investmentwatchblog--2020-08-24--CPI Goes Up In July…Will Inflation Dragon Take To The Air With Gold?

CPI rises again in July .
But will the inflation dragon take to the air , taking gold with it ?
The U.S. CPI inflation rate rose 0.6 percent in July , for the second month in a row .
The move was driven to a large extent by higher energy prices ( the energy index increased 5.1 percent in June as the gasoline index rose 12.3 percent ) .
The core CPI rose also 0.6 percent , following a 0.1 percent drop in May .
It was the biggest monthly increase in the core rate since 1991 .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increased 1 percent ( seasonally adjusted ) , following 0.7 percent increase in June .
Meanwhile , the core CPI rose 1.6 percent , which implies the acceleration from 1.2 percent recorded in the previous month .
So , as the chart below shows , inflation remains low , but it is no longer very low .
In other words , inflation rebounded from the pandemic lows , ending the period of disinflation , as we correctly predicted last month .
After the release of the June report , we wrote “ inflation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of disinflation have possibly ended .
We mean here that although we do not expect the outbreak of high inflation in the near future , inflation rate could reach the bottom , at least for some time.
” But will inflation finally rear its ugly head ?
Where is the inflation we predicted ?
Nowhere .
But we never predicted that the pandemic of Covid-19 would trigger massive inflation .
What we wrote was that the coronavirus crisis could be simply more inflationary than the Great Recession , as the former was also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right , as the chart below shows .
But we were fully aware of deflationary forces operating during economic crises , so we wrote that “ in the short term disinflation pressure should prevail ” and that “ while in the short term the disinflation scenario seems more likely , in the longer run the risk of stagflation increases ” .
And indeed , the disinflation occurred , but inflation has rebounded somewhat recently , which raises the odds of stagflationary scenario .
There are a few reasons while inflation could increase later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economy will recover one day , which means that the demand will be back .
Second , high and rising public debts increases the possibility that the central banks will monetize the government ’ s obligations .
After all , inflation is often the best way to lower the real burden of sovereign debt .
Third , both the Fed and the commercial banks have expanded the money supply as crazy , as one can see in the chart below .
To be clear , I do not mean the monetary base which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but the broad measure of the money supply called the M2 .
Last but not least , the American central bank is now even more dovish that during the global financial crisis .
I mean here two facts .
The first is that the quantitative easing is now a new normal and it has an indefinite character compared to amount-limited or time-limited rounds several years ago .
The second is that the FOMC members are now much more eager to accept zero interest rates for very long period and inflation rate above the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chair Jerome Powell said during his July press conference , the American central bankers are not even thinking about ending the very easy monetary policy : So as I–as I said earlier , or a while back , we ’ re not even thinking about–thinking about raising rates .
We ’ re–we ’ re totally focused on providing the economy the support that it will need .
We think that the economy will need highly accommodative monetary policy and the use of our tools for an extended period .
What does it all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it ’ s true that low inflation does not have to be detrimental for gold , as the yellow metal can shine during both inflation and deflations .
And that although inflation rebounded somewhat , it is far from being elevated .
Actually , it remains below the Fed ’ s target and pre-recession level .
However , the two last CPI reports suggest that the inflationary bottom could be already behind us and that inflation could rise in the future .
Even if it does not happen , what really counts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the chart below shows , inflationary expectations have practically rebounded after the coronavirus crisis .
This indicates that investors – rightly or not – worry that mammoth injections of liquidity will translate into higher inflation one day .
This is something that creates additional demand for gold as an inflation hedge , supporting its prices .
If you enjoyed today ’ s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services .
We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals .
To enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope , we invite you to subscribe today .
If you ’ re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet , we urge you to sign up .
It ’ s free and if you don ’ t like it , you can easily unsubscribe .
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Disclaimer : Please note that the aim of the above analysis is to discuss the likely long-term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ price of gold and this analysis does not indicate ( nor does it aim to do so ) whether gold is likely to move higher or lower in the short- or medium term .
In order to determine the latter , many additional factors need to be considered ( i.e .
sentiment , chart patterns , cycles , indicators , ratios , self-similar patterns and more ) and we are taking them into account ( and discussing the short- and medium-term outlook ) in our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts .

by Arkadiusz Sieron of Sunshine Profits
CPI rises again in July. But will the inflation dragon take to the air, taking gold with it?
The U.S. CPI inflation rate rose 0.6 percent in July, for the second month in a row. The move was driven to a large extent by higher energy prices (the energy index increased 5.1 percent in June as the gasoline index rose 12.3 percent). The core CPI rose also 0.6 percent, following a 0.1 percent drop in May. It was the biggest monthly increase in the core rate since 1991.
On an annual basis, the overall CPI increased 1 percent (seasonally adjusted), following 0.7 percent increase in June. Meanwhile, the core CPI rose 1.6 percent, which implies the acceleration from 1.2 percent recorded in the previous month. So, as the chart below shows, inflation remains low, but it is no longer very low.
In other words, inflation rebounded from the pandemic lows, ending the period of disinflation, as we correctly predicted last month. After the release of the June report, we wrote “inflation remains very low, but the period of disinflation have possibly ended. We mean here that although we do not expect the outbreak of high inflation in the near future, inflation rate could reach the bottom, at least for some time.”
But will inflation finally rear its ugly head? Where is the inflation we predicted? Nowhere. But we never predicted that the pandemic of Covid-19 would trigger massive inflation. What we wrote was that the coronavirus crisis could be simply more inflationary than the Great Recession, as the former was also a supply shock. And we were right, as the chart below shows.
But we were fully aware of deflationary forces operating during economic crises, so we wrote that “in the short term disinflation pressure should prevail” and that “while in the short term the disinflation scenario seems more likely, in the longer run the risk of stagflation increases”.
And indeed, the disinflation occurred, but inflation has rebounded somewhat recently, which raises the odds of stagflationary scenario. There are a few reasons while inflation could increase later on the way. First, the economy will recover one day, which means that the demand will be back. Second, high and rising public debts increases the possibility that the central banks will monetize the government’s obligations. After all, inflation is often the best way to lower the real burden of sovereign debt. Third, both the Fed and the commercial banks have expanded the money supply as crazy, as one can see in the chart below. To be clear, I do not mean the monetary base which does not necessarily enters the circulation, but the broad measure of the money supply called the M2.
We are primarily funded by readers. Please subscribe and donate to support us!
Last but not least, the American central bank is now even more dovish that during the global financial crisis. I mean here two facts. The first is that the quantitative easing is now a new normal and it has an indefinite character compared to amount-limited or time-limited rounds several years ago. The second is that the FOMC members are now much more eager to accept zero interest rates for very long period and inflation rate above the Fed’s target. As Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during his July press conference, the American central bankers are not even thinking about ending the very easy monetary policy:So as I–as I said earlier, or a while back, we’re not even thinking about–thinking about raising rates. We’re–we’re totally focused on providing the economy the support that it will need. We think that the economy will need highly accommodative monetary policy and the use of our tools for an extended period.
Implications for Gold
What does it all mean for the gold market? Well, it’s true that low inflation does not have to be detrimental for gold, as the yellow metal can shine during both inflation and deflations. And that although inflation rebounded somewhat, it is far from being elevated. Actually, it remains below the Fed’s target and pre-recession level.
However, the two last CPI reports suggest that the inflationary bottom could be already behind us and that inflation could rise in the future. Even if it does not happen, what really counts is what Mr. Market expects. As the chart below shows, inflationary expectations have practically rebounded after the coronavirus crisis.
This indicates that investors – rightly or not – worry that mammoth injections of liquidity will translate into higher inflation one day. This is something that creates additional demand for gold as an inflation hedge, supporting its prices.
If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. To enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!
Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD
Sunshine Profits: Analysis. Care. Profits.
—–
Disclaimer: Please note that the aim of the above analysis is to discuss the likely long-term impact of the featured phenomenon on the price of gold and this analysis does not indicate (nor does it aim to do so) whether gold is likely to move higher or lower in the short- or medium term. In order to determine the latter, many additional factors need to be considered (i.e. sentiment, chart patterns, cycles, indicators, ratios, self-similar patterns and more) and we are taking them into account (and discussing the short- and medium-term outlook) in our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts.


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-24--CNN editing videos to make Donald Trump more Orange.

I found this funny .
Somehow I ended up on CNN and noticed that Donald Trump looked a lot more @ @ @ @ @ .
I decided to check some other channels and sure enough he was Umpa Lumpa @ @ @ @ @ people really are sick , funny but sick .

I found this funny. Somehow I ended up on CNN and noticed that Donald Trump looked a lot more “Orange” than normal. I decided to check some other channels and sure enough he was Umpa Lumpa orange on CNN. These people really are sick, funny but sick.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvi-MX0VOsQ CNN Link
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpTNeMSTv7Q Fox News
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d2D5NfnUNs MSNBC link
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youtu.be/XKPJ7ZtL74o CBS link
youtu.be/PS7fK5Cfq0c NBC
youtu.be/Q8IKG9RE0NE Ruters
h/t ThatWayMadnessLies


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-24--California liberal looters snatch firefighter’s wallet, drain bank account during massive fire

A California fire commander had his wallet stolen and bank account drained over the weekend while helping to combat the @ @ @ @ @ , according to a report .
Looters invading an evacuation zone established in the Santa @ @ @ @ @ California were blamed for the crime , said officials with Cal Fire ( California Department @ @ @ @ @ ) , KRON-TV of San Francisco reported .
“ It ’ s unfortunate .
It @ @ @ @ @ of our fire ground commanders , while out taking care of business and directing firefighting @ @ @ @ @ department vehicle and stole his wallet and drained his bank account , ” a Cal @ @ @ @ @ a news briefing , KRON reported .

Watch the latest video at foxnews.com
A California fire commander had his wallet stolen and bank account drained over the weekend while helping to combat the massive CZU Lightning Complex Fire, according to a report.
Looters invading an evacuation zone established in the Santa Cruz Mountains area in Northern California were blamed for the crime, said officials with Cal Fire (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection), KRON-TV of San Francisco reported.
We are primarily funded by readers. Please subscribe and donate to support us!
“It’s unfortunate. It’s sickening that one of our fire ground commanders, while out taking care of business and directing firefighting crews, somebody entered his department vehicle and stole his wallet and drained his bank account,” a Cal Fire official told reporters during a news briefing, KRON reported.
www.foxnews.com/us/california-looters-snatch-firefighters-wallet-drain-bank-account-during-massive-czu-blaze-report


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-24--Video: The BLM movement is already turning on their Mayor in Chicago

.
# BlackLivesMatter activist in Chicago : “ We have demands and they need to be met … we ’ @ @ @ @ @ .
We ’ re telling you what ’ s about to happen with your permission @ @ @ @ @ can listen to us or you can get ran over.
” pic.twitter.com/yEXFT4LOv9

.#BlackLivesMatter activist in Chicago: “We have demands and they need to be met … we’re not asking you anything. We’re telling you what’s about to happen with your permission or not. … You can listen to us or you can get ran over.” pic.twitter.com/yEXFT4LOv9
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 22, 2020


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-25--A New Campaign Ad Claims That “Trump Is The Most Pro-Gay President In American History” – Is This Tr

A New Campaign Ad Claims That “Trump Is The Most Pro-Gay President In American History” – Is This True?

A new campaign ad that has been produced by the Log Cabin Republicans is stirring up a lot of controversy in Washington .
In the nearly four minute ad , Richard Grenell shares a long list of reasons why he believes that Donald Trump is much more pro-gay than Joe Biden .
For those not familiar with Grenell , he served as U.S .
Ambassador to Germany from 2018 to 2020 , and after that he was appointed as Acting Director of National Intelligence by Trump but he only served a short time in that role .
Right now , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reach out to LGBT voters , and that probably explains why he was featured in this video .
At the beginning of the video , Grenell makes this startling claim : “ President Trump is the most pro-gay president in American history .
I can prove it.
” In order for Grenell to be correct , Trump would have to be more pro-gay than Bill Clinton and Barack Obama .
To make his case , Grenell shares a long list of things that Trump has done to set himself apart including this… “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American history to be pro-gay marriage from his first day in office.
” It is true that Bill Clinton never publicly supported gay marriage during his presidency , and Barack Obama only embraced it after already being in the White House for several years .
But does that truly make Trump the most pro-gay president ever ?
I don ’ t know .
I am just asking the question .
In the ad , Grenell also points out that Trump initiated a campaign to use political pressure to legalize homosexuality all over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign to decriminalize homosexuality around the globe at the United Nations , where he publicly challenged the 69 countries who make being gay a crime to change their laws.
” Grenell was instrumental in the implementation of that campaign , and he is very excited about what Trump could potentially achieve during a second term .
Of course the Washington Post is extremely upset about this ad and has called it “ absurd ” , and other media outlets are using similar language when describing it .
As far as President Trump is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this ad that he tweeted it out and said that it was a “ great honor ” to be acknowledged in such a manner .
So obviously Trump fully endorses this video and is thrilled with the claims that are made in it .
Personally , I am not quite sure what to think of this ad , the claims it makes , or Trump ’ s reaction to it .
So let me ask this question one more time .
Is Donald Trump the most pro-gay president ever ?
In so many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what I think , but this time I would like to turn the tables .
I would like to hear what all of you think about all of this .
Please feel free to post a comment below , or you can reach me on Facebook or Twitter .
Not that much surprises me anymore , but I was so surprised by this new campaign ad that I had to write about it .
We have reached such a critical moment in U.S. history , and the choices that we make as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the utmost importance .

by Michael Snyder
A new campaign ad that has been produced by the Log Cabin Republicans is stirring up a lot of controversy in Washington. In the nearly four minute ad, Richard Grenell shares a long list of reasons why he believes that Donald Trump is much more pro-gay than Joe Biden. For those not familiar with Grenell, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 2018 to 2020, and after that he was appointed as Acting Director of National Intelligence by Trump but he only served a short time in that role. Right now, he is helping the Republican National Committee reach out to LGBT voters, and that probably explains why he was featured in this video.
At the beginning of the video, Grenell makes this startling claim: “President Trump is the most pro-gay president in American history. I can prove it.”
In order for Grenell to be correct, Trump would have to be more pro-gay than Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. To make his case, Grenell shares a long list of things that Trump has done to set himself apart including this…
“Donald Trump is the first president in American history to be pro-gay marriage from his first day in office.”
It is true that Bill Clinton never publicly supported gay marriage during his presidency, and Barack Obama only embraced it after already being in the White House for several years.
But does that truly make Trump the most pro-gay president ever?
I don’t know. I am just asking the question.
In the ad, Grenell also points out that Trump initiated a campaign to use political pressure to legalize homosexuality all over the world…
“President Trump began a historic campaign to decriminalize homosexuality around the globe at the United Nations, where he publicly challenged the 69 countries who make being gay a crime to change their laws.”
We are primarily funded by readers. Please subscribe and donate to support us!
Grenell was instrumental in the implementation of that campaign, and he is very excited about what Trump could potentially achieve during a second term.
Of course the Washington Post is extremely upset about this ad and has called it “absurd”, and other media outlets are using similar language when describing it.
As far as President Trump is concerned, he was so impressed by this ad that he tweeted it out and said that it was a “great honor” to be acknowledged in such a manner.
So obviously Trump fully endorses this video and is thrilled with the claims that are made in it.
Personally, I am not quite sure what to think of this ad, the claims it makes, or Trump’s reaction to it.
So let me ask this question one more time.
Is Donald Trump the most pro-gay president ever?
In so many of my articles, I tell you what I think, but this time I would like to turn the tables.
I would like to hear what all of you think about all of this. Please feel free to post a comment below, or you can reach me on Facebook or Twitter.
Not that much surprises me anymore, but I was so surprised by this new campaign ad that I had to write about it. We have reached such a critical moment in U.S. history, and the choices that we make as a nation from this point forward are of the utmost importance.


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-25--We Should Mourn For What Is Happening To America

This week it was Kenosha , Wisconsin and next week it will probably be somewhere else .
Yet another senseless police shooting was followed by more rioting , looting and violence .
Of course rioting , looting and violence have basically become a nightly occurrence in America at this point anyway .
The protests never seem to end in some cities , and crime rates are absolutely skyrocketing all over the country .
Much of what is written about all of this chaos is focused on trying to pin the blame on someone , but even if we correctly identify @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actually stop the violence ?
I don ’ t believe that it would .
In fact , I don ’ t think that anything is going to stop the violence any time soon .
I just feel so sad today .
We are literally watching the meltdown of our society , and that process is going to continue no matter what happens in November .
I have never seen so much anger in America , and the frightening thing is that the level of anger seems to just keep growing .
I wish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one another , love one another and come together as a society .
For years I have been telling my readers that civil unrest like this was coming , and there is an entire chapter in my new book entitled “ Civil Unrest and Martial Law ” .
So many of the things that myself and others have been warning about are now playing out right in front of our eyes , but there is absolutely no joy in being correct .
There is only sadness .
I love the United States of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our nation grieves me very deeply .
Whenever I write articles about our need to love one another , those articles tend not to get much attention at all .
In America today , we would much rather hate our enemies than love them .
The corporate media has trained us to hate those “ on the other side ” , and they have done that job very well .
They have been stirring the pot for years , and now much of the population has been perfectly primed to explode .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that there would eventually be eruptions of violence .
On Sunday night , it was Kenosha ’ s turn… The police shooting that caused these riots only happened a few hours earlier .
That means that some of these rioters were already armed and were ready to cause chaos on very little notice .
And it seems that these sorts of riots are almost always accompanied by widespread looting… And just like in so many other cities , police officers in Kenosha quickly became targets .
In fact , it was reported that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a brick .
Protesters were promising to come back Monday night , but Governor Tony Evers called out the National Guard in a desperate attempt to keep that from happening… Meanwhile , we witnessed yet another senseless riot in Portland on Sunday night… During the riot , protesters were literally hurling anything that they could find at the police… Sadly , a similar scene unfolded in Denver just the night before… Of course the riot in Denver didn ’ t even make many headlines around the nation because this sort of thing has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at this point .
We have basically entered a period of semi-permanent civil unrest .
And now that lawlessness has been unleashed in our streets , new eruptions of violence will be easily sparked with each new incident that comes along .
I am particularly concerned about this upcoming election season .
It is easy to imagine quite a few scenarios which would unleash widespread rage and fury .
I just wish that things could be different .
Americans should not be fighting other Americans in the streets , and it deeply grieves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If everyone simply treated others the way that they would like to be treated , we wouldn ’ t see senseless police shootings and there wouldn ’ t be rioting and looting in our streets .
Unfortunately , the very basic values that this nation was founded upon were rejected by our society long ago , and now we are paying a very great price for that choice .

by Michael Snyder
This week it was Kenosha, Wisconsin and next week it will probably be somewhere else. Yet another senseless police shooting was followed by more rioting, looting and violence. Of course rioting, looting and violence have basically become a nightly occurrence in America at this point anyway. The protests never seem to end in some cities, and crime rates are absolutely skyrocketing all over the country. Much of what is written about all of this chaos is focused on trying to pin the blame on someone, but even if we correctly identify who is to blame, will that actually stop the violence? I don’t believe that it would. In fact, I don’t think that anything is going to stop the violence any time soon.
I just feel so sad today. We are literally watching the meltdown of our society, and that process is going to continue no matter what happens in November. I have never seen so much anger in America, and the frightening thing is that the level of anger seems to just keep growing.
I wish that we could learn to truly forgive one another, love one another and come together as a society. For years I have been telling my readers that civil unrest like this was coming, and there is an entire chapter in my new book entitled “Civil Unrest and Martial Law”. So many of the things that myself and others have been warning about are now playing out right in front of our eyes, but there is absolutely no joy in being correct. There is only sadness. I love the United States of America and what I see happening to our nation grieves me very deeply.
Whenever I write articles about our need to love one another, those articles tend not to get much attention at all. In America today, we would much rather hate our enemies than love them. The corporate media has trained us to hate those “on the other side”, and they have done that job very well. They have been stirring the pot for years, and now much of the population has been perfectly primed to explode.
In such an environment, it was inevitable that there would eventually be eruptions of violence. On Sunday night, it was Kenosha’s turn…
Armed rioters shut down streets in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday night as the city fell into chaos after a police-involved shooting earlier in the evening. A large group of rioters – including at least two armed rioters – blocked a police armored car from proceeding down a street. After a standoff, the police began throwing tear gas canisters from the top of the vehicle to disperse the crowd. Moments later, gunshots rang out after one of the protesters appeared to open fire.
The police shooting that caused these riots only happened a few hours earlier.
That means that some of these rioters were already armed and were ready to cause chaos on very little notice.
And it seems that these sorts of riots are almost always accompanied by widespread looting…
The violence quickly spread and eventually large mobs began looting shops and stores throughout the city. Later in the night, vehicles at several car dealerships were set ablaze. Including one at a dealership next to a church which displayed a Black Lives Matter sign.
And just like in so many other cities, police officers in Kenosha quickly became targets. In fact, it was reported that one officer was actually knocked down with a brick.
Protesters were promising to come back Monday night, but Governor Tony Evers called out the National Guard in a desperate attempt to keep that from happening…
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In a bid to stave off another night of chaos, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said 125 members of the National Guard would be in Kenosha on Monday night with responsibility for ‘guarding infrastructure and making sure our firefighters and others involved are protected.’ The Kenosha Police Department declared a state-of-emergency curfew for Monday night beginning at 8pm until 7am the following morning, according to a post on the police department’s Twitter feed.
Meanwhile, we witnessed yet another senseless riot in Portland on Sunday night…
A tumultuous weekend in Portland ended late Sunday night with Portland Police declaring a riot outside of the bureau’s North Precinct. Police said they made 23 arrests over the course of the night on various charges like interfering with a peace officer and rioting.
During the riot, protesters were literally hurling anything that they could find at the police…
Demonstrators lit dumpsters on fire, and threw fireworks, rocks, and “sharp chunks of ceramic” at officers, police said. Just after 10:30 p.m., police declared the gathering an unlawful assembly.
Sadly, a similar scene unfolded in Denver just the night before…
Dozens of armed Black Lives Matter anarchists descended on the Denver Police Headquarters and damaged buildings, set fires and shot fireworks at cops. The mob, consisting of between 50 to 75 demonstrators, were said to be wielding numerous weapons — from axes to guns — during the incident.
Of course the riot in Denver didn’t even make many headlines around the nation because this sort of thing has become so commonplace in our major cities at this point.
We have basically entered a period of semi-permanent civil unrest.
And now that lawlessness has been unleashed in our streets, new eruptions of violence will be easily sparked with each new incident that comes along.
I am particularly concerned about this upcoming election season. It is easy to imagine quite a few scenarios which would unleash widespread rage and fury.
I just wish that things could be different.
Americans should not be fighting other Americans in the streets, and it deeply grieves me whenever I see it happening.
If everyone simply treated others the way that they would like to be treated, we wouldn’t see senseless police shootings and there wouldn’t be rioting and looting in our streets.
Unfortunately, the very basic values that this nation was founded upon were rejected by our society long ago, and now we are paying a very great price for that choice.


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-25--Rep. Jim Jordan: “Democrats won’t let you go to church, but they’ll let you protest. Democrats won’t

Rep. Jim Jordan: “Democrats won’t let you go to church, but they’ll let you protest. Democrats won’t let you go to work, but they’ll let you riot. Democrats won’t let you go to school, but they’ll let you go loot.”

Rep. Jim Jordan : `` Democrats wo n't let you go to church , but they 'll let you protest @ @ @ @ @ you go to work , but they 'll let you riot .
Democrats wo n't @ @ @ @ @ , but they 'll let you go loot . ''
# RNC2020 pic.twitter.com/5MrCHJkdTU

Rep. Jim Jordan: "Democrats won't let you go to church, but they'll let you protest. Democrats won't let you go to work, but they'll let you riot. Democrats won't let you go to school, but they'll let you go loot." #RNC2020 pic.twitter.com/5MrCHJkdTU
— The Hill (@thehill) August 25, 2020


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-25--Congrats Federal Reserve for fueling the biggest financial bubble in our time.  When it bursts we kn

Congrats Federal Reserve for fueling the biggest financial bubble in our time.  When it bursts we know who to hold to account.

Powell Set to Deliver ‘ Profoundly Consequential ’ Speech , Changing How the Fed Views Inflation History will remember Paul @ @ @ @ @ standing on the opposite ends of the inflation canyon , with the former taking desperate @ @ @ @ @ it down and the latter expected this week to announce an unprecedented effort to crank @ @ @ @

180.6% market cap vs GDP. Congrats @federalreserve for fueling the biggest financial bubble in our time. When it bursts we know who to hold to account. pic.twitter.com/W8vHzijH4D — Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) August 25, 2020
History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes. pic.twitter.com/2fzhclko6b — Kevin C. Smith, CFA (@crescatkevin) August 25, 2020
Still wondering….. If the housing market is booming, why is the Fed still buying record amounts of mortgage backed securities? Their MBS holdings just hit record levels again. pic.twitter.com/h6WaSlAHrB — Otavio (Tavi) Costa (@TaviCosta) August 25, 2020
Why Powell sees inflation (1/3) Velocity of money = Change in GDP/Change in M2 The Fed is pumping in money but it’s not hitting GDP because:
1) people are not spending money choosing to invest and save
2) banks are not lending How can the Fed change this? Via @jsblokland pic.twitter.com/P9MhK0XKpa — Anil (@anilvohra69) August 25, 2020
#Money stopped flowing The #velocity of money has dropped to an all-time low.#inflation t.co/I0sxCwlbbc If you wish to receive the Daily Sketch by mail, please sign up here t.co/47UkUxDLoC pic.twitter.com/zB6njjIcgd — jeroen blokland (@jsblokland) August 25, 2020
you will not enjoy this. pic.twitter.com/6lKLrkyTWo — TheBigMunchkin (@TheBigMunchkin) August 24, 2020
While equities rally to new highs, U.S. real yields have stayed deeply negative, especially in the shorter-term. Inflation-adjusted 2-year & 5-year rates remain at around negative 1.2% & 1.3% respectively. pic.twitter.com/kB9CnrkdEr — Lisa Abramowicz (@lisaabramowicz1) August 25, 2020
High yield defaults by rating pic.twitter.com/JCJz99OPDt — Win Smart, CFA (@WinfieldSmart) August 25, 2020
History will remember Paul Volcker and Jerome Powell as standing on the opposite ends of the inflation canyon, with the former taking desperate actions to try to tamp it down and the latter expected this week to announce an unprecedented effort to crank it back up.
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investmentwatchblog--2020-08-25--FOMC Minutes Push Gold Down

FOMC Minutes Push Gold Down

July FOMC minutes hit the gold prices .
But what ’ s next for the yellow metal ?
The key event last week was the publication of the minutes from the FOMC meeting in July .
After their release , the U.S. dollar jumped , while the price of gold dropped , as the chart below shows .
Why ?
Well , the Fed officials disappointed investors who expected some clues about upgrading the U.S. central bank ’ s forward guidance in September .
In other words , the Fed failed to provide any new guidance as to the interest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more importantly , the discussion among the FOMC members shows that they do not want to introduce the yield curve control , at least not now , as costs outweigh benefits : Of those participants who discussed this option , most judged that yield caps and targets would likely provide only modest benefits in the current environment , as the Committee ’ s forward guidance regarding the path of the federal funds rate already appeared highly credible and longer-term interest rates were already low .
Many of these participants also pointed to potential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Among these costs , participants noted the possibility of an excessively rapid expansion of the balance sheet and difficulties in the design and communication of the conditions under which such a policy would be terminated , especially in conjunction with forward guidance regarding the policy rate .
In light of these concerns , many participants judged that yield caps and targets were not warranted in the current environment but should remain an option that the Committee could reassess in the future if circumstances changed markedly .
Hence , the minutes were interpreted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investors sold gold and bought the greenback .
The hawkish FOMC minutes coincided with some positive economic reports from the U.S. that also supported the dollar .
In particular , the flash U.S. Composite PMI Index jumped from 50.3 in July to 54.7 in August , the highest level since February 2019 .
Importantly , the service sector recorded the first rise since the start of the year .
Meanwhile , the comparable indices for the eurozone came in worse than expected , which helped the U.S. dollar against the euro .
Moreover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ July , the housing starts rose 22.6 percent compared to June , while the existing home sales soared 24.7 percent , marking two consecutive months of significant sales gains .
What does it all mean for the gold market ?
Well , the expressed aversion to the yield curve control is indeed negative for gold prices .
Without fresh dovish declarations from the Fed , the market interest rates may increase , creating downward pressure on the gold prices .
However , with or without the yield curve measures , the Fed is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the federal funds rate .
So , the fundamentals remain bullish for gold .
What we are observing right now , is a much needed consolidation phase .
After all , the real interest rates will remain in the low to negative territory for years .
The public debt is soaring .
The pandemic continues to wreak havoc within the economy .
And the FOMC is aware of this .
The minutes acknowledges that the projected rate of recovery in real GDP , and the pace of declines in the unemployment rate , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were expected to be somewhat less robust than in the previous forecast .
through June , only about one-third of the roughly 22 million loss in jobs that occurred over March and April had been offset by subsequent gains Yup , only about one-third !
So , the economy is still far from being normal , and the uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook is elevated .
The upcoming presidential election and tensions between the U.S. and China contribute as well .
So , don ’ t believe that the Fed has become hawkish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ market has ended .
On the contrary , we could see new dovish moves by the U.S. central bank in the future : Noting the increase in uncertainty about the economic outlook over the intermeeting period , several participants suggested that additional accommodation could be required to promote economic recovery and return inflation to the Committee ’ s 2 percent objective .
This week is crucial , as the annual Jackson Hole symposium is taking place and Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on Thursday .
If we see a hawkish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gold may suffer .
However , the Fed is likely to remain dovish , and it may even strengthen its dovish stance , which would support gold prices .
If you enjoyed today ’ s free gold report , we invite you to check out our premium services .
We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals .
In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today .
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by Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD
July FOMC minutes hit the gold prices. But what’s next for the yellow metal?
The key event last week was the publication of the minutes from the FOMC meeting in July. After their release, the U.S. dollar jumped, while the price of gold dropped, as the chart below shows. Why? Well, the Fed officials disappointed investors who expected some clues about upgrading the U.S. central bank’s forward guidance in September. In other words, the Fed failed to provide any new guidance as to the interest rate expectations.
And, perhaps even more importantly, the discussion among the FOMC members shows that they do not want to introduce the yield curve control, at least not now, as costs outweigh benefits:
Of those participants who discussed this option, most judged that yield caps and targets would likely provide only modest benefits in the current environment, as the Committee’s forward guidance regarding the path of the federal funds rate already appeared highly credible and longer-term interest rates were already low. Many of these participants also pointed to potential costs associated with yield caps and targets. Among these costs, participants noted the possibility of an excessively rapid expansion of the balance sheet and difficulties in the design and communication of the conditions under which such a policy would be terminated, especially in conjunction with forward guidance regarding the policy rate. In light of these concerns, many participants judged that yield caps and targets were not warranted in the current environment but should remain an option that the Committee could reassess in the future if circumstances changed markedly.
Hence, the minutes were interpreted as less dovish than expected, so investors sold gold and bought the greenback. The hawkish FOMC minutes coincided with some positive economic reports from the U.S. that also supported the dollar. In particular, the flash U.S. Composite PMI Index jumped from 50.3 in July to 54.7 in August, the highest level since February 2019. Importantly, the service sector recorded the first rise since the start of the year. Meanwhile, the comparable indices for the eurozone came in worse than expected, which helped the U.S. dollar against the euro.
Moreover, housing market has improved. In July, the housing starts rose 22.6 percent compared to June, while the existing home sales soared 24.7 percent, marking two consecutive months of significant sales gains.
Implications for Gold
What does it all mean for the gold market? Well, the expressed aversion to the yield curve control is indeed negative for gold prices. Without fresh dovish declarations from the Fed, the market interest rates may increase, creating downward pressure on the gold prices.
However, with or without the yield curve measures, the Fed is even not thinking about thinking about hiking the federal funds rate. So, the fundamentals remain bullish for gold. What we are observing right now, is a much needed consolidation phase. After all, the real interest rates will remain in the low to negative territory for years. The public debt is soaring. The pandemic continues to wreak havoc within the economy. And the FOMC is aware of this. The minutes acknowledges that
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the projected rate of recovery in real GDP, and the pace of declines in the unemployment rate, over the second half of this year were expected to be somewhat less robust than in the previous forecast.
and that
through June, only about one-third of the roughly 22 million loss in jobs that occurred over March and April had been offset by subsequent gains
Yup, only about one-third! So, the economy is still far from being normal, and the uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook is elevated. The upcoming presidential election and tensions between the U.S. and China contribute as well.
So, don’t believe that the Fed has become hawkish suddenly and that gold’s bull market has ended. On the contrary, we could see new dovish moves by the U.S. central bank in the future:
Noting the increase in uncertainty about the economic outlook over the intermeeting period, several participants suggested that additional accommodation could be required to promote economic recovery and return inflation to the Committee’s 2 percent objective.
This week is crucial, as the annual Jackson Hole symposium is taking place and Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on Thursday. If we see a hawkish turn, then, of course, gold may suffer. However, the Fed is likely to remain dovish, and it may even strengthen its dovish stance, which would support gold prices.
If you enjoyed today’s free gold report, we invite you to check out our premium services. We provide much more detailed fundamental analyses of the gold market in our monthly Gold Market Overview reports and we provide daily Gold & Silver Trading Alerts with clear buy and sell signals. In order to enjoy our gold analyses in their full scope, we invite you to subscribe today. If you’re not ready to subscribe yet though and are not on our gold mailing list yet, we urge you to sign up. It’s free and if you don’t like it, you can easily unsubscribe. Sign up today!
Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD
Sunshine Profits: Analysis. Care. Profits.


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-25--Highest stock prices during a pandemic/crisis?

The Fed has created a speculative bubble that has pushed debt levels beyond what the U.S. economy can support , @ @ @ @ @ have created a real speculative environment , ” Cooperman said Monday on Bloomberg Television .
@ @ @ @ @ Worse With Every Shock ” – One Bank Turns Apocalyptic On The Coming End-Game “ @ @ @ @ @ and when we will see the end-game , but in our view this is not @ @ @ @ @ long term.
” The next Great Depression is here .
Investors obviously disagree .
And @ @ @ @ @ the debt they are snapping up ( see Bond Market section ) , they are @ @ @ @ @ that debt can be risky .
But here too , there is an important divergence @ @ @ @ @ a risk of a slow recovery or even another slump along the way unless a @ @ @ @ @ to Nouriel Roubini .

This chart is the BIGGEST issue for USD bears over the next 2-3 month. Issuance has clearly outpaced QE again, which is usually a fairly USD liquidity negative signal. FX weekly -> t.co/lnoJCHuwOs pic.twitter.com/E60GvitZJY — AndreasStenoLarsen (@AndreasSteno) August 24, 2020
A very, very smart quant I used to work with at Bridgewater just told me he thinks $AAPL is going to $750, $MSFT to $500, $GOOGL to $2,500, and $AMZN to $5,000. With this level of disconnect from fundamentals, it's gotten a lot harder to laugh at such prognostications. — Apollo Trading (@apollotradingsd) August 24, 2020
I can’t wait for Jerome Powell to explain to millions of Americans with no assets or stock exposure, that 2% plus inflation is a good thing — Nicholas Ramos (@NickVRamos) August 24, 2020
Last night Trump Pump cure and tonight China 🇨🇳 Deal… LOL All the stops ✋ are out with the Republican Convention. Shorts are at a 15 year low. Probably the same with the PUT CALL RATIO pic.twitter.com/udkEm6dg2E — David Larew (@ThinkTankCharts) August 25, 2020
The Fed has created a speculative bubble that has pushed debt levels beyond what the U.S. economy can support, Leon Cooperman said.“They have created a real speculative environment,” Cooperman said Monday on Bloomberg Television.
“We are not sure how and when we will see the end-game, but in our view this is not a sustainable situation in the long term.”
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The next Great Depression is here. Investors obviously disagree. And by the looks of all the debt they are snapping up (see Bond Market section), they are vehemently opposed to the idea that debt can be risky. But here too, there is an important divergence.
The global economy faces a risk of a slow recovery or even another slump along the way unless a vaccine is found, according to Nouriel Roubini.


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-28--Multiple governors reject new CDC guideline.

In an act of defiance with “ science and experts ” multiple governors will refuse new guidelines saying NOT to @ @ @ @ @ democratic governors have banded together and say they will continue testing EVERYONE in complete defiance @ @ @ @ @ Cuomo “ The CDC ’ s unexplained reversal of established testing guidelines is reckless & @ @ @ @ @ NY , NJ & CT will not change our science-based testing guidance .
Close contacts @ @ @ @ @ get tested.
” It appears they are angry that the jig is up .
They @ @ @ @ @ ’ t run data numbers up with anxiety ridden asymptomatic patients begging for covid tests @ @ @ @ @ The WHO even admitted asymptomatic was a scam .

In an act of defiance with “science and experts” multiple governors will refuse new guidelines saying NOT to test asymptomatic individuals.
The democratic governors have banded together and say they will continue testing EVERYONE in complete defiance of the CDC.
Andrew Cuomo “The CDC’s unexplained reversal of established testing guidelines is reckless & unsupported by the facts.
NY, NJ & CT will not change our science-based testing guidance. Close contacts of individuals with COVID should get tested.”
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The CDC's unexplained reversal of established testing guidelines is reckless & unsupported by the facts. NY, NJ & CT will not change our science-based testing guidance. Close contacts of individuals with COVID should get tested. Joint statement with @GovMurphy & @GovNedLamont: pic.twitter.com/2xhujOXgZ4 — Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) August 27, 2020
It appears they are angry that the jig is up. They reject the fact they can’t run data numbers up with anxiety ridden asymptomatic patients begging for covid tests that produce FALSE positives.
The WHO even admitted asymptomatic was a scam.
AC


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-28--IT’S HAPPENING! DEMOCRATS ARE EATING EACH OTHER!

Van Jones is trending on twitter .
Democrats want him fired because they say he is pro Trump/a republican 😀 @ @ @ @ @ t believe they do this 😀 Don Lemon next please .
Or take down whole @ @

Van Jones is trending on twitter. Democrats want him fired because they say he is pro Trump/a republican 😀 😀 😀 I can’t believe they do this 😀 Don Lemon next please. Or take down whole CNN.
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TD


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-28--Tennessee is tired of the violence & destruction of the property of innocent people

Antifa & BLM have no right to hurt people Antifa & BLM have no right to destroy property of innocents @ @ @ @ @ right to intimidate and threaten Antifa & BLM have no right to push their agenda @ @ @ @ @ are fighting back through their elected representatives .
Let ’ s hope this ends it @ @ @ @ @ further .

by Venus230
Antifa & BLM have no right to hurt people
Antifa & BLM have no right to destroy property of innocents
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Antifa & BLM have no right to intimidate and threaten
Antifa & BLM have no right to push their agenda on people forcably
The people are fighting back through their elected representatives. Let’s hope this ends it and it does not escalate further.


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-28--Trump approval pops to 52%: highest ever, up with blacks, even Democrats

Buoyed by blacks and independent voters , as well as urban dwellers shocked by the Black Lives Matter protest violence @ @ @ @ @ President Trump ’ s approval rating has hit a new high , according to a @ @ @ @ @ .
It was the latest to show that Trump ’ s approval went up during @ @ @ @ @ Rasmussen Reports had it at 51 % at the end of the convention .

Buoyed by blacks and independent voters, as well as urban dwellers shocked by the Black Lives Matter protest violence raging in some cities, President Trump’s approval rating has hit a new high, according to a survey heavy with minority voters.
It was the latest to show that Trump’s approval went up during the Democratic National Convention. Rasmussen Reports had it at 51% at the end of the convention.
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www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/trump-pops-to-52-best-job-approval-rating-on-record-up-with-blacks-even-democrats


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-28--Father of man killed inside Seattle’s CHOP zone files $3 billion in claims against city, county, sta

Father of man killed inside Seattle’s CHOP zone files $3 billion in claims against city, county, state

SEATTLE — The father of a man shot and killed inside Seattle ’ s Capitol Hill Organized Protest ( CHOP @ @ @ @ @ filed three claims against local government amounting to $ 3 billion .
Horace Anderson , @ @ @ @ @ Lorenzo Anderson , filed claims Thursday against the city of Seattle , King County , @ @ @ @ @ death of his son inside the CHOP zone .
The claim alleged that the actions @ @ @ @ @ the local government are responsible for creating a “ hazardous , and lawless situation ” @ @ @ @ @ ’ s death , according to a statement released by the Oshan & Associates , @ @ @ @ @ representing Anderson .

SEATTLE — The father of a man shot and killed inside Seattle’s Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone in June has filed three claims against local government amounting to $3 billion.
Horace Anderson, the father of 19-year-old Horace Lorenzo Anderson, filed claims Thursday against the city of Seattle, King County, and Washington state over the death of his son inside the CHOP zone. We are primarily funded by readers. Please subscribe and donate to support us!
The claim alleged that the actions and “inactions” by the local government are responsible for creating a “hazardous, and lawless situation” that resulted in the man’s death, according to a statement released by the Oshan & Associates, P.C., the law firm representing Anderson. www.king5.com/article/news/local/father-of-man-killed-inside-seattles-chop-zone-files-3-billion-in-claims-against-city-county-state/281-54f55ebf-49d9-4691-b559-907213a95696


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-28--Doug Casey on Whether It’s Possible to Find Freedom in an Unfree World

International Man : Statism has become a new religion .
A growing number of people are interested in using the State ’ s power to tell others how to live .
They are also voting themselves freebies at the expense of others .
It ’ s clear that those who want to be left alone won ’ t be .
Is it possible to find freedom in an unfree place ?
Doug Casey : Back in 1973 , my old friend Harry Browne wrote a really fantastic book called How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World , where he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that was almost 50 years ago now—a lifetime .
The book was timely , even though the world was much freer then than it is now .
We now have vastly more financial and travel controls , however—many new penalties for saying , or even appearing to think , the “ wrong ” things .
You ’ re now monitored in many more ways .
Harry ’ s book is brilliant and actually more important to read now than it was then .
His answers to how you find freedom in an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But the fact is that you can run but you can ’ t hide .
That ’ s because the world has been infected by a virus .
I don ’ t mean the ridiculous COVID virus .
I mean the virus of statism and collectivism .
There ’ s really nowhere you can go to be safe from it—only some places that are better than others .
For instance , the so-called Five Eyes countries—the US , Britain , Australia , New Zealand , and Canada .
They were once the major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ civilization—ever—that held personal freedom as an ideal .
But now they ’ re the very ones leading the route downhill .
It ’ s a real problem for freedom lovers .
We ’ re a smaller and smaller minority .
Most people , however , prefer a strong leader promising the illusion of safety and security .
Nothing has changed since the days of Rome .
It devolved from a yeoman republic to a multicultural empire with onerous taxes in order to pay for bread and circuses to keep the capite censi under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the empire , many of its citizens attempted to escape , to live among the barbarians—even while the barbarians were taking over the empire itself .
Pretty much the same thing is happening now in the West in general and the US in particular .
The best thing you can do to defend yourself—at least while it ’ s still possible—is to become rich enough to insulate yourself from the State .
Rich enough so that even if they steal a lot from you—and they will— you still have enough .
Enough to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and live life as you ’ d like .
Let me go off on a bit of a tangent here , and look at things from the viewpoint of class .
That ’ s perhaps appropriate in a world where neo-Marxism is being promoted everywhere .
I see classes according to how they align relative to the three most important , most basic verbs in any language—be , do , and have .
If you ’ re lower class—which is to say have a lower class mentality— you just accept what you ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ defined by psychological demoralization , apathy , and hopelessness .
At best , they just think about having stuff—cars , houses , food , mates—but don ’ t even succeed at that very well because of their values .
I doubt , however , that anybody now reading this fits into that category .
Historically , they ’ re by far the largest group , and their numbers are now growing rapidly .
I increasingly wonder if the US even has much of an upper class any more .
Being upper class is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Money , power , and prestige don ’ t make someone upper class—they ’ re consequences of upper-class values unless you win the lottery or have great athletic , entertainment , or sometimes even business ability .
Then you can masquerade for a while .
But those things tend to corrupt .
It ’ s easy to descend and become effete , entitled .
Ineffectual and stagnant .
The fact is , most of us are middle class .
Historically , the middle class is what America is all about ; it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , striving , and improving , doing .
The middle class is being destroyed by inflation and taxes , which make it hard to save and build capital , and regulations , which make it hard to produce , to do .
I ’ m afraid that ground between the millstones of taxes and inflation—as Lenin said—huge numbers of the middle class are descending into the ranks of the lower—the proletariat .
The three classes are natural enough .
But since the invention of mass democracy , since it was turned into a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ World War One , there ’ s arisen another class—the political class .
Anyone can join it .
They were always there but nowhere near as hugely important or virulent .
I can ’ t think of a single verb to define them—all the possibilities are unflattering , though .
They hate the middle class , though , because its members are , by definition , productive and independent .
Anyway , these are just a few thoughts .
Maybe I ’ ll expand on them in the future .
To get back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should do is become rich so you can insulate yourself to the best degree that you can from the ongoing crisis .
It will eventually pass , and you can reposition yourself—if you ’ ve maintained some capital .
Money is far from everything , of course .
It ’ s just a tool .
But tools are helpful … International Man : Western Civilization seems to be going downhill economically , politically , and culturally at a rapid pace .
The trajectory looks grim .
However , much of the rest of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their own problems .
What can freedom-loving people do not only survive but thrive in the years ahead ?
Doug Casey : Once again , I ’ ve said this for many years , and it ’ s truer now than it ’ s ever been .
The financial and economic problems in the world are serious and accelerating .
But as we go deeper into the Greater Depression , your biggest risks aren ’ t financial or economic .
They ’ re political .
The only way to solve that problem from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diversify politically the way you would diversify financially .
That means you should have a crib in a second or third country—as well as businesses and financial assets in others besides your home country .
That ’ s the only thing that you can do at this point .
You can vote if it makes you feel good .
But , as Stalin said , it ’ s not who votes that counts—it ’ s who counts the votes .
Becoming a political activist is degrading and pointless .
This coming election will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , IMO .
The political classes everywhere are using the current COVID hysteria to cement themselves in place , and very few of the sheeple are resisting .
To the contrary , they welcome it , because they think drastic actions make them safe .
A degenerating society values safety above all .
It ’ s true everywhere , though , even in increasingly primitive places like South Africa—in fact , almost all of Africa .
India is totally locked down as is most of South America .
These places don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enforced vacation of several years .
And that ’ s what we may be looking at .
It ’ s happening almost all over the world .
The people that are being hurt the most , needless to say , are the people living hand to mouth .
They ’ re going to be hurt even worse as all these governments destroy their national currencies—because poor people can only save the local national currency .
When their pitiful paper currency savings are wiped out , then they ’ re really in trouble .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ roll up into a ball and die ?
Good question .
In the 21st century , East Asia , China , Vietnam , Korea are the best places to be .
This is also true of Russia and Eastern Europe , notwithstanding the fact that China is going to have a financial collapse and may very well wind up divided into five or six smaller countries .
We ’ re looking at worldwide chaos in the making .
I was always half kidding when answering the question , “ How bad do you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” and I ’ d say , “ Even worse than I think it ’ s going to be.
” But now , it ’ s no joke .
International Man : Almost every government and country in the world is going in the wrong direction from a personal freedom standpoint .
Are there any options for like-minded individuals to come together if there is no perfect country or place ?
Doug Casey : Everybody should read Neal Stephenson ’ s book , The Diamond Age .
The ideas that he developed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ replaced with phyles , was very prescient .
Humans are social animals ; we like to hang out with other people .
This is especially true with people that are like us .
In other words , people that believe in the same things , that have the same values , and have the same outlook on the world .
It ’ s actually crazy to try to put diverse , disparate people together into the same political entity .
That ’ s because , inevitably , any and all of the groups @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to try to get control of the apparatus of the State to benefit themselves and punish the others .
Politics always results in a war of all against all .
I think Stephenson ’ s novel was quite correct .
People will increasingly find that their real countrymen are people with whom they share values and ideas—or whatever happens to be important to them .
Not a national passport .
That ’ s just government ID , like a driver ’ s license .
Within that context , here in the US , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I think called the Free State Movement , centering around Keene , New Hampshire .
I haven ’ t been there .
So , I don ’ t know if it ’ s in any way successful or not , or whether the Libertarians are looked upon as some type of a weird religious cult by the locals .
I don ’ t think it ’ s had any real effect on anything .
Worse , if the wrong guys get in power , the thing could backfire .
It might facilitate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ State .
If seriously dangerous political class types take over , as is likely in November if Biden wins the election , there ’ s no telling what might happen .
Of course , I tried to put something together in an obscure but very pleasant part of Argentina , La Estancia de Cafayate .
It ’ s been an artistic success , and it ’ s a great place to live .
We ’ ve got a lot of great people living there—very enjoyable , mellow , easy-to-get-along-with company .
But we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nutcases .
Just because someone is a political Libertarian doesn ’ t necessarily mean he has any other virtues .
And he may be psychologically unbalanced in the bargain .
Psychology and character are the real problems .
Shangri-la doesn ’ t exist .
And it won ’ t until the vast majority of humans are more like Harry Browne , Ron Paul , or Lao-Tzu , and less like AOC , Pelosi , or Obama .
I guess my best suggestion at this point is to look at a small town , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or elsewhere , one that has a frontier culture , where people are independent-minded .
I suspect most of the people reading this now are what we ’ d call gamma rats .
They ’ re not like alpha rats , which want to boss everybody else around , taking the best mates and best territory .
And beat up the beta rats , who are the vast majority of the population .
The gamma rats also tend to get the best possessions and so forth , but they don ’ t beat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be beat up by the alpha rats .
The trouble is that , in laboratory experiments , scientists found that gamma rats are only a very small portion of the population .
Among humans , we ’ re an equally small portion of the population .
What role do you think the advancement of technology will play in empowering the individual ?
Doug Casey : From Day One , technology has been the friend of the average man , and hugely beneficial .
Except the effect comes in two stages .
The first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political class and bad for the average guy .
Let ’ s go to Stanley Kubrick ’ s movie , 2001 : A Space Odyssey .
Remember the scene where the hominids gathered around the watering hole , and the one hominid comes up with the idea of using a bone as a weapon to beat up the other group ?
That was early technology .
The first guy that gets technology uses it to dominate .
But then after a while , it ’ s monkey see , monkey do .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first utilizer to the population in general , and things equalize .
It ’ s been that way for hundreds of thousands of years .
It was true with gunpowder .
The first people that got gunpowder ran the State ; they used it to keep the peasants at bay .
But when it got into the hands of the peasants , they were able to use firearms to take out armored knights , which they couldn ’ t do before .
The tables were turned .
That same was true with writing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At first , they were hoarded by the political classes and priesthoods , who used them to maintain their power .
The same with the computer .
In the old days of ENIAC and the IBM 360 , only a government or a giant corporation could afford them , and they could use them to keep track of all the little people .
Now , everybody has a massively powerful laptop or cellphone .
Hackers can counterattack .
I go into that theme in some detail in Assassin , the third novel in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be released in September—lots of political implications .
I urge readers who are interested to get Speculator and Drug Lord now , so as not to fall behind .
Speculator is especially relevant because of what ’ s about to happen with gold stocks .
In other words , technology eventually turns the tables to the advantage of the average guy , even though it ’ s always used to suppress the average guy in the beginning .
It was technology that liberated the masses to overturn whatever the current political class might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has nothing to do with democracy , which is just a sop to make the peasants believe they ’ re in charge .
If voting made any difference , they wouldn ’ t let you do it .
It ’ s a trend that ’ s going to continue .
But it can be years , or even decades , before a new technology finally gets into the hands of the average guy .
Then the political class wants to regulate it .
The powers-that-be treat all technologies as dangerous .
Like guns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of the hands of the average guy , basically to keep the peasants from defending themselves .
But the cat always gets out of the bag in the long run .
It ’ s a reason for long-term optimism .
That said , there ’ s always a chance of a genuine Dark Age if the old order collapses seriously enough .
International Man : Most people are familiar with large , centralized tech companies like Google , Apple , Amazon , etc .
But we ’ ve also seen the development @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , such as encryption and the 3D printing of guns .
One key example of this is bitcoin , which is a decentralized form of money .
What promise do you think decentralized technologies have for wresting power out of the hands of the State , and what are the implications ?
Doug Casey : The mistake that people make with things like Facebook— a giant , amoral , and duplicitous corporation—is thinking that just because billions of people use it , it must be harmless .
“ Oh , it must be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lets everybody communicate with one another.
” Giant media corporations like Facebook and Google are dangerous because they can actually form people ’ s view of reality itself .
Much more than newspapers or even TV could .
The average person ’ s understanding of the world , what ’ s happening , and what other people think is no longer a product of talking to his neighbors or even looking out the window .
Their opinions and emotions are now formed by looking at their little screens .
That makes them very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get worse with Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality—somebody will program and control what goes into these things .
Maybe subtly , or maybe very overtly .
The situation is greatly aggravated by the COVID hysteria in many ways .
The solution to the danger , however , is not to regulate them .
That would be totally counterproductive .
Regulation just means giving even more power to the State—which is innately vastly more dangerous than any corporation .
At least corporations have to provide a worthwhile service to stay in business… What we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where everybody goes , and can therefore be easily monitored .
What we need is 10,000 Facebooks , so the power devolves to everybody and anybody .
The problem will resolve itself in the long run , though .
Giant corporations become dysfunctional .
Apart from that , they ’ re subject to the second Law of Thermodynamics as anything else .
It ’ s one of the few laws I believe in .
That ’ s true , politically speaking as well .
The world would have been much better off if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ minor principalities and kingdoms in Germany in 1871 .
The world and the Germans would have been much better off in every possible way if they ’ d stayed three hundred fairly small , not powerful principalities .
Same in Italy , with Garibaldi .
Today they ’ d be much better off if there were still scores of little duchies and counties .
The same with India , which would be much better off if their hundreds of kingdoms hadn ’ t been forcibly united by the British .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actually expect , that places like Germany , Italy , and certainly India will once again devolve into smaller units .
The way the Soviet Union broke up into fifteen , and Yugoslavia broke up into six , and Czechoslovakia split into two .
The US , which has evolved into a multicultural domestic empire , should—and likely will—split up as well .
Editor ’ s Note : As these trends continue to accelerate , what you do right now can mean the difference between coming out ahead or suffering crippling losses .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Doug Casey and his team just released a free report with all the details on how to survive the crisis ahead .
It will help you understand what is unfolding right before our eyes and what you should do so you don ’ t get caught in the crosshairs .
Click here to download the PDF now .

via Internationalman:
International Man: Statism has become a new religion.
A growing number of people are interested in using the State’s power to tell others how to live. They are also voting themselves freebies at the expense of others.
It’s clear that those who want to be left alone won’t be. Is it possible to find freedom in an unfree place?
Doug Casey: Back in 1973, my old friend Harry Browne wrote a really fantastic book called How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World, where he dealt with exactly that question.
Remember, that was almost 50 years ago now—a lifetime.
The book was timely, even though the world was much freer then than it is now. We now have vastly more financial and travel controls, however—many new penalties for saying, or even appearing to think, the “wrong” things. You’re now monitored in many more ways.
Harry’s book is brilliant and actually more important to read now than it was then. His answers to how you find freedom in an unfree world are useful and relevant.
But the fact is that you can run but you can’t hide.
That’s because the world has been infected by a virus. I don’t mean the ridiculous COVID virus. I mean the virus of statism and collectivism.
There’s really nowhere you can go to be safe from it—only some places that are better than others.
For instance, the so-called Five Eyes countries—the US, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. They were once the major bastions of Western Civilization, the only civilization—ever—that held personal freedom as an ideal. But now they’re the very ones leading the route downhill.
It’s a real problem for freedom lovers. We’re a smaller and smaller minority. Most people, however, prefer a strong leader promising the illusion of safety and security. Nothing has changed since the days of Rome. It devolved from a yeoman republic to a multicultural empire with onerous taxes in order to pay for bread and circuses to keep the capite censi under control.
In the latter days of the empire, many of its citizens attempted to escape, to live among the barbarians—even while the barbarians were taking over the empire itself. Pretty much the same thing is happening now in the West in general and the US in particular.
The best thing you can do to defend yourself—at least while it’s still possible—is to become rich enough to insulate yourself from the State. Rich enough so that even if they steal a lot from you—and they will— you still have enough. Enough to absorb the hit, keep moving, and live life as you’d like.
Let me go off on a bit of a tangent here, and look at things from the viewpoint of class. That’s perhaps appropriate in a world where neo-Marxism is being promoted everywhere. I see classes according to how they align relative to the three most important, most basic verbs in any language—be, do, and have.
If you’re lower class—which is to say have a lower class mentality— you just accept what you’re given. The lower classes are defined by psychological demoralization, apathy, and hopelessness. At best, they just think about having stuff—cars, houses, food, mates—but don’t even succeed at that very well because of their values. I doubt, however, that anybody now reading this fits into that category. Historically, they’re by far the largest group, and their numbers are now growing rapidly.
I increasingly wonder if the US even has much of an upper class any more. Being upper class is all about values, primarily being something. Money, power, and prestige don’t make someone upper class—they’re consequences of upper-class values unless you win the lottery or have great athletic, entertainment, or sometimes even business ability. Then you can masquerade for a while. But those things tend to corrupt. It’s easy to descend and become effete, entitled. Ineffectual and stagnant.
The fact is, most of us are middle class. Historically, the middle class is what America is all about; it made America unique. The work ethic, striving, and improving, doing. The middle class is being destroyed by inflation and taxes, which make it hard to save and build capital, and regulations, which make it hard to produce, to do. I’m afraid that ground between the millstones of taxes and inflation—as Lenin said—huge numbers of the middle class are descending into the ranks of the lower—the proletariat.
The three classes are natural enough. But since the invention of mass democracy, since it was turned into a worldwide secular religion around the time of World War One, there’s arisen another class—the political class. Anyone can join it. They were always there but nowhere near as hugely important or virulent. I can’t think of a single verb to define them—all the possibilities are unflattering, though. They hate the middle class, though, because its members are, by definition, productive and independent.
Anyway, these are just a few thoughts. Maybe I’ll expand on them in the future.
To get back to the original question, what you should do is become rich so you can insulate yourself to the best degree that you can from the ongoing crisis. It will eventually pass, and you can reposition yourself—if you’ve maintained some capital.
Money is far from everything, of course. It’s just a tool. But tools are helpful …
International Man: Western Civilization seems to be going downhill economically, politically, and culturally at a rapid pace. The trajectory looks grim.
However, much of the rest of the world outside of the West has their own problems. What
can freedom-loving people do not only survive but thrive in the years ahead?
Doug Casey: Once again, I’ve said this for many years, and it’s truer now than it’s ever been.
The financial and economic problems in the world are serious and accelerating. But as we go deeper into the Greater Depression, your biggest risks aren’t financial or economic. They’re political.
The only way to solve that problem from a practical point of view is to diversify politically the way you would diversify financially.
That means you should have a crib in a second or third country—as well as businesses and financial assets in others besides your home country. That’s the only thing that you can do at this point. You can vote if it makes you feel good. But, as Stalin said, it’s not who votes that counts—it’s who counts the votes. Becoming a political activist is degrading and pointless. This coming election will be largely about cheating by both sides, IMO.
The political classes everywhere are using the current COVID hysteria to cement themselves in place, and very few of the sheeple are resisting. To the contrary, they welcome it, because they think drastic actions make them safe. A degenerating society values safety above all.
It’s true everywhere, though, even in increasingly primitive places like South Africa—in fact, almost all of Africa. India is totally locked down as is most of South America. These places don’t have enough capital stored to enable an enforced vacation of several years. And that’s what we may be looking at.
It’s happening almost all over the world. The people that are being hurt the most, needless to say, are the people living hand to mouth. They’re going to be hurt even worse as all these governments destroy their national currencies—because poor people can only save the local national currency.
When their pitiful paper currency savings are wiped out, then they’re really in trouble. Will they get violent, or just roll up into a ball and die? Good question.
In the 21st century, East Asia, China, Vietnam, Korea are the best places to be. This is also true of Russia and Eastern Europe, notwithstanding the fact that China is going to have a financial collapse and may very well wind up divided into five or six smaller countries.
We’re looking at worldwide chaos in the making. I was always half kidding when answering the question, “How bad do you think the Greater Depression will be?” and I’d say, “Even worse than I think it’s going to be.” But now, it’s no joke.
International Man: Almost every government and country in the world is going in the wrong direction from a personal freedom standpoint.
Are there any options for like-minded individuals to come together if there is no perfect country or place?
Doug Casey: Everybody should read Neal Stephenson’s book, The Diamond Age.
The ideas that he developed, essentially of nation-states falling apart and being replaced with phyles, was very prescient.
Humans are social animals; we like to hang out with other people.
This is especially true with people that are like us. In other words, people that believe in the same things, that have the same values, and have the same outlook on the world.
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It’s actually crazy to try to put diverse, disparate people together into the same political entity. That’s because, inevitably, any and all of the groups in that artificial political entity are going to try to get control of the apparatus of the State to benefit themselves and punish the others. Politics always results in a war of all against all.
I think Stephenson’s novel was quite correct. People will increasingly find that their real countrymen are people with whom they share values and ideas—or whatever happens to be important to them. Not a national passport. That’s just government ID, like a driver’s license.
Within that context, here in the US, Libertarians tried to put together a community, I think called the Free State Movement, centering around Keene, New Hampshire. I haven’t been there. So, I don’t know if it’s in any way successful or not, or whether the Libertarians are looked upon as some type of a weird religious cult by the locals. I don’t think it’s had any real effect on anything.
Worse, if the wrong guys get in power, the thing could backfire.
It might facilitate one-stop-shopping to find potential enemies of the State. If seriously dangerous political class types take over, as is likely in November if Biden wins the election, there’s no telling what might happen.
Of course, I tried to put something together in an obscure but very pleasant part of Argentina, La Estancia de Cafayate.
It’s been an artistic success, and it’s a great place to live. We’ve got a lot of great people living there—very enjoyable, mellow, easy-to-get-along-with company. But we attracted our share of antisocial and dogmatic nutcases. Just because someone is a political Libertarian doesn’t necessarily mean he has any other virtues. And he may be psychologically unbalanced in the bargain.
Psychology and character are the real problems. Shangri-la doesn’t exist. And it won’t until the vast majority of humans are more like Harry Browne, Ron Paul, or Lao-Tzu, and less like AOC, Pelosi, or Obama. I guess my best suggestion at this point is to look at a small town, whether you’re in the US or elsewhere, one that has a frontier culture, where people are independent-minded.
I suspect most of the people reading this now are what we’d call gamma rats.
They’re not like alpha rats, which want to boss everybody else around, taking the best mates and best territory. And beat up the beta rats, who are the vast majority of the population.
The gamma rats also tend to get the best possessions and so forth, but they don’t beat up the gamma rats nor let themselves be beat up by the alpha rats. The trouble is that, in laboratory experiments, scientists found that gamma rats are only a very small portion of the population. Among humans, we’re an equally small portion of the population.
International Man: Let’s discuss some potential bright spots.
What role do you think the advancement of technology will play in empowering the individual?
Doug Casey: From Day One, technology has been the friend of the average man, and hugely beneficial. Except the effect comes in two stages. The first is usually only good for the ruling political class and bad for the average guy.
Let’s go to Stanley Kubrick’s movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Remember the scene where the hominids gathered around the watering hole, and the one hominid comes up with the idea of using a bone as a weapon to beat up the other group?
That was early technology. The first guy that gets technology uses it to dominate. But then after a while, it’s monkey see, monkey do. The technology spreads from the inventor or the first utilizer to the population in general, and things equalize.
It’s been that way for hundreds of thousands of years.
It was true with gunpowder. The first people that got gunpowder ran the State; they used it to keep the peasants at bay. But when it got into the hands of the peasants, they were able to use firearms to take out armored knights, which they couldn’t do before. The tables were turned.
That same was true with writing, and then the printing press. At first, they were hoarded by the political classes and priesthoods, who used them to maintain their power. The same with the computer. In the old days of ENIAC and the IBM 360, only a government or a giant corporation could afford them, and they could use them to keep track of all the little people. Now, everybody has a massively powerful laptop or cellphone. Hackers can counterattack.
I go into that theme in some detail in Assassin, the third novel in the High Ground septet. It will be released in September—lots of political implications. I urge readers who are interested to get Speculator and Drug Lord now, so as not to fall behind. Speculator is especially relevant because of what’s about to happen with gold stocks.
In other words, technology eventually turns the tables to the advantage of the average guy, even though it’s always used to suppress the average guy in the beginning.
It was technology that liberated the masses to overturn whatever the current political class might have been at the time. It has nothing to do with democracy, which is just a sop to make the peasants believe they’re in charge. If voting made any difference, they wouldn’t let you do it.
It’s a trend that’s going to continue. But it can be years, or even decades, before a new technology finally gets into the hands of the average guy. Then the political class wants to regulate it.
The powers-that-be treat all technologies as dangerous. Like guns, they want to keep these things out of the hands of the average guy, basically to keep the peasants from defending themselves.
But the cat always gets out of the bag in the long run. It’s a reason for long-term optimism. That said, there’s always a chance of a genuine Dark Age if the old order collapses seriously enough.
International Man: Most people are familiar with large, centralized tech companies like Google, Apple, Amazon, etc.
But we’ve also seen the development of decentralized technologies that empower the individual, such as encryption and the 3D printing of guns. One key example of this is bitcoin, which is a decentralized form of money.
What promise do you think decentralized technologies have for wresting power out of the hands of the State, and what are the implications?
Doug Casey: The mistake that people make with things like Facebook— a giant, amoral, and duplicitous corporation—is thinking that just because billions of people use it, it must be harmless. “Oh, it must be kind of decentralized and democratic because it lets everybody communicate with one another.”
Giant media corporations like Facebook and Google are dangerous because they can actually form people’s view of reality itself. Much more than newspapers or even TV could. The average person’s understanding of the world, what’s happening, and what other people think is no longer a product of talking to his neighbors or even looking out the window. Their opinions and emotions are now formed by looking at their little screens. That makes them very easy to manipulate.
The situation will get worse with Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality—somebody will program and control what goes into these things. Maybe subtly, or maybe very overtly. The situation is greatly aggravated by the COVID hysteria in many ways.
The solution to the danger, however, is not to regulate them. That would be totally counterproductive. Regulation just means giving even more power to the State—which is innately vastly more dangerous than any corporation. At least corporations have to provide a worthwhile service to stay in business…
What we really need is not just one Facebook where everybody goes, and can therefore be easily monitored. What we need is 10,000 Facebooks, so the power devolves to everybody and anybody.
The problem will resolve itself in the long run, though. Giant corporations become dysfunctional. Apart from that, they’re subject to the second Law of Thermodynamics as anything else. It’s one of the few laws I believe in.
That’s true, politically speaking as well. The world would have been much better off if Bismarck had not united about three hundred minor principalities and kingdoms in Germany in 1871. The world and the Germans would have been much better off in every possible way if they’d stayed three hundred fairly small, not powerful principalities.
Same in Italy, with Garibaldi. Today they’d be much better off if there were still scores of little duchies and counties. The same with India, which would be much better off if their hundreds of kingdoms hadn’t been forcibly united by the British. It’s true everywhere.
I hope, and actually expect, that places like Germany, Italy, and certainly India will once again devolve into smaller units. The way the Soviet Union broke up into fifteen, and Yugoslavia broke up into six, and Czechoslovakia split into two. The US, which has evolved into a multicultural domestic empire, should—and likely will—split up as well.
Editor’s Note: As these trends continue to accelerate, what you do right now can mean the difference between coming out ahead or suffering crippling losses.
That’s exactly why bestselling author Doug Casey and his team just released a free report with all the details on how to survive the crisis ahead.
It will help you understand what is unfolding right before our eyes and what you should do so you don’t get caught in the crosshairs.
Click here to download the PDF now.


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-28--Fannie Mae + Freddie Mac Adverse Market Refinance Fee Delayed to Dec 1

The Federal Housing Finance Agency ( FHFA ) today directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ( the Enterprises ) to @ @ @ @ @ their Adverse Market Refinance Fee until December 1 , 2020 .
The fee was previously @ @ @ @ @ 1 , 2020 .
FHFA is also announcing that the Enterprises will exempt refinance loans @ @ @ @ @ 125,000 , nearly half of which are comprised of lower income borrowers at or below @ @ @ @ @ income .
Affordable refinance products , Home Ready and Home Possible , are also exempt @

www.fhfa.gov/Media/PublicAffairs/Pages/Adverse-Market-Refinance-Fee-Implementation-Now-December-1.aspx
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) to delay the implementation date of their Adverse Market Refinance Fee until December 1, 2020. The fee was previously scheduled to take effect September 1, 2020.
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FHFA is also announcing that the Enterprises will exempt refinance loans with loan balances below $125,000, nearly half of which are comprised of lower income borrowers at or below 80% of area median income. Affordable refinance products, Home Ready and Home Possible, are also exempt.


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-28--The Bull Case For Verizon: Why the Stock is Due for a Major Breakout

Josh Brown recently said on an episode of Halftime Report “ Close your eyes and buy Verizon.
” I could not agree more .
I .
The Social Aspect Verizon is the nation ’ s largest and most comprehensive wireless mobile carrier .
Their network has constantly performed in the top rankings for JD Power and Root Metrics .
They are also poised to deliver big on 5G , and recently had the NAD BBB shutdown TMUS adds claiming to be a better 5G network .
They also have exposure to home internet service and cable TV through their Fios @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from home / school from home is going to become a staple in the American routine going forward .
We are going to need more powerful devices on more powerful networks to complete simple tasks we used to do in person .
II .
The Fundamentals Right now Verizon is trading just under $ 59 , with a historic ATH at $ 62 which it made on Dec 19′ .
Verizon is also the cheapest with a P/E of 12.85 any of the Major 3 wireless carrier , A & TT has a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 37+ .
The important thing and probably the most significant is the dividend Verizon pays which yields around 4 % and has constantly been lauded by boomers and income investors .
This dividend is going to be very important due to the Fed keeping interest rates near 0 for the next 5 years .
Investors are going to flood into stable dividend companies in the hunt for yield , and right now Verizon is the cheapest with the best reputation .
III .
The Technicals Verizon is sitting at the 78 % Fibb @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , if it breaks and holds above 59.50 it has a real shot at grinding to $ 62 over the next few weeks .
I ’ d look to add between $ 56-59 and cut bait if we retrace below $ 55 .
IV .
The Trade I am currently positioned in the Oct 16 .
$ 70 calls ( $ 5 each ) as I anticipate a move into the low-mid 60 ’ s by the end of September .
I might add some Jan $ 70 strikes depending on how low @ @ @ @ @ @ @ priced to the Oct .
The great thing about VZ is it is a low IV stock that generally doesn ’ t move much , however this gives us the ability to bet small but win big .
Disclaimer : This information is only for educational purposes .
Do not make any investment decisions based on the information in this article .
Do you own due diligence or consult your financial professional before making any investment decision .

by Vinny32295
Josh Brown recently said on an episode of Halftime Report “Close your eyes and buy Verizon.” I could not agree more.
I. The Social Aspect
Verizon is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive wireless mobile carrier. Their network has constantly performed in the top rankings for JD Power and Root Metrics. They are also poised to deliver big on 5G, and recently had the NAD BBB shutdown TMUS adds claiming to be a better 5G network. They also have exposure to home internet service and cable TV through their Fios division. Due to the pandemic work from home / school from home is going to become a staple in the American routine going forward. We are going to need more powerful devices on more powerful networks to complete simple tasks we used to do in person.
II. The Fundamentals
Right now Verizon is trading just under $59, with a historic ATH at $62 which it made on Dec 19′. Verizon is also the cheapest with a P/E of 12.85 any of the Major 3 wireless carrier, A&TT has a P/E of 18+ while TMUS is around 37+. The important thing and probably the most significant is the dividend Verizon pays which yields around 4% and has constantly been lauded by boomers and income investors. This dividend is going to be very important due to the Fed keeping interest rates near 0 for the next 5 years. Investors are going to flood into stable dividend companies in the hunt for yield, and right now Verizon is the cheapest with the best reputation.
III. The Technicals
Verizon is sitting at the 78% Fibb Retracement from its ATH back in Dec, if it breaks and holds above 59.50 it has a real shot at grinding to $62 over the next few weeks. I’d look to add between $56-59 and cut bait if we retrace below $55.
Verizon Technical Breakout
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IV. The Trade
I am currently positioned in the Oct 16. $70 calls ($5 each) as I anticipate a move into the low-mid 60’s by the end of September. I might add some Jan $70 strikes depending on how low the stock goes and how they are priced to the Oct. The great thing about VZ is it is a low IV stock that generally doesn’t move much, however this gives us the ability to bet small but win big.
Option Profit Calc $70 10/16
V. Positions
preview.redd.it/nm28xu8mcjj51.png?width=858&format=png&auto=webp&s=a13619b70945bdffa23d53232250668db71de1d8
Disclaimer: This information is only for educational purposes. Do not make any investment decisions based on the information in this article. Do you own due diligence or consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.


Overblown Fiction Narrative

US bankruptcies are already the most since 2009 pic.twitter.com/MRooCmOgqb — Win Smart, CFA (@WinfieldSmart) August 27, 2020
The retail bankruptcies are coming for your local mall t.co/h1HazBfysQ — Win Smart, CFA (@WinfieldSmart) August 27, 2020
More pain ahead for landlords as restaurant bankruptcies poised to balloon in coming months t.co/ycnzwFCaeg — Win Smart, CFA (@WinfieldSmart) August 27, 2020
Millions of borrowers have asked to skip mortgage payments in the coronavirus recession. Some lenders are asking would-be borrowers to pledge they don’t plan to do the same t.co/WMzyqP3Yej via @WSJ — Win Smart, CFA (@WinfieldSmart) August 26, 2020
Rich people are stockpiling more cash. Members of Tiger 21, a club of more than 800 investors, have raised their cash holdings to 19% of their total assets, up from about 12% since the start of the pandemic. t.co/JC6msycoPx — Lisa Abramowicz (@lisaabramowicz1) August 27, 2020
CREDIT CARD SPENDING pic.twitter.com/s0LGaiy1vu — Win Smart, CFA (@WinfieldSmart) August 27, 2020
CORPORATE NET DEBT pic.twitter.com/d9ZFTKcYd4 — Win Smart, CFA (@WinfieldSmart) August 27, 2020