Gold will outperform the S&P 500 index in 2020. That’s one of several projections made by CLSA in its just-released “Global Surprises 2020” report. The Hong Kong investment firm has an impressive track record when it comes to making market predictions–last year it had a 70 percent hit rate–so it […]
As Commodities Turn Weak, Will Stocks Follow?
Are commodities suggesting a lack of demand is in play on a global basis? It’s possible. Could this impact stocks? So far it has not. The chart looks at the Thompson/Reuters Commodities Index over the past 30-years. This index has created a series of lower highs since it peaked back […]
Commodities Week Ahead: Oil Awaits Russia’s Reply To OPEC; Gold Firm At $1500
Will there be an OPEC deal in the near future? “Yes” seemed almost certain to be the answer a week ago. Now, however, Russia’s hesitation on supporting output cuts proposed by its ally of the past three years, Saudi Arabia, means the answer is no longer likely to be such […]
Don’t Hate, Participate
A lot of people mix their politics with their investing and that’s just dumb. A hot new subset in investing is “ESG investing”. ESG investing stands for environmental, social, and governance, which basically means you choose investments based on the way a company treats the environment, respond to social causes […]
The Phil Flynn Energy Report: February 10, 2020
So much for the “emergency” OPEC+ meeting. The cartel can’t seem to get Russia to believe there is an oil oversupply emergency even after a 22% price correction in response to demand destruction created by the coronavirus. Russia has delayed agreeing to a proposal by at the joint ministerial technical […]
Canada Housing Starts Rise to Highest in Four Months on Condos
Economic Indicators7 hours ago (Feb 10, 2020 09:26AM ET) Canada Housing Starts Rise to Highest in Four Months on Condos (Bloomberg) — Canadian builders began 2020 with a strong rebound in housing starts, particularly for multiple-unit construction. Work began on an annualized 213,224 units in January, up 8.8% from a […]
Alibaba offers $2.86 billion in loans to firms hit by coronavirus outbreak
Economic Indicators9 hours ago (Feb 10, 2020 07:00AM ET) (C) Reuters. The logo of Alibaba Group is seen inside DingTalk office, an offshoot of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, in Hangzhou SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Group Holdings said on Monday its affiliate Ant Financial’s MYBank unit would offer 20 billion […]
What Scientists Can Learn From Alien Hunters
After the survey’s cancelation, “SETI became a 4-letter S-word at NASA Headquarters,” notes a recent paper by prominent alien-hunting researchers. The National Science Foundation then banned SETI projects from its funding portfolio. Astrobiologists, wary of being put in the same doomed basket as SETI, sometimes inched themselves away, emphasizing the […]
Natural Gas Rushes To New Lows
Concerns about the influence of the Chinese coronavirus returned to the markets at the end of last week. The focus was on forecasts of a slowdown in China’s economy and in the global economy as a whole due to restrictions on movement in China and long vacations on factories in […]
China 2019 fiscal spending up 8.1%, faster than economic growth
Economic Indicators11 hours ago (Feb 10, 2020 05:26AM ET) China 2019 fiscal spending up 8.1%, faster than economic growth BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s fiscal spending climbed 8.1% in 2019 from the previous year, the finance ministry said on Monday, outpacing economic growth as policymakers sought to ward off a sharper […]