silver

Are commodities on the verge of becoming the hottest topic in finance again, or will AI remain in focus?

A year-long commodity sector correction showing signs of reversing

The commodity sector looks set to start the third quarter on a firmer footing after months of weakness saw a partial reversal during June. Multiple developments, some based on expectations and some on actual developments, have all contributed to the strong gains, the most important being renewed dollar weakness as interest rate gaps narrow, OPEC’s active management of oil production and prices, the not-yet-realised prospect for the Chinese government stepping up its support for the economy and, not least, the risk of higher food prices into the autumn, as several key growing regions battle with hot and dry weather conditions. 

Despite continued demand worries led by recession concerns in the US and Europe, the energy sector is holding up – supported by Saudi Arabia’s unilateral production cut, rising refine

Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Is the Vaccine a Game-Changer for Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 11.12.2020 16:25
The vaccines are coming – we’re saved! Although the arriving vaccines are great for humanity, they are bad for the price of gold.In November, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their mRNA-based vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, had demonstrated evidence of an efficacy rate above 90% against COVID-19, in the first interim efficacy analysis. As Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer Chairman and CEO, said:Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine’s ability to prevent COVID-19.Indeed, the announcement is great news! After all, the vaccine is the ultimate weapon against the virus. There’s no doubt that we will get the vaccine one day. Thank God for scientists – they are really clever people who work hard to develop a safe vaccine! Why can’t we have more of them instead of so many economists? As well, the pandemic triggered unprecedented global cooperation to develop a vaccine as quickly as possible. The funds are enormous, while the bureaucrats eventually decided to behave like decent human beings for once and eased their stance in order to speed up the whole process. Great!But… there is always a “but”. You see, there are some problems related to Pfizer’s vaccine . First, all we know comes from the press release, but the company didn’t provide any data for a review. Second, the efficacy rate announced by the company pertains only to the seven days after the second dose is taken – we still don’t know how effective the vaccine is in the longer term, and how long immunity lasts. Third, we still don’t know the efficacy of the vaccine among the elderly and people with underlying conditions – or, the most affected people by COVID-19. Fourth, the vaccine is based on mRNA technology, and such a vaccine was never approved for human use. There is always a first time, but new technologies always give birth to some concerns, which could ultimately reduce the public’s preference to get vaccinated.Another problem is that this vaccine requires two doses that are taken 21 days apart. It delays the moment of immunization and again reduces the motivation to take the vaccine – yes, some people are so lazy, and/or they don’t like injections so much (for whatever reason; we’re not debating whether it’s justified or not) that they can refuse to be vaccinated.Moreover, Pfizer’s vaccine must be stored at a temperature of about -70°C (-94°F), which is quite low indeed, and can be quite chilly in shorts (unless you are Wim Hof ). The problem is transportation and distribution – you see, many hospitals - to say nothing of rural physicians and pharmacies, and healthcare systems in developing countries - do not have adequate freezers to store the vaccine. Last but not least, even if scientists develop the best possible vaccine, it remains useless unless people accept to take it – and this is far from being certain, given the pandemic denial movement and fear of vaccines.Sure, one could say that all these points are not very problematic. After all, Pfizer is not the only company working on the vaccine. There are actually more than 150 coronavirus vaccines in development across the world. For example, Moderna’s vaccine can be stored at a much higher temperature – a more comfortable -20°C (-4°F), So even if Pfizer’s vaccine turns out to not be the best, other, even better vaccines will arrive on the market – and a lack of any vaccine can transform into a crisis of abundance.That’s true, but the sad truth is that it’s unlikely that any vaccine will be widely available until mid-2021 . Pfizer, for example, announced that it hoped to produce 50 million doses by the end of 2020. As the vaccine needs two doses, only 25 million people could be vaccinated this year. So don’t count on being among this group – countries will prioritize healthcare workers, social workers and uniformed services first, and the elderly next. It means that we will not return to a state of normalcy very soon, and most of us will still need to wear masks, practice social distancing and… wash hands!In the meantime, the U.S. is about to enter Covid hell , as Michael Osterholm, one of Biden’s advisers on the epidemic , said . Indeed, the country is nearing 11 million reported COVID-19 cases, and the coronavirus has already killed more than 240,000 Americans. But the worst can still lie ahead for the U.S. As one can see in the chart below, the epidemiological curve is clearly exponential and the daily number of new cases has touched 200,000! Yup, you read it correctly, about two hundred thousand people are infected each day. You don’t have to be a mathematician to figure out that at such a rate of infections, the healthcare system will collapse soon.What does it all imply for the gold market? Well, although the arriving vaccines are great for humanity, they are bad for the price of the yellow metal. The pandemic greatly supported gold prices. So, the expected end of the epidemic in the U.S. should be negative for the shiny metal.However, there are two important caveats to this statement. First, there is still a long way to go before widespread vaccination and a true end to the pandemic. In the interim, we still need to face the COVID-19 challenge, so gold shouldn’t suddenly fall out of favor.Second, gold reacted not only to the pandemic itself, but also – or even more – to the world response of governments and central banks to the health and economic crisis . The easy monetary policy and accommodative fiscal policy will not disappear only because of the vaccine’s arrival. Actually, the harsh winter or “Covid hell” that awaits America will force the Fed and Treasury to continue or even to expand their stimuli, which is good news for gold prices from the fundamental perspective .Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Analysis. Care. Profits.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

How Will Gold Perform This Winter?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 10.12.2020 15:14
  Brace yourselves, winter is coming! It may be a harsh period for the United States, but much better for gold. Some of you may have seen snow this year already, but the astronomical winter is still ahead of us. Unfortunately, it could be a really dark winter. Instead of joyful snowball battles and making snowmen, we will have to contend with the coronavirus . The vaccines will definitely help (the first doses of Pfizer’s vaccine were administered this week), but their widespread distribution will begin only next year. So, we still have to deal with the pandemic taking its toll here and now – as the chart below shows, the number of daily COVID-19 cases is still above 200,000 in the U.S. The increasing cases are one thing, but the soaring numbers of COVID-19-related hospitalizations is another, even more terrifying, issue. As one can see in the chart below, the number of patients in U.S. hospitals has reached a record of 100,000, due to a surge in the aftermath of Thanksgiving. Importantly, the situation may get even worse , as people spend more time indoors in winter, and large family gatherings during Christmas and Hanukkah are still ahead us… I know that you are fed up with the date about the epidemic . And I don’t write about the pandemic because I’ve become an epidemiologist or want to scary you; for that all you need to do is read the press headlines or watch TV for a while. I cover the pandemic because it still impacts the global economy, and in particular, it explains why the U.S. economic growth is slowing down. You see, in the summer and autumn of 2020, America’s economy roared back. But that might be a song of the past. As I wrote in Tuesday’s (Dec 8) edition of the Fundamental Gold Report , November’s employment situation report was disappointingly weak, and the high frequency data also point to a slowdown. For example, the number of diners and restaurants, as well as hotel and airline bookings, have declined in recent weeks. So, the increased spread of the coronavirus slows the economy down. A growing share of Americans, even those who were previously skeptical about the epidemiological dangers, worry about catching the virus, thereby reducing their social activity. However, there are also other factors behind the most recent economic slowdown. First, the previous recovery was caused by a low base and the end of the Great Lockdown . The deep economic crisis seen in the spring, with accompanying coronavirus restrictions, will not happen again. Therefore, the initial recovery was fast, but the pace of economic growth had to slow down. Second, the easy fiscal policy helped to increase the GDP , but Congress has so far failed to agree on another stimulus package.   Implications for Gold What does it all mean for the yellow metal? Well, the economy could rise again when the vaccines become widely available. However, we will face a harsh winter first. It means that the coming weeks might be positive for gold – especially considering that in recent years, the shiny metal rallied in January (or sometimes even in the second half of December). But what’s next for gold prices? Will they plunge in 2021 after the rollout of the vaccines? Well, the vaccines are in a sense, a real game changer for the world next year. As they revived the risk appetite, they hit the safe-haven demand for gold. So, yes, there is a downward risk, although it could already be priced in. However, the vaccines are a game changer only in a sense . You see, the vaccines might protect us from the virus, but they will not solve all our economic problems , therefore, caution is still required. On Monday (Dec 7), the Bank of International Settlements warned the public that “we are moving from the liquidity to the solvency phase of the crisis”. Actually, the post-winter, post-pandemic environment might be beneficial for gold. You see, gold is a portfolio-diversifier which serves as a safe haven asset during a period of turmoil, but it performs the best during the very early phase of an economic recovery – especially as the central banks will continue the policy of zero interest rates . Thus, the new stimulus package, low real interest rates , worries about the U.S. dollar strength and debt sustainability, and fears of inflation , which will accompany the economic revival in 2021, should 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!
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

PMs: Looking for Key Triggers

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 09.12.2020 15:15
  The question on everyone’s mind is: when is it a good time to buy some gold or silver after they bottom? The answer to that question is simple: when key triggers are met. Count-trend rallies in gold or silver don’t mean that they have enough energy and momentum to keep climbing. Miners also don’t have enough strength to lead the way in a fresh climb upwards for the PMs, so everything we see now only speaks of corrective action. Gold moved higher yesterday (Dec 8), while silver and mining stocks went in the opposite direction. It seems that the latter moved in tune with the trend, while the move in the former was rather accidental. Why? Because gold already invalidated yesterday’s daily rally at the moment of writing these words (in the overnight trading). Yes, the closing prices matter the most, but if gold was really after an important breakout, it wouldn’t have wiped out the previous day’s entire rally just several hours after the closing bell. I previously wrote that it had been quite possible for gold to rally up to its September lows, and the low in gold futures in terms of the closing prices was $1,866.30. Monday’s closing price for gold futures had been exactly $1,866, and yesterday, gold closed at $1874.90. At the moment of writing these words, it’s trading at $1,864.60. So, did anything particularly bullish happen on the gold market yesterday? Not really. But can gold move even higher from here? As discouraging (or encouraging, depending on one’s perspective) as this answer may be, it’s a “yes”. The US Dollar Index is currently trading at about 90.8, and its downside target is at about 90, so there is room for another short-term slide. Such a slide would be likely to trigger a rally in the yellow metal. How high could the rally go during this final part of the counter-trend corrective upswing? Perhaps to the mid-November high of about $1,900. Even though gold might theoretically rally all the way up to the early-November high, I don’t see this as being likely. Meanwhile, silver formed a tiny reversal yesterday and it’s moving lower today. Silver reversed after touching the declining resistance line, which is also the upper border of the triangle pattern. Did we just see a top in silver? That’s quite likely, but not certain. I wouldn’t be surprised if silver took one final attempt to break higher and rally and topped close to the early November high. After all, silver is known for its fake breakouts . Moreover, please note that silver has a triangle-vertex-based reversal point in the final part of the month, which could imply that this is where silver forms a final, or temporary bottom. This could have implications also for the rest of the precious metals sector, as its parts tend to move together in the short and medium term. Given the bearish post-Thanksgiving seasonality in the case of PMs and the tendency for them to form local bottoms in the middle or second half of December, it seems likely that the above is likely to be some kind of bottom.   Mining stocks moved 0.41% lower yesterday, despite a higher close in gold futures and the GLD ETF . The general stock market moved slightly higher yesterday, so it wasn’t the reason behind miners’ weakness. This lack of strength confirms the points that I made yesterday and further validates the bearish picture: What we see in the PMs is just a correction, not the start of a new, powerful upleg. If it was, miners would have been leading the way higher. We currently see the opposite. Over a week ago, I wrote that miners could move to the previous lows and by moving to them, they could verify them as resistance . The previous – October – low is at $36.01 in intraday terms and at $36.52 in terms of the daily closing prices. Yesterday, miners closed at $36.50. So, while gold closed at its September low (in terms of the daily closing prices), gold miners closed at their October low. If the USD Index declines one more time before bottoming, and gold rallies, miners could also move temporarily higher. How high could they move? I think that the mid-November high of about $38 (intraday high: $38.35, daily close: $38.01) would provide the kind of strong resistance that miners might not be able to breach. Still, this upside is based on two big IFs. The first “if” is if the USD Index declines to 90 or slightly lower – it’s extremely oversold, and the CoT reports confirm it. The second “if” is if the precious metals sector really reacts to USD’s decline with a visible rally. In the past few weeks, gold shrugged off quite a few USDX declines. And miners shrugged off even more positive news. Consequently, it seems that trying to take a profit from the possible, but not very likely, immediate-term upswing is not the best idea from the risk to reward point of view. Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the following is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the downside target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Stock Pick Update: Dec. 16 – Dec. 22, 2020

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 16.12.2020 14:19
Header: Which stocks could magnify S&P 500’s gains in case it rallies? Take a look at a part of our Stock Pick Update. We have included two Energy stocks and one Financials stock again. In the last five trading days (December 9 – December 15) the broad stock market has been trading within a short-term consolidation following its recent record-breaking run-up. The S&P 500 index has reached new record high of 3,712.39 a week ago on Wednesday. Then it retraced some of the advance before going back up on Monday-Tuesday this week.The S&P 500 index has lost 0.31% between December 9 open and December 15 close. In the same period of time our five long and five short stock picks have gained 1.32%. Stock picks were relatively much stronger than the broad stock market last week. Our long stock picks have gained 0.91% and short stock picks have resulted in a gain of 1.73%. So short stock picks’ performance outpaced the benchmark return on the downside.There are risks that couldn’t be avoided in trading. Hence the need for proper money management and a relatively diversified stock portfolio. This is especially important if trading on a time basis – without using stop-loss/ profit target levels. We are just buying or selling stocks at open on Wednesday and selling or buying them back at close on the next Tuesday.If stocks were in a prolonged downtrend, being able to profit anyway, would be extremely valuable. Of course, it’s not the point of our Stock Pick Updates to forecast where the general stock market is likely to move, but rather to provide you with stocks that are likely to generate profits regardless of what the S&P does.Our last week’s portfolio result:Long Picks (December 9 open – December 15 close % change): XOM (+0.77%), EOG (+0.62%), PGR (+4.73%), BK (+0.51%), MMM (-2.10%)Short Picks (December 9 open – December 15 close % change): LNT (-0.81%), CNP (-1.64%), ABBV (-4.28%), DHR (-0.16%), APTV (-1.75%)Average long result: +0.91%, average short result: +1.73%Total profit (average): +1.32%Stock Pick Update performance chart since Nov 18, 2020:Let’s check which stocks could magnify S&P’s gains in case it rallies, and which stocks would be likely to decline the most if S&P plunges. Here are our stock picks for the Wednesday, December 16 – Tuesday, December 22 period.We will assume the following: the stocks will be bought or sold short on the opening of today’s trading session (December 16) and sold or bought back on the closing of the next Tuesday’s trading session (December 22).We will provide stock trading ideas based on our in-depth technical and fundamental analysis, but since the main point of this publication is to provide the top 5 long and top 5 short candidates (our opinion, not an investment advice) for this week, we will focus solely on the technicals. The latter are simply more useful in case of short-term trades.First, we will take a look at the recent performance by sector. It may show us which sector is likely to perform best in the near future and which sector is likely to lag. Then, we will select our buy and sell stock picks.There are eleven stock market sectors: Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Technology, Communications Services, Utilities and Real Estate. They are further divided into industries, but we will just stick with these main sectors of the stock market.We will analyze them and their relative performance by looking at the Select Sector SPDR ETF’s .The stock market sector analysis is available to our subscribers only.Based on the above, we decided to choose our stock picks for the next week. We will choose our 5 long and 5 short candidates using trend-following approach:buys: 2 x Energy, 2 x Financials, 1 x Communication Servicessells: 2 x Utilities, 2 x Real Estate, 1 x Consumer StaplesBuy CandidatesXOM Exxon Mobil Corp. - EnergyStock broke above its short-term downward trend line, uptrend continuation playThe support level is at $40 and resistance level is at $44-47 (short-term target profit level)COP ConocoPhillips – EnergyPossible short-term bull flag pattern, uptrend continuation playThe support level is at $42 and resistance level is at $45-50WFC Wells Fargo & Co. – FinancialsPossible short-term bull flag pattern – uptrend continuation playThe support level is at $29.50 and resistance level is at $30.00Summing up , the above trend-following long stock picks are just a part of our whole Stock Pick Update . The Energy and Financials sectors were relatively the strongest in the last 30 days. So that part of our ten long and short stock picks is meant to outperform in the coming days if the broad stock market acts similarly as it did before.We hope you enjoyed reading the above free analysis, and we encourage you to read today's Stock Pick Update - this analysis' full version. There, we include the stock market sector analysis for the past month and remaining long and short stock picks for the next week. There's no risk in subscribing right away, because there's a 30-day money back guarantee for all our products, so we encourage you to subscribe today .Thank you.Paul RejczakStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits - Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *DisclaimerAll essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Paul Rejczak and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Paul Rejczak’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Deceptive Rally? Measuring Silver’s Relative Strength

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 16.12.2020 17:43
It’s tempting to ride the silver rollercoaster. After-all, gold’s volatile little brother is just that – volatile. Its wilder price swings make some of the investment public believe they can profit from it more quickly. However, it’s important to remember and take note of the fact that silver (or gold and miners for that matter) should not be judged on its own when making a purchasing decision. It’s a bit more complicated and other factors come into play, such as relative strength.One must track the precious metals’ performance against equities or the USD Index. Asking questions is prudent; how is silver doing compared to gold, and why? The USDX is moving lower but the PMs are not rallying? Hmmm, is there enough strength for them to break out? Silver or gold don’t exist in a vacuum. Instead, their performance has to be judged relative to other factors.The white metal closed yesterday’s (Dec. 15) session right at its declining resistance line. It moved sharply higher today, soaring above both: its declining resistance line and its December high.This is exactly what silver tends to do right before significant declines – it’s exceptionally strong – more than gold and mining stocks. Why would this be the case? Because silver is a relatively thin market, where many institutional investors can’t go as there’s not enough silver for them. The “big players” generally go for gold, and silver is favored by the investment public. The silver manipulation theories are making the demand among the investment public even stronger, and the investment public (as a general group, not any individual person) tends to enter the market close to the tops.The above-mentioned factors – along with the relatively small size of the silver market – make the white metal perform very well (too well) near the local tops. Of course, this doesn’t work each and every time, just like any other trading technique, and one should also look for additional confirmations before making a trade (like weak miners , which tend to react differently than silver).It does imply, however, that it’s best not to take silver’s strength at its face value, and definitely not to view it as bullish unless it’s confirmed by the rest of the precious metals sector. Today’s breakout in silver and lack thereof in gold is not a bullish development, but a bearish one.Moving on to the performance of the mining stocks, let’s take a look at the chart below.The GDX ETF – proxy for precious metals mining stocks – moved higher yesterday, more than nullifying the previous day’s decline. But, overall, was it really strong? Absolutely not. In today’s trading on the London Stock Exchange, the GDX is up only a bit above Tuesday’s intraday highs, and it corrected only a bit more than a half of the December decline.Simply put:Gold is relatively weak compared to what’s happening in the USD IndexSilver is relatively strong to gold and breaking above the previous resistance levels without confirmations from neither gold, nor mining stocksGold and silver mining stocks are weak compared to what’s happening in goldThe above is a perfectly bearish combination on the relative strength front. Combining this with USDX’s proximity to its target area makes the overall implications for the precious metals market very bearish.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the following is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the downside target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks.If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Will Biden Trigger Inflation for Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 18.12.2020 17:40
President-elect Joe Biden is expected to increase further government spending. For this and also other reasons, there is a risk that inflation under Biden’s presidency could be higher than under Trump’s. That would be great news for gold.Let’s face it, Biden won’t have an easy presidency. And I’m not referring to the fact that he will be sworn in as the oldest president in U.S. history or that he will have to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and the process of vaccine distribution across the country. I’m referring to Biden inheriting an economy with slow growth and too much public debt . Given the debt burden, it should be clear that under Biden’s presidency, real interest rates will remain at ultra-low levels. This is how a debt trap works – the more the debt grows, the less the economy (Treasury) can afford higher interest rates .Moreover, Biden will have to face the risk of inflation . Actually, some analysts say that the new POTUS could contribute to the rise of prices. Is it true? Will we finally see an acceleration in the inflation rate?So far, consumer inflation has been subdued. As the chart below shows, the CPI overall annual rate has declined from 2.3 percent before the epidemic to 1.2 percent in October.For some people, this is all really surprising given all the money pumped by the Fed into the economy. However, the disinflation is perfectly in line with our predictions from the May edition of the Gold Market Overview : “In the short run, we expect disinflation , but we think that the risk of inflation later in the future is higher than a decade ago.”Indeed, in the short-run, the negative demand shock outweighed other factors, and people simply increased their demand for money because of the enormous uncertainty and limited opportunities to spend money in the offline economy.But didn’t the Fed significantly increase the money supply ? It did, but the central banks create only a monetary base , while the majority (more than 90 percent) of the broad money supply is created by the commercial banks. So, for inflationary trends, what really matters is not the Fed’s balance sheet , but rather the commercial banks’ credit expansion, since whenever the banks grant loans, they also create deposits, i.e., money supply.Hey, wait a moment, but didn’t the pace of expansion of the banks’ credit and broad money supply also rise? They did! Just look at the chart below. And this is the reason why I believe that the risk of inflation in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis is higher than after the Great Recession , when banks were strongly hit and didn’t want to expand credit.Now the situation is different. However, banks expanded loans not to the consumers but to the entrepreneurs, probably because they needed credit to stay afloat during the Great Lockdown . So, the acceleration in the bank credit could be temporary – indeed, the pace of its expansion has been slowing down recently. But when the pandemic is over, consumers may again tap credit cards and real estate loans.Indeed, this is an important upward risk for inflation . Some economists point out here the pent-up demand, i.e., the strong increase in demand for a service or product, usually following a period of subdued spending. The idea is that consumers tend to hold off their demand during a recession, only to unleash it during recovery. It makes sense; during a crisis, the uncertainty rises, so people try to cut expenses and accumulate cash. When confidence returns to the marketplace, people spend money more freely.The same could happen during the current pandemic – not only did uncertainty rise, but people also had to practice social distancing and obey sanitary restrictions, which forced them to reduce their expenditures. Hence, when the pandemic is over, the demand for cash may fall, while spending could increase, thereby accelerating inflation . Of course, some demand will simply stay unrealized forever (it would be impossible to make up for all these missed opportunities to drink beers with friends), but when the storm is over and vaccines boost people’s confidence, they will spend a substantial part of their extra savings accumulated during the pandemic.Just take a look the chart below – as you can see, the U.S. personal savings rate has increased from about 8 percent before the epidemic to almost 34 percent in April. Now it is staying above 14 percent, so there is still potential to increase consumer spending in the future.In other words, people and businesses have not yet used all the stimulus they got from the Fed or the government. Because of this uncertainty, they spent as little as they could, and saved as much they could. Why this is so important? Because when people decide to spend their mountain of money, inflation could accelerate, boosting the demand for gold as an inflation hedge .Hence, when the pandemic storm is over, the demand for money should decrease, or the velocity of money should increase. Actually, this is what we have observed in the third quarter of this year – the velocity of M2 money supply has rebounded somewhat , as the chart below shows. So, although the second wave of COVID-19 infections would hamper this process, it’s possible that in 2021 we will see a rise in inflation. Higher inflation also means lower real interest rates, which is another piece of good news for the yellow metal.Last but not least, Biden is a supporter of major economic relief, including a second round of stimulus checks, so consumers’ spending power should increase further next year, thus contributing to higher consumer prices. So, although it’s not determined, there is a risk that inflation under Biden’s presidency could be higher than under Trump’s presidency. It would be great news for gold , especially that the Fed’s new regime means that it will not strongly react to rising inflation.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Analysis. Care. Profits.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

The freedom through Silver

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 18.12.2020 19:28
There are many benefits of owning physical Silver. We mentioned in prior chartbooks various benefits for Silver as a wealth preservation method. Another field of assurance is the protection of your privacy through untraceable transactions. What is mentioned less is the independence from the grid. We got used to the conveniences of the modern world, but imagine a scenario where you simply out of electricity. Just the loss of your smartphone can be a dilemma. A step further being that the dependency on a computer should not have that much power you not being able to purchase groceries or gasoline. The freedom through Silver.What we mean to say is that in case of hyperinflation where cash renders its value, Gold and Bitcoin might not be enough of a hedge.Silver, Daily Chart, Last weeks high probability assumption held true:Silver in US Dollar, daily chart as of December 11th, 2020We posted the above daily chart in last week’s Silver chartbook publication. In addition we guided this anticipated price move manifesting, through our “Silver daily calls” with real-time entries posted in our free Telegram channel. Silver, Daily Chart, A week later:Silver in US Dollar, daily chart as of December 17th, 2020The market kindly moved as planned. A gentle dip of price shortly after the publication of the chartbook into the extremely low-risk entry zone (support) allowed for core position establishment. Followed by partial profit-taking based on our quad exit strategy to eliminate risk. Allowing (in addition to reload positions) for remainder position size to possibly see higher price levels for further targets.A conservative method for position building and consistent profit-taking.Silver, Weekly Chart, Clean chart:Silver in US Dollar, weekly chart as of December 18th, 2020Stepping away from the noise of smaller time frames and exploring the larger picture, we can see that Silver is trading very clean and precise. As volatile as this instrument is trading on intraday charts it is due to its high liquidity one to be relied on through thorough technical analysis.A closer look at the weekly time frame reveals a steep move up starting in March this year. For a stunning 156 percentage gain. From the high price retraced to the 0.618 Fibonacci level to build there a eleven-week wide double bottom. This marked the bottom of a bull flag which two weeks later broke through its upper resistance line.Most importantly is the volume analysis of this entire move, which substantiates the newfound support. It is precisely in the middle of the sideways trading zone between US$26 and US$22, at US$24.14. Consequently, we find this to be the most likely bounce point for the next retracement. A low-risk entry point in case you are not positioned just yet. With this precision trading in the present and past, projections into the future become higher probable. “A=B” is as such our next major target point identified. We took the liberty to point out assumed resistance points along the way until we reach this target. Silver prices for possible partial profit-taking in assumed distribution zones.The larger time frame shows a high probability of this last turning point one to be counted on. This warrants for a physical silver acquisition that has a good chance to in time provide for the mentioned conveniences and freedom of being independent. Consequently, there is also a strong likelihood to add to your wealth preservation a degree of wealth growth.The freedom through Silver:What represents the most power of a commodity barter is its accessibility when you need it and the independence within limiting circumstances. With a possibility of rising princes per ounce for precious metals, Gold will be even in small denominations not ideal for smaller transactions. Consequently, Silver takes over a major role. In times where governments can control the internet and natural disasters or cyberattacks can wipe out electricity supplies for lengthy periods, holding physical Silver seems a no-brainer for diversified wealth preservation and day-to-day liberties. Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
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With Dovish Powell, Can Gold Shine Again?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 22.12.2020 13:09
Fed Chair Jerome Powell sounded dovish during his press conference on December 16, where he gave a market update after the Fed’s monetary policy meeting. The Fed will remain accommodative for a long time, which should support gold prices.Last week was full of important events. First, both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines received emergency-use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration . In consequence, the first COVID-19 vaccination in the United States has already taken place, which is great news for America, as it marks the beginning of the end of the pandemic .It’s high time for that! As the chart below shows, the U.S. has already lost about 314,000 people to the coronavirus.And what is disturbing, the current wave of infections doesn’t look like it’s going to end quickly. As one can see in the chart below, the number of new daily official cases is still above 200,000 – actually, it has recently jumped to about 250,000.So, the beginning of vaccine distribution is the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel that brings hope for a return to normalcy in 2021. It’s important to note that, contrary to the groundbreaking November news about the efficacy of the vaccines, the approval of vaccines and first injections didn’t plunge gold prices. This suggests that the bridge to normalcy built by the vaccines has already been priced in. That’s good news for the gold bulls .Second, there was renewed optimism about the fresh fiscal support . Indeed, there are higher odds now than at least about $750 billion in aid will be passed and implemented by the end of 2020. Theoretically, the fiscal stimulus is considered to be helpful for the economy, so it should be negative for gold, however, the price of the yellow metal may actually go up amid concerns about rising fiscal deficits , public debt , and inflation .Powell’s Press Conference and GoldThird, the last FOMC meeting took place this year. I’ve already analyzed it in last Thursday’s (Dec. 17) edition of the Fundamental Gold Report , but then I focused on the monetary policy statement and the fresh dot-plot . As a reminder, the Fed tied tapering in its quantitative easing to the progress toward reaching full employment and inflation at two percent, while the economic projections were more optimistic, but they nevertheless didn’t see any interest rate hikes until the end of 2023.However, it was Powell’s press conference that was really crucial, so let’s take a closer look at it. The Fed Chair sounded dovish, as he emphasized the U.S. central bank’s commitment to maintaining its very accommodative stance. In particular, Powell reiterated that the Fed will not hike interest rates or reduce its asset purchase program anytime soon. Actually, Powell said that the bank will normalize its monetary policy only after reaching the maximum employment and price stability:our guidance for both interest rates and asset purchases will keep monetary policy accommodative until our maximum employment and price stability goals are achieved. And that's a powerful message. So substantial further progress means what it says. It means we'll be looking for employment to be substantially closer to assessments of its maximum level, and inflation to be substantially closer to our 2 percent longer run goal, before we start making adjustments to our purchases.In other words, Powell clearly stated that he will keep his foot on the gas until at least 2023, and that he won’t pull the brakes even if inflation increases. This is because Powell believes that although inflation may rebound in 2021, it will be a temporary increase, and the Fed now has a flexible average inflation targeting framework, so it wants inflation to overshoot the target:What we’re saying is we're going to keep policy highly accommodative until the expansion is well down the tracks. And we’re not going to preemptively raise rates until we see inflation actually reaching 2 percent and being on track to exceed 2 percent. That's a very strong commitment. And we think that's the right place to beThis means that in 2021 the Fed is likely to be behind the curve. Higher inflation with the nominal interest rates unchanged imply lower real interest rates – further declines in these rates should push the gold prices up . Moreover, Powell will announce in advance when he wants to take his foot off the gas pedal and start reducing the amount of monetary accommodation. The Fed clearly doesn’t want the replay of the 2013 taper tantrum :And when we see ourselves on a path to achieve that goal, then we will say so undoubtedly well in advance of any time when we would actually consider gradually tapering the pace of purchases.Implications for GoldWhat does it all mean for gold prices? Well, although the Fed did not expand its monetary accommodation in December, Powell was really dovish and he pointed out that the U.S. central bank would continue its current easy stance “as long as it takes until the job is well and truly done.” Gold welcomed Powell’s remarks and gained nearly $40 on Thursday, as the chart below shows.It makes sense – after all, the Fed promised that its monetary policy would remain highly accommodative for a long time. So, although the potential for further accommodation and, thus, a great rally in gold prices is limited (at least until we see a further weakening in the US dollar or an increases in inflation and decrease in the real interest rates), the risk of a sudden tightening in the Fed’s monetary policy , that could plunge the gold prices, has diminished. Therefore, gold could shine again – at least until the markets start to worry about the normalization of monetary policy and start to forecast increases in the interest rates.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.
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Stock Pick Update: Dec. 23 – Dec. 29, 2020

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 23.12.2020 12:29
Header: Which stocks could magnify S&P 500’s gains in case it rallies? Take a look at a part of our Stock Pick Update. We have included two Technology stocks and one Energy stock this time.In the last five trading days (December 16 – December 22) the broad stock market has extended its short-term consolidation following record-breaking run-up. The S&P 500 index reached new record high of 3,726.70 on Friday, before retracing most of last week’s advances.The S&P 500 has lost 0.24% between December 16 open and December 22 close. In the same period of time our five long and five short stock picks have lost 0.04%. Stock picks were relatively slightly stronger than the broad stock market last week. Our long stock picks have lost 3.94%, however short stock picks have resulted in a gain of 3.86%. Short stock picks’ performance outpaced the benchmark return on the downside, but the whole portfolio followed broad stock market very closely.There are risks that couldn’t be avoided in trading. Hence the need for proper money management and a relatively diversified stock portfolio. This is especially important if trading on a time basis – without using stop-loss/ profit target levels. We are just buying or selling stocks at open on Wednesday and selling or buying them back at close on the next Tuesday.If stocks were in a prolonged downtrend, being able to profit anyway, would be extremely valuable. Of course, it’s not the point of our Stock Pick Updates to forecast where the general stock market is likely to move, but rather to provide you with stocks that are likely to generate profits regardless of what the S&P does.Our last week’s portfolio result:Long Picks (December 16 open – December 22 close % change): XOM (-5.74%), COP (-8.91%), WFC (-2.29%), BK (+0.02%), FB (-2.79%)Short Picks (December 16 open – December 22 close % change): DUK (-3.10%), EVRG (-4.03%), SPG (-5.23%), CBRE (-5.37%), KO (-1.57%)Average long result: -3.94%, average short result: +3.86%Total profit (average): -0.24%Stock Pick Update performance chart since Nov 18, 2020:Let’s check which stocks could magnify S&P’s gains in case it rallies, and which stocks would be likely to decline the most if S&P plunges. Here are our stock picks for the Wednesday, December 23 – Tuesday, December 29 period.We will assume the following: the stocks will be bought or sold short on the opening of today’s trading session (December 23) and sold or bought back on the closing of the next Tuesday’s trading session (December 29).We will provide stock trading ideas based on our in-depth technical and fundamental analysis, but since the main point of this publication is to provide the top 5 long and top 5 short candidates (our opinion, not an investment advice) for this week, we will focus solely on the technicals. The latter are simply more useful in case of short-term trades.First, we will take a look at the recent performance by sector. It may show us which sector is likely to perform best in the near future and which sector is likely to lag. Then, we will select our buy and sell stock picks.There are eleven stock market sectors: Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Technology, Communications Services, Utilities and Real Estate. They are further divided into industries, but we will just stick with these main sectors of the stock market.We will analyze them and their relative performance by looking at the Select Sector SPDR ETF’s .The stock market sector analysis is available to our subscribers only.Based on the above, we decided to choose our stock picks for the next week. We will choose our 5 long and 5 short candidates using trend-following approach:buys: 2 x Technology, 2 x Energy, 1 x Financialssells: 2 x Utilities, 2 x Real Estate, 1 x Consumer StaplesBuy CandidatesCRM Salesforce.com, Inc. - TechnologyStock remains above its short-term upward trend lineUptrend continuation playThe support level is at $220 and resistance level is at $240-250 (short-term target profit level)NVDA NVIDIA Corp. – TechnologyStock trades above medium-term upward trend linePossible breakout above short-term consolidationThe support level is at $490-500 and resistance level is at $550PSX Phillips 66 – EnergyPossible short-term bull flag pattern – uptrend continuation playThe support level is at $60 and resistance level is at $70Summing up , the above trend-following long stock picks are just a part of our whole Stock Pick Update . The Technology and Energy sectors were relatively the strongest in the last 30 days. So that part of our ten long and short stock picks is meant to outperform in the coming days if the broad stock market acts similarly as it did before.We hope you enjoyed reading the above free analysis, and we encourage you to read today's Stock Pick Update - this analysis' full version. There, we include the stock market sector analysis for the past month and remaining long and short stock picks for the next week. There's no risk in subscribing right away, because there's a 30-day money back guarantee for all our products, so we encourage you to subscribe today .Thank you.Paul RejczakStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits - Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *DisclaimerAll essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Paul Rejczak and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Paul Rejczak’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
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Gold – The bull market continues

Florian Grummes Florian Grummes 23.12.2020 13:04
Precious metal and crypto analysis exclusively for Celtic Gold on 22.12.2020After four corrective months and a final bloodbath towards the end of November, it looks as if the low is in! Gold – The bull market continues.ReviewOn August 7th, the price of gold hit a new all-time high of US$2.075 . At that time we warned of the temporary end of the gold rush. As a result, over the past four months, there has been tough and stretched correction, with several pullbacks towards the support zone between US$1.850 and US$1.865.By November 9th, gold prices had just recovered back to US$1,965 when the final bloodbath phase began quite abruptly. In the following days, with their fifth attempt the bears were finally able to break through the aforementioned support zone, forcing the gold market into a small panic sell-off. After all, this sell-off ended on November 30th with an intraday double low at US$1,764.Since 9th of November Mondays have become quite challenging for goldSince then, there has been a clear turnaround over the last three weeks. Quickly, the bulls staged an initial recovery to US$1,876 before gold came back down to test US$1,820 one more time. Since the FED press conference last Wednesday, gold bulls came roaring back pushing prices towards US,1906 further upwards. At the start of this trading week, however, as it happened most Mondays in the last eight weeks, gold got strongly pushed lower after reaching new highs at US$1,905. The sharp slide saw gold tumbling down testing its solid support at US$1,855 once again. In the meantime, prices have recovered that vicious attack and are trading around US$1,875 trying to stage another attack towards US$1,900.Overall, the turnaround is not yet completely in dry cloths, but with a very high probability the bull market in the precious metals sector is now starting again fully.Technical Analysis: Gold in US-DollarGold in US-Dollars, weekly chart as of December 21st, 2020. Source: TradingviewWith a low at US$1,764, the timely forecasted correction bottomed most likely on November 30th. Since then, a recovery wave of more than US$140 has already been seen. The decisive element on the weekly chart now is the downtrend trend line of those last four months. Currently, this downtrend trend sits around US$1,915 and is moving a bit lower every day.The mere sight of this strong line of resistance apparently caused a sudden panic attack among the gold bulls at the start of this week. Hence, gold prices briefly went off from US$1,905 towards US$1,855 within a few minutes. However, we expect a first real test of this resistance line above US$1,900 over the next few days and weeks.Oversold weekly stochastic points to a contrarian opportunityOverall, the chances for a breakthrough during the next one or two months are also very good, and thus further price increases until spring are highly likely. In particular, the new buying signal from the stochastic oscillator looks pretty promising. Since the great panic in the summer of 2018 and the beginning of the fulminant uptrend in the gold market (starting from a low at US$1,160 in August 2018), the stochastic oscillator delivered a similarly oversold setup only in spring 2019 and November 2019. Each of those two setups were a great contrarian buy opportunity as each time followed a very strong rally in the gold market.In summary, we can assume the trend reversal for the gold market. Hence, over the next two to three months gold, silver and mining stocks should all move higher. A rally towards the November high at US$1,965 would be the absolute minimum for gold. More likely, however, would be a rally back above the psychological round number at US$2,000, including an extension towards US$2,015 and maybe even US$2,050. Nevertheless, this uptrend might present itself somewhat jerky and unround. Sharp pullbacks that emerge again and again will probably make life not that easy for trend-followers.A new all time is realistic in mid-summerOf course, a new all-time high above US$2,075 could also happen until early spring, given the exponentially increasing currency creations worldwide. Yet, it is not the primary scenario. More realistic would be a new all-time high during the second seasonally strong phase somewhere in midsummer.Gold in US-Dollars, daily chart as of December 21st, 2020. Source: TradingviewOn the daily chart, the resistance zone between US$1,900 and US$1,920 becomes more obvious. This zone will most likely keep the gold bulls busy for a few more weeks. Moreover, as the stochastic oscillator on the daily chart has already reached its overbought zone, expecting a trading range between US$1,850 and US$1,920 likely well into mid of January is crucial.The support zone between US$1,850 and US$1,865 now has a very important catch-up function. If, contrary to expectations, this support does not hold, a further test of the upper edge of the medium-term uptrend channel around US$1,820 would also be acceptable. The 200-day moving avarage (US$1,816) is also approaching this price level. However, gold prices should not fall much lower, otherwise the bullish scenario will have to be questioned.In the conclusion, the daily chart is still bullish. An attack towards downtrend line slightly above US$1,900 is the most likely scenario in the short-term. However, this Monday’s sharp sell-off gives already a taste of the strength of this downtrend line. Pullbacks towards US$1,850 to US$1,865 and in particular another test of the 200-day moving average around US$1,820 would be another good entry opportunity. Only below US$1,800 will the bull market be in jeopardy. On the other side, the breakout above US$1,920 confirms the bullish case and opens up further potential towards US$1,955 and US$1,965.Commitments of Traders for Gold – The bull market continuesCommitments of Traders for Gold as of December 15th, 2020. Source: CoT Price ChartsAccording to the lastest CoT-report, the commercial short position increased again slightly. Overall, however, the constellation of the last one and a half years has hardly changed at all as the commercial traders continue to hold an extremely high short position. This accumulated  position currently sits at 306.342 short contracts.Commitments of Traders for Gold as of December 15th, 2020. Source: SentimentraderOverall, and on its own alone, the weekly CoT-report continues to provide a clear sell signal for gold. This has been the case for more than a year already and continues to signal a great need for correction.Sentiment: Gold – The bull market continuesSentiment Optix for Gold as of December 18th, 2020. Source: SentimentraderWith the sharp sell-off until the end of November, the precious metals sector was at least partially cleaned up with a final bloodbath lasting several days. The great euphoria of the summer has thus turned into the opposite. Although the quantitative sentiment indicators did not signal any real panic, those low levels of optimism should still have been sufficient for a sustained bottom and turnaround.BofA Global Investment Strategy, EPFR GlobalInterestingly enough, November saw exorbitant outflows from the gold ETFs. Here, huge quantities of gold were thrown onto the market in a panic attack with the push of a mouse click. And this despite the fact that the price of gold simply went through a normal and expected correction since the summer. This chart clearly speaks for a cleanup of the weak hands!Overall, the sentiment analysis thus provides a good starting point for the first quarter of 2021. In the short-term, however, optimism is already a little too high. The path towards a higher gold price should therefore not be straightforward in the next few weeks but might be interrupted again and again by treacherous pullbacks.Seasonality: Gold – The bull market continuesSeasonality for Gold as of December 18th, 2020. Source: SeasonaxSeasonal-wise, all traffic lights are green over the next two months, as the price of gold has statistically been mostly able to rise until mid to end of February and often into spring. Hence, from the seasonal perspective, caution is recommended from early march onwards.Overall, seasonality these days provides a strong buy signal.Sound Money: Bitcoin/Gold-RatioWith prices of US$23,400 for one Bitcoin and US$1,865 for one troy ounce of gold, the Bitcoin/Gold-ratio is currently 12,54. That means you have to pay more than 12 ounces of gold for one single bitcoin! In other words, a fine ounce of gold currently costs only 0,079 Bitcoin, which means another loss of more than 30% for gold against bitcoin. Bitcoin has been mercilessly outperforming the price of gold for the last several months.Generally, you should be invested in both: precious metals and bitcoins. Buying and selling Bitcoin against gold only makes sense to the extent that one balances the allocation in the two asset classes! At least 10% but better 25% of one’s total assets should be invested in precious metals (preferably physically), while in cryptos and especially in Bitcoin, one should hold 1% to 5%. Paul Tudor Jones holds a little less than 2% of his assets in Bitcoin. If you are very familiar with cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin, you can certainly allocate higher percentages to Bitcoin and maybe other Altcoins on an individual basis. For the average investor, who usually is primarily invested in equities and real estate, 5% in the highly speculative and highly volatile bitcoin is already a lot!“Opposites compliment. In our dualistic world of Yin and Yang, body and mind, up and down, warm and cold, we are bound by the necessary attraction of opposites. In this sense you can view gold and bitcoin as such a pair of strength. With the physical component of gold and the digital aspect of bitcoin (BTC-USD) you have a complimentary unit of a true safe haven in the 21st century. You want to own both!”– Florian GrummesPatience is recommended if you are not yet (fully) invested in BitcoinOnly a significant pullback in the next one to four months towards and maybe even below the old all-time high at around US$20,000 would result in another opportunity to enter or allocate into bitcoin.Macro update and conclusion: Gold – The bull market continuesTavi Costa, Crescant Capital, December 20th,2020.For almost 16 months, the balance Sheet of the Federal Reserve Bank (FED) in the US has been exploding. In recent weeks, a new all-time high has been reached. Hence, the devaluation of the US-dollar (=fiat money) is therefore unabatedly continuing and is expected to accelerate further next year.Tavi Costa, Crescant Capital, December 22nd,2020.Over US$1 trillion in US Treasuries will be due in the next 15 days alone! The current pace of currency creation of around US$80 billion per month will not be enough, as much more US Treasuries in the order of US$5.8 trillion will be due curing the course of next year. US central bankers are caught in a trap and will have to create ever-increasing amounts of currency out of nowhere.Tavi Costa, Crescant Capital, December 18th,2020.Logically, therefore, inflation expectations in the US as well as worldwide are rising sharply.Tavi Costa, Crescant Capital, December 22nd,2020.At the same time, commodity prices are also on the verge of breaking out above their 12-year downtrend line and are expected to continue to rise strongly during the course of 2021.MoneyWeek, December 4th,2020.Not surprisingly, investors and financial market participants are therefore in a roaring 20s mood!  For the broad population, however, this is a catastrophic development, as inflation will devalue their monthly salary more and more quickly.For precious metals and the price of gold instead, this is the best of all worlds. At least until the spring, a recovery rally is expected for gold towards US$2,000 and silver towards US$30. Hence, another buying opportunities would present itself should gold drop one more time towards US$1,850 and US$1,820, respectively. Following the current “tax loss-selling” and the start of 2021, mining stocks should take over the lead in the sector again and could then outperform gold and silver until spring. Forecasting the full year 2021, silver in particular should be able to benefit from the rising inflation. Over the course of the year, a test of the all-time high around US$50 is conceivable. In midsummer at the latest, the price of gold should also be able to break out above US$2,100.Overall, silver and bitcoin remain the dream-team for the accelerating crack-up boom.Source: www.celticgold.eu
As USDX is Poised to Pop, What Happens to Gold?

As USDX is Poised to Pop, What Happens to Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 28.12.2020 16:50
After awakening from its slumber last week, the USD Index may be in the early innings of a short-term breakout. Bursting with energy, the dollar basket closed (on Dec. 22) above its declining resistance line (although more data is needed to confirm a larger move).And to quote Francis Bacon, because “we rise to great heights by a winding staircase of small steps,” Tuesday’s ‘small step’ may be the beginning of an epic comeback.Please see below:In this week’s early trading, the USDX moved lower and then rallied back up, after touching its previous resistance line, which now appears to have turned into support. Despite the initial decline, the USDX is now more or less where it had started this week’s trading. Its ability to reverse the initial decline appears bullish.While the USDX traded lower-to-flat from Dec. 23 – 25, the price action still follows a familiar playbook: In 2018, the USDX dipped below the 1.618 Fibonacci extension level before circling back with a vengeance (The initial bottom occurred in early 2018, with the final bottom not far behind.) Moreover, the 2018 USDX bottom also marked the 2018 top in gold, silver and the gold miners (depicted in charts 2 and 3 below).I previously wrote that the USDX was repeating its 2017 – 2018 decline to some extent. The starting points of the declines (horizontal red line) as well as the final high of the biggest correction are quite similar. The difference is that the recent correction was smaller than it was in 2017.Since back in 2018, the USDX’s bottom was at about 1.618 Fibonacci extension of the size of the correction, we could expect something similar to happen this time. Applying the above to the current situation would give us the proximity of the 90-level as the downside target.“So, shouldn’t gold soar in this case?” – would be a valid question to ask.Well, if the early 2018 pattern was being repeated, then let’s check what happened to precious metals and gold stocks at that time.In short, they moved just a little higher after the USDX’s breakdown. I marked the moment when the U.S. currency broke below its previous (2017) bottom with a vertical line, so that you can easily see what gold, silver, and GDX (proxy for mining stocks) were doing at that time. They were just before a major top. The bearish action that followed in the short term was particularly visible in the case of the miners.Consequently, even if the USD Index is to decline further from here, then the implications are not particularly bullish for the precious metals market.And as we approach the New Year and beyond, I expect a similar pattern to emerge.Why so?First, the USDX is after a long-term, more-than-confirmed breakout. This means that the long-term trend for the U.S. currency is up.Second, the amount of capital that was shorting the USDX was excessive even before the most recent decline. This means that the USD Index is not likely to keep declining for much longer.In addition, after last week’s drawdown in gold and the gold miners, the sun appears to be setting on the yellow metal. As ‘buy the dip’ morphs into ‘sell the rally,’ gold’s downtrend is likely to resume. Furthermore, the 2018 analogue signals that the SPX’s (S&P 500 Index) days are also numbered (If you analyze the chart above, you can see that the USDX bottom coincided with the SPX top.)Fundamentally, the USDX is also poised to pop.On Tuesday (Dec. 22), I highlighted the misguided narrative plaguing the U.S. dollar. In short:With liquidity spigots on full blast around the world, the U.S. isn’t the only region expanding its money supply (And remember, currencies trade on a relative basis.) In fact, the European Central Bank (ECB ) has more assets on its balance sheet than the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED).And after another update, the ECB’s spending spree has now reached a record €7 trillion (As a point of reference, the Dec. 22 ECB chart was relative to the FED, so both balance sheets were presented in U.S. dollars. The chart below depicts the ECB’s balance sheet in euros).Week-over-week, the ECB’s balance sheet increased by €59 billion. But the real story? The ECB’s total assets now equal 69% of Eurozone GDP – nearly double the FED’s 35%. So while EUR/USD clawed back some of its early-week losses (after the EU and the U.K. reached a Brexit agreement), its prior three-day downtrend (Dec. 18 – 22) is likely to continue (Remember, movement in the euro accounts for nearly 58% of the movement in the USDX.)Consequently, the implications for the precious metals market are not as bearish as everyone and their brother seems to tell you. Conversely, the forex market could provide the PMs and mining stocks with a substantial bearish push in the coming weeks – or even days.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Major Averages Hit More Record Highs

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 29.12.2020 19:27
Quick UpdateAs a quick update to kick off today’s newsletter, I would like to summarize my correct calls and what I profited on since beginning to publish these updates. While nobody can predict the future, the major calls I am most proud of since producing these letters are 1) adding emerging market exposure and 2) hedging or selling the U.S. Dollar.Emerging markets have been some of the best performers in 2020, and I have made some bullish calls on specific regional markets for 2021 as well. I have been touting emerging markets since my first report, but when I switched my focus to specific regions, my calls became even more correct. On December 3rd, I called Taiwan ( EWT ETF) the best bet for emerging market exposure while avoiding the risks and baked in profits of China. Since then, the EWT ETF which tracks Taiwan has gained over 4.3% while the MCHI ETF which tracks China has fallen over 3.3%. The Taiwan ETF has also outperformed the SPY S&P 500 ETF and the IEUR ETF which tracks Europe.My calls on the U.S. dollar were also correct. Since I started doing these newsletters about a month and a half ago, I consistently reiterated that the dollar should be hedged or avoided because of the Fed’s policies, effect of interest rates this low for this long, government stimulus, strengthening of emerging markets, and inflation. I also said that any minor rally the dollar would experience would be fool’s good. In the last month and a half, the dollar has fallen around 2.3%, and since it briefly pierced the 91-level on December 9th , it has fallen another 1%.Markets kicked off the final week of 2020 with a surge towards record highs after President Trump finally signed off on the stimulus bill.News RecapAll major indices closed at record highs. The Dow Jones rose 204.10 points higher, or 0.7%, to close at 30,403.97. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9% to 3,735.36, and the Nasdaq rose 0.7% to 12,899.42. Meanwhile, the small-cap Russell 2000 underperformed and declined 0.38%.After President Trump called the $900 billion stimulus package an unsuitable “disgrace,” and alluded to possibly vetoing the bill, over the weekend the president signed the bill into law . By signing off, a government shutdown was averted while unemployment benefits were extended to millions of Americans.After President Trump demanded stimulus checks for Americans to be raised from $600 to $2,000 each , the Democrat-led House voted for this measure on Monday (Dec. 28). The ball is now in the GOP-led Senate’s court on the measure. They are not expected to approve the measure.Apple led the Dow higher, and gained 3.6%. Disney also climbed nearly 3%.Communication services, consumer discretionary and tech were the best performing sectors in the S&P 500, with each rising over 1%.Amidst fears of a COVID-19 “surge on top of a surge” after the Christmas holiday, over one million people in the U.S. have now been vaccinated. Meanwhile, the U.S. has averaged at least 184,000 new infections per day.Markets cheered President Trump’s signing of the stimulus package and are further encouraged by the possibility of larger stimulus checks. After the market traded flat last week, it kicked off the final week of 2020 with a bang. Although it is still very possible that consolidation, profit taking, and rebalancing could happen in this shortened week, the general focus of both investors and analysts has appeared to be the long-term potential of 2021.As Tom Essaye, founder of The Sevens Report said :“The five pillars of the rally (Federal stimulus, FOMC stimulus, vaccine rollout, divided government and no double dip recession) remain largely in place, and until that changes, the medium and longer-term outlook for stocks will be positive.”While I still do believe that there will be a short-term tug of war between good news and bad news, I am now convinced that these moves are manic and based on sentiment. There has not been a pullback to end the year as I anticipated. But I still do believe that markets have overheated, and that between now and the end of Q1 2020 a correction could happen.There is optimistic potential, but the road towards normalcy will hit inevitable speed bumps.I do believe though that a correction is healthy and could be a good thing. Corrections happen way more often than people realize. Only twice in the last 38 years have we had years WITHOUT a correction (1995 and 2017). I believe we are overdue for one since there has not been one since the lows of March. This is healthy market behavior and could be a very good buying opportunity for what I believe will be a great second half of the year.The mid-term and long-term optimism are very real, despite the near-term risks. The passage of the stimulus package only solidifies the robust vaccine-induced tailwinds entering 2021.The general consensus is that 2021 could be a strong year for stocks, despite short-term headwinds. According to a new CNBC survey which polled more than 100 chief investment officers and portfolio managers, two-thirds of respondents said the Dow Jones will most likely finish 2021 at 35,000 - a roughly 16% gain from Thursday’s close of 30,199.87. Five percent also said that the index could climb to 40,000 by the end of 2021.Therefore, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there are short-term concerns. A short-term correction between now and Q1 2021 is very possible. But I do not believe, with conviction, that a correction above ~20% leading to a bear market will happen. Will the Dow Approach 31,000 or 29,000 Before Mid-2021?Figure 1 - Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU)After trading as low as around 29,650 at one point last Monday (Dec. 21), the Dow has been firmly back above 30,000 for the last week. The blue-chip index also closed at yet another record high on Monday (Dec. 28).I do think that the Dow has some more room to run in the next few days to close off the year. Trump’s signing of the stimulus bill was a belated Christmas gift for investors everywhere. If the Senate approves $2,000 stimulus checks, then another short-term pop can certainly happen.My short-term questions though still remain as to whether or not the Dow can not only stay above 30,000 for more than a week at a time but also hit more all-time highs before March. The volume has also been very unstable as of late, but that is likely due to shortened trading weeks to close off the year.In the short-term, I believe it is just as likely for the Dow to approach 29,000 as it is to approach 31,000 in the early months of 2021.While I think a 35,000 call to close out 2021 is a bit aggressive, I do believe that the second half of 2021 could show robust gains for the index.With so much uncertainty and the RSI still firmly in hold territory, the call on the Dow stays a HOLD.This is a very challenging time to make calls with conviction. But one thing I do believe is that if and when there is a drop in the index, it will not be strong and sharp relative to the gains since March, let alone November. I believe that more likely than not we will be in a sideways holding pattern until vaccines are available to the general public by mid-2021.For an ETF that attempts to directly correlate with the performance of the Dow, the SPDR Dow Jones ETF (DIA) is a strong option.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Stock Pick Update: Dec. 30 – Jan. 5, 2021

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 30.12.2020 13:38
Header: Which stocks could magnify S&P 500’s gains in case it rallies? Take a look at a part of our Stock Pick Update. We have included two Technology stocks and one Health Care stock this time. In the last five trading days (December 23 – December 29) the broad stock market has extended its record-breaking run-up. The S&P 500 index reached new record high of 3,756.12 on Tuesday following the recent stimulus news.The S&P 500 has gained 0.91% between December 23 open and December 29 close. In the same period of time our five long and five short stock picks have lost 0.07%. Stock picks were relatively weaker than the broad stock market last week. Our long stock picks have lost 0.30% and short stock picks have resulted in a gain of 0.16%.There are risks that couldn’t be avoided in trading. Hence the need for proper money management and a relatively diversified stock portfolio. This is especially important if trading on a time basis – without using stop-loss/ profit target levels. We are just buying or selling stocks at open on Wednesday and selling or buying them back at close on the next Tuesday.If stocks were in a prolonged downtrend, being able to profit anyway, would be extremely valuable. Of course, it’s not the point of our Stock Pick Updates to forecast where the general stock market is likely to move, but rather to provide you with stocks that are likely to generate profits regardless of what the S&P does.Our last week’s portfolio result:Long Picks (December 23 open – December 29 close % change): CRM (-4.32%), NVDA (-2.36%), PSX (0.00%), FANG (+4.72%), SPGI (+0.47%)Short Picks (December 23 open – December 29 close % change): SO (+0.10%), AES (+0.73%), WY (-1.27%), ARE (-0.88%), CL (+0.52%)Average long result: -0.30%, average short result: +0.16%Total profit (average): -0.07%Stock Pick Update performance chart since Nov 18, 2020:Let’s check which stocks could magnify S&P’s gains in case it rallies, and which stocks would be likely to decline the most if S&P plunges. Here are our stock picks for the Wednesday, December 30 – Tuesday, January 5 period.We will assume the following: the stocks will be bought or sold short on the opening of today’s trading session (December 30) and sold or bought back on the closing of the next Tuesday’s trading session (January 5).We will provide stock trading ideas based on our in-depth technical and fundamental analysis, but since the main point of this publication is to provide the top 5 long and top 5 short candidates (our opinion, not an investment advice) for this week, we will focus solely on the technicals. The latter are simply more useful in case of short-term trades.First, we will take a look at the recent performance by sector. It may show us which sector is likely to perform best in the near future and which sector is likely to lag. Then, we will select our buy and sell stock picks.There are eleven stock market sectors: Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Technology, Communications Services, Utilities and Real Estate. They are further divided into industries, but we will just stick with these main sectors of the stock market.We will analyze them and their relative performance by looking at the Select Sector SPDR ETF’s .The stock market sector analysis is available to our subscribers only.Based on the above, we decided to choose our stock picks for the next week. We will choose our 5 long and 5 short candidates using trend-following approach:buys: 2 x Technology, 2 x Health Care, 1 x Communication Servicessells: 2 x Utilities, 2 x Energy, 1 x Real EstateBuy CandidatesNVDA NVIDIA Corp. - TechnologyStock trades along medium-term upward trend linePossible breakout above short-term consolidationThe support level is at $490-500 and resistance level is at $550, among othersINTC Intel Corp. – TechnologyStock retraced most of its recent declinesPossible breakout above medium-term downward trend lineThe support level is at $47 and the nearest important resistance level is at $52ABBV AbbVie Inc. – Health CareStock broke above short-term downward trend line – uptrend continuation playThe support level is at $100-102 and resistance level is at $106-108Summing up , the above trend-following long stock picks are just a part of our whole Stock Pick Update . The Technology and Health Care sectors were relatively the strongest in the last 30 days. So that part of our ten long and short stock picks is meant to outperform in the coming days if the broad stock market acts similarly as it did before.We hope you enjoyed reading the above free analysis, and we encourage you to read today's Stock Pick Update - this analysis' full version. There, we include the stock market sector analysis for the past month and remaining long and short stock picks for the next week. There's no risk in subscribing right away, because there's a 30-day money back guarantee for all our products, so we encourage you to subscribe today .Thank you.Paul RejczakStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits - Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *DisclaimerAll essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Paul Rejczak and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Paul Rejczak’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Gold Seeks Direction as USDX Slips

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 30.12.2020 17:36
As of Wednesday (Dec. 30) morning, gold is range trading and remains more or less flat as it seeks momentum. As we wait for the precious metals to act on a catalyst, let’s also take a look at the Euro’s relation to the U.S. Dollar and how both impact gold.Over the last 24 hours, the precious metals market did more or less nothing, despite the new daily decline in the USD Index. The latter is now testing its monthly and yearly lows, while the PMs are not. PMs – as a group – are not reacting to what should make them rally, and this is yet another bearish sign for the precious metals market.Figure 1 - USD Index (Sept – Dec 2020)The USDX is at its monthly and yearly lows and at the same time…Figure 2 - COMEX Gold Futures (Jan – Dec 2020)Gold is about $30 below its monthly high, and about $200 below the yearly low.After a temporary breakout, gold is back below its 2011 high. The breakout above the latter was clearly invalidated.Figure 3 - COMEX Silver Futures (Jan – Dec 2020)Silver is not even close to its 2011 high, and while it’s relatively strong compared to gold and miners on a short-term basis, it’s not at its December high right now. It’s also a few dollars below its yearly high.Figure 4 - GDX VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (Feb – Dec 2020)Miners remained relatively quiet on Tuesday (Dec. 29).We see that the GDX ETF moved lower once again despite the intraday attempt to rally. During Monday’s (Dec. 28) session, miners once again moved back to their 50-day moving average and… Once again verified it as resistance. The implications are bearish.Let’s get back to silver once again. On its chart, you can see a triangle-vertex-based reversal at the end of the year. Before the price moves close to the reversal, it’s relatively unclear what kind of implications a given reversal is likely to have. Well, including today’s (Dec. 30) session, there remain only two sessions until the end of the year, so we’re likely to see the reversal shortly.Based on the likelihood that the next big move is going to be to the downside, it would fit the overall picture more if the upcoming reversal was a top, not a bottom. A bottom would imply a rally in the following days or weeks, and the relative performance (as described above) along with other factors continues to favor a bigger decline.This means that we might not see a meaningful decline for a few more days, and we might even see one final move higher before the top is formed. This could be something that takes place in silver only, or something that we see in gold and miners as well. Still, I don’t expect it to be really significant in case of the latter. They are underperforming the metals, after all.Before summarizing, let’s discuss the USD Index’s main part – the EUR/USD currency pair in greater detail. After all, this pair often moves in tandem with gold.EUR/USD Decouples from FundamentalsJohn Maynard Keynes once said, “Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.”And right now, EUR/USD is putting his theory to the test.Because the euro accounts for nearly 58% of the movement in the USD Index, its rise (and likely fall) will determine if/when the war is won.But brimming with confidence and unwilling to wave the white flag, the EUR/USD has been green for five straight days and has rallied during nine of the last 12 trading days. And while sentiment and momentum are warriors that don’t die easy, the euro is losing fundamental soldiers left and right.Please see the chart below:Figure 5 - European Central Bank (ECB) Balance SheetAnother weekly update shows the European Central Bank’s (ECB) money printer continues to work overtime. And as I mentioned on Monday (Dec. 28), the ECB’s total assets now equal 69% of Eurozone GDP – nearly double the U.S. Federal Reserve’s (FED) 35%.And why is this necessary?Because the Eurozone economy is in free-fall.Remember, currencies trade on a relative basis. Thus, a less-bad U.S. economy is good news for the U.S. dollar.Please see below:Figure 6 - 2020 Economic Indicators for Germany, France, Italy, SpainAcross Europe’s largest economies – Germany , France, Italy and Spain – economic activity is rolling over (To explain the chart, alternative economic indicators are high-frequency data like credit card spending, indoor dining traffic, travel activity and location information.)And underpinning the irrationality, the deceleration is happening as the euro is strengthening.Makes sense?Well, considering Spain’s retail sales dipped further into negative territory on Monday (Dec. 28) – coming in at – 5.8% vs. – 5.3% expected – the data speaks for itself.Figure 7 - Spain Retail Sales Constant Prices (Source: Bloomberg/Daniel Lacalle)The bottom line is: the euro bulls are fighting a war they’re unlikely to win. And as the fundamental data worsens, it’s analogous to a platoon losing more and more soldiers. Eventually, the infantry runs out of reserves and it’s time to wave the white flag.And then what happens?Well, then history tries to explain how it all went wrong.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

What Are Gold’s New Year’s Resolutions?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 31.12.2020 16:07
2020 is dead! Long live 2021! The new year should be positive for gold, but to a lesser extent than the previous year.Finally, 2020 has drawn to a close! It was a strange year all right, bringing with it disaster for many people all over the world, so it’s a good thing that it’s passing. Few will miss 2020... but gold bulls should count themselves among this small group of people. After all, as the chart below shows, the yellow metal jumped from $1,515 to $1,874, gaining more than $350, or almost 24 percent!Gold prices have been rising since May 2019, amid the Fed’s interest rate cuts. The pandemic was the catalyst for the rally in 2020, and increased the safe-haven demand for the yellow metal . The epidemic in the U.S. also triggered an expansion in monetary policy easing that led to abundant liquidity and negative real interest rates , which pushed the gold prices higher. Last but not least, the loose fiscal policy expanded the fiscal deficits , which ballooned the public debt and increased fears about the debt crisis and inflation . So, gold shined in 2020 , although the aggressive March asset selloff and shift into cash plunged the gold prices for a while.Implications for Gold in 2021We know what happened in 2020, but the key question is what will 2021 bring for the gold market? Given that the price of gold peaked in August and has been unable to return above $1,900, there are justified worries that the best of times are already behind the yellow metal. However, others claim that we are just witnessing an interlude within gold’s bull market ? Who is right?Well, both sides are right. How is that possible? In my view, 2021 should be positive for the yellow metal, but to a lesser extent than the previous year . This claim is based on a careful comparative analysis. Long story short, 2021 should be economically better compared to 2020 (unless we see a solvency crisis). Armed with vaccines, we will eventually win the battle with the coronavirus and the era of economic lockdowns will end.In consequence, although the monetary policy will remain accommodative, room for further easing is limited. Actually, there is a downward risk for gold that the interest rates will normalize somewhat during the economic recovery in 2021. The same applies to fiscal policy: although it will stay loose, the ratio of public debt to GDP should stabilize, especially if Republicans maintain control over the Senate and will block the most extravagant Democrats’ spending proposals. In other words, the economic normalization and strengthened risk appetite could create downward pressure on the yellow metal .However, there are also some upward risks for gold in 2021 . One tailwind is a weakening of the U.S. dollar amid a zero interest rate policy , large fiscal deficits, and capital outflows into foreign markets. Another positive macroeconomic trend for gold is reflation , i.e., the possibility that inflation will increase next year due to the disruptions in the global supply chains, a surge in the money supply , and economic recovery with the realization of pent-up demand.Hence, the greenback’s depreciation and the continuation of easy monetary and fiscal policies should support the price of the yellow metal. History also shows that gold shines during the early phase of economic recovery, so gold bulls don’t have to be worried that the effects of the pandemic are over. At least not immediately, as January is historically positive for gold prices. And inflation may increase finally, creating downward pressure on the real interest rates, although there might be a significant lag between the surge in the broad money supply and increase in the consumer price index .However, with the federal funds rate already at zero and no indications that the Fed wants negative interest rates , investors could start anticipating higher interest rates later in 2021, which should prove negative for the price of gold.If you are interested in a more detailed outlook for gold in 2021, I will provide a thorough analysis in the upcoming January edition of the Gold Market Overview . Here’s a toast to gold in 2021!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.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

What Will the U.S. Dollar Ring in for 2021?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 04.01.2021 15:16
The fate of the U.S. Dollar will weigh heavily on the future of the precious metals in 2021. At first glance, the USDX’s prospects look rather bleak in the first months of the year, but as the pages of the book turn, the dollar’s likely later ascension could prove rather bearish for gold and the PMs.Breaking hearts as the USD Index falls in and out of love, the greenback continues to leave bulls at the altar, which is likely to have important implications for the gold market in the following weeks . Dressed to impress, investors lined the cathedral aisles as the USDX looked ready to commit to the 90-level.But as cold feet turned into a dash for the exit, 2020 ended without a celebration.However, as we enter 2021 and net-short futures positions (non-commercial traders) remain at their highest level since 2006, the slightest shift in sentiment could have wedding bells ringing again.Please see below:Figure 1 – Net-short Futures PositionsIf you analyze the second red box (on the right side), you can see that the 2018 top in net-short futures positions ended with a violent short-covering rally, which propelled the USDX nearly 11% higher from trough to peak.Figure 2 – U.S. Dollar IndexIn this week’s early trading, the USDX moved lower, almost back to the 2020 lows. This was disappointing to anyone hoping that the December 31 rally was the beginning of a sharp rally, somewhat similar to what we saw in early September. In reality, the Dec. 31 rally and today’s decline don’t change much. It is not the immediate-term that is particularly important right now, but the medium and long-term pictures. The indications coming from them are much more decisive, and more important.And while the USDX remains indecisive right now, its price action still follows a familiar playbook: In 2018, the USDX dipped below the 1.618 Fibonacci extension level before circling back with a vengeance (The initial bottom occurred in early 2018, with the final bottom not far behind.) Moreover, the 2018 USDX bottom also marked the 2018 top in gold, silver and the gold miners (depicted in the below).Figure 3 – USDX, USD, GOLD, GDX, and SPX ComparisonAlso reprising its former role, the USDX’s RSI (Relative Strength Index) mirrors the double-bottom seen in 2017-2018 (the green arrows at the top-left of the chart). As the initial pattern emerged (with the RSI below 30 in 2017), it preceded a significant rally, with the USDX’s RSI surging to nearly 70. And just like the chorus from your favorite song, the pattern repeated in 2018 with nearly identical results.Today, it’s more of the same.If you look at the pattern at the top-right of the chart (the green arrows), the only difference is time. And in time, the USDX’s likely ascension will put significant pressure on gold, silver and the gold miners. In addition, the precious metals’ underperformance relative to the USDX further implies that a drawdown is the path of least resistance.Moreover, let’s keep in mind the similarity in cryptocurrencies – we now have a parabolic upswing, just like what we saw in early 2018. The history does seem to be rhyming, and this doesn’t bode well for the stock market (there are some individual opportunities, e.g. Matthew Levy, CFA managed to reap great gains in the Taiwanese ETF – it gained over twice as much as the S&P since Dec. 3 ), as well as the precious metals market.It appears that the USD Index is repeating its 2017 – 2018 decline to some extent. The starting points of the declines (horizontal red line) as well as the final high of the biggest correction are quite similar. The difference is that the recent correction was smaller than it was in 2017.Since back in 2018, the USDX’s bottom was at about 1.618 Fibonacci extension of the size of the correction, we could expect something similar to happen this time. Applying the above to the current situation would give us the proximity of the 90 level as the downside target.“So, shouldn’t gold soar in this case?” – would be a valid question to ask.Well, if the early 2018 pattern was being repeated, then let’s check what happened to precious metals and gold stocks at that time.In short, they moved just a little higher after the USDX’s breakdown. I marked the moment when the U.S. currency broke below its previous (2017) bottom with a vertical line, so that you can easily see what gold, silver, and GDX (proxy for mining stocks) were doing at that time. They were just before a major top. The bearish action that followed in the short term was particularly visible in the case of the miners.Consequently, even if the USD Index is to decline further from here, then the implications are not particularly bullish for the precious metals market.To summarize, gold’s recent strength is underpinned by a dormant U.S. dollar. But with the greenback more unloved than the villain in a superhero movie, it won’t take much to change the narrative. Furthermore, with net-short futures positions going from excessive to extreme, the game of musical chairs is likely to end with the shorts capitulating and the USDX moving higher. The implications may be unclear for the next few days, but they are bearish for the next few weeks to months.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Will the Fed Support Gold Prices in 2021?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 05.01.2021 13:16
Gold ended 2020 at $1,891, partially thanks to monetary policy easing. In 2021, the Fed may not trigger a comparable rally in gold, but it should offer gold prices some support.Welcome to 2021! I hope that it will be a wonderful year for all of you; a much healthier, calmer and normal year than 2020 was. And even more profitable of course! Indeed, at least gold bulls could be satisfied with the last year, in which the price of gold jumped from $1,523 to $1,891 ( London A.M. Fix )! It means that the yellow metal gained more than 24 percent, as the chart below shows.I know that 24 percent does not look impressive compared to Bitcoin , which gained more than 260 percent in 2020, but it’s still a great achievement relative to other assets or gold in the past. Not to mention the fact that gold’s price level looks more sustainable, while the recent parabolic rises in cryptocurrencies suggest a price bubble .One of the reasons behind gold’s rally was the easy monetary policy adopted by the Fed (and other central banks) in a response to the pandemic and related economic crisis . In a way, the Fed reintroduced the quantitative easing first implemented in the aftermath of the Great Recession . So, gold’s bullish move shouldn’t be surprising.However, there are also some important differences in the monetary policy that followed the global financial crisis and the coronavirus epidemic . First, when Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, the Fed went big. But when COVID-19 infections spread widely through America, the Fed went not only big, but also fast!Just look at the chart below. As you can see, it took just about two months for the U.S. central bank to slash the federal funds rate to zero in the spring of 2020, while it took over a year during the Great Recession.Moreover, from February to November, i.e., in just nine months, the Fed expanded its balance sheet by about $3 trillion, while a decade ago, such an increase took over six years!Implications for Gold in 2021What does the difference in the Fed’s stance imply for the price of gold in 2021? Well, on one hand, because the Fed acted aggressively, there is less room for further monetary policy easing . In the aftermath of the Great Recession, the Fed gradually fired from increasingly powerful weaponry, announcing new rounds of asset purchases from 2007 to 2013, while in a response to the coronavirus, the Fed has fired a bazooka at the outset. This decreases the odds for further monetary policy easing, pushing market expectations towards normalization. You see, when you are at the bottom, the only possible move is up.This is my biggest worry for the gold market in 2021: that monetary policy has already become so dovish, that now it can be only hawkish – at least on a relative basis. The real interest rates are so low that – given the prospects of economic recovery on a horizon – they can only go up, especially if inflation does not increase.On the other hand, inflation could really rise in 2021. Additionally, the fact that the Fed went both big and fast means that the U.S. central bank became more dovish than in the past , which should be positive for the yellow metal. Moreover, a decade ago the central banks at least pretended that they would like to tighten their stance and normalize monetary policy. They even said that quantitative easing would be reversed, and the Fed’s balance sheet would return to its pre-recession level.Now, the illusions have dissipated. The central banks will buy assets for years to come, if not indefinitely, and there will be no taper tantrum . The eventual exit from the current easy monetary stance will be ultra-slow and gentle. The Fed has a clear dovish bias, so the interest rates may go down further – after all, given the debt trap , the central banks could be forced to cap the bond yields , which should support gold prices.Therefore, in 2020, the Fed no longer only intervened on a large scale as it did a decade ago, but it also acted quickly. The change of strategy from go big to go big and fast can be positive for gold prices, but only when the market participants do not believe that the Fed is out of ammunition and only when they expect the normalization of interest rates. Although some investors expect an interest rate hike this year, I believe that the Fed will remain dovish and successfully manage market expectations in order to suppress market interest rates. So, although without the next crisis (such as a debt crisis ) or inflation, the price of gold may not rally substantively, it should be supported by the Fed in 2021 .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: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Major Averages Plummet to Start 2021

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 05.01.2021 17:11
Quick UpdateIn a quick update to kick off 2021, I wanted to summarize my correct calls, and what I profited on since beginning to publish these updates. While nobody can predict the future, the major calls I am most proud of since writing these letters are calling the short-term downturn in small-cap stocks, adding emerging market exposure, and hedging or selling the U.S. dollar.I switched my call on small-caps, specifically the Russell 2000 from a HOLD to a short-term SELL on December 16th. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) surged to unprecedented record gains since November 2020, however, I believed then and still believe that the index has overheated by many measurements. Since December 16th, the IWM ETF is largely flat. However, since peaking on December 23rd, the IWM has underperformed ETFs tracking the larger indices and has declined by nearly 3%. While I am still bullish on small-caps in the long run and maintain my STRONG BUY call on the Russell for the long-term, it is contingent on a pullback . I believe that pullback may have begun. I am hoping for a minimum 10% decline before jumping back in for the long-term.Emerging markets have been some of the best performers in 2020, and I have made some bullish calls on specific regional markets for 2021 as well. I have been touting emerging markets since my first report, but when I switched my focus to specific regions, my calls became even more correct. I called Taiwan ( EWT ETF) the best bet for emerging market exposure while avoiding the risks and baked in profits of China on December 3rd. Since then, the EWT ETF which tracks Taiwan has gained over 7% while the MCHI ETF which tracks China has barely gained over 1.4%. The Taiwan ETF has also outperformed the SPY S&P 500 ETF and the IEUR ETF which tracks Europe.In conjunction with my bullish calls on emerging markets, my bearish calls on the U.S. dollar were also correct. Since I started doing these newsletters about a month ago, I consistently said that the dollar should be hedged or avoided because of the Fed’s policies, effect of interest rates this low for this long, government stimulus, strengthening of emerging markets, and inflation. I also said that any minor rally the dollar would experience would be fool’s good. Since the dollar briefly pierced the 91-level on December 9th, it has fallen nearly 1.4%. Despite it experiencing another mini-rally and nearly piercing the 91-level again on December 22, I remained steadfast in my bearish outlook of the dollar. Since the open on December 23rd, the U.S. Dollar has declined another 0.77%. I believed it would drop back below 90 before the new year, and here we are to start off 2021, with the dollar at 89.85.Markets kicked off the first trading day of 2021 with a dud, due to further concerns of COVID-19 cases and the Georgia Senate run-off elections.News RecapMonday (Jan.4) marked the first negative start to a year for the Dow Jones since 2016. The Dow Jones closed 382.59 points lower, or 1.3%, at 30,223.89. The Dow at one point fell more than 700 points.The S&P 500 also fell 1.5% to 3,700.65, the Nasdaq fell 1.5%, and the small-cap Russell 2000 fell 1.47%.This was the biggest one-day sell-off since Oct. 28 for the Dow and S&P 500, and the Nasdaq’s worst sell-off since Dec. 9.While the sell-off to start the year could be due to natural consolidation, the growing number of COVID-19 cases around the world and its potential impact on the global economic recovery weighed on investors. To start the year off, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a national lockdown to slow the spread of a new, more contagious, coronavirus strain. With this lockdown, people are only allowed to leave their homes for essentials, work if they can’t from home, and exercise. Most schools, including universities, will also move to remote learning.According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University , more than 85 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed globally, including 20.7 million in the U.S. and 2.7 million in the U.K.Pay very close attention to the Georgia Senate run-offs on Tuesday (Jan. 5). The balance of power in the Senate is hanging on the vote and markets could be volatile due to the results. If the Democrats gain a majority, it could impact market performance and leave Biden’s powers largely unchecked. If the Republicans keep just one seat, it could likely check Biden’s more progressive ambitions.Coca-Cola (KO) and Boeing (BA) were the laggards on the Dow, falling 3.8% and 5.3%, respectively. Real estate stocks were the worst performing on the S&P and fell 3.2%. Utilities also declined 2.6%.About 4.6 million people in the U.S. have now gotten a COVID-19 vaccine.Stocks dropped sharply on Monday (Jan. 4), to kick off 2021. It was the first time since 2016 that the Dow Jones started a year off with declines and was the biggest one-day sell-off since Oct. 28 for the Dow and S&P 500. It was also the Nasdaq’s worst one-day decline since Dec. 9.Several catalysts can be blamed for the gloomy start to the year: natural consolidation, COVID-19, and the Georgia Senate runoff elections.First and foremost, a decline like this was bound to happen, and I called this happening in the early part of the year. I still believe that there will be a short-term tug of war between good news and bad news, and that these moves are manic and based on sentiment. There was no pullback to end 2020 as I anticipated, but I still believe that markets have overheated in the short-term. Was Monday (Jan. 4) the start of a correction? Possibly. But either way, I think that between now and the end of Q1 2020, a correction could happen.Carl Icahn seemingly agrees with me, and told CNBC on Monday (Jan. 4), “in my day I’ve seen a lot of wild rallies with a lot of mispriced stocks, but there is one thing they all have in common. Eventually they hit a wall and go into a major painful correction.”I believe, though, that corrections are healthy and could be a good thing. Corrections happen way more often than people realize. Only twice in the last 38 years have we had years WITHOUT a correction (1995 and 2017). I believe we are overdue for one since there has not been one since the lows of March 2020. This is healthy market behavior and could be a very good buying opportunity for what I believe will be a great second half of the year.Meanwhile, COVID-19 continues surging and there are very real fears of new strains discovered in the U.K. and South Africa that could be more contagious. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a national lockdown that could potentially last until mid-February. With this lockdown, people are only allowed to leave their homes for essentials, work if they can’t from home and exercise. Most schools, including universities, will also move to remote learning. This could be an ominous sign for stricter lockdowns to be implemented in other regions across the world.Outside of COVID-19, political uncertainty has returned to the markets. The balance of power in the U.S. Senate is at stake, with Georgia run-off Senate elections set to occur on Tuesday (Jan. 5). Investors are likely to prefer a divided Senate. If the Democrats win both elections and wrestle away Senate control from the Republicans, it could leave President Biden’s powers largely unchecked, and enable him to pass more of his ambitious and progressive policies. Many investors do not anticipate these to be very market friendly. As results start to come in Tuesday evening, markets could react in a volatile manner.According to John Stoltzfus , chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer Asset Management, the S&P 500 could fall by 10% if the Democratic candidates win the Georgia runoffs.“It is thought by not just a few folks on Main Street as well as on Wall Street that if tomorrow’s run-off results in a sweep for the Democrats — providing them with control of the Senate as well as the House — that it would bode ill for business with the likelihood that corporate tax rates could rise substantially,” Stoltzfus said.This will also be a busy week for economic data with the manufacturing PMI report said to be released Tuesday (Jan. 5) and the non-farm payrolls report set to be announced Friday (Jan. 8).Monday's sell-off (Jan. 4) serves as a very painful reminder that markets will still have to weigh the near-term risks against some of the more positive mid-term and long-term hopes on vaccines and re-opening.The general consensus is that 2021 could be a strong year for stocks, despite short-term headwinds. According to a CNBC survey which polled more than 100 chief investment officers and portfolio managers, two-thirds of respondents said the Dow Jones will most likely finish 2021 at 35,000, while five percent also said that the index could climb to 40,000.Therefore, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there are short-term concerns. A short-term correction between now and Q1 2021 is very possible. But I do not believe, with conviction, that a correction above ~20% leading to a bear market will happen. Does the Dow Approach 31,000 or 29,000 Before Mid-2021?I have too many short-term questions for the Dow Jones. I believe it’s just as likely for the Dow to touch 29,000 again as it is to touch 31,000 before March.After trading as low as around 29,650 at one point before the new year (Dec. 21), the Dow has remained firmly above 30,000. However, it has traded largely sideways over the last few weeks, despite opening Jan. 4 with a record high.Despite some long-term optimism, for now, my short-term questions take precedence. I don’t like how COVID-19 is trending (who does?), I am disappointed in the vaccine roll-out, and I am concerned about the Georgia election. In the short-term, I am not convinced that the Dow will stay above 30,000 for more than a week at a time and I am also not convinced that it will hit more all-time highs before March.In the short-term, I believe it is just as likely for the Dow to approach 29,000 as it is to approach 31,000 in the early months of 2021.While I think a 35,000 call to close out 2021 is a bit aggressive, I do believe that the second half of 2021 could show robust gains for the index.With so much uncertainty and the RSI still firmly in hold territory, the call on the Dow stays a HOLD.This is a very challenging time to make a call on the Dow with conviction. But one thing I do believe is that if and when there is a drop in the index, it will not be strong and sharply relative to the gains since March 2020. I believe that it is more likely than not that we will be in a sideways holding pattern until vaccines are available to the general public by mid-2021.For an ETF that attempts to directly correlate with the performance of the Dow, the SPDR Dow Jones ETF (DIA) is a strong option.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Stock Pick Update: Jan. 6 – Jan. 12, 2021

Stock Pick Update: Jan. 6 – Jan. 12, 2021

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 06.01.2021 14:04
Header: Which stocks could magnify S&P 500’s gains in case it rallies? Take a look at a part of our Stock Pick Update. We have included two Materials stocks and one Energy stock this time.In the last five trading days (December 30 – January 5) the broad stock market has fluctuated following its record-breaking run-up. The S&P 500 index has reached new record high of 3,769.90 on Monday before retracing most of its December advances.The S&P 500 has lost 0.25% between December 30 open and January 5 close. In the same period of time our five long and five short stock picks have lost 0.29%. So stock picks basically followed the broad stock market’s performance last week. Our long stock picks have gained 0.46%, but short stock picks have resulted in a loss of 1.04%.There are risks that couldn’t be avoided in trading. Hence the need for proper money management and a relatively diversified stock portfolio. This is especially important if trading on a time basis – without using stop-loss/ profit target levels. We are just buying or selling stocks at open on Wednesday and selling or buying them back at close on the next Tuesday.If stocks were in a prolonged downtrend, being able to profit anyway, would be extremely valuable. Of course, it’s not the point of our Stock Pick Updates to forecast where the general stock market is likely to move, but rather to provide you with stocks that are likely to generate profits regardless of what the S&P does.Our last week’s portfolio result:Long Picks (December 30 open – January 5 close % change): NVDA (+3.19%), INTC (+3.05%), ABBV (+1.32%), VRTX (-2.73%), FB (-2.51%)Short Picks (December 30 open – January 5 close % change): DUK (-0.19%), SO (-0.53%), MPC (+2.88%), VLO (+3.07%), SPG (-0.05%)Average long result: +0.46%, average short result: -1.04%Total profit (average): -0.29%Stock Pick Update performance chart since Nov 18, 2020:Let’s check which stocks could magnify S&P’s gains in case it rallies, and which stocks would be likely to decline the most if S&P plunges. Here are our stock picks for the Wednesday, January 6 – Tuesday, January 12 period.We will assume the following: the stocks will be bought or sold short on the opening of today’s trading session (January 6) and sold or bought back on the closing of the next Tuesday’s trading session (January 12).We will provide stock trading ideas based on our in-depth technical and fundamental analysis, but since the main point of this publication is to provide the top 5 long and top 5 short candidates (our opinion, not an investment advice) for this week, we will focus solely on the technicals. The latter are simply more useful in case of short-term trades.First, we will take a look at the recent performance by sector. It may show us which sector is likely to perform best in the near future and which sector is likely to lag. Then, we will select our buy and sell stock picks.There are eleven stock market sectors: Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Technology, Communications Services, Utilities and Real Estate. They are further divided into industries, but we will just stick with these main sectors of the stock market.We will analyze them and their relative performance by looking at the Select Sector SPDR ETF’s .The stock market sector analysis is available to our subscribers only.Based on the above, we decided to choose our stock picks for the next week. We will choose our 5 long and 5 short candidates using trend-following approach:buys: 2 x Materials, 2 x Energy, 1 x Technologysells: 2 x Real Estate, 2 x Utilities, 1 x IndustrialsBuy CandidatesECL Ecolab, Inc. - MaterialsStock remains above the support level of $212.50Possible breakout above short-term consolidationThe resistance level is at $220-225CE Celanese Corp. – MaterialsPossible breakout above month-long downward trend lineThe support level is at $125.00 and the resistance level is at $137.50KMI Kinder Morgan Inc. – EnergyStock broke above the downward trend line – uptrend continuation playThe support level is at $13.40 and resistance level is at $15, among othersSumming up , the above trend-following long stock picks are just a part of our whole Stock Pick Update . The Materials and Energy sectors were relatively the strongest in the last 30 days. So that part of our ten long and short stock picks is meant to outperform in the coming days if the broad stock market acts similarly as it did before.We hope you enjoyed reading the above free analysis, and we encourage you to read today's Stock Pick Update - this analysis' full version. There, we include the stock market sector analysis for the past month and remaining long and short stock picks for the next week. There's no risk in subscribing right away, because there's a 30-day money back guarantee for all our products, so we encourage you to subscribe today .Thank you.Paul RejczakStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits - Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *DisclaimerAll essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Paul Rejczak and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Paul Rejczak’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Despite Signs to the Contrary, Gold at or Near Top

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 06.01.2021 16:13
The thing that most likely raised quite a few eyebrows this week was – in addition to gold’s recent move by itself – the fact that gold rallied mostly without the dollar’s help. Yesterday (Jan. 5) I wrote that one swallow doesn’t make a summer and that a single session rarely changes much.We didn’t have to wait for long – the situation seems to be getting back to normal.Figure 1 - COMEX Gold FuturesAfter the January 4th rally, gold moved only insignificantly higher, and it’s even a bit lower in today’s pre-market trading.Figure 2 - USD IndexWhile the USD Index didn’t decline on Jan. 4, it did in the following days – yesterday and in today’s pre-market trading. So, the gold-USD link seems to be relatively normal after all; it doesn’t – by itself – indicate further relative strength in gold .There are three important things that one needs to note here.The first one is what I already wrote previously – gold is not even above its Nov. 2020 high, while the USDX is below its 2020 low, which means that gold is weak relative to the USD Index and Monday’s (Jan. 4) rally seems to have been an exception.The second one is also something that I wrote about previously – gold is right at its triangle-vertex-based reversal and it might have just topped (given its tiny decline despite a decline in the USDX).The third one is that the USD Index has quite a steep declining resistance line that’s based on the early-November and late-November highs. Each previous attempt to break above it that we saw in the last few weeks failed. But thanks to the steepness of the line, the USD Index is at this line even despite today’s decline. All it takes for the USD Index to break above it is for it to do… nothing. This should be relatively easy given how excessive the bearishness is in this market, how similar it is to what we saw in early 2018, what’s happening in the RSI and even given the similarity between 2018 and now in the cryptocurrencies. You can see details on the chart below.Figure 3 - USDX, USD, GOLD, GDX, and SPX ComparisonBy the way, someone who is not interested in markets or investments at all just called me yesterday to ask if I can help an individual they knew with cryptos – this is a classic case study of something that you see in the final stages of a price bubble. It’s an example of the general public buying, and they tend to enter at the tops. Bitcoin is at about $35,000 when I’m writing these words - you have been warned.How does it all combine? The gold-USD link is intact and a soaring USDX would likely trigger a sell-off in gold. There are many reasons due to which the USDX is likely to rally soon, even the situation in the cryptocurrency market makes the current time similar to early 2018. The triangle-vertex-based reversal in gold is right about now, so it seems that we won’t have to wait for long.Figure 4 - COMEX Silver FuturesAdditionally, silver is showing strength.Figure 5 – VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETFMiners, however, are not showing strength. They even declined yesterday (by just one cent, but still) while gold moved a bit higher, but this is just a small confirmation of what we’ve been seeing for many weeks.Let’s study the above chart:Miners were underperforming gold for many days and weeks, and they showed strength on Monday (Jan. 4). Just like in the case of gold – it was a one-day phenomenon, and one swallow doesn’t make a summer.During the day, the GDX ETF managed to rally above its 50-day moving average – just as it did at its November top. Unlike gold, miners are not very close to their November high. They corrected about 61.8% of the decline from this top. Moreover, please note that miners have corrected about 38.2% of the August – November decline. They haven’t even erased half of the decline that occurred in the previous months – so it’s definitely too early to say that miners started a new powerful rally here. Instead, we see that miners are making lower lows and lower highs.Moreover, please take note of the spike in volume that we saw on Monday. There were very few cases when we saw something similar in the previous months, which was at the November high and at the July high, right before the final 2020 top. The implications are bearish.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Gold Began 2021 With a Bang, Only to Plunge

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 07.01.2021 15:44
2021 started off well for gold. It’s not surprising, as January is usually positive for the yellow metal, but the Georgia runoff results may constitute an additional bullish factor in the longer term.What a start to the new year! Gold has begun 2021 very well : as the chart below shows, the price of the yellow metal (London A.M. Fix) increased from $1,891 on December 31, 2020 to $1,947 on January 5, 2021.Should we be surprised? Not at all! Our readers are perfectly aware that January is historically a good month for gold, so the recent gains are perfectly understandable.And, as a reminder, although I’m cautious in formulating my bullish outlook for gold in 2021, especially later this year, my view remains optimistic and I expect the continuation of gold’s bull market . Although there are some reasons to worry, I don’t think that gold has had its last word.After all, gold’s fundamentals are staying positive . The Fed continues its dovish monetary policy and the real interest rates are kept deeply under zero. The fiscal policy is also loose and the public debt is rising. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar has been weakening since March 2020, as the chart below shows.Georgia Runoff’s Implications for GoldGold’s positive fundamentals in the long term can be strengthened by Georgia runoffs. At the time of writing this article, Democrats have already won the U.S. Senate race in Georgia – as Raphael Warnock beat Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler – and lead in the second, edging closed to control of the chamber.You see, if Democrats win both races in Georgia, they will have 50 Senate seats, the same as Republicans. However, in case of split voting results in the Senate, the Vice President (as president of the upper chamber), is the tiebreaker. So, with Kamala Harris as Vice President, Democrats would have control over the Senate.Along with a change in the White House and a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, we would be seeing a “blue sweep” of Congress. Such a revolution could lead to a higher fiscal stimulus, stricter corporate regulation and higher taxes. In other words, investors expect that a Democrat-controlled Senate would expand the U.S. fiscal deficits even further.Indeed, some analysts expect another big stimulus package of about $600 billion to accelerate the economic recovery from the coronavirus-related recession , if Democrats take over the Senate. With unified control over Washington, really big opportunities lie in front of Democrats, including $2,000 stimulus checks. The expectations of larger government spending is positive for gold prices , as higher expenditures would increase the public debt, weaken the greenback (indeed, the dollar fell on January 6), and they could also bring some inflationary effects, if the Fed decides to monetize the new debt (and why should it refuse to do what it’s done for so many years).However, the prospects of larger government borrowing have increased bond yields , which could be negative for the yellow metal in the short-term. This is probably why the price of gold declined on January 6 (although there was also normal profit taking in the gold market). Wall Street’s main indexes opened lower that day, so equities were also hit by the increased possibility of a blue wave and prospects of stricter regulations and higher taxes. With both bond and equities hit by the vision of a Democratic-controlled Senate, gold could be the biggest beneficiary of the Georgia runoff. As a reminder, this scenario (the blue wave) for the U.S. November elections was considered to be the most positive for the gold prices – and nothing changed here for the past two months.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: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

The Gold Market in 2020 and Beyond

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 08.01.2021 17:48
Was the past year good for the yellow metal? What happened in 2020 and what will 2021 be like for the gold market?Nobody the Spanish Inquisition! And nobody expected a pandemic in 2020! Oh boy, what a year… How good that 2020 has already passed! It was an extraordinary year, unlike any other in many decades. Unfortunately, 2020 was a disastrous time for many people all over the world who suffered from COVID-19 or whose relatives and friends died because of the coronavirus or the collapse of the healthcare system… Our thoughts are with them. Many others lost their jobs or income, and all of us suffered from loneliness and limited freedom during the Great Lockdown . Indeed, it’s good that 2020 is over – and we hope that 2021 will be much better!And what did 2020 mean for gold? Well, it turned out that last year was gracious to the yellow metal. As the chart below shows, gold entered 2020 with a price of $1,515 per ounce, and finished the year at $1,888 (London P.M. Fix as of December 30). It means that the shiny metal rose over 24 percent – that’s not bad considering other assets were hit really hard during the economic crisis !Actually, 2020 was definitely better for gold prices than 2019 , when the yellow metal gained “only” over 18 percent. As I didn’t predict the global pandemic (who did?), I didn’t forecast such strong gains in my base scenario. However, given the inversion of the yield curve in 2019, I expected a kind of economic downturn that would positively impact gold prices. One year ago, in a January 2020 edition of the Gold Market Overview , I wrote:unless anything ugly happens, the macroeconomic environment could be less supportive for gold than in 2019. However, bad things do happen, and, according to Murphy’s law, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Hence, the gold fundamentals may turn out to be more positive for gold over the year. After all, the yield curve has inverted last year and we are already observing some recessionary trends, especially in the manufacturing sector and among the small-sized companies (…) given the amount of black swans flying just above the market surface, gold might provide us with some bullish surprises as well.And indeed, the black swan (or perhaps a white or gray swan) landed in 2020, pleasing the gold bulls. However, despite gold’s impressive performance, some people complain that gold didn’t rally more during the coronavirus turmoil. I completely understand this disappointment – after all, the world suffered its deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression , larger even than the Great Recession , and gold gained only 24.6 percent?However, the crisis was deep but very short, as we quickly learnt how to live with the virus, while our brilliant scientists swiftly developed vaccines. Moreover, this time banks were resilient and there was no financial crisis . Another factor is that gold actually rallied more than 36 percent until its peak in August (or more than 40 percent counting from the bottom), but it later corrected somewhat.Indeed, we can distinguish a few phases in the gold market in 2020:A pre-pandemic bullish phase caused by easy monetary policy and worries about the coronavirus, that lasted until mid-February, with the price of gold increasing from $1,515 to $1,604 (5.9 percent) on February 19, just before the stock market crash.The bullish period (with a short bearish correction) more closely related to the unfolding pandemic, the stock market crash and central banks’ panic and bold responses. It started on February 20 and ended on March 6, when the price of gold reached $1,684 (gaining 5 percent).The bearish phase caused by investors’ panic selloff of all assets in order to raise cash. It lasted until March 19, when the price of gold reached its 2020 bottom of $1,474 (a decline of 12.5 percent).A super bullish phase that lasted until August 6, when the price of gold reached its all-time peak of $2,067, soaring 40.2 percent in just four and half months. This period can be split into: the bullish phase, caused by the coronavirus shock, that lasted until mid-April; the consolidation period, that came when the financial markets calmed down as the initial doomsday scenarios didn’t materialize, and lasted from mid-April to mid-June; and another bullish phase, caused by disastrous economic data for the first half of 2020, and massive stimulus programs delivered by the central banks and governments.The bearish period , during which the yellow metal declined to $1,763 on the last day of November, or 14.7 percent, due to positive vaccine-related news and reduced geopolitical uncertainty after the U.S. presidential elections.The bullish remainder of the year, during which gold rose to $1,888, or 7 percent, caused by the dark COVID-19 winter, poor economic data, strengthened prospects of another government financial stimulus, and related worries about the rising U.S. debt.So, it’s pretty obvious that the course of the pandemic was one of the most important tailwinds for the gold prices in 2020. Thus, the correction caused by the vaccine breakthroughs is not surprising, given the scale of the previous rally . However, please note that gold reacted not to the pandemic itself, but rather to the investors, governments, and central banks’ reaction to it. The yellow metal gained the most when investors were fearful, and when the Fed and Treasury injected liquidity into the markets.This all bodes well for gold in 2021. After all, the U.S. central bank won’t cease conducting its very easy monetary policy , while a Biden-Yellen duo will continue the dovish fiscal policy inherited from the Trump administration. Such a policy mix should support gold prices. Of course, the scale of accommodation would be lower than in 2020, so gold’s performance in 2021 could be worse than last year. But unless we see a normalization in the monetary policy and an increase in the real interest rates , the bull market in gold shouldn’t end.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

What Underperforms Gold and Heralds More Declines?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 11.01.2021 17:03
With the gold miners underperforming gold, and gold underperforming the USDX, it was only a matter of time before the house of cards came crashing down.The writing has been on the wall all along with signs for all to see. On Jan. 5, I warned that the GDX was approaching an inflection point in the following way:The GDX ETF managed to rally above its 50-day moving average – just as it did at its November top. Moreover, please take note of the spike in volume that we saw yesterday. There were very few cases when we saw something similar in the previous months, which was at the November high and at the July high, right before the final 2020 top. The implications are bearish.And despite Friday’s (Jan. 8) 4.82% sell-off, the GDX’s last hurrah is likely to end with even more fireworks.Please see the chart below:Figure 1 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), GDX and Slow Stochastic Oscillator Chart Comparison – 2020With technicals foretelling the decline, many bullion bulls closed their eyes to the plethora of warnings signs that you can find in the previous Gold & Silver Trading Alerts.For example:A huge volume spike in the first session of 2021 was very similar to what we saw at the November 2020 and July 2020 tops – this heralded declines.The GDX’s stochastic oscillator bounced above 80, mirroring similar readings that preceded five pullbacks since September.Arguably the most important indication that keeps on flashing the very bearish signals , the GDX’s underperformance relative to gold remained intact.In addition, the GDX is on the cusp of forming a head and shoulders pattern . If you analyze the chart above, the area on the left (marked S) represents the first shoulder, while the area in the middle (H) represents the head and the area on the right (second S) represents the potential second shoulder.Right now, $33.7-$34 is the do-or-die area. If the GDX breaks below this (where the right shoulder forms) it could trigger a decline back to the $24 to $23 range (measured by the spread between the head and the neckline; marked with green).Since there’s a significant support at about $31 in the form of the 50% retracement based on the 2020 rally, and the February 2020 high, it seems that we might see the miners pause there. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a pullback from these levels to about $33, which could serve as the verification of the completion of the head-and-shoulder pattern. This might take place at the same time, when gold corrects the decline to $1,700, but it’s too early to say with certainty.Also, let’s not forget that the GDX ETF has recently invalidated the breakout above the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement based on the 2011 – 2016 decline.Figure 2 - GDX VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (2009 – 2020)When GDX approached its 38.2% Fibonacci retracement, it declined sharply – it was right after the 2016 top. Are we seeing the 2020 top right now? This is quite possible – PMs are likely to decline after the sharp upswing, and since there is just more than one month left before the year ends, it might be the case that they move north of the recent highs only in 2021.Either way, miners’ inability to move above the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level and their invalidation of the tiny breakout is a bearish sign.The same goes for miners’ inability to stay above the rising support line – the line that’s parallel to the line based on the 2016 and 2020 lows.In summary, the GDX’s train has likely gone off the rails, with silver in the front car and gold in the back. And as the technical derailment unfolds, a resurgent U.S. dollar is likely to accelerate the impact. Furthermore, if the S&P 500 hops on board – and declines from its current state of euphoria – damage to the precious metals mining stocks could be particularly violent.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Blue (Wave) Beats Gold

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 12.01.2021 14:15
What a week! First gold soared to almost $1,960, but then its price (London P.M. Fix) plunged to $1,863 on January 8, as the chart below shows.This is quite strange (and bearish) behavior, given what happened last week. First, there were violent pro-Trump protests in Washington D.C. The rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol. During these riots, five people died. Given the chaos in the capital, gold, which is a safe-haven asset , should shine.Second, the December Employment Situation Report came out . It turned out that the nonfarm payroll employment declined by 140,000 last month . The numbers fell short of expectations, as the pundits expected that the U.S. economy would add 50,000 jobs. The contraction in the nonfarm payrolls means that the winter wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. labor market rather significantly.Third, despite the rollout of vaccinations (which is rather sluggish), the epidemic in the U.S. is taking its toll . The number of daily new cases of the coronavirus is above 250,000, the record high, as the chart above shows. So, we see the impact of the winter holidays showing up in the data.Rioting will also not help in limiting the spread of the coronavirus . Furthermore, hospitalizations and deaths are also rising. The past week saw the first time the U.S. reporting more than 3,900 deaths in a single day, as the chart below shows.Lastly, both Democratic candidates won the runoffs in Georgia , which means that Democrats took control over the Senate. The unexpected blue wave raised expectations for higher taxes and larges fiscal deficits , which should be positive for gold.Implications for GoldThese factors should have been bullish for gold and they should have made the price of the yellow metal rally, but they weren’t and they didn’t. It seems that investors generally welcomed the blue wave and focused on a positive side of that development, or it might have been the case that the gold market was reacting to technical developments, not the fundamental ones. In any case, we can see the replay of the 2016 presidential election when everyone expected that Trump’s victory would be bad for the equity markets and positive for the precious metals market. But back then shares soared while gold plunged. We are currently witnessing something similar. Everyone thought that a blue wave would be the best scenario for gold, but the yellow metal dropped again.Why? Well, maybe it was just a “buy the rumor, sell the fact” phenomenon. Or maybe investors just don’t care about the long-term consequences of larger fiscal stimulus, such as rising public debt . Instead, they assumed that more government spending would accelerate GDP growth . This is why the real interest rates rose (see the chart below), which pushed the gold prices lower.Another issue is that when Trump didn’t support the riots, investors assumed that there will ultimately be a peaceful transition of power and started to sell safe-haven assets such as gold. With Democrats taking control of both the White House and the whole of Congress, investors increased their risk-appetite, which created downward pressure on gold prices.Moreover, the minutes of the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting published last week indicate that further monetary easing is not likely in the very near future.However, sooner or later the Fed will have to step in. The worsening condition of the U.S. labor market and rising bond yields will prompt the central bank to provide further accommodation. After all, the main task of the central banks is to provide the governments with fiscal room. And at some point, investors will start to worry about the rising fiscal deficits and public debt.So, as long as the real interest rates are rising, gold will be in trouble . But at some point the rates should stabilize, or they could even decline again – especially if inflation emerges – which would help the 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: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Stock Pick Update: Jan. 13 – Jan. 19, 2021

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 13.01.2021 14:23
Header: Which stocks could magnify S&P 500’s gains in case it rallies? Take a look at a part of our Stock Pick Update. We have included two Financials and one Materials stock this time.In the last five trading days (January 6 – January 12) the broad stock market has extended its record-breaking run-up. The S&P 500 index has reached new record high of 3,826.69 on Friday following new stimulus package hopes.The S&P 500 has gained 2.40% between January 6 open and January 12 close. In the same period of time our five long and five short stock picks have gained 1.59%. Stock picks were relatively weaker than the broad stock market’s performance last week. However, our long stock picks have gained 3.35% outperforming the index . Short stock picks have resulted in a loss of 0.17%.There are risks that couldn’t be avoided in trading. Hence the need for proper money management and a relatively diversified stock portfolio. This is especially important if trading on a time basis – without using stop-loss/ profit target levels. We are just buying or selling stocks at open on Wednesday and selling or buying them back at close on the next Tuesday.If stocks were in a prolonged downtrend, being able to profit anyway, would be extremely valuable. Of course, it’s not the point of our Stock Pick Updates to forecast where the general stock market is likely to move, but rather to provide you with stocks that are likely to generate profits regardless of what the S&P does.Our last week’s portfolio result:Long Picks (January 6 open – January 12 close % change): ECL (+1.65%), CE (+3.80%), KMI (+7.87%), VLO (+1.45%), NVDA (+1.98%)Short Picks (January 6 open – January 12 close % change): PLD (-1.43%), SPG (+1.70%), DUK (-1.13%), PEG (+1.97%), HON (-0.27%)Average long result: +3.35%, average short result: -0.17%Total profit (average): +1.59%Stock Pick Update performance chart since Nov 18, 2020:Let’s check which stocks could magnify S&P’s gains in case it rallies, and which stocks would be likely to decline the most if S&P plunges. Here are our stock picks for the Wednesday, January 13 – Tuesday, January 19 period.We will assume the following: the stocks will be bought or sold short on the opening of today’s trading session (January 13) and sold or bought back on the closing of the next Tuesday’s trading session (January 19).We will provide stock trading ideas based on our in-depth technical and fundamental analysis, but since the main point of this publication is to provide the top 5 long and top 5 short candidates (our opinion, not an investment advice) for this week, we will focus solely on the technicals. The latter are simply more useful in case of short-term trades.First, we will take a look at the recent performance by sector. It may show us which sector is likely to perform best in the near future and which sector is likely to lag. Then, we will select our buy and sell stock picks.There are eleven stock market sectors: Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Technology, Communications Services, Utilities and Real Estate. They are further divided into industries, but we will just stick with these main sectors of the stock market.We will analyze them and their relative performance by looking at the Select Sector SPDR ETF’s .The stock market sector analysis is available to our subscribers only.Based on the above, we decided to choose our stock picks for the next week. We will choose our 5 long and 5 short candidates using trend-following approach:buys: 2 x Financials, 2 x Materials, 1 x Consumer Discretionarysells: 2 x Real Estate, 2 x Communication Services, 1 x Consumer StaplesBuy CandidatesAXP American Express Co. - FinancialsStock remains above its medium- and short-term upward trend linesPossible breakout above the previous highThe resistance level is at $124 and support level is at $113SPGI S&P Global Inc. – FinancialsPossible upward reversal from the support level of $212-213The resistance level is at $325 – short-term upside profit target levelSHW Sherwin Williams Co. – MaterialsStock broke above the short-term downward trend line – uptrend continuation playThe support level is at $710 and resistance level is at $740-750Summing up , the above trend-following long stock picks are just a part of our whole Stock Pick Update . The Financials and Materials sectors were relatively the strongest in the last 30 days. So that part of our ten long and short stock picks is meant to outperform in the coming days if the broad stock market acts similarly as it did before.We hope you enjoyed reading the above free analysis, and we encourage you to read today's Stock Pick Update - this analysis' full version. There, we include the stock market sector analysis for the past month and remaining long and short stock picks for the next week. There's no risk in subscribing right away, because there's a 30-day money back guarantee for all our products, so we encourage you to subscribe today .Thank you.Paul RejczakStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits - Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *DisclaimerAll essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Paul Rejczak and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Paul Rejczak’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

3 Price Drivers in a Globalized World

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 13.01.2021 16:02
Do you want to know how gold will be doing soon? Or the USDX? You have to look at the German and French economies. You may ask “What? How can they be tied together?” Well, the globalization of markets is one of the core foundations of the modern world. With everything interrelated, nothing in economics can be examined in a vacuum state. That includes the three precious metals price drivers: stocks, yields and currencies.The EUR/USD currency pair is a perfect example of this interconnectivity. Being the most popular and most traded currency pair in the world, the EUR/USD is influenced by many factors, including the price action in the USD Index as well as the strength of the European and American economies at any given time. The same level of interconnectedness can be applied to the other price drivers.Let’s take a fundamental look at stocks, yields and currencies.As you can see in our Correlation Matrix , the 30-trading-day correlation values are strongly negative in the case of all key parts of the precious metals market (gold, silver, senior miners, junior miners) and the USD Index, while they remain generally positive in case of the link with the stock market. Both links are most visible when we take the 250 trading days into account (effectively about 1 year).Figure 1The closer to -1 the number gets, the more negatively correlated given assets are, and the closer to 1 it gets, the stronger the positive correlation. Numbers close to zero imply no correlation.So, what do these markets tell us about future movements in the price of gold?Future HistoryYesterday , I highlighted the record excess that’s building up across U.S. equities. And as we approach the middle of January, investors are giving new meaning to Paul Engemann’s Push It to the Limit .Last week, the S&P 500’s option Gamma (21-day moving average) reached the top 0.37% of all-time readings. And on Monday (Jan. 11), the 10-day MA set a new record.Please see the chart below:Figure 2Keep in mind, Monday’s record was set on an absolute basis (by analyzing the number of outstanding options contracts). However, relative to the S&P 500’s market cap (which biases the reading lower as stocks move higher), it’s the fourth-highest since 2011. More importantly though, the last three times Gamma exposure reached the current level, the S&P 500 fell by 7.9%, 7.3% and 31.0% over the following two months (the vertical red lines above).From a valuation perspective, the derivatives frenzy has also helped push the NASDAQ (4.17x), S&P 500 (2.85x) and Russell 2000’s (1.49x) price-to-sales (P/S) ratios to their highest levels ever.Please see below:Figure 3 – (Source: Bloomberg/ Liz Ann Sonders)And a day after the milestones were set, U.S. small business confidence (the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index) fell to a seven-month low (Jan. 12).Figure 4 - (Source: Bloomberg/Daniel Lacalle)In addition, while economists expected a print of 100.2 (the red box on the left), the reading came in at 95.9 (the red box on the right), more than two points below the index’s historical average. Furthermore, nine out of 10 survey categories indicated that economic conditions are worse than they were in November.Figure 5As another wonder to marvel at, U.S. Treasury yields are also surging (which I’ve mentioned during previous editions). And because corporate profits are still on life support (due to the lack of real economic activity), the spread between the S&P 500’s earnings yield and the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield just hit its lowest level in over two years.Please see below:Figure 6 – (Source: Bloomberg/ Lisa AbramowiczTo explain, the earnings yield is the inverse of the S&P 500’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio (calculated as earnings divided by price). The percentage is often compared to the yield on the U.S. 10-Year Treasury to gauge the relative value of stocks versus bonds. If you look at the middle of the chart, you can see that the spread between the two peaked at more than 6% in 2019 (as companies’ EPS rose and bond yields fell). However, with the opposite occurring today, the spread between the two has fallen below 2.23%.Thus, with bond yields beginning to breathe new life, Jerome Powell’s (Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve) argument that P/E multiples are “not as relevant” in a world of low interest rates is starting to lose its luster.EUR/USD Struggles with RealityDespite bouncing yesterday (as declines rarely happen linearly), the EUR/USD is still treading fundamental water.Over the last few weeks, I’ve been highlighting the increased economic divergence – as a weak U.S. economy is overshadowed only by an even-weaker Eurozone economy (Remember, currencies trade on a relative basis.)And as another data point of validation, yesterday, Bloomberg Economics reduced its first-quarter GDP forecast (for Europe) from a rise of 1.3% to a decline of 4.0%. Furthermore, the team also reduced their full-year GDP growth forecast from 4.8% to 2.9%.Please see below:Figure 7If you analyze the red box, you can see the massive drop in economic activity that’s expected during the first three months of 2021. And even more pessimistic, Peter Vanden Houte, ING’s Chief Economist wrote (on Jan. 7) that he believes “it will take until the summer of 2023 for the Eurozone to regain its pre-crisis activity level.”Also plaguing Europe, please have a look at the sharp decline in the Eurozone household savings rate:Figure 8 – (Source: Refinitiv/ING)To explain, the huge spike in 2020 was a function of government programs to replace lost wages at the onset of the pandemic . However, as the crisis unfolded and the level of government spending became unsustainable, the household savings rate in Germany and France (Europe’s two largest economies) sunk like a stone.Moreover, with Eurozone retail sales plunging by 6.1% in November, and assuming the household savings rate followed suit, you can infer that households are allocating resources to necessities and not discretionary items that boost GDP.The bottom line?The European economy is underperforming the U.S. economy and the deluge of bad data is slowly chipping away at the euro. And as the fundamental damage continues, the EUR/USD should come under pressure and help propel the USD Index higher.As part of the fallout, gold will likely drop below its rising support line and then decline further. Once it bottoms, we’ll have a very attractive entry point to go long in the precious metals and mining stocks.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the target for gold that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Higher Yields Hit Gold, But for How Long?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 14.01.2021 14:38
The price of gold remains at $1,850, and the key drivers are higher bond yields and a stronger risk appetite.Last week, the yellow metal tanked below $1,900 again, and it hasn’t rebounded since the plunge – instead, the price of gold has stayed at around $1,850.What happened? The main driver of the recent weakness in the precious metals market has been the Democratic victory in the Georgia Senate elections. Thanks to this trifecta, the Democrats have taken control of the White House, the House of Representatives, and the Senate. Consequently, there are lower chances of a political gridlock in Washington and higher chances of smooth cooperation between Congress and the incoming administration of Joe Biden. So, the expectations of additional economic support have risen, thereby strengthening hopes for a quicker economic recovery.Hence, investors went euphoric and increased their risk appetite. They sold safe havens such as gold and disposed of treasuries, pushing the bond yields higher (see the chart below), which in turn hurt the yellow metal .However, the interest rates are still historically low, and the real interest rates remain deeply in negative territory. Although some measure of normalization is standard, the return to pre-pandemic levels is unlikely . The unprecedented increase in worldwide debt implies that we are stuck in a high debt and low interest rate trap. After all, all these debts have been sustainable only because the yields have been low, so I doubt whether we will see an important rebound in them.But the recent episode shows how sensitive gold is to the changes in the real interest rates and that gold investors – as we wrote in the latest Gold Market Overview – shouldn’t forget about the possibility of an increase in the real interest rates, which is a serious downward risk for gold.Implications for GoldIs gold doomed now, given that the Democrats swept both the White House and Congress? Not necessarily. The macroeconomic outlook for 2021 might be worse than for 2020, as the economy should recover and monetary policy should be less dovish – but it’s still positive for gold. After all, historically, gold has shined during the early phases of various economic recoveries. Some analysts even claim that we have not reached the phase of an economic recovery yet – as the liquidity crisis has transformed into a solvency crisis.In other words, it’s always important to distinguish the short-term outlook from the longer-term potential. Gold currently suffers because of the higher yields, but the long-term picture seems to be more positive. The real interest rates, which are more important for the precious metals market, have increased to a lesser extent – and they have stayed well below zero (as the chart above shows).At some point, investors will start factoring in that a large fiscal stimulus projected by the Democrats could increase the public debt to uncomfortable levels, thereby increasing the risk of a sovereign debt crisis . They could also begin pricing in the risk of higher inflation and a larger Fed’s balance sheet , as the U.S. central bank and the Treasury wouldn’t welcome much higher interest rates . As a reminder, gold benefited from the easy fiscal policy in the aftermath of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic , so it shouldn’t go out of favor now. Indeed, the huge fiscal deficit combined with the current account deficit will take the so-called twin deficit to a record 25 percent of the GDP , which shouldn’t be without an impact on the price of gold.Instead, gold still has a material upside in the upcoming months, although it could shine less brightly than it did last year , at least until inflation rebounds, or until the Fed expands its accommodative monetary stance. Yes, the U.S. central bank remains dovish, but it’s not eager right now to shoot from its bazooka again. So, the monetary policy will be relatively more hawkish than it was in 2020, which could limit potential gains in the gold market.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: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Pandemic 2020 Is Gone! Will 2021 Be Better for Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 15.01.2021 11:52
Hurray! The disastrous year of 2020, which brought about the COVID-19 pandemic , the Great Lockdown , and the economic crisis , is over! Now, the question is what will 2021 be like – both for the U.S. economy and the gold market.To provide an answer, below I analyze the most important economic trends for the next year and their implications for the yellow metal.Society gains herd immunity by vaccination and the health crisis is overcome.With herd immunity approaching, the social fabric returns to normality, and the economy recovers.The vaccine rollout increases the risk appetite, reducing the safe-haven demand for both gold and the greenback .The return to normality and realization of the pent-up demand (comeback of spending that was put on hold during the U.S. epidemic ) accelerates the CPI inflation rate .The Fed stays accommodative, but the recovery in the GDP growth and the labor market makes the U.S. monetary policy less aggressively dovish than in 2020.However, the Fed continues to use all of its tools to support the economy in 2021 and, in particular, it does not hike the federal funds rate , even if inflation rises.As a result, the real interest rates stay at ultra-low levels. However, the potential for further declines, similar in scale to 2020, is limited, unless inflation jumps.The American fiscal policy also remains easy, although relative to 2020, government spending declines, while the budget deficit narrows as a share of the GDP.However, the public debt burdens continue to rise. Although the ratio of debt to GDP decreased in Q3 2020 amid the rebound in the GDP, it’s likely to increase further in the future, especially if Congress approves the new fiscal stimulus.Given the dovish Fed conducting a zero-interest rate policy , increasing debt burden, and strengthened risk appetite amid the vaccine rollout, the U.S. dollar weakens further. The American currency has already lost more than 11 percent against a broad basket of other currencies since its March peak.What does this macroeconomic outlook imply for the gold prices? This is a great question, as some of the trends will be supportive for the yellow metal, while others might constitute headwinds, and some factors could theoretically be both positive and negative for the price of gold. For instance, the end of the recession seems to be bad for the yellow metal, but gold often shines during the very early phase of an economic recovery, especially if it is accompanied by reflation , i.e., a return of inflation.The tailwinds include the continuation of easy monetary and fiscal policies . The federal debt will remain high, while the interest rates will stay low, supporting the gold prices, as was the case in the past (see the chart below).There is also an upward risk of higher inflation. In such a macroeconomic environment, the U.S. dollar should weaken against other currencies, thus supporting gold prices . As a reminder, the relative strength of the greenback in recent years (see the chart below) limited the gains in the precious metals market.However, there are also headwinds . You see, levels are significantly different concepts than changes. The latter often matter more for the markets. What do I mean? Well, although both monetary and fiscal policies will remain accommodative, they will be less accommodative than in 2020. Although the real interest rates should stay very low, they will not decline as much as last year (if at all).In other words, the economy will normalize this year after suffering a deep downturn in 2020, so the economic policy will be less aggressive. Hence, the level of bond yields and the ratio of federal debt to GDP should stabilize somewhat – actually, thanks to the rebound in the GDP in the third quarter of 2020, the share of public indebtedness in the U.S. economy has decreased, as the chart below shows.Hence, although the price of gold could be supported by the continuation of easy monetary and fiscal policies, low real interest rates, and weak dollar, it’s potential to rally could be limited. The accommodative stance of central banks and unwillingness to normalize the monetary policy for the coming years should prevent a significant bear market in gold , but without any fresh triggers of further declines in the bond yields or without the spark of inflation, the great bull market is also not very likely. So, unless we either see a serious solvency crisis or sovereign debt crisis , or an substantial acceleration in inflation, gold may enter a sideways trend . Or it can actually go south, if it smells the normalization of monetary policy or increases in the interest rates.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Stocks Decline, More May be Coming

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 18.01.2021 22:15
We’ve reached a very critical juncture in the markets. Last week, I mentioned how this reminded me of the Q4 2018 pullback ( read my story here ), and still maintain that there is way too much complacency in this market. Stock markets are risky for a reason, something many Robinhood traders are sure to find out this year.My goal for these updates is to educate you, give you ideas, and help you manage money like I did when I was pressing the buy and sell buttons for $600+ million in assets. I left that career to pursue one where I could help people who needed help, instead of the ultra-high net worth. Hopefully, you’ll find the below enlightening from my perspective, and I welcome your thoughts and questions.Stocks closed the week with their first weekly declines in nearly a month.The pullbacks weren't anything astronomical, but it could potentially be the start of the Q1 declines that I have been predicting.For one, valuations are insane, and the tech IPO market is looking like clown school. The S&P 500 is trading near its highest forward P/E ratio since 2000, while the Russell 2000 has never traded this high above its 200-day moving average.Signs are starting to point towards the return of inflation by mid-year as well. As the 10-year yield ticked up to its highest level since March, economist Mohammed El-Erian said “if we were to see another 20 basis point move in yields, that would be bad news.”Expectations haven’t been this high for inflation in years either. According to Edward Jones , the 10-year breakeven rate hit its highest level since 2018 last week due to rising commodity prices, a weaker dollar, and broad stimulus policy. The 10-year breakeven rate is a market-based measure of inflation expectations.What’s also concerning is that investors didn’t seem to bat an eye at Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package !What does this tell me?That maybe this was anticipated and priced in already. According to Jim Cramer on his Mad Money show on CNBC, “When an event occurs and the market gets exactly what it wants, but nothing more, it’s treated as a reason to sell, not to buy.”Although this week's decline was moderate, I still feel that a correction between now and the end of Q1 2020 is likely amidst a tug of war between good news and bad news.Generally, corrections are healthy for markets and more common than most realize. Only twice in the last 38 years have we had years WITHOUT a correction (1995 and 2017). The last time we saw one was in March 2020, so we could be well overdue.Corrections are healthy market behavior and could be an excellent buying opportunity for what should be a great second half of the year.Therefore, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there are short-term concerns. A short-term correction between now and Q1 2021 is possible. I don't think that a decline above ~20%, leading to a bear market will happen.I hope everyone has a great day. Best of luck, and happy trading! Time to Wager - Is the Dow Over/Under 31,000 Before the End of January?Figure 1- Dow Jones Industrial Average $INDUIs it possible to choose "push" on this gamble?I have too many short-term questions and concerns about the Dow Jones to unequivocally say it's overheated like the Russell or tech IPOs, or if it's at the right buying level.Although the Dow's RSI is comparable to the Nasdaq's on the surface, it has also not exceeded overbought levels as much.I do like the Dow's decline this week. But I'd like to see a more profound dip before buying back in.If someone wanted to make an over/under bet with me on the Dow's 31,000 level by the end of January, the truth is I'd probably choose "push." You'd have better luck betting on the AFC Championship game this year (but only if Mahomes plays).I don't like how COVID-19 is trending (who does?), I am disappointed in the vaccine roll-out (although it's improving), and I am concerned about short-term economic and political headwinds. But I think it's more likely than not that the Dow hovers around 31,000 by month's end rather than make any significant move upwards or downwards. It is very hard right now to make a conviction call on this index.If and when there is a drop in the index, it probably won't be anything like we saw back in March 2020.While a 35,000 call to close out 2021 is a bit aggressive, the second half of 2021 could show robust gains for the index once vaccines are available to the general public.With so much uncertainty, the call on the Dow stays a HOLD. I am closely monitoring the RSI if it exceeds 70.For an ETF that looks to directly correlate with the Dow's performance, the SPDR Dow Jones ETF (DIA) is a strong option.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Gold Price Drops Amid Stimulus and Poor Data

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 19.01.2021 11:27
The price of gold has declined further amid incoming U.S. President Joe Biden’s fiscal stimulus and poor economic data, which is a bearish sign.The weakness in the gold market continued last week. As the chart below shows, the London P.M. Fix declined below $1,840 last Friday (the price of the yellow metal later declined even further, i.e., below $1,830).The downward trend is a bit disturbing given the poor economic data reported last week. First, the jobless claims increased from 784,000 on January 2 to 965,000 on January 9, 2021 , as one can see in the chart below. This increase surpassed market expectations and indicates that there is a long way ahead for a full recovery in the U.S. labor market.Second, U.S. retail sales declined 0.7 percent in December from the previous month . Importantly, the decrease was larger than the expected 0.1 percent drop. Third, the Empire State Index increased 3.5 percent in January. Although the index grew, it rose at a slower pace than in December and below expectations.All these economic reports show that the U.S. economy has slowed down, and that we could see more stimulus coming in an effort to stimulate economic growth. Indeed, on Thursday, Jerome Powell excluded any tapering of the quantitative easing in the near future , saying that he “expect[s] that the current pace of purchases will remain appropriate for quite some time”. The recent weak economic data that show slack remaining in the labor market can only reassure the Fed that it should continue providing accommodation and not think about raising interest rates .Moreover, on Thursday (Jan. 14), Biden unveiled a massive stimulus plan worth $1.9 trillion to support the economy amid the COVID-19 epidemic . The aid package, that would be on top of the $900 billion stimulus adopted by Congress in December, includes $1 trillion in direct checks to Americans, about $440 billion for small businesses particularly strongly hit by the epidemic, and about $415 billion to fight the coronavirus and speed up the distribution of vaccinations.The continuation of the dovish monetary policy and expansion of the easy fiscal policy should theoretically send the price of gold higher.Implications for GoldThey should, but gold has gone south instead. Therefore, the drop in the price of gold amid poor economic data, Powell’s remarks, and Biden’s announcement is a bearish signal .However, it might be also the case that we will see a replay of March, when the first wave of the pandemic initially hit the precious metals market. Investors were stocking up cash then, selling both equities and gold. We observed a similar pattern on Friday, so we could see a reversal after some time.Moreover, Biden’s fiscal aid, if adopted, would increase U.S. government spending, budget deficit and public debt even further. As a reminder, the federal government spent a record $6.5 trillion in fiscal 2020, while the national debt has already risen by almost $7.8 trillion during Trump’s presidency. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget’s projection from early January, the U.S. fiscal deficit would total $2.3 trillion for fiscal 2021. However, with Biden’s new stimulus, it would be much larger and could even surpass the record deficit of $3.1 trillion for the last fiscal year.So, the ballooning fiscal deficits and debts, together with a recession caused by the pandemic and the Great Lockdown , should be sufficient reasons to be cautious and hold part of one’s investment portfolio in safe-haven assets such as gold . Yet many investors are still turning a blind eye to the negative effects of a fiscal stimulus. But just because they cover their eyes, the elephant will not disappear from the room. Indeed, the gold elephant – and gold bull , his cousin – will not disappear, although they may hide for a while .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: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Stock Pick Update: Jan. 20 – Jan. 26, 2021

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 20.01.2021 14:13
Header: Which stocks could magnify S&P 500’s gains in case it rallies? Take a look at a part of our Stock Pick Update. We have included two Energy and one Financials stock this time.In the last five trading days (January 13 – January 19) the broad stock market has traded sideways. The S&P 500 index reached new record high of 3,826.69 on January 8 following new stimulus package hopes. Since then, it has been fluctuating. Last Friday the index got back to short-term support level of 3,750 before bouncing back higher again.The S&P 500 has lost 0.09% between January 13 open and January 19 close. In the same period of time our five long and five short stock picks have lost 0.32%. Stock picks were relatively slightly weaker than the broad stock market’s performance last week. Our long stock picks have lost 0.62% and short stock picks have resulted in a loss of 0.02%.There are risks that couldn’t be avoided in trading. Hence the need for proper money management and a relatively diversified stock portfolio. This is especially important if trading on a time basis – without using stop-loss/ profit target levels. We are just buying or selling stocks at open on Wednesday and selling or buying them back at close on the next Tuesday.If stocks were in a prolonged downtrend, being able to profit anyway, would be extremely valuable. Of course, it’s not the point of our Stock Pick Updates to forecast where the general stock market is likely to move, but rather to provide you with stocks that are likely to generate profits regardless of what the S&P does.Our last week’s portfolio result:Long Picks (January 13 open – January 19 close % change): AXP (+4.24%), SPGI (-0.46%), SHW (-2.11%), ECL (-2.95%), HD (-1.84%)Short Picks (January 13 open – January 19 close % change): PLD (+3.19%), WY (+0.12%), DIS (-1.23%), TTWO (+0.14%), EL (-2.11%)Average long result: -0.62%, average short result: -0.02%Total profit (average): -0.32%Stock Pick Update performance chart since Nov 18, 2020:Let’s check which stocks could magnify S&P’s gains in case it rallies, and which stocks would be likely to decline the most if S&P plunges. Here are our stock picks for the Wednesday, January 20 – Tuesday, January 26 period.We will assume the following: the stocks will be bought or sold short on the opening of today’s trading session (January 20) and sold or bought back on the closing of the next Tuesday’s trading session (January 26).We will provide stock trading ideas based on our in-depth technical and fundamental analysis, but since the main point of this publication is to provide the top 5 long and top 5 short candidates (our opinion, not an investment advice) for this week, we will focus solely on the technicals. The latter are simply more useful in case of short-term trades.First, we will take a look at the recent performance by sector. It may show us which sector is likely to perform best in the near future and which sector is likely to lag. Then, we will select our buy and sell stock picks.There are eleven stock market sectors: Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Technology, Communications Services, Utilities and Real Estate. They are further divided into industries, but we will just stick with these main sectors of the stock market.We will analyze them and their relative performance by looking at the Select Sector SPDR ETF’s .The stock market sector analysis is available to our subscribers only.Based on the above, we decided to choose our stock picks for the next week. We will choose our 5 long and 5 short candidates using trend-following approach:buys: 2 x Energy, 2 x Financials, 1 x Materialssells: 2 x Consumer Staples, 2 x Real Estate, 1 x Communication ServicesBuy CandidatesCOP ConocoPhillips - EnergyStock remains above the previous local highs - uptrend continuation playThe resistance level is at $48 and support level is at $45PXD Pioneer Natural Resources Co. – EnergyPossible uptrend continuation following short-term correctionThe resistance level is at $137.50 – short-term upside profit target levelC Citigroup, Inc. – FinancialsStock trades within a short-term consolidation following the recent run-up – uptrend continuation playThe support level is at $62 and resistance level is at $68Summing up , the above trend-following long stock picks are just a part of our whole Stock Pick Update . The Energy and Financials sectors were relatively the strongest in the last 30 days. So that part of our ten long and short stock picks is meant to outperform in the coming days if the broad stock market acts similarly as it did before.We hope you enjoyed reading the above free analysis, and we encourage you to read today's Stock Pick Update - this analysis' full version. There, we include the stock market sector analysis for the past month and remaining long and short stock picks for the next week. There's no risk in subscribing right away, because there's a 30-day money back guarantee for all our products, so we encourage you to subscribe today .Thank you.Paul RejczakStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits - Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *DisclaimerAll essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Paul Rejczak and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Paul Rejczak’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

The Tug of War Continues

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 20.01.2021 15:39
This market continues trudging forward and weighing good news with bad. After stocks closed last week with their first weekly declines in nearly a month, stocks staged a mild recovery on Tuesday (Jan. 19th) led by tech, big banks, and small-caps.Today's gains were primarily thanks to renewed stimulus hopes, faster vaccine distributions, and strong bank earnings. However, this is far from an “all clear.”It still reminds me of the Q4 2018 pullback ( read my story here ). I remain steadfast that there is way too much complacency in today’s market- despite long-term tailwinds. In the short-term, we are truly walking on ice.For one, valuations are absurd. Tech IPOs seem more like Barnum and Bailey than a capital market, the S&P 500 is trading near its highest forward P/E ratio since 2000, and the Russell 2000 has never traded this high above its 200-day moving average.Signs are starting to point towards the return of inflation by mid-year as well. Despite declining Tuesday (Jan. 19), the 10-year yield remains around its highest level since March. Economist Mohammed El-Erian believes that “if we were to see another 20 basis point move in yields, that would be bad news.”Edward Jones also claims that the 10-year breakeven rate, a market-based measure of inflation expectations, is at its highest level since 2018 thanks to rising commodity prices, a weaker dollar, and broad stimulus policy.There are also some signs that the market is already pricing in Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package .On the one hand, according to Jim Cramer , “when an event occurs and the market gets exactly what it wants, but nothing more, it’s treated as a reason to sell, not to buy.” What happened in the market last week reflects this.On the other hand, some of the economic benefits may not have been priced in yet. For example, JP Morgan believes that this stimulus plan could cut unemployment to less than 5% by year’s end.But remember- the stock market is not the economy.I remain firm that a correction between now and the end of Q1 2020 could happen thanks to this neverending pay-per-view bout between good news and bad news.We may trade sideways this quarter- that would not shock me in the least. But I think we are long overdue for a correction since we haven’t seen one since last March.Corrections are healthy for markets and more common than most realize. Only twice in the last 38 years have we had years WITHOUT a correction (1995 and 2017).A correction could also be an excellent buying opportunity for what should be a great second half of the year.Therefore, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there are short-term concerns. A short-term correction between now and Q1 2021 is possible. I don't think that a decline above ~20%, leading to a bear market will happen.In a report released Tuesday (Jan. 19), Goldman Sachs shared the same sentiments.My goal for these updates is to educate you, give you ideas, and help you manage money like I did when I was pressing the buy and sell buttons for $600+ million in assets. I left that career to pursue one where I could help people who needed help, instead of the ultra-high net worth. Hopefully, you find my insights enlightening, and I welcome your thoughts and questions.Have a great shortened trading week! Best of luck. The Nasdaq’s RSI Indicates Hold- Deeper Pullback Coming?Figure 1- Nasdaq Composite Index $COMPIf utility stocks are Subarus, tech stocks are Ferraris.These stocks get the most glory, show the most growth potential, and are innovators and disruptors.Pay close attention, especially to cloud computing, e-commerce, and fintech in 2021.I am sticking with the theme of using the RSI to judge how to call the Nasdaq. An overbought RSI does not automatically mean a trend reversal, but with the Nasdaq, I always keep a close eye on this . Over the last several weeks, the Nasdaq’s RSI has indicated a consistent pattern.The Nasdaq pulled back on December 9 after exceeding an RSI of 70 and briefly pulled back again after passing 70 again four weeks ago. We also exceeded a 70 RSI just before the new year, and what happened on the first trading day of 2021? A decline of 1.47%.The last time I changed my Nasdaq call from a HOLD to a SELL on January 11 after the RSI exceeded 70, the Nasdaq declined again by 1.45%.Despite ticking back up on Tuesday (Jan. 19), the Nasdaq is still no longer technically overbought. But the tech IPO market screams dot-com bubble to me.Last week, Lender Affirm nearly doubled in its public debut, while Poshmark surged by over 130% during its world premiere.I have no other words to describe it besides a circus.I still love tech and am generally bullish for 2021. But I need to see the Nasdaq have a legitimate cooldown period and move closer to its 50-day moving average before considering it a BUY.I also have some worries about how full Democrat control could affect tech stocks thanks to higher taxes and stricter regulations. A Blue Wave is better for small-caps than tech.For now, because the RSI is still a HOLD, I’m keeping my HOLD call.If the RSI ticks back up above 70, I’m switching back to SELL. The Nasdaq is trading in a precise pattern.For an ETF that attempts to directly correlate with the performance of the NASDAQ, the Invesco QQQ ETF (QQQ) is a good option.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Here’s Why Gold Recently Moved Up

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 20.01.2021 15:52
Gold moved higher as the USD Index moved lower in today’s pre-market trading. Before providing you with my thoughts on why that happened and what the implications are, let’s see exactly what transpired.Figure 1 - USD IndexIn yesterday’s (Jan. 19) analysis , I commented on the above USD Index chart in the following way:The USD Index is after a major breakout above the declining resistance lines and this breakout was confirmed. Consequently, the USD Index is likely to rally, but is it likely to rally shortly? The answer to this question is being clarified at the moment of writing these words, because the USD Index moved back to its rising short-term support line that’s based on the 2021 bottoms.If the USD Index breaks below it, traders will view the 2021 rally as a zigzag corrective pattern and will probably sell the U.S. currency, causing it to decline, perhaps to the mid-January low or even triggering a re-test of the 2021 low.If the USD Index performs well at this time and rallies back up after touching the support line, and then moves to new yearly highs, it will be then that traders realize that it was definitely not just a zigzag correction, but actually the major bottom. In the previous scenario, they would also realize that, but later, after an additional short-term decline.The weak performance of mining stocks that we saw last week, and relatively strong performance of silver (up by 1.24%) compared to gold (up by 0.34%) in today’s pre-market trading suggest that PMs are very ready to slide right now. This – as markets are interconnected – might make the strength in the USD Index more likely than not. In this case, the second above-mentioned scenario would be realized, and the price moves that I’ve been describing for some time now, would gain momentum quickly.In either case, it seems that the outlook for the precious metals market remains bearish for the short and medium-term. It is only the immediate and very short term that have any notable differences. Therefore, it seems to make sense to keep the short positions in the mining stocks intact.The USD Index moved lower, and at the moment of writing these words, its trading slightly below the rising support line. Is the more bearish (on a temporary basis) forecast for the USDX and more bullish forecast for gold being realized?Let’s take a look at gold.Figure 2 - COMEX Gold FuturesGold is rallying today, but overall, it remains in a back-and-forth consolidation pattern, which continues to be similar to what we saw in November after a very similar (yet smaller) sharp decline.Gold moved slightly above its September low in intraday terms, but not in terms of the closing prices.Figure 3 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)Miners were barely affected yesterday. They moved slightly higher, but it seems to have been just a pause, similar to what we saw in mid-November – nothing more than that.Ok, so that’s what happened. Before stating that the USD’s breakdown and gold’s strength today are game changers for the very short term, let’s think about the possible explanation for these price moves. Is anything special happening today that makes today’s session at least a bit different than other sessions? Something that could be affecting the USD Index and gold?Of course, there is something like that! It’s the U.S. President’s inauguration day!In any case, such a day could affect the temporary market movement, but this year it’s particularly the case, because of the recent Washington D.C. riot and popular conviction that “something might happen” that would prevent the inauguration and effectively allow Donald Trump to remain the U.S. President.As I explained previously, I think that the probability for seeing the above is extremely low, but at this time, the markets and investors might be worried that this really is something that’s at least somewhat possible. If so, then the USD Index should be moving temporarily lower and gold – being a safe-haven asset – is likely to be moving higher. Of course, only temporarily, because it will soon become clear that the inauguration takes place without any major obstacles. There might be some local protests etc., but nothing that would change the situation in any meaningful manner. Consequently, this is most likely the day when the uncertainties and tension regarding the transfer of power in the U.S. start to decrease. At the same time, it’s likely that they will peak right before decreasing. Therefore, what we’re seeing in the USD Index and gold right now is perfectly understandable and natural. And likely temporary.This means that the breakdown in the USD Index could be invalidated soon – perhaps even tomorrow (or later today) and the opposite would be likely in the case of gold and silver’s strength. They might fade away quite quickly. Either way, the outlook remains bearish in my view.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Will Biden Inaugurate Gold’s Rally?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 21.01.2021 16:12
The price of gold increased on Inauguration Day, arousing investors’ hopes for a new bullish phase.Ladies and gentlemen, it’s official now – Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been sworn in as the President and Vice-President of the United States, respectively. What does this imply for America?Well, before we move on to Biden, let’s say goodbye to Trump. You can love him or hate him, but there is no denying that the 45th presidency was excellent for the price of gold . As the chart below shows, the price of the yellow metal rose more than 50 percent since January 2017 (although gold initially declined after the election results).But Trump is now out of the White House, while Biden is in. What are the economic implications of this change? Well, I used to claim that people generally overestimate the impact that politics and the power of Presidents have over economic developments. However, this time may be different for two reasons.First, Biden is going to quickly reverse many of Trump’s decisions . For instance, he is going to reverse the construction of the border wall, the travel ban targeting mainly Muslim countries, and the withdrawal from the Paris climate accord as well as from the World Health Organization. Biden will also impose a mask mandate on federal property, reversing Trump’s ambiguous stance on the epidemic in the U.S.Second, the 46th presidency could be remembered in the future as having been fiscally lavish – and Biden seems to be determined to overshadow Trump in that matter. He has already proposed to spend $1.9 trillion to stimulate the economy – on top of previous aid packages worth more than $3 trillion. Importantly, Biden calls his mammoth plan just “the first step” and he is going to soon announce a plan for spending on infrastructure and clean energy which could be worth more than $2 trillion. Additionally, Janet Yellen , likely the next U.S. Treasury Secretary, has recently confirmed the stance of the new administration, saying that the government should act “big” to jump-start the economy, as “the benefits will far outweigh the costs” of being bold.Implications for GoldWhat does Biden’s presidency imply for the gold market? Well, we have already covered this theme in the two latest editions of the Gold Market Overview (and we will continue this topic in the next issue), but let us repeat that, from the fundamental point of view, Biden’s presidency looks promising for the price of gold . Although larger government expenditures can boost the GDP in the short run (the long-term economic impact could actually be negative), they will also expand the fiscal deficits and the federal debt .Higher debts not only makes the economy more fragile and prone to debt crises , but they also make the normalization of monetary policy more difficult. The truth is that the U.S. simply cannot afford higher interest rates. You see, the higher the debts, the lower the interest rates must be to handle the debt servicing costs. Welcome to the debt trap . So, the Fed will have to maintain the federal funds rate at practically a zero level for a long time. The lower the real interest rates , the better it is for gold.Oh, and did I mention inflation already? With the massive amount of stimulus injected into the U.S. economy, there is an overriding risk of overheating and increase in inflation, which would be positive for the gold prices.So, as long as there is a strong risk appetite, hope for better politics (“this time will be different and this president will be different than everyone else and everything will change for the better”) and faster economic growth, gold may struggle.However, when the honeymoon ends and investors acknowledge risks related to the higher fiscal stimulus, or when some economic crisis arrives and the risk appetite vanishes, gold will shine. Indeed, gold investors didn’t appear to be afraid of President Biden, as the price of gold increased on Inauguration Day.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: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Why You Shouldn’t Get Excited About Gold’s Mini-Rally

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 22.01.2021 16:49
Gold seems to be sleeping off its latest mini-rally and lacks the momentum to reach new highs. What happens from here? Has the USD bottomed? And what does it mean when we factor in the EUR/USD pair and poor economic indicators from Europe into the equation?Not much happened yesterday (Jan. 21), but what happened was relatively informative. And by “relatively” I mean literally just that. Gold moved lower yesterday and in today’s pre-market trading, doing so despite another small move lower in the USD Index. The moves are not big, but they are meaningful. They show that gold’s inauguration-day rally was likely a temporary blip on the radar screen instead of being a game-changer.Figure 1 – COMEX Gold FuturesLooking at the above gold chart, I marked the November consolidation with a blue rectangle, and I copied it to the current situation, based on the end of the huge daily downswing. Gold moved briefly below it in recent days, after which it rallied back up, and right now it’s very close to the upper right corner of the rectangle.This means that the current situation remains very similar to what we saw back in November, right before another slide started – and this second slide was bigger than the first one. Consequently, there’s a good reason for gold to reverse any day (or hour) now.Besides, there’s also a declining resistance line just around the corner.And that’s not even the most important thing. The most important thing is that based on the similarity to how things developed between 2011 and 2013, gold’s downward trajectory is likely to have periodic corrections at this time – up to a point where it simply plunges.Figure 2 - GOLD Continuous Contract (EOD)When the current situation is compared to what we saw about a decade ago, it shows what one should expect, assuming that the history repeats itself.Gold kept on declining with corrections along the way until April. In April, the decline accelerated profoundly. The biggest problem with the latter was that practically nobody expected this kind of volatility. Those who were thinking that it’s just another move lower that will be reversed were very surprised.Right now, you know in advance that a bigger move lower is likely just around the corner, and you won’t be surprised when it comes. Whether we have to wait an additional few days or first see gold rally by $10 or $30 is not that important, if it’s about to slide $150 and then another $200 or so.I would like to add that gold is declining today and based on the similarity to the November consolidation, it’s exactly the day when we should expect to see a decline. Of course, the similarity doesn’t have to persist, and the history doesn’t have to repeat itself to the letter, but what’s happening right now seems to be confirming the analogy in a considerable way. This means that more declines are likely just around the corner. If not immediately, then shortly.Figure 3 - COMEX Silver FuturesSilver turned south after reaching (approximately) the price level that stopped the rally in July and November 2020, and also earlier this year. This seems relatively natural and the outlook for silver remains bearish for the next several weeks.Silver corrected a bit more of this year’s downswing than gold, which is normal given the bearish outlook. The same goes for miners’ underperformance. Let’s keep in mind that silver’s “strength” is temporary – once the decline really starts, and it moves to its final part, silver is likely to catch up big time.Figure 4 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETFAs far as the miners are concerned, mining stocks didn’t correct half of their 2021 decline. They didn’t invalidate the breakdown below the rising support line, either. In fact, the GDX ETF closed yesterday’s session below the 50-day moving average. Technically, nothing changed yesterday.Please note that the November – today consolidation is quite similar to the consolidation that we saw between April and June (see Figure 4 - green rectangles). Both shoulders of the head-and-shoulder formation can be identical, but they don’t have to be, so it’s not that the current consolidation has to end at the right border of the current rectangle. However, the fact that the price is already close to this right border tells us that it would be very normal for the consolidation to end any day now – most likely before the end of January.If we see a rally to $37, or even $38, it won’t change much – the outlook will remain intact anyway and the right shoulder of the potential head-and-shoulders formation will remain similar to the left shoulder.However, does the GDX have to first rally to $37 or $38 to decline? Absolutely not. It could turn south right away, thus surprising most market participants.Figure 5 – USD IndexIn Tuesday’s (Jan. 19) analysis , I commented on the above USD Index chart in the following way:The USD Index is after a major breakout above the declining resistance lines and this breakout was confirmed. Consequently, the USD Index is likely to rally, but is it likely to rally shortly? The answer to this question is being clarified at the moment of writing these words, because the USD Index moved back to its rising short-term support line that’s based on the 2021 bottoms.If the USD Index breaks below it, traders will view the 2021 rally as a zigzag corrective pattern and will probably sell the U.S. currency, causing it to decline, perhaps to the mid-January low or even triggering a re-test of the 2021 low.If the USD Index performs well at this time and rallies back up after touching the support line, and then moves to new yearly highs, it will be then that traders realize that it was definitely not just a zigzag correction, but actually the major bottom. In the previous scenario, they would also realize that, but later, after an additional short-term decline.It’s now clear that the former scenario is being realized. The support levels that could trigger the USD’s reversal are based on the potential inverse head-and-shoulders pattern – the red line that’s slightly above 90, and the horizontal line that’s slightly below it. It’s also possible that the USD Index tests it yearly lows. None of the above would be likely to change the outlook for the precious metals sector, at least not beyond the immediate term.Later yesterday (Jan. 21) and also in today’s overnight trading, the USD Index moved to the upper of the above-mentioned support lines. Is the bottom already in? This seems likely, but it’s not crystal-clear yet. However, it doesn’t really matter, because the precious metals market responded to the USD’s strength for just one day (in a meaningful way that is) and taking a closer look at that day reveals that it was not the USDX’s performance that gold reacted to, but to the underlying news – the inauguration-day-based uncertainty. So, even if the USD Index declines some more here before soaring, gold doesn’t have to move significantly higher. In fact, it would be unlikely to do so.Stocks have rallied, and based on this rally, the weekly RSI moved close to 70 once again.Figure 6 – S&P 500 IndexThis is important because the last two major declines were preceded by this very signal. We saw the double-top in the RSI at about 70, exactly when the stock market started its big declines, and we’re seeing the same thing right now. If this was the only thing pointing to much lower stock values on the horizon, I would say that the situation is not so critical, but that’s not the only thing – far from it. Before moving to these non-technical details, let’s recall why the stock market analysis and the USD index analysis matters for precious metals investors and traders.The analyses matter because gold, silver, and mining stocks are likely to decline in parallel with a decline in stocks and the USD’s rally. This is likely to take place up to a certain point, when precious metals show strength and refuse to decline further despite the stock market continuing to fall and the USDX continuing to rally. This kind of performance happened many times, including in the first half of last year.Since the S&P 500 futures are down in today’s overnight trading, perhaps we have indeed seen a top. Even if not, it doesn’t seem that one is very far away, based on how excessive the situation looks from the fundamental point of view. Let’s discuss some of those non-technical issues.Mind Over MatterDespite Janet Yellen’s recent assertion that “the United States does not seek a weaker currency,” her tongue-in-cheek comments are actually doing just that. The newly minted U.S. Treasury secretary urged lawmakers to “act big” with regard to prospective stimulus, saying that the benefits “far outweigh the costs.”And since her worst-kept secret became public on Jan. 18, the USD Index has been under fire ever since. Furthermore, as her words instill the EUR/USD with borrowed confidence, the precious metals are displaying the same bold behavior.Please see below:Figure 7However, despite the narrative overpowering reality, the Eurozone fundamentals don’t support the recent rally. And why is this important? Because as you can see from the chart above, as goes the EUR/USD, so go the PMs.Yesterday, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde revealed that the Eurozone economy likely shrank in the fourth quarter – all but sealing a double-dip recession.Please see below:Figure 8 – (Source: Bloomberg/ Holger Zschaepitz)In contrast, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow forecasting model (as of Jan. 21) has the U.S. economy expanding by 7.5% in Q4. Furthermore, even if we take the Atlanta Fed’s estimate with a grain of salt, the Blue Chip consensus (forecasts made by private-sector economists) is for growth of nearly 4.0% (tallied as of early January). And even more telling, economists with a bottom 10% Q4 GDP forecast ( see Figure 9 - the shaded light blue area below) still expect positive growth.Figure 9The bottom line?We can now add the Eurozone GDP to the long list of relative underperformances.Expanding on the above, European consumer confidence (released yesterday) went backwards again in January and is now less than 10 points above its April low. Furthermore, the current reading is still well-below the long-term average.Figure 10On Jan. 8, I highlighted the significant divergence between European CPI and U.S. CPI (inflation). For context, European CPI was – 0.30% in December (negative for five-straight months), while U.S. CPI was 0.40% in December (positive for seven-straight months).I wrote:Weak CPI is a precursor to a weaker euro. Why so? Because since asset purchases fail to produce any real economic growth, the ECB will be forced to lower interest rates to stimulate the economy. As a result, the cocktail of paltry economic activity and lower bond yields leads to capital outflows as foreign (and domestic) investors reallocate money to other geographies (like the U.S.). Thus, capital will likely exit the Eurozone and lead to a lower EUR/USD.And today?Well, it’s exactly what the ECB is doing.Due to the economic malaise confronting Europe, the ECB is targeting its bond-buying activity toward financially weaker counties (like Italy) as opposed to financially stronger countries (like Germany). Essentially, it’s conducting a shadow operation of yield curve control (YCC).Please see below:Figure 11If you analyze the red box above, you can see that Europe’s weighted-average bond yield has increased in 2021. And why is this happening? Because as Europe’s economic deterioration merges with Italy’s fiscal plight, this cocktail has made European bonds riskier, and thus, investors demand a higher interest rate. And while higher interest rates are bullish for a country’s currency when they’re a function of economic growth, a crisis-like spike in yields (due to solvency concerns) means the exact opposite.Furthermore, if you follow the gray bars at the bottom-half of the chart, the ECB actually decreased its bond purchases toward the end of December (2020), Then, once January hit (2021), it was back to business as usual.As a result, the ECB’s attempt to scale back its asset purchases was (and will be) short-lived. And as the economic conditions worsen, the money printer will be working overtime for the foreseeable future.To that point, Bloomberg Economics expects the ECB to purchase €15 billion worth of bonds per week until 2022 – more than doubling its pandemic emergency purchase program (PEPP) to nearly €1.85 trillion.Please see below:Figure 12And in real-time?Well, the ECB’s balance sheet hit another record-high on Friday (Jan. 15) – with total holdings still at 69% of Eurozone GDP (nearly double the U.S. Fed’s 35%).Figure 13And why does all of this matter?Because, as I highlighted on Jan. 12, the ECB’s relative outprinting is a precursor to a lower EUR/USD.Figure 14I wrote:Turning to the second chart (Figure 6 - on the right), notice how the EUR/USD tracks the FED/ECB ratio? To explain, the ratio (the light blue line) is calculated by dividing the U.S. Federal Reserve’s (FED) balance sheet by the European Central Bank’s (ECB) balance sheet. Essentially, its direction tells you which monetary authority is printing more money. If you analyze the EUR/USD (the dark blue line), it trades higher when the FED is out-printing the ECB (the light blue line is rising) and trades lower when the ECB is out-printing the FED (the light blue line is falling). The key takeaway? With the light blue line falling, it means that the ECB is outprinting the FED . And if this dynamic continues, the EUR/USD (the dark blue line) should move lower as well.The top in the FED/ECB total assets ratio preceded the slide in the EUR/USD less than a decade ago and it seems to be preceding the next slide as well. If the USD Index was to repeat its 2014-2015 rally from the recent lows, it would rally to 114. This level is much more realistic than most market participants would agree on.In conclusion, the EUR/USD’s recent strength is built on a foundation of sand. Instead of following the hard data, traders are letting the narrative cloud their judgment. Moreover, due to their strong correlation with the EUR/USD, gold and silver are falling into the same trap. However, once the semblance of strength evaporates, a decline in the EUR/USD is likely to usher a move lower for the PMs. Furthermore, with gold already approaching the upper trendline of its November consolidation channel, the momentum may wane sooner rather than later.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Will Inflation Make Gold Shine in 2021?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 22.01.2021 16:51
Inflation will be one of the greatest upside risks for gold this year. Will it materialize and make gold shine?The report about gold in 2021 would be incomplete without the outlook for inflation . We have already written about it recently, but this topic is worth further examination. After all, higher inflation is believed to be one of the biggest tail risks in the coming months or years, and one of the greatest upside risks for gold this year .Most economists and investors still believe that inflation is dead. After all, the only way to justify the central banks’ unprecedentedly dovish actions is the premise of low inflation. And the only way to justify the buoyant stock market amid the new highs in the number of Americans in hospital with COVID-19 is the expectation of an inflationless economic recovery this year. In other words, many people forecast the return to the Goldilocks economy after the end of the pandemic .On the surface, it seems that they might be right. We haven’t seen double-digit inflation since the end of 1981. And last time the CPI annual rate was above 3 percent was in January 2012. Actually, in the last ten years, inflation was below the Fed’s 2-percent target most of the time, as the chart below shows.Moreover, the inflation rates dropped significantly during the U.S. epidemic and the Great Lockdown when people distanced socially and limited their spending. So, given the strength of the negative demand shock and the following plunge in inflation, why should we worry about the risk of higher inflation?Well, shouldn’t it be obvious after experiencing a pandemic, i.e., an improbable but impactful event? Even a small probability of a surge in inflation should be worrying, especially given the pile of debt and, thus, limited room for central banks to hike interest rates to prevent inflation.Moreover, the likelihood of an increase in inflation is not so small . As I’ve explained several times, the case for higher inflation is stronger today than in the aftermath of the Great Recession . The first reason is that the broad money supply has surged . This is because the banks haven’t been hit so far (in contrast to the financial crisis where banks suffered greatly), so they have been lending freely, as the chart below shows.Second, in contrast to the previous economic crisis where people did not spend money because they had no income or they decided to repay their debts, this time, people didn’t spend money because they were stuck at home. But when the health crisis is over and people get vaccinated, some consumers may go on a spending spree . The realization of pent-up demand may overwhelm the firms’ capacity, leading to an increase in prices. There are already some signs of bottlenecks, or supply falling behind demand, such as the increase in prices of some commodities like iron ore.In other words, when the world returns to normality, the private sector will find itself flush with cash. And I bet that some households will try to make up for all the time not spent in movie theatres, restaurants and hotels during the last year.Third, there might also be some structural shifts in the global economy, which will reverse the current disinflationary forces . As Charles Goodhart and Manoj Pradhan argue in their book The Great Demographic Reversal , the era of low inflation, caused by globalization, is now ending. You see, in the 1980s and 1990s, China, India and post-communist countries from Europe and Central Asia, entered the global economy. As a consequence, the global labor supply for production of tradeable goods rose enormously, leading to weak inflationary pressure. But all this is going into reverse. Globalization is now weakening and there are no big countries in the queue to enter the global economy. Actually, ageing in China and other countries reduces the global labor supply, thus strengthening inflationary pressure.Last but not least, the politicians and central bankers have become more complacent . The thoughtless and irresponsible stance of politicians is unsurprising, especially given the temptation to inflate away the public debt . However, the central banks also stopped worrying and embraced the inflation bomb. For example, the Fed has changed its monetary regime in 2020, announcing that it would tolerate overshooting of inflation above its target for a undetermined period of time.The bottom line is that inflation should return in the coming months (more precisely, in the second half of the year, when the distribution of vaccines will be widespread). We shouldn’t experience double-digit rates, but the markets don’t expect a deflationary crisis either. As the chart below shows, inflationary expectations have already returned to pre-pandemic levels.All this is good news for price of gold . The case for reflation in the global economy is definitely stronger than after the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. The present risk of higher inflation should support the demand for gold as a hedge against inflation . And the increase in inflation expectations lowers the real interest rates , thereby positively affecting the yellow metal. Although gold will face some important headwinds this year, inflation expectations are likely to outpace the increase in nominal bond yields, which would put downward pressure on the real interest rates and support gold prices.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Surprise! Nasdaq Leads Weekly Gains

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 25.01.2021 17:08
In a surprise twist, the Nasdaq surged by a healthy 4.2%, managing to close the week at an all-time high. What’s happening to tech stocks?Surging, gaining...come again?Wasn't tech supposed to wither away and die thanks to be big bad Democrat boogeymen? Wasn’t the radical Biden tax agenda and regulatory framework supposed to send your favorite tech stocks plummeting? Wasn’t Biden’s tax plan supposed to take an estimated 5-10% off the earnings per share?For now, it seems like the market is putting more of its hopes into Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan and ignoring his tax and regulation plans. As Treasury Secretary and former Fed Chair Janet Yellen claimed, Biden's primary focus is aiding American families (i.e., stimulus, low-interest rates) and, for now, not raising taxes.But nothing is for sure with this stimulus. Republicans will resist it, and some moderate Democrats may do so as well. With Vice President Kamala Harris as the only tiebreaker for a Democrat majority in the Senate, Biden needs all the support he can get to pass this aggressive stimulus.I maintain my view that the market is too complacent, and that we are about to enter a correction at some point in the short-term. It still reminds me of the Q4 2018 pullback ( read my story here ).For one, valuations are absurd. Tech IPOs are a circus, the S&P 500 is at or near its most-expensive level in recent history on most measures, and the Russell 2000 has never traded this high above its 200-day moving average.While stimulus could be useful for stocks in the short-term, it could almost certainly mean the return of inflation too by mid-year. The worst part about it? The Fed will likely let it run hot. With debt rising and consumer spending expected to increase as vaccines are rolled out to the masses, the Fed is undoubtedly more likely to let inflation rise than letting interest rates rise.Others, however, believe that the market reflects optimism that the global economy will recover with the eventual lifting of COVID-related restrictions and more widely-available vaccines. John Studzinski , vice chairman of Pimco, believes that market valuations are strong and reflect expectations of this eventual reopening and economic recovery by the second half of the year.All of this simply tells me that the market remains a pay-per-view fight between good news and bad news.We may trade sideways this quarter- that would not shock me in the least. But I think we are long overdue for a correction since we haven’t seen one since last March.Corrections are healthy for markets and more common than most realize. Only twice in the last 38 years have we had years WITHOUT a correction (1995 and 2017).A correction could also be an excellent buying opportunity for what should be a great second half of the year.Therefore, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there are short-term concerns. A short-term correction between now and Q1 2021 is possible. I don't think that a decline above ~20%, leading to a bear market will happen.In a report released last Tuesday (Jan. 19), Goldman Sachs shared the same sentiments.My goal for these updates is to educate you, give you ideas, and help you manage money like I did when I was pressing the buy and sell buttons for $600+ million in assets. I left that career to pursue one where I could help people who needed help, instead of the ultra-high net worth. Hopefully, you find my insights enlightening, and I welcome your thoughts and questions.We have a critical week ahead with the Fed set to have its first monetary policy meeting of the year and big earnings announcements on the horizon. Best of luck, have an excellent trading week, and have fun! We'll check back in with you all mid-week. Are We in a Tech Bubble or Not?Figure 1- Nasdaq Composite Index $COMPSome of the hottest performing tech stocks announce earnings this week such as Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), Tesla (TSLA) (yes I consider Tesla more of a tech stock than a car stock), and more.Pay very close attention.Although I am bullish on specific tech sectors such as cloud computing, e-commerce, and fintech for 2021, I’m concerned about the mania consuming tech stocks.Tech valuations, and especially the tech IPO market, terrify me. It reminds me a lot of the dot-com bubble 20-years ago. Remember, the dot-com bubble was a major crash in the Nasdaq after excessive speculation and IPOs sent any internet-related stock soaring. Between 1995-2000 the Nasdaq surged 400%. By October 2002, the Nasdaq declined by a whopping 78%.I have no other words to describe it besides the Nasdaq right now as a circus. Will the bubble pop now? That remains to be seen. But the similarities between now and 2000 are striking.I am sticking with the theme of using the RSI to judge how to call the Nasdaq. An overbought RSI does not automatically mean a trend reversal, but with the Nasdaq, this appears to have been a consistent pattern over the last few weeks.The Nasdaq pulled back on December 9 after exceeding an RSI of 70 and briefly pulled back again after passing 70 again around Christmas time. We also exceeded a 70 RSI just before the new year, and what happened on the first trading day of 2021? A decline of 1.47%.The last time I changed my Nasdaq call from a HOLD to a SELL on January 11 after the RSI exceeded 70, the Nasdaq declined again by 1.45%.The Nasdaq has an RSI of around 72 again, and I’m switching the call back to SELL. The Nasdaq is trading in a precise pattern and I am basing my calls on that pattern.I still love tech and am bullish for 2021. But I need to see the Nasdaq have a legitimate cooldown period and move closer to its 50-day moving average before considering it a BUY.For an ETF that attempts to directly correlate with the performance of the NASDAQ, the Invesco QQQ ETF (QQQ) is a good option.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

After Your Recent High - Where to Now, Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 25.01.2021 17:39
Gold is suffering a hang-over after it’s early January highs, while the EUR/USD pair is buckling - so when gold declines, where will its bottom be?After injecting itself with Janet Yellen’s stimulus sentiment, gold came down from its highs on Friday (Jan. 22).And like the GDX ETF, it’s important to put gold’s recent run into context. For starters, gold is still trading below its August declining resistance line, it topped at its triangle-vertex-based reversal point (which I warned about previously ) and the yellow metal remains well-off its January highs.Figure 1Looking at the chart below, we can see gold approaching the upper trendline of its November consolidation channel.Figure 2I marked the November consolidation with a blue rectangle, and I copied it to the current situation, based on the end of the huge daily downswing. Gold moved briefly below it in recent days, after which it rallied back up, and right now it’s very close to the upper right corner of the rectangle.This means that the current situation remains very similar to what we saw back in November, right before another slide started – and this second slide was bigger than the first one. I wrote about this previously (Jan. 21), saying that there’s a good reason for gold to reverse any day (or hour) now.And what happened last Friday?Well, gold fell by 0.52% as the Yellen -led intoxication began to wear off. Gold also continues to decline in today’s pre-market trading, despite a small move lower in the USD Index.Also adding to the upswing, one of the most popular gold indicators – the stochastic oscillator (see below) dipped below 20 last week. Itching to move off oversold levels, the yellow metal responded in kind. However, if you analyze the green arrows below (at the bottom of the chart), you can see that the first green arrow has a red arrow directly above it (marking gold’s November top).Currently, the stochastic oscillator is right near that level, and with November acting as a prelude, the yellow metal could suffer a similar swoon in the coming days or weeks.Figure 3 – Gold Continuous Contract Overview and Slow Stochastic Oscillator Chart ComparisonBack in November, gold’s second decline (second half of the month) was a bit bigger than the initial (first half of the month) slide that was much sharper. The January performance is very similar so far, with the difference being that this month, the initial decline that we saw in the early part of the month was bigger.This means that if the shape of the price moves continues to be similar, the next short-term move lower could be bigger than what we saw so far in January and bigger than the decline that we saw in the second half of November. This is yet another factor that points to the proximity of $1,700 as the next downside target.Moving on to cross-asset implications, Yellen’s dollar-negative comments tipped over a string of dominoes across the currency market. Ushering the EUR /USD higher, the boost added wind to the yellow metal’s sails.Figure 4And because the EUR/USD accounts for nearly 58% of the movement in the USD Index, the currency pair is an extremely important piece of gold’s puzzle. However, beneath the surface, the euro is already starting to crack. After breaching critical support last week, Yellen’s comments basically saved the currency, as a rally in the EUR/USD was followed by a rally in the EUR/GBP.Figure 5However, with Eurozone fundamentals drastically underperforming the U.S. (and many other countries as well), a come-to-Jesus moment could be on the horizon.In summary, Friday’s detox – with the EUR/USD flat-lining and gold moving lower – could be a precursor to a rather messy withdrawal. Right now, the euro is hanging on for dear life, as technicals, fundamentals and cross-currency signals all point to a weaker euro. As a result, due to gold’s strong positive correlation with the EUR/USD, the yellow metal is unlikely to exit the battle unscathed.So, why is gold likely to bottom at roughly $1,700 (for the interim)?One of the reasons is the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement based on the recent 2020 rally, and the other is the 1.618 extension of the initial decline. However, there are also more long-term-oriented indications that gold is about to move to $1,700 and more likely, even lower.(…) gold recently failed to move above its previous long-term (2011) high. Since history tends to repeat itself, it’s only natural to expect gold to behave as it did during its previous attempt to break above its major long-term high.And the only similar case is from late 1978 when gold rallied above the previous 1974 high. Let’s take a look at the chart below for details (courtesy of chartsrus.com)Figure 6 - Gold rallying in 1978, past its 1974 highAs you can see above, in late 1978, gold declined severely right after it moved above the late-1974 high. This time, gold invalidated the breakout, which makes the subsequent decline more likely. And how far did gold decline back in 1978? It declined by about $50, which is about 20% of the starting price. If gold was to drop 20% from its 2020 high, it would slide from $2,089 to about $1,671 .This is in perfect tune with what we described previously as the downside target while describing gold’s long-term charts:Figure 7 - Relative Strength Index (RSI), GOLD, and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) ComparisonThe chart above shows exactly why the $1,700 level is even more likely to trigger a rebound in gold, at the very minimum.The $1,700 level is additionally confirmed by the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement based on the entire 2015 – 2020 rally.There’s also a good possibility that gold could decline to the $1,500 - $1,600 area or so ( 50% - 61.8% Fibonacci retracements and the price level to which gold declined initially in 2011). In fact, based on the most recent developments in gold and the USDX (how low the latter fell without a rally in the former), it seems that $1,500 is more likely to be the final bottom than $1,700. The $1,700 level is likely to be a bottom – yes – but an interim one only.Before looking at the chart below (which is very similar to the chart above, but indicates different RSI, volume, etc.), please note the – rather obvious – fact: gold failed to break above its 2011 highs. Invalidations of breakouts are sell signals, and it’s tough to imagine a more profound breakout that could have failed. Thus, the implications are extremely bearish for the next several weeks and/or months.Figure 8 - RSI, GOLD, and MACD ComparisonThe odd thing about the above chart is that I copied the most recent movement in gold and pasted it above gold’s 2011 – 2013 performance. But – admit it – at first glance, it was clear to you that both price moves were very similar.And that’s exactly my point. The history tends to rhyme and that’s one of the foundations of the technical analysis in general. Retracements, indicators, cycles, and other techniques are used based on this very foundation – they are just different ways to approach the recurring nature of events.However, every now and then, the history repeats itself to a much greater degree than is normally the case. In extremely rare cases, we get a direct 1:1 similarity, but in some (still rare, but not as extremely rare) cases we get a similarity where the price is moving proportionately to how it moved previously. That’s called a market’s self-similarity or the fractal nature of the markets. But after taking a brief look at the chart, you probably instinctively knew that since the price moves are so similar this time, then the follow-up action is also likely to be quite similar.In other words, if something looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. And it’s likely to do what ducks do.What did gold do back in 2013 at the end of the self-similar pattern? Saying that it declined is true, but it doesn’t give the full picture - just like saying that the U.S. public debt is not small. Back then, gold truly plunged. And before it plunged, it moved lower in a rather steady manner, with periodic corrections. That’s exactly what we see right now.Please note that the above chart (Figure 8) shows gold’s very long-term turning points (vertical lines) and we see that gold topped a bit after it (not much off given their long-term nature). Based on how gold performed after previous long-term turning points (marked with purple, dashed lines), it seems that a decline to even $1,600 would not be out of ordinary.Finally, please note the strong sell signal from the MACD indicator in the bottom part of the chart. The only other time when this indicator flashed a sell signal while being so overbought was at the 2011 top. The second most-similar case is the 2008 top.The above-mentioned self-similarity covers the analogy to the 2011 top, but what about the 2008 performance?If we take a look at how big the final 2008 decline was, we notice that if gold repeated it (percentage-wise), it would decline to about $1,450. Interestingly, this would mean that gold would move to the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level based on the entire 2015 – 2020 rally. This is so interesting, because that’s the Fibonacci retracement level that (approximately) ended the 2013 decline.History tends to rhyme, so perhaps gold is going to decline even more than the simple analogy to the previous turning points indicates. For now, this is relatively unclear, and my target area for gold’s final bottom is quite broad.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Will Biden’s Executive Blitzkrieg Defeat Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 26.01.2021 12:22
A new sheriff is in in town, and he’s making some rearrangements. Will the new order of things support the price of gold?What a blitzkrieg! Joe Biden certainly wastes no time in signing executive orders. Since inauguration, he introduced several policies, including mandating masks on federal property, in airports and on certain public transportation, and the end of a travel bank on some countries. Biden also terminated the construction of the wall at the Mexican border, halted the withdrawal from the WHO and placed the U.S. back on the path to rejoining the Paris climate accord.We’re seeing a reversal of many of Trump’s policies. The new President’s actions shouldn’t materially affect the gold market , but if they manage to restore widespread confidence in the U.S. government, they could limit the safe-haven demand for gold .Biden also modified the government’s stance on the epidemic in the U.S., treating it very seriously. He undertook several executive actions intended to speed up the production of COVID-19 supplies, thereby increasing testing capacity, and hopefully reducing the spread of the coronavirus . Biden also started a “100 days mask challenge”, urging Americans to wear masks, and announced a “National Strategy for COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness”, arguing that “America deserves a response to the COVID-19 pandemic that is driven by science, data, and public health — not politics”.All these actions show that combatting the pandemic will be Biden’s priority and that he intends to deliver a more centralized federal response to the epidemiological threat. It’s high time! As the charts below show, the coronavirus has already infected almost 25 million Americans while killing more than 400,000.Figure 1Figure 2The U.S. equity markets welcomed Biden’s actions by reaching new record highs. However, these gains and increased risk appetite among investors didn’t prevent the modest jump in gold prices in the aftermath of the inauguration. As the chart below shows, the price of the yellow metal increased to above $1,860 on Thursday (Jan. 21).Figure 3Implications for GoldBut what do Biden’s rearrangements imply for the gold market in the medium and long run? Well, mainstream economists and the markets expect that Biden’s actions, including fiscal stimulus, will speed up the fight with the pandemic and will revive the economy. This positive sentiment could be negative for the yellow metal.However, I believe that people overestimate the positive economic impact of the upcoming stimulus. After all, many people have money, but they can’t spend it due to widespread lockdowns, and there will be a huge price to pay for aid coming in the form of a ballooned fiscal deficit and public debt . But the problem is that neither money nor debt constitute the real wealth, so I remain skeptical about the benefits of another government’s fiscal package.Of course, my opinion is irrelevant here. What is important is that Mr. Market likes the idea of additional stimulus, so the bonanza in the financial markets can last. The expectations of higher economic growth and accompanying stronger risk appetite could be negative for gold .However, at some point, the fragility and limitation of the debt driven growth will become clear – you cannot print wealth – and investors will face the harsh reality of a debt trap . It will be delayed, but there will be a reaction to the increased debt and the risk of higher inflation . This reaction, in turn, should be beneficial for the yellow metal.Not long ago, I was afraid that U.S. fiscal policy will be less dovish in 2021 – however, with Biden’s fiscal stimulus in the cards, the fiscal policy could actually become even more lavish this year than it was in 2020. It should also be a supportive factor for the price of gold, especially considering that it would force the Fed to remain very accommodative as well.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: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Stock Pick Update: Jan. 27 – Feb. 2, 2021

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 27.01.2021 14:13
Header: Which stocks could magnify S&P 500’s gains in case it rallies? Take a look at a part of our Stock Pick Update. We have included two Consumer Discretionary and one Energy stock this time.In the last five trading days (January 20 – January 26) the broad stock market has extended its long-term uptrend. The S&P 500 index reached new record high of 3,870.90 yesterday, as investors awaited big-tech quarterly earnings releases. The S&P 500 has gained 0.88% between January 20 open and January 26 close.In the same period of time our five long and five short stock picks have lost 4.22%. Stock picks were relatively much weaker than the broad stock market’s performance last week. Our long stock picks have lost 6.12% and short stock picks have resulted in a loss of 2.32%. The Energy sector has been the strongest in the previous month, but last week there have been significant declines in oil stocks. Hence that relatively big drawdown of our portfolio.There are risks that couldn’t be avoided in trading. Hence the need for proper money management and a relatively diversified stock portfolio. This is especially important if trading on a time basis – without using stop-loss/ profit target levels. We are just buying or selling stocks at open on Wednesday and selling or buying them back at close on the next Tuesday.If stocks were in a prolonged downtrend, being able to profit anyway, would be extremely valuable. Of course, it’s not the point of our Stock Pick Updates to forecast where the general stock market is likely to move, but rather to provide you with stocks that are likely to generate profits regardless of what the S&P does.Our last week’s portfolio result:Long Picks (January 20 open – January 26 close % change): COP (-10.11%), PXD (-8.09%), C (-9.59%), SPGI (+0.42%), APD (-3.25%)Short Picks (January 20 open – January 26 close % change): WBA (+2.56%), MNST (-1.48%), SPG (+7.28%), EQR (+3.85%), TTWO (-0.62%)Average long result: -6.12%, average short result: -2.32%Total profit (average): -4.22%Stock Pick Update performance chart since Nov 18, 2020:Let’s check which stocks could magnify S&P’s gains in case it rallies, and which stocks would be likely to decline the most if S&P plunges. Here are our stock picks for the Wednesday, January 27 – Tuesday, February 2 period.We will assume the following: the stocks will be bought or sold short on the opening of today’s trading session (January 27) and sold or bought back on the closing of the next Tuesday’s trading session (February 2).We will provide stock trading ideas based on our in-depth technical and fundamental analysis, but since the main point of this publication is to provide the top 5 long and top 5 short candidates (our opinion, not an investment advice) for this week, we will focus solely on the technicals. The latter are simply more useful in case of short-term trades.First, we will take a look at the recent performance by sector. It may show us which sector is likely to perform best in the near future and which sector is likely to lag. Then, we will select our buy and sell stock picks.There are eleven stock market sectors: Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Technology, Communications Services, Utilities and Real Estate. They are further divided into industries, but we will just stick with these main sectors of the stock market.We will analyze them and their relative performance by looking at the Select Sector SPDR ETF’s .The stock market sector analysis is available to our subscribers only.Based on the above, we decided to choose our stock picks for the next week. We will choose our 5 long and 5 short candidates using trend-following approach:buys: 2 x Consumer Discretionary, 2 x Energy, 1 x Health Caresells: 2 x Industrials, 2 x Consumer Staples, 1 x MaterialsBuy CandidatesMCD McDonalds Corp. - Consumer DiscretionaryStock may break above two-month-long downward trend lineThe resistance level is at $217.50 and support level is at $207.50ORLY O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. – Consumer DiscretionaryPossible upward reversal following the recent correctionThe resistance level is at $465 – short-term upside profit target levelWMB Williams Cos., Inc. – EnergyStock trades within a consolidation following downward correction – uptrend continuation playThe support level is at $20.75 and resistance level is at $22.75Summing up , the above trend-following long stock picks are just a part of our whole Stock Pick Update . The Consumer Discretionary and Energy sectors were relatively the strongest in the last 30 days. So that part of our ten long and short stock picks is meant to outperform in the coming days if the broad stock market acts similarly as it did before.We hope you enjoyed reading the above free analysis, and we encourage you to read today's Stock Pick Update - this analysis' full version. There, we include the stock market sector analysis for the past month and remaining long and short stock picks for the next week. There's no risk in subscribing right away, because there's a 30-day money back guarantee for all our products, so we encourage you to subscribe today .Thank you.Paul RejczakStock Trading StrategistSunshine Profits - Effective Investments through Diligence and Care* * * * *DisclaimerAll essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Paul Rejczak and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Paul Rejczak’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Short Squeeze Mania - Stocks Swoon

Short Squeeze Mania - Stocks Swoon

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 27.01.2021 15:24
It's officially "stonk season" in the markets. The IPO market continues to baffle, and SPACs continue to pop-up like weeds in your front yard.Plus if you’ve seen GameStop (GME), AMC Entertainment (AMC), and Blackberry (BB) lately, you know the Robinhooders are at it again.These speculative gambles are ridiculously frothy right now as hedge funds and institutions continue to try and cover their shorts. The moves these stocks are making are more detached from reality than the guy in a buffalo headdress at the Capitol 3 weeks ago.Complacency is the most significant near-term risk to stocks by far, and I have been warning about this for weeks. It also reminds me of the Q4 2018 pullback ( read my story here ).It’s also earnings season (for those who care, like analysts), and it’s time for some big swings and volatility.Well, not entirely. Monday (Jan. 25) saw a sudden mid-day plummet and subsequent recovery, and Tuesday (Jan. 26) traded slightly down. Wednesday (Jan. 27) looks set to open lower - we will see how that ends up.Earnings have so far impressed, though, and there were some big moves from individual stocks.General Electric (GE) popped over 9% thanks to a healthy outlook for 2021 and better than expected industrial free cash flow.Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) also saw a nice 3% gain after beating earnings. Investors are also eagerly anticipating results from its vaccine’s trial. Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is one dose and does not require any crazy storage protocols like Pfizer (PFE) and Moderna’s (MRNA). Strong results and FDA approval could genuinely change the tide of the pandemic and vaccine rollout.Earnings from Microsoft (MSFT) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) also came in after the closing bell and impressed as well. Microsoft posted record quarterly sales, and AMD exceeded $3 billion in revenue.Does this mean we're all clear now and can party like it's 1999?Not exactly. Plus, if you're a stock nerd like I am, you don't want to party like it's 1999. Because that means 2000 will come—the end of one of the biggest parties, investors have ever seen. I'm talking about the dot-com bust.Fair warning: the S&P 500 is still at or near its most-expensive level in recent history on most measures, and the Russell 2000 has never traded this high above its 200-day moving average.The more GameStop pops, the more of a circus I think this market is. GameStop a $15+ billion company? Really? A correction at some point in the short-term would not be shocking in the least.John Studzinski , vice chairman of Pimco, believes that market valuations are sound and reflect expectations of this eventual reopening and economic recovery by the second half of the year.I agree on some level about the second half of the year. Outside of complacency, though, I have other short-term concerns.For one, trillions in imminent stimulus could be useful for stocks but bring back inflation by mid-year. The worst part about it? The Fed will likely let it run hot. With debt rising and consumer spending expected to increase as vaccines are rolled out to the masses, the Fed is undoubtedly more likely to let inflation rise than letting interest rates rise.All of this tells me that the market remains a pay-per-view fight between good news and bad news.We may trade sideways this quarter- that would not shock me in the least. But I think we are long overdue for a correction since we haven't seen one since last March.Corrections are healthy for markets and more common than most realize. Only twice in the last 38 years have we had years WITHOUT a correction (1995 and 2017).A correction could also be an excellent buying opportunity for what should be a great second half of the year.Therefore, to sum it up:While there is long-term optimism, there are short-term concerns. A short-term correction between now and Q1 2021 is possible. I don't think that a decline above ~20%, leading to a bear market will happen.In a report released last Tuesday (Jan. 19), Goldman Sachs shared the same sentiments.My goal for these updates is to educate you, give you ideas, and help you manage money like I did when I was pressing the buy and sell buttons for $600+ million in assets. I left that career to pursue one where I could help people who needed help, instead of the ultra-high net worth. Hopefully, you find my insights enlightening, and I welcome your thoughts and questions.We have a critical week ahead with the Fed set to have its first monetary policy meeting of 2021 and more earnings announcements. I wish you the best of luck. We'll check back in with you at the end of the week. Small-caps are Too Hot to HandleFigure 1- iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM)As tracked by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) , small-cap stocks underperformed the larger indices on Tuesday (January 26). The RSI is no longer technically overbought, but I still think that the Russell has overheated in the short-term. Stocks don’t just go up in a straight line without experiencing a sharp pullback. That’s just the nature of the beast.Barron’s also claims that the Russell 2000/S&P 500 ratio has entered a powerful 15-year resistance area .Nobody knows what will happen during this critical week of earnings, but I called a decline after the IWM began the week over a 70 RSI. Indeed the IWM is having a down week to this point, but it’s not sharply down enough for me to switch my call. Not even close.I love small-cap stocks in the long-term, especially as the world reopens. Small-caps are also the most likely to benefit from Biden’s aggressive stimulus plan.But the index has overheated. Period.Before January 4, the RSI for the IWM Russell 2000 ETF was at a scorching hot 74.54. I called a sell-off happening in the short-term due to this RSI, and it happened.After the RSI hit another overbought level of approximately 77 two Wednesdays ago (January 13), the IWM declined by another 1.5%. I said that Russell stocks would imminently cool down because the RSI was too hot, and precisely that’s what happened.Consider this too. In its entire history as an index, the Russell has never traded this high above its 200-day moving average.Small-caps may have priced in vaccine-related gains by now, and some stimulus optimism may have been priced in too.I hope small-caps decline before jumping back in for long-term buying opportunities. I love where these stocks could end up by the end of the year.SELL and take profits if you can- but do not fully exit positions . If there is a deeper pullback, this is a STRONG BUY for the long-term recovery.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

How the Eurozone Affects Gold, and Why You Should Care

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 27.01.2021 16:14
In our globalized economy, currency pairs have a negative correlation with gold, so how does the current EUR/USD situation impact the yellow metal?It pays to pay attention to what is happening in Europe. As is well known, there are many currency pairs in the world, but the most traded one is the EUR/USD. How does that affect you as a gold investor? The equation goes something like this: if the economy of the Eurozone sinks and takes the EUR down with it, the USD rises – and vice-versa. Gold, which is usually inversely related to the dollar, will also either rise or decline based on the latter’s behavior.Before we get to Europe though, let’s take a look at what gold is currently doing.Once again, yesterday’s (Jan. 26) session was relatively uneventful on the technical front, but that doesn’t mean that the outlook is any more bullish.Conversely, it remains bearish because of multiple developments that happened before the current pause. For instance, the invalidation of gold’s breakout above its 2011 high. Even though it had help from a sliding USD Index, the yellow metal still failed to hold above this critical support level.It seems that the only thing that made gold rally in the recent past was the U.S. inauguration-based uncertainty. As it fades away, gold is losing its gleam. In fact, the previous relative weakness seems to have already returned.Figure 1 – USD Index futures (DX.F)Taking the previous two days into account (precisely: yesterday and today’s pre-market trading), we see that the USD Index declined. In such a situation, gold should have rallied or at least paused, but what did it do?Figure 2 - COMEX Gold Futures (GC.F)Gold declined. This means that gold’s weakness relative to the USDX is back.Looking at the above chart, I marked the November consolidation with a blue rectangle, and I copied it to the current situation, based on the end of the huge daily downswing. Gold moved briefly below it in recent days, after which it rallied back up, and right now it’s very close to the upper right corner of the rectangle.This means that the current situation remains very similar to what we saw back in November, right before another slide started – and this second slide was bigger than the first one. Consequently, there’s a good reason for gold to reverse any day (or hour) now.Let’s get back to the USD Index for a minute.I think that the USD Index is likely to rally in the following weeks, but as far as the next several days are concerned, the situation is relatively unclear.The USD Index finds itself after the breakout above the declining medium-term resistance line, but it’s also after a breakdown below the rising short-term support line. Consequently, it’s very short-term outlook is relatively unclear. In all cases, I don’t see it moving visibly below the previous 2021 low.And since the situation is unclear with regard to the short-term in case of the USDX, it would be natural for gold to hesitate. Since it’s already declining, it seems that even if the USDX tested its previous 2021 low, gold would not rally far.Figure 3 - COMEX Silver Futures (SI.F)Similarly to gold, silver is not doing much. The white metal is moving back and forth after the big January slide and it seems to be preparing for another move lower.Let’s keep in mind that silver has a triangle-vertex-based reversal in late February – close to Feb. 23. Based on what we’ve seen so far, it seems quite likely that it will be a major bottom (not likely the final one for this slide, though).Figure 4 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)Miners didn’t do much yesterday either, so my previous comments on them remain up-to-date. To explain the pattern, I wrote on Jan. 11 :If you analyze the chart above, the area on the left (marked S) represents the first shoulder, while the area in the middle (H) represents the head and the area on the right (second S) represents the potential second shoulder.Right now, $33.7-$34 is the do-or-die area. If the GDX breaks below this (where the right shoulder forms) it could trigger a decline back to the $24 to $23 range (measured by the spread between the head and the neckline; marked with green).And after analyzing Thursday’s (Jan. 21) price action, I wrote the following (on Jan. 22):As far as the miners are concerned, mining stocks didn’t correct half of their 2021 decline. They didn’t invalidate the breakdown below the rising support line, either. In fact, the GDX ETF closed yesterday’s session below the 50-day moving average. Technically, nothing changed.Regarding the GDX ETF’s current consolidation pattern (November to present), it mirrors what we saw between April and June of last year (the shaded green rectangles above).I added:Both shoulders of the head-and-shoulder formation can be identical, but they don’t have to be , so it’s not that the current consolidation has to end at the right border of the current rectangle. However, the fact that the price is already close to this right border tells us that it would be very normal for the consolidation to end any day now – most likely before the end of January.If we see a rally to $37, or even $38, it won’t change much – the outlook will remain intact anyway, and the right shoulder of the potential head-and-shoulders formation will remain similar to the left shoulder.But with many paths to get there, is hitting $37 or $38 a prerequisite to the eventual decline? Absolutely not. The GDX ETF could reverse right away and catch many market participants flat-footed.Remember, it’s important to keep last week’s rally in context. Despite the Yellen-driven bounce, the GDX ETF is still down considerably from its January highs.Having said that, let’s take a look at the market from a more fundamental angle.The Widening Economic DivergenceFor weeks, I’ve been highlighting the economic malaise confronting the Eurozone. And like a fork in the road, the U.S. and Europe continue to head in opposite directions. More importantly though, the fundamental fate of the two regions, and the subsequent performance of the EUR/USD, will go a long way in determining the precious metals’ destiny.Figure 5If you analyze the chart above, you can see that gold and silver tend to track the performance of the EUR/USD. And while gold bucked the trend on Tuesday (Jan. 26), silver still remains a loyal follower. Thus, as the European economy sinks further into quicksand, its relative underperformance is likely to pressure the EUR/USD and usher the PMs lower.On Friday (Jan. 22), the IHS Markit Eurozone Composite PMI fell to 47.5 in January (down from 49.1 in December), with services falling to 45.0 (from 46.4) and manufacturing falling to 54.7 (from 55.2).Please see below:Figure 6To explain, PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) data is compiled through a monthly survey of executives at more than 400 companies. A PMI above 50 indicates business conditions are expanding, while a PMI below 50 indicates that business conditions are contracting (the scale on the left side of the chart).In contrast to the Eurozone, the U.S. Composite PMI rose to 58 in January (up from 55.3 in December), with services rising to 57.5 (up from 54.8) and manufacturing rising to 59.1 (up from 57.1).Figure 7In addition, after European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde revealed (on Jan. 21) that the Eurozone economy likely shrank in the fourth-quarter (all but sealing a double-dip recession), Germany (the Eurozone’s largest economy) cut its 2021 GDP growth forecast from 4.4% to 3.0%.And not looking any better, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook Report – which covers IMF economists' analysis over the short and medium-term – has the U.S. economy expanding by 5.1% in 2021 versus only 4.2% for the Eurozone. More importantly though, the Eurozone economy is expected to contract by 7.2% in 2020 versus 3.4% for the U.S. As a result, Europe has to dig itself out of a much larger hole.Please see below:Figure 8Also noteworthy, the IMF downgraded its GDP growth forecast for Canada. And because the USD/CAD accounts for more than 9% of the movement in the USD Index (though still well below the nearly 58% derived from the EUR/USD) it’s an important variable to monitor.Continuing the theme of Eurozone underperformance, U.S. consumer confidence (released on Jan. 26) rose from 87.1 in December (revised) to 89.3 in January (the red box below).Figure 9 - Source: Bloomberg/ Daniel LacalleIn contrast, Eurozone consumer confidence (released on Jan. 21) retreated in January. And while both regions’ readings are still well below pre-pandemic levels, currencies trade on a relative basis. As a result, the relative underperformance of the Eurozone is bearish for the EUR/USD.Figure 10If that wasn’t enough, the ECB essentially admitted it wants a weaker euro. On Tuesday (Jan. 26), reports surfaced that the ECB will investigate the causes of the euro’s appreciation relative to the greenback. Translation? The central bank is studying ways to devalue the currency.Adding more fuel to the fire, the yield differential between the U.S. and Europe foretells a higher USD Index. Dating back to 2003, after the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield troughed and began rising, the USD Index (except for 2008-2009) always followed suit.Please see below:Figure 11 - Source: Daniel LacalleIn contrast, if you analyze the area at the bottom, you can see that the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield has bounced by 57 basis points from its August low. But moving in the opposite direction, the USD Index is lower now than it was it August.Furthermore, notice the large divergence that’s occurred since the beginning of December?Figure 12The abnormal behavior above highlights the power of sentiment. Because U.S. investors ‘want’ a lower USD Index, they’re willing to overlook technicals, fundamentals, historical precedent and essentially, reality. However, if the dynamic reverses, the USD Index is ripe for a resurgence.Circling back to the euro, the currency is already starting to crack. On Monday (Jan. 25), I wrote that Janet Yellen’s pledge to “act big” on the next coronavirus relief package ushered the EUR/GBP back above critical support.However, on Tuesday (Jan. 26), the key level broke again.Please see below:Figure 13More importantly though, a break in the EUR/GBP could be an early warning sign of a forthcoming break in the EUR/USD.Figure 14If you analyze the chart above, ~20 years of history shows that the EUR/GBP and the EUR/USD tend to follow in each other’s footsteps. As a result, if the EUR/GBP retests its April low (the next support level), the EUR/USD is likely to tag along for the ride (which implies a move back to ~1.08).Figure 15And like a falling string of dominoes, if the EUR/USD retests ~1.08, the PMs should come under significant pressure.Figure 16If you analyze the chart above, you can see that over the last ~20 years, gold and silver tend to live and die with the EUR/USD. Naturally, there are also other factors, but the point is that the performance of this currency pair shouldn’t be ignored. As a result, a euro collapse (or at least a significant decline in it) could deliver plenty of fireworks. Conversely, once order is restored and weak Eurozone fundamentals are accurately priced into the EUR/USD, the precious metals will present us with an attractive buying opportunity.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

US Stock Market Rolls Lower After 18% Rally Since November 2020

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 28.01.2021 03:23
Price action is usually conducted in a series of up and down price phases – or waves/cycles.  Typically, price will move higher or lower in phases- attempting to trend upward or downward over time. This type of price action is normal.  Extended upward trends with very little downward price retracements happen sometimes – but not often.  They usually happen in “excess phase” rallies or after some type of news event changes expectations for a symbol/sector.Putting Concerns Into Perspective – Still BullishSince early November 2020, the US stock market has continued to rally in a mode that is similar to an excess phase rally – showing very little signs of moderate price rotation. While price volatility has continued to stay higher than normal, you can see from the SPY Daily chart below that it has rallied from $324.40 to $385.95 (over 18%) in just under 90 days.  At some point in the future, a moderate price rotation/retracement will happen that may be in excess of 6% to 11% - as has happened in the past.The purpose of this research post is to alert readers that the markets appear to have started a period of downside price rotation – which is normal. This SPY Daily chart, above, highlights the upward support channel originating from the March 21, 2020, COVID-19 lows (CYAN line) and also the upward support channel originating from the early November 2020 lows (YELLOW line). It is important to understand that any downside price retracement which stays above the CYAN line level should be considered a normal range price rotation within a bullish trend.  This suggests a -3% to -4% downside price trend from current levels would simply qualify as downward price rotation within a bullish trend – nothing more.If price were to break below the CYAN upward trending support channel, then we would become more concerned that a deeper price downtrend is setting up which may target lows from Mid-November 2020 (-6.5%) or the late October 2020 lows (-13% to -14%) from current SPY price levels.  Obviously, a deeper downside trend targeting the October 2020 lows would suggest the US stock markets are potentially entering a new phase of trending – possibly a sideways consolidation trend.TRAN Testing Support Near 12,180The following Transportation Index daily chart shows a very clear picture of how this “rollover” in the markets has setup and where real support is likely to be found.  The early January lows, near 12,180 are the most likely immediate support level on the TRAN Daily chart, below.  If the US stock market attempts to find immediate support to sustain the current bullish rally trend, then this level in the TRAN will likely hold up well over the next few days/weeks. Otherwise, if the TRAN breaks below this level, then the next viable downside target become the November 2020 lows (or somewhere close to those levels).Be sure to sign up for my FREE webinar that will teach you how to find and trade my BEST ASSET NOW strategy on your own!Using Fibonacci Retracement Theory from the early November 2020 lows to recent highs, we achieve the following levels:25% retracement: 12,628.9238.2% retracement: 12,331.4450% retracement: 12,065.4761.8% retracement: 11,799.51The 12,180 level we are suggesting will turn into critical support is just above the 50% Fibonacci Retracement level.  Therefore, any further downside trending would be predicated by a breach of both the 12,180 level and the 12,065.47 level.  If price holds above either of these support levels confidently, we would consider further downside risks unlikely.VIX Spike Higher BeginsThe upward spike in the VIX recently is indicative of how volatile the markets have become after nearly 90 days of continued upward trending.  Whenever the US stock market enters a decidedly bullish price trend for an extended period of time, the VIX naturally “normalizes” into a lower boundary and becomes hypersensitive to moderate price rotations.  We've seen this happen many times in the past.Because of the way the VIX is calculated, when these breakout moves happen while the market is conducting a relatively normal price rotation/correction, the VIX can sometimes spike above 35 or 45. To put this into perspective, the 2008-09 market crash prompted a VIX move to near 95.  The COVID-19 market crash prompted a VIX move to near 85. Many other moderate market downtrends over the past 10+ years prompted VIX moves above 30~40.  Three of the biggest “normal range” VIX moves happened in August 2011 (VIX level near 48),  August 2015 (VIX level near 53.50), and February 2018 (VIX level near 50).If another big market rotation were to take place in the near future, we believe early February would be the time/place for it to happen based on our predictive modeling system's expectations (see this research article: (https://www.thetechnicaltraders.com/what-to-expect-in-2021-part-ii-gold-silver-and-spy/).  We also believe this downside price swing will end fairly quickly and that a continued bullish price trend will resume in March or April 2021.The potential for a broader market rotation and trend “reset” is aligning with our December 2020 predictions for 2021.  Quite possibly, the downside price trending we are seeing now is the start of a 15 to 25+ day market rotation which will likely “reset” the bullish trending bias and allow for broader market trends to continue higher. We consider this an opportunity for traders to take advantage of this rotation in major markets and sectors.2021 is going to be full of these types of trends and setups.  Quite literally, hundreds of these setups and trades will be generated over the next 3 to 6 months using the Best Assets Now strategy.  Are you ready for these big market rotations expected in 2021? You can trade my BAN ETF strategy with no proprietary indicator, scanners, or algorithms just by watching my FREE webinar. Not only will it show you a strategy you can implement tomorrow, but you will also receive over $100 worth of free goodies designed to make you an even better trader… no strings attached. Go ahead and watch the webinar now – click here to start. If you want to improve your own trading strategy and win-rate without doing the research yourself, then you need to subscribe to BAN Trader Pro newsletter service to get my daily BAN Hotlist, my pre-market video walkthrough of the charts every morning, and my BAN strategy trade alerts.Happy Trading!
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

S&P 500 and Gold Bulls, Get Ready to Meet the Bears

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 28.01.2021 09:08
Yesterday‘s recovery ended on a weak note as stock bulls gave up the opening gap. Disappointing in the very short run, especially given that other key markets acted likewise weak. Neither corporate bonds, nor gold, nor oil could get their act together, and are hanging in the balance. Inviting the bears to probe the defences, how far south will they be able to get? We have the Fed meeting later today, and while I am not looking for hawkish surprises or any outright optimism, the investors aren‘t taking chances. Sell now, ask questions later seem to be the mantra before the U.S. open. While Monday‘s hanging man candlestick predictably didn‘t bring follow through selling on Tuesday, I am looking for the bulls to get tested today. Once the dust clears, we can go on making new highs, but the short-term storm (storm in a teacup, more precisely) hasn‘t started yet. In today‘s article, I‘ll examine the S&P 500 standing, look into precious metals, and finally answer a pointed question about gold. Let‘s start (charts courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook Stocks are hanging in the short-term balance following yesterday‘s weak close. Unconvincing volume, inviting a premarket push to the low 3800s as we speak. The aftermath of the Fed will set the tone for the coming sessions, but I would look for early credit market clues before buying any dip. Credit Markets High yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) had a weak day yesterday, missing the opportunity to rise. Quite to the contrary, they traded relatively weaker than the S&P 500 did. Any time corporate bonds start underperforming stocks, I am watching closely, and often from the sidelines. Investment grade corporate bonds (LQD ETF) closed about unchanged while Treasuries paused and didn‘t really advance compared to Monday. They appear waiting for the Fed, unwilling to move before discounting possible hawkish surprise (positive assessment of the economy would do that trick) as a false alarm. The ratio of high yield corporate bonds against short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) with the S&P 500 overlaid (black line) shows the very short-term vulnerability in stocks. How low will these go as the greed sentiment gets taken down a notch? You see, yesterday I did strike an optimistic tone in the runup to the regular session‘s open, but the bulls missed a good opportunity to act, and the resultant signals favor the bears to step in now. That‘s the essence of my trading style – neither a permabull, nor a permabear, and always ready to turn on a dime should the facts change. The market breadth indicators show we‘re on the doorstep of a push lower. Instead of holding ground, new high new lows solidly declined, while both the advance decline line and advance decline volume muddled through. That‘s not exactly a bullish constellation. Precious Metals in Focus Gold also appears to be acting a bit weak in the short run. No surprise as I don‘t see the lengthy consolidation as quite over yet. This one will more likely wear you out than scare you out. Simply put, the gold bulls better wait for spring to usher in another precious metals upleg as the miners to gold ($HUI:$GOLD) ratio isn‘t sending any kind of confirmation that the sector has made a turn. The gold to silver ratio keeps treading water, and isn‘t declining below its early September lows. On the other hand, it‘s not trading too far from them either, which translates into silver not acting at its weakest exactly. That‘s a bullish sign, showing that this 5-month long consolidation is really getting long in the tooth. Completing the picture, miners (GDX ETF) reveal lackluster short-term performance. Long upper knot and volume as low as could have been, mean that we better brace ourselves for a down session today. From the Readers‘ Mailbag Q: Hi Monica, congratulations and best wishes on your new venture and I look forward to following your work. I'm an English working class boy, now very Grey who follows the gold market like a hawk. I'm a longterm investor in PM's sector and I have a largish position in PM miners (still in profit on most) but the last six month are playing havoc with my nerves. The best metaphor I have that describes my current situation is that I have a large bowl of golden soup with a big fly swimming in it and its name is Mr Radomski. His latest missive of 25 Jan outlines "where to now Gold" with a possible/probable decline of gold to between $1500 - $1600. I was rather hoping you might comment on his analysis and on how you see things developing over the coming months. I appreciate that you don't give financial advice but his very bearish view is discomforting given the mad world we have around us and if Gold could crash to these levels in the current situation it begs the question why bother investing in PM's. A: Thank you for the question and for authorizing me to print it just the way it arrived. I‘ll answer solely from my personal perspective, and won‘t comment on personalities. I understand your frustration with gold being unable to really move, but as I tweeted already yesterday, this months-long correction is one to wear you out, not to scare you out. Please check my Aug 07 article written for Sunshine Profits called S&P 500 Bulls Meet Non-Farm Payrolls, where in the section Calling out gold, I discuss the yellow metal‘s prospects. Compare that with my Monday‘s article Rosy February for S&P 500? Not So Fast to see how things turned out in the sector precisely. It‘s with the same conviction that I say today again that this long consolidation in gold is in its latter stages. For now, gold is still rangebound, and I don‘t see a deflationary crash repeating that would bring it to said $1,500 - $1,600 levels. Definitely not. Looking at the real world around us, the Fed is becoming more active in expanding its balance sheet, new stimulus checks are coming (money flowing directly into the real economy, not sitting on commercial banks‘ balance sheets), and fiscal policy isn‘t tame exactly either. Inflation is making a steady return, and it‘s a question of time (think months) before it becomes broadly acknowledged. In such an environment, a gold drop would be bought with both hands, thank you very much. Copper is rising, base metals aren‘t doing badly, and food price inflation is hot. We‘ve entered a decade of commodities, which would outperform paper assets. Who could tell me why gold would crash, even temporarily? What kind of mayhem in the bond markets would have to trigger that? Make no mistake, no single market moves in a vacuum. Quite to the contrary, I look at gold and Bitcoin as the safe haven plays, with Bitcoin being the wild and volatile one. I am saying that Bitcoin has clearly decoupled, and once gold does the same, it means a vote of no confidence in the financial system. But this is not where we are currently. Gold is taking its cues from interest rates, real ones to be precise. The king of metals is also doing well during times of rising inflation. Take the Fed keeping rates as low as can be for as long as eye can see (practical view of things), rising inflation bringing down opportunity costs of holding precious metals, and you have a great driver of higher gold prices. Given the economic policy steps, how likely is a deflationary shock now? Instead, look for the newly created money to keep entering the real economy, battling the high savings rate. Once you see the velocity of money to pick up, that would be the cherry on the cake. Gold unbound next. For now though, arm yourself with patience, and don‘t let any gloomy forecasts not matching your real world experience of what‘s truly going on in this Brave New World, drive you to abandon your prior decision. Have the facts, the rationale changed? Constantly evaluate these, honestly and truthfully without getting scared. No, the answer is that the drivers are still in place, and will be gaining an upper hand increasingly more over time. I see gold as breaking higher from this lengthy consolidation in spring, and as I‘ve explained in Monday‘s article, miners are set to outperform the metal early in this move when it comes, because they‘ve been beaten down quite sufficiently already. Look also at the gold to silver ratio. Spikes in favor of gold are what I would look for in the next monetary crisis, or liquidity crunch. Currently, none is on the horizon. Summary Time has come for another daily downswing in stocks, and it remains to be seen whether it entices the buyers to act. Technology, communications and consumer staples were among the best performing sectors yesterday, which doesn‘t paint a picture of broad short-term strength. Repeating the final sentence of yesterday‘s summary, the nearest days may (see today‘s session for proof) bring another push lower that won‘t however jeopardize the bull market in the least.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Powell: Inflation Can Rise In 2021 – So What Happens to Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 28.01.2021 16:51
The first FOMC meeting in 2021 has concluded without any changes in monetary policy, while Powell sent a few dovish signals during his press conference.The FOMC released on Wednesday (January 27) its newest statement on monetary policy . Generally speaking, the statement was little changed. The main alteration is that the U.S. central bank has acknowledged that “the pace of the recovery in economic activity and employment has moderated in recent months”. Wow, how did they notice that? They really must hire professionals! All jokes aside, this modification in the FOMC statement is dovish . Consequently, when analyzed separately, it’s positive for the price of gold.Another change is that the FOMC now believes that “the ongoing public health crisis continues to weigh on economic activity, employment, and inflation, and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook”. In December, the Fed thought that the pandemic would impact inflation only in the “near term”, with risks to the outlook “over the medium term”.However, when considered holistically, the January statement is rather bad for the yellow metal , as the Committee neither changed the federal funds rate nor expanded its quantitative easing program . So we have another month without any additional easing of the U.S. monetary policy. Luckily, the ECB also didn’t loosen its stance, but still, the lack of any fresh dovish moves by the Fed is not helpful for gold.Luckily, Powell comes to the rescue! Although he generally sounded rather neutral during his press conference , the Fed Chair has sent a few important dovish signals. First, he clearly excluded the possibility of premature tapering and the replay of 2013’s taper tantrum , saying that “the whole focus on exit is premature if I may say. We’re focused on finishing the job we’re doing, which is supporting the economy, giving the economy the support it needs.” The continuation of the quantitative easing, which will take years, is positive for gold.Second, Powell acknowledged that inflation will increase in 2021, admitting that the Fed will not react to this rise, as it would be only transitory: “We’re going to be patient. Expect us to wait and see and not react if we see small, and what we would view as very likely to be transient, effects on inflation”. This is great news for gold, which is considered by many investors as an inflation hedge . Higher inflation, with the central bank behind the curve, also implies lower real interest rates , which will support gold prices.Implications for GoldWhat does the recent FOMC meeting imply for the gold market? Well, so far, it has reacted little to the Fed’s statement on monetary policy. The reason is simple: the lack of any moves was widely expected, so the markets got no surprises and reacted weakly.However, the easing of the monetary policy could provide a fresh bullish signal that gold seems to need right now. Without such a spark, gold may continue its bearish trend for a while (see the chart below). And, although the markets did not expect any significant announcements from the Fed, some analysts speculated that the U.S. central bank could provide some guidance about the yield curve control. But it didn’t – so further declines wouldn’t be surprising in the short-term.Some analysts even say that the gold’s price pattern of 2020-2021 resembles the period of 2011-2012. If true, it would be a terrible news for the gold bulls. However, history never repeats itself, but only rhymes. The current fundamental outlook is different. Why? Well, this time, in addition to quantitative easing and ZIRP , we also have a very easy fiscal policy with ballooning federal debt and new large fiscal deficits in the pipeline.Another difference is the Fed’s stance. Right now the U.S. central bank openly admits that there is a possibility of upward pressure on inflation , but ask the markets to “expect us to wait and see and not react” (emphasis added). Well, the rise in inflation may be indeed only transitory – but, hey, didn’t they say the same before the 1970s stagflation ?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, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

A million reasons to buy Silver

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 29.01.2021 10:05
Silver, Weekly Chart, Multiyear range break, significant trend, range, and?Silver in US Dollar, weekly chart as of January 28th, 2021.We are at such a significant point in history where fundamentals are more important for long term wealth preservation prediction than usual. Here is why:U.S. debt is at US$27 trillion.With the transition of the current presidency and the need to print enormous amounts of money to fund national vaccinations, future monetary expansion is inevitable.Silver is the only deflationary asset that’s left that has lost value since the 1980s. While some investors might think this is a good reason not to buy Silver, a contrarian or counter-intuitive approach would find an opportunity in something so undervalued.The greater the amount of currency in circulation, the greater the potential money flow they can trail into precious metals. When the economy collapses and cashflow comes flowing out of the stock market, it will find its way back into precious metals, and prices will rise.  Gold/Silver Ratio, Monthly Chart, Still room to catch up:Gold-Silver Ratio, monthly chart as of January 28th, 2021.But this isn’t all. As of December 11, 2020, Silver’s one-year price change is up 41.94%, and gold’s one-year price change is up 24.75%. Looking at the monthly Gold/Silver-Ratio chart above, we can see that there is still plenty of room for Silver to catch up. We even have support here right now, which would point out that gold runs first again, and then Silver is under pressure to follow.Monthly Chart of Silver, Forecast:Silver in US Dollar, monthly chart as of January 28th, 2021.Silver is looking very bullish by not having retraced deep in its sideways range since March of last year (27.5%). Therefore, we find it sensible to look at fundamentals more closely when it comes to larger timeframe target projections. Metal prices are strongly correlated with the economic meltdown. Hence, if the banks are too big to fail and keep forestalling inevitable problems into the future by ongoing money printing, we can continue to see prices remain less than stellar. Only when fear strikes the masses will the money leave the stock market and ultimately find itself into precious metals. Is COVID-19, the pandemic, that catalyst?A million reasons to buy Silver:The disparity between economic conditions in corporate earnings will not post well for equities forever. Investors are building up alternative hedges. We have seen massive profits in Bitcoin. If “exotics” get attention like this, a more radical shift in common alternatives like Silver might be ahead.JP Morgan has decreased their short positions after years of accumulating Silver. It leads one to believe that with rumors of J.P. Morgan’s massive silver accumulation, it’s relinquishing recent silver short positions. It could portend a future where silver prices can no longer be manipulated as they once were, as the main manipulator has decided to cash in.With history changing so fast and a million reasons for owning Silver, it is wise to look at markets from both sides. A fundamental and a technical one. More than ever! Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Here’s What’s More Important than the Recent Reddit Mania

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 29.01.2021 16:36
GameStop! Reddit! Silver manipulation (that’s been discussed for over two decades)! It’s exciting but pay attention to these more important factors.Is the above really the key thing that’s happening in the markets right now? No, it’s only the most interesting thing. I admit, what we’re seeing on the Internet right now is truly absorbing, but one should realize that it’s what used to happen multiple times in history. This time it’s simply more visible as the conversations and associated images are publicly available and widely distributed.In yesterday’s intraday Alert , I commented on the issue of the likely implications of these cumulative purchases on the precious metals market as a whole and what difference they are likely to make over the course of the following months and weeks – next to none.Well, there is one effect that I’m expecting to see. It’s the increased volatility during the following price declines – likely proportionate to what was so vigorously bought in the last few days.Figure 1 – GameStop Corporation (GME) - NYSEThe above GameStop chart shows a near-vertical rally, and it also shows the spike in volume. The purchasing power seems to have dried up and the price – as expected – fell. Those, who bought at $300, were already at a 33% loss as of yesterday’s close.The various forums (other forums joined in, it’s not just Reddit anymore) are filled with messages and images encouraging to “hold”. But sooner or later people will realize that without fresh buyers the price is going to fall, and one by one, they are likely to panic and sell – especially knowing that they won’t be “punished” by the “forum community” in any way, as it’s not known to the forum participants who is selling and when.The topic of silver manipulation , paper silver and paper gold really is older than 20 years, and it’s been mostly the same argument over all those years. The price managed to rally from below $5 to about $50 – if there was a massive long-term manipulation, then it wasn’t particularly effective. If it didn’t prevent silver from rallying so far, then why would it prevent silver from rallying from below $20 to $200? Anyway, this topic is too broad to be fully discussed, even in a lengthy Alert – the point that I want to make here is that nothing new happened in the silver market – it just got more spotlight.So, what’s more important and timelier than the above topics, even though it doesn’t get as much attention – and can herald a decline in the precious metals?Figure 2 – S&P 500 (ES.F)First, the almost-confirmed medium-term breakdown in stocks!On Wednesday, the S&P 500 futures moved visibly below the rising support line and closed below it for the first time. Despite yesterday’s strength, stocks were unable to rally back above it and so far, today, stocks are moving lower. If the S&P 500 futures close today below this line, the breakdown will be confirmed by both: three consecutive daily closes and a weekly close. This will be a bearish sign for the short term.If stocks slide further shortly, it will be particularly bearish for silver and mining stocks, which means that those who bought yesterday based on forum messages etc. would be likely to find themselves at a loss relatively soon. This, in turn, means that the decline could be quite volatile.Second, there is also another market that could ignite the powerful decline in the PMs and miners – the rallying USD Index.Figure 3 – USD Index (DX.F)Despite the intraday decline, the USDX is once again close to its 2021 highs.The USD Index is testing its previous 2020 highs, and it might (!) be forming the right shoulder of a short-term head-and-shoulders pattern. The key word here is “might”. If the USDX rallies above its previous highs (about ~91), this pattern will be invalidated and the short-term outlook for the USDX will be clearly bullish. This would also serve as a breakout above the inverse head-and-shoulders pattern (mid-Dec. low being the left shoulder, the early 2021 low being the head, and the recent low being the right shoulder), which would have even more bullish implications (with the price target above 92).Would this be enough for gold to decline to $1,700? It might not be enough, but it might be enough for the miners to move to my above-mentioned initial downside targets ($31 and $42.5 for GDX and GDXJ, respectively).So, the bearish storm seems to be brewing. How are the precious metals responding? Let’s take a look at gold.Figure 4 – COMEX Gold Futures (GC.F)Gold shrugged off yesterday’s “exciting news” coming from the internet’s forums. It rallied initially, almost touched its declining resistance line, and then reversed, thus erasing the previous gains. It’s now trading pretty much at the same levels where it was trading two days ago. The outlook remains bearish and yesterday’s reversal actually makes it even stronger.Figure 5 – COMEX Silver Futures (SI.F)Silver is visibly stronger than it was a few days ago, but if the precious metals sector is about to head lower (especially given the breakdown in stocks) this would be normal even without the entire “let’s buy silver” forum theme.And miners?Figure 6 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)Miners invalidated the breakdown below the neck level of the head and shoulders pattern. Invalidations of these breakouts tend to be “buy” signals. BUT yesterday’s session has “ this time really was different” written all over it.Part of the purchase encouragements on forums were for mining stocks. While silver has indeed rallied yesterday (and so did AG, which was particularly promoted), the GDX ETF moved higher only somewhat. It still closed more or less at its mid-January low and it didn’t manage to erase Tuesday’s decline.Overall, I think that the proper context is the relative weakness of miners and not the direct implications of the technical invalidation.Moreover, please note that if the symmetry in terms of shape between both green boxes on the above chart is to be upheld, then it shouldn’t be surprising to see a quick volatile upswing that’s very short. In fact, since the volatility now is smaller than it was in late April 2020, what we saw yesterday might have already been the analogy to what had happened back then.All in all, the outlook for the precious metals market remains bearish for the following weeks, regardless of what the next few days will bring.Also… Do you remember about bitcoin? Some time ago, I wrote that the bitcoin situation made the overall situation in currencies similar to late 2017 / early 2018.Figure 7 - Bitcoin Vault (BTC.V)Just as we saw back then, bitcoin soared while the USD Index plunged. Then both markets reversed .Figure 8That was also the time when precious metals and miners (and stocks) topped.So, what’s new?We just saw another clear confirmation that this is the very final inning of the rally. You probably heard that in the final part of a bull market, everything that’s in it soars. If it’s a gold bull market, then even stocks that have “gold” in their name will likely rally even though they might have nothing to do with the precious metals market. People don’t care to check, and emotions are too high to bother checking what they are actually buying.Well, there’s a cryptocurrency that started as a joke, but then became a relatively big market.Dogecoin .The reason why I’m mentioning it is that dogecoin just soared…Figure 9And it had previously soared in this way in early 2018, a few weeks after bitcoin topped.This is exactly what one would expect to see at a market top, based on common sense (analogy to buying just about anything close to the top), but the fact that we already saw pretty much the same thing in bitcoin, dogecoin, and the USD Index at the top 3 years ago should be flashing a big red light even for the most bearish of USD bears and most bullish crypto bulls.Remember, early 2018 was also the moment when the stock market and PMs topped.The above indications are on top of myriads of other factors pointing to lower precious metals and mining stock prices – this is all much more important than forum posts – even very convincing ones.Please note that today’s volatility is somewhat expected - it’s Friday (options expire) and it’s also the final session of the month. Quite many people and entities might want to push prices and indices in their favor, so that options expire on their preferred side of their options’ strike prices. So, whatever happens today might easily be erased in early February.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits’ associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski’s, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits’ employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Silver May Rally Above $39 On Range Breakout

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 29.01.2021 21:21
Nearly 6+ months ago, our research team highlighted a unique price range that appears to be repeating itself in Silver.  This price range consists of a $5.40 bullish or bearish price phase.  Using our 100% measured move techniques, we've seen silver move higher and lower by this range over the past 10+ months and, quite interestingly, the current sideways price range in Silver is almost exactly a $5.40 range. After a bit of research related to the explosive upside price move in June 2020, where Silver rallied from $17.75 to levels over $28.75 – an $11 Candle Body Range (nearly 2x the $5.40 range), our researcher team believes the next breakout move in Silver may be another 2x or 3x rally – ranging from an $11+ rally to a $16.50+ rally.  This suggests a potential upside price target in Silver near $39 to $45 if our research is correct.Potential Silver Blastoff Once Price Clears $30This Daily Silver Futures chart highlights the continued $5.40 range that has “bound” silver over the past 4+ months.  The peak in price, near $30 represents the high price level that would have to be breached if any breakout attempt is confirmed.  Initially, we expect to see the $28 (upper channel) level breached, then we need to see the $30 breached as the breakout move continues/confirms.The news that the Reddit group is targeting Silver, as one of the most heavily shorted markets on the planet, suggests we may see a very explosive move higher in the near future if enough pressure is put on the shorts to present a real short-squeeze.  The other interesting facet of this setup is that Silver has already initiated a bullish price phase while the global markets appear to be in a Depreciation phase.  My team and I have written about this in a previous research article entitled Long Term Gold/US Dollar Cycles Show Big Trends For Metals – Part II.If our research is accurate and correct, the combination of the Reddit targeting, extreme short positions, longer-term Depreciation cycle phases and the current Bullish Silver price phase may prompt a very big and explosive breakout move once Silver prices clear $30.Reddit Focuses Attention On Silver – What Next?The interesting component to all of this is the renewed focus on extremely heavily shorted symbols because of the Reddit group.  Silver was trading near the middle of the $5.40 price range and price was stalling/declining price to the sudden shift by the Reddit group.  Maybe this renewed focus in the Silver short positions focused the broader market into the unique setup that has continued in Silver over the past 12+ months – a rallying market in a Depreciation phase with a very heavy short interest.  It has all the makings of a potentially very big upside break move.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!Recently, if you've been following my research, I have been expecting a shorter-term downward price trend in Silver – with a longer-term outlook still Bullish.  After reaching the peak of the channel in late December 2020, I expected Silver to move a bit lower before building enough momentum to attempt a breakout move. Now that a renewed focus on Silver has taken over, there is a very real potential that a breakout above $28~$30 is in the works – possibly initiating a very explosive upside trend.The last explosive upside move in Silver, from June 2020 to August 2020, only about 90 days, prompted an $11.50 to $12.50 rally (about 2x the $5.40 range).  This next upside breakout trend may see a similar, or larger, scale of a price advance – targeting $39 to $45 (or higher).In short, any breakout above $28 to $30 may prompt a very big upside price advance.  Any failure of this breakout attempt will likely prompt a downside price move to levels near $24 to $25.50 (again).  This renewed attention into Silver, one of the most heavily shorted commodities on the planet, may prove to be an incredible opportunity for traders – possibly pushing miners and other precious metals much higher over time.As a reminder, this increased volatility and price range will create some opportunity for euphoric enthusiasm by many traders.  Please don't get caught up in all of the hype.  This may be a once in a blue-moon setup in precious metals because of the renewed focus on Silver.  It may also prompt a big pullback move after any rally attempt.  Play this smart – don't get caught up in the hype.2021 is going to be full of these types of trend rotations and new market setups.  Quite literally, hundreds of these setups and trades will be generated over the next 3 to 6 months using my BAN strategy.  You can learn how to find and trade the hottest sectors right now in my FREE one-hour BAN tutorial. You owe it to yourself to see how simple it is to trade 30% to 40% of the time to generate incredible results.Don't miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors over the next 6+ months. For those who believe in the power of relative strength, cycles and momentum then the BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you in determining what to buy, when to buy, and when to take profits. You will be kept fully informed of the market with my short pre-market report every morning along with the BAN Hotlist for those looking for more trades.Have a great weekend!
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

How Will Silver’s (SLV) Recent Spike End?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 01.02.2021 16:11
When Joe Public buys shares during a wave of euphoria, they do it close to a market top or before the beginning of a decline. Looking at you, SLV!Silver rallied on Friday (Jan. 29), gold reversed its direction before the end of the day and so did miners, with the latter slightly underperforming gold. I wrote this before, and I’ll stress this once again today – the above is a perfectly bearish indication of an upcoming downturn in the precious metals market. This is not the first time it’s happening, and this combination of relative strengths worked reliably in the past. And we are not only just seeing that happening – we are seeing that at precisely the moment that is similar to previous patterns that were followed by sizable declines, which means that the relative bearish factors are even stronger.This also applies to the huge inflows to the SLV ETF that we just saw most recently. Let’s take a look below.Figure 1The inflows were huge, which means that a lot of capital poured into this particular silver ETF . No wonder – it was very popular among Reddit (and other forums) participants last week. Naturally, these investors are – in general – not professionals and they are not institutions either. They are part of the “investment public”, which tends to buy massively close to market tops and/or before important price declines.This indication might work on an immediate basis, but it could also work on a near-term basis – it depends on other circumstances. Did this work previously? Let’s check – after all, there were two other cases when we saw big spikes in SLV inflows – at the end of 2007 and at the beginning of 2013.What did silver do back then? I marked those situations with blue, vertical lines on the chart below.Figure 2The beginning of 2013 was when silver was not only already after its top, but was also in the final part of the back-and-forth trading that we saw before the bigger declines in that year.In late 2007, silver was still rallying, but it topped soon after that and subsequently plunged. At the 2008 bottom, silver was well below the levels at which the huge SLV inflows occurred.Consequently, the spike in inflows is not a bullish sign. It’s a major bearish sign for the medium term, especially knowing that it was the investment public that was making the purchases.Also, please note that the late-2007 spike wasn’t preceded by sizable inflows, but both the early 2013 and 2021 spikes were. Also, back in 2013, silver was already after a major top (just like right now) while in early 2007 it was breaking to new highs.As of now, silver just broke to new highs, but since this move is not confirmed yet, it seems that the current situation is still a bit more similar to what we saw in 2013 than in 2007. Therefore, the scenario in which we don’t have to wait long for silver’s slide is slightly more probable.The current volatility in silver suggests that the price moves are likely to be quick in both directions, so when the white metal tops it might be difficult to get out of one’s long position at prices that were better than one’s entry prices (provided that one joined the current sharp run-up).Especially since stocks just declined visibly and confirmed the breakdown below the rising support line in terms of three consecutive trading days, a weekly close, and a monthly close.Figure 3Stocks have also invalidated their breakout above their rising red support/resistance line. And it all caused the RSI to form a double-top near the 70 level, which preceded the two biggest price declines in the previous years.Figure 4It seems that while the bigger investors head for the hills, the individual public continues to focus on Gamestop and its recent gains. However, remember that they have to cash in above their entry price to make a profit, which is not that probable.The most important detail that we saw on Friday was the relatively low volume, on which Gamestop rallied. The buying power seems to be drying up and it seems that it won’t be long before everyone that wanted to buy, will already be “in”. And then, the price will start to slide as that’s what it simply does when there are no buyers and no sellers. Afterwards, a part of the public will sell, further adding to the selling pressure, which will see more declines, and so on. And as the final stock buyers turn into sellers, the top in stocks could be in.If stocks slide further shortly, it will be particularly bearish for silver and mining stocks , which means that those who bought yesterday based on forum messages, etc., would be likely to find themselves at a loss relatively soon. This, in turn, means that the decline could be quite volatile.Figure 5On a short-term basis, silver showed strength – also today, when it rallied slightly above the early-September high. Perhaps the final part of those who might have been inclined to buy based on the “ silver manipulation ” narrative and the forum encouragements in general, have decided to make their purchases over the weekend, and we’re seeing the result in today’s pre-market trading.This, coupled with the miners’ relative weakness means that the bearish outlook remains intact. If it “feels” that the precious metals market is about take off, but the analysis says otherwise (please remember about the first chart from today’s analysis), then it’s very likely that the PMs are topping. That’s what people see and “feel” at the top.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits’ associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski’s, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits’ employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Expectations for Silver given the GameStop price action and the Reddit Revolution

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 01.02.2021 21:40
Near the end of 2020, my research team identified trends, pullbacks, and overall upward/downward trends in US major markets as well as those for Gold and Silver.  It is time we revisited these early 2021 predictions in relation to what is happening in the markets currently. You can revisit our original publication entitled What To Expect in 2021 Part II - Gold, Silver, and SPY.At the time we made these predictions, we were unaware of the global phenomenon, the Reddit #wallstreetbets movement, that was taking place.  Our expectations are based on our advanced predictive modeling system and what it sees as the highest probability outcome for price.  The recent news that this Reddit group has targeted a number of symbols (GME, AMC, BB, amongst others), as well as SILVER, may change the dynamics/liquidity of the markets very quickly.What we are witnessing is the incredible strength of the retail trader when they act in a “pack-form”.  The retail traders of the world, using a social media platform, have found new strength as the global markets continue to struggle with COVID-19 and institutional weakness. In a way, these retail traders are focusing on an institutionally authorized “exploit”, like a game exploit, where short-sellers have been permitted to overrun many smaller traders and companies over the past decade or so – ever since the “Uptick Rule” was removed.  This has created an environment where excessive risks were allowed by many institutions as short sellers were able to enter short positions far in excess of the floating shares available.  With extreme leverage in place, these positions were ticking time-bombs waiting to explode. And then along comes the Reddit group – hungry, happy, and en mass.  They identify this structural weakness, which was legally allowed to happen, and begin their “autist wave” of buying these heavily shorted symbols.  Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!Gamestop became a “shot across the bow” for these hedge funds and has sent a liquidity ripple across the global markets.  Is the financial system at risk because of excessive leverage, derivatives, and institutional manipulation?  What would it take to completely disrupt these hedge funds and what are the consequences of these short-squeeze runs?  Is this issue bigger than many people expect?  Could it turn into a “liquidity trap”?These are all questions that are certainly going to be answered over the next 6+ months and no one really has a true understanding of how the “deleveraging process” will take place.  If push comes to shove and institutional shorts are forced into excessive losses, then we may see a bigger corrective trend setup in 2021 as a result of this capital/liquidity trap that has sprung.Now, before we continue to review some of our 2021 expectations, let's review a couple of important charts...SPY Must Hold Above SupportThe following Daily SPY chart highlights the major support channel originating from the March 2020 lows.  If this channel is breached, we may begin a deeper downside trend that could align with a volatility/liquidity trap event.  Losses generated by these excessive, leveraged, short positions will prompt firms to pull profits from other symbols/sectors.  This wave of volatility may be just starting.Silver Targets $55 Or HigherSilver has recently been targeted by the Reddit group as one of the most heavily shorted precious metals on the planet.  Currently, silver has rallied above $30 in early trading on Monday, February 1, but has come down closer to the opening (which gapped significantly).  If Silver rallies above $35 and continues to trend, $50 to $55 is the next target level.  After that level is reached, we move into uncharted territory (above $55) and the sky's the limit for Silver and Gold.revisiting our 2021 ExpectationsNow, onto our 2021 Expectations and how this new dynamic of volatility and liquidity may change things. If the increased volatility and liquidity issue persists beyond February 2021, we would expect the global markets to begin to immediately reflect a transition away from excessive risks and leverage.  This would take place by off-loading positions in at-risk and in-profit trades throughout the world to position portfolios in a means to mitigate 3x+ std deviation risks.  This deleveraging process may prompt a huge upside move in precious metals because any global deleveraging event, if it aligns with a moderate price correction event, may push institutions to urgently address leverage issues.  This urgency, in combination with the retail trader revolt, may prompt an excessive liquidity trap in certain sectors/symbols – almost like a “flash-rally” event.Overall, we believe the global markets will settle back into our expected 2021 ranges – although Gold and Silver may rally far beyond our upside 2021 expectations if the Reddit group continue to push Silver higher like they did with Gamestop.  So, at this point, be prepared for massive volatility ranges and continued upside price trends in Gold and Silver while the markets address these global institutional and leverage issues.What this means for traders is that we should expect to see some really big trends through almost all of 2021.  Most importantly, we will end up with more rational price trends and a potentially reduced leverage environment for many sectors and symbols.  This should prompt various market sectors to initiate or resume trends as capital is put to work in sectors that have a stronger growth potential over the next few years.2021 is going to be full of these types of trends and setups.  Quite literally, hundreds of these setups and trades will be generated over the next 3 to 6 months using my BAN strategy.  You can learn how to find and trade the hottest sectors yourself with no proprietary indicators or algorithms just by taking my FREE one-hour BAN tutorial. For those who believe in the power of relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don't have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you. In addition to trade alerts that can be entered into at the end of the day or the following morning, subscribers also receive a 7-10 minute video every morning that walks you through the charts of all the major asset classes. For traders that want more trading than our 20-25 alerts per year, we provide our BAN Trader Pro subscribers with our BAN Hotlist of ETFs that is updated each day.Happy trading!
Bitcoin - Consolidation brings new opportunities

Bitcoin - Consolidation brings new opportunities

Florian Grummes Florian Grummes 02.02.2021 08:33
ReviewSource: Messari December 31st, 2020After a massive rally from the beginning of October, Bitcoin almost reached prices around US$20,000 on December 1st. Despite a heavily overbought situation, the bulls only needed a two-week breather. The successful breakout immediately caused a further acceleration, so that bitcoin prices continued to explode until January 8th 2021 and were able to rise to almost US$42,000. Bitcoin had thus increased more than tenfold in less than 10 months since the Corona crash! Looking at 2020 as a whole, Bitcoin pretty much outperformed everything, gaining 318%.Source: Dan Held on TwitterOver the last three weeks, however, there was, not surprisingly, a wave of profit-taking hitting the bitcoin market. Hence, prices retraced all the way back down toward just under US$29,000. This rapid correction represented a drop of 31% in just 14 days. In the big picture, however, this is not unusual. Instead, bitcoin has seen countless corrective price moves like this over the past 10 years. In the last bull market between autumn 2015 and December 2017, there were a total of six sharp pullbacks, all of which amounted to sell offs between 29% and 38%.Source: Dan Tapiero on TwitterIn the bigger picture however, volatility is still relatively low. Rather, the relative volatility indicates that the range of fluctuation is only just slowly beginning to rise again and should spike towards the later stages during the course of this current bull market.Overall, bitcoin has been in a new bull market since the Corona Crash in March 2020 and is likely to head for much higher price regions in the coming 10 to 24 months. Daily fluctuations of US$10,000 and more will then become increasingly common.Technical Analysis For Bitcoin in US-DollarBitcoin, Weekly Chart as of February 2nd, 2021. Source: TradingviewWith the breakout above the all-time high around US$20,000 on December 16th, 2020, the Bitcoin rally that had been underway since March 2020 already accelerated once again significantly. Although the market was already heavily overbought on all timeframes, bitcoin doubled within the following four weeks and reached a new all-time high at around US$42,000 on January 8th, 2021. After such a price explosion, it takes time to digest this strong rise. The pullback towards and slightly below US$29,000 is therefore perfectly normal and healthy.From the perspective of the weekly chart, however, there are no clear signs for an end of that correction yet. Looking at the “old” support zones and the overbought stochastic oscillator, a return to the breakout level around US$20,000 would be quite conceivable. Beyond that, there are two long-term upward trend lines that could also act as possible targets on the downside.Using the classic Fibonacci retracements from the low at US$3,850 to the recent high at US$42,000, the 38.2% retracement at US$27,425 would be the minimum correction target. If bitcoin can continue to hold above this retracement, this would be an extremely bullish sign of strength. A first retest of the recent lows at US$29,000 was also successful and thus far created a nice double low which might already have marked the turning point. However, prices below those lows would confirm a larger and deeper type of correction. Prices around US$27,500 and lower towards US$20,000 to US$22,000 would then become increasingly likely.However, since bitcoin is undoubtedly in an established bull market and in an overarching uptrend, the surprises are generally happening to the upside. Therefore, the only thing to note here is that new prices above US$40,000 would probably signal a continuation of the steep rally. In this case, prices around the next psychological level at US$50,000 should follow quickly.To summarize the weekly chart remains bullish above US$20,000. At the same time, there are still no signals for an end to the recently started pullback. In view of the relatively fresh stochastic sell signal, there is a distinct possibility that the correction of the last four weeks could extend significantly. However, if the bulls can keep the prices above US$29,000, the rally can continue at any time.Bitcoin, Daily Chart as of February 2nd, 2021. Source: TradingviewOn the daily chart, the correction of the last three weeks had created a pretty oversold situation and thus a low-risk entry opportunity. Now that bitcoin quickly recovered from those lows around US$29,000, the good low-risk set up is certainly gone. Especially since a third attack pullback US$29,000 would now have to be interpreted as weakness.But although the 200-day moving average (US$16,738) as well as the established support zone at US$20,000 are far away from current pricing around US$34,000, the setup looks promising. Based on the principle that a trend in motion is more likely to continue than to suddenly turn around, it is important to look for entry opportunities on the long side only (“buy the dip”). Bitcoin now has to surpass its recent high above US$38,600 to establish a short-term series of higher lows and higher highs. This would shift the daily chart clearly back into bullish territory.Overall, the daily chart is coming out of an oversold setup recovering quickly, but somehow is still stuck in a downtrend short-term. However, bitcoin has now been trading around and above USD 30,000 for more than four weeks already. This means that a base is being formed from which the rally should continue rather sooner than later.Sentiment Bitcoin – Consolidation brings new opportunitiesBitcoin Optix as of January 24th, 2021. Source: SentimentraderThe quantitative sentiment indicator “Bitcoin Optix” signaled a short-term exaggeration at the end of December and then especially at the beginning of January. However, the sharp pullback in the order of 31% completely cooled down any excessive optimism and even created a small panic among the weak hands in the short term.Crypto Fear & Greed Index as of February 1st, 2021. Source: Crypto Fear & Greed Index The much more complex Crypto Fear & Greed Index, on the other hand, continues to measure an increased level of greed in the entire crypto sector. However, such conditions did persist for many months in the past.Crypto Fear & Greed Index as of January 24th, 2021. Source: SentimentraderIn a long-term comparison, however, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index has also declined significantly and currently reflects a rather balanced sentiment picture.Overall, the overly optimistic sentiment has been cleared up surprisingly quickly due to the price decline from US$42,000 down to US$29,000. Hence, nothing stands in the way of a continuation of the rally from a sentiment perspective. Seasonality Bitcoin – Consolidation brings new opportunities –Bitcoin seasonality. Source: SeasonaxFrom a seasonal perspective, bitcoin has been most often moving sideways from mid o January until mid-April. Accordingly, the recently started correction could well drag on for at least a few more weeks.Bitcoin seasonality in bull market years. Source: SeasonaxHowever, if we only use the price development in bull market years, the data set shrinks to the years 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2017. But at the same time, it becomes clear that in these years bitcoin always found an important low between mid-January and mid-February.Overall, one would be well advised not to expect any exaggerated price explosions in the coming weeks. Statistically, these tend to occur in the months of April to June and October to December. However, the seasonal outlook for the next one to two months is not really unfavorable either.Sound-money: Bitcoin vs. GoldSound Money Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio as of January 25th, 2021. Source: ChaiaWith current prices of US$33,650 for one bitcoin and US$1,864 for one troy ounce of gold, the bitcoin/gold ratio is currently around 18.05, i.e., you currently have to pay more than 18 ounces of gold for one bitcoin. In other words, one troy ounce of gold currently costs only 0.055 bitcoin.Goldbug´s Achilles Heel, Source Midas Touch Consulting January 25th, 2021.This means that bitcoin´s outperformance against gold has clearly intensified in the past two months. An end to this major trend is not in sight. Quite the contrary, despite possible short-term fluctuations and countertrend moves, gold and silver are more likely to lose further against bitcoin.You want to own Bitcoin and gold!Generally, buying and selling Bitcoin against gold only makes sense to the extent that one balances the allocation in those two asset classes! At least 10% but better 25% of one’s total assets should be invested in precious metals physically, while in cryptos and especially in Bitcoin one should hold at least between 1% and of 5%. If you are very familiar with cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin, you can certainly allocate much higher percentages to Bitcoin on an individual basis. For the average investor, who is normally also invested in equities and real estate, more than 5% in the still highly speculative and highly volatile Bitcoin is already a lot!Opposites compliment. In our dualistic world of Yin and Yang, body and mind, up and down, warm and cold, we are bound by the necessary attraction of opposites. In this sense you can view gold and bitcoin as such a pair of strength. With the physical component of gold and the digital aspect of bitcoin you have a complimentary unit of a true safe haven for the 21st century. You want to own both! – Florian GrummesMacro OutlookSource: Investing.comWith the inauguration of Joe Biden, the political circumstances in the USA have shifted significantly, but the loose monetary policy of the last twenty years is likely to continue and intensify significantly. The prices for gold and silver, as well as for bitcoin, will therefore continue to be driven upwards in the medium term by the constant expansion of the money supply.US Total Debt, © Holger Zschaepitz. Source Twitter @Schuldensuehner, 20. Januar 2021The monetary policy, backed by nothing but the blind trust of the citizens, had already led to an unprecedented debt orgy in the USA since the end of the gold standard in 1971. The record-high US national debt was further exacerbated by the Corona crisis in 2020 and is now rising parabolically. The same applies to pretty much all other countries and currency zones on our planet.Global Stock Market Cap, © Holger Zschaepitz.. Source Twitter @Schuldensuehner, 24. Januar 2021Driven by the constant currency creation, the market capitalization of global stock markets therefore continues to rise. It is important to realize that the stock markets no longer reflect the real economy as they used to. The only thing that matters is the constant expansion of liquidity via central bank balance sheets.Source: Bitcoin ResourcesThe unregulated and decentralized Bitcoin is therefore increasingly a thorn in the side of central bankers and politicians. After all, the irresponsible central bank policy can be recognized quite easily here. One can even say that in view of Bitcoin prices above US$30,000, the hyper-inflationary tendencies of fiat currencies are already becoming visible here. Whereas in the gold market one can always intervene in a depressing way on prices via so-called paper gold, the short-selling attacks on the Bitcoin markets are collapsing like a soufflé due to the digital scarcity. The decentralized structure of bitcoin is also a phenomenon that the technocrats will not be able to deal with, even with a ban.However, we have to assume that in the coming months or years there will be a concentrated attack on bitcoin by central bankers and politicians. However, the more institutional capital is invested in Bitcoin, the more difficult this undertaking will be.Source: Flipside CryptoA real point of criticism, on the other hand, is the extremely unbalanced distribution of the Bitcoins mined so far. Slightly more than 2% of the wallets hold 95% of the Bitcoins. This threatens to create a new power structure that can manipulate Bitcoin prices in its favor at will.Bitcoin – Consolidation brings new opportunitiesSource: Messari December 28th, 2020Bitcoin is undoubtedly in the middle of a new bull market. The final top has not yet been reached by a long shot. Prices around US$100,000 and possibly even above US$300,000 are quite conceivable in the next 10 to 24 months. The main drivers will be an institutional buying spree, as these institutional investors will come under an increasing pressure due to rising prices.Of course, there will be some brutal pullbacks on the way to higher prices. To be able to profit from this bull market, you need to be patient. And you really need to have internalized the so-called “Hodl” strategy.In summary, bitcoin is consolidating at high level trying to build a new base. This consolidation may well last a few more weeks and could also bring lower prices. More likely, however, is a continuation of the rally towards US$50,000 in the near future already.Source: Regard NewsAlso, it more an more smells like “altcoin season”. Bitcoin prices have already doubled from the old all-time high. Then, in the last four weeks, Ethereum also reached its December 2017 high around US$1,400. In the next phase, Ethereum should outperform Bitcoin. Afterwards, the smaller altcoins will explode. This time, the highflyers are likely to be in the booming DeFi sector. However, anyone who wants to play along here has to practice tough risk management and take profits regularly and quickly.Analysis sponsored and initially published on January 26th, 2021, by www.celticgold.eu. Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Florian Grummes is an independent financial analyst, advisor, consultant, trader & investor as well as an international speaker with more than 20 years of experience in financial markets. He is specialized in precious metals, cryptocurrencies and technical analysis. He is publishing weekly gold, silver & cryptocurrency analysis for his numerous international readers. He is also running a large telegram Channel and a Crypto Signal Service. Florian is well known for combining technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis into one accurate conclusion about the markets. Since April 2019 he is chief editor of the cashkurs-gold newsletter focusing on gold and silver mining stocks. Besides all that, Florian is a music producer and composer. Since more than 25 years he has been professionally creating, writing & producing more than 300 songs. He is also running is own record label Cryon Music & Art Productions. His artist name is Florzinho.Florian GrummesPrecious metal and crypto expertwww.midastouch-consulting.comFree newsletterSource: www.celticgold.eu
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

2021 Should See Improved Gold Demand

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 02.02.2021 16:16
The World Gold Council recently published two interesting reports. Gold demand plunged in 2020, but 2021 should be positive for the yellow metal.On Thursday (January 28), the WGC published its newest report about gold demand trends: Gold Demand Trends Full Year and Q4 2020 . The key message of this publication is that the gold demand of 783.4 tons (excluding over-the-counter activity) in the fourth quarter of 2020 was 28 percent lower year-over-year. As a result, it was the weakest quarter since the midst of the Great Recession in Q2 2008. The weak quarter made the whole year quite disappointing, as the annual gold demand in 2020 dropped by 14 percent to only 3,675.6 tons, making it the lowest level of demand since 2009 .The main driver of this decline was the COVID-19 pandemic, that triggered the Great Lockdown and the subsequent surge in gold prices. In consequence, jewelry demand plunged 34 percent to 1,411.6 tons, the lowest annual level on record. It shows that – contrary to popular opinion – consumers are price takers, not price setters, in the precious metals market.So, what is really interesting for me is that the investment demand, the true driver of gold prices, grew 40 percent to a record annual high of 1,773.2 tons . Although there was a slight increase in bar and coin investment, the surge in investment demand was caused mainly by the great inflow into global gold-backed ETFs , whose holdings grew by 877.1 tons last year, a record level.These inflows were, of course, fueled by the spread of the coronavirus and the fiscal and monetary policies that followed in response. Gold was actually one of the best performing major assets in 2020 amid high uncertainty and low real interest rates . Importantly, there were net outflows from the gold ETFs in the Q4, but they were concentrated in November, so the worst may be behind us.When it comes to other categories, the central banks added a net 273 tons in 2020, the lowest level since 2010, as some central banks sold gold amid recession to obtain liquidity. It confirms gold’s role as a safe-haven asset and portfolio-diversifier . Indeed, gold had one of the lowest drawdowns during 2020, reducing investors’ losses. The technology demand fell seven percent in the last year to 301.9 tons due to the economic disruptions of the pandemic . Total supply fell four percent to 4,633 tons, the first annual decline since 2017, as the pandemic disrupted mine production.The WGC’s demand report is, as always, interesting, but it should be taken with a pinch of salt . The reason is that the WGC wrongly defines the demand and supply for gold, narrowing it to the annual supply and its use, and omitting the great bulk of transactions in the gold market. In consequence, the report contradicts simple economic logic. According to the WGC, gold supply fell four percent, while gold demand declined 14 percent – but the average yearly price of gold gained 27 percent (see the chart below)! Whoa, when I learnt economics, the drop in demand (higher than the decrease in supply) was pushing the prices down!Implications for GoldBut let’s leave the past and now focus on the future! In January 2021, the WGC also published its gold outlook for the new year . Not surprisingly, the industry organization is generally bullish , but it notices the headwinds as well . According to the WGC, the hope of economic recovery and easy money will increase the risk appetite, creating downward pressure on gold prices.However, the WGC believes that the low interest rates and potential portfolio risks will support the investment demand for the yellow metal. In particular, ballooning fiscal deficits , the growing money supply and the possibility of higher inflation and the risk of the stock market correction (who knows, maybe the GameStop saga will trigger some broader bearish implications?!) should support gold prices.The WGC’s conclusion turns out to be similar to my own 2021 outlook for gold: that it could be a positive year for the yellow metal, but less so than 2020 – at least under the condition that the global economy will experience a steady recovery without too much inflationary pressure. But inflation may arrive, ending the era of the Goldilocks economy – and possibly starting the year of gold. Only time will tell!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, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Correction in Stocks Almost Over While Gold Is Basing

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 02.02.2021 16:30
In line with expectations and probabilities, the stock bulls returned, and I closed Friday initiated long position for a solid 40-point gain in S&P 500! All right, but are the bulls as strong as might seem from looking at this week‘s price performance? Such were my yesterday‘s words: (…) is this the dreaded sizable correction start, or the general February weakness I warned about a week ago? I‘m still calling for the S&P 500 to be in a bullish uptrend this quarter and next, though I‘m not looking for as spectacular gains as in the 2020 rebound. That‘s still my call. Fears from the Fed talking taper contours, GameStop and silver squeeze are taking a back seat to the realities of leading economic indicators rising, stimulus coming, and the central bank more than willing to mop it up. Commodities are red hot, leading precious metals, and inflation will rear its ugly head this year for sure. The momentary dollar resilience which I called both preceding Mondays to happen, will give way to much lower values. Twin deficits are a curse. Such were my observations on gold – please read yesterday‘s extensive analysis. It‘s one of the most important ones written thus far on gold: (…) I don‘t see gold plunging to any dramatic number such as $1,700 but given that the dollar looks to have stabilized for now, and may even attempt a modest and brief rally from here, gold may get again under corresponding (and weak) pressure – should the silver squeeze be defeated. After the margin raise, it is certainly on the defensive now. Yet I see encouraging signs for the new precious metals upleg to emerge (charts courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook I laid out the case clearly on Friday as to why we‘re witnessing another downswing lacking internal balance. We didn‘t have to wait long for the recovery from options expiry plunge, yet the volume leaves a little to be desired. Wasn‘t weak really, just Monday‘s regular, lower volume. Lower volume days can get challenged. I would prefer to see follow through in price advance coupled with a volume reading I could interpret positively so as to be able to call this correction as fully over. Credit Markets & Risk Metrics Both leading credit market ratios – high yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) and investment grade corporate bonds to longer-dated Treasuries (LQD:IEI) – are trading at their local lows, neither rising nor breaking below – given the bullish price action in S&P 500, I treat their short-term underperformance as a watchout. Volatility is still elevated, yet calming down – slowly but surely.That‘s pointing out we‘re in the latter stages of the correction. The put/call ratio has retreated again, reflecting my yesterday‘s point that the fear in the markets is in a generally declining trend. Both moving averages are still falling, and the spike didn‘t reach the pre-elections and early September peaks either. Still no change in sentiment, and we‘re well on the preceding path marking further stock market gains. Shining Light on Gold The king of metals is still ill positioned to keep the silver short squeeze gains. Yes, I am not trusting the daily indicators one bit, and look instead at the lower volume and repeated inability to keep intraday gains. This is the sign of an approaching upleg in the precious metals – miners rebounding relative to gold after preceding breakdown. Should the mining companies keep their relative gains, that would be encouraging for the whole sector. What if the stock market though puts the carefully laid plans to rest? The above chart shows that there has been in recent months no clear relationship either way and interconnectedness of reaction between the two assets. Let‘s stay objective and don‘t succumb to the plunge in stocks fear mongering. The gold to silver ratio is similarly to the $HUI:$GOLD ratio showing that the tide in precious metals is turning, and the time for the bears is running up. I like the fact that love trade is starting to kick in as opposed to fear trade. Love trade, that means rising preference for gold because the economy is doing better, while fear trade is about hiding in the bunker. On one hand, gold is vulnerable to rising (long-term Treasury) yields, and it‘s also lagging behind the commodity complex. It‘s also trading with the negative correlation to the dollar, which is set to put up a some fight in the short run again – please see my yesterday‘s extensive gold market analysis bring proof for these assertions as these form the short-term watchouts for the gold bulls. From the Readers‘ Mailbag Q: Hi Monica, I wanted to say a big thank you for responding to my question last week which I did find reassuring. Little did we see what a week we would have to follow hey, especially in silver. I know that it has to cross the Rubicon at $30 and hold but I would like to get your observations. Can silver get going now (you thought Spring more likely) I also like platinum and wondered what you see there and finally can gold shuffle of its winter blues sooner rather than later. A: Always welcome – it‘s common knowledge that I love to engage in discussion with readers and everyone concerned. I called for gold to get going through spring, and now with WallStreetBets, silver has sprung to life. Platinum I see as notoriously lagging behind, and its catalyst demand in a challenged market is one of the fundamental culprits – jewellery demand won‘t save it. Palladium has much better prospects, not to discuss the wild swings in rhodium to get an idea what PGMs can deliver. Gold is still within its basing pattern, and unless it attracts the attention of internet crowd (see my yesterday‘s reply on how to play the silver squeeze), will take its time in breaking higher. Look at the gold-silver ratio – it‘s the white metal‘s turn to deliver stronger returns now, which is in line with the economic recovery underway (silver is an industrial metal, too). Summary The stock market recovered, and looks set to digest today‘s premarket gains on top of Monday‘s ones, signifying that the correction is in its latter stages. Credit market recovery is a missing piece of the puzzle. Gold though isn‘t out of the woods yet in the short run, but I see its medium-term bullish case getting stronger even as it remains rangebound for now. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals. * * * * * All essays, research and information represent analyses and opinions of Monica Kingsley that are based on available and latest data. Despite careful research and best efforts, it may prove wrong and be subject to change with or without notice. Monica Kingsley does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Her content serves educational purposes and should not be relied upon as advice or construed as providing recommendations of any kind. Futures, stocks and options are financial instruments not suitable for every investor. Please be advised that you invest at your own risk. Monica Kingsley is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading her writings, you agree that she will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make. Investing, trading and speculating in financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Monica Kingsley may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in her writings, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

EUR and Silver: Going Down a One-Way Street

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 03.02.2021 17:25
Since the precious metals like to ride along with the EUR/USD, and the latest Eurozone data looks grim, what are the implications for the PMs?Just when everyone and their brother thought that silver was going straight to the moon… it plunged. And that’s not the end of the decline.Figure 1 – COMEX Silver FuturesI previously emphasized that silver’s volatile upswing is likely just temporary, and I discussed the Kondratiev cycle which implies much higher gold prices but not necessarily right away, because the value of cash (USD) would be likely to soar as well. The latter would likely trigger a temporary slide in gold – and silver.Well, was silver’s rally just temporary?This seems to have been the case. The white metal declined back below not only the 2020 highs, but also back below this year’s early high. Please remember that invalidations of breakouts have immediately bearish implications and we just saw more than one in case of silver.So far today (Feb. 3), silver is quiet, but let’s keep in mind that back in September, it took only a few sessions for the white precious metal to move from approximately the current price levels to about $22.Will silver slide as much shortly? This is quite likely, although the downswing doesn’t have to be as quick as it was in September.Terms like the silver shortage , the size of the silver market and silver manipulation became incredibly popular in the last couple of days, which - together with huge SLV volume, and this ETF’s inflows - confirms the dramatic increase in interest in this particular market. This is exactly what happens close to market tops: silver steals the spotlight while mining stocks are weak. I’ve seen this countless times , and in most cases, it was accompanied by multiple voices of people “feeling” that the silver market is about to explode. For example, please consider what happened in early September 2020 on both (above and below) charts. Silver jumped and almost reached its August 2020 high, while the GDX was unable to rally even to (let alone above) its mid-August high.Don’t get me wrong, I think that silver will soar in the following years and I’m not shorting silver (nor am I suggesting this) right now and in fact I haven’t been on the short side of the silver market for months. In fact, I expect silver to outperform gold in the final part of the next massive upswing, but… I don’t think this massive upswing has started yet.Gold had it’s nice post-Covid panic run-up, but it didn’t manage to hold its breakout above the 2011 highs, despite multiple dovish pledges from the Fed, the open-ended QE, and ridiculously low interest rates. Plus, while gold moved above its 2011 highs, gold stocks have barely corrected half of their decline from their 2011 highs. Compare that to when the true bull market started about two decades ago – gold miners were soaring and multiplying gold’s gains in the medium run.Let’s take a look at mining stocks, using the GDX ETF as a proxy for them.Figure 2 – VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)Are miners weak right now? Of course, they are weak. It was not only silver that got attention recently, but also silver stocks . The GDX ETF is mostly based on gold stocks, but still, silver miners’ performance still affects it. And… GDX is still trading relatively close to the yearly lows. Silver moved a bit above its 2020 highs – did miners do that as well? Absolutely not, they were only able to trigger a tiny move higher.And based on yesterday’s decline, most of the recent run-up was already erased.Interestingly, the most recent move higher only made the similarity of this shoulder portion of the bearish head-and-shoulders pattern to the left shoulder ( figure 2 - both marked with green) bigger. This means that when the GDX breaks below the neck level of the pattern in a decisive way, the implications are likely to be extremely bearish for the next several weeks or months.Due to the uncanny similarity between the two green rectangles, I decided to check what happens if this mirror-similarity continues. I used purple, dashed lines for that. There were two important short-term price swings in April 2020 – one shows the size of the correction and one is a near-vertical move higher.Copying these price moves (purple lines) to the current situation, we get a scenario in which GDX (mining stocks) moves to about $31 and then comes back up to about $34. This would be in perfect tune with what I wrote previously. After breaking below the head-and-shoulders pattern, gold miners would then be likely to verify this breakdown by moving back up to the neck level of the pattern. Then, we would likely see another powerful slide – perhaps to at least $24.All in all, it seems that silver’s run-up was just a temporary phenomenon and the next big medium-term move in the precious metals and mining stocks is going to be to the downside.Having said that, let’s take a look at the markets from the fundamental point of view.EUR-on to SomethingFor weeks , I’ve been warning that the fundamental disconnect between the U.S. and Eurozone economies could pressure the EUR/USD.And on Jan. 29, I wrote:The economic divergence between Europe and the U.S. continues to widen. On Jan. 28, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed that U.S. GDP (advanced estimate) likely expanded by 4.0% in the fourth-quarter.Figure 3Making its counter move, Eurozone fourth-quarter GDP was released on Feb. 2, revealing that the European economy shrank by 0.7% (the red box below). Even more revealing, France and Italy – Europe’s second and third-largest economies – underperformed the bloc average, contracting by 1.3% and 2.0% respectively (the blue box below).Figure 4 - Source: EurostatIn addition, German retail sales (released on Feb. 1) declined by 9.6% in December – well below the 2.6% contraction expected by economists. And why is this relevant? Because the month-over-month decline was the largest since 1956 and speaks volumes coming from Europe’s largest economy.Please see below:Figure 5If that wasn’t enough, Spain’s (Europe’s fourth-largest economy) Q4 GDP inched up by only 0.40% (the red box below). And not only did the figure come in well below the Spanish government’s December estimate (of an increase of 2.40%), the country’s exports declined by 1.4%, while business investment plunged by 6.2% (the blue boxes below).Figure 6 - Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain’s National Statistics Institute)Moreover, as the fiscal situation worsens across Europe’s four-largest economies, the European Central Bank (ECB) has no choice but to pick up the slack. As of Feb. 2, the ECB’s balance sheet now totals more than 70% of Eurozone GDP (up from 69%). More importantly though, the figure is more than double the U.S. Federal Reserve’s (FED) 34.5% (down from 35%).Please see below:Figure 7Thus, while the ECB’s money printer works overtime relative to the FED’s, the dominoes are lining up for a material fall:The ECB’s relative outprinting causes the FED/ECB ratio to declineA declining FED/ECB ratio causes the EUR/USD to declineA declining EUR/USD causes the precious metals to declineTo explain, please see below:Figure 8The red line above depicts the movement of the EUR/USD, while the green line above depicts the FED/ECB ratio. As you can see, when the green line rises (the FED is outprinting the ECB), the EUR/USD also tends to rise. Conversely, when the green line falls (the ECB is outprinting the FED), the EUR/USD tends to fall.As it stands today, the FED/ECB ratio has declined by 0.26% week-over-week and is down by nearly 18% since June. And if you analyze the right side of the chart, you can see that the EUR/USD is starting to notice. As the FED/ECB ratio tracks lower, the EUR/USD is starting to roll over. And if history is any indication, the EUR/USD has plenty of catching up to do.Also signaling a profound EUR/USD decline, I warned on Jan. 27 that the EUR/GBP could be the canary in the coal mine.On Monday (Jan. 25), I wrote that Janet Yellen’s pledge to “act big” on the next coronavirus relief package ushered the EUR/GBP back above critical support.However, on Tuesday (Jan. 26), the key level broke again.Please see below:Figure 9More importantly though, a break in the EUR/GBP could be an early warning sign of a forthcoming break in the EUR/USD.Figure 10If you analyze the chart above, ~20 years of history shows that the EUR/GBP and the EUR/USD tend to follow in each other’s footsteps. As a result, if the EUR/GBP retests its April low (the next support level), the EUR/USD is likely to tag along for the ride (which implies a move back to ~1.08).As it stands today, the wheels are already in motion. On Feb. 2, the EUR/GBP made another fresh low and the initial support level is all but gone.Figure 11Furthermore, notice how the EUR/USD is tracking the EUR/GBP lower? Despite being a fair distance from the ~1.08 level, the euro’s weakness relative to sterling is a sign that the Eurozone calamity is finally starting to weigh on its currency.If you analyze the chart below, you can see that the EUR/USD has already broken below its December and January support.Figure 12More importantly though, we could be approaching a point of no return.Figure 13Barely breaking out of a roughly 12-year downtrend, the EUR/USD has yet to invalidate the declining long-term resistance line. As a result, and with the EUR/USD already rolling over, a break below the 1.16/1.17 level puts ~1.08 well within the range of the 2015/2016 lows.And how could this affect the PMs?Well, notice how they like to tag along for the EUR/USD’s ride?Figure 14Despite silver’s short squeeze providing a short-term reprieve, it’s no surprise that the EUR/USD’s weakness has been met with angst by the PMs.Please see below:Figure 15As a result, the floundering euro is ushering the PMs down a one-way street. And while they may veer off to view the scenery from time to time, they all remain on a path to lower prices. Thus, yesterday’s sell-off highlights the superficiality of Monday’s (Feb. 1) surge. But while finding a true bottom requires time and patience, once it occurs, the PMs long-term uptrend will resume once again.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits’ associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski’s, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits’ employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Stocks Need to Consolidate Now, And Gold Will Anyway

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 03.02.2021 16:00
After Monday‘s great rise, stocks continued without much of a pause yesterday too. Did they get ahead of themselves, or not really? And what about those correction calls, is the alarm over now? As said yesterday, the bulk of the correction in stocks, is over. Is it clear skies ahead now? In my very first 2021 analysis 10 days ago, I‘ve called for a not so rosy February ahead. Last Friday, options expired with stocks taking a plunge, so the current month will get an optical boost. I am looking for higher prices, and no correction around the corner. Gold is in a different situation, still basing and unable to keep intraday gains. Having predictably given up the silver short squeeze boost, the search for the local bottom in largely sideways price action continues. That‘s likely to be the case given that the dollar has stabilized and is peeking higher (before eventually moving to new lows, is still my call). Let‘s dive into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook The daily S&P 500 chart looks bullish at first glance – that‘s the V-shape rebound effect. The volume though isn‘t the greatest really. But what about yesterday‘s upper knot though? It looks to me we‘re in for a period of gains digestion. Right now, stocks look vulnerable to retracing part of the advance. Credit Markets High yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) relative to the S&P 500 (black line) posture improved, and no dissonance to speak of remains. The 3-month Treasuries though haven‘t relented much, and remain well bid. There is not much willingness in the market place to push short-term yields higher, and that‘s a short-term sign of caution. S&P 500 Sectoral Peek Technology (XLK ETF) has recovered, and gapped higher on quite low volume. Approaching its Jan highs, it‘s not though optically in the strongest position, and would do best if it were able to maintain gained ground. Financials (XLF ETF) have rebounded in a sign of cyclicals‘ strength. It‘s very good for the health of the stock bull market to see them perform this well, spreading strength across other sectors. Broad based advance is the hallmark of health. Gold, Silver and Miners Gold has declined, yet Stochastics hasn‘t turned lower just yet, and the volume of the yesterday‘s trading doesn‘t tip the scales either way. In short, gold remains rangebound for now still, and its range isn‘t really a wide one. Silver did slide, as the margin adjustments also thake their toll. The post-December trend of higher highs and higher lows is intact though, and given my yesterday-presented views about the gold-silver ratio, the white metal has a great future ahead of it still. The economy is recovering, this is an industrial metal, and the mining surplus/deficit optics is favorable to silver outperforming gold in the next upleg of this precious metals bull market. The miners, seniors represented by GDX ETF, are still bobbing near the Dec and Jan lows, yet the pattern is thus far still a basing one. Would it bring another push lower as in late January? Looking at the subsequent demand, I don‘t think such an attempt would have an overly long shelf life. Let‘s overlay the GDX chart with GDXJ, which are the junior miners. The riskier, and generally thinly traded ones. Seeing their attempts to outperform since the late November low, is an tipping sign of the sector not really wanting to keep declining much longer. That‘s another reason why I;m calling for much higher precious metals price before spring is over. Just in time for inflation... From the Readers‘ Mailbag Q: Hey Monica…I had wondered where you'd disappeared to for a while there. Welcome back Regarding silver, the gap from monday's breakout filled nicely there, negating an island reversal. Yet, having been out since july, every time I look at the chart, the upside breakout gap of 21 july stares at me like a gaping crevasse on the everest of uptrend beginnings. I know we are going to the moon and back at some point in the next two or three years, but what do you think is the probability of a short term deflationary spike coming up? Maybe another black swan, which would fulfil the dual function of shakeout the nouveau buying masses, and put my mind at rest by filling the gap before takeoff? A: I am back, fully independent thankfully, and won‘t disappear. Well, as you‘ve seen this week, nothing goes to the moon for there are always willing parties to trim the wings… when it starts to hurt. I am also very bullish about precious metals prices as the conditions facilitating them are in place. But I have publicly called the March 2020 crash as the only deflationary spike we‘re going to see. That year, and this year won‘t bring a new crash either. See how well the financial system recovered from GameStop and silver? Margin debt is still rising, and the Fed won‘t contract any time soon. Inflation – not just food, but all commodities (copper, oil, lumber, base metals, agriculture) are broadly advancing, and a great measure of inflation to come and be felt more broadly. I am not really looking for a giant shakeout in precious metals this year really – and by the shape of things, neither in 2022 pr 2023. But remembering how the $1,050 gap in gold got filled in late 2015, I understand your concern, and say that we would get advance signs of such a potential outcome, which aren‘t present currently though. Summary The stock market recovered, and looks set to be digesting prior gains today. The correction indeed remains largely over in terms of prices. Gold is still bidding its time, which is both expected and desirable for the upcoming bull leg. Patience is the name of the game in precious metals currently still. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals.
Will Interest Rate Increase Cause Gold to Plunge in 2021?

Will Interest Rate Increase Cause Gold to Plunge in 2021?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 04.02.2021 17:50
The decline in the real interest rates is the most important downside risk for gold. Will it materialize, plunging the price of the yellow metal?The rise in inflation is the most significant upside risk for gold this year, but there are also a few important downside risks. The most disturbing for us is the possibility that the real interest rates will increase. Why? Please take a look at the chart below.As you can see, there is a strong negative correlation between the real yields and gold prices . When the interest rates go up, the yellow metal falls, and when the rates go down, gold rallies . Indeed, the real interest rates peaked in November 2018 at 1.17 percent, just one month before the last hike in the Fed’s last tightening cycle . Since then, they were falling, reaching their historical bottom below -1.0 percent in the summer of 2020. Not coincidentally, gold was experiencing a bull market during this period, reaching its record high of almost $2010, just when the rates bottomed. And, as the rates normalized somewhat, the price of gold corrected to the level below $1,900.Now, the obvious question is whether there is further room for real interest rates to go down . In 2019, they were falling amid the economic slowdown and the dovish Fed cutting the interest rates. Last year, they plunged even further (with a short spike because of the surge in the risk premium ), as a result of the COVID-19 related economic crisis and the U.S. central bank slashing the federal funds rate to practically zero.However, the Great Lockdown and resulting deep downturn are behind us. When we face the second wave of the pandemic and people become vaccinated, there will be an economic recovery. As well, the Fed has already brought the interest rates to zero – meaning that without the U.S. central bank implementing NIRP , the nominal policy rates reached their lower bound. So, assuming that the Fed will not cut interest rates further and that investors will not expect a further slowing down of the economy, the room for further declines in the real interest rate is limited.The only hope lies in the increase in inflation expectations, which is actually quite probable, as I explained in the previous part of this edition of the Gold Market Overview . Given the surge in the broad money supply , the pent-up demand, and some structural shifts, reflation in 2021 is more likely than it was in the aftermath of the great financial crisis .However, gold investors should also be prepared for a negative scenario of low inflation. After all, the Fed has repeatedly undershot its annual inflation target. In this case, the real interest rates may stay roughly the same or they could even rise.Let’s take a look at the chart below, which shows the gold prices and real interest rates after the Great Recession . In the very aftermath of the Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy , they surged, but after the panic phases ended, they were falling until the end of 2012, just when, more less, the bear market in gold started.Now, somebody could say that the real interest rates were falling for four years until reaching bottom at the end of 2012, so we shouldn’t worry about the normalization of interest rates. However, the COVID-19 related economic crisis was very deep, but also very short. Everything is happening now at an accelerated speed, so we could already be reaching the local bottom in the interest rates (or be close to it).Of course, there are important differences between that period and today . First, as I’ve already emphasized, there is now a higher risk of an increase in inflation. Second, in 2013, there was a taper tantrum , while today, the Fed maintains an ultra-dovish stance and does not signal any interest rate hikes in the foreseeable future. Although the U.S. central bank didn’t expand its quantitative easing in December, showing that it feels comfortable with some increases in the bond yields , it’s not going to accept substantial rises in the interest rates. The dovish Fed’s bias is one of the main factors behind the downward trend in the real interest rates (even if they normalize somewhat, they reach further lower peaks and bottoms over time).Third, the U.S. dollar looks different. As the chart below shows, the greenback started to appreciate in 2011, pushing gold prices down. But today it is more likely that the U.S. dollar will weaken further due to a changing administration in the White House, the economic stabilization and cash outflows into developing countries, soaring public debts, a zero-interest rate policy, and the risk of an increase in inflation.If so, the normalization of the real interest rates (if it happens, which is far from being certain) doesn’t have to plunge the yellow metal . In other words, there are important downside risks to the bullish case for gold this year, but 2021 does not have to look like 2013 in the gold market.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

New POTUS, New Gold Bull Market?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 05.02.2021 16:34
Joe Biden’s election as president and his first economic proposal proved negative for gold prices, but the presidency might yet turn positive.The 46 th presidency of the United States has officially begun. What does that mean for the U.S. economy, politics and the precious metals market?Let’s start by noting that this will not be an easy presidency. The epidemic in the U.S. is raging, the economy is in recession , and public debt is ballooning. Foreign relations are strained while the nation is strongly polarized, as the recent riots clearly showed. So, Biden will have to face many problems, with few assets .First, as he turned 78 in November, Biden has been the oldest person ever sworn in as U.S. president. Second, his political capital is rather weak, as the 2020 election is more about Trump’s loss than Biden’s victory. In other words, many of his voters supported Biden not because of his merits but only because they opposed Trump. Third, he will have the smallest congressional majorities in several years. Democrats have only ten more seats than Republicans in the House and the same number of seats in the Senate. And even with Kamala Harris as a tie-breaker, Biden could not lose a single Democrat senator’s vote to pass any legislation in Senate.On the one hand, Biden’s tough political position seems to be negative for gold prices, as it lowers the odds of implementing the most radical, leftist political agenda. On the other hand, Biden’s difficulties also lower the chances of sound economic reforms, which is good news for the yellow metal. A divided Congress and Democratic Party with an old president at the helm, who has a weak personal base could result in political conflicts and stalemates which would prove positive for gold.When it comes to economics, Biden has already presented his pandemic aid bill, worth of $1.9 trillion. The proposal includes direct payments of $1,400 to households, $400 per week in supplementary unemployment benefits through September, billions of dollars for struggling businesses, schools, and local governments, as well as funding that would accelerate vaccination and support other coronavirus containment efforts. Biden also wants to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, which will not appeal to Republicans. The big size of the package will also be disliked by the GOP.The fact that Democrats have won the Georgia Senate runoffs, taking control over the Senate, increases the chances that Biden will implement his economic stimulus. The equity markets welcomed the idea of another large aid package, in contrast to bond investors who sell Treasuries, causing the yields to go up. The increase in real interest rates pushed gold prices down , as the chart below shows.It seems that investors liked the idea of big stimulus, hoping for acceleration in economic growth. However, printing more money (I know, the Treasury technically doesn’t print money – but it issues bonds which are to a large extent bought by the Fed ) and sending checks to people doesn’t increase economic output. Another problem is that the U.S. can’t run massive fiscal deficits forever and ever , hoping that interest rates will always stay low.So, although Biden’s economic stimulus may add something to the GDP growth in the short-term, it will not fundamentally strengthen the economy. Quite the contrary, the massive increase in government spending and public debt (as well as in taxation) will probably hamper the long-term productivity growth and make the already fragile debt-based economic model even more fragile. What is really worrisome is that Biden doesn’t seem to care about U.S. indebtedness – he has already spoken strongly against deficit worries and hasn’t proposed any actions to reduce the debt – and plans to unveil the additional economic stimulus.Hence, although gold declined initially in a response to Biden’s economic stimulus proposal, the new president could ultimately turn out to be positive for the yellow metal. After all, gold declined in the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers’ collapse , but it shined under Barack Obama’s first presidency. And Biden is likely to be even more fiscally irresponsible than Obama (or Trump), while the Fed under Powell is likely to even more monetarily irresponsible than under Bernanke (or Yellen ). Indeed, according to The Economist , Biden’s proposal is worth about nine percent of pre-crisis GDP, nearly twice the size of Obama’s aid package in the aftermath of the Great Recession . And, in contrast to previous crises, the Fed has announced the desire to overshoot its inflation target. All these factors should support gold prices in the long run.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

The profit maze of Silver

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 07.02.2021 10:35
We took for many months the stands of a Permabull in Silver and still do. Our primary call for acquiring physical Silver might find some hurdles. You might not get any. When we started in March of last year at the price of US$12 to urge for acquiring physical Silver holdings, we already experienced the vast percentage difference between the spot price and the actual acquisition price of Silver. This phenomenon persists to the present day. And what to do if one can’t purchase real Silver anymore?We look at the markets primarily from the perspective of risk. As long as you do not have too dramatic pullbacks (= a homogeneous equity curve), you can always recover from a temporary setback. After all, not every investment idea might work out.If Silver’s physical acquisition should come to a halt, we find mining stock ownership to be an excellent second choice.Here is why. Leveraged positions like ETFs, futures, and options allow special restrictions made by brokers and clearinghouses tied with their firms’ positions. Large players like this can also go belly up, especially in six sigma events. In that case, it is essential to find liquidity, the ability to transfer positions from one broker/clearinghouse to another, and mostly to liquidate positions. An option they may deny you through their regulative powers.Sil, Global Silver Miners ETF, Weekly Chart, ETFs might look good, but they aren’t:SIL Global X FDS Global X Silver Miners ETF in US Dollar, weekly chart as of February 4th, 2021.  Monthly Chart of Silver, Think long term and win:Silver in US Dollar, monthly chart as of February 4th, 2021.While Silver’s smaller time frames can be intimidating at times due to their volatility and recent limelight in the news, the larger monthly time frame clearly shows the health of the trend in motion and the long term opportunity.With this bigger picture in place, mining stocks will follow the uptrend.Daily Chart, Reyna Silver Corp in Canadian Dollar, The profit maze of Silver:Reyna Silver Corp in Canadian Dollar, daily chart as of February 4th, 2021.There is a vast array of choices to participate in mining stocks. You can employ various strategies like buying the market leaders or underdogs, for example. In this field, evaluation can change quickly based on depository discoveries, soil sample quality and many other factors. Another point of consideration is the accessibility of stock depending on the country you are trading from, which exchanges you can access.The above chart depicts the stock price of our sponsor Reyna Silver which we find undervalued and very attractive as a long-term investment. Stocks in this price range have the advantage that not too much of your money is parked long term. And still percentage returns can be substantial. (Disclaimer: Please note that Reyna Silver is the sponsor of our weekly silver chartbook).In this specific case, you can see that there is excellent support at CA$0.98 from a volume analysis perspective, right below where prices trade for a low-risk entry on a long-term time horizon.The profit maze of Silver:While we hold physical Silver in the highest regard to risk-averse wealth preservation (next to Gold and Bitcoin), additional investments in mining stocks are prudent. As a stockholder, you are a part-owner of a company with the acquired rights by law. From all the choices out there to participate in the Silver boom, mining stocks seem to be the ones with the smallest risk potential.With a goal of long term investing and wealth preservation, it is essential to look at investments from a risk perspective rather than leverage.Besides, many mining stocks pay dividends. That additional income flow can be reinvested, and one participates in the 8th miracle of the world: “Compound interest.” Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

More Than a Snapback Rally in Gold As Stocks Keep Marching

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 05.02.2021 16:30
Stock bulls aren‘t wavering, and the upswing continues without a pause. Is the move (still) in balance with the relevant markets as one catches up to the other, or is a digestion of prior sharp gains nearby? It didn‘t come earlier this week, and in today‘s article, I‘ll lay down the rising probabilities of seeing at least a short-term pause in the stellar pace of gains since Monday. Gold pause gave way to selling pressure yesterday, spurred to a degree by the post-Monday‘s trading action. As both metals declined by around 2.5%, this move probably appears overdone to more than a few. Me included, as I called it a kneejerk reaction before yesterday‘s close. In today‘s analysis, I‘ll demonstrate why precious metals investors shouldn‘t be afraid of a trend change – none is happening. Let‘s dive into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook Stocks continue higher without stopping, and the daily volume rose a little. The bulls are strong, and took prices almost to the upper Bollinger Bands border amid positive moves in CCI and Stochastics. The daily of daily increases looks set to slow down as minimum though – starting today. Credit Markets High yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) are still pushing higher. While I ignored Tuesday‘s and Wednesday‘s upper knot, yesterday‘s one is arguably a more respectable one, and that‘s because of the drying volume. It wouldn‘t be unimaginable to experience HYG to pause shortly, which would support my prior assessment about SPX. High yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio with S&P 500 overlaid (black line) shows that the two are tracking each other tightly in recent days. Actually, stocks are reaching for the leadership position, which given their performance since the start of November is very short-term suspect (stocks have lagged a little relative to the credit markets, and now they‘re trying to lead). That‘s yet another reason why to be cautious about (at least today‘s) trading – and for all the coming days, you know now where to find my daily analyses. Russell 2000 and S&P 500 Smallcaps aren‘t weakening vs. the 500-strong index in the least, which means that the stock bull market continues unabated. It also disproves the recent significant correction ahead calls on the internet that aren‘t hard to come by. Here we are after Friday‘s bloodbath that I called as out of whack with the internals, here we are at new index highs, this soon. In yesterday‘s analysis, I presented the value to growth ratio‘s message of the rotation from tech into value as value having to try once again. Technology (XLK ETF) had a strong week, so let‘s inspect its performance vs. the smallcaps – see the above chart. It shows that the Russell 2000 (IWM ETF) has carved a nice, almost rounded bottom, and is primed for higher values ahead, which also supports the notion of no stock market top ahead. Gold in the Spotlight The yellow metal is attempting to stage a recovery – a modest one thus far as it has been rejected at $1810 earlier. How disappointing is that? We‘ll see at the closing bell (my assumption is that the bulls will prevail today comfortably), but the implications of the moves thus far doesn‘t change my thesis of a break higher from the 5-month long consolidation in the least. It‘s that the technical (not to mention fundamental) factors propelling it higher, are still in place. The caption says it all – we‘re in the closing stages of the prolonged consolidation, and prices will rebound next, as so many preceding sizable red candles had trouble attracting follow through selling, and yesterday‘s candle is in a technically even more difficult position to achieve that. The moving averages aren‘t seriously declining, and I look for the death cross (50-day moving average puncturing the 200-day one) to fail relatively shortly. The Force index in gold agrees that we aren‘t seeing a really serious push to the downside here. Look at the start of 2021, how deep it went back then – we‘ll carve out a nice bullish divergence as I look for gold to get serious about turning up. Yes, the Force index won‘t decline as low as in early January. Silver didn‘t yield all that much ground as the short squeeze got squeezed. The chart is still bullish, and I stand by the calls mentioned in the caption here – a great future ahead for the white metal in 1H 2021 and beyond. Ratios and Miners The gold to silver ratio also continues favoring the white metal, whose this week‘s retreat (post-Monday) didn‘t affect the downward trending values in the least. The miners to gold ratio continues supporting my call of breakdown invalidation leading to a new precious metals upleg. I made the calls along these lines both on Tuesday and prior Monday, when I featured my 2021 prognotications on stocks, gold, dollar and Bitcoin – please do check them if you hadn‘t done so already. Senior gold miners (GDX ETF) are taking a back seat to juniors (GDXJ ETF), andthat‘s a hallmark of bullish spirits returning – first below the surface, then very apparently. While we have to wait for the latter, its preconditions are here. Summary The stock market keeps powering higher, and despite the rather clear skies ahead, a bit of short-term caution given the speed of the recovery and its internals presented, is in place even as the stock bull run shows zero signs of having topped. It‘s time for the gold and silver bulls to reappear after yesterday‘s outsized setback. Crucially, it hasn‘t flipped the short- and medium-term outlook bearish as the factors powering the precious metals bull run, are in place. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals. Thank you, Monica Kingsley Stock Trading Signals Gold Trading Signals www.monicakingsley.comk@monicakingsley.co * * * * * All essays, research and information represent analyses and opinions of Monica Kingsley that are based on available and latest data. Despite careful research and best efforts, it may prove wrong and be subject to change with or without notice. Monica Kingsley does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Her content serves educational purposes and should not be relied upon as advice or construed as providing recommendations of any kind. Futures, stocks and options are financial instruments not suitable for every investor. Please be advised that you invest at your own risk. Monica Kingsley is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading her writings, you agree that she will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make. Investing, trading and speculating in financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Monica Kingsley may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in her writings, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

What’s Next for the Silver Roller Coaster?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 08.02.2021 16:32
After a frenzy of Reddit induced activity that captivated everyone, silver painfully gave back what it gained. What’s next for the white metal?As the precious metals’ version of moral hazard, silver tipped over the flowerpot, and left gold to clean up the mess. After silver’s short squeeze mania ended in tears on Feb. 2, the white metal gave back 97% of its squeeze -induced gains. Conversely, bearing the brunt of the market’s wrath, gold gave back 237% of the momentum-induced gains.Please see below:Figure 1As a result, silver is doing what it normally does near market tops: outperforming among comments regarding silver shortage .Positioning itself for an epic blow-off top, silver’s Feb. 1 surge ended in less than 24 hours. In addition, silver is approaching two triangle-vertex-based reversal points – which could come to a head by the end of February or early March. However, given the two set ups, they could be signaling one climactic reversal or two separate reversals of differing magnitudes. As it stands today, it’s still too early to tell.Figure 2 - COMEX Silver FuturesHowever, supporting the argument of a single blow-off top, I mentioned last week that the iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV) took in nearly $1 billion in daily inflows on Jan. 29. For context, that was nearly double the previous record.Please see below:Figure 3 - Source: Bloomberg/Eric BalchunasBut because too much of a good thing can often be bad, the frantic buying mirrored an ominous period in SLV’s history.Please see below:Figure 4 - COMEX Silver FuturesIf you analyze the volume spikes at the bottom of the chart, 2021 and 2011 are a splitting image. To explain, in 2011, an initial abnormal spike in volume was followed by a second parabolic surge. However, not long after, silver’s bear market began.SLV-volume-wise, there's only one similar situation from the past - the 2011 top. This is a very bearish analogy as higher prices of the white metal were not seen since that time, but the analogy gets even more bearish. The reason is the "initial warning" volume spike in this ETF. It took place a few months before SLV formed its final top, and we saw the same thing also a few months ago, when silver formed its initial 2020 top.The history may not repeat itself to the letter, but it tends to be quite similar. And the more two situations are alike, the more likely it is for the follow-up action to be similar as well. And in this case, the implications for the silver price forecast are clearly bearish.Based on the above chart, it seems that silver is likely to move well above its 2011 highs, but it’s unlikely to do it without another sizable downswing first.In conclusion, if silver meets its maker, the white metal is likely to lead gold and the miners to slaughter. Moreover, silver is well known for its false breakouts and its relative strength is often a precursor to substantial declines. As a result, last week’s short squeeze was much more semblance than substance. In contrast, once the metals rebase and trade at more appropriate levels, an attractive buying opportunity will emerge.For more insight, let’s look at the relative performance of gold, silver and the gold miners, and compare how they’re impacted by the USDX and the SPX. If you analyze the chart below, you can see that the precious metals all broke down in September, after the USDX broke above resistance.Figure 5To explain, I wrote on Jan. 18:Like traffic lights flashing red, notice how the HUI Index (proxy for gold stocks) is trading well below its early 2020 highs? In stark contrast, gold remains moderately above its early 2020 highs, while silver is significantly above its early 2020 highs. The misaligned performance – with silver outperforming and gold miners underperforming – puts a bow on this bearish package.The bottom line?It is not only the case that silver was strong and miners were weak in the last several days – it’s been the case over the past several months as well. The implications are bearish.Also troubling is that the stock market that’s soaring in the medium term, hasn’t shined its light upon the PM market. Contrasting the mantra that ‘a rising tide lifts all boats,’ equity market strength hasn’t triggered a sustainable rally in silver or the gold miners. And this “should have” been the case – both are more connected to stocks than gold is. Gold stocks because they are, well, stocks. Silver, due to multiple industrial usesAll in all, based on what we saw in silver recently, it doesn’t seem that we’re likely to see much higher precious metals prices without seeing a major decline first.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Gold About To Spring As Stocks Cool Off At Highs

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 08.02.2021 16:15
Stock bulls aren‘t yielding an inch of ground, and technically they have precious few reasons for doing so. It‘s still strong the stock market bull, and standing in its way isn‘t really advisable. With the S&P 500 at new highs, and the anticipated slowdown in gains over Friday, where is the momentary balance of forces? As the proverbial rubber bands gets pushed upwards still, what about those rising probabilities of seeing at least a short-term pause in the stellar pace of gains since last Monday? Gold did recover on Friday, and didn‘t disappoint after Thursday‘s slide. The weak non-farm employment data certainly helped, sending the dollar bulls packing. It‘s my view that we‘re on the way to making another dollar top, after which much lower greenback values would follow. Given the currently still prevailing negative correlation between the fiat currency and its shiny nemesis, that would also take the short-term pressure of the monetary metal(s). What would you expect given the $1.9T stimulus bill, infrastructure plans of similar price tag, and the 2020 debt to GDP oh so solidly over 108%? Inflation is roaring – red hot copper, base metals, corn, soybeans, lumber and oil, and Treasury holders are demanding higher yields especially on the long end (we‘re getting started here too). Apart from the key currency ingredient, I‘ll present today more than a few good reasons for the precious metals bull to come roaring back with vengeance before too long. Let‘s dive into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook and Its Internals Stocks keep pushing higher, and the bulls are strong regardless of the little contraction in the daily volume. The daily indicators attest to the strength of the uptrend, but the pace of daily increases looks set to slow down as minimum though. Imagine that all the constituent shares in the S&P 500 had equal weight (i.e. forget about $NYFANG) – this is the chart you get. RSP ETF is only now challenging its highs, which is however not a disappointment or a red light flashing divergence at all. The march to new highs in the S&P 500 still looks satisfactorily broad based. Market breadth confirms that very clearly. Both the advance-decline line and advance-decline volume aren‘t disappointing in the least, and new highs new lows have made a strong comeback from preceding setback. The intermediate picture is one of strength. Credit Markets and S&P 500 Sectoral Ratios High yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio with S&P 500 overlaid (black line) shows that the two are tracking each other tightly in recent days. Stocks haven‘t yet yielded in their attempt at taking leadership position, regardless of their performance since the start of November (which makes the attempt suspect in the very short-term, as stocks have lagged a little relative to the credit markets back then). Bearish prospects? No way, dips are still to be bought. The financials to utilities (XLF:XLU) ratio still broadly supports the stock market advance. Looking at the bond market dynamics, I expect utilities to remain under pressure while financials would gain faster. I‘m not worried by the current relatively depressed ratio‘s value, and don‘t consider it a warning sign for the S&P 500 in the least. Consumer discretionaries to consumer staples (XLY:XLP) is another leading ratio worth watching. It‘s currently at quite elevated levels, as I view the discretionaries as extended while the staples have undergone an appealing pullback. Even though that makes for short-term headwinds in the ratio, it‘s still primed to support the stock market bulls. Gold & Silver Friday‘s gold session still is cause enough for optimism among the gold bulls about an important low being made. The other option would be a brief dip below Thursday‘s lows, which I however due to more powerful $USD reversal on Friday (erasing all Thursday‘s gains on the heels of poor non-farm payrolls data), don‘t look at as the more likely scenario currently. For now, it still remains most probable that Thursday‘s bottom in gold won‘t be overcome by much, not going down to more than $1760 (though I am obviously not betting all in my trading plans on this strong support) – if at all. It‘s the „if at all“ part that I subscribe to most heavily. Silver‘s chart is the livelier one, less under pressure but given the recent squeeze-driven run, the white metal might need to cool down a bit here. The 1H real economy recovery outlook is though guaranteed to put a solid floor below any sub $26 dip should that – which is as questionable as in case of gold – happen at all. Base building at roughly current levels would be a healthy development for the bulls to rejoice. Precious Metals Ratios Checking out on the gold to all corporate bonds ($GOLD:$DJCB) ratio reveals relative strength in the yellow metal currently. It‘s trading much farther above its late Nov low than the metal itself. Similarly to the case junior miners to senior ones are making, this is a hidden sign of strength in the precious metals sector, whose next upleg is knocking on door. The miners to gold ($HUI:$GOLD) ratio‘s false breakdown announcing another upleg that I discussed on Feb 01 already, is still intact, and sending the very same signals of internal strength inside the precious metals complex. The 1H 2021 future is bright, and approaching fast. Summary The stock market keeps powering higher, and despite the rather clear skies ahead, a bit of short-term caution given the speed of the recovery and its internals presented, is in place. I wouldn‘t be surprised to see today or tomorrow a brief and weak whiff of lower prices – nothing to call home about if you were a bear, that is. The gold and silver bulls apprear to be staging a return, slowly but surely, which is consistent with the price damage repair pattern frequently experienced after sizable red candles that felt to at least part of the marketplace as out of the left field. The case for the next upleg remains as strong as it has ever been in my view. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full here at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

PMs Charging Higher As Stocks Keep Pushing On a String

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 09.02.2021 16:23
Stocks keep cooling off at their highs, and calling for a correction still seems to be many a fool‘s errand. Does it mean all is fine in the S&P 500 land? Largely, it still is.Such were my yesterday‘s words:(…) It‘s still strong the stock market bull, and standing in its way isn‘t really advisable. With the S&P 500 at new highs, and the anticipated slowdown in gains over Friday, where is the momentary balance of forces?Still favoring the bulls – that‘s the short answer before we get to a more detailed one shortly.The anticipaded gold rebound is underway, and my open long position is solidly profitable right now. In line with the case I‘ve been making since the end of January, the tide has turned in the precious metals, and we are in a new bull upleg, which will get quite obvious to and painful for the bears. Little noted and commented upon, don‘t forget though about my yesterday‘s dollar observations, as these are silently marking the turning point I called for, and we‘re witnessing in precious metals:(…) The weak non-farm employment data certainly helped, sending the dollar bulls packing. It‘s my view that we‘re on the way to making another dollar top, after which much lower greenback values would follow. Given the currently still prevailing negative correlation between the fiat currency and its shiny nemesis, that would also take the short-term pressure of the monetary metal(s). What would you expect given the $1.9T stimulus bill, infrastructure plans of similar price tag, and the 2020 debt to GDP oh so solidly over 108%? Inflation is roaring – red hot copper, base metals, corn, soybeans, lumber and oil, and Treasury holders are demanding higher yields especially on the long end (we‘re getting started here too). Apart from the key currency ingredient, I‘ll present today more than a few good reasons for the precious metals bull to come roaring back with vengeance before too long.Finally, I‘ll bring you an oil market analysis today as well. So, let‘s dive into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsA strong chart with strong gains, and the volume isn‘t attracting either much buying or selling interest. That smacks of continued accumulation, with little in terms of clearly warning signs ahead.The market breadth indicators are all very bullish, and pushing for new highs, as the caption points out precisely.The intermediate picture remains one of strength.Credit Markets and TechnologyHigh yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio is powering higher significantly stronger than the investment grade corporate bonds to longer-dated Treasuries (LQD:IEI) one. The bullish spirits are clearly running high in the markets.Technology (XLK ETF) as the leading heavyweight S&P 500 sector, keeps charging higher vigorously after not so convincing post-Aug performance. Crucially, its current advance is well supported by the semiconductors (XSD ETF – black line), meaning that apart from the rotational theme I‘ve been been mentioning last Thursday, we have the key tech sector firing on all cylinders still.Gold & SilverLet‘s overlay the gold chart with silver (black line). The disconnect since the Nov low should be pretty obvious, and interpreted the silver bullish way I‘ve been hammering for weeks already. Please also note that the white metal has been outperforming well before any silver squeeze caught everyone‘s attention.Let‘s go on with gold and the miners (black line). See that end Jan dip I called as fake? Where are we now? Miners are no longer underperforming, and the stage is set for a powerful rise.Just check the gold miners to silver miners view to get an idea of how much the white metal‘s universe is leading everything gold. Another powerful testament to the nascent bull upleg in the precious metals.Continuing with gold and long-term Treasuries (black line), we see that the king of metals isn‘t giving in. Instead, it‘s rising in the face plunging Treasuries that are offering higher yields now. No, the yellow metal is decoupling here, as the new precious metals upleg is getting underway. The greenback is the culprit – and again in my yesterday‘s analysis, I called the headwinds it‘s running into. The world reserve currency will indeed get under serious pressure and break down to new lows as the important local top is being made.From the Readers‘ Mailbag - OilQ: "Hi Monica, I am glad I found you after you 'disappeared' from Sunshine Profits! As you had been back then already covering gold and oil at times, I wonder what's your take on black gold right now. A little great birdie told me oil will be the next Tesla for 2021 - what's your take?"A: I am also happy that you found me too! Thankfully, my „disappearance“ is now history. I‘ll gladly keep commenting, in total freedom, on any question dear readers ask me. Back in autumn 2020, seeing the beaten down XLE, I wrote that energy is ripe for an upside surprise. I was also featuring the fracking ETF (FRAK) back then. Both have risen tremendously, and it‘s my view that the oil sector (let‘s talk $WTIC) is set for strong gains this year, and naturally the next one too. Think $80 per barrel. Part of the answer is the approach to „dirty“ energy that strangles supply, and diverts resources away from exploitation and exploration. Not to mention pipelines. Did you know that the overwhelming majority of ‚clean‘ energy to charge electric cars, comes from coal? And that the only coal ETF (KOL) which I also used to feature back in autumn, closed shop? Oil is clearly the less problematic energy solution than coal.These are perfect ingredients for an energy storm to hit the States by mid decade. I offer the following chart to whoever might think that oil is overvalued here. It‘s not – it‘s just like all the other commodities, sensing inflation hitting increasingly more.SummaryThe stock market keeps powering higher, and despite the rather clear skies ahead, a bit of short-term caution given the speed of the recovery and its internals presented, is in place. Expect though any correction to be a relatively shallow one – and new highs would follow, for we‘re far away from a top.The gold and silver bulls are staging a return, as last week‘s price damage is being repaired. The signs of a precious metals bull, of a new upleg knocking on the door, abound – patience will be rewarded with stellar gains.Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals.Thank you,Monica KingsleyStock Trading SignalsGold Trading Signalswww.monicakingsley.comk@monicakingsley.co* * * * *All essays, research and information represent analyses and opinions of Monica Kingsley that are based on available and latest data. Despite careful research and best efforts, it may prove wrong and be subject to change with or without notice. Monica Kingsley does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. Her content serves educational purposes and should not be relied upon as advice or construed as providing recommendations of any kind. Futures, stocks and options are financial instruments not suitable for every investor. Please be advised that you invest at your own risk. Monica Kingsley is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading her writings, you agree that she will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make. Investing, trading and speculating in financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Monica Kingsley may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in her writings, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Stocks Ripe for a Breather As Gold and Silver Remain Strong

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 10.02.2021 15:44
Both the upside and downside in stocks appears limited as these keep cooling off not far away from recent highs. Yesterday‘s session sent us a telling signal that the bears might wake up from their stupor briefly. Largely though, all remains well in the S&P 500 land. The anticipated gold rebound is underway, and the significant upper knot of yesterday‘s session isn‘t concerning – gold is not rolling over to the downside here. Let alone silver. I view yesterday‘s trading as consistent with a daily pause within an unfolding uptrend. My open long position is growingly profitable, and I‘ve covered the bullish case in detail both on Monday and Tuesday. Today‘s analysis will strengthen the story even more. Given the dollar performance, I can‘t underline enough the importance of what we‘re witnessing – let‘s move to my Monday‘s dollar observations, which are silently marking the turning point I called for, directly relevant to precious metals: (…) The weak non-farm employment data certainly helped, sending the dollar bulls packing. It‘s my view that we‘re on the way to making another dollar top, after which much lower greenback values would follow. Given the currently still prevailing negative correlation between the fiat currency and its shiny nemesis, that would also take the short-term pressure of the monetary metal(s). What would you expect given the $1.9T stimulus bill, infrastructure plans of similar price tag, and the 2020 debt to GDP oh so solidly over 108%? Inflation is roaring – red hot copper, base metals, corn, soybeans, lumber and oil, and Treasury holders are demanding higher yields especially on the long end (we‘re getting started here too). Apart from the key currency ingredient, I‘ll present today more than a few good reasons for the precious metals bull to come roaring back with vengeance before too long. Finally, I‘ll bring you uranimum market analysis today as well. By popular demand, I‘ll dive into the commodity and its miners. You know already that my focus goes much further than the key topic of these analyses (stocks and precious metals). I am regularly covering oil, commodities and currencies too – just check out my trading story if you hadn‘t done so already. So, let‘s dive into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 Outlook and Its Internals A first day of hesitation into a very strong chart with non-stop gains recently, yet it‘s exactly these moments when the bears might try to raise their heads once again. Just to rock the boat, that‘s all. The Force index is warning that its solid upswing is due a reprieve here in what I perceive to be initial signs of selling into strength. Not too much, but distribution had an upper hand yesterday over accumulation. Credit Markets High yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) didn‘t perform fine yesterday at all. On declining volume, the bulls couldn‘t close above Monday‘s opening prices, which given the post Jan 20 performance doesn‘t bode well for the short term. The steep uptrend simply appears in need of a rest. Smallcaps, Emerging Markets and Oil S&P 500 vs. the overlaid Russell 2000 (black line) isn‘t sending any warning signs of internal weakness when the two are compared. The rising tide is lifting all (stock) boats. Neither the emerging markets (black line) are diverging – the many stock bull markets around the world, they are all doing fine. The oil to gold ratio keeps leaning in favor of oil, just as it‘s expected during an economic recovery, coupled with inflation that‘s lighting fire across commodities. The stock bull isn‘t going down really. Gold & Silver Let‘s overlay the gold chart with silver (black line). My yesterday‘s words are a good fit also today – the disconnect since the Nov low should be pretty obvious, and interpreted the silver bullish way I‘ve been hammering for weeks already. Please also note that the white metal has been outperforming well before any silver squeeze caught everyone‘s attention. The gold to silver ratio sends a similarly clear message – the coming precious metals upleg will be characterized by silver outperforming gold for a variety of reasons beyond the industrial demand and versatility ones. Silver‘s above ground stockpile isn‘t being added to at the same pace as gold‘s is, and its recycling is less feasible practically speaking. Solar panels are but one of the ever hungry industrial applications, making heavy demands on silver reserves. Let‘s overlay the senior gold miners chart with both junior mining stocks (also gold) and silver mining stocks. See the late Nov turning point, where silver miners started outperforming both the gold juniors and gold seniors. That‘s another proof of the precious metals bull waking up. From the Readers‘ Mailbag - Uranium Q: Hi Monica, despite all the dire warnings of $1500 on gold, you seem to be spot on so far. Where do you think uranium might be headed. It looks risky but some say nowhere but up others nowhere but down! A: Thank you very much! That‘s honest analysis, free from fearmongering. I have been very vocal in writing here, on Twitter, and within comments everywhere that hypothetical technical targets divorced from reality (nonsensical) are dangerous to those who take them without a pinch of salt or two. Whenever I turn from a precious metals (or stock market) bull to a more cautious tone, you all my dear readers, will be the first ones to know. Just as now, the technical signs supporting the bullish (PMs) case are appearing increasingly forcefully (hello, dollar), the same way I‘ll present to you the weakening bullish factors whenever their time comes. We are far away from that in both markets, and in oil too (you‘ll hear me cover that one more often as well). Uranium was hit pretty hard with the Fukushima disaster of 2011 that brought about a long bear market. In 2016, a bottom was reached, and the commodity is slowly but surely on the mend. No spectacular gains, but modest positive returns that not even coronavirus managed to bring down. The same though couldn‘t be said about uranium miners as the below chart shows. Having taken a plunge, they‘ve recovered with the veracity of Bitcoin (called right in my first 2021 analysis), outperforming uranium as a commodity greatly. Still, these remain considerably below their 2011 highs (over $105), and given the energy mix and policies, I am clearly on the bullish side of the uranium opinion spectrum. Summary The stock market keeps holding gained ground, but regardless of the rather clear skies ahead, a bit of short-term caution is called for given the weakening credit markets, which may prove to be very temporary indeed. Expect any correction to be relatively shallow – and new highs to follow, for we‘re far away from a top. The gold and silver bulls are consolidating gains amid their return, and the bullish case for precious metals is growing stronger day by day. Crucially, it‘s not about the dollar here, but about the sectoral internals, and decoupling from rising Treasury yields. The new upleg is knocking on the door, and patience will be rewarded with stellar gains. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Gold and Silver: Is Recent Rally Cause for Concern?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 10.02.2021 16:54
Does gold’s most recent rally and the inflow of capital into silver change the fundamental outlook of the PMs? If so, what about equities?In short, yes, the U.S. dollar is down, thereby boosting gold. Yes, the recent massive interest in silver has everyone talking about getting in on the action. However, one must remember that markets don’t move in a straight line and countertrend rallies are expected along the way. Keep your eye on the ball. Now, let’s examine what exactly is happening.Gold moved higher once again yesterday (Feb. 9), but it reversed and declined before the closing bell. Miners declined as well. Does it mean that the next top is in or about to be in? That’s exactly what it means. Especially considering that gold’s reversal took place almost right at the triangle-vertex-based reversal and during USD’s breakout’s verification.Figure 1 - USD IndexI previously wrote that because assets don’t move in a straight line, it’s plausible that the USD Index retests its declining resistance line, while gold retests its rising support line. If this occurs, the USDX is likely to decline to the 90.6 range, while gold will receive a short-term boost . I emphasized that the outcome does not change their medium-term trends and the above confirmations signal that the USDX is heading north and gold is heading south.The part that I put in bold is exactly what is being realized right now. The USDX is correcting after the breakout, likely verifying the previous resistance as support.Unless the USDX breaks back below the declining medium-term support line in a meaningful way, the bullish implications for the following weeks will remain intact. At the moment of writing these words, the USD Index is practically right at the support line, which means that it’s quite likely to reverse shortly.Figure 2 - COMEX Gold FuturesGold formed a reversal yesterday, but it ended the session slightly higher. The latter might seem bullish, until one compares that to the size of the daily decline in the USD Index. The move lower in the latter was quite visible, so what we saw in gold should be viewed as USDX’s underperformance and thus a bearish sign.Let’s keep in mind that gold was just at its triangle-vertex-based reversal (based on the declining black resistance line and the rising red support line), which perfectly fits the shape of yesterday’s session – the shooting star reversal candlestick. The implications are bearish.Today, gold moved slightly higher, but the move was too small to change anything. Gold didn’t move above yesterday’s intraday high, which means that the short-term top might already be in.What about silver, did the white metal change anything?Figure 3 - COMEX Silver FuturesNot really. Just like gold, silver is taking a breather after the increased volatility. This is normal.Speaking of silver, please note how big the silver inflows were last week.Figure 4This might seem bullish at first sight – a lot of capital entering the silver market is bound to push the silver price higher, right?Wrong. This could simply be an indication of a temporary (yet massive) increase in the white metal’s potential (which no doubt will be realized, but not necessarily yet), which is something that we tend to see at market tops along with increased interest in terms like “ silver squeeze ” or “ silver manipulation ”.Please compare the first spike that you can see on the above chart with what silver did next (on the following chart).Figure 5Silver declined severely in the first half of 2013. Also please note that at that time, the silver market was already well after the massive monthly volume spike. We saw the same thing in mid-2020.The outlook for silver is very bullish for the next years, but the implications of the above factors are very bearish for the medium term.This is especially the case, since silver and mining stocks tend to decline particularly strongly if the stock market is declining as well. And while the exact timing of the market’s slide is not 100% clear, stocks’ day of reckoning is coming . And it might be very, very close.Eyes Wide ShutAs the NASDAQ Composite records yet another all-time high, investors are sleepwalking through one of the most dangerous equity markets ever.On Feb. 4, I warned that fund managers’ cash positions were frighteningly low.I wrote:Mutual fund managers are now holding less than 2% of their portfolios in cash – an all-time low.Figure 6 - Source: SentimenTraderMoreover, with fear of missing out (FOMO) taking a sledgehammer to valuation, pension funds are also following the bad behavior. If you analyze the chart below, you can see that pension fund cash positions have fallen to 2.6% – also an all-time low.Figure 7 - Source: SentimenTraderAnd with daydreams of riches continuing to transfix rationality, the upward inertia has left equity bears nearly extinct. As of Jan. 15 (the latest data available), S&P 500 short interest has hit its lowest level since the peak of the dot-com bubble.Please see below:Figure 8To explain the importance, fund managers’ cash positions and short sellers are akin to airbags in your car. In the event of a crash, airbags serve their purpose by cushioning the blow. Similarly, when the market crashes, short-sellers cover their positions (by purchasing the underlying asset), helping to alleviate the downward impact. Similarly, when fund managers’ cash positions are high, they have more ‘dry powder’ at their disposal to hit the bid and support prices. As a result, with both variables being excommunicated, nearly every investor is now driving with their pedal to the metal.Also encapsulating the speculative euphoria, last week, technology companies recorded their highest-ever weekly inflow.Please see below:Figure 9And not to be outdone, the Russell 2000 (a proxy for U.S. small caps) is also earning its fair share of speculative gold medals. On Feb. 4, I warned that money was pouring into companies that are on the brink of financial distress.I wrote:Figure 10The red line above represents companies with ‘weak balance sheets.’ Essentially, these are companies with high leverage ratios that rely on a strong economic backdrop to service their debt. At the end of 2019, these companies made up roughly 6% of the Russell 2000 index. Today, that figure has nearly doubled to an all-time high of more than 11%.Moreover, amid investors’ foray into the riskiest corners of the U.S. equity market, they’ve also bid the Russell 2000 (as of Feb. 8) to more than 39% above its 200-day moving average (also an all-time high).Please see below:Figure 11 - Source: thedailyshot.comIgnoring a sound diet, bond investors also continue to feast on junk food. On Feb. 8, the average yield on junk bonds (represented by Barclays U.S. Corporate High-Yield index) fell below 4% for the first-time ever.Please see below:Figure 12In addition, issuances of CCC-rated debt – the riskiest tier of junk – have been massively oversubscribed , as yield-hungry investors throw caution to the wind. More importantly though, the frenzy has lured even riskier companies to the market, with the group raising a record $52 billion in January alone.Even more indicative of the reckless behavior, the riskiest companies are also negotiating the riskiest loan terms. Peddling payment-in-kind (PIK) interest, junk bond issuers are now paying investors with IOUs. Unlike traditional bonds, where fixed cash flows are paid at pre-defined dates, PIK bonds are essentially loans on top of loans. Here, investors forego cash payments and add hypothetical interest payments to their bond’s principal balance. Then, at maturity, investors receive the entire proceeds.And what’s the problem?Well, as I’m sure you can tell, the IOUs are worthless if insolvency strikes first.Moving up the speculative ladder, in January, small traders bought call options at nearly 9x their 2019 pace. For context, ‘ s mall traders’ purchase 10 or less call option contracts and have exposure to 1,000 shares or less. As such, they’re usually the least sophisticated market participants.But because their Delta/Gamma splurge continues to impact dealers’ hedging activity, U.S. equity volume has gone completely parabolic. On Feb. 8, U.S. equities (trading at record prices) exchanged hands at nearly 4x their historical average.Please see below:Figure 13In addition, as more and more first-time buyers dip their toes into the equity pool, the ripple can be felt across Google Search trends. As of Feb. 8, online searches for “penny stocks” have exploded.Figure 14 - Source: thedailyshot.comEven more telling, retail interest in the stock market usually peaks during bouts of volatility. In a nutshell: when the stock market crashes and news outlets cover the story (that otherwise wouldn’t during normal times), it piques the interest of the general public. As a result, crashes tend to bring about investing tourists.Please see below:Figure 15 - Source: SentimenTraderTo explain the chart above, the blue line depicts the trend in “buy stocks” in Google searches over the last ~17 years. If you analyze the first two spikes in October 2008 and March 2020, they occurred alongside extreme market stress. However, if you look at the third spike on the right side of the chart (almost as high as March 2020), it’s occurred alongside U.S. equities current melt-up.The key takeaway?As the equity bubble grows larger, it’s sucking in more and more unsophisticated investors. However, as 2000 proved, overconfidence can give way to fear at the blink of an eye.As the final chart in today’s edition, investors’ belief in a utopian future has also come full circle.Please see below:Figure 16To explain, the white line above depicts the movement of Citigroup’s Global Risk Aversion Macro Index – which uses credit spreads, swap spreads and implied volatility to quantify investors’ perception of risk. As you can see, the index is now back to its pre-pandemic lows. More importantly though, the reading encapsulates all of the above and highlights the excessive complacency underwriting global equities.In conclusion, global stocks are living on a razor’s edge and their margin for error continues to dwindle. And due to gold and silver’s moderate-to-strong correlation with the S&P 500 (250-day correlations of 0.71 and 0.87 respectively), one false step could knock over the entire house of cards. As a result, it’s prudent to consider these cross-asset implications when assessing the future performance of the precious metals. However, once the events reach their precipice, the PMs will be able to resume their long-term uptrend.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Feeling the Growing Heat and Tensions in Stocks?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 11.02.2021 16:03
Yesterday was a prelude, a little preview of things to come. We better get used to brief and shallow corrections again, after being lulled by the many preceding sessions. It appears that we‘re now going to get the consolidation period even as the overall S&P 500 metrics remain in a healthy territory. This is the (print-and-spend-happy) world we live in, and we better not fixate on the premature bubble pop talk too closely. I have been stating repeatedly that things have to get really ridiculous first, and this doesn‘t qualify yet in my view. So, for all the tech bashers, we‘re going higher – like it or not. Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com). S&P 500 and Its Internals A second day of hesitation, this time with a thrust to the downside. Comfortably repelled, but still. Is it just one of a kind, or more would follow over the coming sessions? I think this corrective span has a bit further to run in time really. Remember my yesterday‘s words though – the bears are just rocking the boat, that‘s all. The caption describes nicely the mixed momentary situation in market breadth. I am looking especially at new highs new lows right now for whether they would be able to keep the relative high ground, or not, and what would accompany that. Now, it‘s amber light. A supportive warning sign comes from the put/call ratio – we‘re getting a bit too complacent here again. Well worth watching. Credit Markets High yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) wavered yesterday as well, yet bottom fishers appeared, pushing up the volume. The bond markets are clearly buying the dip here. High yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio is still lining up closely with the S&P 500 index. Pulling in tandem, these aren‘t showing any momentary divergence. When it comes to the high yield corporate bonds to all corporate bonds (PHB:$DJCB) ratio, the picture gets different, as the riskier end of the corporate bond spectrum isn‘t firing on all cylinders. That‘s part of the watchout story justification. Technology, Value and Growth Technology (XLK ETF) hadn‘t suffered a profound setback really yesterday. The volume wasn‘t there, and half of the intraday losses were recouped – the bears weren‘t serious, and as the caption says, be wary of tech bubble callers constantly warning about significant corrections with unclear timings. Both tech and S&P 500 are primed to go to much higher levels before things get really ridiculous. Also, remember that since September, the sector has been not at its strongest really. Here comes the rotation between value and growth – given the current status, tech has been underperforming. It‘s the other sectors that are now catching up since the start of Feb. All in all, the chart doesn‘t scream imbalance – the accompanying S&P 500 advance has been relatively orderly. Gold & Silver Today‘s precious metals section will be shorter than usually, because the many bullish factors discussed throughout the week, remain in place. Just check out the metals & miners ratios, or yet another timely call of the dollar top. Let‘s dive into the gold and silver price action that I tweeted about earlier today. My open long position remains profitable, and the very short-term question remains what‘s next. Regardless of the upper knots, I don‘t see the short-term uptrend as exhausted, and you all know pretty well my medium- and long-term bullish case (stronger for silver than for gold in 2021 really). Despite being quite hot in the short run, silver isn‘t willing to correct to any kind of reasonable target. I view the current indecision as part of an ongoing consolidation, and don‘t discount the bullish implications. The key takeaway however is, how much would have to happen to flip this (and gold‘s) chart bearish. I remain cautiously optimistic in the short run, and very optimistic as regards the medium- and long-term. Summary The stock market keeps holding gained ground, having defended yesterday‘s values largely. Given the signs of creeping deterioration, which is however not strong enough to break the bull‘s back, let alone jeopardize it, the short-term caution in the 3,900 vicinity is still warranted. The gold and silver bulls are consolidating gains, and the bullish case for precious metals remains strong. Crucially, it‘s not about the dollar here, but about the sectoral internals, decoupling from rising Treasury yields, and holding firm against corporate ones. The new upleg is knocking on the door, and patience will be richly rewarded. Thank you for having read today‘s free analysis, which is available in full at my homesite. There, you can subscribe to the free Monica‘s Insider Club, which features real-time trade calls and intraday updates for both Stock Trading Signals and Gold Trading Signals.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Will Tesla Charge Gold With Energy?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 11.02.2021 17:08
Tesla has supported the price of Bitcoin, but it can affect gold as well.The bull market in cryptocurrencies continues. As you can see in the chart below, the price of Bitcoin has recently increased to almost $47,000 (as of February 10). The parabolic rise seems to be disturbing, as such quick rallies often end abruptly.However, it’s worth noting that the price of Bitcoin has partially jumped because of the increased acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a legitimate form of currency by the established big companies. In particular, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has recently published a series of tweets that significantly affected the price of Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and other cryptocurrencies.Furthermore, Tesla updated its investment policy to include alternative assets as possible investments. In the last 10-k filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2021, Tesla stated:In January 2021, we updated our investment policy to provide us with more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on our cash that is not required to maintain adequate operating liquidity.Importantly, these assets also include gold :As part of the policy, which was duly approved by the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors, we may invest a portion of such cash in certain alternative reserve assets including digital assets, gold bullion, gold exchange-traded funds, and other assets as specified in the future.This means that Tesla wants to diminish its position in the U.S. dollar and to diversify its cash holdings. In other words, the company lost some of its confidence in the greenback and started to look for alternatives. So, it seems that Musk and other investors are afraid of expansion in public debt , higher inflation , and the dollar’s debasement .And rightly so! The continued fiscal stimulus will expand the fiscal deficit even further, ballooning the federal debt. With the budget resolution passed last week, only a simple majority will be needed in the Senate to get Biden’s $1.9 trillion package approved, a majority that Democrats have.Remember also that the U.S. economy added only 49,000 jobs in January , while 227,000 jobs were lost in December (revised down by 87,000!). The poor non-farm payrolls will strengthen the odds of a larger fiscal stimulus and easier fiscal and monetary policies.Hence, combined with the ultra-dovish monetary policy and a Fed more tolerant to inflation, the upcoming fiscal support could ultimately be a headwind for the dollar. Initially, the prospect of fiscal support caused positive reactions on the financial markets, but as the euphoria passes, investors start to examine the long-term consequences of easy money and the large expansion of government spending. Importantly, the larger the debt, the deeper the debt trap , and the longer the zero interest rates policy will stay with us, as the Fed won’t try to upset the Treasury.Implications for GoldWhat does Tesla’s move imply for the precious metals market? Well, we are not observing the kind of rally in gold that we are currently witnessing in the cryptocurrencies sphere (see the chart below). And – given the size of the gold market – it’s unlikely that Musk & Co. could ignite a mania similar to the one seen in Dogecoin. The gold market is simply too big. Even the silver market could be too large for similar speculative plays – as the failure of the recent attempt of a short squeeze has shown.However, the update of Tesla’s investment policy is a confirmation of gold as a safe-haven asset and portfolio diversifier . If other big companies follow suit, and we see an actual reallocation of funds from the U.S. dollar towards gold, the price of the yellow metal will get an invigorating electric impulse .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, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Gold During the Pandemic Winter

Gold During the Pandemic Winter

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 12.02.2021 14:36
The pandemic winter will take longer than we thought. The longer we struggle with the coronavirus, the brighter gold could shine.A long, long time ago, there was a bad virus, called the coronavirus , that killed many people all around the world and severely hit the global economy. Luckily, smart scientists developed vaccines that defeated the coronavirus and ended the pandemic . Since then, humankind lived happily – and healthy – ever after.Sounds beautiful, doesn’t it? This is the story we were all supposed to believe. The narrative was that the development of vaccines would end the pandemic and we would quickly return to normalcy. However, it turns out that this was all a fairy tale – the real struggle with the coronavirus is more challenging than we thought .First, the rollout of vaccinations has been very, very slow . As the chart below shows, on February 1, 2021, only about 1.77 percent of Americans became fully vaccinated against COVID-19.Of course, full protection requires two doses, so it takes some time. But in many countries, the share of the population which received at least one dose of the vaccine is also disappointingly low, as the chart below shows.It means that our progress towards herd immunity is really sluggish . At such a pace, we are losing the race between injections and infections. And we will not reach herd immunity until the second half of the year or even the next winter…Second, there is the problem of mutations . The new strains are rapidly popping up which poses a great risk in our fight with the coronavirus. One of these new variants was identified in the United Kingdom and quickly spread through the country. Although it’s not more lethal, it’s more infectious, which makes it more dangerous overall. And the more variants emerge, it’s more likely that we could see a mutation resistant to our current treatments and vaccines. Indeed, some of the mutations change the surface protein, spike, and have been shown to reduce the effectiveness of combating the coronavirus by monoclonal antibodies.The really bad part is that these two problems are strongly connected. The longer the vaccinations take, the more active cases we have. The more active cases we have, the more mutations happen, as each new infection implies more copies of the coronavirus, which gives it more chances to mutate. The more mutations occur, the higher the odds of a really nasty strain. Therefore, the longer the vaccination process takes, the more probable it is that it will not work and that vaccine-resistant variants might emerge.Given that in many countries vaccinations are practically the only rational strategy to fight the virus, the vaccine-resistant strain would be a serious blow. Surely, some vaccines could be relatively easily updated, but their rollout would still require time – time we don’t have.What does it all imply for the gold market? Well, the more sluggish the vaccinations, the higher the risk that something goes wrong and that our battle with COVID-19 will take more time. The longer the fight, the slower the economic recovery. The longer and bumpier road toward herd immunity, the slower lifting sanitary restrictions and social distancing measures, and the later we come back to normalcy. The longer we live in Zombieland, the easier fiscal and monetary policies will be, and the brighter gold will shine.Another issue is that we shouldn’t forget about the possibility of the pandemic’s long economic shadow. A recent paper has examined the effects of 19 major previous pandemics, finding a long shadow of the economic carnage. Although financial markets are still (wrongly, I believe) betting on a V-shaped recovery, the history suggests that a double dip is likely, as eight of the last 11 recessions experienced it. Recessions sound golden, don’t they?However, there is one caveat here. The sensitivity of economic activity to COVID-19 infections and restrictions has significantly diminished since the Great Lockdown in the spring of 2020. There are three reasons for that. First, people fear the coronavirus less. Second, epidemic restrictions are better targeted and implemented. Third, entrepreneurs adopted better to cope with the epidemic.The greater resilience of the economy means a smaller downturn and fewer long-term scars, which will limit any upward COVID-19 related impact on gold prices . But a softer economic impact also implies a quicker recovery, which – together with the upcoming big government stimulus – could increase consumer prices, thus supporting gold prices through the inflation channel. Indeed, commodity prices have been surging in 2021, so gold may follow suit.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
S&P 500 Correction Looming, Just as in Gold – Or Not?

S&P 500 Correction Looming, Just as in Gold – Or Not?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 12.02.2021 16:50
Stocks are clinging to the 3,900 level, and the bulls aren‘t yielding. Without much fanfare, both the sentiment readings and put/call ratio are at the greed and compacent end of the spectrum again. How long can it last, and what shape the upcoming correction would have? Right now, the warning signs are mounting, yet the bears shouldn‘t put all their eggs into the correction basket really, for it shapes to be a shallow one – one in time, rather than in price.Gold‘s hardship is another cup of tea, standing in stark comparison to how well silver and platinum are doing. At the same time, the dollar hasn‘t really moved to the upside – there is no dollar breakout. If the greenback were to break to the upside, that would mean a dollar bull market, which I don't view as a proposition fittingly describing the reality – I called the topping dollar earlier this week. The world reserve currency will remain on the defensive this year, and we saw not a retest, but a local top.This has powerful implications for the precious metals, where the only question is whether we get a weak corrective move to the downside still, or whether we can base in a narrow range, followed by another upleg (think spring). February isn't the strongest month for precious metals seasonally, true, but it isn't a disaster either. As has been the case throughout the week, I‘ll update and present the evidence of internal sectoral strength also today.One more note concerning the markets – in our print-and-spend-happy world, where the give or take $1.9T stimulus will sooner or later come in one way or another, we better prepare on repricing downside risk in the precious metals, and also better not to fixate on the premature bubble pop talk too closely. I have been stating repeatedly that things have to get really ridiculous first, and this just doesn‘t qualify yet in my view. All those serious correction calls have to wait – in tech and elsewhere, for we‘re going higher overall – like it or not.Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsThird day of hesitation, this time again with a thrust to the downside. Marginally increasing volume, which speaks of not too much conviction by either side yet. As the very short-term situation remains tense, my yesterday‘s words still apply today:(…) I think this corrective span has a bit further to run in time really. (…) the bears are just rocking the boat, that‘s all.The market breadth indicators are deteriorating, without stock prices actually following them down. Thus far, the correction is indeed shaping to be one in time and characterized by mostly sideways trading. Unless you look at the following chart.Volatility has died down recently, yet a brief spike (not reaching anywhere high, just beating the 24 level) wouldn‘t be unimaginable to visit us by the nearest Wednesday. In all likelihood, it would be accompanied by lower stock prices. Well worth watching.Credit Markets and TechThere is a growing discrepancy between high yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) and its investment grade counterpart (LQD ETF). Both leading credit market ratios have been diverging not only since the end of Jan, but practically throughout 2021. The theme of rising yields is exerting pressure on the higher end of the debt market as the stock investment fever goes on – that‘s my take.No, this is not a bubble – not a parabolic one. The tech sector is gradually assuming leadership in the S&P 500 advance, accompanied by microrotations as value goes into favor and falls out of it, relatively speaking. Higher highs are coming, earnings are doing great, and valuations aren‘t an issue still.Gold, Silver and RatiosUnder pressure right as we speak ($1,815), the yellow metal‘s technical outlook hasn‘t flipped bearish. Should we get to last Thursday‘s lows, it would happen on daily indicators ready to flash a bullish divergence once prices stabilize. But for all the intense bearish talk, we haven‘t broken below the late Nov lows.For those inclined so, I am raising the arbitrage trade possibility. Long silver, short gold would be consistent with my prior assessment of the gold-silver ratio going down. Similarly to bullish gold bets, that‘s a longer-term trade, which however wouldn‘t likely take much patience to unfold and stick.A bullish chart showing that gold isn‘t following the rising yields all that closely these days. Decoupling from the Treasury yields is a positive sign for the sector, and exactly what you would expect given the (commodity) inflation and twin deficits biting.Silver continues to trade in its bullish consolidation, and unlike in gold, its short-term bullish flag formation remains intact. The path of least resistance for the white metal remains higher.Gold juniors (black line) keep their relative strength vs. the senior gold miners, and the mining sector keeps sending bullish signals, especialy when silver miners enter the picture.SummaryThe stock market tremors aren‘t over, and the signs of deterioration keep creeping in. The bull run isn‘t however in jeopardy, and there are no signals thus far pointing to an onset of a deeper correction right now.The gold bulls find it harder to defend their gains, unlike the silver ones. That‘s the short-term objective situation, regardless of expansive monetary and fiscal policies, real economy recovery, returning inflation and declining U.S. dollar. The new upleg keeps knocking on the door, and patience will be richly rewarded.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

The profit maze of Silver - 13.02.2021

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 13.02.2021 15:55
We took for many months the stands of a Permabull in Silver and still do. Our primary call for acquiring physical Silver might find some hurdles. You might not get any. When we started in March of last year at the price of US$12 to urge for acquiring physical Silver holdings, we already experienced the vast percentage difference between the spot price and the actual acquisition price of Silver. This phenomenon persists to the present day. And what to do if one can’t purchase real Silver anymore?We look at the markets primarily from the perspective of risk. As long as you do not have too dramatic pullbacks (= a homogeneous equity curve), you can always recover from a temporary setback. After all, not every investment idea might work out.If Silver’s physical acquisition should come to a halt, we find mining stock ownership to be an excellent second choice.Here is why. Leveraged positions like ETFs, futures, and options allow special restrictions made by brokers and clearinghouses tied with their firms’ positions. Large players like this can also go belly up, especially in six sigma events. In that case, it is essential to find liquidity, the ability to transfer positions from one broker/clearinghouse to another, and mostly to liquidate positions. An option they may deny you through their regulative powers.Sil, Global Silver Miners ETF, Weekly Chart, ETFs might look good, but they aren’t:SIL Global X FDS Global X Silver Miners ETF in US Dollar, weekly chart as of February 4th, 2021.  Monthly Chart of Silver, Think long term and win:Silver in US Dollar, monthly chart as of February 4th, 2021.While Silver’s smaller time frames can be intimidating at times due to their volatility and recent limelight in the news, the larger monthly time frame clearly shows the health of the trend in motion and the long term opportunity.With this bigger picture in place, mining stocks will follow the uptrend.Daily Chart, Reyna Silver Corp in Canadian Dollar, The profit maze of Silver:Reyna Silver Corp in Canadian Dollar, daily chart as of February 4th, 2021.There is a vast array of choices to participate in mining stocks. You can employ various strategies like buying the market leaders or underdogs, for example. In this field, evaluation can change quickly based on depository discoveries, soil sample quality and many other factors. Another point of consideration is the accessibility of stock depending on the country you are trading from, which exchanges you can access.The above chart depicts the stock price of our sponsor Reyna Silver which we find undervalued and very attractive as a long-term investment. Stocks in this price range have the advantage that not too much of your money is parked long term. And still percentage returns can be substantial. (Disclaimer: Please note that Reyna Silver is the sponsor of our weekly silver chartbook).In this specific case, you can see that there is excellent support at CA$0.98 from a volume analysis perspective, right below where prices trade for a low-risk entry on a long-term time horizon.The profit maze of Silver:While we hold physical Silver in the highest regard to risk-averse wealth preservation (next to Gold and Bitcoin), additional investments in mining stocks are prudent. As a stockholder, you are a part-owner of a company with the acquired rights by law. From all the choices out there to participate in the Silver boom, mining stocks seem to be the ones with the smallest risk potential.With a goal of long term investing and wealth preservation, it is essential to look at investments from a risk perspective rather than leverage.Besides, many mining stocks pay dividends. That additional income flow can be reinvested, and one participates in the 8th miracle of the world: “Compound interest.” Automatisch generierte Beschreibung">Outstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
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Silver protection against exuberance

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 14.02.2021 10:46
Weekly Chart of Silver, The trend is your friend:Silver in US Dollar, weekly chart as of February 11th, 2021.First and foremost, remove yourself from the noise. There is no need to read every news item. Turn those notifications on your phone off to not let media frequently trigger fear and uncertainty emotions within. Make a longer-term plan that excludes short-term uncertainties and, as such, escapes temporary exuberance hype. Once your mind has settled down, approach the market with a simple but sound wealth preservation strategy first and wealth creation second. It is much harder to make back what you already earned once lost.Looking at the chart above, you find silver in an uptrend. Trend-following strategies are the most common and quite powerful.  Daily Chart of Silver, Silver protection against exuberance:Silver in US Dollar, daily chart as of February 11th, 2021.Next, we find physical silver holdings a lot more attractive than any other Silver investment derivatives. Yes, the physical Silver purchase’s actual price is much higher, as indicated in this chart versus the spot price. Since this phenomenon has persisted already for nearly a year and as such is a trend, it should only be interpreted that physical Silver is in higher demand than any holdings where your rewards are paid out in a fiat currency. After all, you want to have wealth preservation against fiat currencies since money printing is also in exuberance. So do not shy away from this factor in regard to the acquisition.Weekly Chart of Silver, Price projection:Silver in US Dollar, weekly chart as of February 11th, 2021.We find there to be a fair chance that Silver spot prices might advance to the mid fifty range within this year. We would not be surprised for this trend to have a total of five legs reaching just short below three-digit numbers within the upcoming years.Silver protection against exuberanceThere are other ways to protect yourself, like Gold, for example. As much as we find Silver to be very attractive here, the most we care about is illustrating that a proactive stand with a quiet mind is an opportunity right now. Finding yourself shell shocked in hopes the overwhelm might settle and circumstances return to a familiar previous point in time is a dangerous one. We see multiple confirmations in the market that point towards a different future to unfold. Acting on a longer time frame to buy “insurance” for possible hyperinflation and other monetary threats could be a wise decision to ensure your nest egg.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|February 12th, 2021|Tags: low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

S&P 500 Correction Delayed Again While Silver Runs

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 15.02.2021 14:15
The window of opportunity for the stock bears is slowly but surely closing down as Friday‘s gentle intraday peek higher turned into a buying spree before the closing bell. The sentiment readings and put/call ratio are at the greed, euphoric and compacent end of the spectrum again. I asked on Friday:(…) How long can it last, and what shape the upcoming correction would have? Right now, the warning signs are mounting, yet the bears shouldn‘t put all their eggs into the correction basket really, for it shapes to be a shallow one – one in time, rather than in price.Today, I‘ll say that waiting for a correction is like waiting for Godot. Trust me, I have come to experience quite some absurd and Kafkaesque drama not too long ago. What an understatement.One week ago, I called the dollar as making a local top, and look where we are in the process. Coupled with the steepening pace of rising long-dated Treasury yields, that‘s a great environment for financials (XLF ETF) as they benefit from the widening yield curve.Gold remains a drag on the precious metals performance, with silver and platinum flying. The miners‘ outlook and internal dynamics between various mining indices, provides a much needed proof to those short on patience. Little wonder, after 5+ months of downside correction whose target I called on Aug 07 in the article S&P 500 Bulls Meet Non-Farm Payrolls. Little wonder given the monstrous pace of new money creation beating quite a few prior interventions combined.Yet, the precious metals complex is coming back to life as the economic recovery goes on, and will get new stimulus fuel. Commodity prices are rising steeply across the board, yet inflation as measured by CPI, will have to wait for the job market to start feeling the heat, which it obviously doesn‘t in the current pace of job creation and low participation rate. Until labor gets more powerful in the price discovery mechanism (through market-based dynamics!), the raging inflationary fire will be under control, manifesting only in (financial) asset price inflation. That‘s precisely what you would expect when new money is no longer sitting on banks‘ balance sheets, but flowing into the economy. Again quoting my Friday‘s words:(…) One more note concerning the markets – in our print-and-spend-happy world, where the give or take $1.9T stimulus will sooner or later come in one way or another, we better prepare on repricing downside risk in the precious metals, and also better not to fixate on the premature bubble pop talk too closely. I have been stating repeatedly that things have to get really ridiculous first, and this just doesn‘t qualify yet in my view. All those serious correction calls have to wait – in tech and elsewhere, for we‘re going higher overall – like it or not.Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsThe weekly S&P 500 chart is still one of strength, without a top in sight. And the lower volume, I don‘t view as concerning at all.After a three day sideways consolidation, stock bulls forced a close higher on Friday. Low volume, but still higher prices. The bears missed an opportunity to act, having hesitated for quite a few days. Not that the (big picture) path of least resistance weren‘t higher before that, though.The market breadth indicators got a boost on Friday, but it‘s especially the new highs new lows that have a way to go. One would expect a bigger uptick given Friday‘s price advance, but the overall message is still one of cautious but well grounded optimism.Credit Markets, Treasuries and DollarThe high yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio performance is lining up nicely with the S&P 500 one, and definitely isn‘t flashing a warning sign for the days to come.Long-term Treasuries are declining at a faster pace than has been the case in late 2020, which is (not immediately right now, but give it time and it‘ll turn out to be) concerning. Thus far though, the money flows are positive for the stock (and other risk on) markets as the liquidity tide keeps hitting the tape.Who suffers? The dollar. No, it‘s not breaking higher (retracing breakout before a run higher – no) above the 50-day moving average or any way you draw a declining resistance line on higher time frames. The greenback is getting ready for another powerful downleg.Gold and SilverGold bulls have repelled another selling wave, which was however not the strongest one. The fact there was one in the first place even, is more (short-term) concerning for the gold bulls. But please remember that it was first gold that got it right in jumping higher on the unprecedented money printing spree as we entered spring 2020, followed by copper, base metals, agricultural commodities, and also oil now (remember my recent bullish calls for over $80 per barrel in less than 2 years). Gold keeps catching breath, frustrating the bulls who „know“ it can only go higher, but its spark isn‘t there at the moment. A perfect example is Monday‘s session thus far – spot gold 0.25% down, spot silver 1.25% up. It‘s been only on Friday when I touted the gold-silver spread trade idea as not having exhausted its potential yet, not by a long shot:(…) For those inclined so, I am raising the arbitrage trade possibility. Long silver, short gold would be consistent with my prior assessment of the gold-silver ratio going down. Similarly to bullish gold bets, that‘s a longer-term trade, which however wouldn‘t likely take much patience to unfold and stick.Silver keeps acting in a bullish way, tracking commodities ($CRB) performance much better than gold does at the moment. While both are a bullish play with the many factors arrayed behind their upcoming rise, it‘s silver that will reap the greatest rewards – today and in the days and weeks ahead. Gold and Silver MinersBack to the beaten down and underperforming gold. See that the yellow metal still isn‘t following the rising yields all that closely these days. Decoupling from the Treasury yields bodes well for precious metals universally, and it‘s precisely what you would expect given the (commodity) inflation, twin deficits biting, and the dollar balancing on the brink.The miners examination also proves no change in the underlying bullish dynamic that is largely playing out below the surface. We‘re seeing the continued outperformance of junior gold miners vs. the seniors, and also the great burst of life in the silver miners – these are outperforming ever more visibly the rest of the mining companies.This is a long awaited chart to flip bullish. Thus far, we have had one recent bullish divergence only (the GDX refusal to break to new lows when gold broke below its Jan lows) – once gold miners start leading the yellow metal, the sentiment in the precious metals community would get different compared to today really.SummaryThe deterioration in stock market got postponed with the latter half of Friday bringing in fresh buying pressure. Would the bears appear, at least to rock the boat a little? They had a good chance all the prior week, but didn‘t jump at the opportunity. Their window is closing, slowly but surely. The stock bull run is on, and there are no signals thus far pointing to an onset of a deeper correction soon.The gold bulls continue lagging behind their silver counterparts, predictably. That‘s the objective assessment regardless of unprecendented monetary and fiscal policies, unfolding real economy recovery, inflation cascading through the system, and the dollar struggling to keep its head above water. The new upleg keeps knocking on the door, and patience will be richly rewarded (unless you took me up on the gold-silver arbitrage trade, and are popping the champagne already).
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Still No S&P 500 Correction, Still No Real Change in the Metals

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 16.02.2021 16:11
Yesterday‘s thin volume session didn‘t bring any material changes as the window of opportunity for the stock bears to act, is slowly but surely closing down. Friday‘s intraday move brought increasingly higher prices, and Monday‘s trading extended gains even more. Euphoric, complacent greed as evidenced by the sentiment readings and put/call ratios, is on.I asked on Friday:(…) How long can it last, and what shape the upcoming correction would have? Right now, the warning signs are mounting, yet the bears shouldn‘t put all their eggs into the correction basket really, for it shapes to be a shallow one – one in time, rather than in price.Both on Monday and today, I‘ll say that waiting for a correction is like waiting for Godot. Right from the horse‘s mouth as my personal experience with quite some absurd and Kafkaesque drama got richer recently.The dollar keeps topping out, which I called it to do a week ago – and its losses have been mounting since. Long-dated Treasury yields are rising in tandem, which is a great environment for financials (XLF ETF) and emerging markets (EEM ETF). The former benefit from the widening yield curve, the latter from plain devaluation.Gold performance is still short-term disappointing, and silver and platinum are leading. But it‘s the miners and the moves between various mining indices, that work to soothe the bulls‘ impatience. Understandable as we are in 5+ months of downside correction whose target I called on Aug 07 in the article S&P 500 Bulls Meet Non-Farm Payrolls, witnessing record pace of new money creation.The ongoing economic recovery will get new stimulus support, and that will work to broaden the precious metals advance. Commodity prices are universally rising, and over time, inflation as measured by CPI, will do so too. But not until the current pace of job creation picks up and participation rate turns – we‘re far from that moment. Until then, inflation will be apparent only in (financial) asset prices, which is in line with new money no longer sitting on banks‘ balance sheets, but flowing into the real economy. Again quoting my Friday‘s words:(…) One more note concerning the markets – in our print-and-spend-happy world, where the give or take $1.9T stimulus will sooner or later come in one way or another, we better prepare on repricing downside risk in the precious metals, and also better not to fixate on the premature bubble pop talk too closely. I have been stating repeatedly that things have to get really ridiculous first, and this just doesn‘t qualify yet in my view. All those serious correction calls have to wait – in tech and elsewhere, for we‘re going higher overall – like it or not.Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsThe bulls had an opportunity to act for quite a few days in a row, yet missed it. Their inaction confirms that the path of least resistance for stocks is to still rise.The market breadth indicators have improved on Friday, but especially the new highs new lows has a way to go. It could have ticked upwards more given Friday‘s price advance, but didn‘t. The put/call ratio has moved upwards (see chart below), but the overall message is still one of cautious yet reasonable optimism – not enough to trigger the sizable correction quite some participants are constantly awaiting.Credit Markets, Treasuries and DollarThe high yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio performance isn‘t out of whack with the S&P 500, but the investment grade corporate bonds to longer dated Treasuries (LQD:IEI) are not confirming exactly. Before the corona crash, the high yield ones were leading the investment grade ones for countless quarters. From the Mar 2020 bottom, the investment grade ones were in the pool position. And since the end of Dec 2020, the high yield ones are leading again, but investment grade ones aren't going up anymore, but down the way long-term Treasuries do. One more sign of the euphoric stage in stocks we're in.Long-term Treasuries are the chart to watch for the market to throw a fit – or not. They‘re declining at a faster pace than has been the case in late 2020, which can bring about trouble - not immediately right away, but over time it can turn out so. The dynamic of money moving into the stock market is thus far still positive as the many risk on assets are gaining on the fast pace of new money creation. The worry about a sudden, sharp reversal is misplaced for now.The dollar is on the receiving end – there is no breakout verification before a run higher in progress – no. Neither above the 50-day moving average, nor any way you draw a declining resistance line on higher time frames. The greenback is about to test and break below its 2021 lows. Solidly below.Gold and SilverGold bulls stood their ground on Friday, yet their yesterday‘s and today‘s performance is rather weak. Not disastrously so, but still indicative of the headwinds gold bulls face. Gold‘s spark isn‘t there at the moment. Putting it into context, please remember that it was first gold that jumped in the unrivalled money printing era arrival in spring 2020, followed by copper, base metals, agricultural commodities, and also oil now (remember my recent bullish calls for over $80 per barrel in less than 2 years). Silver price action is the bullish one, in line with commodities ($CRB) performance being much stronger now. Silver is definitely better positioned to benefit from the upcoming precious metals rise – today and in the days and weeks ahead. Gold and Silver MinersThe heat gold is taking from rising Treasury yields, is also progressively weaker. The decoupling from rising nominal (real) yields bodes well for precious metals universally, and it‘s precisely what you would expect given the (commodity) inflation, twin deficits, and the dollar on the brink.Gold to all corporate bonds chart reflects the current dillydallying nicely. Gold isn‘t breaking down into a bearish downtrend. The miners examination also proves no change in the underlying bullish dynamic playing out below the surface. Junior gold miners are oputperforming. the seniors, and there is also the great burst of life in the silver miners – these are outperforming ever more visibly the rest of the crowd.Once this chart flips bullish, we have the new upleg clearly visible. Thus far, we have had one recent bullish divergence only (the GDX refusal to break to new lows when gold broke below its Jan lows) – once gold miners start leading the yellow metal, the sentiment in the precious metals community would get different compared to today really.SummaryThe deterioration in stocks got postponed as both Friday and Monday brought new buyers into the market. Would the bears appear, at least to rock the boat a little? I stand by my call that they had a good chance all the prior week, but didn‘t jump at the opportunity – their window is closing, slowly but surely. The stock bull run is on, and there are no signals thus far pointing to an onset of a deeper correction soon.The gold bulls continue lagging behind their silver counterparts, predictably, with both under pressure in Tuesday‘s premarket. Coupled with the miners‘ signals, and unprecendented monetary and fiscal stimulus, unfolding real economy recovery, inflation making its way through the system, and the dollar struggling to keep its head above water, the new PMs upleg is a question of time.
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Here’s What’s Eating Away at Gold

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 16.02.2021 16:53
Gold is dodging bullets, as it comes increasingly under fire from rising U.S. interest rates and a USD that is poised to surge.Catching unsuspecting traders in yet another bull trap , gold’s early-week strength quickly faded. And with investors unwilling to vouch for the yellow metal for more than a few days, the rush-to-exit mentality highlights a short-term vexation that’s unlikely to subside.Please see below:Figure 1Destined for devaluation after hitting its triangle-vertex-based reversal point (which I warned about previously ), the yellow metal is struggling to climb the ever-growing wall of worry.Mirroring what we saw at the beginning of the New Year, gold’s triangle-vertex-based reversal point remains a reliable indicator of trend exhaustion.And when you add the bearish cocktail of rising U.S. interest rates and a potential USD Index surge, $1,700 remains the initial downside target , with $1,500 to even ~$1,350 still possibilities under the right curcumstances.Please see below:Figure 2 - Gold Continuous Contract Overview and Slow Stochastic Oscillator Chart ComparisonTo explain the rationale, I wrote previously:Back in November, gold’s second decline (second half of the month) was a bit bigger than the initial (first half of the month) slide that was much sharper. The January performance is very similar so far, with the difference being that this month, the initial decline that we saw in the early part of the month was bigger.This means that if the shape of the price moves continues to be similar, the next short-term move lower could be bigger than what we saw so far in January and bigger than the decline that we saw in the second half of November. This is yet another factor that points to the proximity of $1,700 as the next downside target.In addition, as a steepening U.S. yield curve enters the equation, I wrote on Jan. 27 that the bottom, and subsequent move higher, in U.S. Treasury yields coincided with a USDX rally 80% of the time since 2003.Figure 3 - Source: Daniel LacalleAnd while the USDX continues to fight historical precedent, on Feb. 12, the U.S. 30-Year Treasury yield closed at its highest level in nearly a year. As such, the move should add wind to the USDX’s sails in the coming weeks.Please see below:Figure 4In conclusion, gold is under fire from all angles and dodging bullets has become a near impossible task. With the USD Index likely to bounce off its declining resistance line (now support), a bottom in the greenback could be imminent. Also ominous, a steepening U.S. yield curve signals that the yellow metals’ best days are likely in the rearview. However, as the situation evolves and gold eventually demonstrates continued strength versus the USD Index, its long-term uptrend will resume once again.Before moving on, I want to reiterate my previous comments and explain why $1,700 remains my initial target:One of the reasons is the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement based on the recent 2020 rally, and the other is the 1.618 extension of the initial decline. However, there are also more long-term-oriented indications that gold is about to move to $1,700 or lower.(…) gold recently failed to move above its previous long-term (2011) high. Since history tends to repeat itself, it’s only natural to expect gold to behave as it did during its previous attempt to break above its major long-term high.And the only similar case is from late 1978 when gold rallied above the previous 1974 high. Let’s take a look at the chart below for details (courtesy of chartsrus.com)Figure 5 - Gold rallying in 1978, past its 1974 highAs you can see above, in late 1978, gold declined severely right after it moved above the late-1974 high. This time, gold invalidated the breakout, which makes the subsequent decline more likely. And how far did gold decline back in 1978? It declined by about $50, which is about 20% of the starting price. If gold was to drop 20% from its 2020 high, it would slide from $2,089 to about $1,671 .Figure 6 - Relative Strength Index (RSI), GOLD, and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) ComparisonIf you analyze the red arrow in the lower part of the above chart (the weekly MACD sell signal), today’s pattern is similar not only to what we saw in 2011, but also to what we witnessed in 2008. Thus, if similar events unfold – with the S&P 500 falling and the USD Index rising (both seem likely for the following months, even if these moves don’t start right away) – the yellow metal could plunge to below $1,350 or so. The green dashed line shows what would happen gold price, if it was not decline as much as it did in 2008.However, as of right now, my initial target is $1,700, with $1,500 likely over the medium-term. But as mentioned, if the S&P 500 and the USD Index add ripples to the bearish current, $1,400 (or even ~$1,350) could occur amid the perfect storm. ~$1,500 still remains the most likely downside target for the final bottom, though.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
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Is That the S&P 500 And Gold Correction Finally?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 17.02.2021 16:21
The stock bears finally showed they aren‘t an extinct species – merely a seriously endangered one. Yesterday‘s close though gives them a chance to try again today, but they should be tame in expectations. While there is some chart deterioration, it‘s not nearly enough to help fuel a full on bearish onslaught in the S&P 500. There is no serious correction starting now, nothing to really take down stocks seriously for the time being.The Fed remains active, and monetary policy hasn‘t lost its charm (effect) just yet. Commodities and asset price inflation has been in high gear for quite some time, yet it‘s not a raging problem for the Main Street as evidenced by the CPI. Food price inflation, substitution and hedonistic adjustments in its calculation, are a different cup of tea, but CPI isn‘t biting yet.Meanwhile, the real economy recovery goes on (just check yesterday‘s Empire State Manufacturing figures for proof), even without the $1.9T stimulus and infrastructure plans. Once we see signs of strain in the job market (higher participation rate, hourly earnings and hours worked), then the real, palpable inflation story can unfold. But we‘re talking 2022, or even 2023 to get there – and the Fed will just let it overshoot to compensate for the current and prior era.Meanwhile, the wave of new money creation (we‘re almost at double the early 2020 Fed‘s balance sheet value - $4T give or take then vs. almost $7.5T now – and that‘s before the multiplier in commercial banks loan creation kicks in) keeps hitting the markets, going into the real economy, predictably lifting many boats. It‘s my view that we have to (and will) experience a stock market bubble accompanied by the precious metals and commodities one – to a degree, simultaneously, for the stock market is likely to get under pressure first. Again, I am talking the big picture here – not the coming weeks.Meanwhile, the intense talk of S&P 500 correction any-day-week-now is on, just as outrageous gold, silver and miners‘ drop projections. Let‘s examine the bear market is gold – some say that the late 2015 marked bottom, I‘m of the view that the 2016 steep rally was a first proof of turning tide. But the Fed got serious about tightening (raising rates, shrinking its balance sheet), and gold reached the final bottom in Aug 2018. Seeing through the hawks vs. dove fights at the Fed in the latter half of 2018 (December was a notable moment when Powell refused to the markets‘ bidding, remained hawkish in the face of heavy, indiscriminate selling across the board – before relenting).Since then, gold was slowly but surely gathering steam, and speculation in stocks was on. The repo crisis of autumn 2019 didn‘t have a dampening effect either – the Fed was solidly back to accomodative back then. These have all happened well before corona hit – and it wasn‘t able to push gold down really much. The recovery from the forced selling, this deflationary episode (which I had notably declared back in summer 2020 to be a one-off, not to be repeated event), was swift. Commodities have clearly joined, and the picture of various asset classes taking the baton as inflation is cascading through the system, is very clear.Quoting from my yesterday‘s analysis:(…) The dollar keeps topping out, which I called it to do a week ago – and its losses have been mounting since. Long-dated Treasury yields are rising in tandem, which is a great environment for financials (XLF ETF) and emerging markets (EEM ETF). The former benefit from the widening yield curve, the latter from plain devaluation.Gold performance is still short-term disappointing, and silver and platinum are leading. But it‘s the miners and the moves between various mining indices, that work to soothe the bulls‘ impatience. Understandable as we are in 5+ months of downside correction whose target I called on Aug 07 in the article S&P 500 Bulls Meet Non-Farm Payrolls, witnessing record pace of new money creation.The ongoing economic recovery will get new stimulus support, and that will work to broaden the precious metals advance. Again quoting my Friday‘s words:(…) in our print-and-spend-happy world, where the give or take $1.9T stimulus will sooner or later come in one way or another, we better prepare on repricing downside risk in the precious metals, and also better not to fixate on the premature bubble pop talk too closely. I have been stating repeatedly that things have to get really ridiculous first, and this just doesn‘t qualify yet in my view. All those serious correction calls have to wait – in tech and elsewhere, for we‘re going higher overall – like it or not.Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookFinally, there is a whiff of bearish activity. Will it last or turn out a one day event as thus far in Feb? The chances for a sideways correction to last at least a little longer, are still on, however the short- and medium-term outlook remains bullish.Credit Markets and TreasuriesHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) wavered yesterday, trading in a sideways pattern during recent days. Encouragingly, yesterday‘s session attracted increasing volume, which I read as willingness to buy the dip. One dip and done?Long-term Treasuries (TLT ETF) are the key chart on my radar screen right now. The rise in yields is accelerating, and if progressing unmitigated, would throw a spanner into many an asset‘s works. Even though it‘s not apparent right now, there is a chance that we‘ll see a slowdown, even a temporary stabilization, over the coming sessions. The larger trend in rates is higher though, and in the dollar to the downside.Gold, Silver and CommoditiesThe heat gold is taking from rising Treasury yields, has gotten weaker recently, with the decoupling from rising nominal (real) yields being a good omen for precious metals universally. The dynamics of commodity price inflation, dollar hardly balancing under the weight of unprecedented economic policy and twin deficits, attests to the gold upleg arriving sooner rather than later.Let‘s step back, and compare the performance of gold, silver, copper and oil. The weekly chart captures the key turns in monetary policy, the plunge into the corona deflationary bottom, and crucially the timing and pace of each asset‘s recovery. Gold and silver were the first to sensitively respond to activist policies, followed by copper, and finally oil. Is their current breather really such a surprise and reversal of fortunes? Absolutely not.SummaryThe bearish push in stocks has a good chance of finally materializing today. How strong will its internals be, will it entice the bulls to step in – or not yet? The stock bull run is firmly on, and there are no signals thus far pointing to an onset of a deeper correction with today‘s price action.The gold bulls continue lagging behind their silver counterparts, predictably, with both under continued pressure. The yields are rising a bit too fast, taking the metals along – temporarily, until they decouple to a greater degree. Combined with the miners‘ signals, and unprecendented monetary and fiscal stimulus, unfolding real economy recovery, inflation making its way through the system, and the dollar struggling to keep its head above water, the new PMs upleg is a question of time.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

S&P 500 Correction – No Need to Hold Onto Your Hat

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 18.02.2021 16:09
Yesterday‘s bearish price action in stocks was the kind of shallow, largely sideways correction I was looking for. Not too enthusiastic follow through – just rocking the boat while the S&P 500 bull run goes on. Stocks are likely to run quite higher before meeting a serious correction. As I argued in yesterday‘s detailed analysis of the Fed policies, their current stance won‘t bring stocks down. But it‘s taking down long-term Treasuries, exerting pressure on the dollar (top in the making called previous Monday), and fuelling commodities – albeit at very differnt pace. The divergencies I have described yesterday, center on weak gold performance – not gaining traction through the monetary inflation, instead trading way closer in sympathy with Treasury prices. Gold has frontrunned the other commodities through the corona deflationary shock, and appears waiting for more signs of inflation. It didn‘t make a final top in Aug 2020, and a new bear market didn‘t start. It‘s my opinion that thanks to the jittery Treasury markets, we‘re seeing these dislocations, and that once the Fed focuses on the long end of the curve in earnest, that would remove the albatross from gold‘s back.I can‘t understate how important the rising yields are to the economy (and to the largest borrower, the government). Since 1981, we‘ve been in one long bond bull market, and are now approaching the stage of it getting questioned before too long. The rates are rising without the real economy growing really strongly, far from its potential output, and characterized by a weak labor market. Not exactly signs of overheating, but we‘ll get there later this year still probably.It‘s like with generating inflation – the Fed policies for all their intent, can‘t command it into happening. The Treasury market is throwing a fit, knowing how much spending (debt monetization) is coming its way, and the Fed‘s focus is surely shifting to yields at the long end. Bringing it under control would work to dampen the rampant speculation in stocks, and also lift gold while not hurting commodities or real economy recovery much. Sounds like a reasonable move (yield curve control), and I believe they‘re considering it as strongly as I am talking about it.Let‘s quote yesterday‘s special report on gold, inflation, and commodities:(…) the wave of new money creation (we‘re almost at double the early 2020 Fed‘s balance sheet value - $4T give or take then vs. almost $7.5T now – and that‘s before the multiplier in commercial banks loan creation kicks in) keeps hitting the markets, going into the real economy, predictably lifting many boats. It‘s my view that we have to (and will) experience a stock market bubble accompanied by the precious metals and commodities one – to a degree, simultaneously, for the stock market is likely to get under pressure first. Again, I am talking the big picture here – not the coming weeks.Let‘s examine the bear market is gold – some say that the late 2015 marked bottom, I‘m of the view that the 2016 steep rally was a first proof of turning tide. But the Fed got serious about tightening (raising rates, shrinking its balance sheet), and gold reached the final bottom in Aug 2018. Seeing through the hawks vs. dove fights at the Fed in the latter half of 2018 (December was a notable moment when Powell refused to the markets‘ bidding, remained hawkish in the face of heavy, indiscriminate selling across the board – before relenting).Since then, gold was slowly but surely gathering steam, and speculation in stocks was on. The repo crisis of autumn 2019 didn‘t have a dampening effect either – the Fed was solidly back to accomodative back then. These have all happened well before corona hit – and it wasn‘t able to push gold down really much. The recovery from the forced selling, this deflationary episode (which I had notably declared back in summer 2020 to be a one-off, not to be repeated event), was swift. Commodities have clearly joined, and the picture of various asset classes taking the baton as inflation is cascading through the system, is very clear.Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsFinally, a daily downswing – not meaningful, but it‘s as good as it gets. The slightly lower volume though shows that there is not a raging conviction yet that this sideways move is over.The market breadth indicators aren‘t at their strongest. Both the advance-decline line and advance-decline volume dipped negative, which isn‘t worrying unless you look at new highs new lows as well. While still positive, $NYHL is showing a divergence by moving below the mid-Feb lows. Seeing its decline to carve a rounded bottom a la end Jan would be a welcome sight to the stock bulls. Before then, nothing stands in the way of muddling through in a shallow, corrective fashion.Credit Markets and TreasuriesThe divergence in both leading credit market ratios – high yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) and investment grade corporate bonds to longer-dated Treasuries (LQD:IEI) – show the bond market strains. HYG:SHY clearly supports the S&P 500 rally, while LQD:IEI isn‘t declining in tandem with long-term Treasuries. Instead, it‘s carving out a bullish divergence as it‘s trading well above the Sep and Oct lows – unlike the TLT.Speaking of which, such were my words yesterday, calling for a Treasury reprieve to happen soon:(…) Long-term Treasuries (TLT ETF) are the key chart on my radar screen right now. The rise in yields is accelerating, and if progressing unmitigated, would throw a spanner into many an asset‘s works. Even though it‘s not apparent right now, there is a chance that we‘ll see a slowdown, even a temporary stabilization, over the coming sessions. The larger trend in rates is higher though, and in the dollar to the downside.The dollar is still topping out, and a new daily upswing doesn‘t change that – I look for it to be reversed, and for the new downleg reasserting itself.Gold, Silver and CommoditiesThe encouraging, budding short-term resilience of gold to rising Treasury yields, got a harsh reality check yesterday. While the latter ticked higher, gold declined regardless. Closing at the late Nov lows, it‘s still relatively higher given the steep rise in long-term Treasury yields since. A bullish divergence, but a more clear sign of (directional) decoupling (negating this week‘s poor performance) is needed.Let‘s look again at gold, silver, and commodities in the medium run. Silver decoupled from gold since the late Nov bottom in both, while commodities haven‘t really looked back since early Nov. Till the end of 2020, gold wasn‘t as markedly weak as it has become since, and actually tracked the silver recovery from the late Nov bottom. And the reason it stopped, are the long-term Treasury yields, which quickened their rise in 2021. It looks like an orderly decline in TLT is what gold would appreciate – not a rush to the Treasury exit door.SummaryThe bearish push in stocks has a good chance of finally materializing also today. How strong will its internals be, will it entice the bulls to step in again? Signs are for this correction to run a bit longer in time – but the stock bull run is firmly on, and there are no signals thus far pointing to an onset of a deeper correction right away.The gold bulls recovered a little of the lost ground, but that doesn‘t flip the short-term picture their way in the least. While the yellow metal is leading silver today, its overall performance in the short run remains disappointing, and the silver-gold spread trade I introduced you to a week ago, a much stronger proposition. Still, given the miners‘ signals, unprecendented monetary and fiscal stimulus, unfolding real economy recovery, inflation making its way through the system, and the dollar struggling to keep its head above water, the new PMs upleg is a question of time.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Gold’s Downtrend: Is This Just the Beginning?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 18.02.2021 16:43
With the yellow metal just posting its lowest close since June and a bearish pattern forming, how vulnerable is gold to a further decline?Gold and mining stocks just broke to new yearly lows – as I warned you in my previous analyses. And that’s only the beginning.Let’s jump right into the charts, starting with gold.Figure 1 - COMEX Gold FuturesIn early February, gold broke below the rising red support line and it then verified it by rallying back to it and then declining once again. It topped almost exactly right at its triangle-vertex-based reversal, which was yet another time when this technique proved to be very useful.Gold has just closed not only at new yearly lows, but also below the late-November lows (in terms of the closing prices, there was no breakdown in intraday terms). This means that yesterday’s (Feb. 17) closing price was the lowest daily close since late June 2020. At the moment of writing these words, gold is also trading below the April 2020 intraday high.Gold was likely to slide based on myriads of technical and cyclical factors, while the fundamental factors remain very positive – especially considering that we are about to enter the Kondratiev winter, or we are already there. As a reminder, Kondratiev cycles are one of the longest cycles and the stages of the cycle take names after seasons. “Winter” tends to start with a stock market top that is caused by excessive credit. In this stage gold is likely to perform exceptionally well… But not right at its start. Even the aftermath of the 1929 top (“Winter” started then as well), gold stocks declined for about 3 months before soaring. In the first part of the cycle, cash is likely to be king. And it seems that the performance of the USD Index is already telling investors to buckle up.And speaking of stocks, what about mining stocks? As you might already well know, just as with gold, the miners moved below the November lows in terms of both the intraday prices and daily closing prices. What does that mean? If you’d like to explore mining stocks in detail and are curious to know more about their prices and possible exit levels, then our full version of the analyses contains exactly what you need to know.Getting back to gold…Figure 2If the fact that gold invalidated its breakout above its 2011 high, despite the ridiculously positive fundamental situation, doesn’t convince you that gold does not really “want” to move higher before declining profoundly first, then the above chart might.As I wrote above, gold is currently more or less when it was trading at the April 2020 top. Where was the USD Index trading back then? It was moving back and forth around the 100 level.100!The USD Index closed a little below 91, and gold is at the same price level! That’s a massive 9 index-point decline in the USDX that gold shrugged off just like that.There’s no way that gold could “ignore” this kind of movement and be “strong” at the same time. No. It’s been very weak in the previous months, which is a strong sign (not a fundamental one, but a critical one nonetheless) that gold is going to move much lower once the USD Index finally rallies back up.Right now, waiting for gold to rally is like waiting for the light to turn green, arguing that eventually it has to turn green, while not realizing that the light is broken (gold just didn’t rally despite the huge decline in the USDX). Yes, someone will fix it and eventually it will turn green, but it doesn’t mean that it makes much sense to wait for that to happen, instead of looking around and crossing the street if it’s safe to do so.Yes, gold is likely to rally to new highs in the coming years. And silver is likely to skyrocket. But in light of just two of the above-mentioned factors (gold’s extreme underperformance relative to the USD Index and the invalidation of a critical breakdown) doesn’t it make sense not to purchase gold right now (except for the insurance capital that is) in order to buy it after several weeks / few months when it’s likely to be trading at much lower levels?We live in very specific times. Getting a “like” on a post or picture becomes a necessary daily activity and means of self-validation. Not “liking” something that others posted or that is massively “liked” may be frowned upon or even viewed as being disrespectful. Plus, it seems that no matter what you do, everyone gets offended very easily. When did honesty, independence and common-sense stop being virtues?When it comes to gold investment analysis, it’s surprisingly similar. You either like gold and think that it’s going higher right away or you’re “one of them”. “Them” can be anyone who tries to manipulate gold or silver prices, “banksters”, or some kind of unknown enemy. “ Analysts' ” goal is often no longer to be as objective as possible and to provide as good and as unbiased an analysis as possible, but to simply be cheering for gold and provide as many bullish signals as possible regardless of what one really thinks about them. The above may seem pleasant to readers, but it’s not really in their best interest. In order to make the most of any upswing, it’s best to enter the market as low as possible and to exit relatively close to the top. What happens before a price is as low as possible? It declines. Why would something like that (along with those describing it) be hated by gold investors? It makes no sense, but yet, it’s often the case.Top of FormBottom of FormThe discussion – above and below – can be viewed as something positive or negative for any investor, but while reading it, please keep in mind that our goal is the same as yours – we want to help investors make the most of their precious metals investments. Call us old-fashioned, but regardless of how unpleasant it may seem, we’ll continue to adhere to honesty, independence and common-sense in all our analysesOk, but why on Earth would the USD Index rally back up? The Fed is printing so much dollars – why would they be worth more?!Because the currencies are valued with relation to each other and whether or not the USD Index moves higher or lower doesn’t depend only on what the Fed is doing.Figure 3What other monetary authorities do matters as well and right now the ECB is outprinting the Fed (that’s what the decline in the green line above means), which means that the euro is likely to fall more than the U.S. dollar. Therefore, the EUR/USD currency exchange rate would be likely to decline and since this exchange rate is the biggest (over 50%) component of the USD Index, it makes perfect sense – from the fundamental point of view – to expect the USD Index to move higher.Can gold rally despite higher USD Index values? Absolutely. However, it would first have to start to behave “normally” relative to the USD Index, and before that happens it would have to stop being extremely weak relative to it. And the fact that gold is at the same price level despite a 9-index-point decline in the USDX is extreme weakness.To make the technical discussion easier, I’m attaching the previous chart once again.Figure 4On Monday (Feb. 15), I wrote the following about the above chart:The size and shape of the 2017-2018 analogue continues to mirror the current price action . However, today, it’s taken 118 less days for the USD Index to move from peak to trough.Also, it took 82 days for the USDX to bottom in 2017-2018 (the number of days between the initial bottom and the final bottom) and the number amounts to 21.19% of the overall duration. If we apply a similar timeframe to today’s move, it implies that a final bottom may have formed on Feb. 12. As a result, the USDX’s long-term upswing could begin as soon as this week.Also noteworthy, as the USDX approached its final bottom in 2017-2018, gold traded sideways. Today, however, gold is already in a downtrend. From a medium-term perspective, the yellow metal’s behavior is actually more bearish than it was in 2017-2018.Also supporting the historical analogue, the USD Index’s current breakout above its 50-day moving average is exactly what added gasoline to the USDX’s 2018 fire. Case in point? After the 2018 breakout, the USDX surged back to its previous high. Today, that level is roughly 94.5.Based on this week’s rally it seems that the final bottom formed on Tuesday (Feb. 16) – just 2 trading days away from the analogy-based target, and in perfect tune with what I wrote back then. The breakout above both: the declining blue line, and the 50-day moving average was verified, and the short-term outlook here is clearly bullish.But isn’t the current situation similar to what happened in mid-2020? The correction that was followed by another decline?In a way, it is. In both cases, the USD Index moved higher after a big decline, but that’s about it as far as important similarities are concerned.What is different is the entire context. Even a single look at the above chart provides an instant answer. The mid-2020 correction was like the mid-2017 correction, and what we see right now is the post-bottom breakout, just as we saw in the first half of 2018.There are multiple details on the above chart that confirm it, including the sizes of the medium-term declines, the position of the price relative to the declining support/resistance lines, as well as relative to the 50-day moving average, and even the green arrows in the RSI indicator show how similar the preceding action was in case of this indicator. The vertical dashed line shows “where we are right now” in case of the analogy.Also, the fact that the general stock market has not yet declined in any substantial way only makes the short-term outlook worse (particularly for silver and miners). When stocks do slide, they would be likely to impact the prices of miners and silver particularly strongly.And please remember, we’re looking for the bottom in the precious metals sector not because we’re the enemy of gold or the precious metals investor . On the contrary, we’re that true friend that tells you if something’s not right, even if it may be unpleasant to hear. We want to buy more and at better prices close to the bottom, and we’ll continue to strive to assist you with that as well.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Large Silver cycles

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 19.02.2021 11:13
It´not a secret anymore that Silver is in a boom.The investor is digesting pandemic news for nearly a year now. And the newly termed phrase at the World Economic Forum: “In 2030, you will own nothing and be happy” makes one think twice.The chartist finds himself for almost a year in a bullish trend in Silver. This after Silver trading in a range for seven years. He/She sees Gold on the top of the list of ‘Top assets by market cap’ with Silver ranking 6th and Bitcoin ranking 9th.The market participant focused on fundamentals and market cycles is wondering how long the dollar will hold up as a fiat currency. Typically (over the last 600 years), a fiat currency hyperinflates after 93 years.Nevertheless, the question of “How much” is one to be answered, and it could be much larger time cycles that provide guidance there.The world viewed from a different angle might give clues:Toddlers have anxiety symptoms which can manifest in not eating properly, quickly getting angry or irritable, and being out of control during outbursts as well as constantly worrying or having negative thoughts and feeling tense and fidgety.Social Media addiction among  teens and young adults has exploded leading to an inability to stop or curb this addictive behavior despite suffering losses in friendship, decreased physical social engagement, and a negative impact at school.Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975. In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 650 million were obese.The elderly are unwanted in a production-oriented society that measures human value by productivity rate.Yet, pet clothing stores and fresh pet food sections in grocery chain stores are becoming the norm.Any endeavors, including the arts, are measured against the benchmark of profitability. Resulting in the worship of money over beauty, ethics, and principles.The list goes on and could point as far back as to decadent times before the fall of Rome.Daily Chart of Silver, Range Trading:Silver in US Dollar, dailly chart as of February 18th, 2021.One part that has changed over time is the integrity of the markets. Free markets and their principle benefits are endangered. And then typically lies have short legs, and truth prevails.While Silver prices are still held in a range by artificial shorts, the cost of physical Silver much more accurately describes its value increase.  Weekly Chart of Silver, One deep breath and go:Silver in US Dollar, weekly chart as of February 18th, 2021.Once desperate bears have to give way to Silver’s real value and demand, we most likely see price-advances much more significant than generally assumed.S&P 500 Index in US Dollar, Monthly Chart, Large Silver cycles:S&P 500 Index in US Dollar, monthly chart as of February 18th, 2021.A view at the S&P500 chart above from a professional chartist’s perspective would qualify the hypothetical crash scenario, not as an abnormality but rather a typical scenario after advances this extended in time.In Rome, the leading coin used was The Denarius. With a 90% silver content (4.5 grams per coin), it was equal to a day’s work wages. Rome’s prosperity came from barter, and a finite amount of Silver came into the empire. Within 75 years, the Silver content per coin was diluted down to only 5%. Various emperors did this to finance wars and extravaganza. It was mainly hyperinflation that broke the empire. Sounds familiar?Large Silver cyclesOur intent is not to judge the world and the state it finds itself in, but markets reflect in cycles, and any view larger than one’s lifetime is hard to gauge. We might be in the midst of a market phase where next time around, we get a severe market correction; it might get ugly in a hurry. The result might be more dramatic than the corrections we have seen in the last 20 years. In this case, a look as far back as the Romans could be useful to determine how aggressively we hedge our bets, how much we buy into physical Silver. It looks like a few extra ounces couldn’t hurt.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|February 19th, 2021|Tags: low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Will Biden Overheat the Economy and Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 19.02.2021 13:14
Under the Biden administration the economy could overheat, thereby increasing inflation and the price of gold.In January, Biden unveiled his plan for stimulating the economy, which is struggling as the epidemic in the U.S. continues to unfold. Pundits welcomed the bold proposal of spending almost $2 trillion. Some expenditures, especially on vaccines and healthcare, sound pretty reasonable. However, $1.9 trillion is a lot of money! And a lot of federal debt , as the stimulus would be debt-funded!So, there is a risk that Biden’s package would overheat the economy and increase inflation . Surprisingly, even some mainstream economists who support the deficit spending, notice this possibility. For instance, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, said that Biden’s stimulus could lead the economy to overheat, and that the conventional wisdom is underestimating the risks of hitting capacity. Although he doesn’t oppose the idea of another stimulus, Summers noted that “if we get Covid behind us, we will have an economy that is on fire”.Indeed, this is a real possibility for good reasons. First, the proposed package would not only be large in absolute terms (the nominal amount), but also relative to the GDP . According to The Economist , Biden’s proposal is worth about nine percent of pre-crisis GDP, nearly twice the size of Obama’s aid package in the aftermath of the Great Recession .And the stimulus is also large relative to the likely shortfall in the aggregate demand. I’m referring here to the fact that the winter wave of the coronavirus would be less harmful for the economy – and that there have already been big economic stimuli added last year, including a $900 billion package passed no earlier than in December.Oh yes, politicians were really spendthrift in 2020, and – without counting the aid passed in December – they injected into the economy almost $3 trillion, or about 14 percent of pre-crisis GDP, much more than the decline in the aggregate demand. In other words, the policymakers added to the economy more money that was destroyed by the pandemic .But the tricky part is that Americans simply piled up most of this cash in bank accounts, or they used it for trading, for instance. Given the social-distancing measures and limited possibilities to spend money, this outcome shouldn’t actually be surprising. However, the hoarding of stimulus shows that it has not yet started to affect the economy – but that can change when the economy fully reopens and people unleash the hoarded money. If all this cash finally reaches the markets, prices should go up.You see, the current economic downturn is unusual. It doesn’t result from the fact that Americans don’t have enough income and cannot finance their expenditures. The problem is rather that people cannot spend it even if they wanted to. Indeed, economic disruption and subdued consumer spending are concentrated in certain sectors that are most sensitive to social distancing – such as the leisure, transport and hospitality industries – rather than spread widely throughout the whole economy. So, when people will finally be able to spend, they will probably do so, possibly accelerating inflation .As well, normally the Fed would tighten its monetary policy to prevent the rise in prices. But now the U.S. central bank wants to overshoot its inflation target, so it would not hike interest rates only because inflation raises to two percent or even moderately above it.Another potential inflationary driver is dollar depreciation, which seems likely, given the zero-interest rates policy and the expansion in the U.S. twin deficit .Hence, without the central bank neutralizing the fiscal exuberance, it’s possible that Biden’s plan would overheat the economy, at least temporarily. Of course, that’s not certain and given the small Democrats’ majority in Congress, the final stimulus could be lower than the proposed $1.9 trillion. But it would remain large and on top of previous aid packages and pent-up demand, which makes the overheating scenario quite likely.Actually, investors have already started to expect higher inflation in the future – as the chart below shows, the inflationary expectations have already surpassed pre-pandemic levels.From the fundamental perspective, this is good news for the gold market. After all, gold is bought by some investors as an inflation hedge . Moreover, the acceleration of inflation would lower real interest rates , keeping them deeply in negative territory, which would also be positive for the yellow metal.So, although the expectations of higher fiscal stimulus plunged gold prices in January, more government spending – and expansion in budget deficits and public debt – could ultimately turn out to be supportive factors for gold. Especially if easy fiscal policy will be accompanied by the accommodative monetary policy – in particular quantitative easing and a rising Fed’s balance sheet – and inflation.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

Why the Sky Is Not Falling in Precious Metals

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 19.02.2021 16:03
Stocks are predictably staging a continued recovery from the mostly sideways correction – a shallow one not strong enough to break the bulls‘ back. Credit markets are largely behaving – with the exception of long-term Treasuries, which I see as highly likely to draw the Fed‘s attention – just as I discussed in detail yesterday. The S&P 500 keeps doing fine, and so does my open position there – in the black again. On one hand, volatility remains low regardless of intraday attempts to rise, on the other hand, the put/call ratio has risen quite high yesterday – it‘s as if the traders are expecting a shoe to drop, similarly to the end of Jan. Will it, is there any on the horizon?Treasuries at the long-end are falling like a stone, and those on the short end (3-months) are seeing higher prices in 2021. The bond market is clearly under pressure, and exerting influence primarily upon precious metals (and commodities such as oil, which are experiencing a down day today, after quite a string of foreseeable gains). The bearish sentiment in gold and miners is running rampant, and it‘s been only yesterday when I answered a question on ominous head and shoulders patterns in the making, at my own site. This clearly illustrates the razor edge we‘re at in precious metals:(…) This is more often than not the case with H&S patterns – they are not the most reliable ones, highly judgemental at times, and their targets are more often than not far away, which makes them a not fully reliable trading proposition when a long enough time (trade) series is taken. I rather look at what is driving individual moves – which asset classes influence it the most at a given time? Where to look for so as to get most precise information? With gold and gold miners (they still trade quite tightly together), it's the Treasury yields on the long end.As I wrote in today's (Feb 18) precious metals report, despite the new 2021 lows in TLT, gold isn't amplifying the pressure – it's trading well above the $1,770 level, and enjoys a stronger session today than silver. Look at the gold – TLT evolving relationship, as that's the key determinant right now. The post-Nov dynamic speaks in gold's favor – under the surface. Don't underestimate the Fed either.Plenty to talk and cover in the precious metals really – just as usual at such crossroads. Let‘s briefly recap all the ducks lining up in stocks first.Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and VolatilityRepeated lower knots mark a refusal to decline as the daily dips keep being bought. Given the constructive developments in high yield corporate bonds and its key ratio (HYG and HYG:SHY), I fully expect the uptrend to keep reasserting itself once again. The talk about a top, imminent correction or stretched valuations, is still premature.The best known volatility measure is still refusing to rise on a lasting basis, indicating that the environment remains favorable to higher stock prices.Dollar and TreasuriesThe world reserve currency is on the doorstep of another powerful decline, and not initiating a bull market run. The caption says it all – this is the time for antidollar plays to thrive in our era of ample credit, unprecedented money creation that‘s triggering a Roaring Twenties style of speculative environment, not a Kondratieff winter with a deflationary shock as you might hear some argue.Look around, check food, energy, or housing prices, and you‘ll see how connected to reality are the calls of those writing that inflation isn‘t a problem (monetary inflation lifting many asset classes). Check that against Fed President Daly stating that the inflationary pressures now point downwards… and make your own conclusions about the new money wave hitting the real economy.Gold, Silver and MinersJust as gold is challenging (resting on) the late Nov lows, so is the miners to gold ratio. That‘s a key one – I mentioned at the very end of Jan that I would like to see it start to lead higher. Seeing the latest two-day losing streak, it‘s not happening, and the late Jan breakdown which might have turned out to be false, may not materialize in the short run. Let‘s get a proper perspective by displaying this chart in weekly format.Is this the dreadful breakdown threating doom and gloom in the precious metals? Zooming out definitely provides a very different take – a more objective one than letting (fear) emotions run high and tickitis to take over.We‘re still consolidating, and not making lower lows – regardless of this week‘s increased gold sensitivity to rising yields as seen in the plunging TLT values. Inflation is making its way through the system as surely as Titanic‘s watertight compartments were filled with water. I‘ve discussed on Wednesday at length inflation, past Fed action and asset appreciation, and yesterday explained why the central bank will be tied into a war on two fronts as it gets to seek control over the yield curve at the long end too.Another short-term worrying chart as silver miners are caught in last days‘ selling whirlwind. Even the juniors lost their short-term edge over the seniors, making me think that a potential washout event before a more universal sectoral rebound, might be at hand.Pretty worrying for those who are all in gold – unless they took me up on last Friday‘s repeated idea that silver is going to outperform gold in the next precious metals upleg, which I formulated that day into a spread (arbitrage) trade long silver, short gold. Check out the following chart how that would have worked out for you.The dynamics favoring silver are unquestionable – starting from varied and growing industrial applications, strengthening manufacturing and economy recovery, poor outlook in silver above ground stockpile and recycling, to the white metal being also a monetary metal. Silver is bound to score better gains than gold, marred by the Bitcoin allure, would. SummaryThe bearish push in stocks didn‘t indeed take the sellers far – just as I wrote yesterday, there was no reason to hold on to your hat. The stock bull run is firmly entrenched, and there are no signals thus far pointing to an onset of a deeper correction right away as all we‘re going through, is a shallow correction (in time especially).Bearish dollar, $1.9T or similar stimulus not priced in, and yet gold isn‘t taking a dive. Amid very positive fundamentals, it‘s the technicals that are short-term challenging for gold – we‘re in truly unchartered territory given the economic policies pursued. I stand by my call to watch the TLT chart very closely – it looks like an orderly TLT decline is what gold needs, not a selling stampede. Despite the current disclocation with gold being the weakest of the weak (I am looking at commodities for cues), I still stand by the call that a new PMs upleg is only a question of time – a shortening one, at that.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Kiss of Life for Gold

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 22.02.2021 16:24
The narrow trading range in stocks continues, and the shallow sideways correction will eventually resolve itself with another upleg. The signs are countless, and the riskier part of the credit market spectrum agrees. As money flows from the Tresury markets, and sizable cash balances are sitting on many a balance sheet, there is plenty of fuel to power the S&P 500 advance.With volatility in the tame low 20s and the put/call ratio again moving down, the bears‘ prospects are bleak. As I wrote last week, their time is running out, and a new stock market upleg approaches. It‘s the bond market that‘s under pressure, with both investment grade corporate bonds and long-dated Treasuries suffering in the accelerated decline.Gold is the most affected, as the sensitivity of its reaction to the rising long-tern yields, has picked up very noticeably. How long before these draw both the Fed‘s attention and action – what will we learn from Powell‘s testimony on Tue and Wed? And when will the much awaited stimulus finally arrive, and force repricing beyond the metals markets?Before that, gold remains on razor‘s edge, while silver leads and platinum flies for all the green hydrogen promise. The dollar has given back on Thu and Fri what it gained two days before, and remains in its bear market. Not even rising yields were able to generate much demand for the world reserve currency. Its lower prices stand to help gold thanks to the historically prevailing negative correlation, counterbalancing the Treasury yields pressure.Plenty of action that‘s bound to decide the coming weeks‘ shape in the precious metals. And not only there as oil experienced 2 days of lossess in a row – practically unheard of in 2021 so far. On Saturday, I‘ve added a new section to my site, Latest Highlight, for easier orientation in the milestone calls and timeless pieces beyond the S&P 500 and gold. Enjoy!Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe weekly indicators suggest that a reversal is still not likely. There is no conviction behind the weekly decline, and signs are still pointing to a sideways consolidation underway.The daily chart reflects the relatively uneventful trading – we‘re in a phase of bullish base building before powering off to new highs. See how little the daily indicators have retreated from their extended readings, and the barely noticeable price decline associated.S&P 500 InternalsAll the three market breadth indicators show improved readings, and my eyes are on new highs new lows throwing their weight behind the prior two indicators‘ advance. The overall impression is one of balance.The value to growth (VTV:QQQ) ratio shows that tech (XLK ETF) has fallen a bit out out of step recently – we‘re undergoing another microrotation into value stocks. The stock market leadership is thus broadening, confirming the findings from the advance-decline line (and advance-decline volume) examination.Credit MarketsOne chart to illustrate the bond market pressures – high yield corporate bonds are holding gained ground while investment grade corporate bonds and long-dated Treasuries are plunging like there is no tomorrow. With each of their rebound attempt sold, the dislocations are increasing – a great testament to the euphoric stage of the stock market advance. Gold and TreasuriesGold price action isn‘t as bearish as it might seem based on last week‘s moves. Yes, the readiness to decline in sympathy with rising yields, is diconcerting, but the yellow metal stopped practically at the late Nov lows, and refused to decline further. Low prices attracted buying interest, and due to the overwhelmingly negative sentiment for the week ahead, the yellow metal may surprise on the upside. Time for the bulls to prove themselves as the tone of coming weeks‘ trading in gold is in the balance.The daily chart‘s correlation coefficient has moved into strongly positive territory in 2021, illustrating the headwinds gold faces. Despite the prevailing wisdom, such strongly positive correlation isn‘t the rule over extended periods of time. That‘s the message of the daily chart – but let‘s step back and see the bigger picture similarly to the way I did on Friday witht the $HUI:$GOLD ratio.Not an encouraging sight at the moment. The tightness of mutual relationship is there, and given the decreased focus on timing (one candle representing one week) coupled with the correlation coefficient being calculated again over a 20 period sample, the week just over shows that regardless of the post-Nov resilience, gold is clearly getting under more pressure.Gold and DollarLet‘s do the same what I did about long-term Treasuries and gold, also about the dollar and gold. Their historically negative correlation is receding at the moment as the two face their own challenges. The key question is when and from what level would the fiat currency and its nemesis return to trading in the opposite directions. Such a time is highly likely to be conducive to higher gold prices.On the weekly chart, the negative correlation periods are winning out in length and frequency. Certainly given the less sensitive timining component through weekly candlesticks and 20-period calculation, the current strength and level of positive correlation is rather an exception and not a rule. Combining this chart‘s positive correlation between the two with the daily chart‘s negative yet rising readings, highlights in my view a potential for seeing an upset in the momentary relationship.In other words, the gold decline over the past now almost 7 months going hand in hand with mostly sliding dollar, would turn into higher gold prices accompanied by lower dollar values. How much higher gold prices, that depends on the long-term Treasuries market – that‘s the one playing the decisive role, not the dollar at the moment.Gold, Silver and MinersSilver is doing fine, platinum very well, while gold struggles and needs to prove itself. That‘s the essence of the long silver short gold trade idea – the silver to gold ratio attests to that.Quoting from Friday‘s analysis:(…) The dynamics favoring silver are unquestionable – starting from varied and growing industrial applications, strengthening manufacturing and economy recovery, poor outlook in silver above ground stockpile and recycling, to the white metal being also a monetary metal. Silver is bound to score better gains than gold, marred by the Bitcoin allure, would. Final chart of today‘s extensive analysis is about the two miners to gold ratios, and the divergencies they show. The ETF-based one (GDX:GLD) is sitting at support marked by both the late Nov and late Jan lows, while $HUI:$GOLD is probing to break below its late Jan lows, and these were already lower than the respective late Nov lows.Both ratios are sending a mixed picture, in line with the theme of my latest reports – gold is on razor‘s edge, and the technical picture is mixed given its latest weakness. That‘s the short run – I expect that once the Fed‘s hand is twisted enough in TLT and TLH, and speculation on yield curve control initiation rises, the focus in the precious metals would shift to inflation and its dynamics I‘ve described both on Wed and Fri. SummaryThe sellers in stocks aren‘t getting far these days, and signals remain aligned behind the S&P 500 advance to reassert itself. Neither the Russell 2000, nor emerging markets are flashing divergencies, and the path of least resistance in stocks remains higher.Gold‘s short-term conundrum continues - positive fundamentals that are going to turn even more so in the near future, yet the key charts show the king of metals under pressure, with long-term Treasury yields arguably holding the key to gold‘s short-term future. The decoupling events seen earlier this month, got a harsh reality check in the week just over. Yet, that‘s not a knock-out blow – the medium- and long-term outlook remains bright, and too many market players have rushed to the short side in the short run too.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

FOMC Minutes Disappoint Gold Bulls

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 22.02.2021 17:26
The recent FOMC minutes are hawkish and negative for the price of gold, but the Fed will remain generally dovish for some time.Last week, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) published minutes from its last meeting in January . They reveal that Fed officials became more optimistic about the economy than they were in December. The main reasons behind the more upbeat economic projection were the progress in vaccinations, the government’s stimulus provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021, and the expectations of an additional sizable tranche of fiscal support in the pipeline:Most participants expected that the stimulus provided by the passage of the CAA in December, the likelihood of additional fiscal support, and anticipated continued progress in vaccinations would lead to a sizable boost in economic activity.The Committee members were so convinced that the longer-run prospects for the economy had improved, that they decided to skip reference to the risks to the outlook in their official communications:in light of the expected progress on vaccinations and the change in the outlook for fiscal policy, the medium-term prospects for the economy had improved enough that members decided that the reference in previous post-meeting statements to risks to the economic outlook over the medium term was no longer warranted.Hence, the recent minutes are generally hawkish and bad for gold . They show that the FOMC participants turned out to be more optimistic about the U.S. economy over the medium-term, as they started to expect “strong growth in employment, driven by continued progress on vaccinations and an associated rebound of economic activity and of consumer and business confidence, as well as accommodative fiscal and monetary policy.”And, although they acknowledged that inflation may rise somewhat in 2021, the Fed officials generally were not concerned about strong upward pressure, with “most” participants still believing that inflation risks were weighted to the downside rather to the upside. In other words, they expect more growth than inflation.Implications for GoldThe Fed officials that have become more optimistic about the economy are proving negative for gold prices. Gold shines most when the Fed is pessimistic about GDP growth and the labor market, as these two factors are more prone to loosen the Fed’s monetary policy . In other words, gold prices need more inflation than economic growth in order to grow. Alternatively, gold needs the Fed to do something and expand its monetary accommodation.Indeed, the last week hasn’t been good for the price of the yellow metal. As the chart below shows, it declined below $1,800 to $1,773 on Thursday (Feb. 18), the lowest level since November 2020.Of course, the decline in the gold prices was more related to the significant selloff in the U.S. bond market than to the FOMC minutes. The bond yields increased sharply. For instance, the 10-year TIPS yields rose from -1.06 on February 10 to -0.87 on February 18, 2021, as one can see in the chart below.However, both events clearly show elevated expectations about the medium-term economic growth. Both investors and central bankers have become more optimistic about the future amid progress in vaccinations and greater prospects for additional fiscal stimulus. The strengthened risk appetite has supported equity prices, making some investors head for the exits in the gold market .Having said that, although gold prices still have some room to go lower – especially if real interest rates rally further – the fundamentals are still positive . I’m referring here to the fact that the U.S. economy has fallen into the debt trap . Both private and public debt is enormous. In such an environment, the interest rates cannot significantly increase, as they would pose a great risk to an overvalued equity market and Treasury. So, the Fed wouldn’t allow for really high interest rates and would intervene, either through expanding its quantitative easing program or through capping the yield curve .Another issue is that the Fed is not going to change its dovish monetary policy anytime soon. Even in the recent, relatively upbeat minutes, Fed officials acknowledged that economic conditions were far from the central banks’ targets:Participants observed that the economy was far from achieving the Committee’s broad-based and inclusive goal of maximum employment and that even with a brisk pace of improvement in the labor market, achieving this goal would take some time (…) Participants noted that economic conditions were currently far from the Committee’s longer-run goals and that the stance for policy would need to remain accommodative until those goals were achieved.Moreover, the Fed’s staff assessed the financial vulnerabilities of the U.S. financial system as being notable . The asset valuation pressures are elevated, and vulnerabilities associated with business and household debt increased over the course of 2020, from levels that were already elevated before the outbreak of the pandemic . So, given all these fragilities, it is unlikely that we will see a really hawkish Fed or significantly higher interest rates. There is also a possibility of the next financial crisis, given the high debt levels. All these factors should support gold prices in the long-term, although more declines in the short-term are possible of course, due to the more positive sentiment among investors and rising bond yields.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, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

It‘s Only Tech That‘s Sold – Not S&P 500, Gold Or Silver

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 23.02.2021 15:52
S&P 500 is getting under modest pressure, and technology is to blame. Is the correction about to turn nasty from sideways? Still no signs of that, even as the investment grade corporate bonds are being sold of as hard as long-term Treasuries. Yet, these corporate instruments have only now broken below their late Oct lows – unlike long-dated Treasuries, whose price action resembles free fall.These government debt instruments are arguably the key asset class for every precious metals investor to watch. What used to be gentle decoupling signs over the latest weeks and months, got thoroughly tested the prior week. Yet, I stood firm in not calling gold down and out. The support zone at late Nov lows generated a rebound that was oh so likely to materialize.Silver naturally outperformed, both copper and oil had a strong day, and agrifoods are making new highs. The inflation dynamics described in Friday‘s article aptly called Why the Sky Is Not Falling in Precious Metals, continues unabated, and the pressure keeps building inside the metals and commodities. Not even the dollar managed to benefit from the rising yields – the resumption of its bear market I called on Feb 08, is one of the 2021 themes. Money keeps flowing from the Treasuries market, and there is plenty sitting on the sidelines (corporate or private) to still deploy and power stocks and precious metals higher. Also those ready to withstand Bitcoin volatility (hello, the weekend Elon Musk tweet follow through), stand to benefit – cryptos are behaving like a store of value, a hedge against currency debasement. I wrote in my very first 2021 analysis that the Bitcoin correction wouldn‘t get far.Powell‘s testimony is about to bring volatility, but does it have the power to change underlying trends? Not really – while his latest high profile assessments brought about a downswing, stocks recovered in spite of the GameStop (contagion?) drama too. Should we see a replay of the above, new highs are coming – and they are, in both stocks and precious metals. We‘re in a commodities supercycle on top!Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe daily chart shows yesterday‘s turn of events clearly. The volume increased, indicating that the bulls will need to grapple with more downside.Both the advance-decline line and advance-decline volume have curled noticeably, yet new highs new lows continues higher. That‘s a confirmation of the broad based nature of the stock market advance, further illustrated with the following chart.What if all the constituent shares in the S&P 500 had equal weight (i.e. there is no $NYFANG)? The above chart is the reflection – and it‘s challenging the latest highs. The rotation theme I‘m discussing so often, means in this case taking the baton from tech, and seeing it pass to value stocks. Such broad advance is a healthy characteristic of bull runs far from making a top.TechnologyHere is the culprit behind yesterday‘s decline – on increasing volume, technology (XLK ETF) has plunged. Yet it‘s the semiconductors (XSD ETF) that I am looking at for clues as to how reasonable has the decline been. And given how the tech is holding up, it‘s a bit accentuated.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio is still behaving reasonably – the overlaid S&P 500 prices (black line) aren‘t accelerating to the downside. Thus far, everything keeps pointing to stocks behaving a bit more sensitively than throughout 2021 mostly, yet far from crashing or showing their readiness to. The real correction has to wait still – this is not the real deal.Gold, Silver and TreasuriesGold price action indeed proved not to be as bearish. Finally, we‘re seeing a clear refusal to move down even as Treasury yields continue to plunge. How long will this new dynamics stick, where would it take the yellow metal? I treat it as a valuable first swallow.The scissors between gold and silver keep widening, and the white metal again outperformed yesterday. That‘s exactly the dynamics of the new precious metals upleg that I‘m expecting.Both depicted miners to gold ratios show a clear pattern of post Nov resilience. GDX:GLD is not breaking to new lows, while $HUI:$GOLD rejected them. Bobbing around, searching for a local bottom before launching higher? That‘s my leading scenario.SummaryThe unfolding correction got a new twist with yesterday‘s downswing in stocks, and unless tech gets its act together, appears set to run further. Emerging markets fell harder than the Russell 2000 yesterday, which is another proof that the correction isn‘t yet over.Gold and silver price action remain encouraging, and the same can be said about oil and many other commodities. Once the stimulus bill is passed, the positive fundamentals that are going to turn even more so, given the Fed‘s accomodative policies. Will these work to stave off the rising Treasury yields as well? If so, then gold‘s fundamentals got a crucial boost, which would soon be seen in the technicals too. As I wrote yesterday, the metals didn‘t get a knock-out blow – the medium- and long-term outlook remains bright, and too many market players on the short side in the short run, means a high likelihood of a reversal – which is precisely what we saw.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Tech Holds the Key to S&P 500

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 24.02.2021 15:38
The Powell inspired, coinciding (have your pick) S&P 500 stop run is almost history now, with the futures trading over 3,880 again as we speak. No surprise here, but since the long-term Treasuries plunge went on largely unabated, that‘s concerning.Even if not now as in right away, TLT and TLH have to power to trouble the stock bulls seriously. And the financials benefiting from the greater spread, won‘t save the day, as the key chart to watch now is technology and also healthcare. Healthcare especially because biotech didn‘t get its act together yesterday really, while semiconductors did better. With consumer discretionaries hurt, utilities and consumer staples can‘t be relied on in a rising rates environment, and communications can‘t save the day either. The sectoral outlook remains mixed, even as value continues greatly outperforming growth this month. The stock bulls simply need tech clearly stabilized and turning here so as to think about new S&P 500 highs again. Long-term Treasuries are starting to hold greater sway over the stock market fate now, too. The dollar‘s woes thus far continue playing out largely in the background.Did gold shake off the TLT shackles? Still early to say, but the clear, directionally opposite move gives the bulls benefit of the doubt thus far. Yesterday‘s gold session didn‘t convince me, so I am not trumpeting the end of yellow metal‘s downside yet. Still, cautious optimism remains – even in the short run, let alone for the medium- to long-term: there, the (bullish) picture is simply clearer.Let‘s remember my yesterday‘s words about trends and flashes in the pan:(…) Powell‘s testimony is about to bring volatility, but does it have the power to change underlying trends? Not really – while his latest high profile assessments brought about a downswing, stocks recovered in spite of the GameStop (contagion?) drama too. Should we see a replay of the above, new highs are coming – and they are, in both stocks and precious metals. We‘re in a commodities supercycle on top!Let‘s get right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookYesterday‘s intraday reversal reached just a little above Monday‘s closing prices, highlighting that more needs to be done for the index to regain upside momentum. The Powell testimony reversal was a good start, and stock bulls need to do more once this event gets in the rear view mirror later today. Given the premarket action reaching 3,890, the case is not lost.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) recovered, and crucially did better than stocks. The volume comparison is also a tad more positive. Should this credit market outperformance in the short run hold, then the S&P 500 is more likley to advance than not, too.High yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio is still behaving reasonably – the overlaid S&P 500 prices (black line) aren‘t accelerating to the downside. The cue to move higher in stocks is apparent.TechnologyIt‘s the tech (XLK ETF) again – its yesterday‘s reversal is not nearly enough for the S&P 500 to think about taking on new highs. Semiconductors (XSD ETF) subtly outperformed, but they don‘t give outrageously bullish signs either. The tech jury is still out, and this heavyweight sector remains vulnerable, with consequences to the S&P 500 if it doesn‘t keep on the muddle through recovery path at the very least.Treasuries and DollarNo spike in TLT volume shows there isn‘t real willingness to buy the dip the way it were in mid Feb – back then, I could call for a moderation in the decline‘s pace for at least a day, now I can‘t do that. This chart presents the greatest challenge for the markets – going well beyond stocks, precious metals and commodities. Dollar bulls are predictably on the run. Truly bearish chart targeting much lower lows, in line with the theme I‘ve been banging throughout 2020‘s latter half – the dollar has gotten on the defensive, and would remain there throughout 2021. The technical rebound is over, and not even higher yields can help the greenback much.Gold, Silver and PlatinumTrue, gold‘s yesterday‘s candle leaves much to be desired for the bulls, but once again, we‘re seeing a clear refusal to move down even as Treasury yields continue to plunge. It‘s still a valuable first swallow, and more has to follow. Gold isn‘t getting anywhere in today‘s premarket while silver, copper, oil and soybeans are all up mildly. Agrifoods reached a new 2021 high yesterday – commodities clearly like and anticipate the inflationary Fed speak message they get.One look at the precious metals group – gold the laggard, silver leading, and platinum even more so – check out on the caption when the latter decoupled – 2 weeks before silver did. The anatomy of the unfolding precious metals upleg goes on in this predictable fashion, where platinum has the power to keep running more along the lines of commodities such as copper. That means powerfully.Yesterday‘s watchout though are the miners, which dragged down both the $HUI:$GOLD and GDX:GLD ratios – not below their lows, but still. A great illustration of the yellow metal‘s woes, and low credibility of its yesterday‘s candle with a sizable lower knot.SummaryStock bulls are far out of the woods yet, and technology stabilization must kick in first. Little proof thus far it‘s there, and I view the rising rates as starting to bite the stock market too.Gold and silver also got under the Powell pressure yesterday, and haven‘t escaped the confines of Treasury yields pressure thus far. The markets are clearly wary of the testimony‘s part II still.
How Bond Yields Are Affecting Gold

How Bond Yields Are Affecting Gold

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 24.02.2021 17:54
As U.S. Treasury yields rise, gold, which is seen as an inflation hedge, is hurting. Despite the obvious warning signs, investors remain bullish.After Monday’s (Feb. 22) supposedly “groundbreaking” rally, the situation in gold developed in tune with what I wrote yesterday . The rally stopped, and miners’ decline indicated that it was a counter-trend move.Figure 1Despite Monday’s (quite sharp for a daily move) upswing, the breakdown below the neck level of the broad head-and-shoulders remains intact. It wasn’t invalidated. In fact, based on Monday’s rally and yesterday’s (Feb. 23) decline, it was verified. One of the trading guidelines is to wait for the verification of the breakdown below the H&S pattern before entering a position.What about gold stocks ratio with other stocks?Figure 2It’s exactly the same thing. The breakdown below the rising long-term support line remains intact. The recent upswing was just a quick comeback to the broken line that didn’t take it above it. Conversely, the HUI to S&P 500 ratio declined once again.Consequently, bearish implications of the breakdowns remain up-to-date . Having said that, let’s consider the more fundamental side of things.Swimming Against the CurrentAfter trading lower for six consecutive days, gold managed to muster a three-day winning streak. However, with the waves chopping and the ripple gaining steam, every swim higher requires more energy and yield’s decelerating results.For weeks , I’ve been warning that a declining copper/U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield ratio signaled a further downside for gold. And with the ratio declining by 2.88% last week, gold suffered a 2.51% drawdown.Please see below:Figure 3Over the long-term, the ratio is a reliable predictor of the yellow metal’s future direction. And even though the weekly reading (3.04) hit its lowest level since May 2020, it still has plenty of room to move lower.Figure 4For context, I wrote previously:To explain the chart above, the red line depicts the price of gold over the last ~21 years, while the green line depicts the copper/U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield ratio. As you can see, the two have a tight relationship: when the copper/U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield ratio is rising (meaning that copper prices are rising at a faster pace than the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield), it usually results in higher gold prices. Conversely, when the copper/U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield ratio is falling (meaning that the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield is rising at a faster pace than copper prices), it usually results in lower gold prices.As the star of the ratio’s show, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield has risen by more than 47% year-to-date (YTD) and the benchmark has surged by more than 163% since its August trough.Please see below:Figure 5On Jan. 15 , I warned that the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) had painted itself into a corner. With inflation running hot and Chairman Jerome Powell ignoring the obvious, I wrote that Powell’s own polices (and their impact on real and financial assets) actually eliminate his ability to determine when interest rates rise.As a result, the central bank had two options:If they let yields rise, the cost of borrowing rises, the cost of equity rises and the U.S. dollar is supported (all leading to shifts in the bond and stock markets and destroying the halcyon environment they worked so hard to create).To stop yields from rising, the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) has to increase its asset purchases (and buy more bonds in the open market). However, the added liquidity should have the same net-effect because it increases inflation expectations (which I mentioned yesterday, is a precursor to higher interest rates). Opening door #2, Powell’s deny-and-suppress strategy is now playing out in real time. On Feb. 23 – testifying before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee – the FED Chairman told lawmakers that inflation isn’t an issue.“We’ve been living in a world for a quarter of a century where the pressures were disinflationary,” he said.... “The economy is a long way from our employment and inflation goals.”And whether he’s unaware or simply ill-informed, commodity prices are surging. Since the New Year, oil and lumber prices have risen by more than 24%, while corn and copper prices are up by more than 14%.Please see below:Figure 6In addition, relative to finished goods, the entire basket of inputs is sounding the alarm.Figure 7To explain the chart above, the blue line is an index of the price businesses receive for their finished goods. Similarly, the green line is an index of the price businesses pay for raw materials. As you can see, the cost of doing business is rising at a torrent pace.More importantly though, Powell’s assertion that inflation is an urban legend has been met with eye rolls from the bond market . To repeat what I wrote above: Powell’s own policies (and their impact on real and financial assets) actually eliminate his ability to determine when interest rates rise.Case in point: the U.S. 10-year to 2-year government bond spread is now at its highest level since January 2017.Please see below:Figure 8To explain the significance, the figure is calculated by subtracting the U.S. 2-Year Treasury yield from the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield. When the green line is rising, it means that the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield is increasing at a faster pace than the U.S. 2-Year Treasury yield. Conversely, when the green line is falling, it means that the U.S. 2-Year Treasury yield is increasing at a faster pace than the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield.And why does all of this matter?Because the above visual is evidence that Powell has lost control of the bond market.At the front-end of the curve, Powell can control the 2-year yield by decreasing the FED’s overnight lending rate (which was cut to zero at the outset of the coronavirus crisis). However, far from being monolithic, the 5-, 10-, and 30-year yields have the ability to chart their own paths.And their current message to the Chairman? “We aren’t buying what you’re selling.” As such, the yield curve is likely to continue its steepening stampede.Circling back to gold, all of the above supports a continued decline of the copper/U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield ratio. With yields essentially released from captivity, even copper’s 8.02% weekly surge wasn’t enough to buck the trend.As a result, gold’s recent strength is likely a mirage. The yellow metal continues to bounce in fits and starts, thus, it’s only a matter of time before the downtrend continues. Furthermore, with the USD Index still sitting on the sidelines, a resurgent greenback would add even more concrete to gold’s wall of worry.And speaking of gold’s wall of worry, the sentiment surrounding it is far from being negative.Figure 9 - Source: Investing.comThe above chart shows the sentiment of Investing.com’s members. 64% of them are bullish on gold. As you can see above, there are also other popular markets listed: the S&P 500, Dow Jones, DAX, EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD Index, and Crude oil. The sentiment for gold is the most bullish of all of them. Yes, the general stock market is climbing to new all-time highs every day now, and yet, people are even more bullish on gold than they are on stocks.When gold slides, the sentiment is likely to get more bearish and particularly high “bearish” readings – say, over 80% would likely indicate a good buying opportunity. Naturally, this is not the only factor that one should be paying attention to.The bottom line? As it stands today, being long the precious metals offers a poor risk-reward proposition. However, in time (perhaps over the next several months), the dynamic will reverse, and the precious metals market will shine once again.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Bonds And Stimulus Are Driving Big Sector Trends And Shifting Capital

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 25.02.2021 03:36
Falling Bonds and rising yields are creating a condition in the global markets where capital is shifting away from Technology, Communication Services and Discretionary stocks have suddenly fallen out of favor, and Financials, Energy, Real Estate, and Metals/Miners are gaining strength.  The rise in yields presents an opportunity for Banks and Lenders to profit from increased yield rates. In addition, historically low interest rates have pushed the Real Estate sector, including commodities towards new highs.  We also note Miners and Metals have shown strong support recently as the US Dollar and Bonds continue to collapse.  The way the markets are shifting right now is suggesting that we may be close to a technology peak, similar to the DOT COM peak, where capital rushes away from recently high-flying technology firms into other sectors (such as Banks, Financials, Real Estate, and Energy).The deep dive in Bonds and the US Dollar aligns with the research we conducted near the end of 2020, which suggested a market peak may set up in late February. We also suggested the markets may continue to trade in a sideways (rounded top) type of structure until late March or early April 2021.  Our tools and research help us to make these predictions nearly 4 to 5+ months before the markets attempt to make these moves.  You can read this research here:2021 MAY BE A GOOD YEAR FOR THE CANNABIS/MARIJUANA SECTORPRICE AMPLITUDE ARCS/GANN SUGGEST A MAJOR PEAK IN EARLY APRIL 2021 – PART IIWHAT TO EXPECT IN 2021 PART II – GOLD, SILVER, AND SPYIf our research is correct, we may have started a “capital shift” process in mid-February where declining Bonds, rising yields and the declining US Dollar push traders to re-evaluate continued profit potential in the hottest sectors over the past 6 to 12+ months.  This would mean that Technology, Healthcare, Comm Services and Discretionary sectors may suddenly find themselves on the “not so hot” list soon.Bonds Collapsing While Yields Continue To RiseThe following TLT Weekly chart highlights the extended downward trend taking place in Treasury Bonds.  This downside pricing pressure would usually support a rising stock market and moderately weaker precious metals.  But given the way the US Dollar is also declining, we are seeing fear become more of an issue as the high-flying stock market starts to look quite a bit over valued.  Rising yields also puts Financials and banking/lending near the top of the list for future profit potential.US Dollar Struggling To Find SupportThe Invesco US Dollar ETF, (UUP) Weekly below chart shows how weak the US Dollar has been after the COVID-19 price rotation.  The continued decline in price levels after May 2020 is a very clear indication that the US Dollar is reacting to the continued stimulus efforts as well as the decreased economic expectations.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!Combined, the Bonds and US Dollar decline are raising the fear-factor among global investors and causing many to rethink where future growth and profits will originate.  Many are landing on the Financial and Energy sectors right now.Financial Sector Begins To Skyrocket HigherThe following Direxion Financial Bull 3x ETF (FAS) Weekly chart shows the incredible advance in the Financial Sector over the past 6+ months.  Almost like a sleepy rally, Financials have been rallying while traders have been focused on Technology, Healthcare and other sectors that seemed hot.  This shifting trend in sectors, and the associated shifting capital, suggests we may be nearing a tidal shift in sector trends – moving away from Technology and into Financials, Energy, Real Estate, and others.Volatility is still 2x to 3x what we have seen 4 to 5+ years ago.  This suggests any breakdown in trends could prompt a very volatile price correction/transition.  As sectors continue to shift, we urge traders to pay attention to the risks in the markets related to this elevated volatility which seems to be present in every sector. We believe we may be starting an extended “capital shift” process which may last well into March/April 2021 before real opportunities setup possibly in May or June.  The markets will do what they always do, react to traders, capital, and global central bank influence.  There are times when certain sectors enter a euphoric phase and there are times when the global markets revalue risk.  We may be nearing an end to a euphoric phase and starting a revaluation phase. This means many various sectors and symbols will present some very real opportunities for profits over the next few weeks and months.  Marijuana, Cryptos, Metals, Miners, Financials & Real Estate appear to be leading opportunities related to sector trends.  If these trends continue throughout 2021, we may see a revaluation/capital shift to propel these trends higher.Don’t miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors over the next 6+ months, which will be an incredible year for traders of the BAN strategy.  You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Learn how the BAN strategy can help you spot the best trade setups because staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets. For those who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers.Have a great rest of the week!
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Silver, when everything fits

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 25.02.2021 10:14
One factor supporting our theory that Silver will find itself in its next leg up is the early release data from “The Silver Survey 2021” (a significant annual report from “The Silver Institute” in conjunction with the research firm “Metals Focus”). Their research suggests a total demand increase to an eight-year high of 1,025 billion ounces of Silver.Suppose you think of ease of covid as a catalyst. In that case, that to one side will provide more supply in the mining industry workers to return to their workplace, the other side of demand easily outweighs through a whole world returning to business as usual.Suppose demand from Solar cells to jewelry, from physical investments to Wall Street traded silver products generally increase. In that case, we find our temporary sideways range breather soon to break out above US$30 to enter the next up leg.Daily Chart of Silver in US-Dollar, Slowly but surely:Silver in US Dollar, daily chart as of February 25th, 2021.As you can see on the daily chart, Silver is starting to push higher through its smaller ranges within the range to prepare for a breakout and obeying the trendline (yellow dotted line) as directional support.  Gold/Silver-Ratio, Weekly Chart, The ratio suggests for Silver to catch up:Gold/Silver-Ratio, weekly chart as of February 25th, 2021.Once desperate bears have to give way to Silver’s real value and demand, we most likely see price-advances much more significant than generally assumed.Silver in US-Dollar, Daily Chart, And the future is bright, Silver, when everything fits:Silver in US Dollar, daily chart as of February 25th, 2021.The last eleven month’s price advances might seem staggering regarding percentage. Especially if you consider that a physical ounce of Silver is currently sold around US$40. Hence, we still see Silver prices reaching three-digit numbers at some point in the next few years. Midterm projections already show Silver prices sitting right above major support from a volume based analysis. And linear regression channel projection points at substantial advances within this year.Silver, when everything fits:We find ourselves in an uptrend in Silver. It just has established its first foundation and has a great range of expansion to offer. Consequently, this results in an excellent risk/reward-ratio for participation. In addition, fundamental long-term data supports the sustainability of that trend. Most importantly a world fiscal policy forces investor into safe havens. Also, the Gold/Silver-Ratio suggests Silver to be the underdog with much ground to catch up. We might see Silver prices in an entirely different echelon in the not too far distant future.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|February 25th, 2021|Tags: low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Why Tech Is Giving Me Jeepers – Watch Out, Gold

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 25.02.2021 16:08
Powell testimony is over, with markets rejoicing the promise of still accomodative Fed. Value keeps surging over growth, and regardless of yesterday‘s great performance, tech has a vulnerable feel to it – semiconductors lead higher, fine, but communications didn‘t confirm, and the healthcare-biotech dynamic isn‘t painting an outperformance picture either. Real estate isn‘t taking as strong a cue while consumer discretionaries recovery could also be stronger. Thus far though, no need to think about taking losses to optimize your gains elsewhere.Just as I wrote yesterday:(…) the financials benefiting from the greater spread, won‘t save the day, as the key chart to watch now is technology and also healthcare. … The sectoral outlook remains mixed, even as value continues greatly outperforming growth this month. … Long-term Treasuries are starting to hold greater sway over the stock market fate now, too. The dollar‘s woes thus far continue playing out largely in the background.Did gold shake off the TLT shackles? I‘m getting increasing doubts that only a strong move to the upside would dispel. As long-term Treasuries were staging an intraday reversal, gold took an intraday plunge before recovering. Not a good sign of internal intraday strength. Could it be a bullish flag? Still possible, but again, gold would have to rally from here. Doing so would result in a bullish divergence in its daily indicators.The precious metals sectoral dynamics remains positive though – silver and platinum are bullishly consolidating, and as I‘ll show you in today‘s final chart, the many mining indices are doing fine as well. The overly strong reflationary (I would call a spade a spade, and say inflationary) efforts are driving commodities higher in a supercycle just starting out.Not to get complacent, GameStop (GME) squeeze has made a comeback yesterday. Will it coincide with broader stock market woes on par with late Jan? Way too early to say – let‘s jump right into the charts for an objective momentary view instead.Here they are, all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com.S&P 500 and Its InternalsStrong S&P 500, everything looks fine on the surface – just as should be, befitting buy the dip mentality. Strong volume, no meaningful intraday setback, so far so good.The equal weight S&P 500 chart is looking better and better day by day. New highs, strong uptrend, broadening leadership. It‘s a mirror reflection of the big names‘ woes, and a testament to value outperforming growth. This bull run is far from making a top.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) had a good day yesterday, and so did the high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio. Yet it‘s the daily stock market outperformance that is noticeable here – optimistic sign of an all clear signal. I‘m not taking it totally at face value given tech performance – in a short few days, I can easily become more convinced though.TechnologyStrong daily tech (XLK ETF) upswing, yet only half the prior downside erased so far, and the volume could be higher compared to the preceding downswing. Semiconductors (XSD ETF) are leading again, fine. Yet it‘s the heavyweight names that matter the most to me right now – check out yesterday‘s observations:(…) The tech jury is still out, and this heavyweight sector remains vulnerable, with consequences to the S&P 500 if it doesn‘t keep on the muddle through recovery path at the very least.DollarLook how little the Powell tremors achieved – the dollar bulls are still on the run. Upswings are being sold as the greenback remains on the defensive, targeting much lower lows this year. The technical rebound is over, and not even higher yields can help the greenback much.Gold, Silver and MinersFor a second day in a row, gold‘s performance isn‘t convincing – the willingness to clearly and directionally decouple from rising yields, is being questioned. On the other hand, e.g. the 10-year UST yield is approaching the summer 2019 lows – it‘s at 1.38% now. I‘m looking for the rising rates to slow down and possibly even pull back a little from here over the coming weeks. Or would the market just like to slice through that resistance? Inflation isn‘t universally that strong right now yet I think – just look at the velocity of money.Everything silver related is doing fine, silver miners (SIL ETF) rebounded strongly, First Majestic Silver Corp (AG) and Hecla (HL) are in clearly bullish patterns. The white metal‘s every dip is being bought, the silver-to-gold ratio keeps improving, and even gold juniors (GDXJ) started once again outperforming the seniors (GDX). The bullish signals under the surface keep increadingly more coming to the fore, and the miners to gold ratio‘s ($HUI:$GOLD and GDX:GLD) is the final ingredient missing.SummaryStock bulls did great yesterday, but everything isn‘t fine yet in the tech realm. Due to its sheer weight in the S&P 500 index, pulling the cart a bit more enthusiastically is what the 500-strong index needs to take on new highs, because value stocks can‘t do it all.Gold and silver fared mostly well during the Powell testimony part II, yet gold didn‘t convince me really again. I look for the yellow metal bulls to get tested soon. The wildcard is reaction to the rising Treasury yields as they‘re in a key resistance zone of summer 2019 lows overall (10-year approaching it, and as regards 30-year, it‘s been overcome already). Plunging dollar and short-term gold-dollar correlation moving to positive figures, isn‘t a pleasant sight for coming days.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Gold Declines Despite Powell’s Easy Stance

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 25.02.2021 18:13
Powell testified before Congress and reiterated the Fed’s dovish stance, but nevertheless, gold continued to slide.On Tuesday, Powell testified before the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. He offered no big surprises, so the markets were little changed. But the price of gold ended that day with a slight loss, as the chart below shows – perhaps just because Powell didn’t surprise, and struck a dovish tone.Anyway, what did the Fed Chair say? In his prepared remarks, Powell acknowledged the improved outlook for later this year . As I noted in the last edition of the Fundamental Gold Report about the recent FOMC minutes , a more optimistic Fed about the U.S. economy is bad news for gold.Additionally, Powell downplayed concerns about the recent rises in the bond yields (see the chart below), calling them “a statement of confidence” for an improving U.S. economic outlook, or “a robust and ultimately complete recovery”. This is also a negative comment for the yellow metal, as it would prefer the Fed reacting more aggressively to the increasing rates, and, for instance, implementing the yield curve control . The higher the yields, the worse it is for gold, which is a non-interest bearing asset.However, Powell also made some dovish comments . First of all, he reiterated that the Fed’s easy stance will last very long – longer than it used to be in the past . This is because the Fed implemented last year a new monetary framework, according to which the U.S. monetary policy will be informed by the assessments of shortfalls of employment from its maximum level, rather than by deviations from its maximum level. Moreover, the Fed will seek to achieve inflation that averages two percent over time. These changes imply that the Fed will not tighten monetary policy solely in response to a strong labor market, but only to an increase in inflation . However,But inflation must not merely reach two percent – it should rise moderately above two percent for some time in order to prompt the U.S. central bank to taper the quantitative easing and hike the federal funds rate .The second reason why the interest rates will stay lower for longer is that the economy is a long way from the Fed’s employment and inflation goals, and “it is likely to take some time for substantial further progress to be achieved”. On Wednesday, Powell acknowledged that it may take more than three years to reach these goals. This means that the Fed will treat any possible increases in inflation this year as temporary and will leave interest rates unchanged.Implications for GoldWhat does Powell’s testimony imply for the gold market? Well, gold bulls may be disappointed as the Fed Chair didn’t sound too dovish . He neither announced an expansion in the quantitative easing, nor the yield curve control, nor negative interest rates , nor a “whatever it takes” approach. And it seems that the yellow metal needs such things right now in order to survive – just like fish need water.However, the rising bond yields could become a problem at one point for the Fed. If they continue to rise, Uncle Sam will not be happy, and the Fed will have to step into the market to buy government bonds. The central bank and Treasury are good old friends and the close relationship between Powell and Yellen may only strengthen this beautiful friendship – and support gold prices.Moreover, the increasing bond yields (despite an ultra-dovish Fed) imply that reflation trade is strong. So far, investors just expect a return of inflation to a moderate level, but given the enormous surge in the broad money supply (see the chart below) and Biden’s mammoth fiscal plan, the risk of overheating is non-negligible.It would be really strange if such an aggressive monetary expansion wouldn’t affect the prices. As one can see, the growth in the M2 money supply is 2.5 times faster than during the Great Recession . Actually, we are already seeing inflation – but in the asset markets, not the CPI . The stock and house prices are surging. The commodity sector has also already been gaining and gold may follow suit .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, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Dead Cat Bounce? Bears Aren‘t Taking Prisoners Now

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 26.02.2021 15:30
Right from the open, stocks have been losing altitude yesterday, and value couldn‘t indeed overpower the tech slide. Long-dated Treasuries had a climactic day of incomplete reversal on outrageous volume. Regardless of the evidence of asset price inflation, there is almost universal short-term vulnerability, and yesterday‘s broad based selling spanning precious metals and commodities, confirms that. The dollar has been missing from the party though, only having reversed prior losses to close little changed on the day.Are we seeing a trend change, or a time-limited yet powerful push lower? That depends upon the asset – in stocks, I look for the tech big names and healthcare to do worse than value (the VTV:QQQ ratio jumped up greatly through the week, portending the tech issues). Both silver and gold would be under pressure, and I look for the white metal to be mostly doing better overall. Oil and copper would take a breather while remaining in bull markets.That roughly matches my very short-term idea for where the markets would trade, echoing the expressed, tweeted need to watch oil and copper turn the corner still yesterday (copper didn‘t, not confirming any intraday turnaround notions as valid) – the below being written 7hrs before the U.S. open:(…) As yesterday's session moved to a close, the dollar erased opening losses, and went neutral. TLT's massive volume shows that yields are likely to stabilize here for now, and even decline a bit – HYG absolutely didn't convince me. The oil-copper tandem didn't kick in yesterday. Right now, we're in a weak constellation with both silver, oil, and stocks down. Copper's modest uptick doesn't cut it. So, the outlook for the European session on Fri is more bearish than bullish for stocks really, and gold rather sideways in the coming hours. Would we get a bounce during the U.S. session? It‘s possible to the point of likely. The damage done yesterday though looks to have more than a few brief sessions to run to repair. If you were to be hiding in the not too greatly performing S&P 500 sectors before the uptrend reasserts itself, you would be rather fine. The same for commodities and metals which were solidly trending higher before – oil, platinum, copper. E.g. look at yesterday‘s low platinum volume, or at the modest Freeport McMoRan decline – these charts are not broken while I see silver relegated to sideways trading (with a need to defend against the bears sternly) and silver miners taking their time.Just as I wrote yesterday, technology is the most precarious spot as long-term rates are turning and the dollar hasn‘t moved yet. Should it start coming to life (it did yesterday as the 10-year yield retreated from 1.60% back below 1.50%), overcoming the 91 – 91.5 resistance zone, that would help put into perspective the concerted selling we saw yesterday, especially if it continues in future days in similar fashion.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Its InternalsThe Force Index shows that the bears have the upper edge now, and volume coupled with price action, shows no accumulation yet. The chart is worrying for it could reach the Jan lows fast if the sellers get more determined.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) reveal the damage suffered, underlined by the strong volume. High yields in TLT and LQD are starting to have an effect on stocks.Another stressed bond market chart – long-term Treasuries show a budding reversal to the upside. Given yesterday‘s happenings in the 10-year bond auction with the subsequent retreat from high yields since, and the dollar moving over 90.50 as we speak, the signs are in place for the TLT retracing part of the steep slide as well.TechnologyThe momentum in tech (XLK ETF) is with the bears as the 50-day moving average got easily pierced yesterday again. It‘s still the heavyweights that matter (roughly similar to the healthcare situation here), and the sector remains very vulnerable to further downside.VolatilityThe volatility index rose, but is far below the two serious autumn 2020 and the late Jan 2021 corrections. It even retreated on the day, regardless of the heavy S&P 500 selling. Neither the options traders are taking yesterday‘s move as a true game changer, even though it was (for the bond markets). Would the anticipated stock indices rebound today bring it down really substantially, spilling over into commodities too, and show that this indeed wasn‘t a turning point? Gold, Silver and MinersGold didn‘t rise in spite of the falling long-term Treasuries for too long, as Tue and Wed hesitation (which I view with suspicion on both days) was resolved with a strong decline. This time, I am not calling for the yellow metal to rise the way I did a week ago. It‘s that the many precious metals market signals have become less constructive too. Silver is being taken down a notch or two, and the miners are already reflecting that in yesterday‘s close. Silver miners steeply declining, the bullish outperformance of gold juniors vs. gold seniors was lost yesterday. Given the red ink on Thursday already in copper, and its arrival into oil today, the bears are having the short-term (more than several sessions) upper hand. The miners to gold ratio ($HUI:$GOLD and GDX:GLD) as the final ingredient missing, can keep on waiting.SummaryStock bulls got a harsh reality check, and everything isn‘t very fine yet in the tech arena. By the shape of things thus far, today‘s rebound is more likely than not to turn out a dead cat bounce, and more short-term downside remains likely since Monday, regardless of all the value stocks performance.Gold and silver didn‘t escape the bloodbath either, and aren‘t out of the woods – neither gold, nor silver. Treasury yields are taking a good look around, having a chance to stabilize and retreat to a degree, but gold appears unfazed thus far, and the commodities‘ dynamics doesn‘t bode well. On the other hand, the dollar looks getting ready to move higher over the coming days, and thanks to the short-term correlation between the two turning positive, that would help the embattled yellow metal down the road.
Does Gold Have a Green Light to $1700?

Does Gold Have a Green Light to $1700?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 26.02.2021 16:21
Gold just doesn’t seem to care and is stubbornly ignoring its inverse relationship with the USDX. What accounts for gold’s current downward trend?It’s really hard to get a more bearish combination of factors for gold than what we just saw.A good way to start the discussion would be to reply to a question that I received about the USD Index recently.Hi, I have been reading your articles about the USD bottoming and moving in a similar pattern to 2018. I am seeing a possible head and shoulder pattern on Jan 18th (left shoulder), Feb 5 th (the head), and Feb 17th (right shoulder). For all its problems, the euro seems to be going higher and higher. Just wondering what your thoughts are.Figure 1Indeed, the head-and-shoulders pattern formed as you described it (I added a dotted neckline to the formation on the above chart), but since it wasn’t as significant as the breakout above the declining medium-term resistance line, the implications of the latter overwhelmed the bearish implications of the H&S formation. The USD index invalidated the breakdown below the neck level of the formation, so what was previously a sell signal, has now turned into a buy signal. Consequently, we have yet another reason to expect higher values of the USD Index in the following weeks and months.Figure 2Based on the obvious similarity to early 2018, the verification of the breakdown is likely the final step before a major rally in the USDX. This will likely translate into lower precious metals and mining stock prices, especially if the general stock market declines as well.Let’s use another question that I received to segue to the following part of the analysis.What happens to gold if the dollar crashes, instead of going up?That’s just what happened early during the day, yesterday (Feb. 25). Well, it was just intraday action rather than a big medium-term crash, however, it shows what could happen. Simply put, gold declined anyway. Why did it do so? Because it wanted to do so based on technical/emotional factors. Maybe that was just a temporary reversion in direction? No – when the USD Index came back up, gold declined even more, and we see the continuation of this pattern today as well.What if the USD Index declines much more? The last time when gold was trading at these levels in 2020, the USD Index was trading at about 100. The latter declined about 10 index points and gold is at the same level. So, gold has already proven its ability to ignore the USD’s declines. There will be a time, when gold soars in response to even mild declines in the USDX, but this is likely to happen only after gold declines significantly – and it “wants” to rally.Figure 3In previous analyses , I commented on the above chart in the following way:The move higher in gold was notable, but nothing game changing. The last time gold moved above the declining short-term resistance line, was when it actually topped. The invalidation of the breakdown marked the start of another very short-term decline. The small decline in today’s overnight trading might be the very beginning of this invalidation that leads to another slide.That’s exactly what happened. The failed breakout led to another slide and gold is currently right after its breakdown to new 2021 lows. The road to ~$1,700 gold is now fully open. That’s when gold would be likely to take some sort of breather and gather strength (well, weakness, but “gathering weakness” just doesn’t sound right) for another wave down – likely to $1,500 or so.Please note that gold didn’t close at new yearly lows yesterday. This observation is important in comparison with the fact that…Figure 4Mining stocks did.Miners closed at new 2021 lows yesterday, even though gold didn’t, which once again proves their weakness and once again confirms the bearish outlook.I previously wrote that gold’s ~$1,700 target is likely to be aligned with the GDX’s ~$31 target and this remains up-to-date. After that, I expect some kind of corrective upswing – perhaps to $33 or so, and then another – big – move lower. Please note that the corrective upswing would be yet another (and final) verification of the head and shoulders pattern, and its very bearish implications would take place only after this verification. That’s why I expect the decline to be particularly significant. You can read more about this broad H&S pattern over here.Silver just went through a triangle-vertex-based reversal , and it seems to have indeed triggered a reversal.Figure 5Silver moved a bit higher on Wednesday (Feb. 24) and in yesterday’s early trading, but it didn’t exceed the recent high. This means that my previous comments on the above chart remain up-to-date:The move lower is not yet super significant, but given the reversal point, it could just be the beginning. Remember the triangle-vertex-based reversal at the beginning of the year? Back then, practically nobody wanted to believe that silver and the precious metals market was topping at that time. It was the truth, though. Gold and mining stocks were never higher since that time and the same thing would have most likely happened to silver if it wasn’t the #silversqueeze popularity that gave it its most recent boost.Now, there’s also another triangle-vertex-based-reversal in a few days , and since these reversals tend to work on a near-to basis, silver might top any day now, even if it hasn’t topped earlier today.Based on what’s happening in the markets right now, it seems just as possible that silver and the rest of the precious metals market will form a temporary bottom within the next few days.Figure 6Moreover, please note that it’s the last delivery day for silver futures, and instead of a supply-crunch-based rally, we see a decline. Naturally, this is bearish.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Will There Be Roaring Twenties for Gold?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 26.02.2021 16:59
The 2020s might be less roaring than the 1920s, which seems like good news for gold.The United States is strongly polarized, with blue versus red, liberals versus conservatives, and so on. People are divided along many lines, but the biggest division line is between those who count decades from 0 to 9 and those who count them from 1 to 10. It is intuitive for many people to adopt the first method, especially that we think of decades as ‘the 20s’, ‘the 30s’, and so on. However, the catch is that there was no Year Zero, so the first decade of the common era was years 1 to 10. Following this logic, the current decade started on January 1, 2021, not January 1, 2020.So, I feel fully entitled to investigate how gold will behave in the new decade. The issue is especially interesting as some analysts claim that we are entering the Roaring Twenties 2.0. Are they correct?On the surface, there are some similarities. The 1920s were a decade that followed the nightmare of World War I and the Spanish Flu pandemic . It was a time of quick economic growth (the U.S. GDP grew more than 40 percent in that period) and rapid technological innovation fueled predominantly by the rising access to electricity and big improvements in transportation (automobiles and planes).Fast forward one century and we land in the 2020s, which is a decade following the nightmare of the coronavirus pandemic . There are hopes for an acceleration in technological progress driven mainly by the rising scope of remote work, digital solutions, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, 5G networks, robotization, super-batteries, electric vehicles, and so on. And given the pent-up demand and months spent in lockdowns, consumers are ready to congregate and spend!However, there are good reasons to be skeptical about the narrative of the Roaring Twenties 2.0 . The era of post-war prosperity was fueled by the return to the normalcy in the sphere of economic policy. I refer here to the fact that after WWI, there was a successful transition from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy. In contrast, in the aftermath of the Great Recession , there is a gradual transition from the peacetime economy to a wartime economy, that was only accelerated during the epidemic and the Great Lockdown .In particular, both the government spending and the fiscal deficits were sharply reduced in the post-war era. In consequence, the U.S. public debt declined, especially in real terms. Similarly, the Fed reversed its monetary policy and allowed for monetary contraction (and quick recession) in 1919-20 to reverse wartime inflation .In other words, the tighter monetary and fiscal policies led to an environment of economic prosperity. Also helpful for the U.S. were developments such as trustbusting and an economic recovery in Germany after its hyperinflation – all developments that will not replay in the 2020s.In contrast, neither the fiscal policy nor the monetary policy are going to normalize anytime soon , even if the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control. The national debt has risen by almost $7.8 trillion under Trump’s presidency – a level that rivals Italy’s. The debt-to-GDP ratio has soared, as the chart below shows. And Joe Biden doesn’t worry about deficits – instead, with his plan of $1.9 trillion economic stimulus, he is going to balloon the public debt even further by increasing government spending.But maybe we shouldn’t worry about the debt? After all, after WW2, the public debt was even higher, but the economy didn’t collapse – actually, it grew so rapidly that the debt-to-GDP ratio diminished significantly. Yup, that’s correct, but after the pandemic, the economy will not recover as quickly as in the aftermath of WW2. Oh, and by the way, the economy grew its way out of debt only thanks to several years of high inflation .Therefore, the current complacency and naïve belief in low- interest rates and debt-driven economic recovery makes the scenario of the Roaring Twenties 2.0 not very likely, despite all the fantastic technological progress we are observing. So, instead of acceleration, we could rather observe an economic slowdown due to the poor economic policy that hampers the expansion of the private sector. Indeed, the recent report by the World Bank warns about the lost decade: “If history is any guide, unless there are substantial and effective reforms, the global economy is heading for a decade of disappointing growth outcomes.” This is good news for the gold market.But even if the Roaring Twenties 2.0 do happen, it wouldn’t have to be very bad for the yellow metal. It’s true that the 1920s was a period of wealth, prosperity, and decadence in which people didn’t think about preserving capital and investing in safe-haven assets such as gold . In contrast, there was a lot of risk-taking fueling the boom in the stock market. However, the Roaring Twenties were an inflationary period of debt-driven growth that ended in the systemic economic crisis called the Great Depression – and gold can shine in such an macroeconomic environment .Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

Gold – Final Sell-Off

Florian Grummes Florian Grummes 27.02.2021 14:37
Precious metal and crypto analysis exclusively for Celtic Gold on 27.02.2021Gold has been in a long and tenacious correction for nearly seven months already. On Friday the gold-market shocked traders and investors with yet another bloodbath similar to the one seen end of November last year. However, this capitulation probably means: Gold – The Final Sell-Off Is Here!ReviewThe price for one troy ounce of gold hit a new all-time high of US$2,075 on August 7th, 2020 and has been in a tough correction since then. After a first major interim low on November 30th at around US$1,764, gold posted a rapid yet deceptive recovery up to US$1.959. Since that high point on January 6th, the bears have taken back control.Obviously, the two sharp sell-offs on January 6th and January 8th had demoralized the bulls in such a strong way that they have not been able to get back on their feet since then. And although the bullish forces were still strong enough to create a volatile sideways period in January, since early February the bears were able to slowly but surely push prices lower.Just yesterday day gold finally broke below its support zone around US$1,760 to 1,770, unleashing another wave of severe selling into the weekly close. Now after seven month of correction, spot gold prices have reached a new low at US$1,717.© Crescant Capital via Twitter ©Tavi Costa, February 18th 2021On the other hand, the relative strength of silver remains strikingly positive. In this highly difficult market environment for precious metals, silver was able to trade sideways to up since the start of the new year. The same can be said of platinum prices.Overall, the turnaround in the precious metals sector has not yet taken place but seems to be extremely close. Since the nerves of market participants were significantly tested either with a tough and tenacious volatile sideways stretch torture or with sharp price drops like yesterday, most weak hands should have been discouraged and shaken off by now. At the same time, however, the sector has become pretty oversold and finally shows encouraging signs of being a great contrarian opportunity again.Technical Analysis: Gold in US-DollarGold in US-Dollars, weekly chart as of February 27th, 2021. Source: TradingviewOn the weekly chart gold lost the support of the middle trend line with the large uptrend channel in January. With a weekly close at US$1,734 the bears are clearly in control. However, Friday lows around US$1,725 hit pretty much exactly the long standing 38.2% fibonacci retracement from the whole wave up from US$1,160 to US$2,075. Hence, gold is meeting strong support right here around US$1,715 to US$1,730. Looking at the oversold weekly stochastic oscillator the chances for a bounce and an important turning point are pretty high. Hence, the end of this seven-month correction could be very near.However, only a clear breakout above the downtrend channel in red would confirm the end of this multi-month correction. Obviously, the bulls have a lot of work to do to just push prices back above US$1,850. If the Fibonacci retracement around US$1,725 cannot stopp the current wave of selling, then expect further downside towards the upper edge of the original rather flat uptrend channel in blue at around US$1,660. The ongoing final sell-off can easily extend a few more days but does not have to.In total, the weekly chart is still clearly in a confirmed downtrend. Prices have reached strong support at around US$1,725 and at least a good bounce is extremely likely from here. However, given the oversold setup including the sell-off on Friday there are good chances that the correction in gold is about to end in the coming week and that a new uptrend will emerge.Gold in US-Dollars, daily chart as of February 27th, 2021. Source: TradingviewOn the daily chart, the price of gold has been sliding into a final phase of capitulation since losing contact with its 200-MA (US$1,858). Not only predominating red daily candles but also lots of downtrend-lines and resistance zones are immersing this chart into a sea of red. That itself should awake the contrarian in any trader and investor. However, it is certainly not (yet) the time to play the bullish hero here as catching a falling knife is always a highly tricky art. But at least, the daily stochastic oscillator is about to reach oversold levels. Momentum remains bearish for now of course.Overall, the daily chart is bearish. Last weeks sell-off however might be overdone and has to be seen in conjunction with the physical deliveries for February futures at the Comex. However, a final low and a trend change can only be confirmed once gold has recaptured its 200-MA. This line is currently far away, and it will likely take weeks until gold can meet this moving average again. Further downside can not be excluded but it should be rather shallow.Commitments of Traders for Gold – The Final Sell-Off Is Here!Commitments of Traders for Gold as of February 27th, 2021. Source: CoT Price ChartsSince the beginning of the year, commercial traders have reduced their cumulative net short position in the gold futures market by more than 21% while gold prices corrected from US$1,965 down to US$1,770.Commitments of Traders for Gold as of February 27th, 2021. Source: SentimentraderIn the long-term comparison, however, the current net short position is still extremely high and does actually signal a further need for correction. However, this situation has been ongoing since mid of 2019. Since then, commercial traders have not been able to push gold prices significantly lower to cover their massive short positions.We can assume that since the emergence of the “repro crisis” in the USA in late summer 2019, the massive manipulation via non-physical paper ounces no longer works as it did in the previous 40 years. The supply and demand shock caused by the Corona crisis in March 2020 has certainly exacerbated this situation. In this respect, COMEX has lost its mid- to long-term weight and influence on pricing. This doesn’t mean however, that short-term sell-offs like yesterday won’t happen anymore.Nevertheless, the CoT report on its own continues to deliver a clear sell signal, similar to the last one and a half years already.Sentiment: Gold – The Final Sell-Off Is Here!Sentiment Optix for Gold as of February 27th, 2021. Source: Sentiment traderThe weak price performance in recent weeks has caused an increasingly pessimistic mood among participants in the gold market. The Optix sentiment indicator for gold is now below its lows from November 30th. In a bull market, however, these rather pessimistic readings are rare and usually short-lived. In this respect, even the currently not extreme negative sentiment could well be sufficient for a sustainable ground and turnaround.Overall, the current sentiment analysis signals an increasingly optimistic opportunity for contrarian investors. The chances for a final low after seven months of correction are relatively good in the short term already.Seasonality: Gold – The Final Sell-Off Is Here!Seasonality for Gold as of February 22nd, 2021. Source: SeasonaxFrom a seasonal point of view, the development in the gold market in recent weeks is in stark contrast to the pattern established over the last 52 years. Thus, a strong start to the year could have been expected well into February. Instead, gold fell sharply from US$ 1.959 down to US$1.717 so far.If one pushes the statistically proven seasonal high point from the end of February to the beginning of January, a grinding sideways to lower phase including interim recoveries as well as recurring pullbacks is still to be expected until April. The beginning of the next sustainable uptrend could therefore theoretically be estimated approximately starting in May. Of course, these are all just abstract seasonal mind games.In any case, statistically speaking, the seasonality for gold in spring is not very supportive for about four months. In this respect, the seasonal component continues to call for patience. At the latest in early summer however, gold should be able to trend higher again. The best seasonal phase typically starts at the beginning of July and lasts until the beginning of October.Sound Money: Bitcoin/Gold-RatioSound Money Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio as of February 22nd, 2021. Source: ChaiaWith prices of US$47,500 for one Bitcoin and US$1,734 for one troy ounce of gold, the Bitcoin/Gold-ratio is currently sitting at 27.39. That means you have to pay more than 27 ounces of gold for one Bitcoin. In other words, an ounce of gold currently only costs 0.036 Bitcoin. Bitcoin has thus mercilessly outperformed gold in the past few months. We had repeatedly warned against this development since early summer 2020!© Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, February 17th, 2021Generally, you should be invested in both: precious metals and bitcoin. Buying and selling Bitcoin against gold only makes sense to the extent that one balances the allocation in these two asset classes! At least 10% but better 25% of one’s total assets should be invested in precious metals (preferably physically), while in cryptos and especially in Bitcoin, one should hold at least 1% to 5%. Paul Tudor Jones holds a little less than 2% of his assets in Bitcoin. If you are very familiar with cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin, you can certainly allocate higher percentages to Bitcoin and maybe other Altcoins on an individual basis. For the average investor, who usually is primarily invested in equities and real estate, 5% in the highly speculative and highly volatile bitcoin is already a lot!“Opposites complement. In our dualistic world of Yin and Yang, body and mind, up and down, warm and cold, we are bound by the necessary attraction of opposites. In this sense you can view gold and bitcoin as such a pair of strength. With the physical component of gold and the digital aspect of bitcoin (BTC-USD) you have a complementary unit of a true safe haven in the 21st century. You want to own both!”– Florian GrummesMacro update and conclusion: Gold – The Final Sell-Off Is Here!© Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, February 19th, 2021.In the big picture, the “confetti party” continues. As usual, the Fed’s balance sheet total rose to a new all-time high of US$7,557 billion. The increase in assets again concentrated almost entirely in the securities holdings. The Fed balance sheet total now corresponds to 35% of the US GDP.© Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, February 17th, 2021In the eurozone, the unprecedented currency creation continues as well. Here, the ECB’s balance sheet climbed to 7,079 billion EUR reaching a new all-time high. The ECB balance sheet now represents 71% of the euro-zone GDP.© Crescant Capital via Twitter ©Tavi Costa, February 12th, 2021.But the Chinese are doing it the most blatantly. Here, the money supply has increased by US$5.4 trillion since March 2020!© Crescant Capital via Twitter ©Tavi Costa, February 15th 2021.As repeatedly written at this point, the expansion of the central bank’s balance sheets has far-reaching consequences. The GSCI raw materials index has risen significantly in the past 11 months. Accordingly, inflation expectations are also rising more and more and still have a lot to catch up.© Crescant Capital via Twitter ©Tavi Costa, February 20th 2021.Wood prices in the USA provide a good example of the rapidly rising commodity prices. Lumber saw the fastest increase since 1974 and has risen by more than 35% since the beginning of the year. During the same period, gasoline increased by 20%, natural gas by 26%, agricultural raw materials are around 25% more expensive and base metals jumped over 20% higher! Hence, inflation is coming, and central bankers won’t be able to stop it.While silver and platinum have been anticipating this “trend” for weeks and have been holding up much better than gold, the precious metal sector is still in its correction phase. This correction began after a steep two-year rally in last August and can be classified as perfectly normal and healthy until now.© Holger Zschaepitz via Twitter @Schuldensuehner, February 18th, 2021.After seven months and a price drop of nearly US$360, the worst for gold is likely over. In view of the recent slight increase in real US yields (currently -0.92%) the pullback over the last few weeks can be justified. Yet, it is important to focus on the bigger picture. This is where the international devaluation race to the bottom continues unabated and will sooner or later lead to significantly higher gold prices too.Technically, Friday’s sell off might have marked the final low for this ongoing correction. As well, the slide could continue for a few more days, but the remaining risk to the downside seems rather shallow. In the worst-case Gold might drop to US$1,650 to US$1,680.To conclude, this means for Gold – The Final Sell-Off Is Here! The Bottom may arrive soon within the next week or has already been seen on Friday.Source: www.celticgold.euFeel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Florian Grummes|February 27th, 2021|Tags: Bitcoin, bitcoin/gold-ratio, Gold, Gold Analysis, Gold bullish, gold correction, Gold Cot-Report, gold fundamentals, Silver, The bottom is in|0 CommentsFlorian GrummesPrecious metal and crypto expertwww.midastouch-consulting.comFree newsletterSource: www.celticgold.euAbout the Author: Florian GrummesFlorian Grummes is an independent financial analyst, advisor, consultant, trader & investor as well as an international speaker with more than 20 years of experience in financial markets. He is specialized in precious metals, cryptocurrencies and technical analysis. He is publishing weekly gold, silver & cryptocurrency analysis for his numerous international readers. He is also running a large telegram Channel and a Crypto Signal Service. Florian is well known for combining technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis into one accurate conclusion about the markets. Since April 2019 he is chief editor of the cashkurs-gold newsletter focusing on gold and silver mining stocks.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Stocks, Gold – Rebound or Dead Cat Bounce?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 01.03.2021 15:10
None of Friday‘s intraday attempts to recapture 3,850 stuck, and the last hour‘s selling pressure is an ill omen. Especially since it was accompanied by high yield corporate bondsh weakening. It‘s as if the markets only now noticed the surging long-end Treasury yields, declining steeply on Thursday as the 10y Treasury yield made it through 1.50% before retreating. And on Friday, stocks didn‘t trust the intraday reversal higher in 20+ year Treasuries either.Instead, the options traders took the put/call ratio to levels unseen since early Nov. The VIX however doesn‘t reflect the nervousness, having remained near Thursday‘s closing values. Its long lower knot looks encouraging, and the coming few days would decide the shape of this correction which I have not called shallow since Wed‘s suspicious tech upswing. Here we are, the tech has pulled the 500-strong index down, and remains perched in a precarious position. Could have rebounded, didn‘t – instead showing that its risk-on (high beta) segments such as semiconductors, are ready to do well regardless.That‘s the same about any high beta sector or stock such as financials – these tend to do well in rising rates environments. Regardless of any coming stabilization / retreat in long-term Treasury yields, it‘s my view that we‘re going to have to get used to rising spreads such as 2y over 10y as the long end still steepens. The markets and especially commodities aren‘t buying Fed‘s nonchalant attitude towards inflation. Stocks have felt the tremors, and will keep rising regardless, as it has been historically much higher rates that have caused serious issues (think 4% in 10y Treasuries).In such an environment, the defensives with low volatility and good earnings are getting left behind, as it‘s the top earners in growth, and very risk-on cyclicals that do best. They would be taking the baton from each other, as (micro)rotations mark the stock market bull health – and once tech big names join again, new highs would arrive. Then, the $1.9T stimulus has made it past the House, involves nice stimulus checks, and speculation about an upcoming infrastructure bill remains. Coupled with the avalanche of new Fed money, this is going into the real economy, not sitting on banks‘ balance sheets – and now, the banks will have more incentive to lend out. Margin debt isn‘t contracting, but global liquidity hasn‘t gone pretty much anywhere in February. Coupled with the short-term dollar moves, this is hurting emerging markets more than the U.S. - and based on the global liquidity metrics alone, the S&P 500 is oversold right now – that‘s without the stimulus package. It‘s my view that we‘re experiencing a correction whose shape is soon to be decided, and not a reversal of fortunes.Just like I wrote at the onset of Friday:(…) Would we get a bounce during the U.S. session? It‘s possible to the point of likely. The damage done yesterday though looks to have more than a few brief sessions to run to repair. True, some stocks such as Tesla are at a concerning crossroads, and in general illustrate the vulnerability of non-top tech earners within the industry. Entering Mon‘s regular session, the signs are mixed as there hasn‘t been a clear reversal any way I look at it. Still, this remains one of the dips to be bought in my view – and the signs of it turning around, would be marked by strengthening commodities, and for all these are worth, copper, silver and oil especially.As for gold, it should recover given the retreating long-term yields, but Fri didn‘t bring any signs of strength in the precious metals sector, to put it mildly. Look for TLT for directions, even as real rates, the true determinant, remain little changed and at -1%, which means very favorable fundamentals for the yellow metal. And remember that when the rate of inflation accelerates, rising rates start to bite the yellow metal less.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 and Its InternalsFriday‘s session doesn‘t have the many hallmarks of a reversal. Slightly higher volume, yet none of the intraday upswings held. The Force index reveals that the bears just paused for a day, that there wasn‘t a true reversal yet. The accumulation is a very weak one thus far, and the sellers can easily show more determination still.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) are plain and simple worrying here. The decent intraday upswing evaporated as the closing bell approached. A weak session not indicative of a turnaround.The high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) performance was weaker than the stock market performance, which isn‘t a pleasant development. Should the bond markets keep trading with a more pessimistic bias than stocks, it could become quite fast concerning. As said already, the shape of the correction is being decided these days.Stocks, Smallcaps and Emerging MarketsAfter having moved hand in hand, emerging markets (EEM ETF) have weakened considerably more over the prior week than both the S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 (IWM ETF). EEM is almost at its late Jan lows – given Fri‘s spike, watching the dollar is key, and not just here.TechnologyTechnology (XLK ETF) didn‘t reverse with clarity on Friday, regardless of positive semiconductors (XSD ETF) performance. At least the volume comparison here is positive, and indicates accumulation. Just as I was highlighting the danger for S&P 500 and gold early Thursday, it‘s the tech sector that holds the key to the 500-strong index stabilization.Gold and SilverReal rates are deeply negative, long-dated Treasuries indeed turned higher on Friday, yet gold plunged right to its strong volume profile support zone before recovering a little. Its very short-term performance is disappointing, It was already its Tue performance that I called unconvincing – let alone Wed‘s one. I maintain that it‘s long-dated Treasury yields and the dollar that are holding the greatest sway. Rates should retreat a little from here, and the gold-dollar correlation is only slightly positive now, which translates into a weak positive effect on gold prices.But it‘s silver that I am looking to for earliest signs of reversal – the white metal and its miners have the task clear cut. Weeks ago, I‘ve been noting the low $26 values as sufficient to retrace a reasonable part of prior advance, and we‘ve made it there only this late. Thu and Fri‘s weakness has much to do with the commodities complex, where I wanted still on Thu to see copper reversing intraday (to call it a risk-on reversal), which it didn‘t – and silver suffered the consequences as well. Likewise now, I‘m looking to the red metal, and will explain in today‘s final chart why.Precious Metals RatiosThere is no better illustration of gold‘s weakness than in both miners to gold ratios that are bobbing around their local lows, rebounding soundly, and then breaking them more or less convincingly again. The gold sector doesn‘t yet appear ready to run.Let‘s get the big picture through the copper to oil ratio. Its current 8 months long consolidation has been punctured in the middle with oil turning higher, outperforming the red metal – and that brought the yellow one under pressure increasingly more. Yet is the uptick in buying interest in gold a sign of upcoming stabilization and higher prices in gold that Fri‘s beaten down values indicate? Notably, the copper to oil ratio didn‘t break to new lows – and remains as valuable tool to watch as real, nominal interest rates, and various derivatives such as copper to Treasury yields or this very ratio.SummaryStock bulls are almost inviting selling pressure today with the weak finish to Fri‘s session. While the sectoral comparisons aren‘t disastrous, the credit markets indicate stress ahead just as much as emerging markets do. Still, this isn‘t the end of the bull run, very far from it – new highs are closer than quite a few might think.Gold and silver took an even greater beating on Fri than the day before. Naturally, silver is much better positioned to recapture the higher $27 levels than gold is regarding the $1,800 one. With the long-dated Treasuries stabilization indeed having resulted in a short-term dollar upswing, the greenback chart (and its effects upon the metals) is becoming key to watch these days. Restating the obvious, gold is far from out of the woods, and lacking positive signs of buying power emerging.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

After Gold’s Slide, What Happens to Miners?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 01.03.2021 17:42
After gold came down hard last week, it might be in a for a short pause and corrective upswing. What will the yellow metal’s next chapter bring for the miners? How high can they go if gold rallies from here?As gold recently moved very close to my approximate target of $1,700, the senior miners (GDX) ended Friday’s (Feb. 26) session $0.13 above my initial downside target of $31 . And while an eventual flush to the $23 to $24 range (or lower) remains on the table, a corrective upswing could be next in line.To explain, if gold can bounce off of the $1,670 to $1,700 range, the GDX ETF will likely follow suit. Thus, while the miners are likely to move drastically lower over the medium-term, a decline of nearly 11% over the last two weeks has given way to short-term oversold conditions.Please see below:Figure 1Even more precise, if you analyze the chart below, you can see that the GDX ETF has garnered historical support at roughly $29.52. Moreover, the level also coincides with the early-March high, the mid-April low and the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. As a result, a corrective upswing to ~$33/$34 could be the miners’ next move.Please see below:Figure 2 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), GDX and Slow Stochastic Oscillator Chart Comparison – 2020Remember though, if gold does bounce off of the $1,670 to $1,700 range, and the miners are able to ride the momentum higher, ~$33 to ~$34 is where the rally likely ends. From there, the bearish medium-term trend will likely continue, with the miners declining to my secondary target range of $23 to $24.From a medium-term perspective, the potential head and shoulders pattern – highlighted by the shaded green boxes above – also deserves plenty of attention.Ever since the mid-September breakdown below the 50-day moving average , the GDX ETF was unable to trigger a substantial and lasting move above this MA. The times when the GDX was able to move above it were also the times when the biggest short-term declines started.Looking at the chart above, the most recent move higher only made the similarity of this shoulder portion of the bearish head-and-shoulders pattern to the left shoulder ( figure 26 - both marked with green) bigger. This means that when the GDX breaks below the neck level of the pattern in a decisive way, the implications are likely to be extremely bearish for the next several weeks or months.Due to the uncanny similarity between the two green rectangles, I decided to check what happens if this mirror-similarity continues. I used purple, dashed lines for that. There were two important short-term price swings in April 2020 – one shows the size of the correction and one is a near-vertical move higher.Copying these price moves (purple lines) to the current situation, we get a scenario in which GDX (mining stocks) moves to about $31 and then comes back up to about $34. This would be in perfect tune with what I wrote previously. After breaking below the head-and-shoulders pattern, gold miners would then be likely to verify this breakdown by moving back up to the neck level of the pattern. Then, we would likely see another powerful slide – perhaps to at least $24.This is especially the case, since silver and mining stocks tend to decline particularly strongly if the stock market is declining as well. And while the exact timing of the market’s slide is not 100% clear, the day of reckoning for stocks is coming . And it might be very, very close.As I explained previously, based on the similarities to the 1929 and 2008 declines, it could be the case that the precious metals sector declines for about 3 months after the general stock market tops. And it seems that we won’t have to wait long for the latter. Perhaps the next big move lower in stocks is already underway.In conclusion, the sun may be about to shine on the precious metals, even if the upcoming rally is not yet destined to last. If the yellow metal can rally off of the $1,670 to $1,700 range, the miners have a pathway to ~$33/$34. Supporting a short-term bounce, abnormally high short interest in U.S. Treasuries could be a contrarian indicator , with a temporary calming of the priors weeks’ yield surge adding fuel to the PMs’ fire. If so, the favorable backdrop could support a temporary bounce before gold and the miners resume their medium-term downtrends.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Treasury Yields Rally May Trigger A Crazy Ivan Event (Again) In The Market

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 01.03.2021 20:05
Since shortly after the US November elections, my research team and I have been clear about our research and our belief that the bullish rally in the markets would continue to drive the strongest sectors higher and higher.  In December 2020, we shared an article suggesting our proprietary Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arcs and GANN theory indicated a major price peak could set up in early April 2021.  On February 3, 2021, we also published an early warning that Treasure Yields were set up to prompt a big topping pattern sometime over the next 6+ months .  We followed that up with a February 21, 2021 article suggesting future Gold and Silver price trends may be tied to the moves in Treasury Yields and the resulting stock market trends.Now that the Treasury Yields have completed what we suggested would be required to start a “revaluation event” in the stock market, we believe that a “Crazy Ivan” event may soon setup in the global markets.  Many months back (August 28, 2019), we published an article about precious metals were about to pull a Crazy Ivan price event (https://www.thetechnicaltraders.com/precious-metals-crazy-ivan-followup/). This prediction came true in 2020 and 2021.  Now, we are suggesting the global markets may pull a new type of Crazy Ivan event – a price revaluation event prompted by the rise in Treasury Yields.The Yields SetupIn our February 3, 2021, research article about the Treasury Yields, we suggested that a series of setup processes take place that prompt a broad market correction related to Treasury Yields.  First, Yields must fall from levels above the Breakdown Threshold to levels below the Setup Threshold to complete the first stage of the setup.  This first stage sets up the potential for moderate sideways price trends nearing a peak, or congestion.  The second stage of this setup is that Yields must fall to levels below ZERO.  This move creates the potential for one of two outcomes when Yields begin to rally.If Yields rally back above the Setup Threshold and/or the Breakdown Threshold, but then stall and reverse back below the Breakdown Threshold, then the markets will likely stall/congest or enter a sideways/rolling top type of trend for a period of 2 to 6+ months. If Yields rally back above both the Setup Threshold and the Breakdown Threshold and continue to rally higher, then the markets begin to start a sideways/correction event which we are calling a Crazy Ivan event.We have highlighted all the areas in the charts below where the Yields have fallen to levels below ZERO on this chart and you can clearly see how the SPX reacted to these upside Yields recovery events.  Every time (in RED) where the Yields rallied above the Setup and Breakdown Threshold levels, a broad market downtrend setup within 6 to 12+ months of this event.  We believe the markets are about to do the same type of thing and we are calling it a Crazy Ivan event because we believe the current market setup is vastly different than the previous setups.If the markets start to roll over and volatility continues to stay higher or rise, we can benefit from it with our Options Trading Signals which we use non-direction trades to sell premiums. This allows options traders to profit from volatility and not worry about which way the market moves.The current Crazy Ivan setupThe following current Yields chart shows a more detailed example of what is currently taking place related to the Crazy Ivan setup.  Yields are back above the 1.35 level on this chart and have quickly rallied above the Setup and Breakdown Threshold levels.  If Yields continue to rally from this level, we believe the markets will quickly shift into a sideways/rolling top formation which will eventually prompt a new Crazy Ivan price event (a big revaluation event).  If yields stall near these current levels and move back below the Breakdown Threshold, then we may still see a bit of sideways trading for a while, but usually the markets will begin to resume an upward price trend if Yields stay below the Breakdown Threshold.Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!The outcome hinges on what Yields do in the next 4 to 12+ months and we believe traders and investors need to prepare for big shifting trends in major sectors and indexes going forward.  The setup process is already complete at this point.  We are not waiting for anything to further complete this potential for the Crazy Ivan event.  We are just watching Yields to see if they continue higher or stall and move back below the Breakdown Threshold.  At this point, the Crazy Ivan price revaluation event is almost a certainty – it is just a matter of time.What we expect to see is not the same type of market trend that we have experienced over the past 8+ years – this is a completely different set of market dynamics. Don’t miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors in 2021, which will be an incredible year for traders of the BAN strategy.  You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets. For those who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers.In the second part of this article we will publish later this week, we will review and share more data and details related to the rising Yields and the pressures that will likely be placed on the global markets.  You don't want to miss the conclusions of our research.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

What Correction in Stocks? And Gold?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 02.03.2021 16:30
Stocks thoroughly rebounded yesterday, and corporate credit markets did even better. These are optimistic signs as the shape of the correction has been decided – again, as shallow, less than 5% one. Long-termTreasuries are no longer in a free fall, volalility has retreated back to the low 20s, and the put/call ratio swung back towards the bottom of its recent range.Technology has rebounded as well, and the microrotations in the stock market keep being the haollmark of stock bull‘s health, and the risk-on (high beta) sectors and segments such as financials, semiconductors, or capex (capital expenditure such as construction and engineering) - and airlines are catching breath too.Such was the sectoral themes likely to do well that I mentioned yesterday:(…) That‘s the same about any high beta sector or stock such as financials – these tend to do well in rising rates environments. Regardless of any coming stabilization / retreat in long-term Treasury yields, it‘s my view that we‘re going to have to get used to rising spreads such as 2y over 10y as the long end still steepens. The markets and especially commodities aren‘t buying Fed‘s nonchalant attitude towards inflation. Stocks have felt the tremors, and will keep rising regardless, as it has been historically much higher rates that have caused serious issues (think 4% in 10y Treasuries).In such an environment, the defensives with low volatility and good earnings are getting left behind, as it‘s the top earners in growth, and very risk-on cyclicals that do best. They would be taking the baton from each other, as (micro)rotations mark the stock market bull health – and once tech big names join again, new highs would arrive. Then, the $1.9T stimulus has made it past the House, involves nice stimulus checks, and speculation about an upcoming infrastructure bill remains. Coupled with the avalanche of new Fed money, this is going into the real economy, not sitting on banks‘ balance sheets – and now, the banks will have more incentive to lend out. Margin debt isn‘t contracting, but global liquidity hasn‘t gone pretty much anywhere in February. Coupled with the short-term dollar moves, this is hurting emerging markets more than the U.S. - and based on the global liquidity metrics alone, the S&P 500 is oversold right now – that‘s without the stimulus package. It‘s my view that we‘re experiencing ... not a reversal of fortunes. … this remains one of the dips to be bought in my view.All right, we‘re seeing a rebound in progress, on the way to new highs – but what about the embattled gold? Its seasonality component was „slated“ to help the bulls in Feb, and the king of metals instead succumbed to nominal yields pressure. Would the Mar historically negative slant be likewise invalidated – and again precisely for the reason called long-dated Treasuries?Regardless of the immensely positive fundamentals behind the precious metals (including real rates, the true determinant, little changed and at -1%), it has thus far been commodities and Bitcoin who rose and held on to their gains since the 2H 2020. Please remember the big picture chart about commodities and precious metals taking turns in rising that I presented on Feb 17. The bullish case for gold (let alone silver) isn‘t lost – merely thoroughly questioned these weeks of sordid $HUI:$GOLD underperformance.Are we seeing signs of decreasing financial asset price inflation – or an accelerating one? It‘s the inflation and inflation expectations that are weighed against the nominal rates trajectory. As the rate of inflation accelerates, rising nominal rates would bite the yellow metal less – and there is no denying that the risk of inflation is running as high as can be.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookSo far, so (very) good in stocks – volume is lagging but the Force index still flipped positive, indication that at worst, we‘re likely to muddle through in a sideways to higher trading pattern over the nearest days.Credit MarketsAfter a worrying move on Friday, high yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) are once again assuming leadership, and I see this chart as the one with more bullish implications for the coming days than the S&P 500 alone. That‘s the dynamic I am looking for in a good run.Both leading credit market ratios – high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) and investment grade corporate bonds to longer-dated ones (LQD:IEI) – are looking to get back in closer sync than has been the case in 2021 thus far. It would take time, but would prove that the stock market can still keep on rising when faced with even higher nominal rates than we saw thus far.TechnologyTechnology (XLK ETF) clearly reversed, and while the volume isn‘t convincing on a standalone basis, coupled with semiconductors (XSD ETF) and other value stocks performance, it‘s encouraging enough to treat any significant correction calls heard elsewhere, as again plain wrong and premature, for the full picture view didn‘t support such calls in the first place, and you know what is being said about every broken clock being right twice a day…Having said so, let‘s turn to precious metals, which offered more than a few bullish signs way earlier in Feb. Based on the evolving charts and gold‘s failure to gain credible traction, I was at least able to time most of the downside before it happened – such as last week. Still, there has been little bullish that could be said about the PMs complex, as encouraging signs emerged only to be gone shortly. So, where do we stand at the moment?Gold and Copper to Oil RatioRising TLT rates are turning a corner, but the yellow metal is staying at the strong volume profile support zone that marks the April-May consolidation zone. Earlier today, gold cut all the way to its lower end (that‘s low $1,700s) before rebounding. The danger zone hasn‘t been cleared in the least yet, but the signs of silver reversing once again from a double test of $26, is as encouraging as copper rising again, and oil not tanking.The copper to oil ratio whose long-term perspective I featured yesterday, is making a clear turn on the daily chart. Coupled with the TLT stabilization, and the dollar trading with relatively little correlation to gold these days, the table is set for a short-term rebound in the metals. How far would these take the sector? The numerous bears would have you believe that not too far & that another downleg to ridiculously low values is at hand, but I am not convinced and prefer reading the tape instead. Yes, even in the mostly bearish PMs chart setups where nothing bullish has stuck for longer than several day over the past weeks. I repeat that the $1.9T stimulus bill (and infrastructure bill, even slavery reparations if we get that far really) hasn‘t been truly factored in by the markets – and yesterday‘s S&P 500 action proves that.Silver and MinersSilver keeps consolidating in a bullish pattern well above $26 still (not that it would be the line in the sand though), and when the silver miners (SIL ETF) start leading again, a new silver upleg would be born. For now, these are still mirroring the weak gold miners‘ performance, which is free from bullish signals for the yellow metal still. The gold sector isn‘t yet ready to run, plain and simple.SummaryStock bulls are on a solid recovery path, and new all time highs are again closer in sight. Crucially, the corporate credit markets and S&P 500 sectoral performance confirm, and once emerging markets join (the dollar weakens again), more fuel to the rally would be available.Gold remains precariously perched, yet isn‘t breaking down – the bull run off last spring‘s consolidation remains intact – regardless of the short-term gloom and doom. I see the metals as likely to recover next as the Treasury yields stop biting. Restating the obvious, gold is far from out of the woods.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Gold Continues Declines on Bond Yield Jitters

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 02.03.2021 16:30
The economy seems to be recovering, while bond yields are increasing again, sending gold prices down.Not good. Gold bulls can be truly upset. The yellow metal continued its bearish trend last week. As the chart below shows, the price of gold has declined from $1,807 on Monday (Feb. 22) to $1,743 on Friday (Feb. 26).What happened? Well, last week was full of positive economic news. In particular, personal income surged by 10 percent in January, compared to only 0.6-percent rise in the previous month. Meanwhile, consumer spending increased 2.4 percent, following a 0.4-percent decline in December. This means that, on an absolute basis, personal consumption expenditures have almost returned to the pre- pandemic level, as the chart below shows.Additionally, durable goods orders jumped by 3.4 percent in January versus a 1.2-percent increase one month earlier. Moreover, initial jobless claims declined from 841,000 to 730,000 in the week ending February 20, as the chart below shows. It means that the economic situation is improving, partially thanks to the December fiscal stimulus.And, on Saturday (Feb. 27), the House of Representatives passed Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package. Although the bill has yet to be approved by the Senate, the move by the House brings us one step closer to its implementation. Although the additional fiscal stimulus may overheat the economy and turn out to be positive for gold prices in the long-term, the strengthened prospects of higher government expenditures can revive the optimism in the financial markets, negatively affecting the safe-haven assets such as gold .Finally, on Saturday, the FDA authorized Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine against COVID-19. This decision expands the availability of vaccines, which brings us closer to the end of the epidemic in the U.S. and offers hope for a faster economic recovery. The new vaccine is highly effective (it provides 85-percent protection against severe COVID-19 28 days after vaccination) and most importantly, requires only one dose, which facilitates efficient distribution. So, the approval of another vaccine is rather bad news for gold and could add to the metal’s problems in the near future.However, the most important development from the last week was the jump in the bond yields . As the chart below shows, after a short stabilization in the first half of the week, the yields on the 10-year Treasuries indexed by inflation rose from -0.79 to -0.60 percent on Thursday (Feb. 25). This surge in the real interest rates is negative for the price of gold.Implications for GoldWhat does this all mean for the price of gold? Well, the increase in the bond yields is clearly bad for the yellow metal. Although they have partially risen to strengthened inflation expectations, the real interest rates have also soared. It means that investors expect wider fiscal deficits and expanding vaccination to accelerate inflation only partially, but in a large part, it will speed up real economic growth. This is a huge problem for gold, as real interest rates are a key driver of gold prices.An additional issue is that the expectations of higher economic growth and inflation create accompanying expectations for the Fed to tighten its monetary policy and hike the federal funds rate , which exerts downward pressure on gold prices.This is what we were afraid of at the beginning of the year. We noted that the real interest rates were so low that the next move could be up. Importantly, there is further room for upward trajectory, as the real interest rates are still importantly below the pre-pandemic level.However, we wouldn’t bet on the return to the levels seen last year. After all, interest rates didn’t return to the pre-crisis level after the Great Recession , so it’s unlikely that they will do it now. Additionally, investors should remember that the U.S. government is now so heavily indebted that if Treasury yields continue to increase, the Fed would have to intervene. A failure to do so would mean that the interest expenses would grow too much, creating serious problems for the Treasury. So, the current bearish trend in gold may not last forever – although it may still take some time.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, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

So, Where Is the Corrective Upswing?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 03.03.2021 15:07
Can the precious metals move lower before a short-term correction, and after correcting, will they continue their medium-term downtrend?Gold & silver reversed yesterday (Mar. 2) and the GDX rallied after bottoming right in my previous target area, but it’s still unclear if the bottom is in.Let’s check what’s happening in the charts.Figure 1 – COMEX Gold Futures (GC.F)In short, gold reversed yesterday after touching the upper border or my target area. Can the temporary bottom be in? Yes. Is it likely to be in? Not necessarily. Most likely it’s not in yet, because gold still hasn’t moved to its strong support levels.The size of the first part of the move sometimes tends to be identical or near-identical to the size of the final move. The size of the initial, August decline was almost just like the November decline. Now, copying the January 2021 decline to the current situation (blue, dashed lines), provides us with the target at about $1,675.The above price area coincides with the previous 2020 lows, and it’s also slightly below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement based on the entire 2020 upswing. Gold would be likely to at least reach this retracement before forming the temporary bottom.Consequently, it would not be surprising to see gold suffering another ~$50 decline before finding a short-term bottom. More importantly though, if the initial move lower coincides with an S&P 500 correction, it would be likely to push mining stocks and silver lower in a more visible way.On the bullish front, the shape of yesterday’s candlestick does indeed look like an intraday reversal. And we saw the same kind of intraday reversal in silver.Figure 2 – COMEX Silver FuturesThe fact that silver’s triangle-vertex-based reversal is approximately today / was approximately yesterday (it’s unclear) further validates the scenario, in which precious metals move higher in the short term.I previously wrote that silver is likely to catch up with the decline at its later stage, while miners are likely to lead the way. That’s exactly what we’ve been seeing in the last few months. Silver is still likely to catch up with the declines when silver investors panic – just as they tend to do close to the end of given price moves (selling close to the bottom and buying close to the top). So far, miners remain the asset of choice for trading, but sometime during the next downswing, we might move to silver in order to magnify gains from both declines. As a reminder, please consider what happened on March 13 and March 16, 2020 and consider that the GDX ETF bottomed (in terms of the daily closing prices) on March 13. That was when silver was only in the middle of its decline.Speaking of mining stocks, let’s take a look at the GDX ETF chart.Figure 3 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)The GDX moved higher shortly after we successfully exited our short positions, relatively close to the bottom. But is this rally about to take miners much higher before they turn south once again? It’s unclear at this time.It could be the case that we see an immediate move lower once again as gold declines to $1,675 or so, but it could also be the case that miners correct to $33 - $34 now, and then move to new lows later.All in all, it seems that we are already seeing the corrective upswing, or one is about to start after another very short-term downswing. Once this corrective upswing is over, the downtrend is likely to resume.Why would this be the case? There are myriads of reasons and I’m going over most of them each week in my flagship Gold & Silver Trading Alerts , but to name just a few, it’s gold’s invalidation of the breakout above its 2011 high, despite having an extremely positive fundamental picture, gold’s weak performance relative to the USD Index, miners’ relatively weak performance compared to gold, and the medium-term breakout in the USDX.And speaking of the USD Index, let’s take a look at its chart.Figure 4While the medium-term breakout continues to be the most important technical development visible on the above chart (with important bullish implications for the following months), there is one factor that could make the USD Index decline on a temporary basis.This factor is the similarity to the mid-2020 price pattern. I previously commented on the head and shoulders pattern that had formed (necklines are marked with dashed lines), but that I didn’t trust. Indeed, this formation was invalidated, but a bigger pattern, of which this formation was part, wasn’t invalidated.The patterns start with a broad bottom and an initial rally. Then it turns out that the initial rally is the head of a head-and-shoulders pattern that is then completed and invalidated. This is followed by a sharp rally, and then a reversal with a sizable daily decline.So far, the situations are similar.Last year, this pattern was followed by a decline to new lows. Now, based on the breakout above the rising medium-term support line, such a bearish outcome doesn’t seem likely, but we might see the pattern continue for several more days, before they disconnect. After all, this time, the USD Index is likely to really rally – similarly to how it soared in 2018 – and not move to new lows.What happens before the patterns disconnect? The USD Index could decline temporarily.This means that the temporary bottom in the precious metals and miners could have already formed, but it’s far from being crystal-clear.All in all, markets tend to reverse only after reaching important support or resistance levels, which means that PMs and miners might still move lower before their short-term corrective upswing, but it could also be the case that the latter is already underway. Depending on how many confirmations we get of the bullish outlook, it might or might not be a good idea to enter temporary long positions here. After all, the medium-term downtrend started in August 2020 and it remains intact – thus, quick long positions are against the trend and thus riskier.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Weak Jobs Data, Stocks and Gold

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 03.03.2021 16:19
Stocks gave up some of Monday‘s strong gains, but I find it little concerning in the sub-3,900 pre-breakout meandering. It‘s about time, and a play on the tech sector to participate meaningfully in the coming rally (or at least not to stand in the way again). Talking obstacles, what about today‘s non-farm employment change, before the really key Fri‘s release? A bad number makes it less likely for market participants to bet on the Fed raising rates soon – but frankly, I don‘t understand where this hawkish sentiment is coming from, now when we‘re not at even talking taper. Raising rates in the current shape of the recovery, where we have commodities and financial asset prices rising, and that‘s about it? No, the current economic recovery isn‘t strong enough to entertain that thought. The need for stimulus asap is obvious. Thus, prior trends in the commodities and currency arenas are likely to continue, and not even the current long-term Treasuries stabilization can prevent the greenback from falling more than temporarily.Just as I wrote yesterday about stocks:(…) All right, we‘re seeing a rebound in progress, on the way to new highs.Gold scored modest gains yesterday, but these aren‘t enough to flip its short-term outlook bullish. Yes, it‘s sitting within the strong support zone (with another one over $40 further lower), and it isn‘t breaking down. It could actually stage a rebound precisely off this support zone next, as sharp rallies are born during the opposite sentiment clearly prevailing, which is what we have in gold now.Silver remains relatively solid, and commodities aren‘t breaking down. We have a month historically strong for copper, and I talked both yesterday and Monday what that means for the copper to oil ratio – and its relationship to gold, given the very accomodative monetary policy without real end in sight. This is then checked against nominal rates matching up against inflation, inflation expectations.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsYesterday‘s downswing didn‘t attract much volume, making it a short-term hesitation That‘s the meandering, the search for direction just below the 3,900 mark that I had been tweeting about yesterday. If you look at the equal weighted S&P 500 chart (RSP ETF), it‘s clear that new highs are still a little off given the sectoral balance of power.The market breadth indicators reflect the daily indecisiveness fittingly. While not worrying in themselves, they‘re showing that Monday‘s session wasn‘t the beginning of an endless bullish streak. Rather, it‘s just a part of the bullish turn that would over time prevail more convincingly.Credit MarketsThe key leading credit market ratio – high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) – is slightly leaning bullish here. And that‘s good given the talk of bubble bursting, significant correction just ahead (started) – that‘s what I am looking for in uncertain times. Ideally though, such a bond market leadership should last a bit longer than one day, to lend it more credibility.TechnologyTechnology (XLK ETF) once again reversed to the downside, or so the chart says. While high, the volume isn‘t trustworthy – it doesn‘t stand comparison to the visually similar early Sep pattern, which was followed by a break to new lows in the latter half of the month. Then, as the overlaid S&P 500 (black line) shows, high beta pockets and value sectors have assumed leadership, powering the S&P 500 advance.DollarThe USD index is keeping close to the 91 mark, and yesterday‘s candle reveals that the potential upside isn‘t probably all that great. This is consistent with the dollar being in a bear market, sliding to new lows in 2021 with likelihood bordering on certainty. Plain and simple, it‘ll be on the defensive regardless of where long-term rates go.Gold and SilverGold had a good chance to rebound higher throughout this week, but didn‘t – given its Monday‘s performance, I had some reservations even as the support zone held, and upswing could easily follow – especially given the positive copper to oil ratio‘s move, or TLT not putting fresh pressure. But that‘s not happening in today‘s pre-market session, as the support‘s lower border is being tested again.Silver keeps holding the $26 level, and still trades at the 50-day moving average. While it‘s lagging behind both platinum and copper, its chart is (unlike gold‘s) bullish. Remember, the most bullish thing prices can do, is to rise. Not to rebound and fizzle out, only to rebound and fizzle out again, the way we see in gold as it keeps offering both bearish and bullish signs.OilOil keeps trading in a bullish fashion, and the 3-day long correction hasn‘t broken even Feb local lows yet. While we‘re for increased volatility in here, the uptrend remains strong, and volume currently doesn‘t support a deep correction theory. Just look how little have the retreating daily indicators achieved when it comes to the underlying price move? That‘s a reflection of a strong uptrend, which would be however best advised to resume sooner rather than later so as not to lose the technical advantage.SummaryStock bulls are on a recovery path, and new all time highs are basically a question of when the tech would step up to the plate again. Despite today‘s premarket weakness reaching well below the 3,870 level, the S&P 500 internals and credit markets performance (including foreign bonds) doesn‘t indicate that much downside potential currently. This correction‘s shape is largely in, and I mean the price downside – patience though will be needed before seeing new highs.Gold remains stuck in its support zone, unable to rally, not breaking down. The copper advantage of yesterday is lost for today, but seeing it and silver recover would be the most likely outcome once the immediate threat of rising Treasury yields retreats more noticeably. Gold is far from out of the woods, and flirting with the support level without a convincing rebound, is dangerous to the bulls.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Gold Predictive Modeling Suggests A New Rally Targeting $2300+, But When Will it Start?

Chris Vermeulen Chris Vermeulen 04.03.2021 15:12
One of our readers' favorite tools is the Adaptive Dynamic Learning (ADL) predictive modeling system.  This tool maps out technical and price patterns into an array of similar setups using historical data, then applies that data to current and future price bars.  Using the ADL predictive Modeling tool, we can see into the future based on historical technical analysis that maps statistically relevant price activity and shows us the highest probability outcomes. Monthly ADL Gold PredictionsIn this research article, we're going to focus on Gold and how current price action suggests a bottom is likely near the $1720 level.  The YELLOW price channels on this Monthly Gold chart highlight exactly where we believe support is located for Gold.  If this $1700 price level is breached to the downside, then the previous lows, near $1400, are the next support level for Gold.Our ADL predictive modeling system suggests the $1720 support level will hold, prompting a new rally to levels above $2200 within 30 to 60+ days.  The ADL system predicts an aggressive move in Gold near May or June 2021.  The move higher may happen earlier than the ADL Monthly predictions indicate.  There is a chance that a move back above $1850 starts the move higher before the end of March or April 2021 – propelling Gold toward the $2300+ peak.  The actual peak level predicted by the ADL predictive modeling system is $2315.2-Week ADL Predicts Gold May Start To Rally near Mid-MarchThis 2-Week Gold Chart highlights a similar ADL price prediction.  What we find interesting about this ADL outcome is the similar price predictions originating from vastly different origination points.  The Monthly ADL prediction originates from a date of August 1, 2020 – the peak price bar.  This 2-Week ADL prediction originates from a date of November 23, 2020 – the intermediate low DOJI bar before the recent continue downward trend targeting the YELLOW price channel. Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you don’t miss our next special report!The similarities between these two unique ADL predictions suggest that Gold may attempt to find support fairly quickly near the $1700 to $1720 level, then attempt to move above $1795~1825 as an early stage rebound off the lower YELLOW price channel.  The 2-Week ADL price prediction suggests that Gold will quickly attempt to move higher, before or near March 20th, targeting levels above $1900.  Then, as you can see from the YELLOW DASH LINES on this chart, Gold will attempt to move moderately higher over the next 2 to 3+ months targeting levels above $2030.If these ADL price predictions are accurate and Gold does find a solid bottom near $1700, then we would want to watch for an upward price trend to start to setup near March 15th or so, attempting to push Gold prices above $1850 to $1900.  If that happens, then the next phase of the ADL price predictions would become even more relevant.  That means the upward price trend would attempt to target the $2050 level, then the $2300 level before June or July 2021.Our ADL predictive modeling system accurately called the rally in gold in 2019 and has delivered some incredible predictive analysis over the past few months.  You can read some of our earlier ADL predictions here:November 22, 2020: ADAPTING DYNAMIC LEARNING SHOWS POSSIBLE UPSIDE PRICE RALLY IN GOLD & SILVERAugust 4, 2020: REVISITING OUR SILVER AND GOLD PREDICTIONS – GET READY FOR HIGHER PRICESMarch 28, 2019: PRECIOUS METALS SETUP FINAL BUYING OPPORTUNITYMiner ETFs May See Big GainsIn terms of sector ETF trends, a stronger upside move in Gold would likely prompt Miner ETFs to also move dramatically higher over the next 30 to 60+ days.  This GDXJ Weekly chart highlights a Fibonacci 100% measured move higher which suggests the $73.91 and $91.71 levels could become our next upside targets. Additionally, one has to consider the process that would likely prompt Gold to move higher throughout this span of time.  A continued commodity rally could prompt some of this move to happen, but fear would also have to be factored into this move if Gold were to rally above $2300 as the ADL system predicts.  Any renewed fear would likely come from global financial or credit market concerns or be related to hyper-inflation concerns.  We'll have to see how things progress throughout the rest of 2021 to really get a better feel for what may be driving this upward price trend.We suggest traders pay very close attention to what happens in Gold over the next 2 to 4+ weeks.  If our ADL predictions are accurate, we could see some really big moves in the global markets, various sectors and metals/miners very quickly. If the markets start to roll over and volatility rises, we can benefit from it with our Options Trading Signals which we use non-direction trades to sell premiums. This allows options traders to profit from volatility and not worry about which way the market moves.Don’t miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors in 2021, which will be an incredible year for traders of the BAN strategy.  You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets. For those who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but don’t have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers.
California Leads the Way: New Climate Disclosure Laws Set the Standard for Sustainability Reporting

Are S&P 500 and Precious Metals Bears Just Getting Started?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 04.03.2021 16:19
Scary selling yesterday? See how little the downswing has achieved technically, check out the other characteristics, and you‘ll probably reach the same conclusion I did. It‘s still about the tech getting its act together while much of the rest of the market is doing quite fine.The credit market confirm, as is obvious from the HYG:SHY ratio chart I‘m showing you. True, long-term Treasuries are under pressure, but I wrote on Monday that not even considerably higher rates would break the bulls‘ back. The dollar isn‘t getting far, and given tomorrow‘s non-farm payrolls, which are expected to be rather bad… Check instead another chart I am featuring today, and that‘s volatility – this correction appears in its latter stages as the crash callers „now, this quarter, whenever because it‘s allegedly overdue“, will be again surprised and backtracking in tone once the market gets what it wants: more liquidity.That was stocks, what about gold? No shortage of gloomy charts there, accompanied by various calls for a local bottom. The most bullish one (me included, talks about a possible bottom being made here, with the $1,700 to $1,690 zone able to stop the downside. I am though also raising the lower border of the Apr-May 2020 consolidation, which is around $1,670, as an even stronger support (over $40 lower than the above one) than the volume profile based one we‘re still at currently – and based on different tools, I am far from alone. The doomsayers‘ scary clickbaitish targets of $1,500 or $1,350 are in the minority, and about as helpful as calls for $100 silver before years‘ end. As I always say, let‘s be realistic, honest, and act with real integrity. People deserve better than to be played around through fear or greed.Silver remains in a solid uptrend, and so does platinum. Regardless of today‘s premarket downswing taking copper over 4% down as we speak, commodities are happily running higher in the face of „no inflation here, move along“ calls. How far is the Fed announcing yield curve control, or at least a twist program? Markets crave more intervention, and those calling for rate hikes to materialize soon, are landing with egg on their faces – mark my words, the Fed is going to stay accommodative longer than generally anticipated – have we learned nothing from the Yellen Fed?Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsYesterday‘s downswing didn‘t attract outstanding volume, and didn‘t overcome Fri‘s one. Regardless of the visit to the lower border of recent trading range, the bears would have to become more active to flip this chart bearish really.Credit MarketsThe key leading credit market ratio – high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) – hasn‘t really broken down yesterday. Just a consolidation that has an inverse head and shoulders shape on top. Of course, until the neckline is broken, there are no bullish implications, but I am looking for higher HYG:SHY values regardless.VolatilityYesterday‘s volatility – and put/call readings too – are very tame, and that detracts from the credibility of a significant downswing starting here considerably.TechnologyTechnology (XLK ETF) compared to the value stocks (VTV ETF) shows clearly once again the performance difference – tech still taking time and basing, while value sectors and high-beta segments keep doing largely fine. This view isn‘t one that‘s associated with the onset of real corrections – but with waiting for the tech to start behaving for new highs to be attainable once again.Gold and SilverGold still has a good chance to rebound higher, even though it missed yesterday‘s opportunity that would have resulted in a nice hammer candlestick. Nevermind, we have to live with what we have – and the support is still unbroken, not ruling out an upswing in the least. Yes, regardless of the deeply negative Force index which really wasted each prior opportunity to turn positive this winter. The metals would do well to get used to living with higher nominal rates really, when the real rates are little changed. Silver keeps doing much better, which is little surprising given the economic recovery, leading indicators not weakening, manufacturing activity doing fine – it‘s a versatile metal, both industrial and monetary after all. Compare how little has its Force index declined vs. gold – this is rather a bullish chart, unlike gold still searching for direction (i.e. without an established uptrend).CopperLet‘s compare the red metal (perched high, digesting steep Feb gains) to platinum and silver. I‘m featuring copper as the key determinant for precious metals, also given the positive Mar seasonality. The above chart fittingly illustrates the bull market‘s strength – and the waiting on gold to join.SummaryStock bulls have to once again take the trip to the 3,900 mark, and when that happens, depends on the tech the most. The S&P 500 internals and credit market performance remains sound, and new highs are a question of time (and stimulus).Gold remains stuck in its support zone, unable to rally, not breaking down. While copper is retreating today, the technical odds favor a rebound off this support. Once that happens, it would be though still too early to call for the new gold bull upleg to resume – much more would need to happen, such as the miners doing really well, and so on. But we‘ll get there.
GBP: ECB's Dovish Stance Keeps BoE Expectations in Check

Gold Approaches $1,700 on Rising Economic Confidence

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 04.03.2021 16:39
Gold remains in a bearish trend as economic confidence has improved, however, inflation can change all that around.The chart presenting gold prices in 2021 doesn’t look too encouraging. The yellow metal continued its bearish trend at the turn of February and March. So, as one can see, the price of gold has declined from $1,943 on January 4 to $1,711 on Wednesday (Mar. 3) This means a drop of 232 bucks, or 12 percent since the beginning of the year.What is happening in the gold market? I would like to blame the jittering bond market and increasing bond yields , but the uncomfortable truth is that the yellow metal has slid in the past few days despite the downward correction in the bond yields. If you don’t believe, take a look at the chart below. This is an important bearish signal, given how closely gold is usually linked to the real interest rates .So, it seems that there are more factors at work than just the bond yields. One of them is the recent modest strengthening of the greenback , probably amid rising U.S. interest rates and ECB officials’ remarks about possible expansion of the ECB’s accommodative stance if the selloff in the bond market continues.Another piece of bearish news for the gold market is that President Joe Biden struck a last-minute stimulus deal with Democratic Senators that narrows the income eligibility for the next round of $1,400 stimulus checks. It means that the upcoming fiscal stimulus will be lower than previously expected, negatively affecting inflation expectations and, thus, the demand for gold as an inflation hedge .Lastly, I have to mention the high level of confidence in the economy. Indeed, the recent rise in the bond yields may just be a sign of more optimism about the economic recovery from the pandemic recession . Hence, despite all the economic problems the U.S. will have to face – mainly the huge indebtedness or actually the debt-trap – investors have decided to not pay too much attention to the elephants in the room. As the chart below shows, the credit spread (ICE BofA US High Yield Index Option-Adjusted Spread), which is a useful measure of economic confidence, has returned to the pre-pandemic level, indicating a strong belief in the state of the economy. This is, of course, bad for safe-haven assets such as gold.Implications for GoldWhat does this all mean for gold prices? Well, from the long-term perspective, the recent slide to almost $1,700 could just be noise in the marketplace. But gold’s disappointing performance is really disturbing given the seemingly perfect environment for the precious metals . After all, we live in a world of negative interest rates , a weak U.S. dollar, rising fiscal deficits and public debt , soaring money supply and unprecedented dovish monetary and fiscal policies . So, the bearish trend may be more lasting, as market sentiment is still negative. Investors usually turn to gold, a great portfolio diversifier and a safe haven , when other investment are falling. But the worst is already behind us, the economy has already bottomed out, so confidence in the economy is now high, and equities are rising.Having said that, the recent jump in the bond yields also means rising inflation expectations . Indeed, as the chart below shows, they have already surpassed the levels seen before the outbreak of the pandemic .Actually, the 5-year breakeven inflation rate has reached 2.45 percent, the highest level since the midst of the Great Recession . So, in some part, investors are selling bonds, as they are preparing for an reflation environment marked by higher inflation . At some point, if the fear of inflation strengthens, then economic confidence will waver, and investors could again turn toward gold.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, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Silver, don’t be fooled

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 05.03.2021 12:25
Here are the facts why there is a higher likelihood for Silver prices to advance:A lot of news items attract buyers. Silver is in the limelight.Physical Silver prices trade up to 30% over the spot price.We had a bullish twelve-month period for Silver prices. Consequently, describing the first leg of a trend. With a high probability of two more legs to be following.We see money inflow into the precious metal sector as a whole. These are safe haven seeking investments due to the threat of hyperinflation caused by unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus.Possible highest ever physical delivery months within this year for Silver futures traded on the COMEX exchange.Daily Chart of Silver in US-Dollar, Good support:Silver in US Dollar, daily chart as of March 5th, 2021.Looking at this sideways range, we find ample support of prices within the range right now as a healthy spot to acquire physical Silver. We pointed out that last time around prices touched the simple 200 moving average, Silver prices exploded. We expect a similar scenario now. There is a likelihood that prices might already take off in the upcoming week here from the secondary volume analysis support point (POC=point of control). These stacked up edges of support provide for tighter stops and great risk-reward ratios.  Gold in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Stacking Odds:Gold in US Dollar, monthly chart as of March 5th, 2021.A great way timing your Silver entry is also looking at inter-market relationships. Once Gold, the sector leader, will find its support, Silver will follow. This technique might help distinguish if Silver will be bouncing from primary or secondary POC in the upcoming week (as indicated in the first chart of this article).The monthly chart above shows that Gold has entered a prime buy zone between US$1,650 and US$1,700. Both the Fibonacci retracement and the fractal volume analysis demand zone substantiate that fact.Gold in US-Dollar, Monthly Chart, Silver, don’t be fooled:Gold in US Dollar, monthly chart as of March 5th, 2021.Another view at Gold reveals that it bounced strongly last time it touched its simple 20 months moving average. It is a confirmation that we might be able to temporarily bottom here and support a possible Silver up move. In such a case Silver might be temporarily topping by mid-August to mid-September this year. At that time, Silver will be ripe for partial profit taking to reduce long-term risk by using our quad exit strategy.Our thinking is all programmed for a hundred years to benchmark against dollars. I am sure you have noticed your groceries to be more expensive now or better said, everything being more expensive. Maybe thinking the dollar is worth less is a more somber way of perceiving the change. Benchmarking against Silver or Gold or even Bitcoin might be a more accurate measure of value perception. Average monthly wages in Venezuela representing a value of US$6 are an excellent example of what hyperinflation can look like.If you are holding your wealth in US-Dollars only, you are at extreme risk. We are not too specific on Silver or Gold or mining companies or Bitcoin or land, but we are risk averse. We urge you to look critically at fiat currency holdings. The risk/reward-ratio of Silver at this time is excellent. Usable as a hedge against this risk!Silver, don’t be fooled:When you hear from many various sources that Silver “is the thing to buy,” it feels like “too good to be true.” Sound fundamental analysis shows that holding physical Silver is, in fact, a prudent course of action. Silver prices are manipulated. They do not reflect true value. Physical prices trading much higher than the spot price. Once truth can’t be suppressed anymore, we see a fair likelihood for Silver prices to advance rapidly. Our conservative targets for the Silver market point at annual highs near Labor Day. At that point we aim to take partial profits.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|March 5th, 2021|Tags: Gold, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Great ADP Figures But Things Can Still Turn Nasty

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 05.03.2021 15:48
Powell gave a wait-and-see answer to my yesterday‘s rhetorical question about the bears just starting out, indeed. The S&P 500 plunged, breaking far outside the Bollinger Bands confines, illustrating the extraordinary nature of the move. Rebound would be perfectly natural here (and we‘re getting one as we speak) – but will it be more than a dead cat bounce?Stocks partially recovered from last Friday‘s intraday plunge, and good news about the stimulus clearing House followed after the market close – stock bulls took the opportunity, and Monday‘s session gave signs that the worst is over. Tuesday‘s move partially negated that, but even after Wednesday, the short-term case was undecided (even as tech kept acting relatively weak).Yesterday‘s session though gives the short-term advantage to the bears, and that‘s because of the weak performance I see in other stock market indices and bonds. The Russell 2000 got under pressure, negating what by yesterday still looked like a shallow correction there. So did the emerging markets and their bonds. More downside can materialize either suddenly or slowly over the coming say 1-2 weeks. It depends on the tech and its heavyweight names, where these find support. Corporate credit markets aren‘t weakening as dramatically though – as you‘ll see illustrated later on, both high yield corporate bonds and the HYG:SHY ratio are holding up much better than stocks. While that‘s bullish, the S&P 500 apparently hasn‘t yet learned to live with higher rates – let alone considerably higher ones.The key element playing the markets now, is the Fed‘s approach to inflation, rising long-term Treasuries in the face of central bank inaction and inflation denialism, which translates into the dollar taking the turn higher courtesy of the stresses induced across many asset classes. I asked yesterday:(...) How far is the Fed announcing yield curve control, or at least a twist program? Markets crave more intervention, and those calling for rate hikes to materialize soon, are landing with egg on their faces – mark my words, the Fed is going to stay accommodative longer than generally anticipated – have we learned nothing from the Yellen Fed?The ostrich pose on inflation isn‘t helping – it‘s sending Treasuries down, turning much of the rest red. Does the Fed want to see the market forcing some kind of answer / action the way it did in Dec 2018? The Fed is risking such a development now, this time through inaction, and not thanks to monetary tightening as back then.While some argue that inflation just brings a Fed rate hike closer, I really doubt that this option is treated seriously inside the Eccles building. It would be the right choice if you were serious about fighting inflation before it takes root – but in whose interest is that? Just look at the transitory statements, Fed official beliefs that to see it hit even 3% would be extraordinary, and you understand that their models understating it considerably in the first place, aren‘t even sending them the correct, magnitudinal signals.I see it as more probable that they would just try to suppress its symptoms, and succumb to the markets even more vocally demanding some action, by going the twist route. In effect, they would be then fighting the war on two fronts, as I explained in the middle of Feb already.Food inflation running hot, commodities on fire, and gold is going nowhere still. The bears are vocal, and I‘ve laid down a realistic game plan yesterday, discussing the gold support levels and perspectives. If you‘re disappointed that gold isn‘t doing as well as commodities, consider the mid-Feb described cascading inflation process as it devours more and more of the financial landscape – we still have a weak job market that doesn‘t contribute to the inflationary pressures, relegating the true, undeniable inflation to the 2022-3 timeframe.Let‘s keep the big picture – gold is in a secular bull market that started in 2018 (if not in late 2015), and what we‘re seeing since the Aug 2020 top, is the soft patch I called. The name of the game now, is where the downside stops – I am not capitulating to (hundreds dollars) lower numbers below $1,650 on a sustainable basis. The new precious metals upleg is a question of time even though the waiting is getting longer than comfortable for many, including myself. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsReasonably heavy volume with most of yesterday‘s candle, pushing vigorously to start a new downtrend. Given yesterday‘s move, some kind of retracement is likely today as a minimum, but the bears have the upper hand now.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) haven‘t declined below last week‘s lows, and are still at bullish divergence readings. Will they keep above these? Doing so is essential for the still unfolding S&P 500 correction.High yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) aren‘t as panicky as stocks here, which is more than mildly optimistic.Put/Call Ratio and VolatilityThe put/call ratio is well below the Feb or Jan highs, while the volatility index is much higher relatively to these. While that‘s an opportunity for even more panic, volatily would quickly die down if today‘s S&P 500 upswing sticks. Then, it would be time to evaluate the changes in posture. Either way, this correction appears to have longer to run still.TechnologyTechnology (XLK ETF) compared to the value stocks (VTV ETF) shows where the engine of decline is – and it‘s starting to have an effect on value, high beta plays. Not until tech stabilizes, can the correction be called as really close to over – just check how the equal weighted S&P 500 (RSP ETF) suffers right now.Gold, Silver and MinersAnother bite into the volume profile support zone, and the gold upswing isn‘t here still. Another missed daily opportunity to rebound. The yellow metal is still in a precarious position until it shakes off the rising (nominal, not real) rates albatross.Silver is in a technically stronger position, but signs of deterioration are creeping here too. It‘s painfully obvious when the miners are examined – the silver ones are leading to the downside, and the gold ones, well seniors outperforming juniors isn‘t a sign of strength really. The sky isn‘t definitely clear here.SummaryStock bulls have to once again try to repair the damage, and their success depends on the tech the most. The S&P 500 internals are slightly deteriorating, but the credit market performance remains more solid. New highs remain a question of time (and the stimulus carrot).Gold remains acting weak around the lower border of its support zone, and silver is joining in the deterioration, not to mention the mining indices. The yellow metal is though short-term holding up rather well, when the TLT and USDX pressures are considered.
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

3… 2… 1… Let the Corrective Rally Begin

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 05.03.2021 16:43
Folks, it seems that gold has formed an interim bottom, and a short-term corrective upswing is now likely, before the medium-term downtrend resumes.Any further declines from this point are not likely to be significant for the short-term. The same applies to silver and the miners.In yesterday’s (Mar. 4) intraday Gold & Silver Trading Alert , I described briefly why I think that the very short-term bottom is already in (or is at hand), and in today’s analysis, I’ll illustrate my points with charts. Let’s start with gold.Figure 1 – COMEX Gold Futures (GC.F)Gold just reached its 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level (based on the entire 2020 rally), and it just bounced off the declining red support line based on the August and November 2020 bottoms.Gold didn’t reach the previous 2020 lows just yet, but it moved very close to them and the two strong above-mentioned support levels could be enough to trigger a corrective upswing. After all, no market can move up or down in a straight line without periodic corrections.I previously wrote that when gold moves $1,693 we’ll be closing any remaining short positions, and when gold moves to $1,692, we’ll automatically open long positions in the miners. Since gold moved below $1,690, that’s exactly what happened.Yesterday (Mar. 4), gold futures were trading below $1,692 for about 10 minutes, so if you acted as I had outlined it in the Gold & Silver Trading Alerts, you made your purchases then. The GDX ETF was trading approximately between $30.80 and $31 (NUGT was approximately between $49.30 and $50) at that time – this seems to have been the exact daily bottom.One of the bullish confirmations came from the silver market .Figure 2 – COMEX Silver FuturesI previously wrote that silver is likely to catch up with the decline at its later stage, while miners are likely to lead the way.While gold miners showed strength yesterday, silver plunged over 4% before correcting part of the move. Yesterday’s relative action showed that this was most likely the final part of a short-term decline in the precious metals sector, and that we should now expect a corrective rebound, before the medium-term decline resumes. If not, it seems that the short-term bottom is at hand and while silver might still decline somewhat in the very short term, any declines are not likely to be significant in case of the mining stocks. At least not until they correct the recent decline by rallying back up.Speaking of mining stocks, let’s take a look at the GDX ETF chart.Figure 3 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)Mining stocks showed strength yesterday. Even though gold moved visibly to new yearly lows, the GDX didn’t move to new intraday lows. The GDXJ did move to new intraday lows, but the decline was relatively small compared to what happened in gold and to what happened on the general stock market. The latter declined substantially yesterday and the GDXJ is more correlated with it than GDX – hence GDXJ’s underperformance was normal. Still, compared to both gold’s decline and stocks’ decline, the GDXJ and GDX declined very little.The price level at which miners showed strength matters greatly too. Miners stopped their decline practically right in my target area, which I based on the 50% Fibonacci retracement and the 2020 highs and lows. Moreover, the proximity of the $31 level corresponds to the 2019 high and the 2016 high. Since so many support levels coincide at the same price (approximately), the latter is likely to be a very strong support.Moreover, the RSI was just close to 30, which corresponded to short-term buying opportunities quite a few times in the past.How high are miners likely to rally from here before turning south once again? The nearest strong resistance is provided by the neck level of the previously broken head and shoulders pattern, which is slightly above $34.Also, let’s keep in mind the mirror similarity in case of the price action that preceded the H&S pattern and the one that followed it. To be precise, we know that the second half of the pattern was similar to its first half (including the shape of pattern’s shoulders), but it’s not yet very clear if the follow-up action after the pattern is going to be similar to the preceding price action. It seems quite likely, though. If this is indeed the case, then the price moves that I marked using green and purple lines are likely to be at least somewhat similar.This means that just as the late-April 2020 rally was preceded by a counter-trend decline, the recent decline would likely be followed by a counter-trend rally. Based on the size of the April counter-trend move, it seems that we could indeed see a counter-trend rally to about $34 this time.There’s also an additional clue that might help you time the next short-term top, and it’s the simple observation that it was relatively safe to exit one’s long positions five trading days after the bottom.That rule marked the exact bottom in November 2020, but it was also quite useful in early February 2021. In early December 2020, it would take one out of the market only after the very first part of the upswing, but still, let’s keep in mind that it was the “easy” part of the rally. The same with the October 2020 rally. And now, since miners are after a confirmed breakdown below the broad head and shoulders pattern, it’s particularly important not to miss the moment to get back on the short side of the market, as the next move lower is likely to be substantial. Therefore, aiming to catch the “easy” part of the corrective rally seems appropriate.So, if the bottom was formed yesterday, then we can expect to take profits from the current long position off the table close to the end of next week.Finally, let’s take a look at the USD Index.Figure 4 – USD IndexWhile the medium-term breakout continues to be the most important technical development visible on the above chart (with important bullish implications for the following months), there is one factor that could make the USD Index decline on a temporary basis.This factor is the similarity to the mid-2020 price pattern. I previously commented on the head and shoulders pattern that had formed (necklines are marked with dashed lines), but that I didn’t trust. Indeed, this formation was invalidated, but a bigger pattern, of which this formation was part, wasn’t invalidated.The patterns start with a broad bottom and an initial rally. Then it turns out that the initial rally is the head of a head-and-shoulders pattern that is then completed and invalidated. This is followed by a sharp rally, and then a reversal with a sizable daily decline.So far, the situations are similar.Last year, this pattern was followed by a decline to new lows. Now, based on the breakout above the rising medium-term support line, such a bearish outcome doesn’t seem likely, but we might see the pattern continue for several more days, before they disconnect. After all, this time, the USD Index is likely to really rally – similarly to how it soared in 2018 – and not move to new lows.What happens before the patterns disconnect? The USD Index could decline temporarily.Back in November 2020, the second top was below the initial one, and we just saw the USD Index move to new yearly high. Did the self-similar pattern break yet? In a way yes, but it doesn’t mean that the bearish implications are completely gone.In mid-2020, the USD Index topped after moving to the previous important intraday low – I marked it with a horizontal line on the above chart.Right now, the analogous resistance is provided by the September 2020 bottom and at the moment of writing these words, the USD Index moved right to this level.Consequently, it could be the case that we see a decline partially based on the above-mentioned resistance and partially based on the remaining self-similar pattern. The latter would be likely to lose its meaning over the next several days and would be decisively broken once the USD Index rallies later in March. The above would create a perfect opportunity for the precious metals sector to correct the recent decline – and for miners (GDX ETF) to rally to $34 or so.Please note that if gold rallies here – and it’s likely to – then this will be the “perfect” time for the gold and stock market permabulls to “claim victory” and state that the decline is over and that they were right about the rally all along. Please be careful when reading such analyses in the following days, especially if they come from people that have always been bullish. If someone is always bullish, the odds are that they won’t tell you when the next top is going to be (after all, this would imply that they stop being bullish for a while). Just because anyone can publish an article online, doesn’t mean that they should, or that others should follow their analyses. The internet is now replete people who claim to have expertise in the markets, and we all saw what happened to the profits of those who bought GameStop at $300. It’s the same thing that happened to the profits of those who were told since the beginning of this year that gold is going to rally – they turned into losses. What we see as well are internet echo chambers, where you are more likely to only read articles that express what you already agree with, instead of being exposed to differing viewpoints that shed light on other critical factors.Gold is likely to rally from here, but it’s highly unlikely that this was the final bottom, and that gold can now soar to new highs. No. The rally in the USD Index has only begun and while it could pull back, it’s likely to soar once again, similarly to how it rallied in 2018. And gold is likely to respond with another substantial wave lower. This doesn’t mean we’re permabears either or that we want to see gold fail. On the contrary, gold has a bright future ahead, but not before it goes through a medium-term decline after this corrective rally is over.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

No More Rocking the Boat in Stocks But Gold?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 08.03.2021 15:23
Stocks sharply reversed intraday, and closed just where they opened the prior Friday. That indicates quite some pressures, quite some searching for direction in this correction that isn‘t over just yet. Stocks have had a great run over the past 4 months, getting a bit ahead of themselves in some aspects such as valuations. Then, grappling with the rising long-term rates did strike.So did inflation fears, especially when looking at commodities. Inflation expectations are rising, but not galloping yet. What to make of the rising rates then? They‘re up for all the good reasons – the economy is growing strongly after the Q4 corona restrictions (I actually expect not the conservative 5% Q1 GDP growth, but over 8% at least) while inflation expectations are lagging behind. In other words, the reflation (of economic growth) is working and hasn‘t turned into inflation (rising or roughly stable inflation expectations while the economy‘s growth is slowing down). We‘re more than a few quarters from that – I fully expect really biting inflation (supported by overheating in the job market) to be an 2022-3 affair. As regards S&P 500 sectors, would you really expect financials and energy do as greatly as they do if the prospects were darkening?So, I am looking for stocks to do rather well as they are absorbing the rising nominal rates. It‘s also about the pace of such move, which has been extraordinary, and left long-term Treasuries trading historically very extended compared to their 50-day moving averages. Thus, they‘re prone to a quick snapback rally over the next 1-2 weeks, which would help the S&P 500 regain even stronger footing. And even plain temporary stabilization of theirs would do the trick.This is taking me directly to gold. We have good odds of long-term rates not pressuring the yellow metal as much as recently, and inflation expectations are also rising (not as well anchored to 2% as the Fed thinks / says). As I‘ll show you in the charts, the signs of decoupling have been already visible for some time, and now became more apparent. And that‘s far from the only suggestion of an upcoming gold upswing that I‘ll bring you today.Just as I was calling out gold as overheated in Aug 2020 and prone to a real soft patch, some signs of internal strength in the precious metals sector were present this Feb already. And now as we have been testing for quite a few days the first support in my game plan, we‘re getting once again close to a bullish formation that I called precisely to a day, and had been banging the bearish gold drum for the following two days, anticipating the downside that followed. Now, that‘s what I call welcome flexibility, extending to accentuated, numerous portfolio calls.And the permabears keep (losing capital through many bullish years in a row in some cases) calling for hundreds bucks more downside after a respite now, not even entertaining the thought that gold bottom might very well not be quarters ahead. It‘s easier to try falsely project own perma stickers onto others. Beware of wolves in ill-fitting sheep clothing. Look at full, proven track records, compare varying perspectives of yesteryear too, and wave off cheap halo effects.It‘s the above dynamic between nominal rates taking a breather, dollar getting back under pressure, commodities continuing their rise and stocks gradually resuming theirs – see the ebbing and flowing that I‘m laying down in the daily analyses on the revamped homepage, and you‘ll get a knack for my timings of local tops or bottoms just the way I did in the early Sep buying climax or in the corona crash.True mastery is in integrating and arguing opposing views with experience and adaptability daily. People are thankfully able to recognize these characteristics on their own – and they have memory too. Who needs to be told what to read and consider by those embracing expertise only to turn against it when the fruits were no longer theirs? Sour grapes. Narrow thinking is one of the dangers of our era replete with empty and shallow shortcuts. Curiosity, ingenuity and diligence are a gift to power mankind – and what you get from financial analysts – forward in a virtuous circle.If gold prices rise from here, they have bounced off support. Simple as that, especially given the accompanying signs presented. There is time to run with the herd, and against the herd – in both bull and bear trends, constantly reevaluating the rationale for a position, unafraid to turn on a dime when justified.Whatever else bullish or bearish I see technically and fundamentally in rates, inflation and dollar among much else, I‘ll be duly reporting and commenting on as always. It‘s the markets‘ discounting mechanism of the future that counts – just as gold cleared the deflationary corona crash in psring 2020, just as it disregarded the tough Fed tone of 2H 2018, just as it sprang vigorously higher in early 2016 stunning bears in all three cases with sharp losses over many months, or just as stocks stopped declining well before economic news got better in April 2020 or March 2009. Make no mistake, the markets consider transitioning to a higher inflation environment already now (the Fed timidly says that reopening will spike it, well, temporarily they say), when inflation expectations are still relatively low, yet peeking higher based on the Fed‘s own data. Such were my Friday‘s words:(…) Let‘s keep the big picture – gold is in a secular bull market that started in 2018 (if not in late 2015), and what we‘re seeing since the Aug 2020 top, is the soft patch I called. The name of the game now, is where the downside stops – I am not capitulating to (hundreds dollars) lower numbers below $1,650 on a sustainable basis. The new precious metals upleg is a question of time even though the waiting is getting longer than comfortable for many, including myself. Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsStrong rebound after more downside was rejected, creating a tweezers bottom formation, with long lower knots. This is suggestive of most of the downside being already in. The Feb 25 upswing had a bearish flavor to it, while the Mar 1 one looked more constructive – and Friday‘s one is from the latter category. That doesn‘t mean though this correction won‘t be in the 5% range. The 3,900 zone is critical for the bulls to pass so as to clear the current precarious almost no man‘s land.The market breadth indicators are actually quite resilient given how far this correction has reached. New highs new lows are holding up still very well, yet they too indicate that this correction has further to go in time. While the bullish percent index still remains in the bullish territory, it indicates how far the correction has progressed technically, and that we can‘t declare the bullish spirits as having returned just yet.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) ilustrate this fragility for they haven‘t rebounded as strongly as stocks. This correction doesn‘t appear to be as really over just yet, also given the sectoral picture that I am showing you next.S&P 500 Sectoral LookTech reversed, but higher volume would be welcome to lend the move more credibility. This sector is still the weakest link in the whole S&P 500 rebound, and not until I see the $NYFANG carve out a sustainable bottom (this needn‘t happen at the 200-day moving average really), I can declare this correction as getting close to over. The bullish take on the volume is that the value sector has undergone strong accumulation, as can be readily seen in the equal weight S&P 500 index (RSP ETF). The above chart shows that cyclicals are performing strongly – with industrials (XLI ETF) and energy (XLE ETF) leading the charge as the tech and defensives are trying to stabilize, and the same is true about consumer discretionaries (XLY ETF).Gold‘s Big Picture ViewGold‘s weekly chart shows two different stages in the reaction to rising long-term rates. The first half was characterized by the two tracking each other rather closely, yet since late Dec, the nominal rates pressure has been abating in strength within the mutual relationship. While TLT plunged, gold didn‘t move down as strongly. Real rates are negative, nominal rates rose fast, and inflation expectations have been trending higher painfully slowly, not reflecting the jump in commodities or the key inflation precursor (food price inflation) just yet – these are the factors pressuring gold as the Fed‘s brinkmanship on inflation goes on. Once the Fed moves to bring long-term rates under control through intervention – hello yield curve control or at least twist – then real rates would would be pressured to drop, which would be a lifeline for gold – the real questions now are how far gold is willing to drop before that, and when that Fed move would happen. Needless to add as a side note regarding the still very good economic growth (the expansion is still young), staglation is what gold would really love.Copper and Silver Big Picture ViewThe red metal keeps rising without end in sight, reflecting both the economic recovery and monetary intervention. This is a very bullish chart with strong implications for other commodities and silver too. That‘s the essence of my favorite play in the precious metals – long silver short gold spread, clearly spelled out as more promising than waiting for gold upswing to arrive while the yellow metals‘ bullish signs have been appearing through Feb only to disappear, reappear, and so on.As you can see, silver performance approximates commodity performance better than gold one. And as the economic recovery goes on, it‘s indeed safer to be a silver bull than a gold bull – another of my early Feb utterances.Miners to Gold Big Picture ViewThis gold sectoral ratio made an encouraging rebound last week, but isn‘t internally as strong as it might appear, because the juniors (GDXJ ETF) aren‘t yet outperforming the seniors (GDX ETF), which had been the case in early 2021 and late in Feb as well – right till I sounded the alarm bells on Feb 23-24. This is precisely why I was not bullish in tone at all in the past week, as gold hadn‘t been acting as strongly now as it had been right before the Feb 22 upswing that I called. And I am missing this ingredient at the moment still.SummaryStock bulls stepped in and repaired much of Thursday‘s damage, flipping the balance of power as more even at the moment. While the medium-term factors favor the bulls, this correction is slated to go on still for longer, as all eyes are on tech (big names) as the deciding sector.Gold still remains acting weak around the lower border of its support zone, silver is refusing to decline more, and signs overall favoring a rebound, are appearing. It‘s still a mixed bag though, with especially gold being far from out of the woods yet.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

How to Join the Mining Party… Before it Ends

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 08.03.2021 18:39
Forget gold and silver for a moment. Do you hear the music? Yes, it’s coming from the mining ETFs club. But how long will the party last?And more importantly, why miners, you may ask? Because miners tend to outperform in the early days of a major rally.After closing only $0.10 below my initial downside target of $31 on Mar. 1 , the GDX ETF could be ripe for an upward revision. Able to ignore much of last week’s chaos, the GDX ETF’s outperformance of gold and silver signals that the tide has likely turned.Please see below:Figure 1To that point, I warned on Mar. 1 that help was on the way:The GDX ETF has garnered historical support at roughly $29.52. The level also coincides with the early-March high, the mid-April low and the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. As a result, a corrective upswing to ~$33/$34 could be the miners’ next move.Furthermore, after alerting subscribers on Mar. 4 – writing that when gold moves to $1,692, we’ll automatically open long positions in the miners – the GDX ETF ended Friday’s (Mar. 5) session up by 3.2% from my initial entry of ~$30.80 - $31. Thus, from here, the GDX ETF has roughly 3.8% to 7.0% upside (as of Friday’s close) before the $33/$34 levels signals that the momentum has run its course.For now, though, positioning for more upside offers a solid risk-reward proposition . Prior to the initial decline, miners were weak relative to gold . However, after outperforming on Mar. 5, their steady hand was a sign of short-term strength. If you analyze the chart below, you can see that the size and shape of the current price action actually mirrors what we witnessed back in April.Please see below:Figure 2 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), GDX and Slow Stochastic Oscillator Chart Comparison – 2020For context, I wrote on Mar. 5:Miners stopped their decline practically right in my target area, which I based on the 50% Fibonacci retracement and the 2020 highs and lows. Moreover, the proximity of the $31 level corresponds to the 2019 high and the 2016 high. Since so many support levels coincide at the same price (approximately), the latter is likely to be a very strong support. Moreover, the RSI was just close to 30, which corresponded to short-term buying opportunities quite a few times in the past.In addition, a short-term upswing could provide a potential pathway to $35 – as this level also corresponds with the GDX ETF’s late-February high, its monthly declining resistance line and its 50-day moving average. The abundance of resistance levels – combined with the fact that an upswing would further verify the GDX ETF’s breakdown below the neckline of its potential head and shoulders pattern – should keep the upward momentum in check.Over the medium-term, the potential head and shoulders pattern – marked by the shaded green boxes above – also deserves plenty of attention.For context, I wrote previously:Ever since the mid-September breakdown below the 50-day moving average , the GDX ETF was unable to trigger a substantial and lasting move above this MA. The times when the GDX was able to move above it were also the times when the biggest short-term declines started.(…)The most recent move higher only made the similarity of this shoulder portion of the bearish head-and-shoulders pattern to the left shoulder (figure 2 - both marked with green) bigger. This means that when the GDX breaks below the neck level of the pattern in a decisive way, the implications are likely to be extremely bearish for the next several weeks or months.Due to the uncanny similarity between the two green rectangles, I decided to check what happens if this mirror-similarity continues. I used purple, dashed lines for that. There were two important short-term price swings in April 2020 – one shows the size of the correction and one is a near-vertical move higher.Copying these price moves (purple lines) to the current situation, we get a scenario in which GDX (mining stocks) moves to about $31 and then comes back up to about $34. This would be in perfect tune with what I wrote previously. After breaking below the head-and-shoulders pattern, gold miners would then be likely to verify this breakdown by moving back up to the neck level of the pattern. Then, we would likely see another powerful slide – perhaps to at least $24.This is especially the case, since silver and mining stocks tend to decline particularly strongly if the stock market is declining as well. And while the exact timing of the market’s slide is not 100% clear, stocks’ day of reckoning is coming . And it might be very, very close.As I explained previously, based on the similarities to the 1929 and 2008 declines, it could be the case that the precious metals sector declines for about 3 months after the general stock market tops. And it seems that we won’t have to wait long for the latter. In fact, the next big move lower in stocks might already be underway, as the mid-Feb. 2021 top could have been the final medium-term top.In conclusion, the gold miners should continue to glisten as oversold conditions buoy them back to the $33-$35 range. Due to the GDX ETF’s recent strength, combined with gold rallying off of the lows on Mar. 5, the PMs could enjoy a profitable one-week (or so) party. However, with the celebration likely to be short-lived, it’s important to keep things in perspective. While this week’s performance may elicit superficial confidence, medium-term clouds have already formed. As a result, positioning for an extended rally offers more risk than reward.(We normally include the "Letters to the Editor" section in the full version of Gold & Silver Trading Alerts only, but today I decided to include it also in this free version of the full (about 10x bigger than what you just read) analysis, so that you get the idea of how this part of the analysis looks like. It might be quite informative too. Enjoy:)Letters to the EditorQ: Could you update your thoughts regarding physical [gold and silver] for those looking to acquire additional positions - specifically, what do you think premiums and availability are going to look like when/if spot goes a $100 or $200 down from here? By way of example, I bought some U.S. gold buffaloes at $1854 spot at $1954. Those same coins at $1710 spot are still around $1930, if there are any to be found.A: It’s a tough call, because the premium values don’t follow the technical patterns. Still, based on the analogy to situations that seem similar to what we saw recently, it seems that we can indeed say something about the likely physical values close to the likely $1,450 bottom.Figure 43 - Source: didthesystemcollapse.orgThe above chart shows the eBay premium for 1 oz Gold American Eagle coins over the spot gold price.In April 2020, the premium spiked at about 14%. It was likely even higher in March (we don’t have the direct data), but the volatility back then was bigger than it is right now, so it seems that the current premium and the April 2020 premium values are a better proxy for the future bottoming premiums than the March 2020 bottom premium would be. If the volatility increases, one could see the premium at about 15% or so.With gold at about $1,450, the above-mentioned information means Gold American Eagle coins can cost about $1,670.Still, since gold futures prices seem more predictable than the prices of bullion coins, I’d focus on the former even while timing the purchase of the latter.Moreover, please note that I’m planning to focus on buying mining stocks close to the bottom and move to metals only later. The reason is that miners tend to outperform in the early days of a major rally (just like they did in the first quarter of 2016). The fact that the premium is likely to be high when gold bottoms in a volatile manner is yet another reason for the above. When switching from mining stocks to physical holdings several weeks or months later, one might be buying at a smaller premium over the spot, and also after having gained more on miners than on the metals. Of course, the above is just my opinion, and you can purchase whatever you want – after all, it’s your capital and your investment decisions.Q: Please note that I am glad to see gold moving downwards but I am a little confused – the trading report I just received recommends selling at 1690ish but the mailing previously said 1450ish - please see attached.Could you please investigate and advise.A: If anything in the Gold & Silver Trading Alerts seems confusing, please refer to the “Summary”, the trading/investment positions, and the “Overview of the Upcoming Part of the Decline” sections for clarification. In this case, we exited the remaining short positions when gold hit $1,693 and almost immediately entered long ones (when gold hit $1,692). We now have long positions in the mining stocks with the plan to exit them in a week or so, and re-enter short positions then, because the next big move is likely to be to the downside (perhaps as low as $1,450 or so). Also, the above is just my opinion, not a recommendation or investment advice.Q: Hi P.R., thanks for the advice on this trend, it’s been an amazing trade.As I’m trading on XAUUSD, are you also able to advise the targets for a gold long entry,or should I wait for the final bottom before opening any longs?A: I’m very happy that you’re making profits thanks to my analyses. While I think that the very short-term (for the next 5 trading days or so) outlook for gold, silver and mining stocks is bullish, I think the targets are more predictable for mining stocks than they are for gold and – especially – silver. Still, this time, the short-term upside target for gold is also relatively clear – at about $1,770. That’s why I put the $1,758 in the “For-your-information target” for gold in the “Summary” section below.Q: Are we looking for the short-term upside move to be 1-5 weeks before the final decline into the 1350-1500 zone? I'm a little unsure of the timing you're laying out.A: I’m looking for the short-term upswing to take place between 1 and 3 weeks – that’s the part of the “Overview of the Upcoming Part of the Decline” section about it:It seems to me that the initial bottom has either just formed or is about to form with gold falling to roughly $1,670 - $1,680, likely this week.I expect the rebound to take place during the next 1-3 weeks.After the rebound (perhaps to $33 - $34 in the GDX), I plan to get back in with the short position in the mining stocks.In my opinion it’s most likely that this counter-trend rally will take about 1 – 1.5 weeks. Then, I think that the decline to about $1,450 in gold will start.Q: Thank you for sending out the Alert # 2 with the new changes in the Gold and Silver trades today. This is necessary, so please send out the alert once you enter back to the short positions, please.A: I’m happy that you enjoyed this intraday Alert. I will indeed send you – my subscribers – an intraday confirmation that the long positions were closed and when we enter new short positions. Still, please note that we already have binding profit-take exit prices in place, which means that when prices move to the target levels (e.g., GDX to $33.92), the long positions should be automatically closed, and profits should be taken off the table – even without an additional confirmation from me (it takes time for me to write and send the message and then some time usually passes before one is able to act on my message).Q: You have informed us to make the move when the Gold price “REACHES” $1693.00. My question is; Does the word “Reach” mean when the price touches that point, if only for a moment, or does “Reach” mean when it closes the day at or below $1693.00?Thank you for your response to this question.A: “Reaching” a price means the same thing as “touching” the price or “moving to” the price. This means moving to this price level on an intraday basis – even for just one tick . If I mean closing prices, I will specifically describe them as such.For instance, I currently have binding exit positions for the current long position in the mining stocks – and these are exactly the price levels that I have put in my brokerage account as a limit sell order.Q: Please comment on the Hindenburg Omen for stocks:Figure 44 - Source: RefinitivA: Thanks. The Hindenburg omen is not one of the most reliable indicators - even on the above chart, it’s clear that most of the signals were not followed by declines. Please note how many fake initial signals there were before stocks finally declined in 2019 or 2020. There are many other reasons to think that stocks are going to move much lower, though. In the very short-term they could still move higher, but this move could be fake and could turn out to be the right shoulder of the head-and-shoulders top formation.Q: 1) for shorter-term trades such as the potential 10% pop in the GDX, is NUGT better?2) the plan after we re-enter a short trade when the GDX gets to $33/$34 might mean a longer haul before we hit rock bottom . You have mentioned time-scales up to 20 weeks (ish). Due to a longer holding period , would the CFD route be a cheaper route when compared to NUGT? I’m asking in general terms because each provider imposes different fees and I don’t expect you to comment on the fees charged by IG, which is the service I use.I also recognize that NUGT only offers 2 X leverage, whereas CFD’s offer up to five times leverage.Finally, the manner in which you detail the rich tapestry of the economic forces that impact PMs is revealing and educational. I find this all fascinating.I have my own views which can be summed up like this: How many inflationary false-dawns and panics has the bond market had? Ever since 2008, when the FED launched QE, there have been numerous bouts and hissy fits of inflationary expectations that have subsequently sunk like a dodgy soufflé. I think this time is no different and it’s entirely possible the 30-year bond could drop to ZERO. I am in the deflationary camp.How might the 10 year at zero or possibly sub-zero and longer, out on the duration curve to (TLT ETF) dropping to 0.5%, affect the price of gold?Your thoughts as ever, are much appreciatedA: 1) That depends on whether one seeks leverage or not, and how much thereof. Please note that some short-term trades could sometimes become medium-term trades if the market decides to consolidate or move in the other direction before continuing the predicted trend. In this case, non-leveraged instruments are at an advantage over the leveraged ones, because they don’t suffer from the back-and-forth trading as much as the leveraged ones do.If one’s desired exposure to the GDX ETF wouldn’t exceed the cash that one dedicated to trading, then in order to have the same exposure one would simply have half of the capital employed in NUGT (which is 2x leveraged). This way, the exposure would be identical, but the NUGT would imply additional risk of losing more capital if the trade takes much longer than planned and/or if the price moves adversely first.Please note that there is also an additional way to gain leverage (it’s not available for everyone, though) and that is through the use of margin on one’s brokerage account. I’d prefer to use margin for the GDX before aiming to gain leverage through NUGT.In other words, I’d first use more cash for GDX before I’d go into NUGT. If I wanted to have even bigger exposure than the one achieved by employing more capital to GDX, I would then consider using margin, and then I would consider using NUGT if I still wanted to get more leverage.There might be some traders who would seek to combine both for even bigger leverage (buying NUGT on margin), but this is definitely not something that I’d recommend to most people. In fact, it seems that in many cases, sticking to the GDX would be a good way to go.2) I think I already replied to the first part of your question (NUGT vs. CFD) above. Also, for other people reading this reply – please note that CFDs (contracts for difference) are not available in many areas, including the USA and Canada.I’m glad to read that you enjoy reading my explanations of the current situation in the markets (precisely, my opinions on it).Real interest rates are one of the most important drivers for gold (along with the USD Index), so a drop in the 10-year rates to zero or sub-zero levels would likely be very beneficial for the gold prices.Figure 45Also, based on the pace at which the rates have rallied recently, they might be topping here, but… There was no decline in the previous 40 years that was as big as what we saw between 2018 and 2020. Consequently, the corrective upswing might be bigger as well. Also, the above chart is not necessarily the scale that is big enough to make very long-term conclusions.Figure 46Over the past centuries, whenever the rates fell very low, they then rallied back up with vengeance. After WW2, it theoretically would have been a “good idea” to keep stimulating the economy with low rates – and yet, they soared. Right now, the monetary authorities strive to be very dovish and keep pumping liquidity into the system, and yet the rates are rallying anyway.So, while the analogy to the previous years – or the past few decades – suggests that the rally in the rates might be over or close to being over, the very long-term chart suggests otherwise.To make the situation even more complicated, if the stock market has already topped in February, and we have already entered the Kondratiev winter cycle, it means that we can theoretically expect the rates to fall, then rise in a credit crunch, and then fall much lower.All in all, the outlook for the interest rates is anything but simple and clear. Perhaps what we see right now already IS the credit crunch and the 10-year rates are on their way to above 2% - after all, they used to return above their 200-day moving average after the previous medium-term declines. It seems to me that the move above 2% in the 10-year rates could correspond with gold’s decline below $1,500.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Asia Morning Bites: Singapore Industrial Production and Global Market Updates

Gold Drops below $1,700, while Senate Passes Biden’s Plan

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 09.03.2021 14:14
Gold remains inert to President Biden’s large and hazardous economic plan, and ended up dropping below $1,700.President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus is coming! On Saturday, the U.S. Senate passed the American Rescue Plan on a party-line 50-49 vote. This means that after the House’s vote on Tuesday, Biden could sign the bill into law soon, and those $1,400 payments to most Americans could start to go out as soon as this month.The final bill includes not only $400 billion in checks of $1,400 to most Americans, but also $300 a week in extended unemployment benefits, and $350 billion in aid to state and local governments.The American Rescue Plan would be one of the largest stimulus packages in U.S. history. It would also be one of the most frivolous and superfluous economic programs. There is simply no need for such a large plan. Please take a look at the chart below.As one can see, U.S. personal income has increased during the pandemic, not decreased. Once again, people are now receiving higher income than one year ago. So, Biden’s stimulus with another round of $1,400 checks is not economically or socially justified.Indeed, the U.S. economy is already recovering. On Friday (Mar. 5), we got surprisingly good data about the American labor market , that showed the economy added 379,000 jobs in February, much above expectations. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate has slightly decreased further, as one can see in the chart below. Employment is still down by 9.5 million, or 6.2 percent, from the pre-pandemic level seen one year ago, but additional unemployment benefits or plain checks will not help bring people back into employment – in fact, the effect may turn out to be the reverse.Hence, Biden’s fiscal stimulus will bring little benefit to the economy, while significantly expanding the federal debt and risking overheating the economy. Indeed, the plan is estimated to increase the already high public debt (see the chart below) by an additional ten percentage points as a share of GDP .Implications for GoldWhat does this all mean for gold prices? From the fundamental point of view, Biden’s plan should be positive for the yellow metal. This is because it can increase inflation in the long-run, if people finally decide to spend all the money they got from Uncle Sam. It will not happen in the immediate future, as households will initially save the received payments, and some of them will repay their debts, but they are likely to spend more this year, to compensate for curbed consumption in 2020.However, whether Biden’s plan turns out inflationary or not, it will expand the already mammoth public debt. It should weaken the position of the greenback and increase the odds for a debt crisis or paying out this debt through inflation or financial repression. The higher the debt, the more difficult it will be for the Fed to normalize interest rates (welcome to the debt trap , my friends). All these factors should support gold prices in the long run.However, gold remains deaf to Biden’s disharmonious symphony. Indeed, as the chart below shows, the yellow metal has declined below the important level of $1,700 last week. It seems that the fiscal stimulus (together with the rollout of vaccinations and the economic recovery) has so far strengthened the risk appetite among investors who don’t focus on long-term consequences of the fiscal stimulus.This may change one day, but the sentiment in the gold market is clearly negative right now, and the fundamentals are more positive. The fundamentals may come to the fore in the end. However, gold may struggle further, especially if real interest rates go up again.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, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care
Asia Morning Bites: Trade Data from Australia, Taiwan Inflation, and US Fed Minutes Highlighted

Is Gold Now Replaying 2010-2012?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 09.03.2021 14:57
The 2019-2021 gold chart is disturbingly similar to that of 2010-2012, but it does not have to be the harbinger of a bear market.Many ancient cultures saw history as cyclical. According to this view, society passes through repeated cycles. Can this apply to gold as well? I’m not referring here to the simple fact that we have both bull and bear markets in the precious metals – I refer here to the observation that gold’s price pattern seen in 2019-2021 mirrors that of 2010-2012 . Please take a look at the chart below.As you can see, in both periods, gold was steadily rising to a peak in the third quarter of the second year. A decade ago, the yellow metal gained 29 percent in 2010 and 74 percent as it hit the top. Then, it declined 19 percent by the end of 2011. Fast forward to more recent times. Gold gained 18.4 percent in 2019 and 62 percent at the peak. Afterwards, it declined 9 percent by the end of 2020.So, although the magnitude has now been weaker than in the aftermath of the Great Recession , the pattern is quite similar. The next chart – which presents the normalized gold prices in both periods to indices (when the starting point equals 100) – nicely illustrates how gold in 2019-2021 closely resembles gold from 2010-2012.This similarity may be disturbing. Should the pattern hold, then gold could go down significantly and stay in a sideways trend for years. As a reminder, this is what happened a decade ago. Gold bulls fought until the end of 2012, when they gave up and the yellow metal entered a full bear market, plunging 45 percent from the top to the bottom in December 2015. Then, it stayed generally flat till the end of 2018. If this cycle replays, we could see the price of gold go below $1,200 by the end of 2024.To be clear, there are some arguments to support the bearish case . Just as in the 2010s, the world is recovering now from the global economic crisis . The recession is over and the prospects are only better. Perhaps they’re not rosy, but they’re certainly better than many previously expected, which is what matters for the financial markets. As the worst is behind us, the risk appetite is returning, which could put gold and other safe-haven assets into oblivion. Actually, some could even argue that gold may now plunge even earlier, as a decade ago it was supported by the European sovereign debt crisis , which peaked in 2011-2012.However, there are also important reasons why gold could break the pattern and diverge from the 2010-2012 trend. First, we now have a much more dovish Fed . The U.S. central bank slashed the federal funds rate much quicker and expanded its balance sheet more decisively. Additionally, to avoid a taper tantrum caused by its announcement about tapering asset purchases, this time the Fed will normalize its monetary policy in a very, very gradual way, if at all. It means that interest rates will stay lower for longer. Lastly, the U.S. central bank changed its monetary policy framework, i.e., it prioritized the labor market over price stability and became more tolerant to higher inflation .Second, we also have a much easier fiscal policy . Even before the global pandemic , Trump significantly expanded budget deficits , but the Great Lockdown made them even larger. As pundits believe that the fiscal response in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2007-2009 was too small, they now want to go big – indeed, Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic plan is waiting to be passed by Congress.Third, this recovery might be more inflationary than a decade ago . This is because not only did the monetary base increase, but the broad money supply did as well. Last time, the Fed injected a lot of liquidity to the banking sector to bailout the banks. Now, the money has flowed much more through Main Street and the household sector, which could turn out to be more inflationary when all this money will be spent on goods and services. Also, last time we observed some deleveraging in the private sector, while now the supply of loans is continuously increasing at a positive rate. We are also already observing reflation in the form of a commodity boom, so gold may follow suit.To sum up, the patterns seen in the gold market in 2010-2012 and 2019-2021 are remarkably similar. So, the recent gold’s weakness may be really disturbing. However, this resemblance does not have to be a harbinger of further problems coming for gold bulls . After all, as Mark Twain is reputed to have said, “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes”. Indeed, the macroeconomic and political environment is now clearly different than a decade ago – it’s more fundamentally positive for the price of gold.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter . Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhD Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.
Stocks Shaking Off Weak Tech As Gold Bottoms?

Stocks Shaking Off Weak Tech As Gold Bottoms?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 09.03.2021 15:28
Stocks spiked higher, but not before going sideways to down prior on the day. And the close to the session hasn‘t been convincing either – does it count as a reversal? In my view, we haven‘t seen one yesterday really, regardless of this correction not being over just yet. There are still some cracks I tweeted yesterday about in need closing first, such as the worrying corporate bonds performance, manifest in the HYG:SHY ratio, or the tech searching for the bottom (it‘s $NYFANG precisely). Quoting from yesterday‘s extensive analysis spanning beyond stocks, metals and the Fed:(…) Stocks have had a great run over the past 4 months, getting a bit ahead of themselves in some aspects such as valuations. Then, grappling with the rising long-term rates did strike.So did inflation fears, especially when looking at commodities. Inflation expectations are rising, but not galloping yet. What to make of the rising rates then? They‘re up for all the good reasons – the economy is growing strongly after the Q4 corona restrictions (I actually expect not the conservative 5% Q1 GDP growth, but over 8% at least) while inflation expectations are lagging behind. In other words, the reflation (of economic growth) is working and hasn‘t turned into inflation (rising or roughly stable inflation expectations while the economy‘s growth is slowing down). We‘re more than a few quarters from that – I fully expect really biting inflation (supported by overheating in the job market) to be an 2022-3 affair. As regards S&P 500 sectors, would you really expect financials and energy do as greatly as they do if the prospects were darkening?Stocks are well positioned to keep absorbing the rising nominal rates. What has been the issue, was the extraordinarily steep pace of such move, leaving long-term Treasuries trading historically very extended compared to their 50-day moving averages. While they can snap back over the next 1-2 weeks, the 10y Treasury bond yield again breaking 1.50% is a testament to the Fed not willing to do anything at the moment. Little does the central bank care about commodities moves, when it didn‘t consider any market moves thus far as unruly.Gold market offered proof of being finally ready for a rebound, and it‘s visible in the closing prices of the yellow metal and its miners. Being more than a one day occurence, supported by yesterday presented big picture signals, the market confirmed my yesterday‘s suggestion of an upcoming gold. It appears we‘ll get more than a few days to assess the legs this rally is made of, facilitating nimble charting of the waters ahead my usual way:(…) Just as I was calling out gold as overheated in Aug 2020 and prone to a real soft patch, some signs of internal strength in the precious metals sector were present this Feb already. And now as we have been testing for quite a few days the first support in my game plan, we‘re getting once again close to a bullish formation that I called precisely to a day, and had been banging the bearish gold drum for the following two days, anticipating the downside that followed. Flexibility and broad horizons result in accentuated, numerous other portfolio calls – such as long Bitcoin at $32,275 or long oil at $58 practically since the great return with my very own site. We‘re now on the doorstep of visible, positive price outperformance in the gold miners (GDX ETF) as gold prices didn‘t break the higher bullish trend by declining through both the Mar 4 presented supports of my game plan. As I wrote yesterday, if prices move higher from here, they have simply bounced off support, especially given the accompanying signs presented, not the least of which is the dollar getting back under pressure. Make no mistake, the greenback isn‘t in a bull market – it‘s merely consolidation before plunging to new 2021 lows. I have not been presenting any USDX declining resistance lines and breakout arguments, because prices can be both above such a line, and lower than at the moment of „breakout“ at the same time – ultimately, rising and declining supports and resistances are a play on the speed of the move, where pure inertia / deceleration / reprieve doesn‘t break the prior, higher trend. And as I called in summer 2020 the dollar to roll over and keep plunging, that‘s still what‘s unfolding.How does it tie in to commodities and stocks? We‘re not at extreme moves in either, and I see copper, iron, oil, agrifoods as benefiting from the reflationary efforts greatly. Similarly and in spite of the $NYFANG travails, it would be ill-advised to search for stock market tops now (have you seen how well the Dow Industrials is doing?) – no, we‘re not approaching a top that I would need to call the way I did in the early Sep buying climax. This is still the time to be running with the herd, and not against it – you can ignore the noise to the contrary for both the S&P 500 and commodities have a good year ahead. As for precious metals, we might have seen the bottom already – and in any case by the current shape of things, I don‘t see it occuring quarters ahead and hundreds buck lower.Bringing up the constant reevaluation of position‘s rationale, market reactions and narratives:(…) It‘s the markets‘ discounting mechanism of the future that counts – just as gold cleared the deflationary corona crash in psring 2020, just as it disregarded the tough Fed tone of 2H 2018, just as it sprang vigorously higher in early 2016 stunning bears in all three cases with sharp losses over many months, or just as stocks stopped declining well before economic news got better in April 2020 or March 2009. Make no mistake, the markets consider transitioning to a higher inflation environment already now (the Fed timidly says that reopening will spike it, well, temporarily they say), when inflation expectations are still relatively low, yet peeking higher based on the Fed‘s own data. Gold is in a secular bull market that started in 2018 (if not in late 2015), and what we‘re seeing since the Aug 2020 top, is the soft patch I called. The name of the game now, is where the downside stops – and it‘s one of the scenarios that it has just happened, especially if gold convincingly closed back above $1,720 without undue delay.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookWe have seen two intraday reversals to the downside yesterday, yet I think the effects would prove a temporary obstacle to the bulls only. Such candlestick patterns usually slow down the advance, but don‘t end it – and that‘s consistent with my yesterday‘s words of most of the downside being already in. Once the 3,900 zone is confidently passed, the bears would have missed the chance to reach below Thursday‘s lows.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) still ilustrate ongoing fragility for they have plunged below their Feb lows. This correction doesn‘t appear to be as totally over just yet, also given the sectoral picture that I am showing you next.Put/Call Ratio and VolatilityOption players clearly aren‘t concerned by yesterday‘s S&P 500 price action, and the VIX is painting a similarly neutral picture – just as the sentiment overall. Very good, we‘re primed to go higher next, from a starting position far away from the extreme greed levels.Technology and ValueThe sectoral divergence continues, and tech is still the weakest link in the whole S&P 500 rebound. The big $NYFANG names, the Teslas of this world, are the biggest drag, and not until these carve out a sustainable bottom (this needn‘t happen at the 200-day moving average really), I can declare this correction as getting close to over. It‘s the cyclicals, it‘s value stocks that is pulling the 500-strong index ahead, with financials (XLF ETF), industrials (XLI ETF) and energy (XLE ETF) leading the charge.Treasuries and DollarNominal, long-term Treasury rates have at least slowed their quickening Feb pace, even in the face of no action plan on the table by the Fed – the dollar moved higher on the realization next, and it‘s my view that once new Fed intervention is raised, it would have tremendous implications for the dollar, and last but not least – the precious metals.Gold and SilverFinally, this is the much awaited sign, enabling me to sound some bullish tone in gold again – the miners are outperforming the yellow metal with more than a daily credibility, which I view as key given the lackluster gold price action before yesterday (absence of intraday rebounds coupled with more downside attempts). It would turn stronger once the gold juniors start outperforming the seniors, which is not the case yet.Coupled with the 4-chart big picture view from yesterday, it‘s my view that the gold market is laying the groundwork for its turning:(…) Real rates are negative, nominal rates rose fast, and inflation expectations have been trending higher painfully slowly, not reflecting the jump in commodities or the key inflation precursor (food price inflation) just yet – these are the factors pressuring gold as the Fed‘s brinkmanship on inflation goes on. Once the Fed moves to bring long-term rates under control through intervention – hello yield curve control or at least twist – then real rates would would be pressured to drop, which would be a lifeline for gold – the real questions now are how far gold is willing to drop before that, and when that Fed move would happen. Needless to add as a side note regarding the still very good economic growth (the expansion is still young), stagflation is what gold would really love.Silver is carving out a bottom while both copper and platinum are turning higher already – these are That‘s the essence of one of my many profitable plays presented thus far – long silver short gold spread – clearly spelled out as more promising than waiting for gold upswing to arrive while the yellow metals‘ bullish signs have been appearing through Feb only to disappear, reappear, and so on.SummaryStocks haven‘t seen a real reversal yesterday, but more backing and filling till the tech finds bottom, appears due. The medium-term factors favor the bulls, but this correction isn‘t over yet, definitely not in time.Now, gold can show some strength – and silver naturally even more. The signs overall favoring a rebound, are appearing with increasing clarity for the short term, and the nearest weeks will show whether we have made a sustainable bottom already, or whether the $1,670 zone will get tested thoroughly. The bulls have the upper hand now.
New York Climate Week: A Call for Urgent and Collective Climate Action

Stocks Love Rising CPI, and Gold Should Too

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 10.03.2021 16:09
Monday‘s reversal I didn‘t trust, gave way to another upswing – still within this getting long in the tooth correction. It‘s not over, and corporate bonds aren‘t yet confirming – it has lately become a reasonable expectation that when the higher quality debt instruments (think LQD, TLT) have a good day, junk corporate bonds get under pressure, but seeing their (HYG) performance more aligned with the S&P 500 is what I am looking for in a rally on solid footing.Which is what we‘re not having yet. Just compare the tech performance to the rest of the market, especially when viewed from the decling new highs new lows (yes, these closed higher on Monday). It‘s apparent that yesterday‘s S&P 500 upswing was the result of reallocation to tech to the detriment (mild, but still) of much of the rest, in light of the key development of the day – falling Treasury yields.The stock market simply keeps dealing with the rising nominal rates, which would be easier when these move less fast and steeply than till now. Consolidation of their recent move appears underway, in fits and starts, as long-term Treasuries are:(…) trading historically very extended compared to their 50-day moving averages. While they can snap back over the next 1-2 weeks, the 10y Treasury bond yield again breaking 1.50% is a testament to the Fed not willing to do anything at the moment. On one hand, the central bank is fine with commodities on the move, which aren‘t yet really showing in CPI, (today‘s 0.4% reading is a baby step in this direction) and which the Fed claims would be only transitory. On the other hand, the bond market is buying into this assertion to a degree, because otherwise the long-term bonds decline would continue rather unabated. As we are in the reflationary stage when economic growth is rising faster than both inflation and inflation expectations, this laissez faire approach to inflation isn‘t likely to bite the Fed now as much as to truly wake up the bond vigilantes. It‘s that the „high rates“ we‘re experiencing currently, do not compare to the early 1980s, which underscores the fragility of the current monetary order. The Fed knows that, and it has been evident in the long preparatory period and baby steps in the prior rate raising and balance sheet shrinking cycle. The market will see through this, and the central bank would be forced to move to bring long-term rates down through yield curve control or a twist program, which would break the dollar, drive emerging markets, and not exactly control inflation – real rates would drop like a stone in such a scenario, turning around gold profoundly. But we‘re not yet there, as inflation is still too low and economic growth too high to force this scenario to play out. Market players are though already hedging against the rising (commodity prices thus far chiefly) inflation – and gold is still mostly on the defensive even as TIPS are starting to turn. What we‘re seeing in the miners to gold ratio, are green shoots in obvious need of follow through to turn the yellow metal sustainably around.Bottom line, if I had to pick only two markets to watch right now, it would be long-term Treasuries and the dollar.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookDaily rebound with a long upper knot, indicating consolidation ahead just as much as the low credibility Monday reversal. Force index is turning positive, but I am not looking at it to absolutely spike just yet. Overall though, the balance of forces is slowly but surely shifting towards the buyers, which would become more evident once we clear the key 3,900+ zone – perhaps even later today.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio is the key non-confirmation, which can be partially explained by the bond market strains and reallocations into the long end of the curve instruments. Stocks are as a result relatively extended, yet without accompanying warning signs in the put/call ratio or the VIX. So far so good.Technology, Value and UtilitiesWhat a difference a day (of higher TLT prices makes)! Technology, which has been trading almost like utilities (lower black line) lately (yeah, reopening), rebounded ($NYFANG likewise strongly), and the value stocks endured a modest daily setback. Part and parcel of the microrotations as the stock market is getting used to higher nominal rates within the stock bull run as evidenced by the rebounding bullish percent index. Yes, this S&P 500 correction is in its latter innings.Treasuries and DollarNominal, long-term Treasury rates retreated on the day, and so did the dollar. Emerging markets liked that more than their bonds, which means that the current reprieve in yields is more likely temporary than not.Gold in the SpotlightMiners‘ outperformance of the yellow metal goes on, today illustrated with the stronger $HUI. Given the CPI readings just in, the gold bulls have a good reason to run with the assumption that even Fed‘s own real inflation underestimating models, are starting to reveal its slow appearance in the basket of consumer prices.It was on Monday when I showed you this chart first, and we‘re within a gold rebound highlighting some relative strength in the yellow metal vis-a-vis the rising rates – in the latter half of the 7-month long correction. The key narrative shift would be one of focus on inflation, inflation expectations, which would be also manifest in the Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) chart. Thus far, the presented big picture view is a reason for modest, guarded optimism (in need of constant monitoring).Silver and Its MinersSilver has turned higher yesterday, and so did platinum – it‘s however the silver miners (SIL ETF), which is making the upswing a little suspect, as in need to prove itself stronger.SummaryStocks are likely to take yesterday‘s setback in their stride, and this long, drawn out correction increasingly appears to be approaching its inevitable end. The medium-term factors favor the bulls, and new highs are a question of broad based advance across the sectors, adjusted for the reopening trades favoring high beta stocks.The belated and thus far rather meek gold rebound can proceed, and should the mining stocks keep their outperformance (ideally accompanied by silver miners doing the same with respect to the white metal), that would be a hallmark of the unfolding rebound carrying on. For now, guarded optimism is still the name of the game in the precious metals arena.
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Gold, Miners: How Long Will Short-Term Rally Last?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 10.03.2021 16:45
Gold rallied, gold miners soared to new March highs and the USD Index finally moved lower; and most likely, these price moves are not yet over.The precious metals market finally moved yesterday (Mar. 9) after providing us with bullish indications for quite a few days. Let’s jump right into charts and examine the details, starting with the part of the precious metals market that showed particular strength – mining stocks.Figure 1 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)Even though gold moved lower in early March, gold miners stopped declining after reaching my target area based several techniques – most importantly the 50% Fibonacci retracement based on the entire 2020 rally, and the previous lows and highs. Just as miners’ relative weakness had previously heralded declines for the entire precious metals sector, their strength meant that a rally was about to start. And that’s just what we saw yesterday (Mar. 9).Ultimately, it seems that the above corrections will result in the GDX ETF moving to about $34 or so.The resistance levels in the $34 - $35 area are provided by:The late-February 2020 highThe rising neck level of the previously completed head and shoulders patternThe analogy to how big miners’ correction was in April (assuming that the mirror similarity continues)The declining blue resistance lineThe 50-day moving averageAdditionally, please note that the last few local tops were accompanied by RSI at about 50. The latter is currently below 45, suggesting that this rally has more potential, but that it’s not particularly extreme.The confirmation that the top is indeed in might come from the volume. Please note that the last three times when we saw really important tops, the GDX rallied on particularly strong volume. If we see something like that within the next 5 trading days or so (quite likely on Monday or close to it), we’ll have an even bigger chance of catching the reversal.Consequently, the GDX is likely to form a top in the above-described area.After breaking below the head-and-shoulders pattern, gold miners would then be likely to verify this breakdown by moving back up to the neck level of the pattern. Then, we would likely see another powerful slide – perhaps to at least $24.This is especially the case, since silver and mining stocks tend to decline particularly strongly if the stock market is declining as well. And while the exact timing of the market’s slide is not 100% clear, the day of reckoning for stocks is coming , and it might be very, very close.As I explained previously, based on the similarities to the 1929 and 2008 declines, it could be the case that the precious metals sector declines for about three months after the general stock market tops. And it seems that we won’t have to wait long for the latter. In fact, the next big move lower in stocks might already be underway, as the mid-Feb. 2021 top could have been the final medium-term top.Let’s consider what the GDX and GLD did on an intraday basis yesterday.Figure 2 - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) and Gold ETF (GLD) ComparisonAs I already wrote, mining stocks rallied to new monthly highs, and the above 4-hour chart (each candlestick represents 4 hours of trading) makes it crystal-clear that the late-February bottom was the moment after which miners stopped declining and started to trade sideways. Gold (here: the GLD ETF, which I’m using to have an apples-to-apples comparison – both ETFs trade on the same exchange) continued to decline in March. Well, to be precise, miners did form new yearly lows in March, and we went long almost right at one of those intraday lows , but the moves were not significant enough to really change anything.So, since miners no longer wanted to decline, and there were only two other things left for them to do: either nothing or rally.They had been doing nothing for several days, due to the lack of bullish leadership in gold. They just got this leadership yesterday, and they soared.Now, let’s keep in mind what I wrote in yesterday’s intraday Alert – namely, that mining stocks tend to rally particularly well in the initial part of the upswing, and then they underperform during the final part of the rally . So, when gold is above $1,750 or so, miners might already be rallying to a limited degree. Consequently, miners might rally above $34.27, but that is far from being certain. They might actually rally slightly less – perhaps to exactly $34 or so.I applied the Fibonacci retracement levels to the above chart, but I actually used them as Fibonacci extensions. My current upside target for gold is at about $1,770 (which corresponds to about $166 in the GLD ETF) and it’s at about $34 for mining stocks (GDX ETF). The Fibonacci extensions emphasize that if both targets were to be reached, then it means that gold so far rallied (intraday) about half of its entire rally, while mining stocks rallied (intraday) about 61.8% of their entire rally. This perfectly fits miners’ tendency to outperform in the initial part of a given move, which makes both price targets more reliable.Having said that, let’s move to gold.Figure 3 - COMEX Gold FuturesGold rallied strongly after bottoming right in the middle of my target area and after moving almost right to its June 2020 bottom, and after almost doubling its initial January decline. Yesterday’s rally also meant invalidation of the brief breakdown below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level based on the entire 2020 rally. Thus, the very short-term trend is up.Please keep in mind that the upswing might be relatively short-lived – perhaps lasting only one week or so. There’s a triangle-vertex-based reversal point on Monday, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see an interim top at that time, especially considering that:The triangle-vertex-based turning points have been working particularly well in the recent past – they marked the January and February tops.The corrective upswings during this medium-term decline (especially in mining stocks) often took about a week to complete – at least the easy part of the upswing took a week.The USD Index has been rallying relentlessly – just like in 2018 – in the last couple of days, but a quick pullback would not be surprising. In fact, it seems that one is already underway.Figure 4 - USD Index (DX.F)On March 8, the USD Index had closed above its lowest daily closing price of August 2020 (92.13), but yesterday, it closed back below this resistance. This means that we just saw an invalidation of the breakout – which is a bearish sign for the short term.How low could the USD Index move during this pullback? Not particularly low, as the similarity to 2018 implies a rather unbroken rally. The February 2021 high of 91.6 seems to be a quite likely target, but we might see the USDX move a bit lower as well – perhaps to one of the classic Fibonacci retracements based on the recent upswing – lowest of them (the 61.8% one) being at about 90.8.This pullback might trigger a question about the validity of the analogy to the 2018 rally, which seems to have taken place without any interruptions.Figure 5The analogy seems to remain intact when looking at it from the long-term point of view. Let’s keep in mind the recent decline was a bit sharper and it took less time to complete.The 2017 – 2018 decline took 387 day (between the top and the first low) and then there were 82 days between the initial and the final low (21.19% of the decline).This time, there were 269 days between the top and the first low. Adding 21.19% to this time, points to Feb. 12 as the "proportionately identical" bottom time target. The final bottom formed on Feb. 25 - just 9 trading days away from the analogy-based target. The analogy remains clearly intact.“So, doesn’t it imply that there shouldn’t be any pullbacks until the USD Index rallies above 94? ”No. And this becomes obvious once we zoom in.Figure 6You see, it’s not true that there were no pullbacks during the 2018 rally. There were, but they were simply too small to be visible from the long-term point of view.The first notable pullback took place in early May 2018, and it contributed to a corrective upswing in the precious metals market. To be precise, the USD Index declined after rallying for 56 trading days, but gold rallied earlier – 51 trading days after the USD Index’s final bottom. The USDX’s immediate-top formed 16 trading days after its final bottom, and gold’s bottom formed 10 trading days after the USD’s final bottom.Comparing this to the size of the previous decline in terms of the trading days, it was:51 – 56 trading days / 283 trading days = 18.02% - 19.79%10 – 16 trading days / 283 trading days = 3.53% - 5.65%Now, let’s examine the current situation.Figure 7The preceding decline lasted for 200 trading days and there were 41 – 42 trading days between the final USDX bottom and the short-term reversals in gold and USDX. Comparing this to the final USDX bottom, we get 7 – 8 trading days.Applying the previous percentages to the length of the most recent medium-term decline in the USD Index provides us with the following:18.02% - 19.79% x 200 trading days = ~36 - ~40 trading days3.53% - 5.65% x 200 trading days = ~7 - ~11 trading daysThe above estimation of about 36 – 40 trading days almost perfectly fits the current 41 – 42-day delay, and the estimation of about 7 – 11 trading days almost perfectly fits the current delay of 7 – 8 trading days.In other words, the analogy to the 2018 performance does not only remain intact – it actually perfectly confirms the validity of the current corrective upswing. Once again, it’s very likely just a pullback, not a big trend reversal.Also, please note that back in 2018, the USD Index corrected after moving back above its mid-2017 lows and now we see the analogy to that – the USDX corrects after moving back above its mid-2020 lows. Back in 2017, the USD Index corrected to approximately its previous short-term high (the January 2018 high). Now, the February high is providing strong support at about 91.6 – that’s where this brief correction might end – on an approximate basis.The above perfectly fits the scenario in which the precious metals market rallies on a very short-term basis (likely to about $1,770 in gold and about $34 in GDX), and then resumes its medium-term decline.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
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Stocks Bulls Can Take a Rest – But Gold Ones Can‘t

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 11.03.2021 15:40
The daily banging on the 3,900 threshold shows in yesterday‘s upper knot, and this milestone has very good chances of being conquered today. More important than the exact timing though, are the internals marking the setup – we‘ve indeed progressed very far into this correction. While not historically among the longest ones, it‘s still getting long in the tooth – just as I was writing throughout the week.And it is getting stale, even if I look at the star non-cofirnation, the high yield corporate bonds. Relatively modest daily upswing, outshined by investment grade corporate bonds. Yes, the credit markets are calming down, and the tiny daily long-term Treasuries upswing doesn‘t reflect that fully just yet. Besides giving breathing room to defensives such as utilities and consumer staples, it‘s also very conducive to the precious metals sector.Copper, oil or agrifoods aren‘t flashing warning signs either – this is a healthy consolidation of steep prior gains as the dollar is getting again under pressure on retreating yields. Just as stocks are undergoing the larger rotation in favor of high beta value plays (financials and manufacturing ones are doing great, airlines jumped), the leaders out of the corona deflationary crash are leading no longer (technology). The picture of the unfolding reflationary recovery is a healthy one as rates are rising on account of improving economic environment, and inflation doesn‘t really bite yet.Ideal environment for the stock market to do well (hello my profitable open position), and for commodities to do really well. While the Fed is prepping the markets for (temporary, they say) higher inflation readings, gold didn‘t react too bullishly to yesterday‘s mildly positive CPI data – just wait for PPI data which would reflect the surging commodity prices more adequately. At the moment, evaluating the strength and internals of precious metals rebound, is the way to go as we might very well have seen the gold bottom, with the timid $1,670 zone test being all the bears could muster. Time and my dutiful reporting will tell.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 Outlook and Its InternalsVolume isn‘t sharply contracting, and coupled with the price action, the rebound above 3,900 has good chance of succeeding. The path most ahead to entertain your imagination as well, looks as a little congested series of daily candles followed by a longer white one. We‘re in a stock bull market after all, and still not in danger of a significant (10%+) correction as I have been writing throughout 2021.Market breadth indicators have turned the corner really, underscoring accumulation within a returning bull market advance – just as the bullish percent index shows. A brief sideways to higher consolidation of this week‘s advance would only help to solidify it before the next run higher.Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio‘s degree of non-confirmation has decreased, at least if you take direction into view. Finally, high yield corporate bonds are turning higher, and once they catch breath even more, the all time highs already in sight would be conquered as smoothly as the 3,900 zone I delineated earlier.Gold Sector ExaminedVery mild upswing in both the gold miners and gold – along the lines of a daily consolidation with bullish undertones. This early in the precious metals upswing, miners are in the pool position, and their relative and gradually increasing strength has been visible since the early Mar days. So far so good here.Silver, Platinum and the RestSilver isn‘t yet outshining the rest of the crowd, and that‘s good, for it often tends to do so in the later stages of the precious metals sector advance. Within the coming precious metals advance, I continue to view silver outperformance as expected. Part monetary metal, part commodity, it‘s uniquely position to benefit. Its yesterday‘s setback is nothing to be concerned about as the gold, gold miners and platinum rebound keeps doing largely well.Comparing the gold miners to gold ($HUI:$GOLD) ratio to the silver miners to silver (SIL:$SILVER) ratio is returning a bullish snapshot of the current advance too. The beaten down gold sector is leading the charge, and the silver one will play catch-up in time.SummaryHaving reached the 3,900 zone, the S&P 500 is likely to consolidate the gains next. Due to the improving key markets (corporate bonds and tech), I am not looking for any this week‘s potential setback to turn the tide in this aging correction really.The gold upswing is proceeding, helped by the weakening dollar and ever so slightly retreating Treasury yields. After clearing the volume profile defined support at $1,720 and stretching a little below, the bulls next objective is the roughly $1,775 figure marking the Feb lows. Should that one be conquered, the odds of having seen gold bottom this Monday, would have dramatically increased.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Intraday Market Analysis – Dow Jones Reaches New Highs

John Benjamin John Benjamin 12.03.2021 08:29
US 30 surges from daily supportUS Congress’s green light on the $1.9 trillion relief package seems to have put stock markets back on track. This came in as half-expected on the technical side as the index bounced off the year-long bullish trendline on the daily chart.From the hourly perspective, the breakout above the previous high (32050) has triggered a broader rally fuelled by short-coverings.As the RSI shows signs of overheating, a limited pullback might attract more buyers. 32300 near the short-term trendline would be the support to watch for.XAGUSD recovers from key supportLower treasury yields have made the non-yielding metal more attractive, right when buyers bid up the price from its daily support level (24.80).Following the previously mentioned RSI divergence, an indication of a potential reversal, silver saw a limited drop then rallied above the first resistance of 26.20.After a brief consolidation, the price could rise towards the next target around 27.00 as long as it stays above 25.60.To the downside, 24.80 is critical in keeping the bullish sentiment intact.NZDUSD looks for a bullish breakoutThe New Zealand dollar is having its fair share of markets’ renewed affection for risk assets. A rebound from the psychological level of 0.7100, a two-month low has brought the pair to its first hurdle: 0.7270 where strong selling pressure could cap the rally.The kiwi is gathering momentum near the rising trendline as the RSI falls back into the neutral zone. If buyers can overcome this resistance, an extended rally may push the price towards 0.7400.A drop below 0.7160 though could lead to a retest of the daily support.
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Resting Stock Bulls and Gold Question Marks

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 12.03.2021 16:12
Stock bulls went right for all time highs yesterday, clearing the 3,900 threshold in this correction – one that is in its very late innings indeed. But the preceding upswing has been sharp, and not all the internals support such a swift recovery, which is why I am still looking for consolidation to strike at any moment.We might be actually experiencing such a daily one right now, as today‘s premarket session has sent S&P 500 futures a few dozen points down. The big picture is though one of of the stock market getting used to rising rates, which are rising in reflection of the economic growth. But what about the snapback short-term rally in long-term Treasuries? It‘s not materializing as the instrument went down again yesterday – unconvincingly bobbing above recent lows. The defensive sectors such as consumer staples and utilities, reversed yesterday (at a time when technology rose), sending a warning that we‘re about to see higher rates again. Probably not happening as fast as through Feb, but still. Let‘s bring up my recent perspective on high rates, what they are exactly:(…) the „high rates“ we‘re experiencing currently, do not compare to the early 1980s, which underscores the fragility of the current monetary order. The Fed knows that, and it has been evident in the long preparatory period and baby steps in the prior rate raising and balance sheet shrinking cycle. The market will see through this, and the central bank would be forced to move to bring long-term rates down through yield curve control or a twist program, which would break the dollar, drive emerging markets, and not exactly control inflation – real rates would drop like a stone in such a scenario, turning around gold profoundly. But the market knows the Fed isn‘t getting ready to really do anything more than it does right now. Gold rebounded on Tuesday, and the rally took it above $1,730 but the daily reversal is concerning. As I wrote yesterday in the title, the gold bulls can‘t rest – but they are resting, and prices are back at the lower end of the $1,720 volume profile.Assessing the damage in the early stages of today‘s session will clarify whether the rally‘s dynamics are still intact, or not – regardless of today‘s headwinds. Silver isn‘t exactly at its strongest today, and we‘re likely to get soon into the session an idea about where miners‘ strength is. And it‘s more likely that it won‘t be anything to write home about.Let‘s recall my yesterday‘s words, and pick what‘s relevant to the metals:(…) While the Fed is prepping the markets for (temporary, they say) higher inflation readings, gold didn‘t react too bullishly to yesterday‘s mildly positive CPI data – just wait for PPI data which would reflect the surging commodity prices more adequately. At the moment, evaluating the strength and internals of precious metals rebound, is the way to go as we might very well have seen the gold bottom, with the timid $1,670 zone test being all the bears could muster. Time and my dutiful reporting will tell.Commodities are likely to do well in this reflationary phase, and the same goes for its turn to inflation. With precious metals, much depends upon their discounting mechanism‘s timing – when would they start doubting the transitory inflation utterances.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe S&P 500 upswing continues in pretty much a straight line, and the frequency of upper knots raises the probability of a short-term reprieve. Yes, it‘s risk-on, but a little pause would be healthy. Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds have moved higher yesterday, mirroring the S&P 500 advance. That‘s encouraging even though the high yield corporate bonds to short-dated Treasuries (HYG:SHY) ratio is still visibly lagging behind stocks. The non-confirmation‘s seriousness has though decreased markedly over the two last sessions, pointing to improving internals of the upcoming stock market upleg.Technology and ValueTechnology has been rallying on decreasing volume, also demonstrating a prominent upper knot. If there is one sector where the coming S&P 500 consolidation would originate, it would be here. Value stocks held their own yesterday, in a nod to the high beta reopening trades. I am not looking for VTV to weaken distinctly here.Gold and YieldsThe gold upswing reversed intraday while long-term Treasuries (TLT ETF) hadn‘t really moved in their tight daily range. Erasing much of the overnight selling today, would be probably the most the bulls would be able to achieve today. But even that isn‘t the deciding factor to determine the fate of the recovery off the $1,670 area.Upswing in the BalanceGold miners are still painting a positive picture. They are outperforming gold while silver isn‘t spiking – the white metal is under even more pressure today than gold itself. So, the signs from miners and silver balance each other out to a degree. The whole sectors keeps hanging in the balance after yesterday‘s session. Each day or even hour the bulls don‘t utilize to reverse today‘s setback, is questioning the upswing continuation. Not much to add here as the daily momentum apprears shifting to the bears again.SummaryHaving conquered the 3,900 zone, the S&P 500 is likely to consolidate the gains next. The put/call ratio and volatility are at relatively lower readings, and the next setback for stocks would come from tech again. Not overly dramatic, but a brief challenge still.The gold upswing stalled, and its fate is being decided. Having fallen through the volume profile defined support at $1,720, the bulls objective is to recapture this zone. Tall order..
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Silver, Process over intuition

Korbinian Koller Korbinian Koller 15.03.2021 11:07
This principle is significant in times like right now where Silver is seeming, say intuitively, trading sideways and might even feel bearish most of the time in this trading range. The truth however is, that Silver is in a major bull run and will be so for quite a while coming.Market manipulation and the fact that the market itself is counterintuitive by nature make continuous entry discipline on low-risk trading especially difficult for beginning traders who try to follow their hunches.Weekly Chart of Silver in US-Dollar, On the move:Silver in US Dollar, weekly chart as of March 11th, 2021.Looking at the weekly chart above, we see a steep trend leg up. Next, prices meandering through a sideways range. Significant is the latest behavior through the range from the range low to the range high, retracing only moderately through the range when bouncing from the range high to a Fibonacci retracement of 0.38, where it bounced strongly – a clear sign of strength.  Silver in US-Dollar, Weekly Chart, Supporting factors:Silver in US Dollar, weekly chart as of March 11th, 2021.But that isn’t all. Another weekly chart representation also shows that this Fibonacci level is supported by the round number US$25. Here we find a significant supply zone based on our volume analysis tool. Here most transactions have been happening over time at around a price level of US$25.25.In addition the intensity of the price bounce is indicating strength. Price didn’t retest but moved strongly up for a reversal of direction.This “stacking of odds” is part of the process to qualify entries instead of “feeling” that prices might change.Weekly Chart, Silver in US-Dollar, Silver-Process over intuition:Silver in US Dollar, weekly chart as of March 11th, 2021.In conclusion, we find that the process-oriented trader has significant evidence for a trend continuation. This is especially drawn from the first leg up with a high likelihood of further advancements and a range break in the near future.The weekly chart above shows through its regression channel why prices can quickly advance towards the upper rim (red upper channel line). There we would take partial profits based on our quad exit strategy whole prices should then increase further from there through time. Prices still near the mean (red dotted line) can also from a mathematical, statistical perspective within reason advance further. What also points towards the overall interest in Silver is the increased volume within the last six months. Shown in the red and turquoise horizontal bars.Silver, Process over intuition:It isn’t practice alone. Only a refined rule set for this process will make it possible to follow one’s own instruction. If there are holes where intuition can step in to make a partial decision, failure is near. Our need to be right (ego) is strong, and it will try to get its needs met. So it might try to lure you into fulfilling your hunch needs by altering money management. Don’t let your subconscious trick you into manipulating your position size because you have intuitions or hunches. Starting with paper trading and growing slowly with a minimal position size is the best bet not to lose one’s shirt in the early years. Constant refinement of your process rules and accepting trading to be a boring endeavor while executing is the way to consistency and riches.Feel free to join us in our free Telegram channel for daily real time data and a great community.If you like to get regular updates on our gold model, precious metals and cryptocurrencies you can subscribe to our free newsletter.By Korbinian Koller|March 12th, 2021|Tags: Gold, low risk, Silver, silver bull, Silver Chartbook, technical analysis, time frame, trading principles|0 CommentsAbout the Author: Korbinian KollerOutstanding abstract reasoning ability and ability to think creatively and originally has led over the last 25 years to extract new principles and a unique way to view the markets resulting in a multitude of various time frame systems, generating high hit rates and outstanding risk reward ratios. Over 20 years of coaching traders with heart & passion, assessing complex situations, troubleshoot and solve problems principle based has led to experience and a professional history of success. Skilled natural teacher and exceptional developer of talent. Avid learner guided by a plan with ability to suppress ego and empower students to share ideas and best practices and to apply principle-based technical/conceptual knowledge to maximize efficiency. 25+ year execution experience (50.000+ trades executed) Trading multiple personal accounts (long and short-and combinations of the two). Amazing market feel complementing mechanical systems discipline for precise and extreme low risk entries while objectively seeing the whole picture. Ability to notice and separate emotional responses from the decision-making process and to stand outside oneself and one’s concerns about images in order to function in terms of larger objectives. Developed exit strategies that compensate both for maximizing profits and psychological ease to allow for continuous flow throughout the whole trading day. In depth knowledge of money management strategies with the experience of multiple 6 sigma events in various markets (futures, stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds) embedded in extreme low risk statistical probability models with smooth equity curves and extensive risk management as well as extensive disaster risk allow for my natural capacity for risk-taking.
Big Trading Week for Stock Markets

Big Trading Week for Stock Markets

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 15.03.2021 14:51
Last week went a lot better than the week before. Especially if you’re a Nasdaq bull and bought the dip ( like I recommended Feb 24 ).The real story, though? We’ve still got the Dow, S&P, and Russell firmly at record highs.This week should be full of excitement for the indexes. Will we see more record highs? Will the Nasdaq catch up and recover? How will the newly signed $1.9 trillion “America Rescue Plan” impact the market? Will inflation fears and accelerating bond yields spook investors again?As you can see, there are clearly questions right now for stocks- despite the wheels in motion for pent-up consumer spending and a strong stock rally. Plus, we’ll start having many retail investors with an extra $1,400 to spend looking to have a little fun.Inflation fears and surging bond yields are still a concern and have caused significant volatility for growth stocks. But let’s have a little perspective here. Bond yields are still at a historically low level, and the Fed Funds Rate remains 0%. Plus, jobless claims beat estimates again and came in at 712,000. This is nearly the lowest they’ve been in a whole year. Last week’s inflation data also came in more tamer than expected.So what should you pay attention to this week?More inflation data, jobless claims, and consumer sentiment will be released throughout the week, for one.But pay incredibly close attention to the Fed. Bonds still remain the market’s biggest wild card. With the Fed meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, bond yields could take their cue from what they say. No action is expected to be taken, and the Fed is expected to indicate more substantial growth. Fed officials are also not expected to alter their interest rate outlook and may stick to the plan of keeping rates this low through 2023.If this goes as expected, bond yields could potentially pop again, reinvigorating the rotation into value and cyclical plays and out of tech and growth plays.Time will tell what happens.My goal for these updates is to educate you, give you ideas, and help you manage money like I did when I was pressing the buy and sell buttons for $600+ million in assets. I left that career to pursue one to help people who needed help instead of the ultra-high net worth.With that said, to sum it up:There is optimism but signs of concern. The market has to figure itself out. A further downturn is possible, but I don’t think that a decline above ~20%, leading to a bear market, will happen any time soon.Hopefully, you find my insights enlightening. I welcome your thoughts and questions and wish you the best of luck. Is the Dow *Gulp* Overbought?Figure 1- Dow Jones Industrial Average $INDUNot much new to report on this. Except for that, it keeps ticking up towards overbought territory and hitting record highs. Year-to-date, we’re now up about 7.1%- almost double what the S&P and Nasdaq have done so far this year.It also managed to gain over 4% this past week.I don’t feel that we’re buyable at all right now. If you have exposure, HOLD and let it ride. Maybe start to consider taking some profits too.The index could greatly benefit from the stimulus package due to all of the cyclical stocks it holds. I can definitely foresee some pops in the index as investors digest the unprecedented amount of money being pumped into the economy, coupled with reopening excitement. But you can’t expect the index to keep going up like this and setting records every day. Plus, the RSI is almost 69 and showing overbought signs.So, where do we go from here?Many analysts believe the index could end the year at 35,000, and the wheels are in motion for a furious rally. But you could do better for a buyable entry point.From my end, I’d prefer to stay patient, assess the situation, and find better buying opportunities.My call on the Dow stays a HOLD, but we’re approaching SELL.For an ETF that aims to correlate with the Dow’s performance, the SPDR Dow Jones ETF (DIA) is a reliable option.For more of my thoughts on the market, such as tech, if small-caps are buyable, inflation, and emerging market opportunities, sign up for my premium analysis today.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. I encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's absolutely free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to the premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!Thank you.Matthew Levy, CFA Stock Trading Strategist Sunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research, and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Matthew Levy, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Matthew Levy, CFA, and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Levy is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Matthew Levy, CFA’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading, and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Matthew Levy, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees, and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
Boosting Stimulus: A Look at Recent Developments and Market Impact

Gold and Stock Bulls Are Getting Ready

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 15.03.2021 15:34
Now that stocks closed at new all time highs, the correction is officially over. And what little rest stock bulls could claim last week, arrived on Friday. Yet, the bull is strong enough to defend the 3,900 zone, and charge higher the same day.Who could be surprised, given the modern monetary theory ruling the economic landscape? The Fed amply accomodative, one $1.9T stimulus bill just in, and a $2T infrastructure one in the making. That‘s after the prior Trump stimulus, and who would have forgotten how it all started in April 2020? The old congressional saying „a billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you‘re talking real money“, needs updating.Stocks are readying another upswing as the volatility index is approaching 20 again, and the put/call ratio shows complacent readings. The sectoral examination supports higher highs as tech has reversed intraday losses, closing half of the opening bearish gap. Value stocks naturally powered to new highs, with industrials, energy and financial performing best. Real estate keeps showing remarkable momentum, and has been among the best performers off correction‘s lows.These all have happened while long-term Treasury yields have broken to new highs. Are they stopping to be the boogeyman?As I‘ll show you, inflation expectations are rising – and the bond market is reflecting that. The market‘s discounting mechanism is at work, mirroring the future virtually ascertained CPI rise, if you look carefully into the PPI entrails. This inflation won‘t be as temporary as the Fed proclaims it would – but it still hasn‘t arrived in full force. We‘re merely at the stage of financial assets rising, because that‘s where the newly minted money is chiefly going.As regards gold, let‘s recall my Thursday‘s words:(…) At the moment, evaluating the strength and internals of precious metals rebound, is the way to go as we might very well have seen the gold bottom, with the timid $1,670 zone test being all the bears could muster. Time and my dutiful reporting will tell.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe S&P 500 upswing took a little breath, and at the same time continued unchallenged. The path of least resistance simply remains higher. Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) have declined, but don‘t give the impression of readying a breakdown. I understand it as a daily weakness, because the whole bond market was under pressure on Friday, with investment grade corporate bonds (LQD ETF) taking it on the chin as well. Russell 2000 and Emerging MarketsRussell 2000 keeps doing better than the 500-strong index, which is natural and expected given the prevailing investment themes doing well, value stocks rising, and euphoric speculation running rampant. Emerging market weakness needs to be viewed through the strains stronger dollar and rising rates cause abroad. That‘s why I am not viewing EEM underperformance as a warning sign for U.S. equity markets.Inflation Expectations and YieldsQuite a relentless rise in my favorite metric of forward looking inflation, isn‘t it? Treasury inflation protected securities to long-dated Treasuries (TIP:TLT) have been relentlessly rising off the corona crash lows, and their accent in 2021 has accelerated just as steeply as the nominal rates reflect (see below).Gold Upswing AnatomyGold refused the premarket losses, and has rebounded to close almost unchanged on the day. Is that sign of strength or weakness?The miners to gold ratio provides a clear answer, and it‘s a bullish one to open the week. Finally, the gold market is showing signs of life on a prolonged basis, which I started talking on Tuesday. Regardless of Friday‘s weakness in the yellow metal, it‘s so far so good as the miners keep leading the charge.Silver weakness in the course of the upswing isn‘t a too worrying sign – silver miners outperforming as well, is a more important signal. Smacks of broadening leadership in the unfolding precious metals upswing. SummaryThe consolidation of S&P 500 gains was and remains bound to be a short-term affair as the bulls take on new highs and surge well past them in the days and weeks ahead. The top is very far off as this still nascent recovery gets so much stimulus fuel that overheating becomes a very real possibility this year already.Gold has turned an important corner on Friday, and so have the miners – be they gold or silver ones. The precious metals upswing is unfolding, and decreased sensitivity to rising yields is a pleasant sight for the bulls. Well, that‘s exactly what I had been writing about transitioning to a higher inflation environment exactly one week ago.
European Central Bank's Potential Minimum Reserve Increase Sparks Concerns

History Rhymes: Does USDX’s Uprising Mean Gold’s Climax?

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 15.03.2021 16:48
The yellow metal’s behavior looks more bearish now than it did in 2017-2018. The USDX has a lot of bullets in its chamber, and gold can be riddled with them.Plenty of warning signs on the near-term horizon: The USDX is after a long-tern breakout, traders are reducing net-short positions, and the slightest shift in U.S. dollar sentiment can lead the rest of the herd to follow. If a USDX resurgence is combined with an equity shock, then the precious metals are in for trouble.Last Friday (Mar. 12), we focused quite a bit on the moves in the gold miners and how their related ETFs (GDX and GDXJ) are faring and which will suffer most during the next phase of the decline. We also touched on this subject last Wednesday as well. It was important to shed light on the miners because they’ve been leading the charge in the corrective upswing. I also wanted to explain the Eurozone’s impact on the precious metals and how crucial it is to examine the bigger picture and how the pieces are all connected. Today, let’s shift our attention over to the currency perspective, namely the USDX.The price shape and time analogies are truly remarkable right now. It’s quite often the case that history rhymes, but it’s rare for it to rhyme so closely and clearly to what we now see in the case of the USD Index. And the implications for precious metals investors are profound.On Mar. 8 , I warned that with the USD Index confronting its mid-2020 lows (resistance), a short-term dip could occur in the coming days. But after declining by 0.34% last week, the negativity could be short lived.Case in point: the 2017-2018 analogue is already in full swing, and while short-term dips were part of the historical journey, the USDX could be about to exit its consolidation phase.Please see below:You can also see the similarity between two periods and the technical patterns that they included in the chart below:Even while looking at the price moves for just a second, the size and shape of the 2017-2018 analogue clearly mirrors the 2020-current price action . Although this time, it took less than 118 days for the USD Index to move from peak to trough.In 2017-2018, it also took 82 days for the USDX to form a final bottom (the number of days between the initial bottom and the final bottom) and the duration amounts to 21.19% of the overall timeframe. If we applied a similar timeframe to today’s move, then the USD Index should have bottomed on Feb. 12. It actually bottomed (finally) on Feb. 25, which was just 8 trading days away from the former date. Taking into account the sizes of the moves that preceded the previous declines (they took approximately one year to complete), this is extremely close and an excellent confirmation that the self-similar pattern remains intact.In addition, as the USDX approached its final bottom in 2017-2018, gold traded sideways. Today, however, gold has been in a downward spiral. From a medium-term perspective, the yellow metal’s behavior is actually more bearish than it was in 2017-2018.Finally, the USD Index’s breakout above its 50-day moving average (which it still holds today) is exactly what added gasoline to the USDX’s 2018 fire. Case in point: after the 2018 breakout, the USDX surged back to its previous high. Today, that level is roughly 94.5.Moreover, gold’s trepidation alongside the USD Index strength on Mar. 12 adds even more validity to the 2017-2018 analogy.I wrote on Mar. 10:It’s not true that there were no pullbacks during the 2018 rally. There were, but they were simply too small to be visible from the long-term point of view.The first notable pullback took place in early May 2018, and it contributed to a corrective upswing in the precious metals market. To be precise, the USD Index declined after rallying for 56 trading days, but gold rallied earlier – 51 trading days after the USD Index’s final bottom. The USDX’s immediate-top formed 16 trading days after its final bottom, and gold’s bottom formed 10 trading days after the USD’s final bottom.Comparing this to the size of the previous decline in terms of the trading days, it was:51 – 56 trading days / 283 trading days = 18.02% - 19.79%10 – 16 trading days / 283 trading days = 3.53% - 5.65%More importantly though, when the USD Index turned a short-term decline into consolidation in mid-2018, gold’s hesitant reaction highlighted the yellow metal’s anxiety. And what followed? Well, gold’s next move was significantly lower, while the USD Index’s next move was significantly higher. This means that it was likely a good idea that we took profits from our long positions recently when the GDX moved to $32.96 (opening at $30.80 - $31).Please see below:In addition, if we analyze the pairs’ very recent price action, it’s a splitting image.On Friday (Mar. 12), the USD Index rallied by 0.28%, while gold was (roughly) directionless despite the intraday volatility. And just like in 2017-2018, the yellow metal’s behavior signals a forthcoming climax . As a result, gold and the USD Index are behaving exactly as they did before going their separate ways in 2017-2018. And this means a bearish gold price prediction for the following weeks (not necessarily hours, though).Please see below:To explain, I wrote on Mar. 10:Let’s examine the current situation: the preceding decline lasted for 200 trading days and there were 41 – 42 trading days between the final USDX bottom and the short-term reversals in gold and USDX. Comparing this to the final USDX bottom, we get 7 – 8 trading days.Applying the previous percentages to the length of the most recent medium-term decline in the USD Index provides us with the following:18.02% - 19.79% x 200 trading days = ~36 - ~40 trading days3.53% - 5.65% x 200 trading days = ~7 - ~11 trading daysThe above estimation of about 36 – 40 trading days almost perfectly fits the current 41 – 42-day delay, and the estimation of about 7 – 11 trading days almost perfectly fits the current delay of 7 – 8 trading days.In other words, the analogy to the 2018 performance does not only remain intact – it actually perfectly confirms the validity of the current corrective upswing. Once again, it’s very likely just a pullback, not a big trend reversal.The bottom line?Given the size of the 2018 upswing, 94.5 on the USD Index is likely the first, of many, potential upside targets.Adding to the list of upside catalysts, the USD Index still has plenty of other bullets in its chamber. For instance, we’re also in the early innings of a shift in U.S. dollar sentiment. With short interest hitting an all-time high in late-2020, it was a complete fire sale. Today, however, short interest may have peaked.Please see the below chart based on the CoT report :Please consider how big rallies followed the moments when the net speculative position as % of total open interest started to rally back up after being oversold for months. The situation here is still more extreme than it was in early 2018 and 2014, suggesting that the upcoming rally might be bigger than the ones that we saw then.As further evidence, speculative futures traders ( non-commercial ) actually reduced their net-short positions by 1,216 contracts last week (the net of the two values in the red box below). As a result, the slightest shift in sentiment could lead the rest of the herd to follow.Finally, let’s not forget that the USD Index is after a long-term, more-than-confirmed breakout. This means that the long-term trend for the U.S. dollar is up.In conclusion, the USD Index is likely shifting from consolidation to ascension. With the size, scope and duration of the recent price action mirroring 2017-2018, it’s only a matter of time before the USD Index’s medium-term breakout gives way to a material breakthrough. What’s more, the USD Index is finally reacting to the rise in U.S. Treasury yields . Initially ignoring the late-2020 surge, a bottom, and subsequent rally in the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield has lifted the USD Index 80% of the time since 2003. And with the relationship seemingly restored in 2021, the combination is profoundly bearish for the PMs, especially given today’s triangle-vertex-based reversal in gold.Thank you for reading our free analysis today. Please note that the above is just a small fraction of today’s all-encompassing Gold & Silver Trading Alert. The latter includes multiple premium details such as the targets for gold and mining stocks that could be reached in the next few weeks. If you’d like to read those premium details, we have good news for you. As soon as you sign up for our free gold newsletter, you’ll get a free 7-day no-obligation trial access to our premium Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. It’s really free – sign up today.Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chiefSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care* * * * *All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses are based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are deemed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.
US Industry Shows Strength as Inflation Expectations Decline

Stock Bulls Run – Will Gold Ones Too?

Monica Kingsley Monica Kingsley 16.03.2021 15:37
Resting on Friday, surging on Monday. Feeble downswing attempt defeated right after the open, and then just bullish price action. Retail data today, and another FOMC meeting tomorrow – I view the former as not too likely to spoil today‘s market action. About the latter, remembering the latest reactions to Powell pronouncements, I look for the markets to be affected to a much greater degree.Don‘t look for material surprises, or be spooked by bets on the Fed tightening through dot plot adjustment or other forward guidance tools.I expect no change from what I wrote yesterday:(…) Who could be surprised, given the modern monetary theory ruling the economic landscape? The Fed amply accomodative, one $1.9T stimulus bill just in, and a $2T infrastructure one in the making. That‘s after the prior Trump stimulus, and who would have forgotten how it all started in April 2020? The old congressional saying „a billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you‘re talking real money“, needs updating.Global liquidity isn‘t retreating exactly, emerging markets are building a solid base regardless of the dollar going higher two days in a row, and emerging market bonds are fighting to recover just as much as long-dated Treasuries. Coupled with the sectoral analysis, this is conducive for the unfolding stock market upswing and for commodities as well. We‘re still in a constructive environment for both, and I look within the latter at especially copper, nickel and iron to do well. Meanwhile, the precious metals upswing is going fine, and the miners keep outperforming – both gold and silver ones. The time for the bulls isn‘t running out, and the real battles will come once the gold bulls conquer the volume profile thin zone around $1,760. Will the bulls reach it on tomorrow‘s Fed underplaying the threat of inflation and showing tolerance to its overshoot? That‘s certainly one of the possibilities.The best course of action is to keep a pretty close eye on the metals – no bullish / bearish change from Thursday‘s words:(…) At the moment, evaluating the strength and internals of precious metals rebound, is the way to go as we might very well have seen the gold bottom, with the timid $1,670 zone test being all the bears could muster. Time and my dutiful reporting will tell.Let‘s move right into the charts (all courtesy of www.stockcharts.com).S&P 500 OutlookThe S&P 500 upswing is ready to proceed further now, and slight volume hint tells me to look for higher prices today. Credit MarketsHigh yield corporate bonds (HYG ETF) continue trading in a weak pattern, which however hasn‘t been able to force the stock market down. And not that I looked at it to have a chance to. I continue to view the junk corporate bond market as under pressure in sympathy with investment grade corporate bonds and long-dated Treasuries, which scored modest gains yesterday too. It‘s a euphoric rush into stocks simply. VolatilityThe volatility index shows no signs of panic returning, and the put/call ratio is getting very complacent again. Doesn‘t look like the boat will capsize today really.Value Stocks and TechValue stocks (VTV ETF) repelled a daily downswing attempt, which is positive considering that technology (XLK ETF) rose more strongly. The leadership in the stock market advance is broadening, and that‘s good news for the bulls.Gold Upswing AnatomyGold added modestly to its recent gains, and would do well to clear the $1,730 area some more really. The low volume is a sign that current prices aren‘t attracting enough interest to step in, and either buy or sell. Given the below chart though, the initiative is still within the bulls.It‘s that the miners keep outperforming gold without really slowing down, and that‘s still what I like to see well before the upswing makes an intermediate top. The daily indicators remain far from extended. Will the bulls take advantage accordingly?Silver, Copper and OilSilver is consolidating and by no means outperforming, as it so often does at the very late stage of precious metals upswings. The deductive conclusion is that the days of the upswing aren‘t likely over just yet.Both copper and oil are consolidating within their bullish patterns, and today‘s downswing taking both down around 1.5% from yesterday‘s prices shown above, is taking them nearer to where I would increase weighting. Yes, I‘m bullish stocks and commodities still, and look for precious metals to be gradually joining in some more.SummaryAfter the brief consolidation of S&P 500 gains, we‘re again in the full upswing mode, and the credit markets aren‘t a show stopper. The stock market bull is alive and well, and deeper correction has been yet again delegated to the dustbin. The top is very far off as this still nascent recovery gets so much stimulus fuel that overheating becomes a very real possibility this year already.Gold keeps turning an important corner on, but the bulls could get more comfortable only with an upswing that clears the $1,730 zone now, given the strong performance mining indices are showing. Adding to that even more decreased sensitivity to rising yields would compound the pleasant sight for the bulls. The runup to tomorrow‘s Fed will be telling.
Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Key Challenges and Pathways Forward

ECB Accelerates Its Asset Purchases. Gold Needs Fed to Follow Suit

Finance Press Release Finance Press Release 16.03.2021 16:16
The ECB accelerated its asset purchases, but unless the Fed follows suit, gold may continue its bearish trend.On Thursday (Mar. 11), the European Central Bank decided to accelerate its asset buying under the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program :Based on a joint assessment of financing conditions and the inflation outlook, the Governing Council expects purchases under the PEPP over the next quarter to be conducted at a significantly higher pace than during the first months of this year.The decision came after a rise in the European bond yields that has mirrored a similar move in the U.S. Treasuries (see the chart below). Christine Lagarde , the ECB President, was afraid that increasing borrowing costs could hamper the economic recovery, so she decided to talk down the bond yields.Indeed, the growth forecasts for the EU have deteriorated recently amid the persistence of the pandemic and painfully slow rollout of the vaccines. According to the ECB, the real GDP of the bloc is likely to contract again in the first quarter of the year. So, the increase in the market interest rates could additionally drag down the already fragile economic recovery:Market interest rates have increased since the start of the year, which poses a risk to wider financing conditions. Banks use risk-free interest rates and sovereign bond yields as key references for determining credit conditions. If sizeable and persistent, increases in these market interest rates, when left unchecked, could translate into a premature tightening of financing conditions for all sectors of the economy. This is undesirable at a time when preserving favourable financing conditions still remains necessary to reduce uncertainty and bolster confidence, thereby underpinning economic activity and safeguarding medium-term price stability.Implications for GoldWhat does this all mean for gold prices? Well, the ECB’s move should prove rather negative for the price of gold , at least initially. This is because the loosening of the European monetary policy could weaken both the euro and gold against the U.S. dollar. Indeed, as the chart below shows, although the price of gold increased on Thursday, it declined one day later.Moreover, the acceleration in the ECB’s quantitative easing could further widen the divergence in the interest rates (that started rising in the third quarter of 2020, as one can see in the chart below) between the U.S. and the EU, which should also support the greenback at the expense of the yellow metal.On the other hand, the fact that the ECB has intervened in the markets – announcing acceleration in the pace of its asset buying program, after a certain rebound in the bond yields – could turn out to be positive for gold prices, at least in the long-run. This is because it shows how fragile the modern economies are and how dependent they have become on cheap borrowing guaranteed by the central banks.As I noticed earlier in the past, we are in the debt trap – and the central banks will not allow for the true normalization of the interest rates. The latest ECB’s action is the best confirmation that suppression of the real interest rates will continue, thus supporting gold prices. After all, the ECB has effectively put a cap on bond yields, introducing an informal yield curve control.So far, only the ECB has intervened in the markets, but other central banks could follow suit. This week, the Fed will announce its decision on the monetary policy. And we cannot exclude that the American central bank will also signal a more dovish stance to calm the turmoil in the bond markets and prevent further increases in the interest rates. One thing is certain: gold needs some fresh dovish hints from the Fed to go up. Unless the Fed further eases its stance, I’m afraid that gold will continue its bearish trend .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, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment t