micrOdOts.org / ramblings [of the ABsurd]

Where a deflationary implosion differs from hyperinflation is that in such an implosion all asset-prices become severely depressed and most people are more likely to move to cash because of its supposed buying power. Read More...

Crude oil futures continued to trade in a very narrow range, unable to cross the $79 a barrel threshold even though they ended 4.4% higher on the month. Read More...

While wheat prices are just now moving up, other Agri-Food prices have already risen. Butter recently reached US$1.88 per pound, a price above the high in 2008. Cotton price is almost US$0.82 per pound, a price not seen in years. Read More...

The economy of the US grew at a weaker than expected 2.4% in the second quarter, but the first quarter was revised back up to 3.7% on the strength of stronger-than-projected inventory rebuilding. But the recession years were ... Read More...

So, what does this extremely tight and tense astrological configuration mean for the world? In interpreting this pattern it helps to understand that disharmonious aspects to planets can bring about the following negative manifestations ... Read More...

Most of the indicators are strong, but, seasonally the first few days of August during the 2nd year of the Presidential Cycle have been weak. I expect the major averages to be lower on Friday August 6 than they were on Friday July 30. Read More...

Once again, this week's long-term Euro Index chart shows that there has been little change from last week. However, we have seen a struggle for movement above the resistance line created by the lows of 2005 and 2008. This also closely corresponds ... Read More...

Not even a week had passed since ECB President Trichet's article, "Stimulate No More - It Is Now Time to Tighten," before Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard thrusts himself into the debate with his paper, "Seven Faces of 'The Peril.'" Read More...

... what about the Constitution, what does it say about money and the dollar? Do the Constitution, the Uniform Commercial Code, and the United States Code have the same definition of money? Read More...

For the home construction industry, the recent recession has been a depression. The data tell a brutal tale. In 2005, construction started on 2,068,000 homes. In 2009, construction began on 544,000 homes - a drop of 73 percent. Read More...

The international community is pressuring the Juba and Khartoum governments to speed up preparation for a vote on South Sudan's future - a decision that will be dominated by the fate of coveted oil resources ... Read More...

The intent of this article is to look at asset allocation to determine if it does indeed help investors protect against significant losses. Asset allocation, market timing and other previously accepted risk mitigation techniques will be ... Read More...

Platinum and gold, how much of a relationship do these metals really have? Gold has been the talk of the town lately, a growingly-popular safe haven in these wild economic times. But platinum, one hardly hears of this metal ... Read More...

Yesterday, the SPY closed at 110.29 on a high down volume, last minute tick. So, yesterday's 110.29 close will be subject to a gap down possibility ... below the 109.68 level at the open this morning ... Read More...

The U.S. economy can, at best, be described as in an 'L'-shaped recovery. It is anemic, faced with unyieldingly high unemployment and overburdened with debt, but worst of all, the average consumer that has little to no confidence ... Read More...

Proposed austerity measures on top of a collapsed bubble in the real estate market and banks that are playing hide the sausage with NPAs are not going to help the unemployment rate any. From our proprietary report on Spain's public finances ... Read More...

Thursday's trading action saw volume increase to below average levels from very light levels and much of that volume came in the final fifteen minutes as bears took over and flooded the major index ETFs with sell orders. Read More...

Every time there is a little blip by China in its purchasing or holding of US treasuries, hyperinflationists come out of the woodwork ranting about the "Nuclear Option" of China dumping treasuries en masse. Read More...

The U.S. and other major countries are diverging on economic policy. While there is a growing debate in Washington over the possibility of further stimulus actions, a number of European governments, including the U.K., Germany and ... Read More...

Until 2010 arrived, you couldn't have a Roth IRA if your income exceeded certain limits. That restriction is gone. Now anyone with a traditional IRA can convert it to a Roth. But should you? Read More...