micrOdOts.org / ramblings [of the ABsurd]

JR Nyquist. "As Iran continues to develop a nuclear capability, we should ask a few simple questions. First, will it prove disastrous if Iran acquires nuclear weapons? Second, will the United States or Israel launch a preemptive disarming strike against Iran? Since negotiation and sanctions have clearly failed, what will the major players do? What is the likely outcome of this situation?"

Carl Swenlin. "It has occurred to me that there have been two fakeout trend changes since the April top, and I am wondering if a third fakeout is in progress. The first fakeout was the rally from a double bottom and a breakout above a declining tops line, which was accompanied by a PMO crossover buy signal. This proved to be a bull trap as the rally failed."

Barry Ferguson. "Do you know the ‘golden rule’? It is, ‘He that has the gold, makes the rules.’ Once all of the gold is secured, all the rules can be set to ensure absolute power. To make it happen, a group effort would be needed to collect all the money. How would the group go about accumulating all the money and ultimately, all the gold? Where would they get the power to implement such a plan? If we are investing for our share of the money, we better get to know the competition. For purposes of simplicity, let’s just call the group that is trying to monopolize the money, the ‘illuminati’."

Julian Phillips. "Forty-eight U.S. states will be in deficit this year and the combined shortfall will probably exceed $300 billion. That puts Greece's expected 2010 budget shortfall of around $28 billion and the Eurozone crisis into perspective. Greece's shortfall is put at around 13.6% of G.D.P., whereas there are a good number of U.S. states anticipating deficits of more than 20% this year, including some, like California [that has already declared an emergency], New York, Florida and Illinois, with far bigger economies than Spain, Greece and Portugal lumped together. "

James Quinn. "I just got off the horn with the Ruling Elite. We had an emergency conference call and to tell you the truth, they ain’t happy. You little people are not responding the way you are supposed to. A significant portion of you are not getting more optimistic because they tell you to. Instead of just reading the headline on Bloomberg that durable goods orders skyrocketed in June, you actually read the details that said durable goods orders plunged. It is getting difficult for the ruling elite to keep the masses sedated and dumbed down. "

Kelley Wright. "About an hour north of San Diego County is Greater Los Angeles, which is commonly referred to as the Southland. This five county area is massive; almost 4,900 square miles with a combined population of over 17,700,000 people according to a U.S. Census Bureau estimate in 2006. The borders extend from Ventura County to the north, Orange County to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Inland Empire of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties to the east."

Mike Endres. "The only thing you can really say about the stock/option/forex market is that they will all, sooner or later, change direction."

Deepcaster. "Titanic Battles are being waged in Several Venues. The Battles are Related. The Stakes are Very High. Investor Opportunities and Risks are Substantial and Increasing. Here we briefly Survey the Titanic Battles, and note the consequent Opportunities and Threats."

Monty Guild & Tony Danaher. "China appears to have a huge "grey" economy, meaning that it is fueled by grey or unreported income. On July 19th, China's most famous researcher on grey income, Dr. Wang Xiaolu, stipulated that actual urban household income may be 100 percent higher than the official data reported by the government. He also concluded that China’s per capita disposable income in 2008 should have been 67 percent higher than the official data."

Gary Tanashian. "There is an opportunity to own value shaping up and I suspect the usual casino players will fail to capitalize while the minority capitalize once again. Missed the last buying opportunity this space identified in euros? Well, another opportunity is on the way. Who will capitalize and who will be immobilized by fear? Gold in USD is also presenting an opportunity."

Marin Katusa. "Two words that any oil company dreads to hear are “export duty.” Especially if the word “increases” or “introduced” is floating around there too."

Chris Ciovacco. "We are all familiar with the common expression, markets do not like surprises. As it relates to the current state of the labor markets, the number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance came in at 457,000 last week, which has again brought out comments from the media like “a figure that signals the labor market will be slow to improve even as the economy grows”. Is slow employment growth a surprise to anyone?"

Dock Treece. "Lately gold has taken a tumble as the broader market and the economy begin to show faint signs of life. Hopefully some investors were able to sidestep this move; they were certainly warned. Readers look no further than last week, when we wrote that gold’s price was inflated and would likely correct."

Gary Dorsch. "Of ten people who hear the same story or speech, each one might understand it differently. Perhaps, only one of them will understand it correctly. On July 21st, Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke was speaking in riddles, as central bankers are apt to do, while delivering his testimony before Congress. Each word that’s uttered by the Fed chief is scrutinized by anxious speculators, who try to interpret the message correctly before quickly placing bets in the marketplace."

Michael Pento. "After hearing the dire warnings of deflation that have become the standard talking points of most economists, American investors may be reaching for a bottle of Prozac. I believe that their anxiety is misplaced. Unfortunately, modern economists don't understand what deflation is or why, in reality, we have much more to fear from inflation."

Richard Benson. "Inflation is defined as the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising, and, subsequently, the purchasing power is falling. I’ve always thought of inflation in terms of what we get and what we pay, but quality and service are as important as quantity, for the price."

Axel G Merk. "The crisis is dead! Long live the crisis! In an attempt to address the debt crises swirling around the globe, policy makers have responded with a mishmash of somewhat questionable approaches:"

James Hyerczyk. "U.S. stocks are trading weaker ahead of the opening. The market started to weaken on Tuesday following a drop in consumer confidence. This report seemed to carry more weight than a string of better earnings reports. Equity futures actually reached their highs shortly before the opening and never really got on track, forming a top even before the consumer confidence data was released."

Erin Swenlin Heim. "A sideways day on the market helped our short-term indicators back off from becoming further overbought. Looking at the 10 minute bar chart the SPX traveled pretty much straight across left to right closing slightly below the open. Not too exciting."

Frank Holmes. "Global Strategist Jack Dzierwa is just back from an extensive research trip across Latin America. In addition to checking on agricultural prospects in Brazil (detailed here: Brazil Feeds the World), Jack traveled to Chile and Argentina. There he found two very different stories – one good, the other not."