, etc... are rolled into the market price because they affect the perceived value of the product and consequently the demand for that product. If you think the company's making an unfair profit at some price, you won't buy, and if enough people think like you, they'll drop their price so that you will buy it.
\...?...and so tell me why are people even buying a soft drink at McDonalds...give it some thought before you buy...maybe you won't buy that Coke...just the crappy hamburger...

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

What the market will bear ... Part 1 "What the market will bear"

This is the phrase that has been used, for at least the past couple of decades as far as I know, to justify unconscionable excess. It has been a favorite phrase used to justify why a CEO should take home roughly 400 times the compensation that the average worker does. And it has been a favorite phrase used to justify why someone with an above-average ability to throw, catch or hit a ball should make more money in one year than the average doctor does in twenty. “Hey, it’s what the market will bear!
So what they tell you every day, with this phrase, is that you the consumer has signed off on this excess. What they claim is that their particular skill is so valuable and so rare, and so necessary or important (or at least so much in demand) that they deserve to retire in luxury for a few years (if that) worth of ‘effort’. The excesses of the financial industry is now evident to most people, but I think that the obscene financial excess in big time sports is less evident to average person, even in this economy.
Anyway, who is ‘they’? This ‘they’ includes anyone who makes money off the system as it is. As it pertains to sports, the ‘they’ includes, of course, the owners and the players who make incredibly large amounts of money. But it doesn’t stop there---the ‘they’ also includes other conflicted parties such as the ‘journalists’, ‘analysts’, sports talk idiots, broadcasters, telecasters etc . Basically, the ‘they’ includes anyone who talks about, writes about, broadcasts or telecasts (and makes insane amounts of money from you because of) big time sports. And finally, the ‘they’ also includes millions of idiots who like to think of themselves as ‘true loyal fans’ and who therefore walk around mindlessly parroting the shit that they absorb from the mainstream media (such as ‘It’s what the market will bear’), without pausing to consider that they are actually only rationalizing their own exploitation. Yes, this whole thing is a lot like big time politics. (....ohhh; was the sports fan just insulted or what...?...)
So what they tell you is that this whole thing is driven by you and your need to consume what they alone can produce. And this pisses me off because (i) It is true and (ii) It is only partly true, i.e. there is a part of this sports economy that John and Jane Q Public are directly responsible for driving, but there is an even larger part of this obscene economy that is allegedly driven by the Publics but over which the Publics have little meaningful control in reality.
The discussion about money in sports comes up regularly over the airwaves in the form of questions like “Do (pick a big sport) players make too much money?” or “In this economy does it look bad that Itchy McBallscratcher is being paid 25 million dollars a year?” And since the discussion is led and carried by our beloved conflicted ‘they’, it will never end up raising key questions or issues. For instance, people spend weeks discussing whether ballplayers should make more or less than the owners or who deserves what share of this obscenely large pie. But they never substantively address the issue of why, in a country where 50% of families are living 2 paychecks away from financial disaster-- where schools are woefully underfunded and so many already underpaid schoolteachers spend their own money for classroom supplies — and I could go on but you get the idea--- do two sports leagues (the NFL and MLB) alone manage to rake in about 11 billion dollars a year?
So my point is not about the raw numbers involved, as in X team or player makes Y million dollars; rather my point is to examine how and why X is making increasing millions of dollars at a time when the average American is making effectively less and less. My point is to examine whether it is really necessary that a major league minimum salary needs to be what an average American makes in a decade or more. My point is about balance. We show where we are as a society by what we choose to patronize and to what extent, in the context of the state of the common human of the times. When you take a good look at the sports economy it seems to provide yet more evidence (like we needed it huh?) that we are a society firmly in decadent decline.
The discussion should be about whether, not just in these economic times but at any time, we can afford to spend so much on professional sports, when it is coming at the cost of essentials such as education, healthcare, civic services etc. Sadly, far too many people aren’t even aware of how much of their money gets funneled into big time sports without their realizing it. And of course, far too many people don’t care. It is what the market will bear.
Consumption of big-time sports---it is the new opiate of the masses.
CEO-to-worker pay ratio  https://www.payscale.com/data-packages/ceo-pay
The average CEO-to-worker pay ratio for the 168 companies included in this report stands at about about 70-to-1, with some CEOs making more than 300 times the median salary of their employees – just in cash (base pay, bonuses, profit sharing, etc.). Many CEOs receive substantial stock/option grants and perks as part of their compensation, which can more than quadruple their total annual pay. But similar data for employees by company is not readily available, so we looked solely at cash compensation for both CEOs and workers to calculate ratios for this report.
It wasn't always this way. In 1965, the CEO-to-worker compensation ratio in the United States stood at about 20-to-1, according to a 2015 report by the EPI. But starting in the 1970s up through 2014, "inflation-adjusted CEO compensation increased 997 percent, a rise almost double stock market growth and substantially greater than the painfully slow 10.9 percent growth in a typical worker's annual compensation over the same period."
Larry Merlo, the CEO of CVS Health Corp, made roughly 434 times the salary of the median CVS employee in 2015, the largest ratio between CEO and employee pay at any company on this list.  list...How Much Do CEOs Make Compared to Their Employees?
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
Apr. 24, 2018, 11:38am
Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh's total compensation of $3.1 million is 56 times higher than the median employee's pay.
 
The median employee at Plug Power makes $56,282 according to regulatory documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
Plug Power, like most publicly-traded companies, is required to disclose this information as part of new federal regulations stemming from the 2008 financial crisis. The CEO pay rule requires public companies to disclose the ratio of the median annual compensation of all employees to the annual total of the CEO.
 
The rule came into effect last year at the urging of Democrats like Senator Elizabeth Warren and groups like the AFL-CIO. Companies argued the new rule represented unnecessary and costly regulation.
 
This is the first time Plug Power has disclosed this information.
 
Plug Power identified the median employee based on the amount of compensation listed on W-2 forms. The calculation included people employed on a full-time, part-time or seasonal basis.
 
Plug Power (Nasdaq: PLUG) makes fuel cells, called GenDrive, used to power forklifts in warehouses and distribution centers. Fuel cells are seen as an alternative to lead-acid batteries. Its customers include Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Nike (NYSE: NKE).
 
Plug is one of the largest manufacturers in the Albany area and is also one of the area's few public companies, employing 644 engineers, researchers and technologists, including 108 temporary employees, at the end of 2017.
... one comment...
Great post, Stache, especially the part where you point out how we the victims actually help this mess along (this self-mugging) by applying that phrase as if it makes it okay. Like we "get it" and it's cool. Unbelievable! And this will continue in sports until the fan finally puts down his foot and says "I can't take it anymore, bear this!!!. Little chance though, at least not for a while. Fans just think of it as the world we now live in and, like lemmings, continue to open their wallets and feed the perceived addiction that they have to follow their teams because they always have. And somehow they find the fucking money. This is the ugly side of capitalism, a system that in order to really work needs at some point to display (dare I say it) honor, fairness and respect. Not top-heavy fat cats sitting on top of the pyramid pissing down on the masses. Pissing down on the masses as long as the masses "can bear it". 
(...so you say you want a revolution...well...)
I've been in a few arguments in my life over this very topic (not about sports) where I've said, "Isn't this price gouging?" and the anti to my argument too often applied that phrase. "No, no, it comes down ultimately to what the market will bear." And I wanted to go nuts. That's because what that catch-all rationale meant to me was... you can push the greed factor as far as you want, it's okay, and then, when it finally reaches the breaking point, when people can barely fucking breathe, they'll let you know. Kinda like getting someone in a headlock until he pounds the mat and says, "I give!!!" Then it's, "Okay, that's it, freeze the price right there or we're gonna lose this sap!"
Part 2 we’ll try and deconstruct some stupid ideas like “Support your local big-league team” and “Sure he makes $20 million a year but it is OK because his earning years are so limited”.

In Part 3 we take a good look at how a sports team can leech off a city in particular and the public in general. Yes, there are some cool numbers involved. We’ll see how, much like in the financial sector, big-time sport has its share of ‘welfare’ multimillionaires.

Update: What the market will bear-Part 2 is now up and available here. 
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Culture is a perversion. It fetishizes objects, creates consumer mania, it preaches endless forms of false happiness, endless forms of false understanding in the form of squirrelly religions and silly cults. It invites people to diminish themselves and dehumanize themselves by behaving like machines." Terence McKenna


“Ego is a structure that is erected by a neurotic individual who is a member of a neurotic culture against the facts of the matter. And culture, which we put on like an overcoat, is the collectivized consensus about what sort of neurotic behaviors are acceptable.”

 Malcolm X: “When a person places the proper value on freedom, there is nothing under the sun that he will not do to acquire that freedom. Whenever you hear a man saying he wants freedom, but in the next breath he is going to tell you what he won't do to get it, or what he doesn't believe in doing in order to get it, he doesn't believe in freedom. A man who believes in freedom will do anything under the sun to acquire or preserve his freedom."

You are Trained in Suspension of Diagnostic Perception:
"Media Portrays World as Run by Pranksters, Certainly Close, but More Accurately "Gangsters",
Today's Hood is Eloquent in Speech, University Trained, a Well-Dressed Leech,
He's a Corporate CEO, or Chairman of the Fed, He's Internationalist Now that Nationalism's Dead,
He Signs Agreements, Treaties with Other Gangsters, Prime Ministers, Presidents and Central Banksters,
Working Together for a "Better Society" Where Consumers Pay More for Less in Variety,
Where Everything You Need to Stay Alive Is Corporately Owned so Rich can Thrive,
They Own the Governments yet Preach Democracy, Helped by Lifers which Staff Each Bureaucracy"

........................................................................You say You want some new EVOLUTION..............................................................
Take a moment and think about the great wisdom of John Nash: "Do what is good for the group and what is good for yourself, do what is good for yourself and what is good for the group."
 The People are here                  
The Collective Evolution III: The Shift | Official Release 2014
 
...thePEOPLES Issue
Protest. In the U.S., three acute and overlapping money crises — tanked our economy, systemic financial recklessness, gigantic public debt — along with ongoing revelations of double dealing by banks, new state laws making certain public-employee-union demands illegal and the refusal of Congress to consider even slightly higher taxes on the very highest incomes mobilized Occupy Wall Street and its millions of supporters. The Protester - TIME's People Who Mattered in 2011 - TIMEhttp://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2101745_2102132_2102373,00.html #ixzz2vteSg5ed
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Too much consumption and too little investment, too many imports and too few exports. We have not been on a sustainable economic track and that has to be changed. But those changes don't come overnight, they don't come in a quarter, they don't come in a year. You can begin them but that is a process that takes time. If we don't make that adjustment and if we again pump up consumption, we will just walk into another crisis."- Paul Volker, 2009

Is this your history...?
... For a scant 90 years, America has been the wealthiest, most powerful group of humans in all 20,000 years of recorded civilization. Decisions made by Americans can and do affect the lives of every other human on the planet, often for both present and future, good and bad. By brute force of American economics alone, a single, small 0.9% of the 6.6 billion people who call earth home set the agenda for each and every one of all the rest of us. Not even by force of arms has there ever been a time in glorious history when so few people dominated so many in so complete a way.

Demosthenes (384-322 BC) stated that a democratic state perishes if the rule of law is undermined by wealthy and unscrupulous men, and that the citizens acquire power and authority in all state affairs due "to the strength of the laws" ... 

...the greatness of a civilation can only be measured by the status of its women... Rajkumar Santoshi

US SLIPS TO 12TH IN ECONOMIC FREEDOM
Political season is upon us...god help us all... government has become so BIG... it feeds on its own self importance; expect nothing else...
(...THIS SECTION WILL GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE IN ABOUT A YEAR...I hope you've taken some time to read it at least once...)
''A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep” — Saul Bellow

Congressman Alan Grayson...This man should be running for President ...as an Independent...cause he shouldn't have to pander to all the other clowns known as democrats and republicans...

2015, Grayson announced his intentions to run in the United States Senate election in Florida, 2016 to replace the retiring Marco Rubio. 
Background...Grayson was born in the Bronx, New York City, New York, to Dorothy Ann (née Sabin) and Daniel Franklin Grayson.[4][5] He graduated from Bronx High School of Science in 1975. Grayson worked his way through Harvard College as a janitor and nightwatchman, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude degree in economics in 1978. After working two years as an economist, he returned to Harvard for graduate studies.  In 1983, he earned a Juris Doctor magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and a Masters of Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Additionally, he completed some of the requirements for a PhD in government—the course work and passing the general exams. While in college Grayson was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.
House Republicans silence Rep. Alan Grayson after he cites poll comparing them to 'dog poop' 

One Future: “Nothing But Cheap Labor and Debt Slavery”

Grayson: Free Trade? More like Fake Trade

Congressman Alan Grayson on ISIS & Perpetual War 

Rep. Alan Grayson Questions Whistleblower Harry Markopolis on Financial Fraud 

Alan Grayson: "Which Foreigners Got the Fed's $500,000,000,000?" Bernanke: "I Don't Know." 

Rep. Alan Grayson: $12 Trillion Gone and No One Punished 

Alan Grayson Questions CEO Edward Liddy on AIG Cover-up
................................................................................................................
 "Law" and "Justice"
Most folks consider these terms to be near synonyms - not realizing perhaps the greatest inhumanities that Man has ever committed against fellow Man have taken place according to "the Law."

So the conflation of "Law" and "Justice" represents more than a mere transgression of semantics, dear reader, more than a "benign misnomer." Rather, it is a dangerous practice that baptizes all manner of injustice as "perfectly legal." 

In other words, injustices flourish when the perpetrators of injustice can smuggle their deeds into the vast and expanding body of arbitrary opinion known as "the Law."

While it may be true that the former is supposed to represent the latter - i.e., that the Law ought to embody Justice - oftentimes, this is simply not the case. Indeed, when evil people author laws, it is only by accident or mistake that they coincide with justice at all.

The double standards at play here are breathtaking. What passes for "patriotic enthusiasm" when exhibited by lieutenants and senators is ordinarily recognized as "incitement to murder" when committed by members of the general populace. 
Not that the State doesn't boast a rich historical penchant for hypocrisy. As the 19th century French scholar and author of The Law, Frédéric Bastiat, reminds us, "It is easy to understand why the law is used by the legislator to destroy in varying degrees among the rest of the people their personal independence by slavery, their liberty by oppression, and their property by plunder. This is done for the benefit of the person who makes the law, and in proportion to the power that he holds." 

Of course, moral bankruptcy is not the only cost of state-sponsored injustice. The financial burden is also significant. 

During his trial, Socrates famously declared the unexamined life not worth living. The unexamined State, we hasten to add, is not worth living under. (...from the Free Market Cafe)

Robocops: The Changing Face of American Police
The Information Age … has turned out rather differently than many expected. Instead of information made available for us, the key feature seems to be information collected about us. Rather of granting us anonymity and privacy with which to explore a world of facts and data, our own data is relentlessly and continually collected and monitored. The wondrous things that were supposed to make our lives easier—mobile devices, gmail, Skype, GPS, and Facebook—have become tools to track us, for whatever purposes the trackers decide. We have been happily shopping for the bars to our own prisons, one product at a time.



Live real-time map of global hacking attacks.US under attack ? 
http://map.norsecorp.com/
The world has been hijacked...while you weren't paying attention...now what are you going to do...?...
http://usawatchdog.com/war-cycle-euro

...sick...sick world...
Israel and Gaza, in a war that could easily spread throughout the entire Middle East.
Vladimir Putin, bullying his way through Eastern Europe and now even attempting to reopen a Russian base in Cuba.
ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, known for its harsh Wahhabist interpretation of Islam, and brutal violence directed at Shia Muslims and Christians in particular. Terrorizing the Middle East, killing thousands.
Ukraine's civil war, thousands dead.
Syria's civil war, 170,000 now dead.
Boko Haram, murdering and kidnapping hundreds of innocent people, crusading to create still another Islamic state.
All of Africa, where there are now fully 24 countries engaged in wars, involving 146 different militias-guerrillas, separatist and anarchic groups.
Asia, where 15 countries involving 129 different radical and separatist groups are waging wars and uprisings.
Europe, where nine countries are under siege via 70 different militias-guerrillas, separatist groups and anarchic groups. 
The Middle East, where eight countries involving 169 different rebel and separatist groups are now engaged in conflict.
The Americas, where five countries are either at war or experiencing massive domestic unrest, involving 25 different rebel and separatist groups and drug cartels.

And these are just the "official" wars. They do not include other hot spots around the world that are almost certain to lead to either civil or international war. Chief among those:
China versus Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei ... over the Spratly and Senkaku Islands, the East and South China Seas.
Europe, nearly all of it, where recent elections have seen substantial gains for parties ranging from the populist to the neo-Nazi groups:
Where France's right-wing Marine Le Pen's Front National group topped a nationwide poll for the first time in its history ...
And where a backlash in many struggling euro-zone nations decimated by unemployment and austerity measures catapulted parties like Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn to the forefront, winning enough votes to send a representative to Brussels for the first time.
As I've also stated before, you may think all these conflicts are unrelated ... or the result of religious extremists ... or that they have no impact on you.
But mark my words: Look closely, as I have done, at all of the above conflicts — whether they are religiously inspired or not — and you will see two common threads:
1. Private sector groups rising up against authoritarian, unjust and corrupt governments.
2. Private-sector groups rising up against governments that want to increase taxes or even confiscate wealth while, at the same time, levying austerity measures on its people to slash previously promised benefits.
In lesser developed countries, it's the result of government corruption, imperialistic actions taken by developed countries, pillaging of natural resources, and more. Yes, they are shrouded in religious extremism ...
But when distilled down to the truth, the forces driving them are no different than the forces that are driving the civil and international unrest you are now seeing in developed countries.
It's merely a matter of degree. Yet an impartial and objective study of the forces that are driving the war cycles higher — wherever in the world they are playing themselves out ...
Can all be distilled down to a great battle between the public and the private sectors ...
And a battle that will soon come to main street USA.
How so? Naturally, it will take a different form, and allege different reasons when it strikes Main Street USA.
But its essence will be the same: A backlash of the private sector against the public sector ... against loss of privacy ... against rising taxation ... against Washington's fiscal irresponsibility ... against a bankrupt Social Security system ...
Against an ineptly run Veterans Affairs Department ... against student loans that Washington underwrote and that are now bankrupting scores of college and post graduate students ...
Against an insane Internal Revenue Gestapo Service that wants to, and will, monitor everything you do, every penny you save, every penny you spend, every item you buy — all in the name of making sure you are paying every penny of tax you should.
Not to mention the Internal Revenue Service's massive bullying of other countries, which has now forced some 77,000 foreign financial institutions to cow-tow to Washington and report the financial activities of every American with an overseas financial account.
An uprising coming to America? You bet it is. And I suspect it will be one that will make the Vietnam era protests and our own version of Tiananmen Square, the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970, look like a walk in the park. (... this is from Money and Markets, Larry Edelson...

 'We the People.'
'We the People' tell the government what to do; it doesn't tell us. 'We the People' are the driver; the government is the car. And we decide where it should go, and by what route, and how fast. Almost all the world's constitutions are documents in which governments tell the people what their privileges are. Our Constitution is a document in which 'We the People' tell the government what it is allowed to do. 'We the People' are free. This belief has been the underlying basis for everything I've tried to do these past 8 years.

But back in the 1960's, when I began, it seemed to me that we'd begun reversing the order of things -- that through more and more rules and regulations and confiscatory taxes, the government was taking more of our money, more of our options, and more of our freedom. I went into politics in part to put up my hand and say, 'Stop.' I was a citizen politician, and it seemed the right thing for a citizen to do.

I think we have stopped a lot of what needed stopping. And I hope we have once again reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.  Ronald Reagan's Farewell Speech

............
Our founding fathers never intended us to have a professional political class. They believed that citizens and leaders needed to step forward. If you believe that it's time for citizens to stand up to the political class and say enough, then join. us. Our founders never imagined a government led by career politicians.
It's time to put a citizen leader in the White House.

Freedom watch - http://shankystechblog.blogspot.com/ 
If you have not seen Politicians from Both Sides of the Aisle: Corruption Has Destroyed America you should read it. Nothing surprising, just more fact based horror to add to the Orwellian mix. 

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/08/politicians-from-both-sides-of-the-aisle-corruption-has-destroyed-america.html 

• “When some think tank comes up with the legislation and tells you not to fool with it, why are you even a legislator anymore? You just sit there and take votes and you’re kind of a feudal serf for folks with a lot of money.” 

We will be here before you know it - 'concentration rehab camp'(except for the fixing sexuality part). 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3184971/Drugged-tied-locked-six-months-Inside-drastic-concentration-camp-Chinese-rehab-net-junkie-youths-glued-gaming-web-six-hours-day.html 

And I'm not positive about this, but if a white dude said what Farrakhan said he'd be locked up faster than stink on shit. 

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/08/03/louis-farrakhan-if-the-federal-govt-does-not-intercede-we-must-rise-up-kill-those-who-kill-us/ 

                                               
“Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day.  But a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period, and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers (administrations), too plainly proves a deliberate systematic plan of reducing us to slavery.”
–U.S. President Thomas Jefferson
http://politicalvelcraft.org/2014/06/24/governing-without-consent-international-banking-cartel-buying-america-with-printed-counterfeit-fiat-currency/

Wealth Inequality Is Not A Problem, It’s A Symptom
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-09/whats-coming-will-be-much-much-worse-2008
.. the IMF, the World Bank, UN, NATO and the EU absolutely all fit the picture of organizations that have – happily – grown beyond our range of view, and that exhibit the exact same inverted pyramid characteristics we see on wealth inequality, only for these organizations it’s not wealth that floats and concentrates increasingly from the bottom to the top, it’s power. Wealth comes after that. And one shouldn’t confuse that order. Because power buys wealth infinitely faster than wealth buys power.
..but then we forgot, ignored, to check on them, and they accumulated ever more power when we weren’t watching.. And what we see now is that any effort, any at all, to break up the IMF, World Bank, UN, NATO and EU would be met with the same derision that an effort to break up the USA would be met with. We have built, in true sorcerer’s apprentice or Frankenstein fashion, entities that we cannot control. And they have taken over our lives. They serve the interests of elites, not of the people. So why do we let them continue to exist?.

A World Run On Broken Economic Models
Leaders of entities like the US, the EU or China have little in common with the people they supposedly represent, and they don’t have to, nobody expects them to. The US midterms were mostly a battle of the bulge, as in candidates’ bulging wallets. And on top large scale national politics we have created yet another, even more anonymous layer of power. UN, World Bank, IMF, NATO, there’s an ever growing collection of supra-national organizations that keep on guzzling up more power and more money every single day.
 
Like ‘smaller’ entities such as the US and EU, only more, the supra-nationals attract a certain kind of people, those that like to assert power without being held directly accountable. In structures that far exceed the human scale, they are like fish in water. And that’s why we should never accept having them in those positions. IMF and World Bank have a history of at best disputable and at worst very bloody interventions in nations across the globe.
 
We should have today celebrated the end of NATO along with that of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago. But it’s still there, and playing an active role in the flaring up of the Ukraine civil war. As for the UN, there should be a place for an organization like it, but not with the money gobbling corporate structure, serving shady interests, that it has today.
 
Our political systems don’t work. Our economic systems don’t work. We live on a steady – but hardly nutritious – diet of debt and propaganda. Our societies are no longer productive enough to allow for the numbers of intermediaries they have given birth to. But it’s the intermediaries who have more often than not taken up the most powerful positions in our societies. So they will fight, and initially often successfully, to keep their positions, at the cost of the more productive segments. It’s a mechanism that’s much easier to understand than it is to fight.

We, as in mankind, the human species, didn’t develop to have just a few of us make decisions for hundreds of millions of us. It is simply too much for our brains to comprehend, and that is true for both the brains of the rulers and of the ruled.

For some of us, though, the brains developed in such a way that they are geared towards seeking maximum power over others. Those people are called sociopaths or psychopaths, depending on the case.
Greece
What happened in with elections in Greece was, in many ways, a reclaiming of the old definition of democracy, which, of course, the Greeks are credited with inventing around the Fifth Century B.C.

Tired of an economy crippled by austerity — and frustrated by moral lectures about the responsibility to pay creditors — the Greek voters threw out the old political establishment and elected the leftist Syriza party which had highlighted popular demands for more economic stimulus and fewer cuts to government spending.

In effect, what the people of Greece were saying was that they want their political system to work for them, not for the banks and other elites. It is a message with strong appeal across other parts of Europe where the Wall Street collapse in 2008 and the ensuing Great Recession have caused years of suffering and despair.
We’re not going to solve this the way we are. We need a much deeper and more comprehensive change to how we’ve organized our societies. Syriza understand this, and they’re acting on it, but they can’t do it alone, and besides their priority must be the Greek population, not the systems that are strangling the world, because that’s what they were voted into office for. We need to support them much more than we have so far, or both their fight and ours will end in defeat.

Supranational organizations will all tend towards developing dictatorial traits, both because of their very structures, and because of the type of people they attract to rise in their ranks.

I’m by no means the only one to say that NATO should be disbanded, Ron Paul made a passionate speech about it in 2008. The problem is that if NATO is not disbanded, it will run amok (it already has). NATO’s purpose was to defend Europe from the Soviet Union’s communist threat. When Russia was no longer a threat, some 25 years ago, the whole apparatus was still left intact, albeit with a few budget cuts, and so NATO went looking for a purpose. I give you: Ukraine.

Whether it’s NATO, or the IMF, or the EU, they’re all part of the same problem. A problem that won’t be solved as long as these institutions are in place. That is not possible. They are organizations that find their purpose in NOT solving problems, because once they’re solves, they no longer have a reason to exist. And they’re not going to volunteer to become obsolete. They’re going to find a reason to find relevance, even if that hurts whoever it is they’re supposed to represent.

We’re never ever going to find a solution to problems like Ukraine or the Eurozone, because we’ve – all over the world – allowed an alphabet soup of institutions to build up that we have no control over, and that we claim can and will solve the issues for us.

We have put the sociopaths in charge, in an international and largely anonymous dictatorship. Who really pulls the levers in the IMF, or NATO etc? We have no way of knowing. And that’s the problem. And that is what Syriza, and precious few besides them, are set to fight. And why they deserve – and need – our support. Because if they don’t win, we don’t.

"It is sad comment that the public is so uneducated, unconcerned, and blinded to the TRUTH by the media, and that the Judiciary of our once great Nation has been allowed to sink to these depths. And while I say that the conditions that exist today can be laid at one doorstep, that of the Judiciary, I must ultimately say that the fault really lies at our feet, We the People, for it is We the People who have allowed the foxes to guard the henhouse." -- Robert H. Bork, Judge, Supreme Court Nominee, and Professor of Law 

Spain – Mass Left Rally for Change & Debt Default
http://armstrongeconomics.com/2015/01/
January 31, 2015 by Martin Armstrong

I have warned that when the economic crisis hits, the tree has been cut. However, it can just as easily fall to the left as it can to the right. Do we end up with FREEDOM or SERVITUDE? During 1933, Hitler came to power in Germany, Roosevelt in the USA, and Mao in China. Those who focus closely on the whys as to Hitler coming to power miss the mechanism that fuels these types of political change.

In Spain, tens of thousands of people have massed in central Madrid for a rally organised by radical Spanish leftist party Podemos (“We can”). This is being touted as the ”March for Change” and is this party’s FIRST mass outdoor rally. They are trying to now follow the rise of the left in Greece and have close ties to Syriza in Greece.

Podemos has surged into the lead in recent opinion polls because Brussels is just insane and have lost sight of how to run a country for the people rather than the politicians. Podemos will seek to write off part of Spain’s debt if it wins elections later this year. Podemos battle cry that is resonating with the people state bluntly that politicians should ”serve the people, not private interests”. This is the problem whenever you have career politicians regardless if they are left or right.

Into this fray, Merkel, who seems to be completely incompetent on the economics behind what plagues Europe, has stated that there will be NO debt write-off for Greece. I fail to grasp what planet she is on. Is she prepared to invade Greece?

This is getting worse by the day. Capital will flee to the government bonds for safety in Germany and USA. This will complete the Bond Bubble and the whole thing will burst. There will be incriminations, investigations, and demands for the heads of the bankers. Let’s hope it stops there. It can turn once again against the Jews as the Jewish bankers ruin for everyone else just as ISIS creates the wrong image about all of Islam. The uneducated just lump everyone together and therein creates the civil unrest.

...and so you may wonder how we got so far off track? ...keep reading...
                                                 
“When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear their government, there is tyrany. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyrany in government.” Thomas Jefferson
                                                                                                  The 1st Amendment

                                                        

***... it all starts with the ability of a Leviathan government to fund itself through infinite debt that it never intends to repay.  Infinite money enables infinite government.

“We (humans) have the money, the power, the medical understanding, the scientific know-how, the love and the community to produce a kind of human paradise. But we are led by the least among us – the least intelligent, the least noble, the least visionary. We are led by the least among us and we do not fight back against the dehumanizing values that are handed down as control icons.”

Albert Einstein: “A Foolish Faith In Authority Is The Worst Enemy Of The Truth”

"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand."  Milton Friedman

 Barack Obama’s zero prosecutions of bank CEOs who were implicated by Senator Carl Levin’s Committee, and by the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice, and by other federal investigations, into the cause of the 2008 economic collapse and the resulting soaring Federal Government (i.e., taxpayer) indebtedness (bailouts) in order to recover from this collapse, which was clearly caused by an explosion in mortgage-backed-securities frauds, though none of the implicated CEOs — the people who were in command and who were making billions from these MBS frauds —just $Billion fine...no individuals were prosecuted for it.
Not even President Obama’s promise in which he privately assured the assembled CEOs of Wall Street, at the beginning of his Administration, that he would not prosecute any of them, but instead would protect all of them from being prosecuted — and his following through with that secret promise — not even this protection by him of the mega-bank CEOs, has been as heavily censored out of the American press as has been the Ukrainian story.

The Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice issued on 13 March 2014 its “Audit of the Department of Justice’s Efforts to Address Mortgage Fraud,” and reported that Obama’s promises to prosecute turned out to be just a lie. DOJ didn’t even try; and they lied even about their efforts. The IG found: “DOJ did not uniformly ensure that mortgage fraud was prioritized at a level commensurate with its public statements. For example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Criminal Investigative Division ranked mortgage fraud as the lowest criminal threat in its lowest crime category. Additionally, we found mortgage fraud to be a low priority, or not [even] listed as a priority, for the FBI Field Offices we visited.” Not just that, but, “Many Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSA) informed us about underreporting and misclassification of mortgage fraud cases.” This was important because, “Capturing such information would allow DOJ to … better evaluate its performance in targeting high-profile offenders.”

Privately, Obama had told Wall Street executives that he would protect them. On 27 March 2009, Obama assembled the top executives of the bailed-out financial firms in a secret meeting at the White House and he assured them that he would cover their backs; he promised “My administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks”. It’s not on the White House website; it was leaked out, which is one of the reasons Obama hates leakers. What the DOJ’s IG indicated was, in effect, that Obama had kept his secret promise to them.

Here is the context in which he said that (from page 234 of Ron Suskind’s 2011 book, Confidence Men)

Government debt to private parties has been used to manipulate and corrupt government for private ends, particularly, in the present debt paradigm called capitalism.
 
Debt has been used to degrade everything including human lives to a monetary calculation that eliminates all social obligations to each other. This is especially observable in the later development of capitalism that has reduced society to a system of practical debt slavery. http://www.monetary.org/review-of-david-graebers-debt-the-first-5000-years/2013/01


“The real hopeless victims of mental illness are to be found among those who appear to be most normal. "Many of them are normal because they are so well adjusted to our mode of existence, because their human voice has been silenced so early in their lives, that they do not even struggle or suffer or develop symptoms as the neurotic does." They are normal not in what may be called the absolute sense of the word; they are normal only in relation to a profoundly abnormal society. Their perfect adjustment to that abnormal society is a measure of their mental sickness. These millions of abnormally normal people, living without fuss in a society to which, if they were fully human beings, they ought not to be adjusted.”  ? Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."  Krishnamerti

Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence, accomplishments or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power.

Albert Einstein: “A Foolish Faith In Authority Is The Worst Enemy Of The Truth”
Indeed, scientists have shown that people will go to absurd lengths - and engage in mental gymnastics – in order to cling to their belief in what those in authority have said.

Part of the reason so many are so vulnerable to naive belief in authority is that we evolved in small tribes … and we assume that the super-elites are just like us.

In reality, there are millions of psychopaths in the world … and they are largely running D.C. and on Wall Street.

These people have no hesitation in lying to promote their goals.

The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs told Morley Safer of 60 Minutes and CBS News:

Look, if you think any American official is going to tell you the truth, then you’re stupid. Did you hear that? — stupid.
If you believe government; you're stupid

And studies show that the super-rich lie, cheat and steal more than the rest of us.

Who’s to Blame … Big Government or Big Business?  http://www.onpower.org/about_intro.html

Conservatives tend to believe that the captains of industry are virtuous and that the government can’t be trusted.

Liberals tend to believe that government servants are virtuous and that corporations can’t be trusted.

But the truth is that psychopaths are psychopaths … whether they’re in the private sector or government.

And there is no such thing as representative government or free market capitalism anymore. Big corporate money has coopted the government; and ill-guided politicians have destroyed the free market.

Corrupt government agencies and officials and corrupt corporations and executives have become intertwined in a malignant, symbiotic relationship.

And they’re trying to grab more and more power and wealth every day.

Big Business Has Turned Into a Criminal Syndicate

Big banks and giant oil companies have more or less become criminal enterprises.

And conservatives are not amused.

Government Has Gone Rogue

If the government were accountable, then government corruption, deceit and wrongdoing would be held to a modest level.

But the government is not accountable.
When bad government policy leads to bad results, the government manipulates the data … instead of changing policy.
Government pumps out massive amounts of propaganda through the mainstream and “gatekeeper” alternative media, movies, video games, and other venues. The government has launched a war on journalism, and censors and manipulates social media. Andsee this.
The massive NSA is spying on all of us – including government officials, reporters, and everyone else – as a way to crush dissent. And people who criticize government policy or government officials may literally be labeled terrorists. No wonder the American public has lost faith in the 2 party system.  People of faith shouldn’t be fooled into blindly deferring to government authority.

“You Can Opt Out From Facebook, But You Can’t Opt Out From The NSA” 

Prime Minister: “A Lack Of Courage To Take On Vested Interests Are Pushing Us Inexorably Toward The Next Crash”

Bloomberg: Trans Pacific Partnership Is “Corporatist Power Grab”, “As Democratic And Transparent As A One-Party State,” Shrouded In “Big Brother-Like Secrecy”

Capitalism... is the old system. It is based on greed and selfishness and has run its course. Debt has been used to degrade everything including human lives to a monetary calculation that eliminates all social obligations to each other. This is especially observable in the later development of "capitalism that has reduced society to a system of practical debt slavery." Government debt to private parties has been used to manipulate and corrupt government for private ends, particularly, in the present debt paradigm called capitalism.
And it has damaged the planet and countless numbers of people in its greedy exploits.
...the idea that we have to rely on each other - as opposed to institutions like banks and government - is the idea that is spreading and it is reaching critical mass in human society in general.

“Culture is a perversion. It fetishizes objects, creates consumer mania, it preaches endless forms of false happiness, endless forms of false understanding in the form of squirrelly religions and silly cults. It invites people to diminish themselves and dehumanize themselves by behaving like machines." Terence McKenna

“Ego is a structure that is erected by a neurotic individual who is a member of a neurotic culture against the facts of the matter. And culture, which we put on like an overcoat, is the collectivized consensus about what sort of neurotic behaviors are acceptable.”

National People’s Action...http://npa-us.org/ 

Ask yourself; is the World giving you what you want...or is the Universe giving you what you deserve...?...
The problem is we don't know how to stop; we've got something started and we see its going in the wrong direction. (a Chinese saying) "When the wrong man uses the right means, the right means work in the wrong way"... As far as I can see; the basic mistake is that we've invented this wonder system of language and calculation. And that it is at once too simple to deal with the complexity of the world. ...Just as we confuse money with wealth.  A lot of people are in business to make money instead of wealth. When they make the money they don't know what to do with it. And so in the same way we confuse happiness with status and we confuse ourselves with living organisms which are one with the whole universe for something we call our personality......Alan Watts 1971... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LXiSPpfM54
and...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMDu3JdQ8Ow#t=285

http://www.halcyon.com/arborhts/chiefsea.html
and...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_392635&feature=iv&src_vid=Iu0ozHCneWM&v=4-tY6hmKcms
and...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_171981&feature=iv&src_vid=4-tY6hmKcms&v=zTLkiJUX05A
and...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_2400594951&feature=iv&src_vid=YMDu3JdQ8Ow&v=Iu0ozHCneWM
and...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZQRp9Mup0w

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/in-a-leaderless-world-capitalists-are-seizing-control-2014-08-27?siteid=rss&rss=1 

......................................"Cutting Through The Matrix"........................................
You're Trained in Suspension of Diagnostic Perception:
"Media Portrays World as Run by Pranksters,
Certainly Close, but More Accurately "Gangsters",
Today's Hood is Eloquent in Speech,
University Trained, a Well-Dressed Leech,
He's a Corporate CEO, or Chairman of the Fed,
He's Internationalist Now that Nationalism's Dead,
He Signs Agreements, Treaties with Other Gangsters,
Prime Ministers, Presidents and Central Banksters,
Working Together for a "Better Society"
Where Consumers Pay More for Less in Variety,
Where Everything You Need to Stay Alive
Is Corporately Owned so Rich can Thrive,
They Own the Governments yet Preach Democracy,
Helped by Lifers which Staff Each Bureaucracy"
 

The Matrix
Do you want to know what it is? The matrix is everywhere, its all around us, even now in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your TV. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes. 
What truth?
That you are a slave Neo, like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born into a prison that you can not smell or taste. Unfortunately, no one can. This is your last chance. After this Remember, all I'm offering is the truth, nothing more."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHxvVuIxJ9A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayPkHNySMe0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q30CnwXT_M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9-R8T1SuG4

"" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">;freedom for security deserves neither ... The Matrix Trilogy Decoded by Mark Passio
...the desire for Truth must be present...if we are going to find answers...
Navigating The Matrix 1... Navigating The Matrix 2... Navigating The Matrix 3 ............................................. 
 ...enjoy.
Dreamer
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Women's March On Washington Jan. 21, 2217


Trump Inauguration Speech... Jan. 20, 2017
http://www.npr.org/2017/01/20/510629447/watch-live-president-trumps-inauguration-ceremony 
The establishment protected itself but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs. And while they celebrated in our nation’s capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land. That all changes starting right here and right now. Because this moment is your moment. It belongs to you.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------=--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Use retirement savings accounts

The more you contribute to tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s, the more money you'll have in retirement. There are two main kinds of IRA -- the Roth IRA and the traditional IRA -- and for both in 2017, the contribution limit is $5,500 for most people and $6,500 for those 50 and older. (Limits are occasionally increased, to keep up with inflation.) That might not seem like a lot of money, but it's quite powerful if it can grow for many years. The following table shows how much money you can accumulate with annual $5,500 contributions at different average annual rates of growth:

$5,500 Invested Annually For:

Growing at 6%

Growing at 8%

Growing at 10%

15 years

$135,699

$161,284

$199,224

20 years

$214460

$271,826

$346,514

25 years

$319,860

$434,249

$595,000

30 years

$460,909

$672,902

$995,189

DATA SOURCE: CALCULATIONS BY AUTHOR.

A 401(k) has much more generous contribution limits -- for 2017 it's $18,000 for most people and $24,000 for those 50 or older. Give particular consideration to Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s, which are increasingly available, as they let you withdraw money in retirement tax-free!

Collect interest

This great retirement income strategy is only great at certain times -- when interest rates are meaningful. Right now if you park $100,000 in certificates of deposit paying 1.5% in interest, you'll collect $1,500 per year, hardly a helpful sum. Back in 1984, though, rates for five-year, one-year, and six-month CDs were in the double digits. If you could get 10% on a $100,000 investment, you'd enjoy $10,000 per year, equivalent to about $830 per month. Low interest rates not only deliver little income, but they also don't keep up with inflation.

Bonds are another interest-paying option, but the safest ones (from the U.S. government) tend to pay modest interest rates, especially in low-interest-rate environments. Still, if you have a lot of money, you might make this strategy work by buying a variety of bonds that will mature at different times, generating income over many years.

 

5. Use retirement savings accounts

The more you contribute to tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s, the more money you'll have in retirement. There are two main kinds of IRA -- the Roth IRA and the traditional IRA -- and for both in 2017, the contribution limit is $5,500 for most people and $6,500 for those 50 and older. (Limits are occasionally increased, to keep up with inflation.) That might not seem like a lot of money, but it's quite powerful if it can grow for many years. The following table shows how much money you can accumulate with annual $5,500 contributions at different average annual rates of growth:

$5,500 Invested Annually For:

Growing at 6%

Growing at 8%

Growing at 10%

15 years

$135,699

$161,284

$199,224

20 years

$214460

$271,826

$346,514

25 years

$319,860

$434,249

$595,000

30 years

$460,909

$672,902

$995,189

DATA SOURCE: CALCULATIONS BY AUTHOR.

A 401(k) has much more generous contribution limits -- for 2017 it's $18,000 for most people and $24,000 for those 50 or older. Give particular consideration to Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s, which are increasingly available, as they let you withdraw money in retirement tax-free!

6. Buy fixed annuities

While some annuities, such as variable annuities and indexed annuities, can be quite problematic, often charging steep fees and sporting restrictive terms, fixed annuities are well worth considering. They're much simpler instruments, and they can start paying you immediately or on a deferred basis. Following are examples of the kind of income that various people might be able to secure in the form of an immediate fixed annuity in the current economic environment. (You'll generally be offered higher payments in times of higher prevailing interest rates.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The quest for perfection  https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/12/17/has-gerdau-become-the-perfect-stock.aspx
Stocks that look great based on one factor may prove horrible elsewhere, making due diligence a crucial part of your investing research. The best stocks excel in many different areas, including these important factors:

  • Growth. Expanding businesses show healthy revenue growth. While past growth is no guarantee that revenue will keep rising, it's certainly a better sign than a stagnant top line.
    Margins. Higher sales mean nothing if a company can't produce profits from them. Strong margins ensure that company can turn revenue into profit.
    Balance sheet. At debt-laden companies, banks and bondholders compete with shareholders for management's attention. Companies with strong balance sheets don't have to worry about the distraction of debt.
    Money-making opportunities. Return on equity helps measure how well a company is finding opportunities to turn its resources into profitable business endeavors.
    Valuation. You can't afford to pay too much for even the best companies. By using normalized figures, you can see how a stock's simple earnings multiple fits into a longer-term context.
    Dividends. For tangible proof of profits, a check to shareholders every three months can't be beat. Companies with solid dividends and strong commitments to increasing payouts treat shareholders well.

With those factors in mind, let's take a closer look at Gerdau.

Factor

What We Want to See

Actual

Pass or Fail?

Growth

5-year annual revenue growth > 15%

5.6%

Fail
 

1-year revenue growth > 12%

11.5%

Fail

Margins

Gross margin > 35%

13%

Fail
 

Net margin > 15%

4.6%

Fail

Balance sheet

Debt to equity < 50%

51.8%

Fail
 

Current ratio > 1.3

2.17

Pass

Opportunities

Return on equity > 15%

6.6%

Fail

Valuation

Normalized P/E < 20

28.96

Fail

Dividends

Current yield > 2%

1.6%

Fail
 

5-year dividend growth > 10%

(10.5%)

Fail
       
 

Total score

  

1 out of 10

SOURCE: S&P CAPITAL IQ. TOTAL SCORE = NUMBER OF PASSES.
Random and Chaotic dots above below the 10day average
Technical indicators put ...more structure around certain price levels like 50day average and support'resistance lines and Overbought/oversold and when price is outside the Bollinger Bands...

...you should read the indicators=at certain signal lines and price levels...all the rest is noise. 

What you call gut/feeling is the sense you get of the crowd as you watch price...yesterday you saw the change in momentum...when you get the sense/gut/feeling you become better if you have at least 2 technical indicators to confirm the gut...your percentage of wins and percentage gain improves. I use CCI 20 and stochastics 10,3 and moving averages (is price above/below the average)

It can be as simple as I want to know how to act either side of the 10day average and how to act either side of the 50day average...and at what price to take action when oversold/overbought...

chart below shows how you can take a bunch of random chaotic dots(closing prices) and give them some structure.
1. how to act above below the 10day average...
2. how to act when 3day average crosses the 10 day average...
3. how to act when the 3 day average crosses the 50 day average...
4. how to act when the 10day average crosses the 50 day average...
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