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Thursday, July 9, 2015

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saveyourassetsfirst3

Gold Price Bounces from Breakdown Line

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 12:43 PM PDT

Top economist: Here’s why U.S. investors should be worried about China

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 12:33 PM PDT

From Mohamed A. El-Erian for Bloomberg:

The rebound of Chinese stocks Thursday shouldn’t lull global investors into a false sense of complacency: That country’s equities market isn’t out of the woods quite yet. In addition to stabilizing prices and sustaining a gradual price recovery process, the government must take on the challenge of restoring normal functioning to a market roiled by share suspensions and manipulation.

Given the significant economic and financial links between the two countries, what happens in China matters more to U.S. investors than the spillover from the tragic Greek crisis.

Here are the five considerations for U.S. investors as they monitor developments in China:

  • Chinese equity prices are experiencing a classic market correction that follows a huge over-extension on the way up. The recent 30 percent stock market decline has captured the attention of the world — and it has been a rapid drop — but it pales in comparison to the impressive rise that preceded it. And the latter stages of the upswing were fueled by the entry of small investors and the concurrent spread in levered long positions.
  • This turmoil isn’t just about the price collapse; it is also about market functioning. One of the most worrisome aspects of the Chinese market correction is its close links to market failures — from significant share suspensions to extensive direct intervention and manipulation on the part of the government and the brokerages.
  • The most immediate threats include headwinds to economic growth as a result of the unfavorable wealth effect effect (lower prices leading to a decline in wealth and curtailing consumption), as well as setbacks to China’s financial liberalization process. But this isn’t only a matter of economics and finance: The selloff has potential social and political consequences, too. Having joined the party relatively late, many small investors are being particularly hard-hit by the rout, and many are blaming the government for enticing them to invest and then failing to protect them.
  • Compared with many other countries, the Chinese government has a wider range of instruments to regain control of the situation. Most importantly, it is both able and willing to supplement direct cash injections with administrative tools, such as scaring sellers and banning outright certain market activities.
  • Regaining control is neither costless nor without risk. The more the government interferes directly in the functioning of markets, the greater the costs down the road for the economy, which needs further liberalization measures toward a market system to navigate the country’s transition to a middle-income society.

In sum, unlike with Greece, the U.S., and American investors, are much more exposed to the spillover effects from China.

An economically damaged China would lower demand for U.S. exports and harm corporate profits. The more China draws on its huge international reserve holdings to support its domestic markets, the greater the risk of pressure on U.S. financial assets that China has invested in. And the bigger the setbacks to market reforms, the longer it will take China to assume its full responsibilities in the global economy.

Doc Eifrig: 10 of the best ways to fight seasonal allergies this summer

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 12:10 PM PDT

From Dr. David Eifrig, MD, MBA, Editor, Retirement Millionaire:

If you suffer from seasonal allergies, you’re not alone… More than 30% of the U.S. population has seasonal allergies. But you can do a few things to relieve your symptoms…

Since I live in the city, I keep an air filter in my bedroom, which has helped with seasonal allergies as well as general stuffiness in the mornings. I clean the filter weekly.

One thing to remember when you have allergies is to be careful when blowing your nose. Researchers at the University of Virginia studied the flow of snot and mucous in sick people. They found that blowing your nose with both nostrils clogged creates large pressures in your sinuses. This just pushes the mucous and “bugs” back up into your sinuses and can cause more of an infection.

It’s the same story with allergies. Blowing lightly with one nostril at a time restricts airflow less and is the best way to avoid this.

Another trick is to try a Neti pot. The Neti pot is an old Hindu device used to wash the sinuses. (Neti means “nasal” in Sanskrit.) You can purchase plastic ones with balanced salt solutions (in packets you mix with water at home) at your local drug stores for about $10. By using gravity and the solution, you can gently rinse your sinuses.

When I get tickles in my nose or post-nasal drip and sneezing, I know it’s time to do a rinse once or twice a day… It feels funny at first… But if you’re stuffy from pollen, this is a great way to clean out the areas in your nose that trap the pollens.

Be careful… Overuse of the Neti pot (either more than twice a day or for more than a couple weeks) can worsen things, leading to bacterial sinus infections. Also, make sure to follow the instructions…

If you don’t use sterilized or distilled water, brain-eating organisms in the water can enter the brain through your sinuses. In late 2011, two deaths in Louisiana were blamed on the improper use of a Neti pot.

For itchy eyes, purchase eye drops that “stabilize the mast cells” in your mucous membranes. Mast cells maintain chemicals used to protect the body from infections and parasites. When they are stimulated, they release these chemicals, which increase blood flow and direct immune-modulating cells to migrate to that area. Think of them as the fire alarm in a building.

Once released, you start itching, which leads to rubbing, which serves to spread even more of the cells and chemicals around to fight whatever it is that’s bothering the body. If you can prevent the alarm from going off, you can avoid the redness and itching. After all, you know you’re not suffering from an infection or parasites, so why not block it for a couple of weeks and feel better?

The drugs require a prescription, so you’ll have to ask your physician to prescribe them. Ask for Patanol or Zatidor, or the generic versions, alocril and crolom. If used at the first sign of itchy eyes, they can help cut your allergy symptoms in half. I use them for about 3-4 weeks to get me through the worst of the season.

Foods That Can Control Allergies Without Drugs

However, if you want to avoid drugs… some alternatives to medicine have been shown to ease symptoms.

To start, here are some “hygiene” steps you can take to reduce symptoms…

  • Close windows and doors during higher pollen times.
  • Shower and change clothes after being outside.
  • Avoid going outside on dry, windy days when the pollen is blowing around or on days when the pollen counts are high.
  • Don’t exercise in the morning when counts are usually highest.
  • Use a HEPA air filter in your bedroom. I keep one in my bedroom and clean the filter once a week.

Also, you should avoid some foods that can exacerbate symptoms…

Some people with seasonal allergies also have “oral allergy syndrome” – also called “food-pollen allergy” syndrome. This occurs when your immune system attacks proteins in certain foods like it would pollen. The food you react to can depend on the type of allergy you have.

People with weed allergies can react to honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon, tomatoes, zucchini, and sunflower seeds.

Tree allergies are often associated with kiwi, apples, pears, peaches, plums, celery, cherries, carrots, hazelnut, almonds, and parsley.

If you have grass allergies, you might have a reaction to peaches, celery, tomatoes, melons, or oranges.

Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,

Dr. David Eifrig Jr., MD, MBA

P.S. This essay is an excerpt from my new Big Book of Retirement Secrets. In it, you can find hundreds of  "life hacks" like the ones I’ve mentioned above… things like how to get paid to watch TV and eat potato chips… how to get free silver from the U.S. banking system… and even how to get free healthcare and prescriptions. You can get all the details right here.

Here’s Your Hyperinflation

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 12:00 PM PDT

Hyperinflation is HERE.  You just have to know where to look… Submitted by Keith Weiner, Monetary Metals: Hyperinflation is commonly defined as rapidly rising prices which get out of control. For example, theWikipedia entry begins, "In economics, hyperinflation occurs when a country experiences very high and usually accelerating rates of inflation, rapidly eroding the real […]

The post Here's Your Hyperinflation appeared first on Silver Doctors.

Gold Bounces Off $1147

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 11:50 AM PDT

dailyforex

CHARTS : Gold ETFs Fail The Volatility Test

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 11:50 AM PDT

investorplace

Gold Bears Failed a Daily Close Below the Rising Trendline

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 11:45 AM PDT

forexspace

The German Siege Of Greece Begins

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 11:00 AM PDT

Every pyramid scheme eventually collapses, and it appears that the collapse of this one has begun.  But the difference with this pyramid scheme is that it is going to take the entire global financial system down with it...   Submitted by The Economic Collapse Blog:   Did you notice that Greece's creditors are not rushing […]

The post The German Siege Of Greece Begins appeared first on Silver Doctors.

Gold remains in a downtrend on all timeframes

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 11:00 AM PDT

Commodity Trader

Elephant in the Room: How Much Are Chinese Gold Reserves?

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 10:00 AM PDT

The question EVERYONE wants to know, is just HOW MUCH gold have the Chinese accumulated for official reserves?  Submitted by Koos Jansen, Bullionstar: There has been much speculation about a slide from chairman and secretary-general of the China Gold Association Zhang Bingnan presented at the LBMA forum in Shanghai June 25, 2015. The slide states Chinese […]

The post Elephant in the Room: How Much Are Chinese Gold Reserves? appeared first on Silver Doctors.

Growth of Chinese Margin Accounts Drove Bubble – Now Drives the Crash

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 09:30 AM PDT

Chinese markets bounced last night following drastic intervention by the state when it banned large players from selling their shares in listed companies – arresting the over 30% decline of the past four weeks. The problem is by definition, a market ceases to be a market if selling is prohibited… Submitted by Mark O’Byrne, Goldcore: […]

The post Growth of Chinese Margin Accounts Drove Bubble – Now Drives the Crash appeared first on Silver Doctors.

Gold Bullion Caught in China Storm, Rallies with Equities as Eurozone Splits Over Cutting Greek Debt

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 09:30 AM PDT

Bullion Vault

Has The Global Run On Silver Begun? – SRSRocco

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 08:57 AM PDT

Something has changed in the global silver market. The situation in the silver market seems to point to the beginning stages of a GLOBAL RUN ON SILVER.    From the SRSRocco Report: I say, "it seems to point to a RUN on silver" due to several indicators I am looking at.  This also may force […]

The post Has The Global Run On Silver Begun? – SRSRocco appeared first on Silver Doctors.

They Want To Use ‘Hate Speech Laws’ To Destroy Freedom Of Speech In America

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 08:55 AM PDT

The United States is still an exception, but the truth is that our liberties and freedoms are being eroded every single day, and it is only a matter of time until "hate speech laws" are used to take away our freedom of speech too. If you don't think that this could ever happen in America, […]

The post They Want To Use 'Hate Speech Laws' To Destroy Freedom Of Speech In America appeared first on Silver Doctors.

EU Makes Greece ‘An Offer They Can’t Refuse': Agree To A Deal By Sunday Or Go Bankrupt

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 08:30 AM PDT

It looks like we aren't going to have to wait much longer to see if Greece remains part of the eurozone or not.  Instead of softening their demands in the wake of the Greek referendum, European leaders have given the Greek government an ultimatum:  From End of the American Dream: On Tuesday night, EU officials […]

The post EU Makes Greece 'An Offer They Can't Refuse': Agree To A Deal By Sunday Or Go Bankrupt appeared first on Silver Doctors.

THIS IS THE BANKSTER’S GREATEST FEAR…

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 08:00 AM PDT

"This is the worst case scenario for these Bankers. The reality is there is something new on the horizon. A new financial system outside of the control of what George Herbert Walker Bush called the New World Order. It's fragile, but it's coming into existence. And this is what the Banksters fear more than anything […]

The post THIS IS THE BANKSTER'S GREATEST FEAR… appeared first on Silver Doctors.

Turkey Silver imports decline 55.84% Y Y in June

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 08:00 AM PDT

Silver imports during the period from January to June totalled 180.19 tons, recording a significant increase of 76.9% from the import of 101.85 tons in the corresponding period last year.

Nigel Farage Destroys the Euro Groupthink in 4 Minutes: “There’s A New Berlin Wall… And It’s Called The Euro”

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 07:30 AM PDT

Standing before the European Parliament yesterday, it took Nigel Farage just four minutes to completely destroy every argument supporting the Eurozone.  As Nigel explains in the video below, right from the start, the system was never intended to help the Greek people. Greece entering the euro was great for Goldman Sachs. But terrible for Greeks.  […]

The post Nigel Farage Destroys the Euro Groupthink in 4 Minutes: “There’s A New Berlin Wall… And It’s Called The Euro” appeared first on Silver Doctors.

Government Trolls Begin Using ‘Psychology-Based Influence Techniques’ On YouTube, Facebook And Twitter

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 07:00 AM PDT

Have you ever come across someone on the Internet that you suspected was a paid government troll?  Well, there is a very good chance that you were not imagining things.  Thanks to Edward Snowden, we now have SOLID PROOF that paid government trolls are using "psychology-based influence techniques" on social media websites such as YouTube, Facebook […]

The post Government Trolls Begin Using 'Psychology-Based Influence Techniques' On YouTube, Facebook And Twitter appeared first on Silver Doctors.

Centamin posts 33% rise in Q2 Gold production from Sukari

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 05:57 AM PDT

Preliminary total gold production for the quarter was 107,781 ounces, a 33% increase on Q2 2014 and in line with production in the first quarter 2015. Full year production is expected to be between 430,000 and 440,000 ounces.

Growth of Chinese Margin Accounts Drove Bubble – Now Drives the Crash

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 05:02 AM PDT

gold.ie

Is confidence more precious than gold: impact of China stock market crash on gold

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 02:39 AM PDT

Have a post up on the impact of the China stock market crash on gold demand and wondering if it is fair to ask: goodbye Chinese stock bubble, hello Chinese gold bubble?

http://research.perthmint.com.au/2015/07/09/is-confidence-more-precious-than-gold-impact-of-china-crisis-on-gold/

Is confidence more precious than gold: impact of China crisis on gold

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 02:16 AM PDT

Perth Mint

Pershing Gold NASDAQ Uplist Is Part of Larger Resource Expansion and Production Push

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 01:00 AM PDT

Catalysts can drive stock prices, and Pershing Gold has had quite a few lately, including a stock split, uplisting to NASDAQ and an updated resource estimate on the Relief Canyon Mine in Nevada. And...

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CHARTS : Silver Pretty, Silver Ugly

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 12:05 AM PDT

goldsilverworlds

Gold, Crude Oil Digesting Losses as SPX 500 Accelerates Downward

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 12:00 AM PDT

dailyfx

Gold (XAUUSD) Challenging Critical Support, Silver (XAGUSD) Craters On ‘Risk-off’ Liquidation

Posted: 08 Jul 2015 10:45 PM PDT

cfdtrading

Gold Bounces Around But Remains Bearish

Posted: 08 Jul 2015 10:40 PM PDT

fxempire

Greece Enters Its Crack-Up Boom

Posted: 08 Jul 2015 07:22 PM PDT

The Austrian School of economics has a concept called a “crack-up boom” in which a critical mass of people conclude that their government is actively trying to devalue its currency.

Consumers respond by front-running the government, spending their paychecks immediately in order to convert their soon-to-be-less-valuable money into real things. Merchants, not happy about the sudden influx of suspect currency (and sensing the panic of their customers) hold out for ever-higher prices, causing inflation to spike. But it’s a special kind of inflation, driven not by a sudden increase in the money supply but by collapsing confidence among holders of the currency.

In a very short time, so goes the theory, the supply of stuff available for purchase dries up, prices hyperinflate, and the economy collapses.

Welcome, in other words, to Greece:

Greeks spend in droves, afraid of losing savings to a bailout

(CNBC) – Business has been so brisk in the giant Kotsovolos appliance and electronics store in this upper-middle-class suburb of Athens that you might think a sale was on.

But, no. It is panic buying, those who work here say. Increasingly concerned that greater economic trouble lies ahead of them, and limited in how much cash they can take out of banks, Greeks have been using their debit cards to buy ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers — anything tangible that can hold its value in troubled times.

“We have sold so much,” said Despina Drisi, who has worked in the store for 12 years. “We even sold display models. People have been pulling at my sleeves. We’re spacing things out now to cover the holes on the shelves.

To the casual observer, the bustle of everyday life looks unchanged here. Greeks, many of whom long ago traded in their cars for cheaper motor scooters, clog the streets at rush hour on their way to and from work. Tourists pack the Acropolis. Friends meet, greet and sit in cafes, looking for shady spots against the heat.

But beneath the surface, Greeks are struggling with growing fear, the strange ramifications of closed banks and the mounting potential for much worse. They could face the unknown consequences of being pushed out of the eurozone within the next week if Greece and its creditors cannot come to an agreement.

Some are watching television and checking their smartphones constantly. Others refuse to follow what is going on in Brussels at all. But either way, many are doing what they can to protect themselves financially, buying appliances and jewelry or even prepaying their taxes so they will have taken care of one financial obligation if they end up losing some of their savings to a bank failure, as happened to depositors in Cyprusunder a bank rescue plan there in 2013.

“Panicked doesn’t begin to describe how people feel,” said Antonis Mouzakis, an Athens accountant. “I have a huge number of customers wanting to file their taxes right here, right now, to have the tax calculated and paid instantly before a possible haircut. Even if the tax is 40 to 50 thousand euros, they pay it off in one go.”

A Greek jeweler, George Papalexis, said a customer had approached him on Wednesday wanting to buy a million euros — about $1.1 million — worth of merchandise. But Mr. Papalexis, the chief operating officer of Zolotas, said he had refused because he was more comfortable holding on to the jewels than having money in Greek banks.

“I can’t believe that there I was, turning away a million-dollar offer,” he said. “But I had to turn down the deal. It’s a measure of the risk we face.”

Mr. Mouzakis said that many companies were also trying to settle their debts quickly, not wanting to owe money if their deposits are hit in a deal to rescue Greek banks. Others do not want to accept payments for the same reason. When banks in Cyprus had to be bailed out in 2013, depositors with more than €100,000 lost about 40 percent of their money.

A contractor at a Greek energy company, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said his firm had paid all its taxes for the year last week to whittle down the funds that could be subject to a deposit tax.

“I’m even thinking about buying a car, although I don’t need one, to get my cash balance lower,” he said. “People want their money in physical assets, not in the bank.”

But some who are unlikely to be troubled by losing a percentage of their bank deposits are spending, too. Vassilis Bekiaris, 29, said he knew two brothers who had gone on what was probably an ill-advised spending spree, fearing a cut to their savings. One who had just €1,000 in his account bought an iPhone. The other had €10,000 euros but, thinking he could lose 20 percent, bought €2,000 worth of clothes. “All they managed to do was prop up the economy a bit,” Mr. Bekiaris said.

While pensioners and others in need of cash struggled, some employers who were behind in paying their employees surprised them by digging into their safes and producing cash rather than risk losing money to the terms of a bank bailout.

A few companies, prepared for the bank closings, were ready to pay cash to their grateful employees. The family-owned Petsas group, which manufactures a range of products from biodiesel to cotton clothing, paid all of its workers, about 130 people, in cash.

When Greeks start clamoring to pre-pay their taxes, you know the end is near.

But viewed through a Keynesian rather than Austrian lens, this process actually looks kind of positive, like really effective stimulus. The Greeks appear to have discovered the secret to convincing an over-indebted people to keep borrowing and spending: Just telegraph the destruction of their savings and watch the little folks consume.

In an era when new and wild economic theories are being tested on a weekly basis, Greece is perhaps the most interesting laboratory of all. If this sudden burst of consumption and tax compliance results in “growth” and “a balanced budget” then don’t be surprised if the people running the eurozone, Japan and maybe the US come to the comical but from their point of view logical conclusion that far from screwing up, Germany actually did something right in Greece. And that maybe the rest of the world should pre-announce capital controls and bank bail-ins to get their citizens off their butts and into the mall.

Which, when you think about it, might be exactly what the war on cash is setting up.

What In The World Just Happened To The New York Stock Exchange?

Posted: 08 Jul 2015 04:14 PM PDT

New York Stock Exchange - Public DomainDo you believe that the New York Stock Exchange shut down because of a “technical glitch” on Wednesday?  At 11:32 AM on Wednesday morning, trading on the New York Stock Exchange was halted due to “internal technical issues”, and it did not resume until 3:10 PM.  Officials insist that there is no evidence that a cyberattack caused the technical problems even though hactivists had hinted that something may happen the night before.  Adding to the suspicion is the fact that United Airlines and the Wall Street Journal also experienced very serious “technical glitches” on Wednesday.  Others found it very curious that trading on the NYSE was halted just after Chinese stocks had absolutely plummeted the night before.  In fact, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index experienced the largest one day decline that we have witnessed since November 2008.  So is there more going on here than meets the eye?

Overall, the Dow was down 261 points on Wednesday, and the Dow and the S&P 500 both closed below their 200 day moving averages.  Iron ore had its biggest daily price drop ever, and the price of oil continued to decline.  But it was the stunning shut down of the New York Stock Exchange that made headlines all over the world…

The New York Stock Exchange, United Airlines and the Wall Street Journal have all fallen victim to a series of massive technical glitches within hours of each other.

NYSE halted all trading for ‘technical reasons’ at 11:32am and only reopened at 3:10pm – but says the problem is an internal one and not the result of a cyberattack.

It comes as tens of thousands of United Airlines passengers were stranded at U.S. airports on Wednesday morning after all of the carrier’s flights were grounded nationwide due to a computer system glitch.

The Wall Street Journal was also left unable to publish after its systems came under attack and has been forced to switch to an alternative site design.

In response to the shut down, the following photo began circulating on Twitter…

But was it really just a “technical glitch”?

Of course they probably would never admit it publicly if it was a cyberattack.  We live at a time when the authorities are much more concerned with keeping everyone calm than they are about telling us the truth.  So in the end all we can really do is speculate about what really happened.

But what we do know is that the stock market crash in China got even worse the night before this shutdown.  The Shanghai Composite Index and the Hang Seng Index both declined by almost six percent overnight.  Overall, the Shanghai Composite Index is now down by more than 30 percent in less than a month, and the Chinese version of the NASDAQ is down by more than 40 percent…

In just three weeks, stocks listed on mainland China's most prominent exchange have fallen by more than 30% from their seven-year highs. The even more speculative ChiNext Index has lost 42% of its value over the 21 days.

Government regulators have now banned, for six months, Chinese executives from selling stock in their own companies. This is only one of a number moves made by panicked officials.

At this point, trading for approximately 45 percent of all stocks on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges has been suspended.  So as a result the selling has bled over to the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong, and this has caused tremendous chaos…

Hong Kong's benchmark stock gauge plunged the most since the global financial crisis as an equity rout in mainland China rippled across Asia.

The Hang Seng Index fell 5.8 percent to 23,516.56 at the close today, the biggest drop since November 2008, after slumping as much as 8.6 percent.

Even though the Chinese have been trying all sorts of crazy things to stop the crash, nothing has worked.  Instead, the selling restrictions have only seemed to fuel the panic even more…

"Investors are disappointed and afraid that the Chinese policy makers lost control of the market," said Mari Oshidari, a Hong Kong-based strategist at Okasan Securities Group Inc. "With no end in sight to the plunge, sentiment has turned cold. With liquidity drying up in the mainland, the Hong Kong market is being sold instead –- the only thing it can do is just quietly take the storm."

Meanwhile, things over in Europe have become more ominous as well.  As I wrote about yesterday, EU officials have declared this week to be “the final deadline” for making a deal with Greece.  On Wednesday, Greece applied for a new three year emergency loan, and European officials have said that they will consider it…

A race to save Greece from bankruptcy and keep it in the euro gathered pace on Wednesday when Athens formally applied for a three-year loan and European authorities launched an accelerated review of the request.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called in a speech to the European Parliament for a fair deal, acknowledging Greece’s historic responsibility for its plight, after EU leaders gave him five days to come up with convincing reforms.

The government submitted a request to the European Stability Mechanism bailout fund to lend an unspecified amount “to meet Greece’s debt obligations and to ensure stability of the financial system”. It promised to begin implementing tax and pension measures sought by creditors as early as Monday.

But there is still a tremendous amount of skepticism about whether a deal can be reached.  The Greeks want debt relief, but the Germans have completely ruled out any sort of a debt haircut.  Most of the rest of the EU nations are siding with the Germans, and unless the Greek government caves in at the last moment it appears that a “Grexit” is quite likely.

For most people, the events of 2008 have long since faded from their memories.  After years of soaring stock prices, many in the financial world have become extremely comfortable.  But as we are seeing in China, what goes up must eventually come down.

And the shut down of the New York Stock Exchange today should be a huge wake up call for all of us.  We have become extraordinarily dependent on computers and technology, and this makes us exceedingly vulnerable.  Someday, we might just experience a cyberattack that causes a tremendous amount of permanent damage that cannot be undone.

What will we do then?

Our world is becoming increasingly unstable, and events are beginning to accelerate as we enter the second half of 2015.

So what comes next?  Please feel free to share what you think by posting a comment below…

The post What In The World Just Happened To The New York Stock Exchange? appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

The Gold Wars

Posted: 08 Jul 2015 04:00 PM PDT

Gary North

Emerging Markets Breaking Down

Posted: 08 Jul 2015 02:11 PM PDT

Chart Of The Day: MSCI Emerging Markets Index is breaking down…

MSCI Emerging Markets Source: Short Side Of Long

 

Final chart of the day focuses on global stock market developments, in particular the Emerging Markets. While the S&P 500 has enjoyed a superb rally since October 2011 lows, rallying without a 10% correction for many years, other global indices haven’t done as well.

We have discussed the MSCI Emerging Markets Index many times in recent months. The technical triangle pattern has been interesting to watch, as the price coiled year after year. At the current price of 905 the index is drifting lower, but it is important to see wait for weekly close to confirm the break.

Nevertheless, as of right now, the index is breaking lower and signalling that not all is well with global economy. A further sell off below 850 on the index (October 2011 lows) could spell real problems and a potential of yet another global recession. Watch this chart carefully…

 

The post Emerging Markets Breaking Down appeared first on The Daily Gold.

8 business lessons from the biggest drug dealer in history

Posted: 08 Jul 2015 12:25 PM PDT

From James Altucher, Editor, The James Altucher Report:

“We want you to come out here and interview ‘Freeway Rick Ross’ on stage.”

Who?

I was talking to Jayson Gaignard. I don’t really know anything about anything so Jayson had to explain and then I looked up Rick. And then I got obsessed.

Rick Ross had sold about a billion dollars’ worth of crack cocaine during his “career.”

I read every book. I read his autobiography. I read about a dozen articles. I watched three documentaries.

I flew out to Jayson’s Mastermind Talks in Napa Valley.

Seth Godin has great advice about speaking at conferences: If you speak at a conference either do it for free because you love it, or charge FULL RETAIL.

I flew out to Jayson’s conference for free.

I was really nervous because I knew I had nothing at all in common with Rick. Maybe he would hate me. Some nerdy Jewish guy who thinks he knows everything.

I had written down about 100 questions but I knew I wouldn’t look at my notes during the interview. I then rewrote them from memory. And then rewrote them again.

I knew the questions I rewrote the most were the ones that were probably most interesting to me.

There were many things I didn’t care much about: politics, legal issues, the Iran-Contra situation (Rick was fooled by the CIA into providing drug profits to the Contras).

The rise of gang violence was an issue so before the interview I had lunch with Rick and asked about that.

He told me that while he was there, everyone working for one cause: making money, and they knew that if homicide police came in then that would be the end of the money.

“There was less gang violence when I was in charge,” he said, “because we were all getting rich”.

We had a great interview that lasted an hour (and you can listen for free right here).

Rick Ross’ most active years were from 1981-1988. Basically a billion dollars’ worth of crack went through his organization. His connection was from Nicaragua. His distribution were all the gangs that he grew up with in South Central LA.

His family broke up when he was four. He grew up amidst non-stop violence. He watched his uncle kill his aunt. Gang violence was every day.

He didn’t learn to read or write so when he was 18 he was kicked out of high school and kicked off the tennis team where he was an aspiring champion. That was his one chance, he felt, to get out of the ghetto.

He was on the street and needed to make money without an education, a family, and the ability to read or write.

He asked an ex high school teacher for advice on how he could make money. The teacher suggested he sell drugs.

So he sold drugs. And instead of spending his profits, Rick kept doubling and doubling until all the other dealers were now buying from him and Rick was using his scale to drive his own costs down.

Eventually he was the main connection in all of the United States, buying up to $5 million worth of cocaine A DAY.

The podcast will have the guts of the interview. But I was impressed how soft-spoken, ready to answer, and humble Rick was.

He had spent, in various periods, close to 20 years in jail. Now his main goal was to lecture kids in jail and school how to avoid the situation he was in.

Here’s what I gather were his main rules on leadership. How to lead a billion dollar organization where many of the people below him (“all of them”, Rick said and the crowd we were in front of laughed) carried guns.

1) TRY TO GET THE PEOPLE WORKING FOR YOU TO BE MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN YOU

“I wanted the same for them and for them to even surpass me.”

They might not always take it. But give them the chance to be as successful as you and they will take that example to the people below them.

2) HONESTY

This sounds strange coming from a drug kingpin but there aren’t any lawyers or courts to track down liars. Honesty is the law in that game.

When there are lawyers, people lie and deceive and betray. When everything is based on your word and everyone is carrying guns, honesty is the rule.

“If there was any funny business, I’d rather not deal with them anymore, or be very careful with them in the future.”

3) BE VERY LOW KEY

Nobody ever saw Rick being flashy. He was so low key that even when he was running almost a half billion dollars a year, the police had no idea what he looked like.

Part of this was a decentralized structure. People several layers below him in the organization would not have any contact with him and would have to deal with conflicts at their level.

“I had to show by example how to manage, so the people underneath me would know what to do instead of me being always involved.”

4) ONLY DO THE ESSENTIAL

Rick arranged the top level contacts between his sellers and his buyers. Then he stepped back.

Everything else had to be dealt with by the people who worked for him and the people who worked for them.

“Everyone knew what they had to do.” And if they didn’t, they stopped being part of the food chain.

5) DON’T MAKE IT ABOUT THE MONEY

Again: odd advice from a mega drug lord.

Rick poured many of his profits back into his neighborhood.

This was in part to give back, to contribute. But at the same time, it was strategic.

When he went to jail at one point and his bail was set at more than a million dollars, the million dollars had to come from legitimate enterprises. So Rick could not supply his own bail.

Instead, every household on the block he grew up on, put up their own homes as bail in order to get Rick out of jail.

When you make it not about the money the benefits never stop since money is only a tiny byproduct of the reasons we live, we do things, we strive for success.

6) REDUCE CONFRONTATIONS

When things have the possibility of getting incredibly violent, reduce confrontation as quickly as possible.

Often Rick would simply pay off or write off any losses on people who were no longer fitting in with the organization, rather than have a confrontation with them.

Violence could bring in a whole new set of problems. Better to take a loss and move on and now worry about it.

7) FREEMIUM

It’s almost a cliche, but Rick told how he went to Cincinnati. Stayed with a friend and told him to invite ten of his friends over.

Then when everyone was there he gave everyone a free supply and told them if they were interested to come back in a week and buy the next batch.

Everyone came back. Sometimes the sooner you charge in a business, the quicker you put a ceiling on your potential for expansion. This is true whether your business is drugs or when Facebook was waiting to charge for ads.

8) ASSUME THE WORST

“I always knew I was going to go to jail,” Rick said.

But he wasn’t going to sit around and wait for it to happen. He owned over a dozen houses so nobody knew where he was.

He barricaded the houses to with multiple iron fences so that it would take the police over an hour to smash their way in and by then everyone would be gone.

He would leave town for months at a time. He would put extra profits into “legitimate” businesses like a car parts company and hotels.

He always assumed the worst, so that’s how he was able to diversify all the potential ways he could succeed.

– – –

At the end of the interview Rick described how he learned how to read and write in prison.

He said that the U.S. jail system spends $45,000 a year per prisoner but refuses to buy prisoners books.

He recommended the books, As a Man Thinketh by James Allen. Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and The Richest Man in Babylon by Og Mandino.

He said that when he was broke and his mother was broke and his community was broke and he couldn’t read or write and had no education or prospects, this seemed like the only way out.

When asked what he could’ve have done differently he paraphrased, “The Richest Man in Babylon”.

When I was young I asked the most successful person I knew how I could make some money, he said.

He looked down for a few seconds. Looked back up at the audience. Paused.

“I asked the wrong person.”

To listen to my interview with Freeway Rick Ross click here.

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The Income Secret of Multi-Millionaires
Put 10 multi-millionaires in a room and chances are, most of them will share a very unique secret about how they generate their income. Not one in 1,000 salaried employees would guess this secret. But millionaire investor, James Altucher, shares the secret with you, for free, on this page.

Matt Badiali shares his investing game plan for the current oil market

Posted: 08 Jul 2015 11:59 AM PDT

From J.T. Long, Editor, The Energy Report:

The best way to make money from the shale oil boom in “Cowboyistan” — the Bakken, Permian Basin and Eagle Ford shales located in North Dakota and Texas — may be the service providers. Master limited partnerships building pipelines to ship oil from newly cracked shale, and companies producing frack sand, will be hot stock prospects as the price of oil inches up. In this interview with The Energy Report, Stansberry Resource Report editor Matt Badiali shares the names he is researching in both the pipeline and fracking equipment and materials spaces…

The Energy Report: When we talked last October, you predicted that low oil and gas prices would fuel an economic resurgence in the U.S. and impact everything from politics to job creation. Is the economy living up to its potential?

Matt Badiali: I think so. Companies moving here and building new factories are citing low energy costs. The average family is saving $1,200–2,500 per year, which is a pretty big savings. But they don’t seem to be spending, so it hasn’t impacted the overall economy as much as I thought it would. On a bigger scale, low energy prices beat low-cost wages and low-cost materials: In today’s economy, low energy costs will bring the economy to you.

TER: It has had an uneven effect on jobs, however, particularly in oil-producing areas. You recently wrote that Saudi Arabia is playing chicken with oil prices. What impact is the continued flow of oil into the market from the Middle East having on companies in places like the Eagle Ford?

MB: It’s having massive impacts, particularly in the Eagle Ford and the Permian Basin. Harold Hamm, CEO of Continental Resources Inc. (CLR), calls the three big shale plays — the Bakken in North Dakota, Permian Basin in West Texas and Eagle Ford in southeast Texas — “Cowboyistan.”

This extended period of lower oil prices is causing companies to become more efficient. They’re not drilling willy-nilly. In fact, 60% of the rigs, some 1,000 of them, aren’t working right now, and as many as 60% of wells that are being drilled are not being completed — about 4,000 of them. The expensive part of shale wells is cracking the rocks, cleaning the well bore and plumbing it. That’s called completion. It’s actually inexpensive to drill the well right now. When the price goes up, a lot of inventory is primed and just has to be fracked to start flowing.

However, there is a lot of oil that won’t be drilled at all at the current price. The experimental shales are where the going is tough. The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale in Louisiana is dead, and will probably be dead for a while. Some of the peripheral shales in Colorado and Canada aren’t going to work with oil at $60/bbl. Russian, Nigerian and Venezuelan oil cost far more than $60/bbl to produce.

Saudi Arabia continues to produce lots of oil in order to put marginal producers out of business. Saudi Arabia has a sovereign wealth fund worth more than half a trillion dollars; it can continue producing at $60/bbl oil for a long time.

SEE ALSO: Dr. Ron Paul Describes Exactly What America’s Next Crisis Will Look Like

TER: How long can the U.S. frackers keep this up?

MB: It depends on the company. If you’re making a profit, you can keep it up indefinitely. If you’re not making a profit, you’re in trouble.

We’re seeing mergers and divestitures, particularly when it comes to companies that took on massive debt. Take Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. (MHR), for example. The $316 million market cap company has over $950 million in debt. It isn’t making any money right now. It recently announced the sale of a major asset — the Eureka Hunter Pipeline in the Marcellus and Utica shales.

I think there will be more of that, both in the shale and the Canadian tar sands. Companies are being forced to get leaner. The current lack of investment in development will have a global impact down the road. All Saudi Arabia did was maintain market share and refuse to cut production. Maintaining oil production was important to the Kingdom, particularly in the battle with Russia for Chinese market share. However, there will be fewer new sources of oil down the road… which could lead to higher prices.

TER: From both a short-term and long-term investment approach, what oil and gas explorers and producers are doing well and can survive?

MB: Right now, I am waiting. I’m not buying producers today. I need to see which companies are doing well at lower oil prices. We just completed the first quarter where hedging probably didn’t play a role in the bottom lines of producers. I am waiting to see the results.

I do like companies that supply fracking equipment and material. I think there is an opportunity now to buy assets that are going to be useful forever at very low prices. For instance, I like the frack sand producers. Engineers have discovered that more sand per well is more economical. I was just at the Energy Information Administration (EIA) conference and heard that, in the Permian Basin alone, from 2012 to 2014, the average initial production rate rose from 400 barrels a day (400 bpd) to 800 bpd. In two years, engineers doubled the volume of oil produced, mostly through changing the way they were fracking rocks, and a big part of that change was the volume of sand added. Now, instead of 500,000 pounds, companies are using 2 million pounds of sand per well, and producing a lot more oil. They are, in a sense, trading the sand cost for better oil production. That is an easy trade to make.

Companies like Hi-Crush Partners L.P. (HCLP) and U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. (SLCA) are the beneficiaries of this new demand. We bought these stocks in May, and they have been down a bit, but I’m happy to buy these companies at these prices because fracking is here to stay. It is the technology that’s going to drive U.S. oil production in the future. Good, clean, Wisconsin sand is going to continue to be valuable even though share prices are a fraction of what they were six months ago.

TER: Both of these companies jumped up last summer and then went right back down again. Was that an anomaly?

MB: The move was from May to August, and it was the result of the news coming out about how much sand was being used. There were dedicated rail trains, 30 cars a day, carrying nothing but sand. The demand for sand was enormous.

TER: What will make that price jump back up again? What is the catalyst?

RELATED: Is this China’s plan to destroy the U.S. Dollar?

MB: Remember the 4,000 wells being drilled today aren’t being fracked? They will be. When they are, the sand demand is going to skyrocket. Once oil hits $70–80/bbl, there is going to be a massive demand for fracking equipment and sand. For people looking for oblique investments in the oil industry, sand companies offer the best opportunity right now.

TER: You recently wrote about the challenges of moving all the new production that fracking is making possible. Are we any closer to a solution for getting oil from Canada to U.S. refineries or to consumers in Asia?

MB: Yes. The problems we’ve had moving Canadian oil have been solved or are in the process of being solved. The last leg of a main artery that brings Canadian crude straight to Houston is almost complete. Run by pipeline companies Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD) and Enbridge Inc. (ENB), the new route runs from Alberta, Canada, to Houston, Texas.

TER: Are there still opportunities to invest in infrastructure solutions—master limited partnerships (MLPs), in particular?

MB: Yes. MLPs have also gotten pretty beaten up of late. There are companies that I like in the space. We bought TC Pipelines L.P. (TCP), the MLP that TransCanada Corp. owns, specifically for that reason. It pays a nice dividend. We’ve held it for eight months now. Our return is basically flat. Share prices eased lower, but we’ve been collecting dividends.

I think Plains All American Pipeline L.P. (PAA) is a great deal right now. This is another oil and gas infrastructure pipeline MLP. It’s come down about 30% since its peak in September. For investors looking for a dividend from a pipeline company, I like this a lot. It pays about 6% today. One of the reasons Plains All American is down is one of its pipes in California burst, resulting in a pretty big oil spill. That’s the kind of news that’s going to go away fairly quickly, but it propelled the shares down, and the shares might be an opportunity for investors today.

Some of the MLPs have gone up in price. We looked at Scorpio Tankers Inc. (STNG) as one of the potentials. It’s up about 40% over the last eight months. This is an attractive company.

TER: You’re going to be speaking at the Sprott-Stansberry Vancouver Natural Resource Symposium at the end of July. What is one thing that natural resource investors need to understand about where we are in the energy investing cycle, and how to preserve or even grow their wealth?

MB: Bear markets in commodities are opportunities. You have to think against the grain in the natural resource sector. You have to put in the hard work to investigate the sector on the way down and then buy stocks when things start to perk up again.

In the oil and gas space, we’re in the investigations mode. We’re looking at companies that we’d like to buy and are high-grading our list. We’re looking for companies with low debt and fair to decent operating margins at low oil prices. Those are the ones we’re going to buy. But we’re not going to buy them until we see an uptrend. Oil has had a small uptrend. It has bounced off its bottom. We are getting a lot closer today to buying these companies than we were even a month ago.

TER: Thanks for speaking with us, Matt.

When gold is declared illegal…

Posted: 08 Jul 2015 11:24 AM PDT

From Bill Bonner, Chairman, Bonner & Partners:

Over the weekend, the lines in Greece stretched along the street. Around the corner. Down the block.

Lines to get cash. Lines to buy gas. Lines of people eager to get their hands on something of value. Food. Fuel. Cash.

Pity the poor guy who was last in line… … the poor taxi driver, for example, standing behind 300 other people, trying to get 200 lousy euros out of an ATM.

Like a tragic nightclub customer… among the last to smell the smoke. By the time he headed for the exit, it was clogged with desperate people, all struggling to get through the same narrow door at the same time. Remember: When a bear attacks in the woods, you don’t have to be faster than the bear. You just have to be faster than at least one other hiker…

The Beginning of the End

Likewise, you don’t have to be the first one to get your money out of an ATM. You just want to be sure you get your money before the machine runs out of cash.

And when a bear attacks Wall Street, you don’t have to be the first to sell. But you definitely don’t want to be the last.

The Dow was down again yesterday. And on the other side of the planet, analysts are looking at “the beginning of the end for Chinese stocks.”

We doubt it is the beginning of the end. More likely, it is just the end of the beginning.

On Friday, the People’s Bank of China cut rates to a record low, after stocks in Shanghai slipped 7% in a single day (the equivalent of about 1,300 points on the Dow). Analysts expected a big rally in response to the rate cut. Instead, the Shanghai Index plunged again.

Greece… China… said one commentator interviewed by Bloomberg: “You have a potentially very ugly situation this week.” Our guess: Stocks in the U.S. and China have topped out.

RELATED: Is this China’s plan to destroy the U.S. Dollar?

Old-timer Richard Russell, who has been studying markets since 1958, agrees:

I believe the top has appeared, like the proverbial thief in the night. The Dow has fallen below the 18,000-point level, and is now negative for the year.

The Transports, which have led the way recently, are down triple digits for today and are only 89 points above the critical level of 8,000. The Nasdaq has closed under 5,000. At the market’s close, gold was up 5.3 at 1,179.

When Gold Is Declared Illegal…

But wait… What about silver and gold?

As regular readers know, we recommend having some cash on hand in case of a monetary emergency. But a reader asks:

In the same vein as your reader’s question as to what good cash is when it’s declared illegal, what good is gold when gold is declared illegal?

First, precious metals aren’t illegal, so far. Second, making something illegal doesn’t necessarily make it unpopular.

President Roosevelt banned gold in 1933. The feds wanted complete control of money. The dollar was backed by gold. So getting control of the dollar meant getting control of gold.

Once the feds had the gold, they could devalue the dollar by resetting the dollar-gold price from $20 to $35. In an instant, people lost more than 40% of their wealth (as measured by gold).

That ban lasted for 42 years. It ended in 1975, largely because of our old friend Jim Blanchard. Jim set up the National Committee to Legalize Gold and worked hard to get the ban lifted.

Today, the feds don’t need to outlaw gold. It is regarded as “just another asset,” like Van Gogh paintings or ’66 Corvettes. Few people own it. Few people care – not even the feds. They are unlikely to pay much attention to it – at least, for now.

That could change when the lines begin to grow longer. Smart people will turn to gold… not just in time, but just in case.

It is a form of cash – traditionally, the best form. You can control it. And with it, you can trade for fuel, food, and other forms of wealth.

Lots of things can go wrong in a crisis. Cash helps you get through it.

Generally, the price of gold rises with uncertainty and desperation.

Gold is useful. Like Bitcoin and dollars in hand (as opposed to dollars the bank owes you), gold is not under the thumb of the government… or the banks. You don’t have to stand in line to get it. Or to spend it.

Yes, as more and more people turn to gold as a way to avoid standing in lines, the feds could ban it again. But when we close our eyes and try to peer into a world where gold is illegal, what we see is a world where we want it more than ever.

Regards,

Bill

Crux note: The freezing of accounts in Greece is only a taste of what's to come… As Bill has been warning, right now in America, the highest levels of government and the banking system are locked in a desperate last stand against a disturbing monetary shock… one that will make what's happening in Greece seem mild by comparison.

And it could disrupt your life in ways you never thought possible… You will suddenly be locked out of your bank account… unable to withdraw cash or deposit a check… Your stocks will swing wildly out of control… Your Social Security payments will pile up unopened on your kitchen table… No one will cash them… To find out what has Bill so worried, go here now.

Gold Key Support Level At $1150 Stands Tall

Posted: 08 Jul 2015 01:05 AM PDT

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