Gold Stocks: Performing Much Better

Gold stocks continued to trade much better than they have been, I mentioned that on my last podcast even though gold was down 11 dollars on the day, gold stocks were down but not that much, down just a little bit. (Newmont Mining (NEM), Barrick Gold (ABX), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ), Goldcorp (GG))

Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) Has Some Catching Up To Do

The smaller gold miners if you look at the  Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) which is an index of junior gold mining stocks,  I I think this thing still has to move up 30 percent or so to get back to where it was when gold was lower than it is right now earlier this year.

Gold Hits A New High For The Year

The price of gold has been creeping higher and higher ever since it had that correction and by the way I think I did a pretty good job of nailing the correction, the fact that I said it would be a very shallow correction and I'm pretty sure that I nailed the the bottom. I came on and I did a podcast when it looked to me like the gold stocks were confirming an end of the correction in gold and gold did rally and initially gold stocks rallied to but then the gold stocks came back down and almost retested their lows, didn't quite do it. But the price of gold never came back down, the price of gold kept rising and rising and now finally yesterday the price of gold hit a new high for the year. (Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ), SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD))

Currency Markets: Monetary Policy Divergence (EUR/USD)

I think that even if the Federal Reserve hikes again in a couple of weeks they're nearing the end of their tightening cycle and you know even though the Federal Reserve claimed to be data dependent and they hike interest rates despite the fact that the data was much weaker than they thought, I think the markets are starting to look beyond the hikes to the cuts. I think we're getting ready to start a new easing cycle and on the other side of the Atlantic the ECB is getting ready to end their easing cycle and to begin tightening so I think the currency markets are more looking at that policy divergence than whether or not Trump is going to get any anything through Congress.

Gold & Gold Stocks Will Move Higher

When the Federal Reserve raises rates in June, if they raise rates in June, Gold is going to take off. If they don't raise interest rates in June then it's going to explode even higher and of course you know you're going to see an even bigger move in the gold stocks. (Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ), SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD))

Bitcoin Is A Speculative Asset, A Bubble

I don't think something like Bitcoin is ever going to succeed at being money. It's not going to be used as a medium of exchange as a store of value but what it is now is a speculative asset. People are buying it, it's appreciating and the people that own it on paper are making money and some of them are actually cashing out and making real money but the majority of the paper wealth that's been accumulated is still sitting there. But you do have people that are coming in and buying at these high prices. Ultimately the bubble is going to pop and the things are going to come crashing down, the question is how much bigger is this bubble going to get? Have we already seen the peak or is this going to be the biggest bubble of all time?

The U.S. Dollar Index May Drop To 60

The U.S. Dollar Index closed at a new low for the year solidly below 97.00.  We closed at 96.67, I think the key level is 92 which is the low from May of last year but once we break through that and I think there'll be some support around that level, but once we break through 92 we're making room for 80 and that is a pretty big drop. I think that can happen in a short period of time. 

Probably, of course, 80.00 is not the bottom because 70 was the low in summer of 2008 but then you know the dollar got Saved by the Bell by the financial crisis. Ain't going to happen again the next crisis is the US Dollar so we're going to take out 70.00, we're going to go to 60.00 and then we are below 60.00 I think is when we're going to have a crisis. Now who knows where gold is going to be by then, I think gold (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD)) is going to be much much higher.

The Trump Trade Unraveled A Bit

The Trump trade unraveled a bit. Remember early in the Trump trade you had a strong dollar the US Dollar has surrendered a hundred percent of its gains post Trump's election and so year-to-date even though the S&P 500 Index is up, priced in gold the S&P 500 Index is actually down. And if you compare the US stock market to other stock markets around the world the US stock market is one of the worst performing markets in the world so it doesn't sound like the Trump trade is working it sounds like the trades that are working are buying gold and buying foreign stocks. (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF (EEM))

Gold Stocks: Investors Are Not Believing In The Gold Rally

Gold (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD)) continues to rise. It was up again today (yesterday). This is the highest gold has been since, I think, mid April we got above 1270.00 intraday, and we closed just a hair below it. 

But continuing the trend gold stocks were down. I think that Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) was barely positive today (yesterday), the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ)  was down again. 

So gold stocks continued to trade weak in the face of rising gold prices and again what this has been telling me because this has been going on now for quite some time, is that the investors do not believe this rally because if they believed it they would be bidding up gold stocks.

We Have A Reverse Bubble In Gold

Big banks simply pursue their own self-interest and certainly Wall Street does not want the price of gold going up they want the price of stocks going up, they want the price of bonds going up that's where they generate all their fees so they have a vested interest in being negative gold. 

But it's also a kind of a self-perpetuating prophecy if they keep selling into the rallies and you have so much gold that trades in paper markets where it's not real, you have people buying gold from people who don't even have it and they're selling gold they don't own to people who don't want it but you have this huge paper market and there's a lot of selling pressure there. 

But I think ultimately the price of gold is going way up and the fact that maybe it's suppressed maybe it's intentional maybe it's just a result of people pursuing what they think is right but all bubbles are like that. You had bubbles in the dot-coms, you had bubbles in the housing market. 

This is almost like a reverse bubble in gold. We have a bubble in fiat currencies, we have a bubble in the US Dollar and when that bubble pops, those currencies are going to crash and you're going to see the collapse in the price of gold because the price of gold rising will be the collapse of the fiat currencies.

Trump: Tariffs On German Cars?

If they're going to slap tariffs on cars made by Germans it's because the government is trying to say we want a different outcome than the outcome that the free market is determining. In the free market Americans are choosing to buy these German cars, we don't want them to make that choice we want to alter the free market by artificially raising the cost of buying a German car relative to the cost of buying a different car. And now we have a different outcome not the outcome that would be determined by the free market but the outcome that is determined as a result of government intervention. (General Motors (GM), Ford (F), Tesla Motors (TSLA), BMW)

Markets: US Dollar, Gold and Interest Rates

If the Federal Reserve doesn't raise interest rates in June it is going to shock the markets. In fact I think the US Dollar is poised to decline even if the Federal Reserve raises interest rates. I think gold (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD)) is poised to rise even if the Federal Reserve raises interest rates but if it doesn't obviously those moves will be even bigger because the markets are completely prepared for a another hike.

U.S. Economy: Recent Weakness Likely To Persist

The economic data that has come out recently including this week has been pretty bad on balance in fact the data that we're getting confirms to me that rather than being transitory the weakness in the first quarter is likely to continue.

Markets: Gold, Silver, US Stocks

So far in 2017 the S&P 500 Index (SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY)) is up just under 7 percent but the price of gold (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD)) and silver (iShares Silver ETF (SLV)) are up about 7.5%

Now despite the fact that both precious metals and the US stock market have performed about the same thus far in 2017, Americans are rushing to buy US stocks yet they're completely ignoring precious metals. This despite the fact that the Dow Jones Industrials (DJIA) or the S&P 500 Index (SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY)) is at an all-time record high and the valuations are clearly in bubbled territory. Yet when it comes to gold and silver even though they're doing well this year, gold prices are about 30 percent below their peak price in 2011 and silver is better than 60 percent below its peak price. 

So despite the fact that gold and silver are outperforming the S&P 500 Index (SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY)) this year they have a much further way to go to get back to their highs.

US Dollar: The Decline Has Just Begun

The US Dollar continues its losing streak. The US Dollar Index was down for the 8th time in nine days. The US Dollar Index actually traded below 97 for the first time since Donald Trump was elected President, so we have wiped out 100 percent of the ill-gotten dollar gains that were racked up in the wake of that victory. and if you remember when the dollar was rallying as a result of the Trump victory I said it was a sucker's rally that it was a head-fake rally and sure enough that's exactly what it was but the US Dollar decline has only just begun.

SALT Conference: Gundlach on Stocks

His conclusion was that the US stocks are very expensive and that people should sell US stocks and invest in foreign stocks. In particular Gundlach likes the emerging markets. He was also very bearish on the dollar saying the same kind of stuff as me saying that the crowd is wrong, that this is a crowded trade (that the US Dollar is going to go up) because the Federal Reserve raising rates is wrong.

Markets: Trump Scandal, A Crash In Brazil

So this should rattle confidence as should the drop in the stock market if it continues. But despite that this drop is not very large, I mean look at what's happening in Brazil.  The Brazilian market is getting obliterated, it's crashed, I mean you got a lot of these Brazilian stocks today are down 10 to 20 percent based on a political scandal in Brazil where they they have a recording of the president of Brazil offering a bribe and they've got that on audio recording. 

The market is crashing because they're calling for resignation or impeachment there now of course it's the same problem here although I guess they've got a better case against the Brazilian president.

This shows you what can actually happen with a market that's smaller when everybody wants to get through the same door at the same time, the liquidity is not there and prices collapse.

The same thing could eventually happen to the United States but of course if we had a drop today like they're experiencing the Brazil the Federal Reserve would be out there, they would be cutting rates they would be telegraphic QE4 they would be doing whatever they could to try to reverse the decline in the market. (SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), Nasdaq 100 Index ETF (QQQ), iShares MSCI Brazil Index (ETF) (EWZ))

Video: Retail Stocks Bloodbath

The retail bloodbath. Retails stocks have been hit hard recently. (Kohl's Corp (NYSE:KSS), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE:JWN), Macy's Inc (NYSE:M))

Stocks: The Retail Apocalypse (JCP, JWN, KSS, M)

Let me get into what I want to talk about. First of all it's the retail apocalypse which I have been talking about that from my perspective and not just my perspective, I think in reality the retail sector is in worse shape worse shape today than it was in 2008 during and immediately following the financial crisis.

And you know we got a lot of bad news from the retailers this week including J. C. Penney Inc (NYSE:JCP),  and Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN) horrible sales from these companies and we had other retailers earlier in the week that came out with with bad news as Kohl's Corp (NYSE:KSS) department store.

If you look at some of the stocks like Kohl's Corp (NYSE:KSS),  trading at $36.50 - that stock was at $75-80 in the summer of 2015, so it's down 60 percent or so.

Dillard's which is at a 52 week low at just under $47 that was over a $120 more than a 50% decline.

Macy's Inc (NYSE:M) was down another 3 percent today, a new 52 week low. Macy's Inc (NYSE:M) is at 23.60 and Macy's Inc (NYSE:M) was like a $70 stock in the summer of 2015.

These are huge markdowns for these retailers.

Gold: Holding On To Some Key Support

The last time I was talking I thought gold looked really good short-term on the chart,  I thought it looked like it was going to go up to 1300. Instead it went the opposite way, it went down towards 1200. Well it didn't get that low, it's just below 1220.

But you know it shows you that you know technical analysis doesn't always work. You know you're not just going to automatically get rich because you're looking at a chart. I thought the weak economic data would be a catalyst for gold. We got the weak economic data but gold went down anyway.

Now, it still looks like it's holding on to some key support. Gold is still doing well this year it's still beating the US stock market considerably this year as is just about every other market in the world I mean the out performance that I've been talking about so far this year between foreign develop markets and especially emerging markets is widening continuing to gain on the US market. (Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ), Newmont Mining (NEM), Barrick Gold (ABX))

The U.S. Economy Will Not Grow At 3% This Year.

Wilbur Ross came out this week and admitted that the US GDP is not going to grow at 3 percent this year I mean that's why they pay this guy the big bucks right I mean you don't need to have that much information you know to be that's smart to figure out something that's that obvious but they finally admitted that the economy is not going to grow by 3 percent this year in fact it may even be in a recession this year so it's not only not going to grow by 3 percent it may not grow at all.

The Markets Are Beginning To Look Beyond These Rate Hikes

The dollar market is acting much different than the the gold market rather than rising the dollar has been falling. Normally you get some strength of the US Dollar when the probability of an interest rate hike rises because after all higher rates everybody thinks that's bullish for the dollar and so as the probability of a rate hike increases so too does the value of the dollar but that didn't happen this time in fact the dollar closed the day at about a six-month low in the dollar index.

I think what's happening is the markets are beginning to look beyond these rate hikes to see the next rate cut understanding that the Fed is not going to come close to delivering the type of tightening that it had been indicating was coming that we are not going to normalize interest rates.

Federal Reserve: Raising Rates Into A Recession

It's quite possible that the Federal Reserve does raise interest rates in June even if it ends up that it turns out in hindsight that they raised rates in a recession. (SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD))

Gold Will Rally Before The Fed Raises Rates

I think the gold price is going to rise well before the Fed gets around to raising rates in June if in fact they raise rates. (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), Gold Futures, Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ))

Why Is The Fed Willing To Keep Raising Rates?

One of the reasons this might be the case is because the Federal Reserve is more concerned about having some ammunition to fight the next recession rather than simply postponing the onset, meaning that they want to get interest rates further above zero before the recession officially begins so that once it's here they have more room to cut interest rates.

But also I think another reason that the Fed has been more willing to raise interest rates has to do with the action in the US stock market. I thought that the Federal Reserve would be reluctant to raise interest rates for fear of how the higher rates might impact the stock market but it seems like the stock market has found another prop and is no longer simply relying on cheap money. It's now also relying on hope and optimism surrounding the election of Donald Trump and the idea that somehow he is going to make America great again which includes making the stock market great again with deregulation and tax cuts and all sorts of economic stimulus.

So I think because of this the Fed may feel that it doesn't have to provide as much support because the stock market is rallying in the face of these rate hikes.

The Fed Will Raise Rates Again in June

Following Friday's slightly better than expected non-farm payroll report the probability of a June interest rate hike is now near one hundred percent. The markets are now certain that a quarter point hike is coming in June and in fact if the Federal Reserve does raise interest rates by a quarter point that will bring the floor of the official rate finally up to 1 percent. (SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), Nasdaq 100 Index ETF (QQQ), iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF (IWM))

Currencies: U.S. Dollar Index May Drop To 60

The U.S. Dollar can fall rather substantially from here. The last time the Dollar Index fell, it bottomed out around 70. So, I think this time it might fall as low as 60 before anybody really gets nervous. 

The Bullish Case For The Euro Currency

I think the European Central Bank (ECB) is going to move to a tightening rhetoric, to a tightening bias and they may even start to raise interest rates given how quickly the inflation rate is accelarating in Europe!

Monetary Policy: Fed Will Ease, ECB May Tighten!

The U.S. Economy (GDP) is breaking down as European inflation is breaking out. The Federal Reserve easing monetary policy and European Central Bank tightening monetary policy is not the policy divergence markets expect! (EuroStoxx 50 Index, Dax Index, CAC 40 Index, SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA))

Weakest Economic Growth in 3 Years!

First quarter GDP growth was the the weakest in 3 years for the first quarter. Why is GDP growth so weak? Well, one reason is because the Federal Reserve raised interest rates even though they barely raised them. Imagine how deep of a recession we would have if the Federal Reserve had delivered the 3 or 4 interest rate hikes in 2016!

Bearish On The U.S. Bond Market

This time as the U.S. Dollar goes down, it is eventually going to take the bond market down with it. But right now, we have another rally in the bond market, interest rates are falling because people are starting to worry about the weakening U.S. Economy. (iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), ProShares UltraShort Lehman 20+ Year ETF (TBT), 10- year U.S. Treasuries)

Trump Has Not Changed Anything Yet

It's business as usual. Obamacare is here to stay, we are not replacing it, we are not even replacing Janet Yellen, it seems that he is ready to renominate her, we are dropping bombs in the Middle East, so what has changed? Nothing.

Money: Gold, Crypto-Currencies

I do not like any of these crypto-currencies. It does not mean that they cannot go up if people are willing to buy them. It`s not money because it has no value other than its use as a medium of exchange. You need to have intrinsic value. Gold has intrinsic value, it has real physical properties that have been desired for thousands of years. Gold became money because of how valuable it was! (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD))

The Economy Is Extremely Weak

The economy is extremely weak. That is why Trump is the President. We are dangerously close to an official recession, I think unofficially we have been in a recession for a long time. (SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA))

Nothing Has Really Changed With Trump

It's business as usual. Obamacare is here to stay, we are not replacing it, we are not even replacing Janet Yellen, it seems that he is ready to renominate her, we are dropping bombs in the Middle East, so what has changed? Nothing.

U.S. Dollar & Bond Market: Going Down

This time as the U.S. Dollar goes down, it is eventually going to take the bond market down with it. But right now, we have another rally in the bond market, interest rates are falling because people are starting to worry about the weakening U.S. Economy.

An Economic Recession Is Looming

We are very, very close to a recession, if not already in a recession.

Gold Stocks: Big Upside Potential

I think at this point I would just be buying these gold stocks because I think that gold traders are just being too timid and they do not appreciate the explosive nature of the rally that I think is in the immediate future in the price of gold. (Newmont Mining (NEM), Barrick Gold (ABX), NovaGold (NG), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ))

Gold Stocks: Climbing A Very Steep Wall Of Worry

The reason these gold stocks are not moving higher is because we are climbing a very steep wall of worry. Because there is not a lot of conviction in the gold traders, they still do not get it. They still think that the interest rate hikes are bullish for the U.S. Dollar and bearish for gold. (Newmont Mining (NEM), Barrick Gold (ABX), Goldcorp (GG), NovaGold (NG), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ))

Gold: The Correction Is Over

I think the correction in the price of gold is over but I do think there is some psychological resistance around this 1,300 level but we are going to blow through it and have a quick march up to 1,350. (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX))

The U.S. Dollar Is Overvalued

I believe Donald Trump is correct. The U.S. Dollar is overvalued but he is wrong in his view of how the overpriced U.S. Dollar impacts the U.S. Economy. Because the dollar is overvalued we have an artificially high standard of living and when the dollar starts declining is going to take the American standard of living down with it!

Trump Rally, Recession

We are not getting the Obamacare repeal, we are not getting the comprehensive tax reform, I mean we are not getting anything and still the stock market has not surrounded any of the gains from the Trump rally that was based on the expectation of a bunch of things that will not happen. What is going to happen is a recession! (SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), Nasdaq 100 Index ETF (QQQ), iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF (IWM))

Trump Rally Was Based On Things That Aren't Materializing

We had this huge stock market rally based on repealing Obamacare, that did not happen, based on comprehensive tax reform and that did not happen either! (SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), Nasdaq 100 Index ETF (QQQ))

Geopolitical Uncertainty Is Bullish For Gold

In uncertain times, investors and traders are drawn to the gold market. The precious metal proves it once again as the price of gold rose after the United States launched an attack on a Syrian airbase. (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ))

The Dollar’s Demise

The Dollar’s demise may make it almost impossible for any other currency to fill that role of world reserve currency. I think what’s more likely is we go back to gold being the primary monetary reserve. (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD))

The Federal Reserve Is Actively Engaged in a Propaganda

Right now, I think the Federal Reserve is actively engaged in a propaganda effort to try to convince everybody that the economy is stronger than it is by raising interest rates even though the economic growth forecasts are collapsing. (Select Sector Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), Nasdaq 100 Index ETF (QQQ))